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Old 20th November 2010, 14:45   #1
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A new beginning - Tata Safari 2.2 VTT DICOR EX QUARTZ BLACK

I will try to keep it simple.

Me and family (wife, toddler son) were using a Maruti Zen 2005 model from Feb 2005; It has done 95000 kms as of date; Very good fella and took care of us all these years without any problems and been as trusty as a car can be; but she was aging, a few rattles here and there but still going strong without any major repairs.

Inbetween, we were temporarily in US for 2 years while a friend was using the Zen; I was driving a used Land Rover Discovery '95 model in US, and the SUV thing got into me. Then I decided to get a Scorpio after I return to India. I never even considered Safari at that time, as I had heard from many people that Safari will be issue prone, underpowered, too bulky and expensive to maintain and own.
But, from the time I was a boy, I remember the only vehicles that impressed me were Tata Sierra, Estate and then the Safari. But due to the many negative stories heard, Safari was completely out of my mind, and Scorpio was the only option I was considering, though it didn't appeal to me much, but considered it because it was said to be easy maintenance, rugged and go anywhere.

It was while in US and browsing over various websites and forums that I bumped into the site called TEAM BHP. I got hooked. What a wonderful site with loads of useful info. Signed up, and started reading all the threads on Scorpio; And then slowly started reading Safari threads too - then I realised that Safari also now comes with 2.2ltr engine and quite powerful and not underpowered as I always heard;

Then I started reading all about Safari, Safari, Safari. Got hooked; After all, it is not that bad as I believed, and here are so many happy people with beautiful Safaris enjoying their drives; And somewhere then, the decision was made : It has to be a Safari and nothing else.

Got back to India in May 2010 for good; settled in Hosur clsoe to Bangalore, and do a 45km each way home to office and back each day in my zen; After getting settled down and after overcoming all thought processes, finally booked the Safari LX Mountain Green on Sept 18th.

Wait started, and it was a long process that ended on Nov 10th when a Quartz Black Safari EX was unloaded from a truck from Pune for me. The change is because while I was waiting for Mountain Green to arrive, I stretched my budget and changed booking to EX, and since Mountain Green wasn't available, opted for Black.

So the Quartz Black BS IV Safari EX arrived at dealer on Nov 10th; The loan process took a while due to the changes in booking and actual vehicle, and loan disbursed yesterday 19th;

Took delivery this morning finally. Wife and son are at inlaws' place at Kanyakumari (we're expecting second baby anytime now), so a close friend came for the delivery.

Will post initial ownership and driving experience subsequently.
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Old 20th November 2010, 22:34   #2
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Congrats Suresh, (second Suresh here to own a Safari), hope you had a problem free delivery and here's wishing you many happy miles on your new car. Needless to say, hope you will be posting pics too.
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Old 21st November 2010, 09:56   #3
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Thanks Lukesskyewalker.

Yes, problem free delivery happened yesterday.

Driving the Safari, I feel like I'm on an elephant..
Love the high position, ride comfort, space and everything a Safari is.

I think the gear ratios will take time to getting used to.. When going over speed breakers, have to come down to second or first gear, and then the car takes a bit of time to move up the rpm and pick up; the sluggishness at low rpm (<1k) needs to get used to I think, after moving from petrol zen that zooms at the slightest touch of pedal.

Bad roads - no problem now. The Safari just glides over broken roads with a nice rubber thud.

Night driving - now more respect from high beamed trucks, LCVs etc - earlier in Zen I used to flash asking oncoming cars to dip but mostly no one responds but continue with high beam and just blinding me; now in Safari the moment I switch to high beam, oncoming vehicles dip. Night driving would now be easier. The high position is just too good.

Currently trying to keep her within the 2k rpm mark; but sometimes it just slips to 2500rpm before I notice. And I love the way it pulls after 1.5K rpm.

Filled regular Bharat Petroleum diesel yesterday, will be good to see what I get FE wise.

Will keep this thread updated. And yes, pictures soon. My card reader isn't working so please bear with me.
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Old 21st November 2010, 11:58   #4
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Thats a short write up indeed. Congratulations on acquiring the beast. Do elaborate more on your buying experience, Price and do post some interior pictures soon.
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Old 21st November 2010, 13:49   #5
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Congrats Suresh on the buy!

So, what was the discounts and the freebies that you were able to get hold of?

Reckon you got the registration done at Hosur.

Hope the photos are on the way.

(Suresh)

Quote:
Originally Posted by Lukeskywalker View Post
Congrats Suresh, (second Suresh here to own a Safari)...
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Old 21st November 2010, 16:37   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by narchennai View Post
Thats a short write up indeed. Congratulations on acquiring the beast. Do elaborate more on your buying experience, Price and do post some interior pictures soon.
Thanks narchennai. The buying experience was long and spanned two months. First the dealer took a long time to procure the car, from Sept 18th when I booked, and finally it arrived on Nov 10th.
Second, the loan process took a further 10 days to complete; Mainly the problem was they had to redo the loan though it had already been sanctioned before vehicle arrived, because I had booked initially LX and loan was sanctioned for that only, but later I changed to EX but didn't update bank; finally when car had arrived at dealership and when loan process was started again (it was lying dormant since delay from dealer in getting the car), it had to be redone.

I have a separate thread on this experience with the dealer at the India Car Dealerships forum. Do check.


Quote:
Originally Posted by HappyWheels View Post
Congrats Suresh on the buy!

So, what was the discounts and the freebies that you were able to get hold of?

Reckon you got the registration done at Hosur.

Hope the photos are on the way.

(Suresh)



Thanks Suresh. Yes car is registered in Hosur since I reside here. Saved significantly (60K) on registration compared to Bangalore.
Dealer gave 5K corporate discount, 5K worth of accesssories (I opted for antirust coating for that value). Dealer offered sun film coating free, but I didn't want sun film; looks good without that, opted for some rubber floormats instead.
Total on road price was 10.09L before above deductions.
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Old 21st November 2010, 18:07   #7
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You have got the best of both worlds - working in Bangalore and living in Hosur!

Good that you got anti-rusting done. Keep the warranty card in good care and get the re-coating done every 6 months (schedule will be on the card).

For the sun film, but I am sure the summer will have you have the exact opposite opinion.

Happy motoring!
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Old 21st November 2010, 19:47   #8
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congrats on the car. wish you a niggle free and happy ownership.
you can get a very light tinted sun film. It wont affect the looks much, but it will definately help in summers.
needless to mention, please post pics of ur vehicle.
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Old 21st November 2010, 21:17   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by verditer View Post
were using a Maruti Zen 2005 model from Feb 2005; It has done 95000 kms as of date; Very good fella and took care of us all these years without any problems and been as trusty as a car can be; but she was aging, a few rattles here and there but still going strong without any major repairs.

...

finally booked the Safari LX Mountain Green on Sept 18th.

...

Took delivery this morning finally. Wife and son are at inlaws' place at Kanyakumari (we're expecting second baby anytime now), so a close friend came for the delivery.
Hearty congratulations, Suresh! For both the new Safari and your second child. 2010 will be a special year for you, then .

There are a lot of similarities in our stories. Wife and I really loved our ~90k kms old M800 which we had to let go earlier this year as it started developing some minor problems.

Wife wanted the Safari badly but I had my way and we bought the Civic. However, the Safari was the second choice and sometimes, because of the area we live in and the roads we have to drive on, the Safari sometimes just makes more practical sense.

I admire the way you're juggling your time between both the deliveries, though . I'm not sure I could've handled something like that.

Now, if you could just post the pictures of the new baby (the 4-wheeled one, I meant...

Regards,
spadix
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Old 21st November 2010, 22:24   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by verditer View Post
I will try to keep it simple.



It was while in US and browsing over various websites and forums that I bumped into the site called TEAM BHP. I got hooked. What a wonderful site with loads of useful info. Signed up, and started reading all the threads on Scorpio; And then slowly started reading Safari threads too - then I realised that Safari also now comes with 2.2ltr engine and quite powerful and not underpowered as I always heard;

Then I started reading all about Safari, Safari, Safari. Got hooked; After all, it is not that bad as I believed, and here are so many happy people with beautiful Safaris enjoying their drives; And somewhere then, the decision was made : It has to be a Safari and nothing else.

Got back to India in May 2010 for good; settled in Hosur clsoe to Bangalore, and do a 45km each way home to office and back each day in my zen; After getting settled down and after overcoming all thought processes, finally booked the Safari LX Mountain Green on Sept 18th.

Wait started, and it was a long process that ended on Nov 10th when a Quartz Black Safari EX was unloaded from a truck from Pune for me. The change is because while I was waiting for Mountain Green to arrive, I stretched my budget and changed booking to EX, and since Mountain Green wasn't available, opted for Black.

So the Quartz Black BS IV Safari EX arrived at dealer on Nov 10th; The loan process took a while due to the changes in booking and actual vehicle, and loan disbursed yesterday 19th;

Took delivery this morning finally. Wife and son are at inlaws' place at Kanyakumari (we're expecting second baby anytime now), so a close friend came for the delivery.

Will post initial ownership and driving experience subsequently.
Congratulations on the New Buy

Good to know ,we Safari owners were influential in your purchase

Please do post some pics of your ride, and HAVE FUN.
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Old 22nd November 2010, 01:14   #11
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Congrats Suresh ! I see one more passionate Safari owner grooming !

And as all say, the story is not complete without the pics ! So we are waiting...

Wish you miles of happy, safe and niggle-free motoring !
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Old 22nd November 2010, 09:19   #12
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Thanks Himavanth, Spadix, Pavan Kadam, Swiftnfurious for your good wishes..
Yes, the safari is my new baby, and I'm loving her. The way she takes the bad roads, gutters and minor humps is beautiful and graceful.
I have a original Hero Honda CBZ first edition, and I felt the bike was graceful with sleek looks and the way it rides. Now I feel the same with the Safari - just mighty graceful on the road.

My card reader is having some issue, will sort it out and pictures coming soon.

I like this spirit in Team BHP. So many well wishers that I dont see, but feel. Thanks everyone, and long live this community.

Suresh.
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Old 22nd November 2010, 09:34   #13
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Hey Suresh, Nice to see you cruising around feeling like an Grandeur. Congratulations and enjoy the ride.

My story is also almost similar to yours, only difference being my baby came 3 months before the Beast.

BTW, I also had a CBZ Extreme which I had to recently sell to accomodate the Beast.
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Old 22nd November 2010, 09:44   #14
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Congrats verditer! for your Safari EX. It took little longer for you than expected. But All is well when ends well. I feel your wait for 2 months are worth the wait as in this period you made up your mind to upgrade to EX.

I am daily enjoying my Safari and believe me there is nothing to update than only good things. After initial issue (all resolved) I did not get any one. I am near 2400 KMs mark in my Safari and tomorrow I will complete my 2 months.

Enjoy your Safari and It is worth of investment considering the road filled with speed breakers from Whitefield to Hosur (If you take Sarjapura road daily).
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Old 22nd November 2010, 11:09   #15
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Thanks Shantanu and Anuj. Yes, it was a long wait, every day I was tense and losing patience, couple of times lost my cool at the dealer, but finally it happened.

I dont want to list the few minor things that Safari scores negatives like the positioning of the music system, fit and finish etc, just things you get used to. I am absolutely fine with these.

Couple of questions to Safari owners now:
1. When accelerating, sometimes the vehicle jerks slightly in blips as though its losing power momentarily (like a motorbike with choked carburettor will), but these are in fraction of second duration and immediately the car regains its momentum and moves ahead.. This continues to happen intermittently, mostly in 2nd and 3rd gear and especially so when I'm very light footed on the pedal.
Checked with the dealer's helpline and they told me to push the pedal to max once or twice to clean up the exhaust system. I tried that and the rpm went up to 3K and I didn't want to push it further. And it hasn't helped...
My guess is it would go away after first service, but wanted to know if there is anything I can do to help it.
I filled regular Bharat petroleum diesel after taking delivery.


2. There is a krrkitchkrrr noise on the front right side of bonnet when driving, that comes up occasionally when upshifting - the moment when you press clutch to upshift. Whats that? I think I read in other Safari threads about this krr noise and wondering if this is same.

3. Bangaloreans - anyone can please suggest a good place to go order for good number plates in the whitefield/marthahalli area? I'm not keen on the high security number plates from Utsav online and would prefer a local buy. And would like to avoid a trip to JC road if I could.

4. The seats and interiors are light cream colored, and can get dirty easily if not careful - how you guys deal with that? I'm not keen on seat covers since the factory seats look so good and blend with interior colors, but if I can find a similar good looking seat cover I will go for it.

5. Should I do teflon coating? Will it help in long term paint protection? I want to make sure I dont inflict tiny scratches etc while cleaning, especially will show up in black. You would have seen some black cars that are not cleaned properly will show round tiny marks in an angle meaning when the car was washed and wiped these scratches were instilled by the dust and dirt particles... advise?

6. I dont have a credit card so having tough time ordering T BHP stickers online; if any kind soul in Bangalore(preferably Whitefield area?) is ordering the stickers for themselves, kindly order one set for me too and I'll pick up in person.

Last edited by verditer : 22nd November 2010 at 11:11.
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