Re: Renault Duster : Official Review OK, this is my honest attempt to jot down my experience with Renault Duster booking, waiting and pre-delivery. The intention is to put down all the information in a nutshell which may be of use to members who are interested in test driving/booking/buying the Duster. Some information will be Bangalore specific. The Car:
I dont have to say much here after the likes of GTO have. I can probably summarize by saying, buy this car if:
1. You want a typical SUV look, with excellent ground clearance
2. You have a requirement for enough space for 5 at least once in a while
3. You need a diesel engine with enough power for comfortable highway cruising
4. You feel practicality is more important than style/elegance
5. Mileage is something you cannot ignore
6. You appreciate refinement
7. You think ride comfort/handling is more important than plastic quality The Variants:
Lot has been said about these. Somehow they completely messed up the RXZ model (no offence to owners). It was almost like they forcibly created a top end variant and had to make things different. Things like Rear AC, Silver Mirrors, Non-Premium faux woods etc. only put you off more than anything else. Where as stuff like Alloys, Airbags are always appreciated. No wonder the 85 RXL(O) was chosen as the best variant by the Indian customer. Something Renault did not anticipate. Either they are very smart or incredibly stupid (Dialog borrowed from "Enemy of the State"). I mean, even an MBA intern could have told them what people will gun for. And btw, the 110 RXL has ABS/EBD/BA which you may miss easily while comparing the equipment level across variants. The Dealers (Bangalore):
At present there are 2 dealers, one in Sadashiv Nagar (near Mekhri Circle) called "Renault Palace Orchards". This one was the lone showroom up until now. Located in a very busy road, abslotely no parking in and around, though they have a board for Valet parking, I have hardly seen anyone being offered that service. You end up parking in by-lanes behind the main road and walking up to the showroom. The newer one called "Renault Whitefield" is located near K.R.Puram over bridge. If you are going from K.R.Puram towards whitefield you see this on the right hand side just after you have crossed the bridge. Actually you will see "Trident Hyundai" and Renault is just adjacent to it on the Outer Ring Road. This is also owned by Trident which is a popular dealer of Hyundai cars in Bangalore. And they said another one is coming up in Mysore Road soon. The Test Drives:
In the month of July there were Qs for test drives. I remember waiting 2 hours when I was there in the second week. Right now you can do it when ever you are ready. The SAs accompanying you were not very intrusive nor are they offering any additional information. The duration is very short. Dealer 1 can give you test drives in bumper to bumper traffic situations where as dealer 2 can offer you speeds upto 100 in outer ring road. But no where can you test highway dynamics. And the SAs are always in a tearing hurry to get back to their showroom, for reasons best known to them. So if you are the long test drive types, insist on it. The Booking:
The good thing about the SAs is that they dont push you to book, they probably dont have to right now. For the first 1 week the booking amount was 50K, bumped up to 1 lakh second week onwards. I booked on 9th July so managed to convince the SA to take my booking for 50K itself. The penalty in Bangalore dealers in case of cancellation is Rs 2500. I asked for 85 RXL(O) but the booking slip mentioned 85 RXZ(O). There is no such variant. The SA assured its not a problem, and it really was not. The Waiting / Renault Customer Service:
Initially I was told a delivery estimate of September. I assumed Sep mid. After a month of booking (around 9th Aug) I start calling, only to be told my vehicle is still not allotted. I called the Renault Customer Care (Toll Free No) several times. The less that is said about them the better. I could visualize them sitting in a room with nothing but a pen and paper apart from the phones. They dont seem to have any central system or any connection with the dealers what so ever. You call them expecting some information, instead you end up giving your information and every time you call you start from scratch, they could use the services of my companay to implement a CRM system! And everytime they say they will call you back it means its a dead end. Summary is: Deal with the dealer! Financing:
Out here they have tied up with Kotak Mahindra and SBI primarily. They will push you for Kotak siting each of processing etc. but Kotak has penalties for pre-payments and pre-closures and may be more in fine print. I went with SBI. Processing is slow but peace of mind there after. Insurance:
They have tie up with Bharati Axa, HDFC Ergo and Royal Sundaram. Quote is around 7-8K more than what you will get outside. They refused me the option to go with outside insurance and I didnt press too much considering the outstanding support I seemed to be getting from Renault themselves. Opted for zero dep with Bharati Axa, which was 5K more than the comprehensive ones (around 40K). Accessories:
Close to Zilch. Even the basic floor mats where on and off in stock, hope they will have a set when I take delivery tomorrow. They are giving mud flaps without any fuss though. Apart from that they had Evo Alloys which were priced at least 12K more than after market, didnt go for it. They have Steel Mate parking sensros which I thought were not too much over priced. They also have Red Soul reverse parking+camera at around 17K. Art Leather seats (which comes with RXZ(O)) can be added for close to 40K, again overpriced. The muffler tip is Rs 900 which is a good buy. And they are doing the IND number plates for around 900. And dont expect instant fitment of any accs, the technicians seemed to be far and few in between. So if you want any give them good notice while your loan and registration is happening. |