Operation Comfort – Agent Wagi (My WagonR) – 11200 Kms Done

jasonbourne · 13th January 2010, 02:05

The Wagi Chronicle: Part – I

I was pursuing to own a car for the past two years since my final months of stay in Bangalore (around May 2007). I was looking for a second hand car since I am not a tenured car driver. I would rather say that I was afraid to own a new car fearing the scratches and dents it can suffer in the hands of an inexperienced driver (Thats me!!).

The cars that I short listed were,

Maruthi Versa
Maruthi WagonR
Hyundai Santro

The Altos, 800s and the Indicas were out of the question since I am “Bulky”!! While searching on the Internet stumbled on the path set by Lord Google to Auto Nirvana (i.e. Our Own Team BHP). Since then I have been an avid reader of this site. Through the various informative threads in this forum and also through some of my personal external sources the final choice was shortlisted as follows

Maruthi Versa – An all round family car with a cool rear AC in DX2 model. But since the Resale value was a big question along with the pathetic mileage, it was dropped
Maruthi WagonR – Awesome Road view, easier ingress and egress for me as well for the elderly. Acceptable Mileage. The rear 60:40 split
Hyundai Santro – A nice all round car with decent height for my frame and a good mileage backed up by an impressive A**.

Due to unavailability of a second hand Santro for my price bracket we focused on a 3 year old WagonR MAV for a price of 1.8 L at Kapico, Nandanam after a TD. Unfortunately all my hard work was turned to dust the moment dad withdrew his approval. The roaring fire to own a car was contained and confined in some corner of my heart waiting to burst out like White Phosphorous that comes in contact with light and heat.

To be Cont..

Dippy · 13th January 2010, 18:05

Agent Wagi is a unique name.

Since you are posting in parts, I'm sure this is going to be one hell of a read. Looking forward to read the next episodes of 'The Wagi Chronicles'.

jasonbourne · 13th January 2010, 20:02

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dippy

Agent Wagi is a unique name.

Since you are posting in parts, I'm sure this is going to be one hell of a read. Looking forward to read the next episodes of 'The Wagi Chronicles'.

Thank you dippy! I will try my best to keep the thread interesting. Second part on its way.

jasonbourne · 13th January 2010, 23:19

The Wagi Chronicle: Part – II

The Fire that was confined in a solitary corner of my heart in Part I started to manifest itself the moment my sister was engaged around March 2008. We required a comfortable mode of transport to do all the travels related to a Marriage Shopping. Thats when the fire started to take shape. The well planned and well laid out operation was explained through various verbal and non verbal struggles with Dad. Finally I accomplished the impossible, making Dad to approve the mission.

However this time I was more inclined towards a new Agent (car) rather than a seasoned SPY (used Car) after hearing a lot of “mission failures” from the “Field” and the “getting used factor” advantage of a new car than a used car.

Mission Briefing:

I started to look out for the Perfect SPY for my operation. The possible candidates were (in the order of initial preference),

Tata Indica Vista
Maruthi WagonR
Maruthi Swift
Chevrolet Spark

Did a TD in all of them except WagonR (reason later). Venue : Manipal Motors, Vadapalani. Almost the very instant started liking the Vista for its fabulous amount of space offered by it. The car they had for TD was a Vista Aqua QD. The sales people were totally immature and non-professional. They had no clue of proper customer service. It was a very big let down setting my perception on their A**. Also the car was pretty new in the market then. Hence hesitated to take that bold decision of going for it. Even after these let downs, the CAR was very much in TOP priority.

Swift (Petrol) and Spark were satisfactory since they were unable to cope up with the sheer magnificence of Vista and hence they were instantaneously rejected.

Half heartedly went to the CARS India showroom (henceforth called as Base Station ) in Valasaravakkam to check out the WagonR. Till now I do not regret my decision and I have been made to feel like one of their esteemed customers. Since I have already driven a WagonR as mentioned in the Part I of the chronicle I was not expecting to be swept off by the facelift model. The journey started with two polite people, the Team Leader at that showroom and his team member. They showed me through the WagonR Lxi that was on the display and took a TD in a demo car that was a similar model.

The moment I got into it, it felt like I was waiting for it or it was waiting for me.

I know that WagonR has issues with Gear Shift Mechanism...
I know that WagonR has Rattling issues...
I know that WagonR has issue with Body Roll at high speeds...
I know that WagonR's interior are inferior to a Indica Vista's with an inferior plastic quality...

But everything went out of the window. Till date I do not know why fell in love at first sight. I am am still pondering over the reasons,

Was it due to ease with which I ingress and egress?
Was it due to the awesome Road View?
Was it due to the amazing City Maneuverability?
Was it due to the Abundant Space inside the car (though less than an Indica Vista)?
Was it due to comfortable seating for my frame on the driver's seat?

But the decision was already taken in my heart. This is It!! The Perfect SPY for my Operation within the mission's financial and operational requirements. Codename : WAGI

The next day took all the stakeholders of Operation Comfort (Mom, Dad and Sis) to the “Base Station”. They took a hard look at the exteriors since it was not eye cathcy for them. But even they forgot what was outside the moment they sat inside the car. The front as well as the backseats. They also liked the vehicle very much. Hence the choice was unanimous.

Note from the Team-BHP Support Team : Please use the "edit" button if posting within 20 minutes of the first post, instead of creating another back-to-back post.

jasonbourne · 23rd January 2010, 11:53

After a Long Gap I am continuing my status report.

Budget Allocation:

Once the choice was made I started to negotiate the deal with the Sales People. After much negotiations this is what it turned out to be

Model : Maruthi WagonR Vxi (with Immobiliser)

Colour : Royal Gold

Total Cost of the car : Rs. 3.94 L (after discounts but inclusive of Registration and accessories)

Discounts : Rs.20000 (dealer) + Rs. 2500 (Corporate) + Second quality Leather Seat Covers (Worth Rs.4500) + Extended Warranty till 3rd Year

Insurance : Rs. 10499

Registration : Rs. 200

Road Tax : Rs. 28264 (Life Time)

Accessories : Rs. 20000 (bundled offer with the following)

Pioneer HU with remote (DEH – 2190UB), 2 Philips 4” Speakers for the Dash, 2 Sony Xbox (XS-GTF69352) 6” x 9” speakers for the rear, Sun Film, Maruthi Central Lock

Once the price was decided I took a loan from my father's Bank at a competitive ROI for 5 Years and made an upfront payment of Rs.60,000.

After going through the articles on Team BHP for Delivery checklist, decided to take delivery on the morning of May 25th 2009.

jasonbourne · 23rd January 2010, 12:22

Now we needed to select my Car. So I went to the dealers Stockyard to choose my Wagi. I was very specific about the Stock tyres. I formed them that I needed only Bridgestone Tyres. To my Luck and Wagi’s destiny there was one in the Stockyard to suit my requirements. Had a look at the other colours as well but zeroed in on the Royal Gold again.

Check out the Pictures from their Yard.

jasonbourne · 23rd January 2010, 17:00

Pre Delivery Check:

Wagi came to Base Station 4 Days Prior to the Delivery Date. Hence we went there to have a look. Out of curiosity I was supervising the Accessories being installed into my Wagi (Physical Training for the New Agent). The photos are below. Since I did not carry a camera during the installation I could not get those pics.

May 28th 2009 – The Day Operation Comfort went live (Wagi became mine)

The Delivery Time as agreed earlier was decided as 10:00 AM. Along with all the stake holders and onlookers I went to the Base Station to take the delivery on the agreed time. I was pretty excited and elated since I was buying my First Car which was New and not a Second Hand. However I kept a Cool Head in front of all the others.

BANG!! The Indianism struck me!

There were undue delays due to the sales person going down sick the day before my delivery. All the stake Holders were pretty agitated due to the delays. But at this juncture I endured to follow the protocol of “Being in Control” as formulated in the Auto Nirvana Dossier (Tem BHP delivery check list).

That really did help me a lot in spreading some smiles around which started to show on the reception I get every time I walk into the showroom. Hats Off to Team BHP.

So after the Delivery Formalities at the Base Station, I took the vehicle to the temple where the Pandith did some wonderfuls Mods on my Brand New Wagi.

With the below photos I can say that my Wagi can very Well compete in the “Carzy Mods” thread!

jasonbourne · 23rd January 2010, 17:02

Some More Photos...

This ends the part till delivery.

DCEite · 23rd January 2010, 18:05

Hey! Nice pics and congrats on your pruchase. Even after so many years, wagonR continues to be one of the best practical hatchbacks in the country, no wonder it sells so much!

A question. Has Maruti starting offering different rear view mirrors lately in the VXi model ? Sometime back the mirrors were something like this (notice they are slightly bigger and different shape and not body colored):

jasonbourne · 23rd January 2010, 19:06

Quote:

Originally Posted by DCEite

Hey! Nice pics and congrats on your pruchase. Even after so many years, wagonR continues to be one of the best practical hatchbacks in the country, no wonder it sells so much!):

Thank you. Yes, it is indeed a very practical hatchback to own in a city like chennai. IMO it was the first car in India in recent times to emphasize that praticality triumps over exteriors sometimes!

Quote:

Originally Posted by DCEite

A question. Has Maruti starting offering different rear view mirrors lately in the VXi model ? Sometime back the mirrors were something like this (notice they are slightly bigger and different shape and not body colored):

I am not very sure about the Body coloured ORVMs. I guess it should be from 2007 Vxi models. However as you pointed out, the ORVMs are bit smaller in size. I prefer the latest one since it is very proprtionate to its exteriors.

Fordmanchau · 24th January 2010, 09:30

Hey Jason, just read your Operation Wagi details.
Wonderful read. Photos are good. No dobt about Wagon R being the best practical hatch. Hope you have been enjoying the car.
Do put up some more details.

kannan666 · 24th January 2010, 09:41

Lovely pics and nice write up Jason, waiting to read how she has done the first 11.2K of her life !

jasonbourne · 24th January 2010, 12:59

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fordmanchau

Hey Jason, just read your Operation Wagi details.
Wonderful read. Photos are good. No dobt about Wagon R being the best practical hatch. Hope you have been enjoying the car.
Do put up some more details.

Thank you for those kind words Fordmanchau! Will debrief operation comfort in the forthcoming posts!

Quote:

Originally Posted by kannan666

Lovely pics and nice write up Jason, waiting to read how she has done the first 11.2K of her life !

Thank you Kannan! The best is yet to come. Will post it as soon as possible!

WanderNomad · 24th January 2010, 13:29

Congrats dude. I hope your WagonR serves you well for years to come. I have driven one for quite sometime and still have it in the family (driven by my sis now) and its an amazing car.

jasonbourne · 24th January 2010, 21:56

Quote:

Originally Posted by WanderNomad

Congrats dude. I hope your WagonR serves you well for years to come. I have driven one for quite sometime and still have it in the family (driven by my sis now) and its an amazing car.

It is indeed an amazing practical Car. How old is you WagonR? How was your experience with it? Can you share some of it?

13th January 2010, 02:05	#1
jasonbourne BHPian Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Chennai Posts: 169 Thanked: 179 Times	Operation Comfort – Agent Wagi (My WagonR) – 11200 Kms Done The Wagi Chronicle: Part – I I was pursuing to own a car for the past two years since my final months of stay in Bangalore (around May 2007). I was looking for a second hand car since I am not a tenured car driver. I would rather say that I was afraid to own a new car fearing the scratches and dents it can suffer in the hands of an inexperienced driver (Thats me!!). The cars that I short listed were, Maruthi Versa Maruthi WagonR Hyundai Santro The Altos, 800s and the Indicas were out of the question since I am “Bulky”!! While searching on the Internet stumbled on the path set by Lord Google to Auto Nirvana (i.e. Our Own Team BHP). Since then I have been an avid reader of this site. Through the various informative threads in this forum and also through some of my personal external sources the final choice was shortlisted as follows Maruthi Versa – An all round family car with a cool rear AC in DX2 model. But since the Resale value was a big question along with the pathetic mileage, it was dropped Maruthi WagonR – Awesome Road view, easier ingress and egress for me as well for the elderly. Acceptable Mileage. The rear 60:40 split Hyundai Santro – A nice all round car with decent height for my frame and a good mileage backed up by an impressive A**. Due to unavailability of a second hand Santro for my price bracket we focused on a 3 year old WagonR MAV for a price of 1.8 L at Kapico, Nandanam after a TD. Unfortunately all my hard work was turned to dust the moment dad withdrew his approval. The roaring fire to own a car was contained and confined in some corner of my heart waiting to burst out like White Phosphorous that comes in contact with light and heat. To be Cont..
	() Thanks

13th January 2010, 18:05	#2
Dippy Senior - BHPian Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Mumbai, India Posts: 7,558 Thanked: 2,462 Times	Agent Wagi is a unique name. Since you are posting in parts, I'm sure this is going to be one hell of a read. Looking forward to read the next episodes of 'The Wagi Chronicles'.
	() Thanks

13th January 2010, 23:19	#4
jasonbourne BHPian Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Chennai Posts: 169 Thanked: 179 Times	The Wagi Chronicle: Part – II The Fire that was confined in a solitary corner of my heart in Part I started to manifest itself the moment my sister was engaged around March 2008. We required a comfortable mode of transport to do all the travels related to a Marriage Shopping. Thats when the fire started to take shape. The well planned and well laid out operation was explained through various verbal and non verbal struggles with Dad. Finally I accomplished the impossible, making Dad to approve the mission. However this time I was more inclined towards a new Agent (car) rather than a seasoned SPY (used Car) after hearing a lot of “mission failures” from the “Field” and the “getting used factor” advantage of a new car than a used car. Mission Briefing: I started to look out for the Perfect SPY for my operation. The possible candidates were (in the order of initial preference), Tata Indica Vista Maruthi WagonR Maruthi Swift Chevrolet Spark Did a TD in all of them except WagonR (reason later). Venue : Manipal Motors, Vadapalani. Almost the very instant started liking the Vista for its fabulous amount of space offered by it. The car they had for TD was a Vista Aqua QD. The sales people were totally immature and non-professional. They had no clue of proper customer service. It was a very big let down setting my perception on their A. Also the car was pretty new in the market then. Hence hesitated to take that bold decision of going for it. Even after these let downs, the CAR was very much in TOP priority. Swift (Petrol) and Spark were satisfactory since they were unable to cope up with the sheer magnificence of Vista and hence they were instantaneously rejected. Half heartedly went to the CARS India showroom (henceforth called as Base Station ) in Valasaravakkam to check out the WagonR. Till now I do not regret my decision and I have been made to feel like one of their esteemed customers. Since I have already driven a WagonR as mentioned in the Part I of the chronicle I was not expecting to be swept off by the facelift model. The journey started with two polite people, the Team Leader at that showroom and his team member. They showed me through the WagonR Lxi that was on the display and took a TD in a demo car that was a similar model. The moment I got into it, it felt like I was waiting for it or it was waiting for me. I know that WagonR has issues with Gear Shift Mechanism... I know that WagonR has Rattling issues... I know that WagonR has issue with Body Roll at high speeds... I know that WagonR's interior are inferior to a Indica Vista's with an inferior plastic quality... But everything went out of the window. Till date I do not know why fell in love at first sight. I am am still pondering over the reasons, Was it due to ease with which I ingress and egress? Was it due to the awesome Road View? Was it due to the amazing City Maneuverability? Was it due to the Abundant Space inside the car (though less than an Indica Vista)? Was it due to comfortable seating for my frame on the driver's seat? But the decision was already taken in my heart. This is It!! The Perfect SPY for my Operation within the mission's financial and operational requirements. Codename : WAGI The next day took all the stakeholders of Operation Comfort (Mom, Dad and Sis) to the “Base Station”. They took a hard look at the exteriors since it was not eye cathcy for them. But even they forgot what was outside the moment they sat inside the car. The front as well as the backseats. They also liked the vehicle very much. Hence the choice was unanimous. Note from the Team-BHP Support Team : Please use the "edit" button if posting within 20 minutes of the first post, instead of creating another back-to-back post.** Last edited by Dippy : 14th January 2010 at 10:06. Reason: See the note at the end of your post
	() Thanks

23rd January 2010, 11:53	#5
jasonbourne BHPian Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Chennai Posts: 169 Thanked: 179 Times	Budget Allocation After a Long Gap I am continuing my status report. Budget Allocation: Once the choice was made I started to negotiate the deal with the Sales People. After much negotiations this is what it turned out to be Model : Maruthi WagonR Vxi (with Immobiliser) Colour : Royal Gold Total Cost of the car : Rs. 3.94 L (after discounts but inclusive of Registration and accessories) Discounts : Rs.20000 (dealer) + Rs. 2500 (Corporate) + Second quality Leather Seat Covers (Worth Rs.4500) + Extended Warranty till 3rd Year Insurance : Rs. 10499 Registration : Rs. 200 Road Tax : Rs. 28264 (Life Time) Accessories : Rs. 20000 (bundled offer with the following) Pioneer HU with remote (DEH – 2190UB), 2 Philips 4” Speakers for the Dash, 2 Sony Xbox (XS-GTF69352) 6” x 9” speakers for the rear, Sun Film, Maruthi Central Lock Once the price was decided I took a loan from my father's Bank at a competitive ROI for 5 Years and made an upfront payment of Rs.60,000. After going through the articles on Team BHP for Delivery checklist, decided to take delivery on the morning of May 25th 2009. Last edited by jasonbourne : 23rd January 2010 at 11:57.
	() Thanks

23rd January 2010, 12:22	#6
jasonbourne BHPian Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Chennai Posts: 169 Thanked: 179 Times	Selection Now we needed to select my Car. So I went to the dealers Stockyard to choose my Wagi. I was very specific about the Stock tyres. I formed them that I needed only Bridgestone Tyres. To my Luck and Wagi’s destiny there was one in the Stockyard to suit my requirements. Had a look at the other colours as well but zeroed in on the Royal Gold again. Check out the Pictures from their Yard. Attached Thumbnails
	() Thanks

23rd January 2010, 17:00	#7
jasonbourne BHPian Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Chennai Posts: 169 Thanked: 179 Times	Delivery Pre Delivery Check: Wagi came to Base Station 4 Days Prior to the Delivery Date. Hence we went there to have a look. Out of curiosity I was supervising the Accessories being installed into my Wagi (Physical Training for the New Agent). The photos are below. Since I did not carry a camera during the installation I could not get those pics. May 28th 2009 – The Day Operation Comfort went live (Wagi became mine) The Delivery Time as agreed earlier was decided as 10:00 AM. Along with all the stake holders and onlookers I went to the Base Station to take the delivery on the agreed time. I was pretty excited and elated since I was buying my First Car which was New and not a Second Hand. However I kept a Cool Head in front of all the others. BANG!! The Indianism struck me! There were undue delays due to the sales person going down sick the day before my delivery. All the stake Holders were pretty agitated due to the delays. But at this juncture I endured to follow the protocol of “Being in Control” as formulated in the Auto Nirvana Dossier (Tem BHP delivery check list). *That really did help me a lot in spreading some smiles around which started to show on the reception I get every time I walk into the showroom. Hats Off to Team BHP.* So after the Delivery Formalities at the Base Station, I took the vehicle to the temple where the Pandith did some wonderfuls Mods on my Brand New Wagi. With the below photos I can say that my Wagi can very Well compete in the “Carzy Mods” thread! Attached Thumbnails Last edited by jasonbourne : 23rd January 2010 at 17:02.
	() Thanks

23rd January 2010, 17:02	#8
jasonbourne BHPian Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Chennai Posts: 169 Thanked: 179 Times	Some More Photos... This ends the part till delivery. Attached Thumbnails Last edited by jasonbourne : 23rd January 2010 at 17:06.
	() Thanks

23rd January 2010, 18:05	#9
DCEite Senior - BHPian Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: NCR Posts: 3,415 Thanked: 2,540 Times	Hey! Nice pics and congrats on your pruchase. Even after so many years, wagonR continues to be one of the best practical hatchbacks in the country, no wonder it sells so much! A question. Has Maruti starting offering different rear view mirrors lately in the VXi model ? Sometime back the mirrors were something like this (notice they are slightly bigger and different shape and not body colored): Attached Thumbnails Last edited by DCEite : 23rd January 2010 at 18:06.
	() Thanks

24th January 2010, 09:30	#11
Fordmanchau Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Hyderabad Posts: 1,666 Thanked: 340 Times	Hey Jason, just read your Operation Wagi details. Wonderful read. Photos are good. No dobt about Wagon R being the best practical hatch. Hope you have been enjoying the car. Do put up some more details.
	() Thanks

24th January 2010, 09:41	#12
kannan666 Senior - BHPian Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: KA-02 Posts: 1,002 Thanked: 128 Times View My Garage	Lovely pics and nice write up Jason, waiting to read how she has done the first 11.2K of her life !
	() Thanks

24th January 2010, 13:29	#14
WanderNomad BHPian Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Delhi Posts: 271 Thanked: 11 Times	Congrats dude. I hope your WagonR serves you well for years to come. I have driven one for quite sometime and still have it in the family (driven by my sis now) and its an amazing car.
	() Thanks