So many replies, such a long thread and we still don't know the following with figures. Entire discussion is based on perceptions and hearsay.
- how much more overpriced the City is? .
- Honda is more fuel efficient. How much more fuel efficient is it compared to competition?
- Cheap to service. How much cheaper? How can we compare service cost of OHC to Verna/Fiesta/Linea?!
- Cheap spares. How much cheaper? Where are the figures?
I am not good at this but I'll give it a shot.
When we say overpriced, we say City is priced 1 lac more then competition. Is it? What about cost of missing features? Lets try. All prices ex-showroom Mumbai.
City S MT 8.84
City V MT 9.31 (Adds Alloys and Fogs for 47K more)
Verna SX 7.48
Linea E PK 7.47
Fiesta S 7.47.
One pays 1.36 lakhs for a City over Verna and Linea. What about cost of missing features? I also discovered that S has some silly features removed. It does not have driver's seat back pocket and tweeters. At 8.84 lacs? Wow! Imagine the fortune Honda must have saved by knocking off these features!
Alloy's (4 nos) 40,000. Yes after market is cheaper but we are talking Honda prices. See difference between S and V above.
Fog lights 10,000.
ACC 25,000
Blue&Me 25,000
My car 20,000
So effectually a City costs 2,57,000 more then Linea, 2,11,000 more then Verna and 1,87,000 more then Fiesta. Do note I haven't added the cost of small features like rear A/C vents, sun blinds etc. The high price is because of better resale we say. So the I-Vtec engine + better resale will equal 2,57,000 more? Can we sell a 5 year old City for 257K more then Linea? What about the interest cost of the 257K you save upfront for 5 years?
If we bring in diesel's things can get worse, MUCH worse. Example, Linea MJD E PK is 8.61 that's 23K LESS then City with more features, Verna is 41K less then City S but since we are clinically comparing petrols, let's stick to that.
- Honda's are more reliable hence the higher cost. How much more reliable? 10%? 20%? 50%? Surely not 50%. Even 20% is stretching it. How many ownership reports of Fiesta, Verna, Linea talk about engine, mechanical, suspension problems and failures? Can we have figures?
- Honda's are more fuel efficient. How much more? 1kmpl? 2kmpl? 5kmpl? We have plenty of ownership reports here. Different drivers driving in different conditions. We can easily get figures to prove it. Why don't we?
- Servicing costs. How much does the service of a ANHC (NOT OHC) cost compared to Verna, Fiesta and Linea? Do we have figures? Or just perceptions? Honda's are supposed to be cheaper to service so it must be.
- Cheap spares cost. Figures? Where are they? How about something like what ACI does? I have one sheet from the Fiat website. I know it's not the most reliable since it's from a manufacturer and could be designed to make them look good but it does give us pointer's doesnt it? So let's see.
- Oil filter Linea Rs.90, City Rs.155, Verna Rs.85, Fiesta Rs.94, SX4 Rs.89. Guess who's the highest?
- Air filter Linea Rs.229, City Rs.459, Verna Rs.377, Fiesta Rs.257, SX4 Rs.387.
- Wipers Linea Rs.490, City Rs.712, Verna Rs.934, Fiesta Rs.550, SX4 Rs.450. Mind you, Linea wipers are the flush fit ones yet are the cheapest?
- Let's progress to mechanical parts.
- Fuel pump Linea Rs.2500, City Rs.15,608, Verna Rs.2,644, Fiesta Rs.3733, SX4 Rs.2712. Wonder why all non-Honda cars are within 1000rs of each other while Honda overshoots them by four figures. Go ahead and say it's because it's a Honda so very reliable and hence high cost upfront. When was the last time a Verna's fuel pump failed? I haven't heard of any yet.
- Accident parts.
- Headlight Linea Rs.3900, City Rs.4103, Verna Rs.4103, Fiesta Rs.4355, SX4 Rs.3155.
Despite all this, I feel, yes Honda's deserve a premium over competition. But how much? Provided Honda gives the same major features as competiton, I am willing to pay 50-60K more, 75K at a stretch. We are looking at 250K more here.
I am attaching the sheet.
Attachment 195806
Owners of respective cars can tell us if the sheet is genuine. Do note that the prices are for Jan-Feb 2009. I paid 1,500 for side mirror casing for Punto. Rs.1555 to be exact. Linea should be no different.