[ACM]

Originally Posted by Reinhard

I don't have a Storme, but my experience with TASS has been on par with my previous experience with MASS. No difference. Politeness is actually better in TASS and there is totally no attempt made to take you for a ride & sell/change things that are not required.

On the other point, yes, currently there are loads of cash discounts on the Storme. But I'd seriously recommend you to try and wait longer if Storme turns out to be winner of your personal car choice shoot-out. IF indeed they manage to pull a Zest with the Storme, you'll be with an only 4-5 month old - effectively fresh - car which would still feel older. If they do keep the price down & add really valuable goodies, you might feel undone & will have to still stick with the car you have. And its a million rupee plus car you are buying. I myself am waiting for it for almost an year already.

Totally agree on both points.

Tata service centers rarely try to sell you extra services that you don't require there may be exceptions but Hyundai does that a lot to me and each time too. Ford does it a bit too but less than Hyundai. With Tata it is only initially with stuff like wruth treatments which are third party services anyways and obviously optional.

Also till the refreshed safari comes out don't recommend a new one as it will depreciate too fast. A preowned one any day though.

[comfortablynumb]

Originally Posted by ACM

Tata service centers rarely try to sell you extra services that you don't require....

Another strong positive w.r.t TASS that people often overlook, is that there are no hassles as far as warranty (standard or extended) replacements are concerned - it happens absolutely without any questions asked. At least I never faced any problem when I had a Palio in the Tata-Fiat days, not sure what the situation is today.

Cheers,
Vikram

[Reinhard]

Originally Posted by comfortablynumb

Another strong positive w.r.t TASS that people often overlook, is that there are no hassles as far as warranty (normal or extended) replacements are concerned - it happens absolutely without any questions asked. At least I never faced any problem when I had a Palio in the Tata-Fiat days, not sure what the situation is today.

Cheers,
Vikram

It continues even today. Recently a friend of mine with 37k on the odo of his Vista in 2 years, reported occasional vibrations to steering on hard braking. The SA himself recommended replacement of discs & got it done in warranty.

I shouldn't write this on a public forum probably, but when I had a nasty accident that needed plenty surgeries (only on the car ) to get the things working again, they even replaced the turbo-charger in warranty without hassle when it refused to work after the car was back to normal in appearance & fully operational except for the turbo.

In a couple of weeks, I'll go for service & get my hatch struts replaced in warranty on an almost 4 year old car.

So you've hit the nail. In fact the warranty is handled even better now.

[ptushar]

Originally Posted by Reinhard

On the other point, yes, currently there are loads of cash discounts on the Storme. But I'd seriously recommend you to try and wait longer if Storme turns out to be winner of your personal car choice shoot-out. IF indeed they manage to pull a Zest with the Storme, you'll be with an only 4-5 month old - effectively fresh - car which would still feel older. If they do keep the price down & add really valuable goodies, you might feel undone & will have to still stick with the car you have. And its a million rupee plus car you are buying. I myself am waiting for it for almost an year already.

Since they are offering good discounts on the current model, is it possible that they are clearing their stock and getting ready for a new launch?

What you say makes sense. Though not an year, I have been waiting for almost 6 months now. I am quite sold on the Storme. Most of the websites had predicted that Tata will launch a facelift this Diwali. Now most are predicting not earlier than February. It is possible that they will launch it before the budget assuming that there are chances of the budget increasing some taxes here and there.

Truthfully, I am really not sure on whether they will even launch anything at all. But what I read in other threads is keeping my dilemma alive. A good ICE, increased power and maybe even a Sunroof.

[madhu33]

Originally Posted by ptushar

Since they are offering good discounts on the current model, is it possible that they are clearing their stock and getting ready for a new launch?

What you say makes sense. Though not an year, I have been waiting for almost 6 months now. I am quite sold on the Storme. Most of the websites had predicted that Tata will launch a facelift this Diwali. Now most are predicting not earlier than February. It is possible that they will launch it before the budget assuming that there are chances of the budget increasing some taxes here and there.

Truthfully, I am really not sure on whether they will even launch anything at all. But what I read in other threads is keeping my dilemma alive. A good ICE, increased power and maybe even a Sunroof.

Since i have very recently wasted/spent 1 full tuesday -16/09/2014(at Concorde Worli) and again yesterday -28/09/2014 (at Vijay Auto- Vasai) for servicing of my Manza , what i understand is that, there is a significant upgraded version in the offing of the storme. (yes yes ... the workshop manager pointed to front facing seats, zestified touchscreen infotainment and also an AUTO TRANNY for either the Aria or the Storme or Both.
(He was saying that the auto tranny is supposed to be from ZF. )
Also from there internal discussion i could assume that the workshop training for this so called auto tranny is supposed to start shortly..(please note this is an assumption from myside based on my understanding from the discussion which the SAs were having between themselves and yes they were talking about the stomre / aria auto tranny and not the zest AMT)

[PGNarain]

Took a test drive of the Storme VX 2x4 model this past saturday and truth be told came away feeling decidedly underwhelmed.

For starters the test car was very dirty and when I tried to throw the car a bit around the parsik hill twisties it made my wife car sick - which is a real deal breaker!! Also, the car feels just too utilitarian and crude for a Rs. 1 million+ car. I am still considering it but the wifey is utterly convinced she doesn't want to sit in a Safari again - which is a more than a bit of a problem!!!

Asked the sales rep for news on the refreshed safari and he didn't seem to know anything about it, including what would be the additional features.

[ptushar]

Originally Posted by madhu33

Since i have very recently wasted/spent 1 full tuesday -16/09/2014(at Concorde Worli) and again yesterday -28/09/2014 (at Vijay Auto- Vasai) for servicing of my Manza , what i understand is that, there is a significant upgraded version in the offing of the storme. (yes yes ... the workshop manager pointed to front facing seats, zestified touchscreen infotainment and also an AUTO TRANNY for either the Aria or the Storme or Both.
(He was saying that the auto tranny is supposed to be from ZF. )
Also from there internal discussion i could assume that the workshop training for this so called auto tranny is supposed to start shortly..(please note this is an assumption from myside based on my understanding from the discussion which the SAs were having between themselves and yes they were talking about the stomre / aria auto tranny and not the zest AMT)

Your Manza servicing episode is not sounding too good. Hope things are fine now.

On the Storme news though, WOW! That sounds very very good. See, it is such news that gets me to keep waiting.

Did he by any chance have a view on when this could be launched?

Having said that, not sure whether it is a good idea to go for a Auto Transmission from Tata stables as one of their first buyers (read: testers). Maybe it would be worthwhile to go for the manual and wait to see the feedback on the auto. Also, I suspect the Auto will anyways be straight out of my price range.

Originally Posted by PGNarain

Asked the sales rep for news on the refreshed safari and he didn't seem to know anything about it, including what would be the additional features.

It is likely that even if the sales rep knows anything he might feign ignorance, as it is potentially driving away a customer. In the sense that Sales reps have targets to be met and also need their stocks to be rolling. If they send you away saying that a new version is due then they are potentially hurting their sales prospect. The service engineers are more likely to give you such news as their pays are not linked to the sales targets.

[sasi405]

Originally Posted by ptushar

Question: How has your overall experience been with the TASS?

My experience with TASS has been with three agencies so far. Summary below:

1. Concorde Motors, Mohan Estate, New Delhi: The 1st and 2nd services were done here. It was an ok experience both times, and they rectified whatever I had asked them to do. The staff were courteous and they allow you to go to the shop floor. However, by the time of the 3rd service, their staff had changed and suddenly there was a drop in the way they treated customers. I got cheesed off and decided to go elsewhere.

2. Aristo Motors, Gurgaon: This is a dealer workshop. The experience was quite bad. I made the mistake of not doing enough research before going there. The SA had no clue about the quantity and make of oil, they did not look into some of the things that I had told them and the washing etc was very bad indeed. Will never go to them again.

3. Delta Vehicle Support, Gurgaon: This is an independent TASS that is only a workshop. They are not a dealership. Though I haven't got anything done there till now, my friend got servicing etc done there for his Storme and I was with him. They seem to be the best of the lot. I am planning to go for the 30K service as well as a check up at 25K to them. They have senior staff and experienced mechanics.

Basically, my conclusion is that the type of workshop (dealer, company etc) doesn't matter. What matters is the experience of the engineers and mechanics. I am not one to be swayed by customer lounges and the quality of coffee they serve and the size of the TV in the lounge. In any case, I am going to be on the shop floor.

What I suggest is a visit to the particular TASS you may want to go to and do a thorough inspection of their facilities. Also ask to talk to the supervisors and the mechanics. See how their stores are, how they keep the oil etc, see their washing bay, condition of the lifts etc. This will give you a fair idea of whether you want to go there or not.

[Reinhard]

Originally Posted by ptushar

Since they are offering good discounts on the current model, is it possible that they are clearing their stock and getting ready for a new launch?

Most certainly. Anyway TML gives heavy discounts on SUVs from September every year - given their paltry sales, they must be running out of storage grounds & have to clear the stock. But yes, the discounts are pretty high & should be a prelude to an upgrade.

Originally Posted by ptushar

What you say makes sense. Though not an year, I have been waiting for almost 6 months now. I am quite sold on the Storme. Most of the websites had predicted that Tata will launch a facelift this Diwali. Now most are predicting not earlier than February. It is possible that they will launch it before the budget assuming that there are chances of the budget increasing some taxes here and there.

I don't think the upgrade will even be disclosed before January. I hope I'm proven wrong. But TML's track record on upgrades with time, certainly doesn't paint a pretty picture. Just one Zest won't change it overnight.

Originally Posted by ptushar

Truthfully, I am really not sure on whether they will even launch anything at all. But what I read in other threads is keeping my dilemma alive. A good ICE, increased power and maybe even a Sunroof.

The upgrade most certainly will be out there.

1. If such prospects were not in sight, a hard to stop engineer like BD won't have taken up the position. Going by the auto industry timelines in general, its about time NOW since BD joined TML to actually start seeing direct impacts of his involvement in the finished products.
2. If there is no upgrade planned EVEN NOW, TML should take this opportunity to kill off the Safari brand altogether. Duster AWD is out, which is certainly a winner on all fronts except interior feel. Scorpio update is out, which will always sell top (dunno why), Terrano AWD will be out sooner or later. XUV always pulls customers. And running an assembly line to sell a few hundred units a month of a car with convenience feature list same as that of a Premier RIO and mileage the same as a Mahindra Sarpanch (Its a tractor ) , doesn't make business sense.

[ptushar]

Originally Posted by Reinhard

1. If such prospects were not in sight, a hard to stop engineer like BD won't have taken up the position. Going by the auto industry timelines in general, its about time NOW since BD joined TML to actually start seeing direct impacts of his involvement in the finished products.

Maybe this is a silly question, but who is BD?

Originally Posted by Reinhard

2. If there is no upgrade planned EVEN NOW, TML should take this opportunity to kill off the Safari brand altogether. Duster AWD is out, which is certainly a winner on all fronts except interior feel. Scorpio update is out, which will always sell top (dunno why), Terrano AWD will be out sooner or later. XUV always pulls customers. And running an assembly line to sell a few hundred units a month of a car with convenience feature list same as that of a Premier RIO and mileage the same as a Mahindra Sarpanch (Its a tractor ) , doesn't make business sense.

This deserves one of my allowed two smileys. . But I do hope that nothing like this happens. It feels nice to see the Storme on the road.

After reading all posts and after going through the Scorpio, XUV and Duster threads, I am not sure if I should wait for a few more months for the Storme. Maybe I will test drive these three well enough and finalise something from these three. Because I agree with the people on this thread, it will feel really bad if I finalise on the Storme and they launch a new model within a couple of months. That will not only hit the heart, but also the pocket as my resale value will drop considerably.

Anyways, I was not planning to buy anything till Diwali, so lets see if we hear something positive on the Storme by then.

[Libra]

I received a call this afternoon from Concorde Delhi, in response to my visit at their showroom. I asked the lady about the refresh. She understood it to be an automatic and confirmed that they would be calling me back once it launches. On being asked about the timelines she sounded very confident about the automatic version launching in a couple of months.

[PGNarain]

Originally Posted by ptushar

It is likely that even if the sales rep knows anything he might feign ignorance, as it is potentially driving away a customer.

True, I was thinking along the same lines as well and also I am very optimistic about the new Storme. I won't go so far to speculate all that is being planned in the refreshed model and when it maybe being launched - but the sooner we have some concrete news the better.

Originally Posted by Reinhard

If such prospects were not in sight, a hard to stop engineer like BD won't have taken up the position. Going by the auto industry timelines in general, its about time NOW since BD joined TML to actually start seeing direct impacts of his involvement in the finished products.

A B-I-G +1 to the above. I am not expecting any miracles (though they do happen) but I would love to get my hands on the new Storme after BD's stint.

[rrsteer]

Two very excited salesmen from a Tata Motors dealership visited my home today to offer a test drive for Zest. They were giving a lot of mumbo jumbo on Tata- Jaguar partnership and how the partnership has/will transform the way Tata cars are built.

It was easy to tell that they must have just recently undergone a sales training exercise at Tata Motors. Both were constantly harping on the importance of jaguar/JLR in Tata cars. Point is, they told me that TML is soon to launch 8 new cars. Staring with Bolt in January 2015, followed by Ladakh (The updated Storme) and a small car - Kite. They didn't reveal any information on the other 5 cars proposed to be launched.

Since I was more keen to learn about the Ladakh, they mentioned its launch got delayed due to some more inputs and development advice received from JLR (which sounded to be more of a story rather than reality).

Anyways they were very upbeat about the Ladakh and said it would be the best SUV in the market. It was a bit of a deja vu, as pre-Aria launch a TML engineer had mentioned that the Aria would blow away the Pajero.

Overall the two guys were smartly turned out and armed with tablets, were decently informed on the product they were trying to sell and were quite confident of the product.

[ptushar]

That sounds good. Thanks for the update. So it so seems that the Tata's are now going to light the market. About time too. Last weekend saw the Zest as a mall; looked inside the cabin and all I could say was "WOW!". Now thats how you build cars! An energised Tata (along with an already energised Mahindra) will be excellent for the Indian market.

Originally Posted by rrsteer

Anyways they were very upbeat about the Ladakh and said it would be the best SUV in the market.

Oh the over-enthusiatic staff! Sometimes creating a hype can be counter productive. People start expecting the moon & stars and then even if the car does turn out to be good, it still falls below the general expectation. In any case, technically the Storme is still the best SUV under the 20L bracket. All it needs is some aesthetic appeal to start pulling the masses into the showroom.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by rrsteer

followed by Ladakh (The updated Storme)

Is it confirmed that the updated Storme is going to be called Ladakh?

To me - it just feels like two enthusiastic sales people who believe the 'Ladakh' concept displayed at the auto expo is the updated Safari Storme soon to be launched.