Team-BHP - Mahindra XUV500 : Test Drive & Review

Hi. Just got my VIN number for the dealer (and should be getting my Silver W8 by this weekend !). I have a small doubt in decoding the month of manufacture from the VIN number. %C6K% would mean a 2012 (C) and Nov (K being 11th alphabet). However, came across some sites and blogs which say that the letter "I" is not used to denote any month and going by that, K could very well be the 10th month (Oct) - which will start worrying me now.
Any insight would be really helpful...Thanks!

Quote:

Originally Posted by rakesh_raja (Post 2968769)

And even if that is true why should it worry you? You are in mid-Nov. Anything manufactured in the end-oct phase may still be arriving at many dealerships. I don't get your point of worry at all!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zappo

And even if that is true why should it worry you? You are in mid-Nov. Anything manufactured in the end-oct phase may still be arriving at many dealerships. I don't get your point of worry at all!

Yes "k" means Oct. Most likely deliveries in last week of November may get Nov. manufactured cars. This isn't a matter of worry.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zappo (Post 2968773)

And even if that is true why should it worry you? You are in mid-Nov. Anything manufactured in the end-oct phase may still be arriving at many dealerships. I don't get your point of worry at all!

The point is that I will be getting my delivery only by the weekend - which is already into the 4th week of November. I agree that it might after all be a non-issue in the long run, but just that, getting into the 3rd and 4th week, I was expecting a Nov manufactured vehicle.
Anyway, I have already stopped worrying and looking forward to getting my own XUV 500 :)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Heavy Horse (Post 2968742)

Not a bad thought waiting for 2013. Why was Duster a disappointment? I hope this won't be considered

:OT but, I think I should answer this. In pictures the Duster looked bigger, in youtube videos nothing looked unconqurable for it. In metal however I found it to be missing the road presence I am used to (my Scorpio), and a noisy engine killed whetever thoughts remained.

Quote:

Originally Posted by rakesh_raja

Cars usually take 2-3 weeks in transit. Add to it some delays in dispatching it from the factory. You should be happy that its almost fresh out of the oven. :-)

Interesting article in the Eco Times. Mentions that M&M is banking on a strategy for growth based on the UV segment led by XUV 500, Rexton and Quanto. This segment for M&M has grown a whopping 61% this year compared to a measly 3% for passenger cars.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/...w/17316735.cms

For guys looking to buy XUV500 in Mumbai - please ensure you negotiate your insurance amount well. For W6, the insurance amount that was quoted by the dealer was 45K. However after negotiating, they agreed to give a 25% discount. That is 34K. Straight reduction of 11K.

However I went for online insurance from Bajaj through Berkshire site. They gave a quote of 35K plus there was an additional discount of 17% though Snapdeal coupoun. So I ended up paying only 29K against dealers initial quote of 45K.

Quote:

Originally Posted by tictactoe (Post 2969461)

Thanks Tictactoe. I too checked out with my insurance agent and he has quoted Rs32K from Reliance against 48K quoted by NBS Intl. For the Berkshire Insurance, how did you obtain the Snapdeal coupon? Through an earlier transaction?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Heavy Horse (Post 2969497)

The customer service lady emailed me the link. It was an ongoing offer. Should on right now too. See the link below. Best is you should talk to the customer care. Also, ensure that you provide the correct ex-showroom price. The price generated / stored in the system is on the higher sider.

https://www.berkshireinsurance.com/m...-and-discounts

Do not worry... get a genuine Insurance guy. The quote should any how be close to 28k to 29k with all possible discounts applied. In fact, I got mine for around 22k (21+) after transferring the NCB also on top of that.

Mahindra to launch a new colour for the XUV.

Not sure if this has been put up and discussed before but got this pic from a source at Mahindra's Chakan facility.

I cannot decide whether i like this colour or dislike it.

Got news that my XUV w8 FWD will be delivered last week of November. The dealer is quoting around 52K for the insurance.

I am trying to get quotes from external providers. Wanted to check the IDV that the w8-fwd is insured for based on real owners.

I got one quote with IDV = basic price + tax. I got another quote for just the basic price.

All of them are cheaper than the dealer quote and are bumper to bumper cover. HDFC is quoting 34K and bajaj allianz is quoting about 45K.

Please provide inputs so that I can decide which way to go.

Quote:

Originally Posted by vvb8530 (Post 2969897)

This is a very strange choice for a car of this size in my opinion. Only place it may fit in is in the Air Forces may be since they look out for this color. By the way, very recently M&M added XUV availability for the CSD canteens.

Quote:

Originally Posted by tictactoe (Post 2970002)

IDV should be your ex-showroom price.

Actually it is 10% or so less than the IDV. They directly start off with the depreciation. Anytime in the year if they need to fully settle the car cost thats what they will pay out and not the price of the new car.