[jkrishnakj]

I used to own a Safari for close to 18 months. It was a mountain Green colour, EX 4X2, VTT 2.2. This trusted partner had spent several thousand miles with me and my family on the highways, on butter smooth roads, on roads that didnt exist and on those stretches where we really feel sorry for taking the car. A few niggles here and there, but barring that, i absolutely had a lovable time with this car.

I had to give away the Safari in November 2009,when i had to quit and join a different organisation. The interim period saw me go back to my very reliable M800.

Fast Forward - Nov 2010.

I had decided to buy a new car sometime after Sept 2010. Each time we used to plan a long drive, our fond memories of our EX used to come back and this only re-iterated my thought process of taking a safari again.

There were a whole host of new launches hapenning all around - the Aria, the Vento, the Yeti etc.. I must say that i did wait for the Aria launch, but realised that its beyond what i can afford.

Innova, Scorpio, other Sedans - NO !. Didnt even try checking them out in the show rooms. Didnt bother to TD them. Wasnt interested one bit.

"Love is Blind" - or so goes the saying !. Buy a Safai with the Heart - People say !.

Each time i see the ownership reviews of fellow BHP'ians, i used to count days. I have perhaps read through every single post related to the safai during the days that i was yearning for one.

I spent the month of October researching the mode of buying. Should i go for the Company facilitated Lease Plan or Should i take a bank loan ? Weighing all options thoroughly, i decided that it would be through the lease plan.

I finally did the documentation procedures for the lease plan sometime in first week of November 2010. I had negotiated with Prerana Motors, Bangalore. The documents were processed by my organisation and i was awaiting details of the purchase order release on Prerana by the lease company.

There were some hiccups in this. I was chasing the leasing co for the PO release and i was also chasing the dealer to track the order.

Around the 21st of December is when i realised that something wasnt going right. That's when the leasing company called me and asked if i was flexible to change to Concorde Motors ( Mysore Road ) and if i was willing to do so, not only do i get an offer better than what i had from Prerana, but i can also take delivery of the car on the 24th of December.

I didnt bat an eyelid and gave my consent over phone and e-mail to the leasing company. Concorde was very prompt to call me within 5 minutes of me giving the consent.

Whilst all this was going on, i was wondering if i should rush this or wait till the new year and register the car in the new year. That's when i read through the detailed thread on this subject and yet again, T-BHP made me decide to not wait for the new year, but to "go for it" even if it means its the last working week of 2010.

22nd December - Car is still in Transit
23rd December -Car is on the outskirts of Bangalore
24th December - Car arrived at the showroom. Did a two hour PDI. Registration was possible only on the 27th and delivery was planned for the 27th evening.

The wait over the christmas weekend was one of the most painful. Having seen the car and having sat inside and checked out the new one for close to 2 hours, the thought that i have to wait for 3 days was very daunting.

So, on the 27th of December, around 5.30 PM, i took delivery of my shining new Black GX car.

WOW ! what a feeling it was when i inserted the Key and started the car. I could see that my wife was having a broad smile for more than an hour. My son was very very excited.

I closed my eyes just a wee bit and balked in for that feeling to sink in. I slotted into the first gear, and began moving the car slowly - that's when i said to myself " what a long wait it was ! ".



I filled the fuel tank full. One quick glance at my wife and she nodded - we shall take the NICE road to reach home ( just off the Kanakapura Road )and not take the packed inner ring road.

We went straight to a Ganesha temple that we frequent, did the Puja there. When we reached home, it was 9.30. Quietly entered and slotted this into my parking place. Let me tell you all - i somehow couldnt stop grinning since the time i started the car, untill i reached home.

More to follow - the story of how the car reached back the service centre within 5 days, and how i need to be without the car for the next 4 days.

[narayanang76]

JK: Let me be the first one to congratulate you - on your new loved possession.

We all can understand and imagine the wait and the feelings over wait getting over

now whats the story following? hope everything all fine

[sheelz]

Hi JK

First of all, SAME PINCH!!!

I got the same colour GX shade on 6th of dec. I have written an ownership report in the same forum.
I am sure you must be getting used to the stares and respect on the road. Enjoy it buddy. Its the best shade in Safari.

All the best mate and happy driving.

PS: The only bad part of this shade is its affinity for dust.

[HappyRoadie]

Congratulation jkrishnakj. It is a very good choice indeed. Wish you many safe and happy miles. Do post some exterior as well as interior pictures. By seeing the picture I think it is BS IV Safari. Correct me if I am wrong.

[jkrishnakj]

Thanks for your wishes Narayan. Things arent as fine as one would expect in a new car.

The Niggles :
Havent we all heard / read and experienced the few small niggles that comes as a package with the Safari. I had experienced them as well, with my EX. Yes - twice over. First time around, the horn ceased to work and they replaced a fuse. Second time, the roof A/C decided to take some rest. Both were fixed for good measure in good time.

Why am i talking about my EX niggles here - well, the experience made me wiser and made me take the GOLD AMC and the Extended warranty with my new car.

30th December 2010:


I am a morning guy. With the thought of possessing the dream car lingering on the previous night, the urge to get back to the car the next morning was very high. This ensured that i leave for office quite early. I decide that the A/C isnt required and switch off the A/C by pressing the AC switch.

I was scheduled to go go back to Concorde in the afternoon to get the number plate fixed. I leave office at 3.00 noon. The weather didnt disappoint and behaved as funny as ever, typical to Bangalore. Just when you think that the sun wont come out, it came out and how - blazing through out the day. I start from my office and realise that having the A/C on wont do any harm. I press the switch and it doesnt stay in position. I try again, this time a wee bit harder and it still doesnt stay in place. I the tell myself that i will get this fixed when i reach the showroom.

I reach Concorde and after the initial meet and greet, i tell them about this problem. The Sales person promptly tells me that it will be fixed and off went my car to the service centre. It came back with the number plate duly fitted. When i checked for the A/C switch, i am told that they need to replace some unit and since they dont have that in stock, they will do it during the first service. However, they have managed to keep the A/C switch depressed and asked me to use the A/C Blower control Knob instead. Though disappointed, i was OK with the work around solution.

31st Dec 2010:

I am a guy who prefer to wake up early over the new year and visit a temple to seek the blessings of the almighty, as opposed to waking up drunk. A quick discussion with my wife and we decide to visit the "Himavadh Gopalaswamy Beta" temple on the 1st morning. Its about 250 KM's from Bangalore and i was excited to take the beast on the first long drive. I tell myself that i need to drive sedate, not to cross the 2000 RPM and 100 KM/Hour since the car is in the run-in period

1st Jan 2011:

We leave home at 6.30 AM, have the customary pit stop at Kamat's on Mysore road for break fast. I am driving pretty sedate. It feels nice to cruise at 90-100 KM/HR speed. We cover distance in good time and we reach the CCD at gundulpet for a quick coffee stop.



The coffee gulped down, we proceed towards the temple. The drive was awesome so far. The roads were good, but for the Mysore-Nanjangud stretch. We cross gundulpet town and proceed towards the place where you take the right turn to the temple. The landscape changes and so does the road. We suddenly are driving on roads full of small potholes and cuts on the tarmac. This is when i realise how useful this vehicle is. The Safari can make its own roads and we never feel any bump or what so ever inside the car.




There was plenty of crowd heading to the temple. We pay the Rs. 50 at the check post and start our ascend. Reach the temple at the top, have a good 45 minutes wait in the queue and get a fansastic darshan of lord Krishna.

We spend another half hour on the top exploring the places and capturing in our camera. We then decide to leave from there, and stop at Mysore for lunch.

Again, sedate driving through the smooth roads upto Nanjangud and we then enter the bad stretch towards Mysore. There wasnt much traffic. The car is keeping me happy. I am about 5-6 KM's shy of Mysore.

I am at the 4th gear, 80 KM/Hour. I see bus number 401, the Red Volvo from KSRTC in front, i switch to 5th gear, smoothly overtake the bus. I then see a very rough patch on the road and shift down to the third gear.

All is well so far. I cross the bad patch and i want to shift to gear 4. I keep my left hand on the gear knob, press the clutch fully and try to move the gear knob to the 4th and what a shock !! There is complete play with the knobs, its as though i can pull it out. It doesnt engage with what ever its supposed to engage with and it was no better than any other stick that my son can play with.

[Red Liner]

Oh my god man! So many problems so early!

I dont wanna rain on your party but, the Safari is still such a looker (trust me, I always do a double take when I see one), but its issues like these that put most people off the damn car.

[jkrishnakj]

Thanks HappyRoadie.
@Red_Liner - Agree with you. It certainly is a looker. I only hope that this issue will pass and i will have a smooth ride for the years to come.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I am not sure what hapenned. I now panic. I am not sure what i should do. The car is running, just that i cant change gears. I think the look on my face made my wife panic as well. I ask her to work the phones, pull out the service book and call the toll free number. She connects promptly, but they were asking one question too many. Not in the mood to do that, my wife says a polite thanks to the agent at the call centre and scouts for any Tata Service centre near Mysore.

The first one in the list was Suson Auto service centre. As luck would have it, we were passing by very close to this place that was about 4-5 KM's from where this incident happens.

We are able to talk to the service manager there. He tells me to drive slowly. I can now smell something in the cabin - i know its the smell from the cluth plate. The service manager patiently guides us through the directions and roads. I reach this place in 15 minutes and the moment i reach there, they were waiting for me. The first thing i hear from them even before i get down the car is " sir - clutch plate is gone ".

I narrate to them what hapenned. They take the car inside and after a quick examination, i am told that a very small circular clip has snapped or what ever and that's the reason why the gear wasnt getting engaged. They ask me to leave the car there untill the 7th, since they dont have the part.

I then call concorde motors. They promise me that they will look into it and they talk to the service manager at Suson. Meanwhile, the mechanic at Suson went into their store and bought a very small component. He tells me that he will try if that would work and if so, i can slowly drive back to Bangalore and give the car to Concorde.

In 15 minutes, he comes back smiling and says that he is done a temporary fix. He does a quick test drive and comes back and assures me that i can drive back to Bangalore.

The instruction " - drive slow, dont engage the clutch too often ".

We leave the place around 3.30. We are hungry, angry, emotional with all this hapenning on the new year day, with our new car. We thank Suson motors team and exit from there. Just when you are told not to engage the clutch too often, you realise there are too many vehicles on the road and all of them going towards Bangalore. Each time i used to press the clutch, my heart skips a beat.

Thankfully, the drive back home was incident free. We manage to reach home safely. I now am scheduled to take my car to Concorde on the 3rd morning for diagnosis / replacement - what ever.

More updates after i meet the service manager at concorde tomorrow.

[n.devdath]

Congrats on your new ride and the roller coaster experience that you have been having so far.
I m sure things will be sorted out and like RedLiner said, it is still a great looker.

The ownership experience though, is a nervous state of mind with the Safari at least till she beds in.

Nevertheless, in case you need any help from Concorde, just send me a PM.

[verditer]

Congratulations and welcome to the club. Wish you years of safe and trouble free miles ahead. Sorry to hear about this initial major issue,, hope it is resolved quickly and put behind, and you and family start enjoying the new year with the Safari.

(Actually, such hiccups get you closer to the Safari quickly.. Just trying to ease the atmosphere... ) :-)

[ambujlal]

Congrats JK! Thats my next dream car. How badly I am waiting get my hands on one of it. But I am afraid of the niggles, anyway I would get one when time comes.

I have a small question. Does GX compulsorily come in dual tone? What if I don't want a exterior dual tone? Is that available?

[camchennai]

Congrats JK on buying a Safari again, I am sure you would not expect this from your loved possession in first week itself(anyone for that matter).

I don't know when TATA will come up with stringent quality check on their vehicle; they can’t do this for a customer who has spent 10L on their vehicle. Sad on your part TATA.

[prince_pervez]

Super. A Safari after a long time. And Damn TATAs have not yet come out with a clean solution for niggles. Welcome to the truckers club. Drive safe.

[ashwin_seattle]

With all due respect to Safari lovers and their emotions, I have to say that Tata motors have one tough skin.
They have kept the interior quality the same pathetic quality as it used to be 10 years back.

I sat in a brand new Safari this Diwali on my trip to India, and was horrified to see the shabby interiors and the EXTREMELY basic vents, switches etc.
Man...how far can Tatas go to fool people..

This vehicle could have been one heck of an SUV, but give it to the niggles or extreme pathetic quality, its one of those white elephants that will always rule us - the Indian janta.

So much for dearth of choices for ur well earned money!!

Again, sorry, but heck, TATAs - are you listening??

[jkrishnakj]

Originally Posted by n.devdath

Congrats on your new ride and the roller coaster experience that you have been having so far.
I m sure things will be sorted out and like RedLiner said, it is still a great looker.

The ownership experience though, is a nervous state of mind with the Safari at least till she beds in.

Nevertheless, in case you need any help from Concorde, just send me a PM.

Thanks devdath. I did visit Concorde yesterday and am confident that they have addressed this issue.

Originally Posted by verditer

Congratulations and welcome to the club. Wish you years of safe and trouble free miles ahead. Sorry to hear about this initial major issue,, hope it is resolved quickly and put behind, and you and family start enjoying the new year with the Safari.

(Actually, such hiccups get you closer to the Safari quickly.. Just trying to ease the atmosphere... ) :-)

Thanks Verditer. I have been following your thread as well. I am hoping this would be the first and last such issue with my car..

Originally Posted by ambujlal

Congrats JK! Thats my next dream car. How badly I am waiting get my hands on one of it. But I am afraid of the niggles, anyway I would get one when time comes.

I have a small question. Does GX compulsorily come in dual tone? What if I don't want a exterior dual tone? Is that available?

Go ahead and take this Ambuj. I would still go for it.
Yes - the GX comes only in dual tone. I guess the only option not to have the dual tone is for you to spend some extra money and get it painted. But honestly, the dual tone does give a sporty look - atleast in my opinion.

Originally Posted by camchennai

Congrats JK on buying a Safari again, I am sure you would not expect this from your loved possession in first week itself(anyone for that matter).

I don't know when TATA will come up with stringent quality check on their vehicle; they can’t do this for a customer who has spent 10L on their vehicle. Sad on your part TATA.

Thanks Camchennai. Agree - not in the first week, not for the first 30-40K KM's.

Originally Posted by prince_pervez

Super. A Safari after a long time. And Damn TATAs have not yet come out with a clean solution for niggles. Welcome to the truckers club. Drive safe.

Thanks Prince.

[jkrishnakj]

I got the vehichle back from Concorde yesterday late evening. Its a bit unfortunate that they couldnt clean the car. Here's a list of parts replaced.

1. Assy 240 Dia CL Disc
2. Assy 240 Dia CL Cover - LUK India
3. Cylindrical Pin UJ
4. Transmission removed and installed. Cluth plate replaced
5. Clutch/Drive plate removed and installed. Pressure Plate Replaced

Since its under warranty, i wasnt charged anything.

I took it for a spin this morning and i dont suspect anything unusual now .
I get a feeling that i am now able to engage the first gear a little more smooth that how it was earlier. Not sure if its just a perception.

I am now hoping that i dont have to visit the service centre for anything other than the regular service that needs to be done.