[devil_klm]

Originally Posted by swiftnfurious

How are things on your end? Any progress?

There seems to be no signs of any imminent improvements. Still have some hope that i may get it as expected.

[PremjitS]

Originally Posted by Ricci

A question about safety : I keep reading about flimsy build of Marutis and the much better build of European cars, the Polo , Punto etc. Aside from the feel/sound , is there any other way to judge the sturdiness of a car ? The Swift is sold in Europe too, and must have passed safety regulations , and I don't suppose the difference between Swift and say a Punto would be vastly different in terms sturdiness if they are meeting regulations ( I am assuming there are relevant and comprehensive regulations ).

Are we simply judging poor build by sounds, rattles , or are there other signs that manifest themselves as weakness of the body shell - like cracks , deformities after x months or km of use , or mechanical parts (rather than cosmetic) needing replacement or actual accident results showing more damage to Swift than other cars ?

I would associate this with sheet panels used for manufacturing by Maruti. You can press the fenders, doors and even bonnet of a Maruti with your fingers. They obviously use thinner sheets for construction than european cars. Even Figo has a much better (solid) build. Next is the doors closing action: cars like Punto, Polo, i20, Fabia and to a certain extent Figo too, have a 3-stage closing action for doors. You literally feel a 'thud' when it closes, not so in Swift. With Kerb wgt of 1050, Swift iirc is lightest of B2 segment cars. You know they have skimped on using sturdier steel in order to reduce overall weight. This is the most disconcerting thing about Swift, although other brilliant aspects of the car have lead me to book one.

[funkyp]

Originally Posted by swiftnfurious

But is there a guarantee that the car WILL be delivered in 3 months? Are they signing any documents? I was told I will get the car in 45 days which eventually become 4 months & that too ONLY because I decided to take the dealers to task & created such a racket!

There is no guarantee for anything. there cant be coz the dealers also dont know. but for whatever its worth, they have written 3 months as tentative waiting time on the booking form.

When did you book? was it during the turmoil at the maruti plant?

[swiftnfurious]

Originally Posted by funkyp

There is no guarantee for anything. there cant be coz the dealers also dont know. but for whatever its worth, they have written 3 months as tentative waiting time on the booking form.

When did you book? was it during the turmoil at the maruti plant?

Mine was 3 years back! But when one dealer alone gives a much shorter time line than others, I suspect they are playing the fool for more bookings. If they indeed deliver the car in 3 months, better!

[funkyp]

Originally Posted by swiftnfurious

Mine was 3 years back! But when one dealer alone gives a much shorter time line than others, I suspect they are playing the fool for more bookings. If they indeed deliver the car in 3 months, better!

true. i am hoping (rather praying) that he keeps his word. i asked him like 10 times if he was sure and it wont be much later, and true to a sales person he was sure!

i am assuming that he doesnt have too many ZDi booking, especially in Blue that he is quoting a shorter time. i love the swift in white, but its waaaaay too common.

[fuel_addict]

Originally Posted by swiftnfurious

Swift is a car which got 5 STAR safety rating in Europe, but it had curtain Airbags and the likes. The problem [if it is called so] with Maruti cars are they are built pretty light to leverage on the FE. In case of a bad incident, the car will crumble [just try sitting on the bonnet or just push the panels with your palm]. But if you have all the safety equipments, the car should be safe! But in case of an accident, a Swift will definitely show more damage.

Originally Posted by PremjitS

I would associate this with sheet panels used for manufacturing by Maruti. You can press the fenders, doors and even bonnet of a Maruti with your fingers. They obviously use thinner sheets for construction than european cars. Even Figo has a much better (solid) build. Next is the doors closing action: cars like Punto, Polo, i20, Fabia and to a certain extent Figo too, have a 3-stage closing action for doors. You literally feel a 'thud' when it closes, not so in Swift. With Kerb wgt of 1050, Swift iirc is lightest of B2 segment cars. You know they have skimped on using sturdier steel in order to reduce overall weight. This is the most disconcerting thing about Swift, although other brilliant aspects of the car have lead me to book one.

Very true. The thinner sheet metal used does give the impression of a flimsy build. Maruti have obviously tried to focus more on the FE part which is is vital in India. I was expecting the new Swift to weigh more than the old one.The encouraging thing though is that the fit and finish are way better than the older Swift. The cabin plastics and door panels do give a feel of superior quality. While it may not match the i20 or the Polo, it certainly isn't bad. Once the engine and other factors (handling, ride) are considered, one tends to forget these things and Swift becomes a favourite.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by PremjitS

I would associate this with sheet panels used for manufacturing by Maruti. You can press the fenders, doors and even bonnet of a Maruti with your fingers. They obviously use thinner sheets for construction than european cars. Even Figo has a much better (solid) build. Next is the doors closing action: cars like Punto, Polo, i20, Fabia and to a certain extent Figo too, have a 3-stage closing action for doors. You literally feel a 'thud' when it closes, not so in Swift. With Kerb wgt of 1050, Swift iirc is lightest of B2 segment cars. You know they have skimped on using sturdier steel in order to reduce overall weight. This is the most disconcerting thing about Swift, although other brilliant aspects of the car have lead me to book one.

Originally Posted by fuel_addict

Very true. The thinner sheet metal used does give the impression of a flimsy build. Maruti have obviously tried to focus more on the FE part which is is vital in India. I was expecting the new Swift to weigh more than the old one.The encouraging thing though is that the fit and finish are way better than the older Swift. The cabin plastics and door panels do give a feel of superior quality. While it may not match the i20 or the Polo, it certainly isn't bad. Once the engine and other factors (handling, ride) are considered, one tends to forget these things and Swift becomes a favourite.

Guys, calm down. Its not Maruti putting thin metal, its designed to be light.

Even the European Swift with much more equipment weights only 50 kgs more than our swift (With 7 airbags + bluetooth + cruise control + ESP) - and they dont seem to be so bothered about it. Afterall - light weight means better performance from same engine!

With the difference of 5 airbags - its the same car that got NCAP 5-star rating.

Qouting Top- Gear UK -

The old Swift was a successful and mildly alternative budget supermini. The new one really is new: all-new engine, new body, slightly bigger and definitely stronger than before, but slightly lighter with it. It makes 94bhp, and it's only got 1,040kg to hold it back.

Suzuki Swift 1.2 SZ4 five-door full road test car review - BBC Top Gear - BBC Top Gear

Infact - even the Swift Sport with the 1.6L engine carries only 1040 kg.

Here the Swift Sport’s simple beauty, a 136 bhp 1.6-litre engine and 1,043 kg kerb weight, come to the fore. You can literally smear this car through bends, throwing it in on maximum attack with the ESP turned off and it will simply tuck in the rear and find a way through with the slightest hint of a slide. It’s brilliant in its own, lightweight way, and it’s about as quick as anything could be on the carefully selected ocean road carved into the side of the mountain.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/intern...t-sport-2.html

[ketla2411]

Originally Posted by devil_klm

The trend we can see is dealers towards north side are getting the cars soon( within-3-4 months). And dealers towards south are suffering the delay or a lot of malpractice happening with them. I heard that some dealerd are ready to give the car within 15 days if we give the full amount and 30K extra in advance. Yesterday i went to see the new Dezire and the waiting period displayed for Swift was 8 months.

Guess what ? A sales rep from the dealer just walked into my office. Says I will have to write a cheque for an additional 5k to keep my 10 Sept booking kicking, since Maruti have now said that 10k should be the minimum amount..
This is what I call 'milk them when the sun is shining brighest'' strategy by Maruti specially for the Swift. The dealer has diesel Ritz VDi,s ex stock along with freebies also offered. How can you possiblly justify this ?

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by ketla2411

since Maruti have now said that 10k should be the minimum amount..

10k wasn't the booking amount earlier?

I had paid 10k back in the 2nd week of september 2011, and i remember reading that 10k was the standard amount for bookings at that time.

Anyone else in the forum who paid less than 10k to book their cars?

[funkyp]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

10k wasn't the booking amount earlier?

I had paid 10k back in the 2nd week of september 2011, and i remember reading that 10k was the standard amount for bookings at that time.

Anyone else in the forum who paid less than 10k to book their cars?

i remember being told by the Sales guy that the booking amount was 5k for l/d variants and 10k for the Z variant.

Now it seems like they are raising it to 10 for all variants

[AvinashV]

I bought mine from Pune & didn't hear of this variation in the booking amount. I had paid 10k for the VDi version as booking amount & whatever it's going to be considered against your final payment so what's the issue if they raise it from 5k to 10k?

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by funkyp

i remember being told by the Sales guy that the booking amount was 5k for l/d variants and 10k for the Z variant.

Now it seems like they are raising it to 10 for all variants

I guess the new 'rule' might be a part of Maruti's new centralised online booking tracking system that has been discussed a bit earlier in this thread.

If the system is transparent for end users to track their book status - would be great and will avoid a lot of foul play!

[_abhishek]

I had been for TD of Swift ZXI and ZDI versions yesterday.Accompanied a friend who is planning to purchase the car and I too took a TD. I expected the car to be better than the existing Swift, but there are very basic niggles in the car.

- The shin leg touches the bump on plastic when engaging/disengaging the clutch. This becomes very irritative in couple of minutes into driving. The sear was in the lowest position and I tried adjusting the seat horizontally, but still that plastic came in the way. When I asked the executive about this, he gave a weird answer saying that you have to somehow get adjusted to this.

- The gear lever has been shifted few inches forward compared to older swift. Now this became a problem because I could not pull back the seat beyone the certain lenght, else I had to stretch for the gears. (I am 5.11", still faced this problem!)

- Leg touches the console on the left, this becomes uncomfortable on long drive. Again, not present in older version.

- Gear ratios! I encountered vibration inthe car when I had to shift from 3rd to 2nd, due to traffic. The moment you slow down the car in 3rd gear, you can feel the vibrations. Again, in my old swift I didnt face this problem. And for this, the executive said its common issue faced in new cars!

Apart from these and few other few small issues was quite happy with the car. But these basic things would definitely spoil the fun of driving.

The reason of posting this is, lot of guys would have done TD of the car before purchasing. And now seeing so many new swifts on the road, I feel that only I faced these issues driving the car. Is this really the case or is it common across?

[Sridhar K]

^^^

Out of the small issues you mentioned,
1) Shin touching the plastic was covered by GTO in his review
2) I experienced the vibration when shifting from 3rd to 2nd on my TD. I thought that it could be due to me downshifting at the wrong speeds considering that I am used to a Manza which has a taller gearing.

[StarrySky]

Originally Posted by _abhishek

The reason of posting this is, lot of guys would have done TD of the car before purchasing. And now seeing so many new swifts on the road, I feel that only I faced these issues driving the car. Is this really the case or is it common across?

With a backlog stretching months, you are guaranteed to see a lot of new Swifts on the road. A lot of the people getting their new Swifts would've got them after Maruti transferred their booking for the old Swift to the new Swift - so many of them may not have TD'd the car before they got delivery.