![]() | #151 |
Distinguished - BHPian ![]() ![]() | ![]() ^^ Thanks! If you got the moolah, then nothing like it. ![]() |
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![]() | #152 |
Senior - BHPian ![]() | ![]() |
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![]() | #153 |
Distinguished - BHPian ![]() ![]() | ![]() Wow! A week filled with loads of office work, and no internet at home; and this thread goes completely quiet! As the lady passed the 1500 mark last Monday, decided to give her a break. Lately the only "trips" the car was making was on the Hinjewadi strip, with an average speed of probably less than 20 kmph. So I let her loose on the old old Pune highway; I did have the easier (& closer) option of doing the same on the expressway, but relativity was important. The reasoning goes so - drive your car at 180 kmph on an empty expressway; and you hardly feel the thrill & speed (unless you are traveling in an open top convertible ![]() Later on during the weekend a friend called up - he wanted help on deciding a car to purchase and he couldn't decide - inquired with me if I was interested in TDing cars? Which tbhpian would say no to that! Headed over to Bombay for a day, and tried the following few hatchbacks & (entry level) petrol sedans Listing only the pros & cons (Most of the comparisions points might be with respect to the Vento - can't help that!) Hyundai I20 (Petrol) -
And me? (Not for the last time) I was glad I got the Vento - I hadn't TDed the Fiesta (classic) or the Etios before I had got the Vento - the nagging thoughts were for once cleared! Yet to find a car that could have ticked all my boxes at a cheaper price tag! VW, you have one heck of a satisfied customer! Now please keep up on the service aspect! Last edited by ninjatalli : 18th October 2011 at 11:23. |
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![]() | #154 | ||
Distinguished - BHPian ![]() ![]() | ![]() Quote:
When you have been driving Maruti cars for over 10 years (in & out), you tend to form habits that are hard to ignore. For e.g. the urge to take a brand new car for a check-up once she passes the 1000km mark. And I resisted, for another 1200 kms! (read: 1.5 weeks ![]() And when Noops puts up the post that the general checkup costed him a puny 165 Rs, the head had nothing to argue. So I dialed up the BuB workshop (@noops - their website registration is not working! So much for online booking! ![]() Now thanks to Noops, I was already aware that the checkup includes a full car wash. But hey, my Jopasu magic wipe had landed up only the previous day - add to it the car shampoo I purchased a few days back; and there I was washing the car an hour before I was going to give it for the checkup! And boy, does the micro fibre cloth work or what! After so many washes over the past few weeks, this was the first time I could use the car as a mirror! However this did help me later during the day; more on this later. I land up at the showroom - the service guy does a survey of the car - electricals/tires/music system; basically the full works. I give him a few pointers on the dashboard squeaks, and ask him to check on the fluids considering the upcoming trip I had. In addition to this I ask him about what can be done about the small scratch I had on the rear bumper - he notes this on the service form & gives me a headsup on the paint touch option (which is chargeable). I am quoted a price of 350 INR - I ask him why the increase. He says that's the general checkup charge. I decide to clarify this later when I pickup the car. Few hours later I land up at the workshop to get the car - she's all cleaned up & parked outside. The car is impeccably clean - from the inside & outside. And then I see them - a new set of scratches, and quite a few of them On the rear bump ![]() On the front hood right in the center ![]() Paint chipped off on the doors ![]() ![]() Now one of the (dis)advantages of washing your car daily on your own is you get to see each and every scratch every day. And I knew these weren't there when I left the car. In addition to the above 4, there were a few more. I call the SG - he vehemently denies that these were done in the workshop and keeps making the same statement again and again "Sir, this is my fault - I did not note these scratches on the service form when I took the car for checkup"; clearly implying that I was fibbing. Now this pisses me off. For a car with this color, scratches are going to be there. Heck, I am taking it across the country in the coming week - I am probably going to get 10 times the number of scratches in the coming days! And here this guy is not ready to accept his cleaning guys did a shoddy job. I raise hell - his superior (& others) come out & try to pacify me. His superior sees the point in my argument and accepts that these are the faults of the workshop & agrees to give a paint touch-up immediately. But the damage is done. I ask him to do whatever he can & leave it at that. In all this I even forget to ask him about the difference in service charge & pay up and leave the workshop. Overall, the experience leaves a bad taste with respect to BuB services. To their credit, they did an excellent job except for these scratches which is unpardonable. Not sure how to consider it w.r.t future servicing(s). Data points :
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![]() | #155 |
Distinguished - BHPian ![]() ![]() | ![]() Sorry to hear about the scratches. Actually you'd better get used to it with that beautiful shade (I have a similar problem with my Swift which is dark blue). Scratches appear seemingly out of nowhere. For the general checkup they quoted me 350 plus tax but eventually billed me 150 only. I have no idea why, it isn't as if I am going to look a gift horse in the mouth ![]() What I liked about my experience was that they treated me as an annuity customer rather than a one-off visitor which is the feeling I got when I did my monsoon check at Vidyut. None of that making me have to call THEM for an update, car unwashed when I reached there, bill taking time to prepare stuff. Hope your baby is all set for the Delhi drive. All the best! |
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![]() | #156 |
BHPian ![]() Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: BLR / BOM
Posts: 789
Thanked: 441 Times
| ![]() Ninja, you going to Delhi? Awesome!! I too have been thinking of a very long drive since I got the car. Going to do this soon (next year or so!) You have a thread up for the trip? If yes or are planning, let us know! All the best for your trans-India drive! ![]() Sad to hear about the scratches. Yes, our car's colour is such, every touch on the car is visible ![]() Last edited by nileshch : 23rd October 2011 at 23:06. |
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![]() | #157 | |||
Distinguished - BHPian ![]() ![]() | ![]() Quote:
Yes, the customer treatment is top-notch at BuB, be it the dealer showroom or at the workshop. Hope the scratch case was a one-off incident & doesn't get repeated. Quote:
Btw the Jopasu duster is a blessing for this car, and especially this color! Now I know why @prabhu was so envious of it before your meet! Oh yes, she's all geared up and raring to go! And I got another Vento to give me company till Ahmedabad. So it's going to be a lot of fun. Btw got any company for the Bangy trip? A lot of people should be traveling south for the Metallica concert - I know atleast one (enfield) biker who is doing the same from Bombay. Quote:
I was earlier planning to do a live travelogue kind of thing, but that required two things - I should be carrying a laptop and I need a datacard which I don't have. Btw anyone ready to lend a datacard for a week? ![]() Pretty excited about the trip - I love traveling on the road. Only way I could make it better is do the return journey on a different route (I'm using the GQ, other option is to come via MP). But don't have the time for that route. | |||
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![]() | #158 | |
BHPian ![]() Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Pune / Shanghai
Posts: 87
Thanked: 83 Times
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![]() I happened to have talk with a senior manager at BUB some time back when I complemented him for treating customer better than Vidyut motors. Without denigrating Vidyut, he put that reason for their (vidyut's) attitude towards customer go back to the days when they had FIAT dealership. Customer would come begging for cars and there wasn't any real competition in the market. BUB on other hand is professional and have several other dealership of reputed companies. BTW I got a query. Is the insurance cost for these darker shades comes out to be more compared to shades like white or silver? | |
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![]() | #159 | |
Distinguished - BHPian ![]() ![]() | ![]() Quote:
Insurance is same for all colors - the prices differ simply because of different negotiations done by different Vento owners. For instance, a friend of mine has a black Vento who has paid a higher insurance quote (he took the dealer's quote) than me and yet doesn't have zero depreciation policy, while I do. | |
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![]() | #160 |
Distinguished - BHPian ![]() ![]() | ![]() The D-day has arrived. Hardly can sit in office. Can't even find the enthusiam to finish this post ![]() ![]() p.s. will be updating this thread. The final route ![]() |
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![]() | #161 |
Distinguished - BHPian ![]() ![]() | ![]() Good luck Ninja! Have fun at the race! Am headed out to Mumbai later today and then to Bangalore on Friday. Happy Diwali and see you all later! Will be great comparing notes afterwards. |
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![]() | #162 |
Senior - BHPian ![]() Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Chicago, IL
Posts: 1,645
Thanked: 583 Times
| ![]() Have fun guys. Make a lovely report once you are back. Ninja... keep a log of everything. Car's behavior, fuel consumed.. etc. Have fun. Drive safe. |
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![]() | #163 |
Senior - BHPian ![]() | ![]() Wish you a safe journey! Please take loads of pics and as Swanand says, keep a strict log, if you can. Cheers! |
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![]() | #164 |
BHPian Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Chennai
Posts: 572
Thanked: 206 Times
| ![]() Good luck Ninja. Keep us posted. I crossed 500 kms and with a few Chennai road trip on the pipeline expected to touch 2K in few weeks time. By then you would have have reached 10K I suppose. Have loads of fun. |
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![]() | #165 |
Distinguished - BHPian ![]() ![]() | ![]() Thanks guys! A short update. The ![]() A lovely short meetup with @souravc, @nileshch, @el lobo 61 at Barista, opposite K Star mall. Discussions range from past car purchases, to the (inevitable) traffic problems of Mumbai/Pune/Bangalore - funny part, opposite to the "my city is better" trend seen on the forum, here every guy was giving issues on his own city! A short photoshoot, in which @nileshch is far more successful in snaring up pics of the four ventos (than me, and hence you won't see me uploading any pics of the meet for now!) And after which I scoot off. Guys, thanks for coming down at such a short notice! Last edited by ninjatalli : 26th October 2011 at 06:35. |
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