[deehunk]

Rightly pointed, tsk_1979, people commenting on the rear space in BEAT have either not seen nor experienced it, it is as spacious as its rivals are, but the small window at the back makes it looks so. Your comment on the front seat is correct the console touches both driver and co driver seat if you are a tall guy, this should have been sorted out atleast also the rear visibility is poor for the driver. I have observed there isnt a comment on vehicle performance with AC on or have I missed it while reading ?

[SS-Traveller]

To those of you gentlemen who have had experience with GM Chevrolet products in the recent past, a few quick questions regarding warranty:
How good are GM with the honouring of their 3 year/100,000 km warranty?

• Do they crib about replacing parts promptly?
• Are parts available for warranty-related replacement immediately in major cities, or does one end up waiting a few days till they ship the parts?
• Is this warranty valid bumper-to-bumper, or are there some exclusions after a certain number of km, like the suspension etc.?
• And how often have you had to claim warranty, i.e. how good is their quality control?

This is a car that interests me, and if I do shift all my work-related single-person commute to this, I should cover 100,000 km in 3 years easily. However, I have no experience of owning a GM product, and all inputs would be welcome.

Originally Posted by tsk1979

...at temperatures of 1-2 degree C you will have starting trouble if there are no glow plugs. Have witnessed Verna CRDIs getting into trouble at narkanda after overnight parking(0-2 degree C temp)

Most common rail diesels don't come with glowplugs, and the trick to get them started in cold weather / high altitudes is to crank the engine continuously for upwards of 10-15 seconds. Folks from the plains are used to a 1-second crank before the engine fires, and repeated short cranking doesn't help, but runs down the battery.

[deehunk]

I have been servicing my vehicle at Authorised service station in Bangalore (Kropex), have not experienced any problem with them, some of the things they have done in warranty without any charges are

1. My boot door was not closing fully, rectified in 4th service free of cost
2. Shocks replaced free of cost, had complained during 4th service
3. AC duct, blower cleaned free of cost, lots of small but crucial things have been fixed free of cost.
4. Accessory pricing reduced on request on par with after market price.
5. No labour charges so far, I have spent only Rs. 350 so far for 20k km in 2 years

[roy_libran]

Originally Posted by SS-Traveller

How good are GM with the honouring of their 3 year/100,000 km warranty?

Pretty good, going by my experience in Gurgaon. They do not crib about replacements, and pretty much provide a competent level of service and response. This might vary from service center to service center though. I have never had a reason to complain with any GM product.

[Mpower]

Great review and a very interesting car. Just need confirmation on price and actual FE. If they turn out good then we have a winner.

Flashy looks, great FE and VFM price.

Originally Posted by tsk1979

. However, the front seat positioning for tall drivers is bad. your knee constantly touches the center AC vents. Only if you are the kind of driver who likes to drive with seat fully pushed back, you will be able to be comfortable. So if you have long legs, as compared to arm length, its very uncomfortable

IIRC, there was a similar complaint with the Aveo sedan. Whats wrong with Chevrolet designers?

[Mr.Beat]

Superb Review there GTO. It is kind of odd to digest that while petrol Beat is so good on the highway, they have gone for a city based diesel beat. Shouldn't it have been the other way round?

Although the 24kmpl suggests that it will be a good FE car, the price is what will dictate the demand.

Considering 1500 petrol cars a month. the Diesel beat should manage 3000 a month? That will take Beat to 4500 mark a month.

[Nash24]

Originally Posted by Mr.Beat

Superb Review there GTO. It is kind of odd to digest that while petrol Beat is so good on the highway, they have gone for a city based diesel beat. Shouldn't it have been the other way round?

Although the 24kmpl suggests that it will be a good FE car, the price is what will dictate the demand.

Considering 1500 petrol cars a month. the Diesel beat should manage 3000 a month? That will take Beat to 4500 mark a month.

I think 5000 diesel cars in a month is realistic for the first 6 months.

However i'm worried about the FE part, how much does the petrol beat give in city? if ARAI says 18.1, and if it gives about 13 or 14 not good at all.

One of my relative owns a UVA, he gets about 11 in this car

This is another aspect i'm scared about the chevy, ARAI and their actuals have a vast difference, in maruti thats not the case i feel. ARAI says 21 for ritz, most of the owners i know get 18-19 easily.Few get 20 consistently.

[zulfi hansi]

Originally Posted by Mpower

IIRC, there was a similar complaint with the Aveo sedan. Whats wrong with Chevrolet designers?

All these cars except the Tavera (which is originally a ISUZU), are basically Daewoo from their Korean subsidiary, the design & philosophy of Chevrolet is very much absent. It is expected to be so when its a Korean car. (short legs are normal there?)

PS: No offence or pun intended against anyone here.

[SPARKled]

Originally Posted by SS-Traveller

To those of you gentlemen who have had experience with GM Chevrolet products in the recent past, a few quick questions regarding warranty:
How good are GM with the honouring of their 3 year/100,000 km warranty?

• Do they crib about replacing parts promptly?
• Are parts available for warranty-related replacement immediately in major cities, or does one end up waiting a few days till they ship the parts?
• Is this warranty valid bumper-to-bumper, or are there some exclusions after a certain number of km, like the suspension etc.?
• And how often have you had to claim warranty, i.e. how good is their quality control?

This is a car that interests me, and if I do shift all my work-related single-person commute to this, I should cover 100,000 km in 3 years easily. However, I have no experience of owning a GM product, and all inputs would be welcome.

I guess its better to go for a long or extended warranty support when one ownes a GM car. I have had the following changed in my Spark in my last 2 years of ownership.

1) AC speed resistor
2) The left strut and cap
3) The brake caliper pins

Lots of fellow T-BHP owners too have need some or the other part replaced under warranty. I am not too sure how many Beat's have had problems as I have not heard of many atleast here on the forum.

Besides change of parts, the bunch of service guys i have dealt with could not diagnose a left pull problem for over 1.5 years and only after telling them waht to do they were able to eliminate the problem. But i guess thata a problem with most other dealerships across brands.

But to answer your question, yes they will replace the defective part if you bring it to your notice or else they will just use delaying tactics or try some trick to atleast mask it till you go back home only to rediscover it a few days later.

But then I have only spent Rs 70 in my 2 years of owning a Spark

[Mr.Beat]

Originally Posted by Nash24

I think 5000 diesel cars in a month is realistic for the first 6 months.

However i'm worried about the FE part, how much does the petrol beat give in city? if ARAI says 18.1, and if it gives about 13 or 14 not good at all.

One of my relative owns a UVA, he gets about 11 in this car

This is another aspect i'm scared about the chevy, ARAI and their actuals have a vast difference, in maruti thats not the case i feel. ARAI says 21 for ritz, most of the owners i know get 18-19 easily.Few get 20 consistently.

5000 would be a very optimistic number considering Maruti has rightly created buzz with the new swift.

Considering FE, i am getting a FE of 17-18 on highway with AC on for quite a long time. It all depends on your driving IMO. Last time i checked my Beat gave a FE of 17.23 or so with some city driving for short distances too.

There have been very few problems reported related to the QC of Beat. haven't heard of anything major for sure expect the 2nd gear lag which wasn't a mechanical failure. They rectified it by the way to some extent.

My experience at Nikhil Automobiles Koperkharine has been quite good too.

[swiftnfurious]

Originally Posted by Nash24

I think 5000 diesel cars in a month is realistic for the first 6 months.

ARAI says 21 for ritz, most of the owners i know get 18-19 easily.Few get 20 consistently.

We will need to see how market responds to this car. Lets wait till we see the prices.

Regarding ARAI figures, how can Chevy vary more than Maruti? It should be the same parameters used for testing right? Also as far as I know, ARAI mileage is an average of City + highway driving parameters. So in city, you are bound to get lesser while on highways, depending on your driving, you can attain better FE figures than ARAI's. My swift D [ARAI - 21.7 kmpl] gives around 16 kmpl in city while I regiter 23 kmpl regularly @ 80-120 kmph and once even 25 kmpl @ 80-100 kmph on the same route / roads.

[Sutripta]

Originally Posted by SS-Traveller

This is a car that interests me, and if I do shift all my work-related single-person commute to this, I should cover 100,000 km in 3 years easily. However, I have no experience of owning a GM product, and all inputs would be welcome.

Hi,
Is that really you, or has someone hacked your account?

Regards
Sutripta

[Nash24]

So Folks, What do you all suggest, should we have a wait and watch approach for this car, should i buy it by september or october or Jan 2012? Or do i just buy it right now without bothering about any factors.
My usage is more in the city, maximum 1 or 2 trips on the highways every year.

If you ask me, i do not urgently require a new car, can push on the petrol car for a few months more. But if i get the car now its good too, i get a diesel car which i always wanted and my present car goes to the other members in the family who want to learn to drive.

[zulfi hansi]

As per AUTOCAR there is a cash discount of Rs. 25,000/- given on the petrol Beat irrespective of any variant one buys. The LT version retails for 5.09 lakhs OTR Bangalore, which comes to 4.84 L, but if they minus it from the invoice value the difference on OTR price will more than 25K. In all probabilities it should be priced at about 60K more than the petrol, effectively coming under 5.44 L, which is almost about 70K less than the Ritz Vdi, which is what I expected. And the LS may come under 5 lakhs OTR!! @ this price its a killer.

[rki2007]

First of all an appreciation. Great work by our GTO as usual.

I see a new segment growing that is the diesel cars at very affordable prices. Yes these small motors are good for the city but what about highway drive.

More people will move to the diesel cars hereafter if these type of value for money cars are introduced. Plus the main factor which was against the diesel was the price difference between petrol and diesel cars.

A new frightening thing is that, will the govt restrict the cars to fill diesel at the price the Heavy plyers do. This question comes to my mind because of the new introduction of several diesel cars and the increasing number of diesel car buyers. I don't think it is legally possible to increase the price of diesel to the cars users. But no idea our Govt are capable of doing anything.