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Old 26th October 2012, 23:20   #3646
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Re: Mahindra XUV500 : Test Drive & Review

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Originally Posted by AutoIndian View Post
Why wait for your ownership thread to be up? You can post pictures & initial experience over here. That way it could benefit a lot of potential XUV owners & also the existing owners.
Delivery of my XUV-W6 got delayed by almost a week because guys at the dealership goofed up by not depositing my cheque (issued on 20.10.12) for clearing. Since they had told me that delivery could be made only after clearing, I was patiently waiting, thinking that the bank holidays during Durga Puja were delaying the clearing. But when a whole week passed, my patience ran out. I demanded to be told WHEN my cheque had been deposited and then it came to light that it was still (on 25.10.12) lying in the dealer’s accounts dept.! Apparently, the accounts guys had been in a ‘holiday mood’ during Durga Puja and forgot to deposit my cheque. I just lost my cool, asked to meet the proprietor and demanded immediate delivery. And within minutes they informed me that I could take delivery the same afternoon.

The Service Manager ceremoniously handed over the car keys and the RM handed over a box of chocolates to my wife and me. The confetti bomb was a pleasant surprise by the dealer. Also, I requested the dealer to at least give me free rubber mats and they obliged, probably because they were feeling apologetic about their goof-up regarding my cheque.

After filling 10 litres of free diesel (using a voucher issued by dealer) at a pump near the dealership, we drove home in our new XUV. I took the Adityapur toll bridge and thereafter the Marine Drive (yes, Jampot too has its own Marine Drive, a road that runs along Jampot’s two rivers – Kharkai and Subarnarekha) which has some pretty bad stretches. The suspension, ride quality and handling of my XUV on these broken and undulating stretches impressed me. Even this short (10 km) drive was enough to drive home the fact that I had taken a quantum leap from my earlier cars (M-800, 118NE, Esteem and Swift).

Insurance

At the time of booking itself I had informed the dealer that I’d be doing insurance and registration on my own. I took out comprehensive Insurance from New India Assurance before taking delivery yesterday. My car was insured for 95% of the ex-showroom price (Rs 12,00,219 x 0.95 = Rs 11,40,209). The premium was just Rs 13,885 as I enjoy 65% NCB and I transferred the NCB from my Swift VDi to the XUV-W6. My insurance covers use of my car in Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Maldives. Many Indian car-owners who drive to neighboring countries tend to forget that their insurance cover does not extend beyond the boundaries of India unless they opt for ‘Geographical Area Extension’. This costs a mere Rs 500 or so extra and should always be done by those who intend driving to Nepal, Bhutan, etc.

Another aspect all car-owners should know is that a small discount on premium is admissible if the car is fitted with a theft protection system. All XUV owners should insist on this discount.

Registration

Today I initiated the Registration procedure at the local RTO. I paid Rs 48,846 for one-time tax, registration, fitness fee and smart card. Here in Jharkhand the One-time tax is 4% of the ex-showroom price. Now I have to present my car for ‘inspection’ by the Motor Vehicle Inspector next week who will verify the chassis and engine numbers and whether the car is road-worthy! Everyone knows that new cars are never inspected by the MVI when the dealer does the registration because dealers bribe the RTO / MVI handsomely. Since I have chosen the non-bribe route (anyone who gets registration done through the dealer must remember that he is indirectly helping corruption) I have to present my brand new car for inspection! Anyway, since I have already paid the registration fees / tax and have the receipt from RTO in my car, I am supposedly free to drive my car anywhere even without a number plate.

So now that I have my car + insurance + registration (almost) all I have to do is to figure where to go! User reviews would follow shortly. Watch this space.
Attached Thumbnails
Mahindra XUV500 : Test Drive & Review-xuv-2.jpg  

Mahindra XUV500 : Test Drive & Review-xuv-1.jpg  

Mahindra XUV500 : Test Drive & Review-xuv-3.jpg  

Mahindra XUV500 : Test Drive & Review-xuv-6.jpg  

Mahindra XUV500 : Test Drive & Review-xuv-4.jpg  


Last edited by debuda : 26th October 2012 at 23:29. Reason: Minor correction
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Old 27th October 2012, 06:14   #3647
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Re: Mahindra XUV500 : Test Drive & Review

Congrats Sir, On finally riding your own Cheetah. It looks the best in Silver. Sauve & Sophisticated machine. Wish you many happy motoring miles on the beast and a niggle free ownership. The deal you got in the insurance and RTO is amazing. Please do keep posting your experiances regularly with the Cheetah....
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Old 28th October 2012, 04:00   #3648
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Re: Mahindra XUV500 : Test Drive & Review

Congrats Debuda on your car. I would like to know a bit more about the Registration cost you paid as usually the dealer charges around 1,55,000 to 1,60,000 as RTO and Registration Charges here in mumbai which is pretty high. so how come the difference is so huge between what we pay here in mumbai and what you paid? I too paid around 1,57,xxx. will get the final break up and bill and receipts on monday during delivery time though.
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Old 28th October 2012, 05:44   #3649
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Re: Mahindra XUV500 : Test Drive & Review

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Originally Posted by magikrider View Post
Congrats Debuda on your car. I would like to know a bit more about the Registration cost you paid as usually the dealer charges around 1,55,000 to 1,60,000 as RTO and Registration Charges here in mumbai which is pretty high. so how come the difference is so huge between what we pay here in mumbai and what you paid? I too paid around 1,57,xxx. will get the final break up and bill and receipts on monday during delivery time though.
Thank you, Magikrider. The Registration fees vary widely from state to state. Here (in Jharkhand) the fees are relatively less. The break-up is as follows :
  • One-time road tax (4% of ex-showroom price) : Rs 48,009
  • Regn, Fitness fee, Smart card : Rs 837

Also note that since I'm doing Registration on my own, I'm not paying a penny more than the official fees. Here, the dealers charge about Rs 5,000 extra for Registration, part of which obviously goes as bribe to RTO / MVI.

Till about a year ago, the fees charged by RTO in Jharkhand were even less. The registration fees were not ad valorem, but fixed depending on seating capacity of the car. For example, I paid only Rs 4,200 in respect of my Swift VDi five years ago. The registration-cum-lifetime tax fees for all 5-seater cars (whether a M-800 or a BMW sedan) used to be the same then. The fees for 7-seaters then used to be around Rs 7,000 only!

By the way, the ex-showroom price of XUV is comparatively less in Maharashtra. Here in Jharkhand I paid slightly more than 12 lakhs for my W6.

Last edited by debuda : 28th October 2012 at 05:53.
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Old 28th October 2012, 18:58   #3650
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Re: Mahindra XUV500 : Test Drive & Review

Today finally got 3rd service done at 18K Kms. It was due back in Sept but since i was not able to clock 20K, hence waited for some time. I know people say that warranty will be void if i do this (not getting it serviced in Time ), but never faced any issue with any of my car till date so i guess this is more of a tactic by dealers to scare customers. In any way, my RM is a gem of a person and he told me to relax and get it serviced according to Kms and dont worry bout 3 month gap. Infact he said he will call me later and will let me know few things that would help me keeping my warranty intact no matter what i do.

In this service, Oil Filter, Fuel filter, gear oil and engine oil was changed. Apart from that, new wiper set were added, plus 3rd generation brakepad were added also righthand side headlight assembly was replaced as DRL and low beam light had gone kaput. Total Bill 6707.
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Old 28th October 2012, 19:30   #3651
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Re: Mahindra XUV500 : Test Drive & Review

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Originally Posted by nitinralli View Post
In this service, Oil Filter, Fuel filter, gear oil and engine oil was changed. Apart from that, new wiper set were added, plus 3rd generation brakepad were added also righthand side headlight assembly was replaced as DRL and low beam light had gone kaput. Total Bill 6707.
Could you upload the invoice ? Were the brake pads upgraded free of cost ?

Was the coolant not replaced ?
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Old 28th October 2012, 19:34   #3652
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Re: Mahindra XUV500 : Test Drive & Review

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Originally Posted by nitinralli View Post
Today finally got 3rd service done at 18K Kms. It was due back in Sept but since i was not able to clock 20K, hence waited for some time. I know people say that warranty will be void if i do this (not getting it serviced in Time ), but never faced any issue with any of my car till date so i guess this is more of a tactic by dealers to scare customers. In any way, my RM is a gem of a person and he told me to relax and get it serviced according to Kms and dont worry bout 3 month gap. Infact he said he will call me later and will let me know few things that would help me keeping my warranty intact no matter what i do.

In this service, Oil Filter, Fuel filter, gear oil and engine oil was changed. Apart from that, new wiper set were added, plus 3rd generation brakepad were added also righthand side headlight assembly was replaced as DRL and low beam light had gone kaput. Total Bill 6707.
Nice to hear that the service station is cooperating with the xuv owners clocking fewer miles and not forcing them to the 3 month service.

But here in gurgaon the a.s.s are insisting on 3 months service and if delayed more than 10 days they are not accepting the coupon and are charging for labour.
i have hardly done around 7k km and my 3rd service is already due but the vehicle had only been driven for couple of thousand km after the service and now they are forcing me to get the vehicle serviced or the coupon will be dishonored and will have to shell around 2.5k extra for labour.The same drama happened in my 2nd service as i bought my vehicle 1 month late and they rejected the coupon and demanded for payment for labour. Though after hearing this i didnt get my car serviced as they were supposed to do a normal checkup for 2nd service.

by the way which service station do you use for your vehicle.

Last edited by mayank123 : 28th October 2012 at 19:35.
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Old 28th October 2012, 21:22   #3653
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Re: Mahindra XUV500 : Test Drive & Review

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Originally Posted by F150 View Post
Could you upload the invoice ? Were the brake pads upgraded free of cost ?

Was the coolant not replaced ?
I tried uploading the pic but this stupid error comes up regarding file size. As for the free stuff, brakepads, wipers and headlight were all free.
Quote:
Originally Posted by mayank123 View Post
Nice to hear that the service station is cooperating with the xuv owners clocking fewer miles and not forcing them to the 3 month service.

But here in gurgaon the a.s.s are insisting on 3 months service and if delayed more than 10 days they are not accepting the coupon and are charging for labour.
i have hardly done around 7k km and my 3rd service is already due but the vehicle had only been driven for couple of thousand km after the service and now they are forcing me to get the vehicle serviced or the coupon will be dishonored and will have to shell around 2.5k extra for labour.The same drama happened in my 2nd service as i bought my vehicle 1 month late and they rejected the coupon and demanded for payment for labour. Though after hearing this i didnt get my car serviced as they were supposed to do a normal checkup for 2nd service.

by the way which service station do you use for your vehicle.
For the first 3 free service, try to stick to months, but the moment free services are over, go by kms.
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Old 28th October 2012, 22:21   #3654
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I guess one you guys should own up the initiative to put the disagreement on the time period between service intervals, on their FB page. And once done, please share the link here so that rest of the owners could join the discussion on FB page and provide their feedbacks.
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Old 28th October 2012, 22:49   #3655
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Re: Mahindra XUV500 : Test Drive & Review

Drove my brand new XUV-W6 about 60 km on the Jamshedpur – Ranchi highway today. Out of this 60 km, about 20 km was badly broken / potholed. Observations as follows :
  1. Suspension felt good and strong on broken stretches. Minor (and some ‘not-so-minor’) unevenness was absorbed nicely but I needed to slow down to a crawl over badly broken / potholed stretches to save my passengers from getting tossed about. No abnormal noises were audible from suspension.
  2. I did not try any hard braking as my 80 year old mother-in-law was on board. But I found the brakes quite okay and not worrisome as reported by some other XUV owners.
  3. For the last 5 years I’ve been driving a Swift VDi. The XUV felt relatively less peppy at lower speeds / RPM’s. Of course, the XUV being brand new, I was taking care not to subject it to much stress and was stepping very gently on the gas pedal. I never went over 2500 RPM. Also, I need to get used to the overall feel of a vehicle which is more than double the weight / bulk of my Swift.
  4. Ride quality, handling, power steering, AC, infotainment system, seats, doors, power windows, and overall comfort quite good.
  5. Average fuel consumption showing 12.8 kmpl after the 75 km trip (it was showing 9 kmpl before the trip). No idea about its correctness.
  6. Tried Cruise Control over short distances and found it satisfactory.
  7. ODO got reset (to zero) twice – this and a couple of other problems described on the XUV Niggles thread.

Mahindra XUV500 : Test Drive & Review-xuv-3.jpg

Mahindra XUV500 : Test Drive & Review-xuv-4.jpg

Mahindra XUV500 : Test Drive & Review-xuv-6.jpg


The only ‘accessory’ (thoughtfully purchased by my wife) apart from the free rubber mats is a small plastic mini-stool to enable my old M-I-L to clamber on board.
Mahindra XUV500 : Test Drive & Review-xuv-1.jpg


I designed and printed my own TBHP sticker which I stuck inside my rear windshield.
Mahindra XUV500 : Test Drive & Review-xuv-7.jpg
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Old 28th October 2012, 23:21   #3656
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Re: Mahindra XUV500 : Test Drive & Review

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I guess one you guys should own up the initiative to put the disagreement on the time period between service intervals, on their FB page. And once done, please share the link here so that rest of the owners could join the discussion on FB page and provide their feedbacks.
So i took that initiative and posted it on there FB page. Below is the link for others to comment.

https://www.facebook.com/MahindraXUV500?fref=ts

Somehow the link above takes us to there FB page but not to my comment directly. If any one knows how to post the link directly, then please do so. Otherwise you can look for my post from Nitin Ralli.

Last edited by nitinralli : 28th October 2012 at 23:23.
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Old 29th October 2012, 02:57   #3657
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Re: Mahindra XUV500 : Test Drive & Review

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Originally Posted by nitinralli View Post
For the first 3 free service, try to stick to months, but the moment free services are over, go by kms.
What do you exactly mean by "first 3 free services"? aren't all the services free for the first 3 years of warranty period? or is it that only the first 3 services are free and the remaining are all paid ones and inspite of that mahindra guys wants you to come after every 3 months irrespective of the running and pay them!
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Old 29th October 2012, 11:08   #3658
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Re: Mahindra XUV500 : Test Drive & Review

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Originally Posted by magikrider View Post
What do you exactly mean by "first 3 free services"? aren't all the services free for the first 3 years of warranty period? or is it that only the first 3 services are free and the remaining are all paid ones and inspite of that mahindra guys wants you to come after every 3 months irrespective of the running and pay them!
It would be 3 services free, rest are on payment basis. Suggest that you go by the running of the vehicle as per the maintenence booklet rather than months.
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Old 29th October 2012, 12:11   #3659
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Re: Mahindra XUV500 : Test Drive & Review

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...I designed and printed my own TBHP sticker which I stuck inside my rear windshield.
...
Good work on the fonts. Just a word of caution: if you operate the rear defogger, the sticker might catch fire.

May be I am just paranoid. Please do get more opinions as well.
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Old 29th October 2012, 16:35   #3660
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Re: Mahindra XUV500 : Test Drive & Review

@Debuda : I think you are the first W6 model on T-BHP. How is the monochrome display? Is the display same as W8 except the colour or are there any other changes too? Would appreciate if you can post some more pics of the display.
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