heavy discounts on santro after launch of swift

Sankar · 3rd June 2005, 02:20

Heck zen is still the most expensive small car on sale now. Its a 12 year old model and it still holds its resale value, people still buy it. Every maruti even the 800 has good value on the used car market. If maruti was like hyundai then it should've panicked and slashed the prices of it's cars when hyundai, uno, matiz and the likes came out. You can get a 99 Santro for apporx 1.5 lacs, but a same year & condition zen would cost around 2 lacs.

X-Machine · 3rd June 2005, 02:50

This was to happen.And i wont be surprised is Hyundai introduces a crdi variant for thier Santro!!

X

sridhar24 · 3rd June 2005, 08:26

I think the price cuts from Hyundai are not going to help improve the sales of Santro and will finally become like the Elantra's case.

Revvmaster · 3rd June 2005, 09:40

Whether Hyundai cuts its price or not, isn't it a good deal for us consumers?

And whoever as a consumer thought that his car will give him great resale values... consider your opinion again. Car makers have the right to change the price, features etc. without necessarily informing th consumer. Read the disclaimer that each advertisement carries. You might think you are being cheated off your money... sorry but they do business and not corporate charity.

The Indian car market has never had it so good. Cars are no longer only investments, but slowly turning into commodities. Going around with the expectation that your car will have excellent resale value is a bit of a farce.

Take the NHC for instance. Till the end of 2004, the waiting list on an NHC was so long that if someone went and sold his car in the 2nd hand car mart, he'd easily get upto 90% of the original car value. Within the first year itself. But what's the scene now? With production increasing and waiting period reduced, people who bought Honda Citys, thinking that their cars will give them excellent resale value, have seen their values plummetting. A Dec 2004/Jan 2005 GXi can go for as low as Rs. 6.5 lakhs, here in Mumbai. And all it took was for Honda Siel to increase its output in Sept/Oct 04.

For those who really find changing a car an expensive proposition every 2-3 years given falling resale values, i'd suggest that you go for a tried and tested car/brand and one which is known to have low maintenance costs. Its the only way you can have the cake and eat it too (albeit whatever is left of it).

Revv

tsk1979 · 3rd June 2005, 09:40

Discounts are good! Currently getz GL which has same trim as Swift Vxi is priced about 40K more. If Getz and swift cost the same then it would be interesting to see who wins. If Hyundai introduces Getz Crdi at the same price then it would be serious competition for Swift with india's preference for diesel.

Sush · 3rd June 2005, 10:03

Even i feel that Getz is better looking than Swift. I didn't like Swift.

Sush · 3rd June 2005, 10:23

I just talked to a Hyundai dealer at Residency Road (Bangalore). He told me that there are no cash discounts being offered on Getz. Is this true?? He just told me that i could get free insurance, seat covers etc.

tsk1979 · 3rd June 2005, 10:29

I agree with you. Moreover i have more faith in Hyundai. Maruti has given us a new model after so many years, however Hyundai have been introducing new models regularly. If you look at the differences between a 2 year old santro and the current Xing, and do the same for WagonR/Zen you will find that Hyundai has been much better in the game.
But on this forum i have seen that hyundai is hated for silly reasons like the the Sonata looking too much like an accord and Maruti is loved for one model in 12 years!

tsk1979 · 3rd June 2005, 10:31

One car is not going to pull down the santro. For your every day motoring there is not much that swift offers above santro in the low end versions and at 50K less(after discounts) its a much better deal. I would say wagonR is going down

tsk1979 · 3rd June 2005, 10:33

Go to indiranagar. Residency road dealer is not known to offer anything. Talk to 5-6 dealers and bargain hard. I got a 10K discount on Tata indica V2 in 2002 at a time when discounts were unheard of in this segment. It all boils down to how much you bargain. If you are buying a Santro 30K is easy. At 30K less its actually better VFM than swift any day

tsk1979 · 3rd June 2005, 10:37

Discounts are commonplace in developed markets. It was only a matter of time when this came to india. Next step competition between dealers where dealers will offer discounts from there own cut to woo the buyer.

SMG · 3rd June 2005, 10:45

Quote:

Originally Posted by tsk1979

But on this forum i have seen that hyundai is hated for silly reasons like the the Sonata looking too much like an accord and Maruti is loved for one model in 12 years!

I agree 100% . Why Sonata even NHC is also beaten just because of its looks. Entire FORD , TOYOTA lot is also 'Untouchables' here. Nothing beyond 'Skoda' and 'Petra'??

kiku007 · 3rd June 2005, 10:50

Quote:

Originally Posted by man23ish

Coz, luxury car buyers are more concerned with the reliability of the brand that they buy.. And luxury car-buyers certainly don't appreciate buying fast-depreciating vehicles.. So i repeat my statement that Hyundai's days are numbered unless they launch their new products at reasonable prices and then stick to their prices..

Hi
Hyundai is suffering from it's Mass market brand image,so customers are just not willing to part their money for Hyundai's Luxury cars.Don't you think even Maruti faces the same problem? The Baleno was competing with the Lancer during it's launch,but now after repeated price cuts it's pitted against the Ikon/Accent.
The same customers are willing to spend on the NHC and Toyota Corolla, which are clearly overpriced when compared to the competition.The reason is that honda and toyota are considered to be Premium brands.Thats it.

Take the case of the qualis.it was stopped by Toyota even when it was leading the sales chart. The Qualis was so popular in the Taxi market and Toyota just didn't want this mass market image which would affect it's luxury cars. Now Toyota will refute this charge by saying that it would like to give the Indian customers the latest(Innova). If that's the case why did they launch the Qualis instead of the Kijang then(Qualis was 2 generations behind).

Compare this with Hyundai.They have always given the Indians the latest in terms of products(eg.Getz) and technology(eg.CRDi). Count the number of modification they have done to the Santro since it's launch.Don't they deserve credit for it?

The problem is with the Peoples mindset.The mindset is that,small car makers should always price all their cars cheaply but Premiuim brands can cooly overprice their cars.

And does anyone have a serious complaint on the relaiabilty of Hyundai cars. Then why any doubts on the reliabilty on the brand?
Hyundai deserves a great amount of credit for changing the Indian car market. So please do not say that "Hyundai's days are numbered".

bye
kishore

typeOnegative · 3rd June 2005, 10:52

Quote:

Originally Posted by SMG

I agree 100% . Why Sonata even NHC is also beaten just because of its looks. Entire FORD , TOYOTA lot is also 'Untouchables' here. Nothing beyond 'Skoda' and 'Petra'??

Well there are quite a few people who hate the Petra because of Fiat. Dunno about Skoda though. Even the Indica/Indigo have theirbunch of haters. I think it is a matter of who is local and who is not. The most vocal people will have their opinions heard more. That's all.

SMG · 3rd June 2005, 10:55

Quote:

Originally Posted by kiku007

Hi

Compare this with Hyundai.They have always given the Indians the latest in terms of products(eg.Getz) and technology(eg.CRDi). Count the number of modification they have done to the Santro since it's launch.Don't they deserve credit for it?

That's the point, but , ah ha not on this forum,

3rd June 2005, 02:20	#16
Sankar Senior - BHPian Join Date: May 2005 Location: Location Posts: 5,766 Thanked: 9,054 Times	Heck zen is still the most expensive small car on sale now. Its a 12 year old model and it still holds its resale value, people still buy it. Every maruti even the 800 has good value on the used car market. If maruti was like hyundai then it should've panicked and slashed the prices of it's cars when hyundai, uno, matiz and the likes came out. You can get a 99 Santro for apporx 1.5 lacs, but a same year & condition zen would cost around 2 lacs.
	() Thanks

3rd June 2005, 02:50	#17
X-Machine Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Mumbai/Tokyo Posts: 1,475 Thanked: 29 Times	This was to happen.And i wont be surprised is Hyundai introduces a crdi variant for thier Santro!! X
	() Thanks

3rd June 2005, 08:26	#18
sridhar24 Senior - BHPian Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Bengaluru Posts: 1,046 Thanked: 88 Times	I think the price cuts from Hyundai are not going to help improve the sales of Santro and will finally become like the Elantra's case.
	() Thanks

3rd June 2005, 09:40	#19
Revvmaster Senior - BHPian Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Bombay Posts: 1,190 Thanked: 95 Times	Whether Hyundai cuts its price or not, isn't it a good deal for us consumers? And whoever as a consumer thought that his car will give him great resale values... consider your opinion again. Car makers have the right to change the price, features etc. without necessarily informing th consumer. Read the disclaimer that each advertisement carries. You might think you are being cheated off your money... sorry but they do business and not corporate charity. The Indian car market has never had it so good. Cars are no longer only investments, but slowly turning into commodities. Going around with the expectation that your car will have excellent resale value is a bit of a farce. Take the NHC for instance. Till the end of 2004, the waiting list on an NHC was so long that if someone went and sold his car in the 2nd hand car mart, he'd easily get upto 90% of the original car value. Within the first year itself. But what's the scene now? With production increasing and waiting period reduced, people who bought Honda Citys, thinking that their cars will give them excellent resale value, have seen their values plummetting. A Dec 2004/Jan 2005 GXi can go for as low as Rs. 6.5 lakhs, here in Mumbai. And all it took was for Honda Siel to increase its output in Sept/Oct 04. For those who really find changing a car an expensive proposition every 2-3 years given falling resale values, i'd suggest that you go for a tried and tested car/brand and one which is known to have low maintenance costs. Its the only way you can have the cake and eat it too (albeit whatever is left of it). Revv
	() Thanks

3rd June 2005, 09:40	#20
tsk1979 Team-BHP Support Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: San Jose, CA Posts: 23,717 Thanked: 22,825 Times View My Garage	Discounts are good! Currently getz GL which has same trim as Swift Vxi is priced about 40K more. If Getz and swift cost the same then it would be interesting to see who wins. If Hyundai introduces Getz Crdi at the same price then it would be serious competition for Swift with india's preference for diesel.
	() Thanks

3rd June 2005, 10:03	#21
Sush BHPian Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Noida, New York Posts: 308 Thanked: 2 Times	Even i feel that Getz is better looking than Swift. I didn't like Swift.
	() Thanks

3rd June 2005, 10:23	#22
Sush BHPian Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Noida, New York Posts: 308 Thanked: 2 Times	I just talked to a Hyundai dealer at Residency Road (Bangalore). He told me that there are no cash discounts being offered on Getz. Is this true?? He just told me that i could get free insurance, seat covers etc.
	() Thanks

3rd June 2005, 10:29	#23
tsk1979 Team-BHP Support Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: San Jose, CA Posts: 23,717 Thanked: 22,825 Times View My Garage	I agree with you. Moreover i have more faith in Hyundai. Maruti has given us a new model after so many years, however Hyundai have been introducing new models regularly. If you look at the differences between a 2 year old santro and the current Xing, and do the same for WagonR/Zen you will find that Hyundai has been much better in the game. But on this forum i have seen that hyundai is hated for silly reasons like the the Sonata looking too much like an accord and Maruti is loved for one model in 12 years!
	() Thanks

3rd June 2005, 10:31	#24
tsk1979 Team-BHP Support Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: San Jose, CA Posts: 23,717 Thanked: 22,825 Times View My Garage	One car is not going to pull down the santro. For your every day motoring there is not much that swift offers above santro in the low end versions and at 50K less(after discounts) its a much better deal. I would say wagonR is going down
	() Thanks

3rd June 2005, 10:33	#25
tsk1979 Team-BHP Support Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: San Jose, CA Posts: 23,717 Thanked: 22,825 Times View My Garage	Go to indiranagar. Residency road dealer is not known to offer anything. Talk to 5-6 dealers and bargain hard. I got a 10K discount on Tata indica V2 in 2002 at a time when discounts were unheard of in this segment. It all boils down to how much you bargain. If you are buying a Santro 30K is easy. At 30K less its actually better VFM than swift any day
	() Thanks

3rd June 2005, 10:37	#26
tsk1979 Team-BHP Support Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: San Jose, CA Posts: 23,717 Thanked: 22,825 Times View My Garage	Discounts are commonplace in developed markets. It was only a matter of time when this came to india. Next step competition between dealers where dealers will offer discounts from there own cut to woo the buyer.
	() Thanks