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Old 4th November 2008, 21:30   #1
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Booked my Azure Grey Maruti Suzuki Swift VDi with ABS

Finally - after bugging the Admins to "Puh-leez, oh Puh-leez let me post" - I have been given the green signal to proceed. Thanks guys - really appreciate your dedication to keeping this forum clean of the usual internet riff-raff. Anyway, getting on with my story -

It Starts!

I have had the pleasure of driving a great variety of vehicles (four and two wheels) in my life and two years into a job, I decided that my biking days were officially over. With eyes set on four wheels and unclejidom looming ominously, I waded into the murky waters of the Indian automotive industry.

Kaunsi Gaddi?

Fickle mined fellow that I am - I was torn between all shapes, sizes and types of vehicles before settling on the Swift Diesel. My first "decision" was the Palio 1.6, this rocket on steroids was my dream car since college days. I love the way it rides with tons of grip and it has a really solidly built feel to it, the low price was an added plus. On the downside, the reality of Petrol prices and the 1.6's gas guzzling nature coupled with the ageing interiors and Fiat's reliability issues (for the record I have pushed my Mom's Premier Padmini and a friends Palio 1.2 for miles upon miles - I agree the Padmini is not a benchmark, but hey, a Fiat is a Fiat - plus I had to face the same Serviceability issues with the Palio 1.2). So end result - No Fiat Palio 1.6.

My second "decision" was the Ford Fiesta 1.6 Sxi. I loved the compactness, loved the new shape and was absolutely fidaa over the way it drives. The interiors are really inviting and it is quite comfortable. The high price (of the car as well as the fuel that goes into it) and the Ford badge were the deterrents.

The Swift was a car which was always there at the back of my mind, I liked the way it looked, I liked the gearshift and I liked the peppy engine (Petrol). Braking was not a very strong point in the Lxi that I had driven but nothing that ABS wouldn't be able to take care of. The Swift Diesel was really the first choice - as soon as I heard that Maruti was going to put the Fiat-GM 1.3 MJD in the Swift - I was sold on it. The only deterrent in this case was my idiotic bunch of friends with their "Captain Slow" comments and the sneers that accompanied "Diesel" in every car discussion. This continuous ribbing was what led to my exploring the above two options in the first place (i.e. Fiat Palio 1.6 and Fiesta 1.6).

The Clincher

Having been in Kolkata (where I had been for the past year due to occupational constraints) I had been delaying my decision to buy a car till I could get myself out of there (No offence implied to anyone, Kolkata is nice - but not for me - I was done with it!). Thanks to my incessent pestering, I managed to convince my boss to transfer me to Pune on the 6th of October. As they say in hindi - honi ko kaun taal sakta hai - and sure enough, Millennium Mobility (Maruti dealer in Pune) was running a corporate sales counter at my office cafeteria in Pune.

One thing led to another and on the 11th of Oct 2008, I found myself in a Green Swift Diesel demo car (which the sales agent had very kindly driven to my house at the time of my choosing). The vehicle was somewhat beat up and upon enquiring, I was told that it was about an year old (and had done about 30K Kms according to the Odometer). With one of my sceptical and sarcastic "diesel hater" buddies in the back seat, we set off on a test drive in some residential bylanes.

Now, I was aware of all the good points of the Swift Diesel thanks to all the posts about the ownership experiences that Swift Diesels owners have posted on these forums, as a result I will leave that discussion out completely and focus only on the main observations during the test drive.

My first impressions (Start with the good, end with the bad):

The Good
  • Fairly Easy to Drive
  • Nose levels fairly low, almost none with the AC on.
  • Engine doesn't feel strained with the AC on
  • Nice Gear Shift - Love the short throws.
The Bad
  • Clutch seemed too stiff (I gave the car the benefit of the doubt and hoped that it was due to misuse of that specific car)
  • Visibility was somewhat poor - as expected
  • "Vdi" seemed to be a misnomer - The car semed to be mostly bare bones save for the power windows :-(
Thankfully - there were no "uglies" (except for the guys sitting in the bright green Swift)

I asked the Sales person if it was okay for me to take the car for a bit of a spin on the highway - he agreed and I steered the car on a smooth patch of empty road (very difficult to find in Pune, but I managed, somehow!). The sceptic in the back seat was reasonably impressed with the NVH levels and was leaning forward to peer at the dash when I decided to go banzai on the Demo car - the effect was BRILLIANT!! As soon as the turbo kicked in a little above 2K rpm, the car simply went berzerk!! With my friend's mouth firmly shut and his backside pressed into the seat with the turbo surge, I drove back home with only one thought in my head - "I NEED to have this car!"

Negotiations? You Wish.

The next few minutes were filled with my asking questions and not getting any positive responses. No discounts, no freebies, long waiting period, period! I tried calling another dealer (Sai Service, Pune) who promised to call back in 15 mins (but never did). So without further ado - and mostly thanks to the excellent customer focus of the Sales guy from Millennium Mobility, I took the plunge and with a token advance payment, booked my Azure Grey Swift Diesel VDi with ABS about 1 hour after the first time I set foot inside (actually - stomped on the accelerator of) a Swift Diesel.

A note on a couple of dealers from Pune whom I had experienced, the guy from Sai Sevice finally called me back after a week to tell me "Sorry Sir, we were a little preoccupied with Diwali". In any case, I asked him about the deals available on a Swift Diesel VDi with ABS and was given the same 'No Deals' story. I thanked him for his time and told him that I had decided to go in for another dealer who had been more responsive - the guy was apologetic and even asked me the waiting period for the car at Millennium Mobility - I tried to stretch my luck and told him that I got a few freebies and a 2.5 month waiting period to which he responded by saying that he would only be able to offer the same waiting period and that going by my good experience with the sales guy from Millenium Mobility, I was totally justified in going in for that dealership. An 'honourable' mention among the Dealers in Pune is Kothari Wheels in Viman Nagar. As it is located very close to my house, I had visited their showroom an year ago (just before I left for Kolkata) and a 5 minute experience there was enough to ensure that I never went there again. Long story short - they leave a LOT to be desired on a customer service front - I actually felt unwelcome in the showroom - but that was just my individual experience.

Now the wait!


As is typical of most Swift Diesel ownership stories on team-bhp, mine too begins with an agonizing wait and the only solace I can find is reading that most of the other Swift Diesel ownership threads end with a "It was well worth the wait". cheers:

Will keep updating my experience as it unfolds. Till then, wish me luck!
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Old 4th November 2008, 23:05   #2
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first of all,welcome abroad to T-bhp..
and this first write up was indeed a delight to read.The prospect of being a swift owner is just too delicious in my view.
so whats your waiting peroid?
sooner il be the one writing in a similar text on the drooling wait for a swift VDi!!!
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Old 4th November 2008, 23:25   #3
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Congratulations!
What was the price ? It is know that no discounts, but you can press a bit for freebies.
The clutch of diesels are generally a bit stiff.
What is the waiting period ?
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Old 5th November 2008, 02:18   #4
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@aaggoswami : Thanks! The Price is 5.95 L On Road (Including extended warranty) It was 5.94 when I booked it - the guy from the dealership called me up a few days later to tell me that Maruti is about to raise prices and that I should expect a 2-2.5K increase - he called again the next day to tell me that on the VDi with ABS, the increase is 1K (No increase on VDi non-ABS ). Saw the same news in the Newspaper 2 days later - so was pleased with the guy's customer responsiveness once again. Waiting Period quoted was 2.5 Months then (Inquired from a different Sales Agent from same dealership 2 days ago - he said it's up to 3.5 Months now). Am trying to use some contacts to get it processed quicker, let's see how that works out .

@ariendj : Thanks to you too. Your question is answered in my response to aaggoswam. Look forward to hearing your experience too.
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Old 5th November 2008, 10:55   #5
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congrats on your purchase.

ot:the recent price hike was for all the cars except swift diesel and dzire.are you sure there was a price hike after booking?

edit:just saw your complete post,no price increase for non abs
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Old 5th November 2008, 11:04   #6
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Congratulations. 2.5 month waiting period is much less than what i have heard of. So now comes the tough part to just wait wait & wait for the car to arrive. Seems like we have turned back the clock with the dezire.
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Old 5th November 2008, 17:21   #7
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Have been itching to post this since today morning - unfortunately, was a little busy in office. Got word that my baby will be dispatched from GGN by Friday - should have the vehicle in Pune in another 10-15 days! Giddy with joy!
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Old 5th November 2008, 17:46   #8
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Congrats BBT for booking a Swift DDIS ABS and getting the car so early. 5.95lac, does it include 1 year or 2 year extended warranty. Is this price for Pune on road or Pimpri outsite octroi registration. They give no freebies with Swift DDIS. You will even have to buy rubber mat and mud flaps.
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Old 5th November 2008, 19:14   #9
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The Proforma-Invoice for those who are interested is given below:
Ex-Showroom Price: 535122 (+1000 now)
Comprehensive Insurance: 16323
RTO Regn Fees: 37809
Admin & Regn Charges: 2650
On Road Price: 591904
Extended Warranty: 2395

NET TOTAL: 594299 (+1000 now)

I can't remember exactly what the extension period was - but as far as my guesstimate goes, it's for a 1 year extension. (I didn't pay too much attention as it's a small amount in comparison to the car and I just wanted to get the car, warranties can wait till it's parked neatly in my Garage )

The price is for Pune. A few friends did suggest that I check out Pimpri/Chinchwad coz it's cheaper, but I wanted to do stuff by the book.

Oh - almost forgot - The no freebies concept really sucks!
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Old 5th November 2008, 19:22   #10
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A suggestion. Go for the 4th year warranty also, and as soon as possible.
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Old 5th November 2008, 19:41   #11
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BBT, excellent first post, mate. Also the Swift diesel with ABS is an superb choice. Welcome, indeed, to Team-BHP.
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Old 5th November 2008, 19:46   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BBT View Post
NET TOTAL: 594299 (+1000 now)
It is latest news which i saw yesterday in the news channel that maruti has called off all the price hikes. Better check the news channel today also. Ask your dealer to detuct this +1000 now.

Your extended warranty seems to be for 1 year, as 2 years is for some 4xxx.
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Old 6th November 2008, 01:08   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tush View Post
It is latest news which i saw yesterday in the news channel that maruti has called off all the price hikes. Better check the news channel today also. Ask your dealer to detuct this +1000 now.

Your extended warranty seems to be for 1 year, as 2 years is for some 4xxx.
Will call him up first thing tomorrow morning and find out - in case you have any links which corroborate the roll-back of the price hike, that would be a great help.

Just finished reading your post - really feel for you dude, I would like to drill some holes in those dolts! I noticed that you didn't post the name of the dealer in question - can you post or PM the dealership's name?


Quote:
Originally Posted by Eddy View Post
A suggestion. Go for the 4th year warranty also, and as soon as possible.
Is that just precautionary or is the DDiS predisposed to breaking down in it's 4th year?
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Old 6th November 2008, 09:05   #14
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Congrats Raju!

Welcome to the world of 4 wheels

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Old 6th November 2008, 14:06   #15
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@BBT

I did not find any link for latest announcement but i am affirmative about the information on the news channel. Wait for few more days and some website should come up with the information. Better bet would be to call Maruti Regional Sales Office and talk about this news channel update. For Pune following are the numbers.

020-26856036/37/38/39/40

Last edited by tush : 6th November 2008 at 14:10.
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