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!