| Yet another Getz CRDi on the forum....
And it is Bright Silver
This is my first post on the forum. Though I must have read almost all the reviews of almost every hatch/Sedan/SUV in sub 10-lakh category and they have been a crucial input to my buying decision.
Will try to avoid opinions/experiences which I share with other bhpians who have mentioned the same elsewhere on forum.
Buying Decision:
Had been meaning to buy my first car since April 2007 but for different reasons (including uncertainty on professional front) the decision was getting postponed. Finally, hunt for that 'perfect car' began in December. The criteria - in no particular order - fun to drive, safe, frugal when comes to fuel consumption (not necessarily diesel). Budget – 8-9 lakh outer limit with any 'have to' mods.
Cars considered - Maruti (Swift, SX4); Honda (City); Ford (Fiesta, Ford Fusion); Hyundai (i10, Getz, Verna); GM (UVA, Aveo); Fiat (Palio). Did give a serious thought to SUVs but realized that didn’t want one as my first car!
Must add that though I love driving, I can not claim to know a lot about cars and engines.
After first round of test drives and desktop research the choice was boiled down to Swift, Getz(CRDi+1.3), Verna and UVA. After another round of test drives in January, was almost convinced about Getz CRDi but started leaning towards Verna because of lack of ABS and airbags in Getz.
However, at this stage had to postpone my buying decision because a planned job shift had added another layer of uncertainty to my future city of abode.
In the meantime Dzire was launched amidst all the hype and was added to my shortlist after a short test drive in early April.
After resigning from my old job in March and resuming at my new work place in April, my car shopping also resumed. However, another development had taked place since January. My wedding was fixed for year end and a realization dawned that will have to buy another car by year end for wifey. Decided to stick to a hatch for now. This would give flexibility in buying a SUV later. Not certain if we would want to have one Sedan and one SUV or two Sedans for that matter. Out of two vehicles we would prefer to have one hatch for city commutes. Further, can also use this period to polish my driving skills in Delhi on a smaller car !
Now, choice was really between Getz, Swift and UVA.
The only reason I was even thinking about anything other than Getz CRDi was ‘perceived’ lack of safety.
Swift - 2 months waiting period didnt help the cause. Had already waited for a year and another two months would have been excruciating.
UVA & Getz 1.3 - A very difficult choice. On basis of driving comfort, handling and even interiors was struggling to pick one. Just that found UVA's looks slightly better than Getz and also it is a newer model which adds to the novelty factor.
However, another test drive sealed the deal in favour of Getz CRDi and I decided to train my mind to live without that ABS and Airbags.
Buying Experience:
Though, the car will be used primarily in Delhi but for future IT saving was forced to buy my car in Ludhiana. Will transfer the registration to Delhi at a later, convenient date.
Car was booked at Pioneer Hyundai in Ludhiana on 26th May and took the delivery last Wednesday (June 18th) with 32km on the ODO. Though I had to wait till Saturday morning before I could get my hands on my precious!
Don’t have a first hand experience with the dealer as my Dad helped me with the booking and delivery. On quizzing he mentioned that he was reasonably satisfied with his experience (except that even after hard bargaining he could not squeeze out any discount/goodies from dealer!)
Financing has been done by SBI for 75% of on road cost @ 11.50% for 5 years on reducing balances and no prepayment penalty. Processing charges Rs. 2600.
Experience so far:
Mods done so far –
1. Underbody treatment (Rs. 1000)
2. Exchanged stock tyres for Michelin XM1+ 195/60 (Rs. 8500 for 5 tyres)
Have driven the car 472 km so far including drive from Ludhiana to Delhi yesterday.
Drive -
1. Drives like a dream. Infact, initially I found the torque scary, especially in bumper to bumper traffic, and was worried that I’ll hit the car ahead. So far hafve manged to resist the temptation and have kept the RPM needle below 3K!
2. Found clutch a little too hard for my comfort.
3. My biggest disappointment so far has been that car drifts significantly towards left if steering is left unattended. Plan to point this out during first service and hope to get it resolved. Would appreciate any pointers.
4. On a couple of occasions ended up down gearing to 2nd from fifth and I could hear the engine growling. Similarly ended up slotting 5th when wanted 3rd on more than 1 occasion and could feel the engine lugging. Hope that is not something serious.
NVH -
1. Hardly any noise filters into the cabin from engine bay.
2. Tyres do make a lot of noise. Not sure if this is normal (with/without upgrade) or there is some problem somewhere. Any suggestions would be welcome.
3. There was some constant irritating noise coming from driver side, similar to flapping of paper though a little harsher. Didn’t find anything apparent. Will investigate during day time.
4. On a few occasions could experience vibrations in gear shift. Didn’t notice any pattern.
Mods planned –
1. ICE (Budget around 10k-15k)
2. Gear lock
3. Seat covers (thinking of art leather but would want to see and feel available options before finalizing)
Will try to update this thread regularly but not sure if my work load and schedule will allow me to! | 
23rd June 2008, 12:54
