Heart rules over head. Booked, took the delivery of Black Safari VTT 2.2 VX 4X4

KVS · 16th November 2008, 17:45

It is usually the head that wins over the heart. However this time it is the heart’s turn to win. Yes. We booked Safari Dicor, our dream car/SUV.

Our journey to buy a new car started almost 18 months ago. We have two small cars. Since we love driving vacations, our kids always made a big issue about the space constraints. This crytallized our resolve to buy a bigger car.

Our specifications: A big car which can accommodate more people (two kids, both wifey & me and parents/in-laws) and luggage. In our initial research we shortlisted Innova, Honda City, Verna and fiesta. Safari was nowhere in the picture.

In my regular research on the internet, I came across Team-BHP last year and got hooked to it. That is when we read many logs, long term owner reports, problems with different vehicles.

I spent long hours reading many reports. I guess that was the time we came across Steer’s report on Safari. That’s when I thought why not safari? We always loved the big SUV. However it never dawned on us that we can include Safari as well in our list of choices.

We read that a new version of Safari was about to be released in the market and lot of discussions on that. Of course, we religiously followed (silently reading) all that heated debates and discussions. (Thanks to Dadu, for his informative postings on Safari 2.2)

Oct 2007 Safari was out, took the test drive and liked it.

We thought of waiting for a while and reducing the list of our short listed vehicles. Our final shortlisted vehicles were NHC, Fiesta and Safari. Took test drives of NHC and Fiesta, no where comparable to Safari. While we are still evaluating, TATA motors introduced Sumo Grande. We evaluated and rejected it outright.

Our love for Safari grew as we read more and more about Safari. The niggling problems or the tirade on Safari did not dampen or put hurdles on our growing love for Safari.

Head always was pointing towards
• The problems,
• Amount of time to shuttle between the service centers,
• Plastic quality,
• Service quality etc.
• Money involved (we wanted all the safety features like ABS, Airbags)

We tried hard and test drove many cars, to see if we could move away from Safari, but finally the heart won.

Finally we booked our beast - Black Safari Dicor – VTT 2.2 - VX, 4X4 Oct first week and we are still waiting for the Black beauty to arrive home. Kids are excited and our younger daughter has named it as “Doll house Safari”. She has grand plans of converting the back area to “Doll House”. The elder one wants to see as many movies on the DVD. Wifey is planning for a long drive and I am waiting to get my hands on BB.

Twist in the tale:

I booked it from Pandit Auto and dealer informed me that Black color, VX with 4X4 was not in stock and it has to be made specially. I informed the dealer that my cousin works in TML and I will ask him to check on this.

It has been five weeks and there is no sight of my Safari. Meanwhile, I received a call from the dealer three days back and he informed me that the vehicle would be delivered after five more weeks. However they can immediately deliver if I change the color to sliver.

I lost my patience and gave a mouth full and threatened to cancel the order. Then, I called my cousin and gave the update. He pulled his strings and quite a few phone calls later, (with emotions flying high) I was informed I will get my vehicle by Nov end.

What I learnt is there was a miscommunication between the dealer and the TML sales person. The Safari ordered by me was made, but delivered to another dealer.

Hope they deliver by month end.

Info required:

What are the accessories I need to add? I read most of the articles on the upgrade of Safari and I noted the following:

1. Lights upgrade to 90/100W or Osram +50% or Philips Xtreme 80%+
2. Hella Rallye 4000 Lights
3. V Kool on the windshield
4. I am planning to have a GPS system. Any suggestions are welcome.
5. Hood Deflector (do not know the real advantage)

Please let me know if I need to add any more

Finally thanks for all the T-Bhpians (especially Safari 3.0 and 2.2 owners) helping me out with my decision.

I will update once I take the delivery of the vehicle. I am actually carrying the PDI check list with me for the last four weeks, hoping I will get the call from dealer any time.

Cheers

KVS

PS: I have become a proud Bhpian now from Newbie

HappyWheels · 16th November 2008, 18:11

@KVS,

Congrats on the buy; hope they get you your drive at the earliest.

Going for a vehicle, which is know to cause initial glitches, is definitely something that can only come the heart!

All the best and also congrats on becoming a BHPian!

HotChillyPepper · 16th November 2008, 18:32

Quote:

Originally Posted by KVS

4. I am planning to have a GPS system. Any suggestions are welcome.

e

Hey congrats on the new buy mate. You and family will have a great time.

Regarding GPS its wise to go with the provider who gives better map and faster updates. So in my opinion you should try mapmyIndia 4.3 inches wide screen device. I never tested it but, seeing the spec, I feel it should be a great buy. Second option is Bluapunkt 4.3 inches devices preloaded with mapmyindia maps. But they are always one release behind the orginal mapmyindia devices. For example now mapmyindia started selling map with 202 cities street level map wherein Blaupunkt released their earlier version with 172 cities. I have tested Blaupunkt devices, they are worth the money you pay. checkout more details here:

Blaupunkt - Navigation Systems - Portable Navigation - TravelPilot 100

MapmyIndia.com Online maps, GPS Navigation, Driving Directions, Local Search

Strangerintown · 16th November 2008, 20:04

Congrats! You will surely enjoy the beast.

Regarding the headlights upgrade I suggest you try Osram Nightbreakers or Philips Extreme bulbs of the standard rating and see if it serves the purpose before going for an upgrade. A 100W upgrade could cause warranty related issues. I'm using Osram nightbreakers and am quite satisfied. During this monsoon I faced water condensation in my Safari's headlight and got it changed under warranty. However I did notice that at the workshop they specifically checked the bulb rating to see if I had upgraded it to a 100W rating and I got the impression that they could have created some trouble if I had a 100 W bulb fitted!

KVS · 16th November 2008, 21:57

HappyWheels: Thanks. Yes. Tata Motors Pune plant will be shut down for a week from 21st. I am hoping they make my vehicle before that.

HotChillyPepper: Thanks. The links provided by you are very useful. I have HTC Touch phone and MapIndia provide the Maps and S/W for this phone. I will do some research on this.

Strangerintown: Thanks. I think I will go with your suggestion. First i will try Osram Night breakers. Are the stock Fog lamps are OK? Or Do I need to change them also?

Regards

KVS

Steeroid · 16th November 2008, 22:29

Welcome to the Truck Driver gang, KVS.

Wish you many miles filled with happy journeys. Warning: You will find yourself driving a lot more than you bargained for!

KVS · 17th November 2008, 13:47

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steeroid

Welcome to the Truck Driver gang, KVS.

Wish you many miles filled with happy journeys. Warning: You will find yourself driving a lot more than you bargained for!

Thanks Steer. That is the basic Idea

esteem_lover · 17th November 2008, 13:59

That was an interesting read. Good decision always to go by your heart. Wish you a lot of joyous moments in the truck.

razor4077 · 17th November 2008, 14:14

Congrats KVS. Welcome to the truckers' gang

jalsa777 · 17th November 2008, 16:09

congrats buddy.

My mom loves that car. but i forced my family into going for an innova, scared away from the troubles of safari.

extreme_torque · 17th November 2008, 16:23

Congrats! Great to see that you have gone in for the 4X4.... now make your own road and see India in a new light.

KVS · 17th November 2008, 23:24

Quote:

Originally Posted by extreme_torque

Congrats! Great to see that you have gone in for the 4X4.... now make your own road and see India in a new light.

Thanks extreme_torque. Planning to drive to Rajasthan or MP during Christmas break. Given the market conditions, it may be difficult to get more vacation. Lets see what happens..

Quote:

Originally Posted by esteem_lover

That was an interesting read. Good decision always to go by your heart. Wish you a lot of joyous moments in the truck.

Thanks esteem_lover. I tried hard to move away, but could not...

Quote:

Originally Posted by razor4077

Congrats KVS. Welcome to the truckers' gang

razor4077 - Thanks.

Quote:

Originally Posted by jalsa777

congrats buddy.

My mom loves that car. but i forced my family into going for an innova, scared away from the troubles of safari.

jalsa777- Innova is a great car. It is a people mover. I liked its turning radius.

I did not go for Innova because my wife did not like Innova at all. She hates the look.

KVS · 23rd November 2008, 21:21

Dear All,

MODS: Please change the title to: "Heart rules over head. Booked, Took the delivery of Black Safari VTT 2.2 VX 4X4

I took the delivery of our dream car/SUV yesterday. As per the T-BHP advice I have done the PDI at dealers Yard on Wednesday morning and took the delivery on Saturday.

Per Delivery Inspection:
Date: 18-Nov-2008
Time: 10:30 to 12:45

Pandit Automotive's Yard is in Chikli village near to Tata Motors factory and it is managed by Mr. Kedar. I lost may way while reaching the yard. Mr. Kedar came and ushered me to the Yard and we reached at 10:30 AM.

While getting in to the yard, I surveyed for black Safari. There were many safari's, Indica's and Indigo's but not the Black Safri.

I parked my car and looking around, that is when the Safari made a grand entry.

Heart rules over head. Booked, took the delivery of Black Safari VTT 2.2 VX 4X4-imag0082.jpg

Heart rules over head. Booked, took the delivery of Black Safari VTT 2.2 VX 4X4-imag0085.jpg

After few visual inspections the vehicle is moved to a covered location for some serious PDI. I followed the T-BHP check list to the dot. I noticed the following and asked them to get those fixed.

Heart rules over head. Booked, took the delivery of Black Safari VTT 2.2 VX 4X4-imag0087.jpg

Heart rules over head. Booked, took the delivery of Black Safari VTT 2.2 VX 4X4-imag0088.jpg

Heart rules over head. Booked, took the delivery of Black Safari VTT 2.2 VX 4X4-imag0090.jpg

Heart rules over head. Booked, took the delivery of Black Safari VTT 2.2 VX 4X4-imag0091.jpg

Heart rules over head. Booked, took the delivery of Black Safari VTT 2.2 VX 4X4-imag0089.jpg

Problems noticed:

Seats are not fixed properly
Problem with the Music system (Disturbance in FM radio when the reverse gear is engaged)
Door alignment is not good.
Fuel lid does not open

The service center people were good and did the checking properly. They guys there were surprised with my knowledge and the checklist I got.

They were enquiring me whether I do vehicle inspection for living

I left the place with most of the checking done. I had to attend few important calls in the office, so, left the yard and did not wait till the problems are resolved.

Delivery experience will follow..

Cheers

KVS

greenhorn · 23rd November 2008, 21:30

the spare wheel cover doesnt seem to be visible in the pics. there was one with the vehicle right?
and what was the head unit that came with it ?

kb100 · 23rd November 2008, 21:34

Congratulations KVS!

Black Safari is a stunner! Wish you many many happy miles in it!

16th November 2008, 17:45	#1
KVS BHPian Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Pune Posts: 91 Thanked: 0 Times View My Garage	Heart rules over head. Booked, took the delivery of Black Safari VTT 2.2 VX 4X4 It is usually the head that wins over the heart. However this time it is the heart’s turn to win. Yes. We booked Safari Dicor, our dream car/SUV. Our journey to buy a new car started almost 18 months ago. We have two small cars. Since we love driving vacations, our kids always made a big issue about the space constraints. This crytallized our resolve to buy a bigger car. Our specifications: A big car which can accommodate more people (two kids, both wifey & me and parents/in-laws) and luggage. In our initial research we shortlisted Innova, Honda City, Verna and fiesta. Safari was nowhere in the picture. In my regular research on the internet, I came across Team-BHP last year and got hooked to it. That is when we read many logs, long term owner reports, problems with different vehicles. I spent long hours reading many reports. I guess that was the time we came across Steer’s report on Safari. That’s when I thought why not safari? We always loved the big SUV. However it never dawned on us that we can include Safari as well in our list of choices. We read that a new version of Safari was about to be released in the market and lot of discussions on that. Of course, we religiously followed (silently reading) all that heated debates and discussions. (Thanks to Dadu, for his informative postings on Safari 2.2) Oct 2007 Safari was out, took the test drive and liked it. We thought of waiting for a while and reducing the list of our short listed vehicles. Our final shortlisted vehicles were NHC, Fiesta and Safari. Took test drives of NHC and Fiesta, no where comparable to Safari. While we are still evaluating, TATA motors introduced Sumo Grande. We evaluated and rejected it outright. Our love for Safari grew as we read more and more about Safari. The niggling problems or the tirade on Safari did not dampen or put hurdles on our growing love for Safari. Head always was pointing towards • The problems, • Amount of time to shuttle between the service centers, • Plastic quality, • Service quality etc. • Money involved (we wanted all the safety features like ABS, Airbags) We tried hard and test drove many cars, to see if we could move away from Safari, but finally the heart won. Finally we booked our beast - Black Safari Dicor – VTT 2.2 - VX, 4X4 Oct first week and we are still waiting for the Black beauty to arrive home. Kids are excited and our younger daughter has named it as “Doll house Safari”. She has grand plans of converting the back area to “Doll House”. The elder one wants to see as many movies on the DVD. Wifey is planning for a long drive and I am waiting to get my hands on BB. Twist in the tale: I booked it from Pandit Auto and dealer informed me that Black color, VX with 4X4 was not in stock and it has to be made specially. I informed the dealer that my cousin works in TML and I will ask him to check on this. It has been five weeks and there is no sight of my Safari. Meanwhile, I received a call from the dealer three days back and he informed me that the vehicle would be delivered after five more weeks. However they can immediately deliver if I change the color to sliver. I lost my patience and gave a mouth full and threatened to cancel the order. Then, I called my cousin and gave the update. He pulled his strings and quite a few phone calls later, (with emotions flying high) I was informed I will get my vehicle by Nov end. What I learnt is there was a miscommunication between the dealer and the TML sales person. The Safari ordered by me was made, but delivered to another dealer. Hope they deliver by month end. Info required: What are the accessories I need to add? I read most of the articles on the upgrade of Safari and I noted the following: 1. Lights upgrade to 90/100W or Osram +50% or Philips Xtreme 80%+ 2. Hella Rallye 4000 Lights 3. V Kool on the windshield 4. I am planning to have a GPS system. Any suggestions are welcome. 5. Hood Deflector (do not know the real advantage) Please let me know if I need to add any more Finally thanks for all the T-Bhpians (especially Safari 3.0 and 2.2 owners) helping me out with my decision. I will update once I take the delivery of the vehicle. I am actually carrying the PDI check list with me for the last four weeks, hoping I will get the call from dealer any time. Cheers KVS PS: I have become a proud Bhpian now from Newbie Last edited by KVS : 16th November 2008 at 17:46.
	() Thanks

16th November 2008, 18:11	#2
HappyWheels Senior - BHPian Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Bangalore Posts: 4,106 Thanked: 537 Times	@KVS, Congrats on the buy; hope they get you your drive at the earliest. Going for a vehicle, which is know to cause initial glitches, is definitely something that can only come the heart! All the best and also congrats on becoming a BHPian!
	() Thanks

16th November 2008, 20:04	#4
Strangerintown BHPian Join Date: May 2006 Location: Mumbai Posts: 240 Thanked: 190 Times	Congrats! You will surely enjoy the beast. Regarding the headlights upgrade I suggest you try Osram Nightbreakers or Philips Extreme bulbs of the standard rating and see if it serves the purpose before going for an upgrade. A 100W upgrade could cause warranty related issues. I'm using Osram nightbreakers and am quite satisfied. During this monsoon I faced water condensation in my Safari's headlight and got it changed under warranty. However I did notice that at the workshop they specifically checked the bulb rating to see if I had upgraded it to a 100W rating and I got the impression that they could have created some trouble if I had a 100 W bulb fitted!
	() Thanks

16th November 2008, 21:57	#5
KVS BHPian Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Pune Posts: 91 Thanked: 0 Times View My Garage	HappyWheels: Thanks. Yes. Tata Motors Pune plant will be shut down for a week from 21st. I am hoping they make my vehicle before that. HotChillyPepper: Thanks. The links provided by you are very useful. I have HTC Touch phone and MapIndia provide the Maps and S/W for this phone. I will do some research on this. Strangerintown: Thanks. I think I will go with your suggestion. First i will try Osram Night breakers. Are the stock Fog lamps are OK? Or Do I need to change them also? Regards KVS
	() Thanks

16th November 2008, 22:29	#6
Steeroid Senior - BHPian Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: N.A Posts: 7,046 Thanked: 2,751 Times	Welcome to the Truck Driver gang, KVS. Wish you many miles filled with happy journeys. Warning: You will find yourself driving a lot more than you bargained for!
	() Thanks

17th November 2008, 13:59	#8
esteem_lover Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Madras/Py Posts: 7,556 Thanked: 502 Times View My Garage	That was an interesting read. Good decision always to go by your heart. Wish you a lot of joyous moments in the truck.
	() Thanks

17th November 2008, 14:14	#9
razor4077 Senior - BHPian Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Mumbai Posts: 1,882 Thanked: 298 Times View My Garage	Congrats KVS. Welcome to the truckers' gang
	() Thanks

17th November 2008, 16:09	#10
jalsa777 BHPian Join Date: May 2006 Location: Mumbai Posts: 732 Thanked: 1,678 Times	congrats buddy. My mom loves that car. but i forced my family into going for an innova, scared away from the troubles of safari.
	() Thanks

17th November 2008, 16:23	#11
extreme_torque Senior - BHPian Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Melbourne Posts: 4,376 Thanked: 5,105 Times	Congrats! Great to see that you have gone in for the 4X4.... now make your own road and see India in a new light.
	() Thanks

23rd November 2008, 21:21	#13
KVS BHPian Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Pune Posts: 91 Thanked: 0 Times View My Garage	Dear All, MODS: Please change the title to: "Heart rules over head. Booked, Took the delivery of Black Safari VTT 2.2 VX 4X4 I took the delivery of our dream car/SUV yesterday. As per the T-BHP advice I have done the PDI at dealers Yard on Wednesday morning and took the delivery on Saturday. Per Delivery Inspection: Date: 18-Nov-2008 Time: 10:30 to 12:45 Pandit Automotive's Yard is in Chikli village near to Tata Motors factory and it is managed by Mr. Kedar. I lost may way while reaching the yard. Mr. Kedar came and ushered me to the Yard and we reached at 10:30 AM. While getting in to the yard, I surveyed for black Safari. There were many safari's, Indica's and Indigo's but not the Black Safri. I parked my car and looking around, that is when the Safari made a grand entry. After few visual inspections the vehicle is moved to a covered location for some serious PDI. I followed the T-BHP check list to the dot. I noticed the following and asked them to get those fixed. Problems noticed: Seats are not fixed properly Problem with the Music system (Disturbance in FM radio when the reverse gear is engaged) Door alignment is not good. Fuel lid does not open The service center people were good and did the checking properly. They guys there were surprised with my knowledge and the checklist I got. They were enquiring me whether I do vehicle inspection for living I left the place with most of the checking done. I had to attend few important calls in the office, so, left the yard and did not wait till the problems are resolved. Delivery experience will follow.. Cheers KVS
	() Thanks

23rd November 2008, 21:30	#14
greenhorn Senior - BHPian Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: KL-01 Posts: 7,745 Thanked: 4,398 Times View My Garage	the spare wheel cover doesnt seem to be visible in the pics. there was one with the vehicle right? and what was the head unit that came with it ?
	() Thanks

23rd November 2008, 21:34	#15
kb100 Senior - BHPian Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Bangy Boy! Posts: 1,555 Thanked: 21 Times	Congratulations KVS! Black Safari is a stunner! Wish you many many happy miles in it!
	() Thanks