[nowwhat?]

Originally Posted by NevGin

I could not agree more with this point you have made. I will cite an example as well. About a year and a half back the Jetta was being considered. When we requested VW to bring the car for a TD, to our surprise they got both, the manual and the DSG (at the time). The Honda dealer at one point refused to get the Jazz to my location. This was when the car was just about launched. I went to their showroom (right next to VW downtown by the way) and test drove a Jazz (very recently). The car was filthy, dashboard scratched, certain plastics broken and seats so filthy that my wife refused to put our 2 year old daughter on them. And this despite the fact that my father bought a Civic from them 3 years back.

The other funny thing is that in Bangalore, VW Downtown and VW Hosur Road, both belong to Elite Motors Pvt. Ltd. which are themselves part of PCH group that owns Dakshin Honda.

So how far can we expect the apple to fall away from the tree?

Expect both the VW and Honda dealership to provide identical "service" unless VW is able to tighten the screws on its dealer.

[desidino]

Thanks AutoIndian for your kind wishes. I was not given any firm date of delivery and was told that it would take 60 - 70 days. The booking amount was 75k. As for the insurance discount, browsing through the forum I came across that dealership insurance is usually inflated by a factor of 20%. On stated insurance figure of around 35k on Vento, that comes to 7k. I will try for a further discount on insurance on delivery.

As for the test drive, I called up T the following Saturday and he confirmed immediately that the car was available for TD. I was there at the showroom in 15 mins. And got to TD the car after 20 mins.

This was the first time I was driving a diesel, so did not know what to expect. The first pleasant shocker was how non-strained the engine feels even in first gear. I have only driven petrols before, where I always had to shift to 2nd gear as soon as the car started moving. But with Vento I could easily take it up to 30km/h without feeling the need to upshift. I am not sure if this is the case with all the diesel cars, but it was a huge aid in slow traffic. The smooth gear shift along with lesser number of gear shifts make this a great vehicle for city driving.

Maybe since I don't know much about cars, I did not feel the clutch vibration as others have noted. Frankly, I did not consciously try to see if there was undue vibration. But even if there was, it did not intrude into the driving experience.

The inside rear view mirror is useless. One can only see vehicles directly behind the car. I also did not like the OVRM. It was a bit narrow to my liking.

I did not like the sound of the diesel engine and am hoping that it will grow on me. But, its only a minor irritant and that too only at low speeds. Once I floored the accelerator, it did not bother me much as I was pleased that the engine did not show any signs of straining. Pity that I could not really stretch the engine as not much time was available for TD due to the long queue of people waiting for TD.

Light steering was not an issue with me as it only made the U turn I had to make that much easier. Braking was great. I especially liked the smooth manner in which the break pedal moved downwards and back into place.

There is a small road at the back of the showroom which has a few rough patches. While it was too short a stretch to really judge the ride quality, but I found it good enough. I was especially looking out for any squeaks from the doors or other interior parts. There was none.

Overall, I was pleased with the test drive and decided to book the car. In order to not seem too enthusiastic, I told T that I would make a decision in a week and probably book the car next week.

Next week I went to the showroom for the booking. This time it was really crowded. Probably due to the talking ad effect and also interviews were going on for sales representatives for the new showroom that Bhasin Motors is planning on Mathura Road near their service center which incidentally is also being modified since apparently the current one is as per Skoda standards and Volkswagen has mandated to change it as per Volkswagen norms.

Due to the huge crowd there was no place to even sit and so we were taken to the basement. Paid the cash. However, inspite of asking repeatedly, the sales executive (T) was not willing to put in writing that corporate discount of Rs.14000 will be provided. He was also not willing to put the insurance discount in writing. While he said that if during delivery I was not satisfied with the insurance discount, I could always take the insurance from outside, he was again not willing to put in writing the same.

Since we really liked the car we decided to book it anyway. If things don't turn out as planned during delivery, I will cancel the booking. After all this what happened next was unexpected. Apparently their booking system had crashed and so they gave me the receipt in handwritten copy. As if that wasn't bad enough the guy had forgotten to mention the name of the car. Only Diesel Highline was mentioned. There was no mention of "Vento" anywhere !

He then wrote Vento on the hand written receipt. At least the receipt had the dealer stamp and signature, so I guess it would be ok. He promised me that he will mail me the system generated booking letter the same day and that a hard copy will be couriered to my residence in a few days. This was last week and I haven't yet received the booking letter. It does give me an uneasy feeling about the competence of the staff. Fingers crossed. One would think that the huge bookings for Polo would have made the staff experienced enough to handle the booking volumes of Vento.

One last thing that I forgot to mention before was that Bhasin Motors does not allow customers to check out the car at their stockyard. Please let us all know if someone has managed to make them do so.

So that about sums it all up my experience so far. Now have to go through the agony of the waiting period.

[diabloo]

So their systems crash Hope their cars don't
Jokes apart, VW sold a grand a total of 4664 in Sep 2010. More or less this will same number of bookings a month. Agreed many would have come to book hearing the voice in the newspaper. If VW can't handle 5000 bookings per month with their limited number of showroom, what should happen to Maruti, who sell 20 times more than VW?

Originally Posted by desidino

After all this what happened next was unexpected. Apparently their booking system had crashed and so they gave me the receipt in handwritten copy.

[noopster]

@desidino, that has to be the worst buying experience ever. So let's get this straight- you're not sure of the price, the car's name is not mentioned on the booking slip, the dealer's system is not updated with your booking and you got a handwritten receipt (hopefully on the dealer's letterhead)? I must salute your tolerance- in the same position I would have exploded!

Hope the VW higher-ups are watching this thread. Against all that I've said and felt so far, I am actually beginning to consider the ANHC again after reading through the various experiences narrated here!

[AutoIndian]

Hi Desidino,
Thanks for sharing your TD experience & good to know that overall it was a pleasant one. However your booking experience seems to be a bit scary. Pl follow up with the showroom (maybe every day) & give them a reminder to mail you the system generated booking letter. Though VW is a German brand, the German professionalism doesn't seem to cast any effect on the showroom staff. You have the full right to do a thorough PDI (Pre-Delivery Inspection) & check the car in their stockyard. Pl take this up with them.

[Sugeeta]

In spite of my calling Bhasin Motors 3 times to book a test drive for myself, and in spite of their promises to return my call, no one called me back.

My boss took a Jetta from them sometime back, our office had to take the help of the leasing agency to book a test drive.

By far this has been the most shoddy treatment meted out against a test drive request, spanning over 20 years and couple of cars.

I refuse to buy a vehicle for which I have to run after dealerships to request for a testdrive. VW you are losing opportunity to wean off loyalists of other car brands. I'd rather buy a vehicle when the dealership offers discounts and other freebies.

And no. I will not pay a booking amount of INR 75,000 to book a car which will be delivered after 4 months (?).

Thankyou Volkswagen.

[pamishra]

Originally Posted by diabloo

So their systems crash Hope their cars don't
Jokes apart, VW sold a grand a total of 4664 in Sep 2010. More or less this will same number of bookings a month. Agreed many would have come to book hearing the voice in the newspaper. If VW can't handle 5000 bookings per month with their limited number of showroom, what should happen to Maruti, who sell 20 times more than VW?

Honda sold 6164 ANHCs in Sep as compared to 4259 in Aug!! And the above post says 4664 Ventos sold in Sep...from where did so many buyers come in this segment all of a sudden? STRANGE figures, are they really true???

[driving_smartly]

Originally Posted by pamishra

Honda sold 6164 ANHCs in Sep as compared to 4259 in Aug!! And the above post says 4664 Ventos sold in Sep...from where did so many buyers come in this segment all of a sudden? STRANGE figures, are they really true???

Figures taken from GTO's september sales thread

VOLKSWAGEN
VW Beetle : 38
VW Jetta : 254
VW Passat : 107
VW Touareg : 0
VW Phaeton : 10
VW Polo : 2891
VW Vento : 1364

The total comes to 4664 . It has been written "Grand total", which means total number of VW and not Vento alone

[diabloo]

Post says 4664 VWs not 4664 Ventos. How 4664?
VW Beetle : 38
VW Jetta : 254
VW Passat : 107
VW Touareg : 0
VW Phaeton : 10
VW Polo : 2891
VW Vento : 1364
Total VW : 4664

Originally Posted by pamishra

Honda sold 6164 ANHCs in Sep as compared to 4259 in Aug!! And the above post says 4664 Ventos sold in Sep...from where did so many buyers come in this segment all of a sudden? STRANGE figures, are they really true???

[adimicra]

Originally Posted by pamishra

Honda sold 6164 ANHCs in Sep as compared to 4259 in Aug!! And the above post says 4664 Ventos sold in Sep...from where did so many buyers come in this segment all of a sudden? STRANGE figures, are they really true???

These are the total sales from VW for the month which includes 2900 odd Polos and 1300 odd Ventos

[Sahil]

Two less significant but annoying traits of the Vento:
-No electronic folding ORVMS, I know this isn't common in lower segments but it high time it made it's way into 10 lakh rupee sedans
-Doors do not auto lock, nor can they be individually locked

[drmohitg]

Hi everyone. Finally I am a member. Yipee .
This will be my first post so please overlook any errors.
I was very excited about vento after reading GTO's review( hats off to you). Even though there were no plans to buy a new car but after reading the review I got all excited and convinced my dad to change his NHC which has done a good trouble free 40000 kms and going strong. But all my excitement died down after my visit to Volkswagen Delhi West showroom. The place was not very crowded as I went there in the afternoon. But not even a single sales guy showed any interest in us. Anyways I already knew everything about the car (thanks to this excellent thread) and showed it to my dad (petrol highline). Finally after a good 20 odd minutes I myself went and asked them if they were interested in selling the car. After some more wait a TD was arranged. The sales executive who came along took me on a pothole dominated road(courtesy the incessant delhi rains) right outside the showroom. The hardly 1/2km long TD took some 5 mins and the whole time the guy was on the phone with someother customer whose Polo was to be delivered that day.
My dad had started to get very irritated by this time and requested the sales executive to take us on a proper road atleast but he flatly refused. We went back to the showroom and told him we were interested in buying the car. He told us the booking amount is 75k and the car would be delivered after 4 months. we agreed and he told us to wait for 2 minutes and he will get the documents. A cool 30 minutes went by since he had vanished and in the meantime I even requested a couple of other staff there to find out about the status but all in vain. After waiting for a 1/2hr we got fed up of the unprofessional attitude and walked away. That was the end of the vento episode for me atleast. And we are probably going to stick with the NHC.

Overall the car feels great and the only negative thing i found was the useless rear view mirror. Also I some how felt the leg room for the driver side a little tight. I am 6' and my knees were hitting the centre console everytime i moved them.

Cheers!!

[desidino]

While the booking experience was quite shoddy, I will still buy the car provided I get corporate discount of 14000 and Insurance discount of at least 5000 as promised.

Further, the sales exec quite unexpectedly volunteered that I could save a further 8000 by not going for the body care package which basically is teflon coating. Going through the forum, it looks like teflon is unnecessary, so I think I will skip it.

This would bring the OTR to 10.15 lakhs.

The reason why I will still go with Vento is that the whole mindset of "I will not buy from you if you don't treat me right" works well if there are other options available. To me, there is no other option in the 10 lakh diesel segment. Petrol is a different story altogether, and I do not see Volkswagen posing a threat to Honda there.

[msd63]

I have been driving the Diesel vento for about 5 days in city only. I agree with many over the minor irritants noted. They are the centre arm rest hindering the handbrake operation, lack of adequate space in the driver side foot well, absence of dead pedal, small rear view mirror and the raise boot may make reversing tricky. However on the positive side, there is adequate power once the turbo lag is overcome, driving in the city is easy, but not able to stretch its legs in city which kind of is frustrating. Handling is good but I did feel a mild body roll in sharp cornering. FE is about 14 in city, yet to test it out on long drives. The only other odd thing I heard was a strange gargle sound everytime I upshit after a decent rpm. No such noise if I upshift in lower rpm. Anybody else heard the same?

[noopster]

Originally Posted by Sugeeta

I refuse to buy a vehicle for which I have to run after dealerships to request for a testdrive. VW you are losing opportunity to wean off loyalists of other car brands. I'd rather buy a vehicle when the dealership offers discounts and other freebies.

And no. I will not pay a booking amount of INR 75,000 to book a car which will be delivered after 4 months (?).

Thankyou Volkswagen.

Amen to that. These guys are seriously out of touch with their customers. I have called the VW Pune dealer 5 times on 3 different numbers and their attitude is completely cavalier! Today I called them to schedule a TD and the guy hurriedly interrupts me saying "Sir please come down to our showroom, you will get a test drive."
There is no attempt to even show any interest in what I want, schedule an appointment, offer a TD vehicle at my residence- he just assumes I will skip over gleefully to his showroom (in the heart of the city, where a proper TD is virtually impossible).
I am now having SERIOUS second thoughts. If Etios launches soon, I may actually go for that, or worst case swallow my misgivings and go Honda City AT. German car and all is fine but I will not be treated like crap by anybody!

Originally Posted by desidino

While the booking experience was quite shoddy, I will still buy the car...
The reason why I will still go with Vento is that the whole mindset of "I will not buy from you if you don't treat me right" works well if there are other options available. To me, there is no other option in the 10 lakh diesel segment...

Sigh.