[R2D2]

Originally Posted by Sahil

@r2d2- it's not about me owning a Bmw or not. I'm not even comparing the two cars. However jap cars have the trait of sqeaking and rattling. I have an accord and city too, both of which begun sqeaking and rattling over time.
Since I strongly considered the jetta before the altis comparing these two would be fair. You gotta hand it to the Germans for their fit and build.

Oh no doubt about it dude. To me European cars (British, German, Italian and Swedish) have that classy look that Asian or US mfrs can only dream of. Surprising the French lag behind. My favourite European brand is Aston Martin followed closely by BMW, Merc, RR and Jaguar.

Basically you get what you pay for. Imagine a 14L Merc/BMW sedan competing with the likes of Toyota and Honda. You'd automatically think it's a BMW built to a price. Ergo....it's how much you pay that makes the difference.

Cheers!

[R2D2]

Originally Posted by R2D2

Oh no doubt about it dude. To me European cars (British, German, Italian and Swedish) have that classy look that Asian or US mfrs can only dream of. Surprising the French lag behind. My favourite European brand is Aston Martin followed closely by BMW, Merc, RR and Jaguar.

And how could I ever forgot Ferrari and Lamborghini. Feel like kicking myself.

[Sahil]

Any other Altis Automatic owners here? Want to check what FE they are getting in city?

My Altis will be going in for it's first service 1000kms this week, is it advisable to ask them to switch over to synthetic oil now?

[R2D2]

Originally Posted by Sahil

Any other Altis Automatic owners here? Want to check what FE they are getting in city?

My Altis will be going in for it's first service 1000kms this week, is it advisable to ask them to switch over to synthetic oil now?

Hi Sahil. Will you be filling Mobil 1? If yes, dont...it's the wrong grade. They sell 5W-50 in India. Recommended for the Corolla/Corolla Altis is one of the following: 5W-30, 10W-30, 15W-40 & 20W-50 with drain intervals of 10K kms or 1 year. Is there any other synth oil on the market? I read somewhere on TBHP that Castrol Edge is semi synth like Magnatec. I'll be happy if Mobil offers us 10W-30 in this country.

I'd love to shift to synth but it is not VFM in my opinion. My car has done about 2500 Kms only and had an oil change on 31st Jan at abt 2000 Kms (Toyota GMO). This is a part of my normal "change-oil-after-running-in" schedule.

Most recommendations here on TBHP recommend synth only after 8000+ kms of running on multigrade mineral oil. So you may want to stick to Toyota GMO for a while.

Rgds,

[jimmyjagga]

Guys,
Just want a outlook here as to see, if how many Altis owners drive their baby themselves and how many have chauffers driven vehicles and why do they want the later preferance.

Mods if OT please take justified action

[R2D2]

Originally Posted by jimmyjagga

Guys,
Just want a outlook here as to see, if how many Altis owners drive their baby themselves and how many have chauffers driven vehicles and why do they want the later preferance.

Self driven (only). Not just drive, I even wash and wax the car myself. No watchman/domestic help gets to touch it.

Rgds,

[Sahil]

Originally Posted by jimmyjagga

Guys,
Just want a outlook here as to see, if how many Altis owners drive their baby themselves and how many have chauffers driven vehicles and why do they want the later preferance.

Mods if OT please take justified action

Self driving for the most part. I would have gotten a manual if it would be chauffeured more often.

[jimmyjagga]

Originally Posted by Sahil

Self driving for the most part. I would have gotten a manual if it would be chauffeured more often.

Originally Posted by R2D2

Self driven (only). Not just drive, I even wash and wax the car myself. No watchman/domestic help gets to touch it.

Rgds,

Thats it Only 2 responses, come'on guys more input please

Regards

[Ym-enjn]

Self drive for sure. If I get chance I would even take only self drive taxies..

[akj53]

Originally Posted by Sahil

Any other Altis Automatic owners here? Want to check what FE they are getting in city?

My Altis will be going in for it's first service 1000kms this week, is it advisable to ask them to switch over to synthetic oil now?

I got delivery of my Altis Automatic on 29th March and have driven only 100 kms so far. When I got delivery, ODO read 51 kms and MID showed 5.8 KMPL, which has now improved to 8.9 kmpl and ODO at 149 kms. This is after driving only in Noida - Delhi. Will now do a tankful to tankful FE test and will post my figures.

The initial ownership experience seem tobe very good. The car feels like a proper entry level luxury car. It is comfortable, powerful with smooth gearshifts and the 'feel good' factor is very high.

The only crib - Toyota should have provided a 5 speed box in this, which would have provided us better FE and more top speed.

I dont think there is any need to go for synthetic oil, as already the service interval is at 10,000 kms.

[akj53]

I also dont keep a driver and drive myself, but now a days driving is more of a tension and rarely any driving pleasure, due to the mad drivers all round.

[amit]

Originally Posted by shatrughna

Responsiveness of sales teams / Customer Relations teams

TCA- I was eagerly looking forward to TD TCA ever since its launch and despite several attempts ( registration with the dealers at Malls where cars were displayed) , I never got TD. They dont have a dealer in my area so I guess they were not able to find it convenient to visit just for a TD.

I wrote through the link on the website. Had a reply from TKM followed up through mail and the next day - received 2 calls from two dealers. Fixed up TD with one. Got follow up call from other dealer as well. When the car arrived for TD - there was a letter of apology from the dealers side.
Should I say more! Yeah I am saving for Fortuner !

So even Toyota dealers show lethargy and dis-interest. But full marks to the company. The response the apology letter clearly shows how Toyota got onto the case and made the dealers move fast.

There is also a lesson in this for Skoda. The dealer irritates the customer. Customer approaches the company and the matter is quickly resolved and so happy is the customer that even if he didn't buy the Altis, he says he is saving for the Fortuner.

[vasudeva]

Originally Posted by amit

So even Toyota dealers show lethargy and dis-interest. But full marks to the company. The response the apology letter clearly shows how Toyota got onto the case and made the dealers move fast.

That could definitely be true with some dealers in some cities. However, most of Delhi dealers are quite competent on their own, and even if there is some unsolved problem, an email to Toyota works wonders for the customer, with some appeasement thrown in for free.

[akj53]

I also got that screeching noise while braking on slow speeds on my Altis Auto, which is a November production model. I thought that problem was resolved in Sept and all production from October did not have this problem.

I called the salesman from whom I had bought this car. He himself talked to the service manager and booked a service appointment for me, as per my convenience. I took the car to the workshop, was greeted and treated properly. After inspection they gave me a time estimate. They changed the brake pads and adjusted the HID lights and also gave a free wash wipe. All this without charging any thing (my 1st service coupon is still intact). The whole process was done very professionally and was very satisfactory.

I commend Toyota and their dealer Uttam Toyota for their service standards.

Driving the car is extremely satisfying. It is very comfortable, relaxing and feel good factor is very high. My only crib is that Toyota should have provided a 5 speed auto box with this.

[diffsoft]

@ akj53: I wish Skoda Corporate spends some time reading this thread to learn more about other car makers' A*S*S.