[sterlingjames]

Originally Posted by jaysmokesleaves

Dude, no offence, but if you have so many goldfingers and matching gold neckings, you saw the wrong dream. You ought to be dreaming about Landcruiser Prado or something like that.

the gold rings, neckchains,khadi shirt and bracelets are a PATENTED INDIAN tough guy/baddie image!
tainting it with a japanese tinpot ride is sacrilege! when i wanna wear a ponytail moustaches, wear a ladies nighty and keep doing breathing excercises and give out periodic high pitched screams, then a Prado will be a logical choice..

[jaysmokesleaves]

I forgive you for your ignorance buddy, but what you call a japanese tinpot is revered the world over for being the real badass tough guy on 4 wheels with a legendary reputation so much so that it does duty in the most hostile & inhospitable places on earth for the UN, deserts across the world, cold & hot, the australian outback, the interiors of Africa and other places, for people where life depends on something that can be more reliable than a ''Reclaim your life' punchline.

I speak from experience of driving & owning a japanese tinpot(Prado-my second one)for over 4 years and the indian image(Safari 2.2 Dicor) for over 18 months. So when I say the indian image isnt even a shadow on the japanese tinpot, I certainly know what im talking about.

Its a free world though and your views are as welcome as the image of a tinpot. Hey, whenever you do buy a Safari to suit your image, make sure its 4x4(the full image) and not the half image(4x2).

Cheers,

J

[dkamath]

Originally Posted by sterlingjames

A Pearl white Safari 2.2L DICOR GX, with White Leather seats(wanted Stanley or Haiton to do that). Chrome Alloy wheels instead of the standard aluminium finish and matching front chrome bull-bar.

Hi, i don't think a Pearl White colour is offered with the GX variant.

Originally Posted by sterlingjames

with such a grand dream what can go wrong?.....in fact, everything did!
sure enough i see a new safari pearl white with a recent number plate, but there were 3 huge spider cracks on the windshield caused by head injuries and i could see blood on the dash board as well. the bonnet was crush under, probably when the vehicle had hit the stationary lorry(i was later told) and all the occupants including the owner had died in that accident.

If the owner had died in the accident, who were these guys repairing the car for?

Originally Posted by sterlingjames

all the earlier experiences come flooding back.starting from the first sight of the safari(the accident one,the numerous trips to the dealers and finally the casual attitude even BEFORE the sale itself was too much of a risk of hard earned money!)

so, into the bank locker goes all the rings, bracelets and rope chains,khadi shirt....and i've mentally started the count-down for 2012 when i can start my quest again to buy a well finished TATA Safari with a good Sales and after sales dealer support(as if there is a possibility of that ever happening!!!!)

It's sad that your visit to the Tata Motors showrooms have put off your buying decision.
Whether 2012 (or the event associated with it) happens or not, your wish might not realize entirely to your satisfaction. Like others, suggesting you to not wait until then and check out a Mahindra Scorpio. Am sure it'll fulfill most of your requirements.

cheers.

[sterlingjames]

Originally Posted by jaysmokesleaves

I forgive you for your ignorance buddy, but what you call a japanese tinpot is revered the world over J

whoa! didn't mean to put the jap cars down!

i partly agree with you that the Prado is a 'toughie'(maybe in the city sense of it)...i also agree with you on the point that it has performed on a variety of terrains, but the jap vehicles(including its bigger brother, the Land Cruiser) are not exactly the most coveted and benchmarks of all terrain 4WDs.

The distinction of a grand all terrain, all weather original toughie goes to the Land Rover/Range Rover range of vehicles and to an extent the Nissan Patrol.
i spent 4 years in Africa-(Tanzania-the home of the Serengeti)and though initially drove a Land Cruiser, soon switched over to a Land Rover Defender...
most frequently, especially in the interiors of Africa, i have towed out stranded Prados with a bunch of gawking tourists in it who got bogged down in the black cotton soil swamps. no words can describe the reliability and go-anywhere ability of this vehicle(Defender).i have traversed the entire south eastern part of the serengeti(Arusha,Moshe upto Mwanza-no roads, just dirt road/animal tracks)and not once did the vehicle let me down!

even in the middle east, where i spent over 6 years, the Range Rover(not mine, but my boss'. mine was a humble Nissan Patrol for my out-of-city official trips), used to run circles around the toyotas!.

if you ever visit that part of the world(Middle east) you will see that the Range Rover is THE ride to be seen in!
back to the point,

the reason why i chose the Safari (when in India ONLY) is, it is a unique original of our country, looks more imposing than the other 'SUVs', costs only a fraction of the other 'SUVs' and it has no pretensions of being a 'real' off-roader. it is actually quite the limit for the 2.2L diesel motor to drag the vehicle around on proper roads.
off-road 4x4?? i need to mount another 2.2L engine to think of going off-
roading!

but just try out a normal trip on any city,village or town roads on your Safari and you can see the crowd magically part like the Red Sea!..i havent seen that kind of a response from any other private vehicle on Indian Roads! for that alone the Safari is worth every paisa you plonked on it!

Hi, i don't think a Pearl White colour is offered with the GX variant.

well they do offer the Pearl white in GX, it is the LX that doesnt have it and comes only in milk white. and they were not repairing the car, it was just parked(although right in the front ready vehicles delivery area) there probably waiting for the insurance claim or whatever...

[raj_5004]

unlike many here, who dint buy a safari because of tata's poor A.S.S, my brother actually bought one & sold it pretty soon too. reasons are many & nothing unknown! i wont pen it down here as most of times, it leads to an unnecessary brawl & ego clash with the 'mine is better than yours, how dare you' attitude!

but these days TATA's A.S.S is really improving & their 'NEW' products like the vista & manza are really good. with a bit more effort to improve their current lineup & more customer friendliness, i think they have the ability to top the sales charts. but for now, tata is a no-no for me!

[ravibhat]

According to me most of the service station and dealers are one and same, not much differance I found in my 6+ years expereince with mutliple cars. I feel we should put A.S.S behind when it comes to buying cars. Main criteria I look is safety, comfort and space, resale (if I am buying brand new) etc.

I have baught Safari too recently, its good machine only thing I see is not much differance between 2003 and 2009 models. Infact 2003 model has better build and solid feeling rather than new models. TATA products have too many issues and also A.S.S, so buy them only If you want to save money while buying and you need comfy ride in Indian roads. While doing that you need to compromise in A.S.S. and maintanance and resale.

Ravi.

[Ravveendrra]

Originally Posted by ravibhat

According to me most of the service station and dealers are one and same, not much differance I found in my 6+ years expereince with mutliple cars. I feel we should put A.S.S behind when it comes to buying cars. Main criteria I look is safety, comfort and space, resale (if I am buying brand new) etc.

I have baught Safari too recently, its good machine only thing I see is not much differance between 2003 and 2009 models. Infact 2003 model has better build and solid feeling rather than new models. TATA products have too many issues and also A.S.S, so buy them only If you want to save money while buying and you need comfy ride in Indian roads. While doing that you need to compromise in A.S.S. and maintanance and resale.

Ravi.

I agree totally except that I do not even consider resale value when buying. Incidentally I am considering a TM product too.

Cheers,

[PAVAN KADAM]

Very shocking to hear James version, With recession times, most of the Big time dealership TATA's had are closed and presently there are handful, say a Prerna/ Concorde in Bagalore.

Either of the places i have come across well mannered people

James, i say you give the Safari another chance.

THERE'S NOTHING LIKE LIVING YOUR DREAM, else its just COMPROMISE.

Keep us posted.

[drrajasaravanan]

Hi
I had visited both concorde and VST for exactly the same reason as you. My experience was pleasant in both the showrooms. I would say concorde is a tad better. The people were professional and courteous.
Having said that, though, safari has got killer looks its just not right for me. One of my colleagues who owns a safari said upto 40000km its a dream and then the nightmare started. So maybe 2012 after your initial ownership review.
Cheers.

[chandrda]

I am a TATA Employee (Not TATA Motors), we get a lot of cash discounts and incentives to buy TATA Cars. We can easily get the contact of TATA Motors Management to buy TATA cars and service it.

The building which I work in can hold nearly 300 cars in the parking, but there is only 2 Indicas and 6 Safari 2.1 Petrol (All owned by the company). The Entire parking is full everyday

I don't want to write more, this gives you the picture of TATA Motors, A.S.S and their Service.

[raj_5004]

Lol, when TATA's own staff are scared to buy a tata (inspite of discounts & getting good contacts), we cannot blame the poor rest!

[lohithrao]

I must say that "Fiat team" at concorde Hosur/Begur road is extremely competent but not sure about the "Tata" team though.

Am having a tough time dealing with "Automatrix" Mangalore...:(

[chaxy]

really sad to hear these experiences on Tata while the the vehicle in question is quite a decent SUV for the price. Altho i personally never had any bad experience with them till now in last 2 yrs and no trouble with the safari also. We recently added a new honda city to the family and my whole experience with the honda purchase and the 1sr service cannot be compared to Tata or my earlier experience with MM at any level. Guess indian brands need to work over time if they need to reach international stds.

[TheARUN]

Makes me feel sad. I bought a used SAFARI and its been running like a dream. I think the vehicle makes up for every miss at the Dealers end

[MileCruncher]

@ Sterlingjames: I agree with you on two things:

1. Landy Defender is the best go anywhere vehicle that the world has known till date. I'm a big fan of it.
2. Concorde is one of the worst TATA dealers. My thread http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...dit-india.html

Back in Feb when I was in the market for a rugged go anywhere SUV, I had the usual choice of Safari/Scorpio/Bolero and Xenon.

Since Concorde Motors is nearest to my house, I had approached them and the response I received from their Sales Lead was equivalent to a Govt Babu dealing with hapless citizen. At one point in time, me and wifey were 95% sold on the Xenon 4x2 but the dealership told us that if we wanted to buy the vehicle, we will have to do so without a TD. As a matter of fact finally some guy workeup in Concorde and offered me a TD of the Xenon last week (Mar - Dec: Thats a terrific Turn Around Time). I kept mum about my present status and only when I finished the TD told him that he was 8 months too late.

On the otherhand while buying the Bolero, I wanted a black colour and extended warranty both of which were not on offer for the given variant but the company agreed to my wishes partly and I'm now a proud owner of a Black Bolero VLX.

James your case is more of a bad apple ( Concorde in this case) spoiling the other apples in the basket (other dealers in Chennai) rather than a product itself. If you are really serious about realising your dream and roam around the streets of Chennai like KARATE Thiyagarajan or other similar poilitician/baddie , I suggest you contact TM directly.