[sathyaprakash]

Originally Posted by swiftnfurious

Congrats on your new acquisition!



What is this courier + labor charges? And labor charges seem to be a rip off. When I spent 10K on seat covers, I expect labor to be free!

Do you want to install sunfims? Might be asking for trouble after shelling out close to 6K !

This particular model is a skin fit where they stitch it on top of the old one so its 1500 for labor and if you need it within 1 week courier charge is 500 or we need to wait for 3-4 weeks for delivery from factory as this made to order i can understand they are ripping me but no choice in chennai.

As for sun film 3m has another one which is close to the glass shade and very difficult to find unless closely watched RE70 costing 6200/- which is very transparent without any privacy both blocks close to 53 percent heat and 50 & 70 indicates the visibility.

Other than sunfilm what choice do we have in our hottest Chennai to drive cool in car, any other suggestions welcomed.

[suhaas307]

Originally Posted by suchit23

Thanks Behemoth and Suhas for your feedback. Just to add exact financial data points I am getting new good brands at 10K a pop and wanderers will go for 5K a pop. So we are talking about 25K for 5 tyres or 20K for 4 keeping the MRF as backup. I am in the same dilemma as Suhas has indicated. Change now to same size (don't want to up size until I know better ) or up size later. I would have definitely gone for the second option. But Neil's burst tyre is giving me nightmares as I go out on highways and bad roads a lot.

10k a pop would mean 50k for a set of 4 new tires, am I right? If you get 5k for each OEM tire, you'd spend 25k for a set of new tires of the same size. Are you sure it's exactly 10k? Also, don't forget to factor in the little expenses like wheel / tire alignment and balancing. They do add up.

I'd say, stick to the current set and spend your 25k-30k on wheel-arch-cladding. I think it gives the Duster a more complete look. And it would look good especially on your red Duster. The bare-expansive metal does appeal to me too, but dirt on body-cladding looks much better than on the paint.

Or you could alternatively invest in something else.

If you're really worried about the OEM tires and don't mind spending, then you should get a new set.

Originally Posted by Neil Roy

Fully agree with you here. I have decided to pussyfoot the accelerator and stay on the south side of 100kmph and tide over the OE tyres. Besides, Wanderers are a totally different breed of MRFs. Nothing like the previous MRF tyres. Grip is pretty good. My only concern is whether MRF is the right choice as OE for Duster, considering that Duster invites the Driver to take on any kind of road at greater speeds with relatively high comfort.The Duster will surely take the abuse, but will the Wanderers be able to do the same?
Edit: I would not recommend upsizing as the OE tyre itself is splashing muck pretty much everywhere on the body and even beyond. Besides, the present level of grip itself is really high.

Thanks!

No tire will take abuse for too long. Remember, of all the things a car comes with, it's only the tires that are in contact with the road at all times. Everything depends on the tires. Even with all the power in the world, it wouldn't translate to performance if you don't have a reliable set.

I'm hoping that your's was a one-off case and that it will never happen again.

EDIT: Up-sizing wouldn't particularly be a bad thing. Chunky tires on SUVs have always appealed to me. It's all about the appeal. *winks*

[swiftnfurious]

Originally Posted by sathyaprakash

...Other than sunfilm what choice do we have in our hottest Chennai to drive cool in car, any other suggestions welcomed.

If it were me, I would rather spend on the completely transparent films, all over the car [front + rear + sides]. I know it's going to cost a bomb, but well worth it.

I was thinking the one you mentioned first [CS 50] is slightly dark and we never know what the cops can do. If I am spending close to 6K, I would rather spend a little more and be doubly sure to be safe as well.

I suggest you this. Usually sunfilms are applied half a centimeter below the top of the side glasses and it might be a give away that you have films on the glass. Ask them to stick the film right along the top border of the glass to make it look like there is no films at all. I believe this can be done, though not sure.

[.anshuman]

Renault has announced a price hike of 40,000 rupees on Diesel variants and 30,000 rupees on petrol variants applicable from October 1. Customers who have booked their Duster till August end will get older prices.

Source:NDTV

EDIT: Reason mentioned is high input costs and unstable Rupee. BTW dollar prices have only gone down.

Post the price hike i do not find the higher variants worth the asking price. World's cheapest SUV is now a premium offering in India, atleast in the 110hp guise.

[jsing3]

Hello Friends,

Took the delivery of 85 PS (O). All i can say as of now is " Its the Best". Uploading few pics

[Rigid Rotor]

Well, well, well ! My worst fears have come true - I had reported in my post on 26 Sep about a 30K jump - but its actually 40 K - that's a steep, steep jump!

So, now that Renault knows the (Duster) bait's been taken and the sales have gained traction, is Renault getting greedy?

Grateful for the price protection they are giving me though-

Will future bookings take a hit? Any guesses on cancellations? Or will the Great Indian Duster show go on ?

Opinions?

[abbey4u]

I think the price hike from renault is more of result of their greediness rather than anything else. How will exchange rate instability affect the price specially when they are produced locally. If at all it should the affect should be on exports because the rupee is gaining. Now instead of charging higher from UK and other coutries where the duster will be exported from india, they are asking us to pay more.

Duster launch in india was never a value for money and now even more. What's renault thinking !!!

[Crazy4Wheels]

This price hike puts Duster's pricing dangerously close to XUV : thats world's cheapest SUV Vs Mahindra's premium offering.

This will definatly have some impact on Duster's sales.

I for one was about to book it by Oct end, but will have to rethink and see if I can stretch by budget for XUV by waiting for a few months..

[acroback]

I think I should go and test drive XUV too.
40K more? means I am reaching 13L in tax heavy Bangalore.
I think time to look elsewhere for so much money. :(

[zen kobane]

Is it allowed to post messages about offering car booking transfer to other forum members?

Let me know someone. Its about Duster

[Rameshdude]

That is a pretty steep hike. The tax would also increase accordingly. If the cost of "input" is high, they should have increased the prices of all their vehicles . It seems only the top models of Duster (both 85 bhp and 110 bhp) , and the Mato Brown colour are in demand. Other versions are easily available.

[Rigid Rotor]

Originally Posted by jsing3

Hello Friends,

Took the delivery of 85 PS (O). All i can say as of now is " Its the Best"...

Congrats on the Silver Duster, Jai!
Its sure looks good - and you managed to beat the price hike too!
Wish you many miles of happy motoring with the Duster

[Cowboy]

Originally Posted by acroback

I think I should go and test drive XUV too.
40K more? means I am reaching 13L in tax heavy Bangalore.
I think time to look elsewhere for so much money. :(

Sure, I currently own a 2009 model Altis. And I had booked White Duster RXZ (Option) top end in July immediately after test driving it and asked for Delivery by Feb 2012(since moving to a new apt and getting an additional parking lot by then).

And just wondering deeply for sometime now whether Duster RXZ(O) is really worth 14+ lakhs?!(worlds cheapest SUV ...truly agreeing to GT's comments on cheap Art Leather quality and then overall cheap plastic quality of dashboard and rear a/c and of course lack of climate control when I pay 14lakhs plus!

Some mental block still to go for XUV500 - niggles they say is corrected now? Now strongly tending to go for XUV500 than Duster top end.Anyway I had asked for a test drive on Oct 2 to decide whether to cancel or not?! Your comments are welcome!

Just my cousin brother told that in Dubai Duster is priced at just <40,000 dirhams only and positioned much cheaper the even Kia.Donot know why they charge such premium in India for such a nofrill vehicle?! just for good driveability and 16km actual mileage?

Hope atleast some of you share my thoughts?!

[ampere]

Its not just Renault. I think its going to come across the board.


http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/b...w/16535581.cms

Here is one for example on Honda hiking prices on Jazz, Brio and city.

http://www.firstpost.com/fwire/honda...dium=cat_ideas

But the question is extent of hike.

Originally Posted by abbey4u

With this price hike, the top end duster is very much close to XUV and Skoda yeti Active and these two still have better
feature than the made for budget top end duster. I for one already moved away from duster after i initially booked one and got myself yeti. My reason
were a little different but yes the value for money proposition was considered for sure. But now almost 14 Lac for duster top spec vs around 14.5-15
for yeti active. I see yeti to be better buy.

The Yeti active I think is still about 16.5 OTR. Agreed its much better built but the gap is still about 2L. And many can get swayed by that.
But having said that there would be still folks who would consider Yeti active. When they are ready to pay 14+ for a Duster, thought would be why not Yeti at about 2L more.

But what I wanted to mention is, Yeti base version would be still about 2L higher.

[abbey4u]

With this price hike, the top end duster is very much close to XUV and Skoda yeti Active and these two still have better feature than the made for budget top end duster. I for one already moved away from duster after i initially booked one and got myself yeti. My reason were a little different but yes the value for money proposition was considered for sure. But now almost 14 Lac for duster top spec vs around 14.5-15 for yeti active. I see yeti to be better buy.