[firingpistonz]

Hello fellow members. This is my first post on Team-BHP and it is a rant and or advice sought.

ALERT: Long thread ahead.

We were looking to upgrade our 2009 Swift VDI ABS since three years( yes for the past three years). It was postponed due to the indefinite pandemic and a financial future that was unclear. I kept on postponing while the wife wanted to upgrade soon. We finally decided in the middle of 2021 that we will go for a compact suv. We were looking at Nexon ,Sonet and Magnite mainly. But we found that the interior space they offered was almost similar to the swift and decided to pool in more money and look at Mid-size suvs instead. Narrowed down to Kia Seltos and Harrier. In the meantime XUV 700 was launched and we went to test drive it during October. We were stunned to see so many people to do the same. We were told to wait for 3 days to get a test drive and were told that there were lot of bookings and we are looking at a minimum of 6-8 months for diesel AX5 variant. We decided against it as the waiting period was too high. We were confused between the Harrier and Seltos, loved the harrier for its presence and superb engine. But there are many concerns against it. like
1) Build quality(interiors) not upto the mark.
2) Abysmal media center screen and horrendous rear camera.
3) bad anecdotes regarding tata after sales service.
4) car will be shared with wife who might drive it primarily. Our parking space in the apt is a bit tricky for a vehicle of this size. Also daily driving this beast in narrow roads leading to our apt was a strict non-no from the wife.
5) Nearly 3.5 lakhs dearer compared to Seltos GT turbo petrol DCT. (XZA variant)

We took almost 2 weeks to weigh the pros and cons between Seltos and harrier and we finally booked a Seltos GTX plus Turbo petrol DCT on the 10th of November 2021 in Naara Kia, JP nagara Bangalore. We wanted a 2022 MY and we were ok with the waiting. We were told that the vehicle will be tentatively delivered in Feb 2022 and definitely by March of the same year. This was promised to us during the booking. Unfortunately I did not take this in writing.

Now months pass, feb becomes March. I call the Sales executive. I slowly notice a change in his tone. He says there is a delay from Kia and cannot promise when the vehicle can be delivered. He calls us a couple of days later and says there is Seltos available, same model but in two different colour options. One is silver and the other is White DT. We have opted for White MT. I tell him that these are not acceptable, he says I should accept whatever colour is available. This was his exact statement. I'm not exaggerating.

I now sense that I need to escalate, call the Kia India customer care and escalate the same. I get an email the next day from Naara Kia that our car has been allocated and we will get it by the end of April 2022 max. We are finally relieved. I keep my fingers crossed and I try calling the executive during the course of April. He ignores me completely and never calls back. It is now end of April and I call the dealership direclty and ask for the executive. he calls me after a couple of days and mentions that he was busy with deliveries. He nonchalantly says our vehicle was not tagged/made available to the dealer and will not be delivered in Apr. He has no idea when it will be delievered. I can decide if I can continue waiting or do the opposite of the same. he ends the call saying I should've taken whatever colour was available and no use cribbing now. I finally lose my temper and give him my piece of mind. I escalate the issue and KIA india re-assigns my case to Customer relations head Naara Kia. the person calls me, and says she will provide an update by May first week and apologizes for the behaviour of the sales exec.

I call her yesterday and I'm now told there is no idea when our car will be delivered. She now is asking me to downgrade our choice to the Tech line.

Our delivery is so delayed that there have been two price revisions to the Seltos line. It is now 39k dearer compared to the time we booked and no price protection.

couple of things I note from this episode.
1) KIA India does not give a damn to a prospective cusomer. Re routes all grievances to the dealer. I think many companies do the same. No apology email, nothing. Looks like they are high on their sales figures.
2) KIA dealerships or rather the personnel there seem to be arrogant. The sales executive's tone was if I cancel there are innumerable people waiting in line. Please dont bother, you are unimportant. I was buying the second most top variant of Seltos, and was not treated half decently by these chaps.Imagine how these guys treat someone who buys a lower variant of Sonet.
3) As a customer I have completely no idea of what is the status of my car. Is it in the plant, is it still being manufactured? No idea. I was told that nobody can jump the queue and get one, but considering there is no transparency by KIA on the status of my vehicle, I will assume someone else was given prefferential treatment at the dealership.

What can I do now?
1) Shall i continue to wait? Our currentcar is ling overdue for suspension and steering replacement. If we continue to wait need to get these changed.
If so how do I escalate this issue to someone at KIA, who can give us some concrete answer.
2) Should we cancel and go for a
a) Harrier : with all issues mentioned above, the XZA variant will be available in 45 or less days.
b) XUV700: Get our current car fixed and book a XUV700. I'm told by the sales exec, whom I talked to recently that petrol AX7 was delivered in 6 months flat. Is this true?

What irks us the the blatant lies and indifferent attitude of KIA dealers. Also if we had booked an XUV700 petrol in the same time, we would have pne by now.

Please advice fellow members and do chip in your thoughts. It might only be the soothing thing in the episode.

[abhinav1817]

Originally Posted by Abhishek_Nikam

This was the deal breaker for me. Personally, I love the way Seltos looks, and I do not like the way Creta looks. I can live without a panoramic sunroof, but I cannot live with a car that does not look good for me. And so I went ahead with the Seltos IVT.

100% in agreement with the looks part. Also as a driver I am not in for "must have" for sunroofs, but on comparison, it has become a "must" from family for this price point. Other than that, 3 adults in Creta rear seat were slightly more comfortable than Seltos which had shoulder rubbing. And as we are in no hurry, we have decided to wait on for either facelifts.

Originally Posted by Abhishek_Nikam

Also, you might want to check with other members or friends who own a car with panoramic sunroof, and how many actually use it after 6 months or a year or two.
My Seltos IVT, almost three months old, and we hardly open the sunroof now. Especially with the summer heat in Maharashtra, if I open just the sunroof cover and leave the glass as it is, you can clearly feel the cabin warming up.
Even my kid who used to open/close the sunroof all the time, has stopped playing with the sunroof now.

This is where it goes completely subjective and personal exp biased. I got the response from other members here in the thread that sunroof did not play any significant deterrent to AC. And even if it "logically" does, i am ok to take that risk in Bangalore's weather.

Now before i make my next remark, here is a fun fact: Google led me to your review/thread on Seltos IVT (where you talk about delivery day pics and driven only 100kms and all) and thats how i landed up in this thread asking IVT, DCT, seltos, creta and all doubts. Hope the further drives have been even more exciting.!

And I do love how current seltos looks but the catch (remark) here is: I believe seltos owners will not use sunroof that much because that size does not bring anything wow inside the cabin as compared to Creta's. [But again this is purely me, and i will accept the fact that even people with panoramic sunroof might not want to use them regularly.]

[Aviator_guy]

Originally Posted by abhinav1817

I believe seltos owners will not use sunroof that much because that size does not bring anything wow inside the cabin as compared to Creta's. [But again this is purely me, and i will accept the fact that even people with panoramic sunroof might not want to use them regularly.]

Couldn't agree more. We have both Creta and Seltos in the family and from personal experience, can tell that panaromic sunroof is a different league altogether. It elevates the cabin appearance, specially for rear seat passengers. We have hardly opened the sunshade of Seltos but almost always open sunshade of Creta whenever sun is not too hot. I am not even talking about opening the sun roof but just keeping the shades open, which makes a world of difference and a great feeling for family members.

[naru80]

Originally Posted by firingpistonz

What can I do now?
1) Shall i continue to wait?
2) Should we cancel and go for a
a) Harrier : with all issues mentioned above, the XZA variant will be available in 45 or less days.
b) XUV700: Get our current car fixed and book a XUV700.

Worst time to be a car buyer. Arrogant salesmen, dealers who don't give a damn, and automakers hiking prices every second month.

The practical advice would be to keep the booking since you have already waited this long. You can book another vehicle and see who delivers first. But chances are that the experience with other carmakers will not be much different.

A little OT, but IMHO Seltos vs XUV700 is no comparison. XUV is safer, a segment higher, more spacious, with a better engine, and superior road presence. It's definitely worth the extra wait.

[abhinav1817]

Originally Posted by Aviator_guy

I am not even talking about opening the sun roof but just keeping the shades open, which makes a world of difference and a great feeling for family members.

I think the closed is more beneficial anyway, when it rains, you will not open plus when you are on highway speeds you will not open, so i guess/agree just the shades itself is the major plus.

[morphique]

Originally Posted by firingpistonz

Please advice fellow members and do chip in your thoughts. It might only be the soothing thing in the episode.

Had the same experience with Kia. After waiting for months for Sonet Diesel AT, lots of bad experiences with the dealers in Pune, Kia customer care working like a postman redirecting to the dealer always, and despite being flexible to consider Seltos Diesel AT / DCT, still did not get any of our preferred options. Finally settled for the newly launched S+ variant of Creta DCT (since it was in ready stock). Ended up paying much less (saved few lacs) than what we would have paid for Seltos DCT, obviously by compromising on the features and looks

[noopster]

Originally Posted by firingpistonz

We were confused between the Harrier and Seltos, loved the harrier for its presence and superb engine. But there are many concerns against it. like
1) Build quality(interiors) not upto the mark.
2) Abysmal media center screen and horrendous rear camera.
3) bad anecdotes regarding tata after sales service.
4) car will be shared with wife who might drive it primarily. Our parking space in the apt is a bit tricky for a vehicle of this size. Also daily driving this beast in narrow roads leading to our apt was a strict non-no from the wife.
5) Nearly 3.5 lakhs dearer compared to Seltos GT turbo petrol DCT. (XZA variant)

That rules out the Harrier, doesn't it? In any case, if you are dissatisfied withe the Kia dealership experience, moving to Tata isn't going to help your cause

we finally booked a Seltos GTX plus Turbo petrol DCT on the 10th of November 2021 in Naara Kia, JP nagara Bangalore. We wanted a 2022 MY and we were ok with the waiting. We were told that the vehicle will be tentatively delivered in Feb 2022 and definitely by March of the same year. This was promised to us during the booking. Unfortunately I did not take this in writing.

Wouldn't have helped either: it's on a best effort basis, subject to availability. But please refer the part I've highlighted in bold: why did you insist on a 2022MY vehicle booking in early November? You could have easily got your car home a lot earlier.

Now months pass, feb becomes March. I call the Sales executive. I slowly notice a change in his tone. He says there is a delay from Kia and cannot promise when the vehicle can be delivered. He calls us a couple of days later and says there is Seltos available, same model but in two different colour options. One is silver and the other is White DT. We have opted for White MT. I tell him that these are not acceptable, he says I should accept whatever colour is available. This was his exact statement. I'm not exaggerating.

Similar situation back in 2011 when I had booked my VW Vento petrol highline AT in terra beige. They called me about 3 months in and offered me a choice of white and silver, and I ended up choosing white. The salesman is being truthful with you. In my case terra beige didn't hit the showroom for another 3 months!
Also not clear on which variant you wanted and offered. I thought you'd booked a petrol DCT. Or is it a manual?

I try calling the executive during the course of April. He ignores me completely and never calls back. It is now end of April and I call the dealership direclty and ask for the executive. he calls me after a couple of days and mentions that he was busy with deliveries. He nonchalantly says our vehicle was not tagged/made available to the dealer and will not be delivered in Apr. He has no idea when it will be delievered. I can decide if I can continue waiting or do the opposite of the same. he ends the call saying I should've taken whatever colour was available and no use cribbing now. I finally lose my temper and give him my piece of mind. I escalate the issue and KIA india re-assigns my case to Customer relations head Naara Kia. the person calls me, and says she will provide an update by May first week and apologizes for the behaviour of the sales exec.

I call her yesterday and I'm now told there is no idea when our car will be delivered. She now is asking me to downgrade our choice to the Tech line.

Problem is that Kia has loaded so many variants into their lineup that variant mix during production must be a nightmare! If you are still keen on the Kia, please chaeck what is available and make a decision.

Our delivery is so delayed that there have been two price revisions to the Seltos line. It is now 39k dearer compared to the time we booked and no price protection.

This really can't be helped in a seller's market situation. But I don't think your problem will be solved by changing to an XUV700. Someone I know was quoted an 18 month waiting for the AX7 diesel with ADAS just yesterday!

[firingpistonz]

That rules out the Harrier, doesn't it? In any case, if you are dissatisfied withe the Kia dealership experience, moving to Tata isn't going to help your cause

My experience with a Tata dealer, during the test drive and quotation sessions were frankly much better than the one we have had with KIA dealerships even during the booking time.(I can give multiple instances). If we are talking about only dealers the folks at TATA trounced KIA anyday, at least that was my experience. If you ask me why we went ahead with Seltos, frankly it was only for the car and not because of its dealer.

Wouldn't have helped either: it's on a best effort basis, subject to availability. But please refer the part I've highlighted in bold: why did you insist on a 2022MY vehicle booking in early November? You could have easily got your car home a lot earlier.

My bad, did not elaborate on this: While booking our DCT variant we frankly wanted a MY2022, but were ok with a MY2021, if we get it immediately. The sales adviser mentioned that he cannot promise if it will be delivered even by Dec 2021, as there some pending DCT bookings. He promised something by Jan 2022. Hence we opted to wait.

This ideally wouldn't have helped either, as the CRM rep from the dealer mentioned a couple of months ago, that there is one booking still pending from Aug 2021 for a GTX DCT. Not sure how true this is, but moot point.

Similar situation back in 2011 when I had booked my VW Vento petrol highline AT in terra beige. They called me about 3 months in and offered me a choice of white and silver, and I ended up choosing white. The salesman is being truthful with you. In my case terra beige didn't hit the showroom for another 3 months!
Also not clear on which variant you wanted and offered. I thought you'd booked a petrol DCT. Or is it a manual?

He was trying to help but never did he give an indication that the situation is bad, that we might've to wait for months. If he had done it we would've taken some concrete decision on the next step forward. This was not genuinely helpful to us. We've booked a GTX+ 1.4 turbo petrol DCT. By White MT, I meant monotone. Sorry

Problem is that Kia has loaded so many variants into their lineup that variant mix during production must be a nightmare! If you are still keen on the Kia, please chaeck what is available and make a decision.

Don't know about the umpteen variants thing, but my analysis is they have a culture problem. The company keeping dealers in dark and some dealers themselves doing the same to the customers does not make a good impression. What are available though are the anemic 1.5 NA and diesel engines in HTK+ variants. Significant downgrade in terms of spec.
We were ok with HTX variants, but they are in high demand too, hence the CRM advised not to change our booking to this.

This really can't be helped in a seller's market situation. But I don't think your problem will be solved by changing to an XUV700. Someone I know was quoted an 18 month waiting for the AX7 diesel with ADAS just yesterday!

Yes, it is a sellers market, hopefully we come out of it. Regarding the XUV700, yes diesels have long waiting periods, but petrol AT don't. Trying for a petrol AT. Let see.

UPDATE : I have been interacting with the CRM head of the dealership. She mentioned that the car is still not "tagged" to our order and her boss asked her to communicate that we need to be prepared for a minimum of 2-3 months of additional wait from now. That will bring the total to 8-9 months from the time we booked.

She agreed that KIA is being opaque, and this is not all helpful and that is hurting customers whose orders have been delayed beyond reasonable doubt . She also mentioned there are many Sonet orders that fall in similar bracket.

[trumpet]

Hello dear t-bhp members,

Its after a very long hiatus that I am writing back. I am writing here on the post as a continuation of the experiences most of you may have had while booking the Seltos.

My dad's car (Dezire - Big Boot) needs a replacement, so we shortened the search to the Seltos. My dad is on the heavier side and needs more of in-cabin space while in the car. A tight fit or a decent fill will not do. He is comfortable with the Seltos and has had 2-3 test drives on it and on Feb 05,2022, we made the booking for the Seltos IVT (HTX Variant) at Kun Ambattur, Chennai.

APRIL 2022

By mid- april, we get a note from KIA informing us about the upgrade of the variant. This, I believe was in line with KIA adding new features to the models. Would this compound delivery? or would this be treated as a new booking. Kindly note, we have never approached KIA to modify or upgrade the booking at all as my dad was happy with the HTX trim.


MAY 2022

Till date, no one in the dealership knows the status of the booking. We frequent the place on weekends hoping for some new update - but sadly none. All that results is a morning wasted and 2 cups of coffee. The Sales Advisor, CRM, - no one has any idea on the car. I wonder whether the booking ID has been allotted or whether the car has actually been manufactured. Delays like this are only ruining the experience of owning a new car.

What makes matters frustrating is that my dad is paying the whole amount upfront and has everything ready. He has also sold his current car (believing that the seltos would come as per the delivery date). So we are stuck between the two and his patience is running out.

Is there any one who can guide us to a more competent authority on KIA? I called up KIA Customer care, lodged a complaint on Tuesday and promptly they called my dad yesterday. No word from them after that.

So in a nutshell, we don't know how to proceed with this. Experts, please advice.

Thanks everyone!
Vijay

[Aviator_guy]

Originally Posted by trumpet

Hello dear t-bhp members,

Its after a very long hiatus that I am writing back. I am writing here on the post as a continuation of the experiences most of you may have had while booking the Seltos.

My dad's car (Dezire - Big Boot) needs a replacement, so we shortened the search to the Seltos. My dad is on the heavier side and needs more of in-cabin space while in the car. A tight fit or a decent fill will not do. He is comfortable with the Seltos and has had 2-3 test drives on it and on Feb 05,2022, we made the booking for the Seltos IVT (HTX Variant) at Kun Ambattur, Chennai.

APRIL 2022

By mid- april, we get a note from KIA informing us about the upgrade of the variant. This, I believe was in line with KIA adding new features to the models. Would this compound delivery? or would this be treated as a new booking. Kindly note, we have never approached KIA to modify or upgrade the booking at all as my dad was happy with the HTX trim.


MAY 2022

Till date, no one in the dealership knows the status of the booking. We frequent the place on weekends hoping for some new update - but sadly none. All that results is a morning wasted and 2 cups of coffee. The Sales Advisor, CRM, - no one has any idea on the car. I wonder whether the booking ID has been allotted or whether the car has actually been manufactured. Delays like this are only ruining the experience of owning a new car.

What makes matters frustrating is that my dad is paying the whole amount upfront and has everything ready. He has also sold his current car (believing that the seltos would come as per the delivery date). So we are stuck between the two and his patience is running out.

Is there any one who can guide us to a more competent authority on KIA? I called up KIA Customer care, lodged a complaint on Tuesday and promptly they called my dad yesterday. No word from them after that.

So in a nutshell, we don't know how to proceed with this. Experts, please advice.

Thanks everyone!
Vijay

My FIL recently (March) bought HTX IVT in Bangalore. He had to wait for 4 months although originally was promised delivery in 2-3 months. So going by that please expect 4-5 months waiting for the IVT model (waiting may also depend on the color). We were told white was available sooner but we wanted silver.

About the updated features, you don't need to change the booking or do anything. Whenever your turn comes, HTX IVT model available at that time will be delivered. Just make sure to verify manufacturing month to confirm that you are getting model with latest features. Also keep in mind the price at the time of delivery is applicable so from booking to delivery, if there is any price hike, you need to bear that.

[trumpet]

Thanks aviator_guy, even my dad wants the sliver color, I think as per the new color scheme it is Sparking Sliver. I will go through the T-BHP's PDI listing as well.

[car_guy1998]

Its been a couple of months since I had booked my Seltos GTX+ D AT and still there is no sign of delivery yet and we have been without a car since we had sold off one of our cars few weeks ago.

And, to get the early delivery, I've been visiting the dealership for atleast 2-3 times a week and pressurising my SA in order to get my car delivered faster.

I even told my SA that I'm fine with any other colour choice (Black or Red) apart from White, which I had booked and told him that I'm fine with getting the HTX D AT, which I felt decently equipped and cheaper by couple of lacs but misses out on bigger cluster, ventilated seats, UV cut glasses, extra 2 airbags (this variant has 4 airbags) or X-Line D AT too whichever comes first.

And, on the other hand, a guy from another Kia dealership called me today saying that they have a Seltos GTX+ D AT ready for delivery though it was in Sparkling Silver colour.

[rahulskumar]

I own GTX+ auto, during long rides in excess of 400kms, when console displays 25 km/lit, the calculation using full tank method gives only 21.5. I raised concern over this with the service center told they have calibrated it again but the issue still persists. Service center told the unit is calibrated for city driving. Honda used to be +- 0.5 delta with actual calculations. I've completed 8000kms in 3 months and overall I'm happy with the car (except for the hard front seats)

How much delta do you see with the console mileage figures when compared to tank to tank method ?

[ashis89]

Originally Posted by rahulskumar

How much delta do you see with the console mileage figures when compared to tank to tank method ?

0.5-1 kmpl, calculated tankful to tankful.
I compare it with the reading on the instantaneous FE view on MID which also gets reset at each tankful.

Mine is a D MT.

[rahulskumar]

Originally Posted by ashis89

0.5-1 kmpl, calculated tankful to tankful.
I compare it with the reading on the instantaneous FE view on MID which also gets reset at each tankful.

Mine is a D MT.

Service center told the meter is calibrated for city rides and I do not agree with them, may be my vehicles console/sensor has an issue. Was this during your highway or city riding condition?