[Aroy]

The Gypsy is a good vehicle for a bachelor. Keep the following in mind

1. Gypsy is designed for off-roads and not highways. You should not run the Gypsy beyond 100 kmph on highways due to stability issues at high speed. That means that a 2500 kilometer ride to the north from Bangalore will take at least four days and normally five. So your trips will have to be pretty long to justify this commute.
2. The Gypsy ride is hard, so it is not the vehicle for long distance highway driving comfort.
3. Gypsy is available on order and the waiting period depends mostly when the next lot is manufactured. Three to four months is normal.

As others have said, get a second hand Gypsy. Run it within 500km radius to familiarise your self and then decide on long term relationship.

In my opinion if you plan to travel to the Himalayas at least once a year, a 4x4 Scorpio will be a better vehicle, as it offers better highway driving experience coupled with good bad/off road performance.

Gypsy is fine for short to medium highway travel but 2k+ on highways to reach the hills is not its forte. Though once in the hills it performs flawlessly.

In case you still insist on the Gypsy, I recommend transporting it to the hills and then driving it. With its petrol consumption you would easily spend 13k each way on a 2500km trip.

[MileCruncher]

@Ragul: If you have firmed up on the Gypsy, please go ahead.Its hoot to drive and its agility puts it at par with the "Mountain Goat". Plus there are no hidden skeleton in its cupboard so there is nothing to scared about. Yes do get a HT and if possible try to get A/C fitted from the dealer without voiding warranty. Another member from gsferrari from Mumbai has got A/C in his Gypsy.

Please keep us updated on the final course of events.

Originally Posted by Aroy

The Gypsy is a good vehicle for a bachelor. Keep the following in mind

I don't agree with that. As a primary car it does have its shortcomings but nothing major that cannot be worked upon.

Originally Posted by Aroy

1. Gypsy is designed for off-roads and not highways. You should not run the Gypsy beyond 100 kmph on highways due to stability issues at high speed. That means that a 2500 kilometer ride to the north from Bangalore will take at least four days and normally five. So your trips will have to be pretty long to justify this commute.

Sorry to say mate, but you are way off the mark with your comments. The Gypsy suspension is slightly bouncy because of leaf springs all around. As about high speed stability, all SUV's have stability issues over 100kmph on curved roads. A Gypsy ST is actually more stable than a Scorpio in those conditions. And as about driving from Bangalore to up north (Read Delhi) and onto the Himalayas, the average time taken by Gypsies is about 2.5 days (Upto Delhi), similar to what other cars take. ( Please check the forum for Leh travelogues from B'lore before making such sweeping comments.)

Originally Posted by Aroy

In my opinion if you plan to travel to the Himalayas at least once a year, a 4x4 Scorpio will be a better vehicle, as it offers better highway driving experience coupled with good bad/off road performance.

The ex showroom price of a 4X4 Scorpio is upwards of 10Lakhs whereas for a Gypsy its 5.5L + 20k for HT. Lets not compare apple to oranges. The present correct comparison will be the Mahindra Major 4x4 but I'm not sure whether its available in BS-III, leave aside BS-IV. And the other comparison can be the Mahindra Thar, as and when it gets launched.

Originally Posted by Aroy

Gypsy is fine for short to medium highway travel but 2k+ on highways to reach the hills is not its forte. Though once in the hills it performs flawlessly.

Sorry to be direct, but when was the last time you had a long distance travel in a Gypsy?

The only problem is A/C which if taken care off, the vehicle is as good as most other SUVs in that price range. And yes once its in the hills, its a Mountain Goat!

Originally Posted by Aroy

In case you still insist on the Gypsy, I recommend transporting it to the hills and then driving it. With its petrol consumption you would easily spend 13k each way on a 2500km trip.

A Gypsy on highway gives at the very least about 12KMPL. So a 8000 Kms trip from Bangalore to Ladakh and back will cost about 40K in fuel or less as experienced by the Bangalore team of 2 Gypsies. Most diesel SUV's also spend about that much money in fuel on BLR -LADAKH - BLR. I spent 34k on diesel from Hyderabad.

If you transport your car, chances of it reaching in single piece without any damage is very remote. So the expense of driving down and saving up on time is justified.

[COUGAR]

Originally Posted by Ragul

@Cougar what was your booking price and delivery period?

I paid 50k booking amount, then 1L 3 months later when my loan formalities were being done. Thats when i learnt i was getting a 16k discount. The loan formalities were started as they thought the gypsy was coming in the next month!

it finally came in 6 months later as I didnt want white color, which was avail 3 months.

[GTO]

Originally Posted by Ragul

I have decided (YES I have absolutely decided) that the Gypsy King mpfi BSIV will be my first car

Congrats on letting your heart rule over the head! My first personal "car" (if you can call it that) was the Mahindra Classic. My well wishers thought I'm nuts and tried to convince me that the Jeep is:

- Too basic
- Too crude
- Too uncomfortable
- Too impractical for use as a daily drive

Turns out they were right. But I ended up using her as a daily driver for 5 - 6 years anyways & loved every km of it. 14 years up and never regretted buying her even once (she's still a part of my garage BTW).

Couple of tips to you:

- Forget discounts, the Gypsy is built to order. At the most, you'll probably get some finance discount (which really isn't a discount per se)

- Search the forum. Not only have all your questions been answered, but there's also a wealth of information on Gypsy ownership

- Complete your running in, then join the Bangalore off-roading gang. Your respect for the Gypsy will increase 5X

Good luck, and drive safe.

[sidindica]

The Gypsy is available in BS 4 with the same mechanicals (that's what bagga link's price list said last week), and rear mud flaps are factory fitted. Front ones can be procured from outside. The AC from superking can easily be fitted on gypsy without any trouble. Ask a well known maruti dealer for help.

[Ragul]

Thanks starter for the ownership report.
@Amrisharm and Gonewiththewind - yes I will deal with the niggles as they arise. Thanks for expressing your confidence in fixing the minor niggles, yes I have been thru a few 100 posts about Gyspy mods and will post my detailed plans and request your suggestions later when its more appropriate. I suppose another 60K to 80K (slowly over time) should fix all the issues and upgrade my Gyspy to satisfactory levels and I am prepared for that. I am not going for HT right now because I do not like its looks. I plan to have a Tata Sierra kinda flat root look - if it is posisble, I may look at a custom HT later.

@Aroy and MileCruncher - Thanks for posting your views. I plan to fix the seating and suspension and A/C to make it a daily drive vehicle. More later when appropriate. The locla Bimal dealer has not expressed any confidence in fixing A/C and offered to supply the A/C kit for 35K or so. but it is not the Sanden+superking blower kit. Besides I need to do it the right way without getting overheating issues.

@Cougar, I have already indicated to dealer that his pricing on RTO fees and insurance are inflated and that I may be doing this on my own. SO I expect to save atleast 13K on regionstration+road tax + insurance on the quoted value.

The R.T appears to be infated by 5K, registration by 4.5K and insurance by 3k going by another thread on this forum (Is it 4% on ex-showroom?).

@GTO, yes I am with you on the spirit of enjoyment in hardships dominating inspite of the poor ride quality. Once I do the differential slip mods I will be keen on some OTR experience - but purely to improve my driving skills and prepare myself to tackle the short obstacles I may encounter in the hills and rough terrain up north and east. Right now I don't fancy getting my shiny new car dirty with muck (ugh!), the first 6 months will be spent cooing and patting it gently like a new born baby.

I am right now awaiting written confirmation from dealer by email for all the options like paying insurance and RTO fees independently and clarification on R.T which appears to be @15.5% on ex-showrrom price. the n iwill pay booking amount and the waiting game begins.

Also need ot run around insurance companies - can you folks list the ones you know so I can follow up with them? I think I will need to pay insurance before I can appoch RTO.

I will follow-up up on these threads ( if they are not locked down) on questions and pertinent matters as this will keep the topic focus and only summarize any conclusion on insurance and RTO from my current and personal experience here

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/buying...ck-list-4.html

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/buying...remiums-4.html


Queries about Gypsy mods will be posted on the relevant thread.

@Cougar, so the 16K discount was on ex-showroom price or Insurance premiums and registration?

Thanks

[Ragul]

Paid the booking amount today. Bimal Auto is the only agency interesting in procuring Gypsy BSIV. I went to the very large humongous showroom of Pratham Motors on Bellandur road and their service attitude turned out to be the opposite of the size of their showroom. "Sorry sir, Gypsy will not be available in Bangalore". After "double-checking" with their "managers" on my insistence I dunno why they kept parroting the BS III message for my BS IV requirement. With Bimal atleast there was no confusion or hesitation to accept my order.

I refused to pay the 5000/- Incidental/Registration charges that includes RTO bribe and "PDI charges". Over the phone, I had talked the sales person into a defenseless position and silence about the Incidental/Registration/PDI charges. unfortunately I expressed over-eagerness to book the vehicle and today when I went to the show room, he confidently told me it was not possible to deduct that charge from the billing

So finally I told him I would pay only ex-showroom price and would do the insurance on my own, pay RTO road tax and do the registration myself as well. Then I fished around once more for a discount but the reply was that in 5 years he knew of no case where the Gypsy got a discount. I mentioned in turn that "somebody I knew" had received a discount of 16K late in 2009 and if Maruti/Bimal ended up offering me a discount that offset the charges (when it was time to pay in full), I would pay the 5000 + Road tax and also let Bimal do the RTO thignie in full.

So now I have my options open and a few months to decide if I want to pay the 5000 (RTO Bribe termed as incidental expenses) and some time to scout around for a good insurance deal as well.

I wanted the Ice Blue metallic (Airforce) color option but I was surprised to find it is not an optional color and I was offered only While, Silver and Red.

I settled for the Silky Silver as I had seen a pretty looking one a month back on Bangalore roads. The only downside is this color choice demands shiny Alloys meaning another 12 to 16K shelled out from my pocket. I would have been happy to retain the original steel rims with an Ice Blue color.

Now the waiting begins ...<twiddling thumbs> ... Considering some folks have waited 9 months to a year for their color choice - should I join a knitting class? By them I will be quiet "pregnant with desire" awaiting the delivery of my new baby er ... Gyspy

Cheers

[amrisharm]

Originally Posted by Ragul

Now the waiting begins ...<twiddling thumbs> ... Considering some folks have waited 9 months to a year for their color choice - should I join a knitting class? By them I will be quiet "pregnant with desire" awaiting the delivery of my new baby er ... Gyspy

Cheers

Congratulations on your new booking. Just a question, how many months did they say you would have to wait?

[starter]

Congratulations buddy. Hope, you get your baby soon!
Here is a link which will lead you to a silver Gypsy. http://images01.olx.in/ui/2/47/06/33994106_1.jpg
Just to ensure that you don't lose perspective
@Amrish: That's never a piece of information that you can rely upon

[Ragul]

Originally Posted by amrisharm

Congratulations on your new booking. Just a question, how many months did they say you would have to wait?

2 months - they are actually mumbling this each time and it sounds like 3 ... :(

Regards

[Ragul]

Originally Posted by starter

Congratulations buddy. Hope, you get your baby soon!
Here is a link which will lead you to a silver Gypsy. http://images01.olx.in/ui/2/47/06/33994106_1.jpg
Just to ensure that you don't lose perspective
@Amrish: That's never a piece of information that you can rely upon

Thanks for the pic. That silver gypsy is certainly not how I want mine to look. the one I saw in real looked stunning - I think both the bumper and grill had been changed from the black misfit color and the alloys added a different touch.

So either I should prepare myself for spit and polish kind of mods (which I had no plans for, as I wanted to spend purely on improving ride quality + A/C + OTR mods besides re-contouring the outline of the ST hood) or change my color preference to white metallic. Now the Ice blue Airforce gypsy I see every week on my way to office is really something in comparison

I will call the dealer tomorrow and get him to jot down the secondary preference in white. Whichever comes first, I will take it.

Thanks

[Ragul]

Originally Posted by Ragul

Thanks for the pic. That silver gypsy is certainly not how I want mine to look. the one I saw in real looked stunning - I think both the bumper and grill had been changed from the black misfit color and the alloys added a different touch.

So either I should prepare myself for spit and polish kind of mods (which I had no plans for, as I wanted to spend purely on improving ride quality + A/C + OTR mods besides re-contouring the outline of the ST hood) or change my color preference to white metallic. Now the Ice blue Airforce gypsy I see every week on my way to office is really something in comparison

I will call the dealer tomorrow and get him to jot down the secondary preference in white. Whichever comes first, I will take it.

Thanks

Actually, I spoke too soon. The silver gypsy in the pic appears to be non-metallic. The Metallic one is simply something else!!! Besides I did plan on changing bumpers and fenders, so only the grill will remain black. This does not increase the upgrade items on my list by much - ignoring added expenses on alloys for the moment.

The personal factor against metallic silver and shiny alloys for me is more of the flashy metrosexual styling. Me more tuned to rugged "Tiger Lipton Chai" look if you know what I mean. Unfortunately pearl off-white is not an option and "superior white" shade might make me feel normal boring and inferior.

Cheers

[am1m]

Thanks for this thread and all the useful information you are posting about your buying experience. You've already saved me some effort by identifying which dealer in Bangalore to approach. Following this thread very closely, before I too make that dream booking!

[Ragul]

Originally Posted by am1m

Thanks for this thread and all the useful information you are posting about your buying experience. You've already saved me some effort by identifying which dealer in Bangalore to approach. Following this thread very closely, before I too make that dream booking!

Originally Posted by am1m

Thanks for this thread and all the useful information you are posting about your buying experience. You've already saved me some effort by identifying which dealer in Bangalore to approach. Following this thread very closely, before I too make that dream booking!

Hi am1m
Thats the idea - ones personal "diary" can be useful for another to formulate his vision of whats coming on the road ahead. I am learning so much from other's posts in this forum.

I heard Maruti waits for the order to cross 100 countrywide before they start rolling things in their plant. So maybe my order is pending awaiting yours to come in ... Now don't make me blame you for any delay's in delivery of my Gypsy When do you plan to book?


Note that Karnataka Road tax is now 14% + 10% cess on that for a vehicle of Gypsy's dimensions, so Bimal's quote on road tax is correct. I verified from RTO website. The RTO registration charges should be 425.00, Another thread and post on this forum details the experience at Indiaranagar RTO http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...ml#post1562826

HTH


Cheers and order soon!!

[Desmosedici]

Just saw this thread Ragul and Hearty Congratulations. Getting this vehicle as your primary ride is definitely a matter of your heart. Just to think of, i sold my wagonr earlier this year and got a used Gypsy. Now trying and thinking of 'how to' on stuff like AC, Suspension etc. One thing, whether your family likes it or not, your friends will love the vehicle for what it is. Hope you get the keys soon.

Cheers,
Raj