[raka1987]

Originally Posted by nikhilkulk

Yes 333 is indeed free. But If I opt to not go for it, I am being offered a discount of 15,000. And yes the Gold AMC and extended warranty are also being offered by Concorde. Will definitely be going for it to ensure hopefully a hassle free and cash-free ownership.

Another though that has crossed my mind recently is, should I wait for one more month for the December year end discounts? Going by the trends, surely the offers should be better as compared to now.

I would suggest to wait for last month sales number. If they sold again near to 2k cars in October then you will get good discounts in November - December also. As tata dealers are sitting on lots of stock. All the best.

Cheers!
Kalra

[Alakiri]

Hi BHPians

Please help me decide whether to go for XMA version or the XTA version of the Zest. I have heard that the Harman music system on the XT variants are better than the ones in the lower variants. Is it true?

Plus, I need the reverse park assist with camera integrated into the rear mirror or the music system. So, is it better to buy the XMA variant and install the reverse camera or still go ahead with the XTA?

Also pls let me know the additional features in the XT variant which will make a real difference in the driving pleasure and experience. Is the upgrade worth the premium? Is the XTA version still VFM when compared to the other versions like the XMA and XMS?

Will also be great if you can help me decide the colour of the car (comparison pics if any are welcome :-)). Stuck between red and blue..

Thanks in advance.

[freedom]

Originally Posted by Alakiri

Hi BHPians

Please help me decide whether to go for XMA version or the XTA version of the Zest.

If you can stretch your budget, then go for the top most variant.

[nijelj]

Got my vehicle back from 2nd service today (15000/1yr). As I had taken the gold AMC during the purchase, I was charged only for the weights for balancing the wheels (300rs). As to whether they actually did the wheel balancing, I'm giving them the benefit of doubt. Oh also, they fitted the mud in bay prevention kit. I was under the impression that my car already had that.

I had some extra niggles highlighted to the service guy
1. Metallic noise when the car bottoms out with full load on wavy roads at 60+ kmph: They had kept the vehicle overnight and had done trials in the morning or so they claim (I'm paranoid by nature), and found that some fastening was loose in the exhaust layout and tightened it
2. Co driver window was having, sometimes, the infamous misalignment while going up that plagued all the indica's that our family had owned. : He said the door pad was removed and setting was done
3. Low mileage on city (10kmpl): He said the air filter was cleaned. Disclaimer: When I do take the Zest, I drive a max of 2.5 kms in the morning to office and back 2.5 kms in the evening. By this time the vehicle does not even get time to completely warm up. A recent drive to coorg and back gave me a trip mileage of 14.1 kmpl. So was worried about mileage. But last weekend, I had done a trip to Angamaly and back (1100 kms) and my overall trip mileage was 17kmpl. It was in 98% AC on + ECO mode except for thoppur ghat, where I wanted to teach those ertigas a lesson.

A major failure from my side: I did not realize that my wheel spanner had gone missing from my car! I had done two long trips and literally would have been stuck up a sh8 creek with no paddles, if I had had a puncture. I had my resQtech tyre inflator, jumper cables, torch, Swiss knife, life hammer etc but forgot to check on the most basic thing. I do not remember taking it out of the car. I have used it once before, so it was there when I bought the car. Two lessons learnt: one, always do the basic checks before a long trip and two, make sure your car is having all the equipment intact when you have it back from any workshop visit. Because, I realised that they make a careful note of the tools and accessories when you take the vehicle in for service but do not when you come to collect it back.

For the wheel spanner, I enquired at Spare parts, who checked their system and said that the 'tool kit' which contains the wheel spanner, was out of stock and is available only in Coimbatore and Mumbai. The cost was ~ 500rs.I called Aadya motors, who had the part in stock. Since I don't know where they are located, I thought I'd try out Prerana too on Lalbagh road. I called them and the lady gave me the spare parts department number. When they didn't pick up, I called the lady again and said that I'll come there directly because they were not picking up calls. I specifically asked her if the spare parts was also on Lalbagh road and she said yes. After walking 2.5 kms till there, the guy at the showroom says that they have shifted the spare parts department to mysore (mysore road?). I was like huh? They shifted in last three hours? I called up the lady and she still didn't have a clue. Her senior then picked the call and apologized. Dejected, I was walking back from there,via Siddaiah road. Then did it dawn on me that I was passing through one of the famous chopshop streets of Bangalore. They have almost everything that you need to make a car. A couple of shops had Carjacks displayed, so I enquired there. I was stumped when they asked me 'what size?' The internet said very little, but there were google ads advertising wheel spanners '18mms, suitable for zest' , so took a gamble and got the 18mms one for Rs 150. Walked back to the car which was parked at my office and it fit just fine. So now, I'm missing just the tow hook. Will enquire periodically at Concorde, to see if the tool kit is in stock. Cheers!

[devyaaniverma]

Hi Guys,

My Zest XT is now almost one year old. And the insurance is due for renewal. Previously had a policy with Tata AIG. I wanted to know if its advisable to go with the same policy or change it to another one. Getting a lot of quotations, and frankly confused. Tata AIG is also quoting a higher price for Bumper to Bumper insurance.

Any inputs on this ?

Regards,
Devyaani.

[mayankverma]

Originally Posted by devyaaniverma

Hi Guys,

My Zest XT is now almost one year old. And the insurance is due for renewal..

From personal experience, your existing insurer will always quote a higher amount than others. If the difference is marginal, I think its best to stick to them. Hassle free claims settlement should be the sole criteria.
BTW, what NCB are you being offered? My Zest's insurance is also due for renewal next month. Get it renewed before the expiry date or else premiums will shoot up !

[mayankverma]

Guys, something really amusing happened yesterday. I had gone home for Diwali break(~10 days). The car was idle during this time. Yesterday when I tried to unlock it using the remote key it just wouldn't ! The red LED in the remote key blinked every time I pressed the unlock button but that was it. I had to go back to my apartment and bring the spare key and it worked fine. When we parked again after ~20 mins wifey dear tried to lock it using the remote and Voila, it worked. Checked twice and it worked absolutely fine.
Now, I know what to do in case this happens again but what if I do not have the spare key with me at the time? Any one else has faced this?

[nijelj]

Originally Posted by mayankverma

Guys, something really amusing happened yesterday. I had gone home for Diwali break(~10 days). The car was idle during this time. Yesterday when I tried to unlock it using the remote key it just wouldn't ! The red LED in the remote key blinked every time I pressed the unlock button but that was it. I had to go back to my apartment and bring the spare key and it worked fine. When we parked again after ~20 mins wifey dear tried to lock it using the remote and Voila, it worked. Checked twice and it worked absolutely fine.
Now, I know what to do in case this happens again but what if I do not have the spare key with me at the time? Any one else has faced this?

Umm.. why did you have to go get the spare key? Do you not have the flippy key?
The car does have this behavior is not used for a week. After you physically open the car, the alarm should go off. A press on the unlock button should reset it.

[mayankverma]

Originally Posted by nijelj

Umm.. why did you have to go get the spare key? Do you not have the flippy key?
The car does have this behavior is not used for a week. After you physically open the car, the alarm should go off. A press on the unlock button should reset it.

Yeah I should have used the flippy key. But I was a bit apprehensive about what if it did not work. The alarms would go on then. So I used the spare key to open the car to be safe. I have had an incident with this car where the remote key battery died and alarms wouldn't go off. Tried the safer option.

[ksameer1234]

Originally Posted by mayankverma

Guys, something really amusing happened yesterday. I had gone home for Diwali break(~10 days). The car was idle during this time. Yesterday when I tried to unlock it using the remote key it just wouldn't ! The red LED in the remote key blinked every time I pressed the unlock button but that was it. I had to go back to my apartment and bring the spare key and it worked fine. When we parked again after ~20 mins wifey dear tried to lock it using the remote and Voila, it worked. Checked twice and it worked absolutely fine.

Same happened with me after I tried opening car using remote key after it had been parked for about 2 weeks. Remote refused to work and I had to open manually using key. Post this, the remote worked fine for locking again.

Originally Posted by nijelj

After you physically open the car, the alarm should go off. A press on the unlock button should reset it.

I don't exactly remember alarm going off when I opened using key. But the alarm did go off. However, I can't recollect what caused that.

[swiftnfurious]

Originally Posted by Alakiri

Hi BHPians

Please help me decide whether to go for XMA version or the XTA version of the Zest. I have heard that the Harman music system on the XT variants are better than the ones in the lower variants. Is it true?..

Airbags, touch screen system (with a lot more features), Alloy wheels, DRLs, Auto AC, Alarm system, driver seat height adjust, reverse parking sensor etc are some of the additional items on the XTA - I would go eyes closed.

Guess both have Harman brand system, XTA has a touch screen system over XMA.

Originally Posted by devyaaniverma

Hi Guys,

My Zest XT is now almost one year old. And the insurance is due for renewal. Previously had a policy with Tata AIG. I wanted to know if its advisable to go with the same policy or change it to another one. Getting a lot of quotations, and frankly confused. Tata AIG is also quoting a higher price for Bumper to Bumper insurance.

Any inputs on this ? ..

Try to go with the vendor who the dealer / A$$ has tie up with'; this will prove the best. You can get the quotes from multiple guys and ask the preferred vendor to match it (if they are higher). Please do take a note of IDV from each vendor and keep it consistent while taking quotes. Ideal IDV for 1st year insurance is about 20% lesser than the first IDV.

[ksameer1234]

I am experiencing a weird problem since some time. When starting the car (Zest RT XT), the engine RPM fluctuates around 300-600 rpm for a couple of seconds and then jumps to around 1000 rpm and settles there.

This problem happens more when starting the car in morning. When started during the day, car starts normally with engine kicking in fine. In current cold conditions, it feels that the problem has aggravated and it is taking even longer to settle at idling RPM when started in morning.

Any hint on what might be the cause?

[mrbaddy]

Posting variant wise comparison of Tata Zest.

I posted a comparison last year at the time of Zest launch, but it didn't include XE variant comparison. There are minor changes from then, so posting a fresh variant comparison. For those, who want to check the previous comparison.

• Features common across all variants
  
  
  
• XE vs XM
  Most manufacturers keep the base petrol price relatively lower to get a better sticker price compared to deisel. So typically price difference for petrol & diesel for base vs mid variants end up with petrol having a higher difference compared to its diesel counterparts. But for Zest it is opposite. Strange considering XE diesel is also offering a lower state of tune (75ps).
  
  
  
• XM vs XMS
  I see some XM variant cars on road and cant understand their reasoning to not go for XMS variant. (unless there are delivery delays on XMS variant).
  
  
  
• XMS vs XT
  
  
  
• XMA vs XTA
  For those who are looking at the automatic variants for decision making.
  
  

Note:
All prices ex-showroom Delhi, taken from Tata Motors Zest website.
Variant wise features taken from Zest Brochure from the website.
In case there are any typos, please let me know. Attaching the Excel as well, in case any of the user want to do further customization for their needs.

Originally Posted by Alakiri

Hi BHPians
Also pls let me know the additional features in the XT variant which will make a real difference in the driving pleasure and experience.

You can check out the fourth table above for the list of feature differences between XMA & XTA.

[mobydick1983]

My 11 year old cousin hit on the left rear door handle of my Zest with a hammer. It was quite a heavy blow. The handle and its auto-locking functions all are still working fine, but there is a loud whirring noise from it when unlocking. Could it be some major damage? I don't want to do anything if it needs a complete change of the lock as its functioning ok. Just that this very audible noise is there which is kind of disturbing.

[devyaaniverma]

Originally Posted by mayankverma

From personal experience, your existing insurer will always quote a higher amount than others. If the difference is marginal, I think its best to stick to them. Hassle free claims settlement should be the sole criteria.
BTW, what NCB are you being offered? My Zest's insurance is also due for renewal next month. Get it renewed before the expiry date or else premiums will shoot up !

Hi,

My earlier insurance was with Tata AIG. Iam getting a difference of about 3 to 3.5K with the new quotes. So lets say i end up paying 16,500/- to continue with TATA AIG, iam getting a quote for 13K with the same specs. Quotes are given for Bumper to Bumper insurance, with key replacement, travel insurance etc.

Yet to decide, getting many quotes. Hope my response helps you too.

Regards,
Devyaani.