[vsun]

Originally Posted by Turbanator

By my experience better stick with Toyota dealer insurance even if expensive. If we don't buy from them, it becomes a big hassle at the time of settlement as they even don't accept DO letter from insurance and wait till funds are actually credited by insurance. Learnt this lesson recently.

Now I am in two minds again. I doubt whether any insurance company will be ready to credit the funds well in advance, without having the work completed.
I have decided to go for outside insurance for my new Innova Crysta, as the Toyota insurance is almost two times more. I have planned to invest the saved amount in some good mutual fund to reduce my risk. Now I need to rethink.

[Turbanator]

I doubt whether any insurance company will be ready to credit the funds well in advance, without having the work completed.

No, they just need a mail to start work but will not release vehicle after repair till they get funds credited to their account, they don't even accept DO mail from Insurance. This is the way they work here, might be different at your place. Better check with your insurance provider and then cross verify with the dealership.

[androdev]

Originally Posted by sridhu

Folks

Putting it out there:

Was trying to renew my insurance with the dealer. Since I have an rti, I wanted to have for as long as possible.

But the Toyota dealer (Nandi) gave me a quote for 70k for zero dep, b2b with IDV of 15.3 l and 73k for an rti, b2b but with IDV of 14.1 the former is 10% less than the ex showroom price & the latter 20%.

10% is the normal depreciation in automobiles for insurance for the first 6 years.

The strange thing is, the dealer won't shift the IDV for the rti policy even though I was willing to pay for the difference. (I think the IDV represents the reference value when selling a car and such a drop early on will affect resale value.may be illogical)

Not able get or think of a good explanation.

Zero dep outside is around 56k.

While premium itself at the dealer is high, please ignore that and tell me what you think I should do.

What did the other folks do?

If you take RTI, you don't have to worry about IDV because you get a new vehicle. Check if RTI reimburse new car registration and insurance charges in case of such a claim.

In general, I am a fan of manufacturer branded insurance products. Yes they cost significantly more but you will really appreciate the convenience during a claim. Or ask the workshop service advisor to find out the list of insurance companies that offer the best claim experience. It's easy to get cheaper premiums by shopping around but the claim experience can be taxing.

[CrippledLucifer]

Good day everyone,

I hope everyone here is having a good weekend so far and is in the best of health.

Before I begin, I hope this is the right place to post this as I'm not looking for over the top mods for our incoming new car. Mods, kindly move this to the appropriate section in case I'm in the wrong, thank you!

Now, on to the meat of my post. My parents have booked a brand new Toyota Innova Crysta ZX which is due for delivery next month. We're super stoked about it and are looking forward to it, it's been an extremely long time since we've had a brand new car in the family. I live overseas, however will be in India at the time of delivery to ensure everything goes smoothly. The current plan is to take delivery of the car in mid-August so I can help the parents out with the post delivery inspections and what not. I'm a huge car nut (aren't we all?), and I am extremely particular about my cars.

This is where my thread comes in. I've got a few questions about some minor modifications that I was hoping to receive some help with here. As aforementioned, I live overseas and consequently have minimal knowledge about the current modification scene back home in India, specifically in the Delhi NCR where my parents reside.

We're looking to get two very specific things done to the car in addition to the usual accessories. The first and most important thing is to get the bare metal that's exposed in the wheel wells covered with... well something. I really don't understand why Toyota skimped out on this, not only does it look ugly, but it's a prime spot for rust to start taking over as the car ages. All we want is some kind of insulation or a coating done to prevent any damage to the metal from stones or otherwise. Here in Canada where I live, there's multiple shops that offer this service and I'm certain the provision exists in India too. Car enthusiasts exist everywhere after all. If anyone knows where we can get this done in the Delhi NCR area, I humbly request you to get in touch with me. We'd prefer to get this done within a day or two if not hours post delivery to keep the car protected right from the get go.

On a related note, the dealership is installing 3M paint protection film as well as some "underbody coating" which they say does NOT cover the wheel wells. Regardless, as they're offering that at no cost to us, we're thinking of taking it. Is anyone familiar with what they're going to use? My uncle asked at the dealership if they can just use the same stuff in the wheel wells and he was told that the product can't be used there for whatever reason. Go figure...

The second "modification" is a more cosmetic thing, but something that I've done on both my vehicles here. I'm talking about a clear headlight protection film. My father has been searching online but can't seem to find any shop that offers this service in Delhi. Keep in mind we don't want any form of tint, but just a completely see through film to protect the headlight lenses in order to keep them looking like new while also maintaining full optical clarity. My vehicles here in Canada use XPel Ultimate and it's virtually undetectable once installed. Both my vehicles here have had it from the time of ownership and the headlights still look brand new despite taking a lot of salt and stone chips during our brutal Canadian winters. To my knowledge, XPel is mostly concentrated around North America, but I believe 3M offers a similar product (perhaps worldwide?) so I'm hoping someone in Delhi has it available. Once again, if anyone knows a shop that installs a clear film, kindly let me know.

As for the other accessories, we honestly don't know where to go and are very confused. I personally would prefer getting some things installed by the dealership themselves as I prefer OEM items, but my Uncle is adamant and saying you'll get the same stuff in aftermarket shops spread around Delhi for a fraction of the price. He believes the dealership is trying to rip us off by offering the same things available in the market. Is there a giant gap in terms of quality or is it the same? I'm assuming all the aftermarket stuff is from China so my guess is the quality will be dubious. However, if the dealership is also using the same, it really makes no sense to invest in it does it?

Thanks for taking the time to read my post, I look forward to seeing the various replies!

[amalji]

Originally Posted by vsun

I have decided to go for outside insurance for my new Innova Crysta, as the Toyota insurance is almost two times more. I have planned to invest the saved amount in some good mutual fund to reduce my risk. Now I need to rethink.

Originally Posted by Turbanator

No, they just need a mail to start work but will not release vehicle after repair till they get funds credited to their account, they don't even accept DO mail from Insurance. This is the way they work here, might be different at your place. Better check with your insurance provider and then cross verify with the dealership.

Originally Posted by androdev

In general, I am a fan of manufacturer branded insurance products. Yes they cost significantly more but you will really appreciate the convenience during a claim. Or ask the workshop service advisor to find out the list of insurance companies that offer the best claim experience. It's easy to get cheaper premiums by shopping around but the claim experience can be taxing.

It's because we fall for this OEM bullying that manufacturers continue to increase the price to the level that they want regardless of what the market price is. I would recommend that we stick with the non-Toyota insurance and fight together to solve the delay than to just give up to the bullying of OEM. 15 years back, when there was nothing called Toyota and Maruti insurance, the claim process was much smoother. It's because the consumers bend to this bullying that we get such crap service. Charging 50% to 100% more for the insurance is cheating in every sense.

[androdev]

Originally Posted by amalji

It's because we fall for this OEM bullying that manufacturers continue to increase the price to the level that they want regardless of what the market price is. I would recommend that we stick with the non-Toyota insurance and fight together to solve the delay than to just give up to the bullying of OEM. 15 years back, when there was nothing called Toyota and Maruti insurance, the claim process was much smoother. It's because the consumers bend to this bullying that we get such crap service. Charging 50% to 100% more for the insurance is cheating in every sense.

It's really a free market. I haven't been forced to buy such insurance policies. Time that you have to spend in dealing with claim settlement is a cost to you which is what I want to save by paying more for such policies. Also they are not very expensive if you compare to Bajaj Allianz like policies. Obviously you can't compare the cheapest providers without even a proper call center number.

Don't you think Innova itself is an over priced bullying by Toyota charging a lot more for the intangibles?

PS: when I read your post, I thought you must be from Kerala I have very close friends from there, so I mean it in good way.

[amalji]

Originally Posted by androdev

It's really a free market. I haven't been forced to buy such insurance policies. Time that you have to spend in dealing with claim settlement is a cost to you which is what I want to save by paying more for such policies. Also they are not very expensive if you compare to Bajaj Allianz like policies. Obviously you can't compare the cheapest providers without even a proper call center number.

Not necessarily, if you know how to deal with it. For example, use your credit card to buy a month of time. I recently faced an issue where Toyota told, it will take 4 to 5 days, if I claim insurance ( yes, it was Toyota insurance ) and they will complete everything within a day, if I don't claim for insurance. I told, I'll make a security payment to get back my vehicle and to pay me back when they get back the insurance. They said it's ok to do it that way. End of the day, when they realized that I'm not someone who will budge to the service advisor's pressure not to claim the insurance, they completed the work with insurance within 2 days.

For my next new car insurance, I might go with Toyota insurance only for the first year and then will switch to a government insurance company. I have dealt with it 10 years back and never found it as a huge hassle at all. It's in fact the authorized service centers which make it appear as if it is a hassle to deal with them. And for the likes of Innova and Corolla, the difference in pricing is around 25k to 30k per year which is not a small amount at all!

The only reason why I will be using the manufacturer insurance in the first year is because if they say that some design issue is because of my bad handling of the car and if they refuse to get it repaired under warranty, I'll ask them to repair it using their own insurance.

Originally Posted by androdev

Don't you think Innova itself is an over priced bullying by Toyota charging a lot more for the intangibles?

I think, it's more of a case where other manufacturers like Ford are under cutting their prices for grabbing a market share or a case where the likes of Maruti and Renault which compromises on the structural stability of the vehicles sold in India. There are only a handful of car manufacturers in India who makes profit consistently and Toyota is one among them. But, even for Toyota, their profit margin is very slender compared to the revenue. I agree to the fact that quality comes at a price. But, at the same time, the insurance lobby that these manufacturers are playing out is pure monopoly business. It's just that they add one more level where commissions are shared and they purposefully try and make life difficult for people who go for the free market option.

Originally Posted by androdev

PS: when I read your post, I thought you must be from Kerala I have very close friends from there, so I mean it in good way.

[vsun]

Originally Posted by amalji

It's because we fall for this OEM bullying that manufacturers continue to increase the price to the level that they want regardless of what the market price is. I would recommend that we stick with the non-Toyota insurance and fight together to solve the delay than to just give up to the bullying of OEM. 15 years back, when there was nothing called Toyota and Maruti insurance, the claim process was much smoother. It's because the consumers bend to this bullying that we get such crap service. Charging 50% to 100% more for the insurance is cheating in every sense.

I have decided to go with outside insurance, and face the associated risk.
I was surprised to see that, some of the dealers here are not willing to sell vehicles to the customers who request to go for outside insurance.

[amalji]

Originally Posted by vsun

I was surprised to see that, some of the dealers here are not willing to sell vehicles to the customers who request to go for outside insurance.

Shows the kind of profit these dealers make out of insurance. 30k margin per year means 1.5 lakh for 5 years and might even be more margin than what they get out of selling a car! Why would they want to miss out on that ?

[samabhi]

Originally Posted by Turbanator

By my experience better stick with Toyota dealer insurance even if expensive. If we don't buy from them, it becomes a big hassle at the time of settlement as they even don't accept DO letter from insurance and wait till funds are actually credited by insurance. Learnt this lesson recently.

I have my Crysta insurance with HDFC Ergo through my company as it's CLV. The experience with Toyota Service for one of the claim was satisfactory. They were prompt in getting all the required work done without much delay. Only catch that I heard is that not all service centres accept claims from all the insurance service providers, as they have a preferred list.

[Libran10]

Originally Posted by amalji

Shows the kind of profit these dealers make out of insurance. 30k margin per year means 1.5 lakh for 5 years and might even be more margin than what they get out of selling a car! Why would they want to miss out on that ?

I had the same issue. Was told for the first 250 vehicles, Toyota wants to go with ICICI. It was not a customer choice:/
On renewal, went with New India ( used my CA membership to get a huge discount). Saved close to 30K on Y2 insurance

[Turbanator]

dealership is installing 3M paint protection film as well as some "underbody coating" which they say does NOT cover the wheel wells. Regardless, as they're offering that at no cost to us, we're thinking of taking it.

Welcome to the forum, I doubt if Toyota dealers will be that kind to install PPF as it typically costs about Rs 100 Per Sqft and it will cost around 70-100 K for a complete wrap. Underbody coating is usually done to take care of rust and is also chargeable though much less anywhere between 5-10K. I will agree something needs to be done for the wheel wells, I will try to check with the 3M guy if he can suggest something.

I am not aware of clear film for headlamps and am not sure if you need these here and how do these perform but by my experience regular OEM does last long and you can always get these corrected later. But the link given by you looks good, just that they have limited product profile. I will check for a similar product locally and update.

personally would prefer getting some things installed by the dealership themselves as I prefer OEM items, but my Uncle is adamant and saying you'll get the same stuff in aftermarket shops spread around Delhi for a fraction of the price.

I will agree with you, absolutely no use of taking a brand new car to aftermarket shops. ZX variant is decently equipped and hardly require any accessories but if you must need to dress up than stick with Dealership irrespective of costs.

Not necessarily, if you know how to deal with it. For example, use your credit card to buy a month of time. I recently faced an issue where Toyota told, it will take 4 to 5 days, if I claim insurance ( yes, it was Toyota insurance ) and they will complete everything within a day, if I don't claim for insurance. I told, I'll make a security payment to get back my vehicle and to pay me back when they get back the insurance.

I will tend to agree with Androdev, the scenario referred by you maybe good for an individual and small amount, it gets difficult in the case of a company registered car and even in the case of personal car do you think that Dealer will refund your money you gave by card when they get back from Insurance & who bears card charges? How do you plan to give security if repair amounts are a couple of Lacs? Will dealer give you a receipt for such amount and how will they return you back?

Coming to the costs, I believe if the difference is not more than 10-20 % than better stock with company insurance but if the difference is too large than it gets difficult, normally sales guy will take off excess amount when you show them alternate offers but again it depends on the product. So something like Fortuner that carries longer delivery and you are eager to get it fast, think as a premium.

I heard is that not all service centres accept claims from all the insurance service providers, as they have a preferred list.

Correct, we got our Innova repaired from Pioneer Chandigarh which did not accept confirmation from National Insurance and released only after getting funds in their account but when I checked with another dealer - Globe they accepted cashless with National. So it is a good idea to send your vehicle which accepts Cashless or better do a check before buying insurance with the local dealer which all brands are accepted for cashless.

[IndiaSierra]

Been a silent observer on this thread since it started.After long debates finally decided to buy the Innova Crysta ZX MT.We started to visit dealerships and negotiate from mid of June when dealers were providing around Rs 40,000 discount on any variant of Innova.Every Toyota dealer forced us to convince that the price would increase post GST.Even though the dealership had ready stock and was willing to deliver the car immediately I decided against it and held the purchase till 1st July.The wait turned out to be profitable and the ZX variant experienced a Rs 1.5 lacs reduction (Ex Showroom Kolkata).So finally the fresh price list got ready in 4 days and we booked the car on 5th July.Total OnRoad price came to 21.49 lacs including RTI Insurance,Road Tax,Extended (True) Warranty of 2 yrs+1.4 lacs kilometers.The dealership gave a cash discount of Rs7000 and floor mats as freebies.Expected delivery date is by 25th July.Will update with a post once I take the delivery and an ownership review will follow in a few months.

[RickyC]

After going through various rounds of dealership visits, dilly dallying between the Tata HEXA XTA and Innova Crysta ZX AT, we put in our booking in early June with a promise of the delivery happening from the first lot of Post GST cars. We took the delivery of our Innova Crysta ZX AT BRONZE from Uttam Toyota, Noida yesterday on 10th July. After a reduction of about 1.5L (From Earlier OTR), total damages were 23.40L including the 1% TDS, Insurance from Bajaj Allianz, Extended Warranty and some basic accessories.
Barring some extra long time taken during the delivery, the whole process was smooth, as expected from Toyota.

[CrippledLucifer]

Originally Posted by Turbanator

Welcome to the forum, I doubt if Toyota dealers will be that kind to install PPF as it typically costs about Rs 100 Per Sqft and it will cost around 70-100 K for a complete wrap. Underbody coating is usually done to take care of rust and is also chargeable though much less anywhere between 5-10K. I will agree something needs to be done for the wheel wells, I will try to check with the 3M guy if he can suggest something.

My father has gotten in touch with the dealership to inquire about what exactly they'll be doing. Price for wrapping the whole car seems to be extremely expensive however. A full body wrap for an SUV typically runs for $500-600CAD or roughly ₹25,000-₹30,000. My uncle also found a 3M car care center near our home and will get in touch with them for a quote. Let's see what they tell us.

Thank you! Kindly let me know once he gets back to you. Wheel wells are the biggest concern we have as we're intending to keep the car for a long time to come.

Originally Posted by Turbanator

I am not aware of clear film for headlamps and am not sure if you need these here and how do these perform but by my experience regular OEM does last long and you can always get these corrected later. But the link given by you looks good, just that they have limited product profile. I will check for a similar product locally and update.

Perhaps it won't be as useful, but I'd like to think of them as an added layer of protection. If replacement lenses come cheap, then I fully agree, there's no point in it. However if the lenses are permasealed like they are on my BMW, it's more worth it to protect them right off the bat. The film installed here is virtually invisible once installed and cured. I'll take a picture of it on my car and send it to you via PM. Once again do let me know if you happen to know of a local product we can apply.

Originally Posted by Turbanator

I will agree with you, absolutely no use of taking a brand new car to aftermarket shops. ZX variant is decently equipped and hardly require any accessories but if you must need to dress up than stick with Dealership irrespective of costs.

Exactly my point! It's more or less fully loaded and all we really need are a few basic accessories. It really makes no sense to go elsewhere to install substandard products especially on a brand new car. Will try to convince my Uncle to see things our way.

Thanks so much for the help thus far, I look forward to the information you'll provice.