[narayan]

Originally Posted by krdeshmukh

Hi,
I agree they will undervalue the car and then give ex bonus. Happened with me last week at concord. They valued my polo diesel for 3lac. And then offered additional 30k bonus.
Btw : 1 dealer has a 2012 stock storme. How much discount I should ask him to give. He is right now offering 30k cash discount

Cheers
KD

KD, I presume 30k discount is on the 2012 price and not the post budget price ( which anyway should be the case because excise is charged on manufactured date and not sales date ). pls check that. if thats the case, try to bargain a bit more and close the deal.

[Rahulk76]

Casually i enquired the price of vx 4x4 and aria 4x4

Storme 4x4 OTR Pune: 16.34lacs

Aria Pleasure 4x4 OTR Pune: 16.51lacs (2012 Model = 16.51 -2.5= 14.xxlacs)

I think if someone is not interested in lowrange 4x4, but on demand 4x4 i think its better to go for Aria given the current discounts.

[n.devdath]

Originally Posted by n.devdath

I did get a call from the Tata Motors customer service number yesterday and I told them that I needed to test drive a 4WD Storme. Let us see what happens.

3 calls from the TML customer care number and more than a week later, I m yet to get a call from anyone offering me a test drive of the Storme 4WD.

And TML continues with its outdoorsy ad campaigns..!!


OT: I also posted a TD request for the XUV on the M&M website and all I got is an automated email. Wondering who is the better of the two here..

[narayan]

Originally Posted by n.devdath

3 calls from the TML customer care number and more than a week later, I m yet to get a call from anyone offering me a test drive of the Storme 4WD.

And TML continues with its outdoorsy ad campaigns..!!


OT: I also posted a TD request for the XUV on the M&M website and all I got is an automated email. Wondering who is the better of the two here..

Devdath - I think this is a unique case. In Chennai both TML and M&M have been very prompt in offering TDs. With M&M I went through their website and the very next day they called and took my details and preferred dealer for a TD. A day after that the dealer called and offered the TD. The vehicle was also a proper TD vehicle kept well.

With TML, also the call center works efficiently but I also called the dealer directly and they have so far given me 3 TDs - one of which was a 4X4 !.

on the TML ads - I think they are losing the plot big time. As if the Storme ads were not tacky enough, the recent sumo ads with some foreigners flying their sumos over buildings is absolutely stupid.

[krdeshmukh]

Originally Posted by narayan

Devdath - I think this is a unique case. In Chennai both TML and M&M have been very prompt in offering TDs. With M&M I went through their website and the very next day they called and took my details and preferred dealer for a TD. A day after that the dealer called and offered the TD. The vehicle was also a proper TD vehicle kept well.

With TML, also the call center works efficiently but I also called the dealer directly and they have so far given me 3 TDs - one of which was a 4X4 !.

on the TML ads - I think they are losing the plot big time. As if the Storme ads were not tacky enough, the recent sumo ads with some foreigners flying their sumos over buildings is absolutely stupid.

I agree, after looking at the advertisement I thought tml had lost it. The earlier add with a lady driving thru in night with family was much better.
I went for td in thane for storme and they didnt have a td vehicle. But offered a vehicle from showroom and said we will sell the same to you.

[torquing_points]

Looks like the HU of the Storme supports phone profile - but not A2DP? When I pair my iPhone to it, only the handsfree profile is added to my phone.

[Vid6639]

Originally Posted by n.devdath

3 calls from the TML customer care number and more than a week later, I m yet to get a call from anyone offering me a test drive of the Storme 4WD.

OT: I also posted a TD request for the XUV on the M&M website and all I got is an automated email. Wondering who is the better of the two here..

But why even go through the call center? The dealer numbers are easily available online and I always prefer to just call the dealers rather than some silly e-mail form or call center number.

Besides I don't even think any dealer will keep a 4WD Storme. No dealer will offer TD for testing the 4WD and for on road behaviour the 2WD and 4WD don't even matter.

I filled in a form for XUV500 online once just for the heck of it but got no call back. Called the dealer who promised to arrange for a TD. No communication for 2 weeks. Then I get a call asking about my decision and if I was happy with the TD. I asked what TD? I never got one. The guy got shocked and there was silence. After that he tries to act smart and tells me to come down for a TS since they don't get XUV home for TD. I told him forget it. You come home or I forget the XUV. Still no call after that. Been 6 months.

[Lukeskywalker]

Besides I don't even think any dealer will keep a 4WD Storme. No dealer will offer TD for testing the 4WD and for on road behaviour the 2WD and 4WD don't even matter.

Agree, at least in Bangalore no dealer has a 4wd Storme for TD yet, according to them the percentage of 4WD buyers is so low, it does not make economic sense to keep one in stock just to give a TD and especially when the 4WD cannot (read will not) be demonstrated on a pure Off Road trail. The 2WD will perform more or less everything a 4WD will do in a normal TD.

[nkrishnap]

Ranganath profusely apologized and told me that he would do the needful to set things right and promised to try his best to get a 4WD TD car for me in a couple of days

Originally Posted by n.devdath

Did I speak too early??

I m yet to get a call from Ranganath and it has been more than 3 days now.

I did get a call from the Tata Motors customer service number yesterday and I told them that I needed to test drive a 4WD Storme. Let us see what happens.

I had a word with Ranganath regarding the Test Drive. From what I gather from him, he communicated with you that the 4x4 test drive cannot be arranged as the vehicle is not available. Now, what I read here is something different. Was it that you are still expecting a call after they communicated to you that 4x4 vehicle is not available?

Originally Posted by Lukeskywalker

Dev, Ranganath did speak to me about your request for a 4x4 TD, he is currently held up in some meetings with the parent companies and hence not accessible this week, but he has put out word to try and get a 4x4 in Bangalore.

They are still trying by the way to get a 4x4 test drive vehicle.

Originally Posted by n.devdath

3 calls from the TML customer care number and more than a week later, I m yet to get a call from anyone offering me a test drive of the Storme 4WD.

And TML continues with its outdoorsy ad campaigns..!!

OT: I also posted a TD request for the XUV on the M&M website and all I got is an automated email. Wondering who is the better of the two here..

I see the reason why you did not get a call is that the vehicle is still not available.

Originally Posted by Vid6639

But why even go through the call center? The dealer numbers are easily available online and I always prefer to just call the dealers rather than some silly e-mail form or call center number.

I filled in a form for XUV500 online once just for the heck of it but got no call back. Called the dealer who promised to arrange for a TD. No communication for 2 weeks. Then I get a call asking about my decision and if I was happy with the TD. I asked what TD? I never got one. The guy got shocked and there was silence. After that he tries to act smart and tells me to come down for a TS since they don't get XUV home for TD. I told him forget it. You come home or I forget the XUV. Still no call after that. Been 6 months.

Rightly put, its better to call the dealer directly than registering online for test drives and then the request simply vanishes into thin air. I am yet to get a call for the test drive of the new Ford Fiesta its been 7 months and 10 days as of today.

Besides I don't even think any dealer will keep a 4WD Storme. No dealer will offer TD for testing the 4WD and for on road behaviour the 2WD and 4WD don't even matter.

Very True.

[torquing_points]

Audio System Notes:

- The HU that comes with the Storme is the Alpine CDE-126BT
- The system comes with 6 speakers - 2 tweeters, two speakers in the front, two in the rear
- This system comes with the iPod aux cable - remember to ask your dealer for this (otherwise expensive) cable, and install it for you
- The CDE-126BT is a highly rated HU, but with a sub-standard non-intuitive user interface (This is my personal opinion, and if you are used to using Alpines, then you might have a different opinion about the interface.) If youre stuck, just remember these ground rules - the 'play' button probably stands for 'OK', and the 'Mute' button sounds for 'Back'. Worked for me in most cases.
- The HU supports CD Audio, MP3 CD, WMA CDs, USB drives (with some limitations on file and folder structures), audio line-in (3.5mm), ipod-in as described above and also Bluetooth. However, the bluetooth is *only* for calling. No A2DP profile. If you were hoping to stream some music here, youre out of luck. Also, lack of A2DP means that youre not going to be able to listen to Google Maps turn-by-turn directions from your phone via bluetooth over your car stereo.
- The user manual doesnt come standard with the car. A link to download it is as below.
- There are pre-outs in the HU, but the dealerships dont sell amps. Tata supposedly tells dealers not to mess around with electronics. So if you want to amp the car, you have to get it done at a third party shop, almost certainly voiding the warranty
- The mic for handsfree calling is nicely tucked in near the IRVM. Call quality is average - people can tell that you are on a handsfree - but you are audible.

Quirks:
- Sound quality without the amp is average at high volumes, but great at low-mid volumes. I have a feeling that adding an amp will make the sound quality excellent.
- Naturally, the iphone connector cable is the older one - youre not plugging your iPhone 5 into this.
- There is a dimmer mode in this HU, which is supposed to dim the display when headlights are on. Tata has not connected the headlamp connector, however, so the HU doesnt know when the headlights are on. Tata!! ***!
- For some silly reason, you have to first turn 'BT IN' to 'BT Adapter', and only then can you use the BT. To get the 'BT IN' menu, keep the 'SOUND/SETUP' button pressed for a while and scroll through the different menu options
- For some reason, iPod is only detected when 'Aux+' mode is turned to OFF. If you dont turn Aux+ to off, then it doesnt detect the plugged-in iPhone
- On the USB disk, can recognise max 100 files per folder, and max 100 folders total. Youll never need more than 100 folders on an audio system whose navigation is so poor -- but just saying that dont expect to drag and drop your iTunes library to a pen drive and expect this thing to play it.

Crutchfield Product Page:http://www.crutchfield.com/S-DOEQcKn...CDE-126BT.html
User Manual PDF: http://support.alpine-usa.com/produc...T+126BT_EN.pdf

[n.devdath]

Originally Posted by Vid6639

But why even go through the call center?

I did not go through the call center, they called me back twice based on my request for a test drive on their website. I had filled up the test drive form on the Storme website.

Originally Posted by Vid6639

The dealer numbers are easily available online and I always prefer to just call the dealers rather than some silly e-mail form or call center number.

If there is a test drive form on the website or a number to call, I expect it to work. Simple.

Originally Posted by Vid6639

Besides I don't even think any dealer will keep a 4WD Storme. No dealer will offer TD for testing the 4WD and for on road behaviour the 2WD and 4WD don't even matter.

So if a customer intends to purchase a 4WD, does he/she not have the right to a test drive?

Originally Posted by Vid6639

Still no call after that. Been 6 months.

We are on the same boat here.

Originally Posted by Lukeskywalker

Agree, at least in Bangalore no dealer has a 4wd Storme for TD yet, according to them the percentage of 4WD buyers is so low, it does not make economic sense to keep one in stock just to give a TD and especially when the 4WD cannot (read will not) be demonstrated on a pure Off Road trail. The 2WD will perform more or less everything a 4WD will do in a normal TD.

I clearly remember Concorde Motors having a 4WD Safari 2.2 as a TD vehicle some 3 yrs ago. As a prospect, I will take a road/off road test (not abuse) of the variant that I intend to purchase and I do not consider this unjustified.

Originally Posted by nkrishnap

I had a word with Ranganath regarding the Test Drive. From what I gather from him, he communicated with you that the 4x4 test drive cannot be arranged as the vehicle is not available.

He told me that whatever be the result of his efforts, he would get back to me in 2-3 days. Those 2-3 days have long passed.

Originally Posted by nkrishnap

They are still trying by the way to get a 4x4 test drive vehicle.

All the best to them, and by the way, Chennai dealers have 4WD TD vehicles as per our BHPian narayan, so there are dealers who feel it is worthwhile to invest in one.

Originally Posted by nkrishnap

I see the reason why you did not get a call is that the vehicle is still not available.

I was told I would get a call irrespective of the vehicle availability, and I feel that is the right way to close a call.

Originally Posted by nkrishnap

Rightly put, its better to call the dealer directly than registering online for test drives and then the request simply vanishes into thin air.

So, shouldn't this process improve?
And, let me tell you that it is not the same across Cos'. Need examples from my experience? BMW, Mitsubishi, Mercedes, Maruti (For an Alto 800) etc.

[narayan]

Originally Posted by n.devdath

All the best to them, and by the way, Chennai dealers have 4WD TD vehicles as per our BHPian narayan, so there are dealers who feel it is worthwhile to invest in one.

Devdath - let me correct my earlier post. it was not a TD vehicle. atleast it dint have the TD vehicle stickers.

[Vid6639]

Originally Posted by n.devdath

I did not go through the call center, they called me back twice based on my request for a test drive on their website. I had filled up the test drive form on the Storme website.

If there is a test drive form on the website or a number to call, I expect it to work. Simple.

Just because it exists doesn't mean you need to use it. It maybe there but we being enthusiasts know the best way is to go direct to dealer.

If I am really interested in a car, I usually don't even call. Walkin to showroom to see the car and meet a sales guy face to face. Then schedule a TD appointment at my house. If you don't get proper treatment after that, too bad for the dealer.

So if a customer intends to purchase a 4WD, does he/she not have the right to a test drive?

The same way that if a customer wishes to buy a lower end model with no airbags and ABS and there is no TD vehicle.

In this case if you want to TD a 4WD, where will you test the 4WD? You cannot do that in city roads. So a 4WD or 2Wd will not matter for TD inside town.

Just wondering do Mahindra dealers keep TD's of XUV500 AWD models? That's probably completely useless since the XUV has an on demand AWD system.

[n.devdath]

Originally Posted by Vid6639

Just because it exists doesn't mean you need to use it.

Oh really? So if something that exists does not work it is okay?

Originally Posted by Vid6639

It maybe there but we being enthusiasts know the best way is to go direct to dealer.

And someone who is a non enthusiast takes the non-working but existing path. O-M-G.

Originally Posted by Vid6639

The same way that if a customer wishes to buy a lower end model with no airbags and ABS and there is no TD vehicle.

We are talking about features that are higher, not lower, than what the customer needs.

Originally Posted by Vid6639

In this case if you want to TD a 4WD, where will you test the 4WD? You cannot do that in city roads. So a 4WD or 2Wd will not matter for TD inside town.

I know of roads/places within the city to test a 4WD vehicle.

[studedude]

Just for your info, there must be places around you where you can test most features. 4x4 can be tested inside city itself provided we are a little sensible. Maybe hardcore wudnt be possible but you may get a feel. Like I tested the hill hold function on the Passat on the ramp leading to their showroom. You could test the lsd by climbing over a median or smthing maybe?

A td of 4x4 inside town should be possible if you look properly. A climb over the median can check the lsd. You have so many such spots to check diff aspects. I checked out the hill hold function on the Passat on the ramp leading to the dealership. May not be able to do hardcore but you certainly will get a feel. As far as features are concerned if you td a higher spec you will get a good feel and you will know what you are missing. After all from a dealers perspective we cannot ask them to stock a td vehicle from the whole range.