Team-BHP - Ford EcoSport : Official Review

Quote:

Originally Posted by sameerg001 (Post 3231751)

Sir, enjoy the car, nothing to be sad about. Its an awesome piece of machinery, enjoy it to fullest.

Look at positive side, ford may hike prices in future again :D

Yes friend I am enjoying :).....but I was the first one to prebook unofficially in HYD.

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Originally Posted by vnabhi (Post 3231837)

Congrats man! Waiting to check it out in person. I wish you'd taken delivery a week earlier in order to avoid the price hike. By the way, how much was the hike?

Sure sir will have a drive soon.....it was 47k more.

Quote:

Originally Posted by himanshuchadha (Post 3231603)

My issue is not legal! Legally what Ford decides is final. I speak about Karma. Fine reading is done when you mistrust. I trusted Ford with my Pre-Booking; didn't wait for them to announce prices and booked the vehicle. Expected the vehicle to be delivered in about 2 months (which was claimed).

Ford doesn't do what I hope nor will it do what you suggest. So let this remain as it is. By the way, ford did get back to me - my waiting period has suddenly decreased to 15 days. I jokingly reminded the customer service person that Ford probably had stocked vehicles and were only waiting for the price to be increased.

I also feel terrible when people show off their over-smartness which basically should never be needed in a rational society. If we as a forum do not stand up to malpractices then who would?

But it is not malpractice. So, instead of saying that you trusted, you could say that you were not aware of the standard terms. Otherwise I agree with you: Ford have turned a wonderful long-term marketing excercise into a bad taste in people's mouths.

Quote:

Originally Posted by arunphilip (Post 3231552)

Off-topic: I resent the statement that Bangalore has bad roads. You have to realize that BBMP are merely making it easier for us to access our dropping groundwater table.

Either way, you need a car like the EcoSport for just regular driving and commuting within a city like Bangalore. The extra ground clearance and pliant ride will give you peace of mind. You don't need to worry or think twice about driving this car on unfamiliar roads. That's the biggest USP of these compact crossovers.

But in a city like New Delhi, the roads are much better and a sedan would work pretty well.

Quote:

Originally Posted by pkk_84 (Post 3230624)

Hello BHPians,
I've booked my Eco-Sport-Trend 1.5D on 1st Sep 13 in MPL Ford, Chennai. I'm yet to receive my booking number. As there is no price protection for bookings done before 5th Sep (Before Price hike) my dealer says an increase in on Road price of Rs. 35318/-
On-Road Price in Chennai (Trend 1.5D)
Before Hike: 925236/-
After Hike: 960554/-
Difference: Rs. 35318/-

Earlier to Eco sport I really never had a thought of buying an SUV and I was looking for a premium hatch back (Mid variants). I dragged my budget to manage the cost for this Lovely little Monster! I don't know if I could manage the current hike as it drags my budget even more.

Additionally dealers say that the insurance must be taken only via their dealer ship and cannot be taken personally as it is being provided by Ford India as a package. I've got few quotes out directly from insurance companies in which the premium is approx 9 K lesser. Also Dealers still insist on accessories. Can someone clarify is it mandatory as per Ford India that the insurance to be taken from Dealer ship itself, or Between Ford & every Dealer, will there be an agreements on these stuffs.?? Also MPL Ford charges 5 K for cancellation too. I'm confused..:Frustrati

I faced the same thing with Elite Ford at Bangalore. The day I made the booking in June, the dealer insisted that I take insurance from them and in Bangalore, the difference, even when I take bumper to bumper insurance from outside is a whopping 13k. The dealer even told me he would not honour my booking order and allocate my car out of turn to someone else if I did not take the insurance from them. So, I made a booking that day paying 50k and mailed Ford customer care. They called me promptly and I explained the situation. I told them how the dealer tried to blackmail me about the booking illegally. They sent me a mail stating that insurance/accessories are all strictly optional and in addition to that they sent a mail to the dealership CC'ing me asking them to redress my grievance. That did the trick and I got a call from their Customer Relationship Manager. I explained to him that if he insists on the insurance, I will take their dealership to Consumer court and make a mess of their reputation on team-bhp. There was no force from then on and I ended up saving a good 13k on the insurance.

It is a bit of a struggle but the saving is worth it. Don't bow to dealership pressure.

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Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom (Post 3231942)

I agree, it isn't malpractice, it is 'intentionally evil'.

I am/was aware of the fact that prices can be changed anytime Ford wishes. They chose to do so early and without keeping up their promise of deliveries, and I find that intentionally wrong.

If you still wish to carry this discussion forward, may I suggest PM'ing me rather than making everyone read our 'Off topic personal discussion'. You seem more interested in telling me that I don't read/ wasn't aware, which unfortunately is untrue.

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Originally Posted by ZENith (Post 3231091)

The car doesn't lock itself automatically

When you are close to the car
Once you get out of the car, press the tiny black button on the driver or passenger door handle. This will lock the car without pressing the lock button of the key as long as you have the key in your pocket/purse/bag.

When you are at some distance
If you forget to lock when you were close to the car, you need to press the lock button on the key to lock the vehicle.

I have found keyless entry to be a very useful feature :). I rarely need to take the key out of my pocket/laptop bag.

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Originally Posted by pkk_84 (Post 3231096)

With Keyless entry option, you get near your with your car key and remote and press a small button in car door and your car opens.

Once you are inside cabin, You have your remote and key in your pocket, you can start your car with push button start. You don't need to take your keys out of your pocket and insert it, twist it for your car to start.

And once you are out you can lock your car with remote.

Thanks. I had figured it out a few minutes after posting my query :)

It is indeed a very nice feature since I don't have to take out the key at all either to open or to start the vehicle.

Quote:

Originally Posted by himanshuchadha (Post 3232127)

This ain't off-topic or personal. Moreover, we would like to participate too. :)

What you term here as "intentionally evil" is in business world referred as smart marketing. Any new product comes with introductory prices, which gets hiked after the product becomes popular. Ford is not the first company to do it, and would not be the last. Until, customers become smart too, they have no choice but to fume.

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Originally Posted by ecosport (Post 3232274)

Allright! 'Smart Marketing' referred to here is going to harm Ford's real marketing strategy in the long run. The buddy whom this was being discussed with himself agreed to that this is going to shoo away the loyal customer base. I own a Figo and this action has left a terrible aftertaste.

The reason is people like us (prebooked and non-delivered) are still a sizeable chunk and the next time Ford releases another product this will be kept in mind. So either you act 'smart' and prebook within first two days (like your goodself did) or you can just wait for the prices and deliveries to stabilize and don't pre-book or book early. There is no point pre-booking 4 days into the start.

And again the issue with your approach of acting smart is that it aggravates the actual problem. You find the problem with customers while I find the problem with a corporate. When you perceive that customers aren't as smart as you are, I can only pity the mindset.

Actually, every car manufacturer has good margins on their cars. I don't buy the point that Ecosport is/ was being sold at wafer thin margins. Also, the price increase looks okay if the delivery numbers were good. As it looks, they deliberately delayed the deliveries and increased the prices. And btw Ford is the first company to not honor even the pre-booked vehicles.

So, there you have it- your smartness is smartness until a smarter person doesn't outsmart you. And it will happen sooner than later. :) Within the fight of who is smarter, it is the big corporate who is laughing and taking all the cake.

The other way out of this situation is that you call spade a spade; something deliberate, deliberate. Otherwise we will constantly live to only outsmart each other rather than forcing corporates to honor and acknowledge their own commitments (which was the delivery time in my case)

Personally, I am not fuming; my wife was. My dad took the news okay'ishly. I was kind of disappointed. I was in the market to buy a SUV and I am okay with stretching of budget. But there would be many others (pre-booked ones) for whom this price stretch will not be comfortable. I stand by them.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom (Post 3231942)

But it is not malpractice.

I think it is. Imagine a company advertises a new product at 100. You rush to the shop and they tell you "sorry it's going to take a week", but pl pay a token advance and book it. A week later they jack up the price and call you to take it.
If Ford wanted to hike the price after launch, they should have done it as soon as their bookings crossed some number - 2000, 5000, 10,000 or whatever and made the new price applicable to those booking after that date. If on the other hand it had been a situation where the car was available off the shelf, then they have a right to ask for a new price even for those who booked but did not take delivery.
Ford involved itself in the Rs. 50 K pre booking officially. ALL ford dealers did not get the idea at the same time as a coincidence. If it had been an unofficial activity by the dealers, someone would have done prebooking for different amounts in different cities.

Quote:

Originally Posted by pkk_84 (Post 3230624)

Do check with the MPL guys on the pricing. The OTR price quoted by Chennai Ford is only Rs. 9.54 lakhs for 1.5D Trend. Also, it is not mandatory to take the Insurance, extended Warranty and the accessories from the dealer. What the dealer is liable to take is the Ex-Showroom price plus the registration charges.

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Originally Posted by himanshuchadha (Post 3232340)

Ok, in the long term, probably Ford is going to be the real loser and not the customers. But do you think that they have not given a thought to that? Don't you think that it should be up to them to decide what is better for them in the short and long terms?

The hike is deliberate and has nothing to do with the state of the rupee, i agree. But whatever be the reason, they have the right to hike the price to maximise their profit. That is how free markets operate. Maximising profits is not unethical.

I don't think any brand here in India has anything even remotely close to a loyal fan base. We flock to whoever sells it cheapest. Every car is a new car. :)

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Originally Posted by Srinivas C (Post 3232342)

Except that the deal you signed with the dealer states that prices at the time of delivery shall apply.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ecosport (Post 3232274)

Cheating loyal customers is not smart marketing by any marketing theory. When the Ford India President announced that they are ready to meet demand either he under estimated his own product or he was lying.

When the prices were announced they potrayed the Ecosport as a vfm product. If there is another hike then probably the Duster would become more vfm than Ecosport. Ford India took 1.5 years to launch the Ford Ecosports and they are still not ready to meet demand.

Ford is no strategic expert. They had estimated a maximum of 10000 1.5 P MT bookings but in real world it turned out to be 40000. Ford India is using the policy of divide and rule by making us bicker amongst ourselves so that we can't stand up against their malpractices.

I hope Honda, Hyundai, Suzuki come out with mini SUVs soon so that Ford and its dealers realise their folly:deadhorse.