Time to own my very own italian beauty - Fiat Linea Petrol E+

rajagopal_j · 13th April 2009, 09:38

When we shifted back to India from the UK, we were in the market for a car. The missus laid down the first rule, "No SUV/UV/MUV or anything which is taller than me this time." Quick history: We owned a Bolero SLX before we sold it and moved abroad. Also from the time we had deceided to wind up and come back to India, I have been filling my wife's head with stories about the new Scorpio. Well that didnt work, did it??

So the big question, hatchback or sedan, we have previously owned a maruti 800 (with my father-in-law now), an Alto (with my uncle now), an i10 1.1 (with my dad now). The only hatchback left was the Swift. Second rule of the missus "Nothing with that big a backside!". I am like "Whats wrong with a healthy posterior, I like it??" and I get one of the black ominous looks. OK, its a sedan then.

We short list the Fiesta 1.6 S and the Linea E+. After a couple of TDs with the missus and parents and in-laws, everyone is very happy with the Linea. So Linea it is.

6th April
We book a Silver, Linea Petrol Emotion Pack with a cheque for Rs 8.32+ L, at Concorde motors, hosur road, with a guaranteed delivery on Wednesday.

7th April
Wife and I walk into the stockyard and are shown a silver linea which is to become ours. My wife is all excited and she loves etc etc. At the last moment I notice that the car doesnt have any steering wheel mounted audio control. Thats when it strikes me I am looking at an Emotion and not a Emotion Pack. I bring that to the sales guy's notice and after a long drawn discussion with the warehouse manager, and a frantic search around the yard, the sales guys comes up and say. "Sir, we dont have any emotion packs, but we are expecting a buch of cars on thursday and I can guarantee delivery on Monday".

Ok then, we deceide that I will get to check my cars on Saturday and he can then register and deliver the chosen car on Monday. Suddenly I hear a scream of surprise and excitement from about 2 cars away. So I walk up and there is my wife looking at something, so I turn to see what's holding her enthralled, and thats when I see the Black Linea. This is the first one we have ever seen and instantly the decision was made. So I quickly enquire if there are any black cars in the new bunch, the sales guy calls up someone and gives an affirmative. All's ok!

Last saturday morning, the missus and I are all ready to go to the stockyard to pick out our Linea. The sales guy calls up 10 mins before departure from home, to say "Saar, I lost my cousin sister! Only one black linea has come, so can we directly register your car and bring it on Monday". I am sorry for the guy, but he doesnt have an answer to why the hell he cannot delegate work to another person, I am really pissed off and I just disconnect the call. Its the start of the weekend and I hate to loose my cool, so my wife sits next to me and makes sure I dont blow my top.

After a lot of "Calm down"s, "Chillax"s and "Poor guy yaar, he just lost his cousin"s, I call up the sales guy and tell him that I have to see the car before registration and I better get the registered car on Monday otherwise the deal is off. Immediately the sales guy goes all hyper and calls me back in 15 mins to say that Sunday morning he will open the yard and I can pick out my car, I grumblingly accept.

Later in the night, my wife and I have a long discussion, to deceide if we want to go ahead with the Linea or should we cancel and book the new Scorpio (I havent written in detail about my experience at Concorde, thats for another thread, but it has been horrible from the first), but finally my wife prevails and we deceide to stick with the Linea, but I lay it down very clearly, that if something goes wrong on sunday then monday morning I am booking a Scorpio.

Its Sunday 11:30 AM, the sales guy, his friend, my wife and I are at the yard, a big fat security guard, who couldnt possibly walk fast let alone run and catch a thief, comes slowly ambling half asleep in the hot sun and refuses to allow us inside the yard without written consent. After some heated discussions, animated phonecalls, etc etc the security bozo relents. We walk in to see the new set of cars which have arrived on Friday, 5 in total, 2 black, 2 red and 1 silver.

The security guy walks into the middle of the yard to a Tata indica, opens it up and and brings out 2 sets of keys from in there. Then he hands the 2 sets of keys to me and points at the black cars and then he joins the sales guy to share a smoke.

I was a little surprised at this, as i had made up my mind that they will just allow me to have a look at the car with the sales guy hovering over my shoulder all the time and thats it, max 5-10 mins with each car.
Whereas what actually happened was I took almost 30 - 45 mins with each car, started the cars, checked the odo readings (22kms and 24kms for the 2 Blacks), checked electricals etc etc. The only thing I was not allowed to do was drive the car, even that was only due to lack of proper space in the yard and many other cars would have to be moved out of the way first.

Well after a full inspection, I am very happy with both the cars. The sales guy approaches me at this point to say, "Sir, You are ok with both the cars no? Why I am asking is because at the moment we havent done PDI on both these cars, so one of these cars will definitely get allotted to you on Monday morning", I look at my wife and she is all ok about the whole thing. And I am a happy customer. We handover all the required documents, photos of my wife and she signs the Form 20 for registration.

Now, Yaaaay its Monday, today is the day I get my very own Linea Petrol Emotion Pack.

Hopefully, fingers crossed!!!

pranava999 · 13th April 2009, 10:33

congrats rajgopal... welcome to blore linea owners club. I completely understand your initial frustrations with the dealer. I had a sour experience that's been posted here, but I guess thats now in the past. Look forward to seeing a few pics here of the black beauty.

I can understand the sense of excitement and i am sure you will truly enjoy every km driving her (your linea) .

redeff · 13th April 2009, 10:33

The Linea looks hot in black, but you will have to take care of her to keep her that shiny all the time!! Enjoy the Admiration! I believe that the Linea is the best 'Fell good' Car at that price. Here's wishing you many hours of fantastic driving!

bIte tHe bulLet · 13th April 2009, 10:45

rajagopal,

congratulations on the new car dude. have a blast with her and have fun keeping her clean though!!!

Bubby · 13th April 2009, 10:49

Congratulations Rajagopal. Enjoy the new car, drive safe and always wear seat belts.

How about for some pictures, for us to admire the beauty.

amit · 13th April 2009, 10:55

Congrats on your new Linea buddy!

Has anyone noticed that we are seeing an average of one Linea being bought / delivered on team-bhp everday! Looks like among the newest kids on the block (Linea, Xylo and i20) team-bhp has taken the maximum to the Linea.

hillram · 13th April 2009, 10:55

Congrats on your Linea purchase Raj.You wont regret your buy and Lineas have now become an admiration.Please post some pics once you take the delivery of the car today.

HappyWheels · 13th April 2009, 10:59

The first black Linea here! All the best RajaGopal!

A nice narration there!

nehamit · 13th April 2009, 11:18

Dear Rajagopal,
Congratulations and one more t-bhpian owning 'Hiphop Black MJD+, like me and Xplora!

ACM · 13th April 2009, 12:08

Best of Luck, Linea looks lovely in Black.

Hope the process ends in Joy.

nkrishnap · 13th April 2009, 12:50

Congrats Raj for the linea purchase.

How come there is no lead time from booking the car to delivering the same.

Is there no waiting period for Linea now. Can somebody confirm on this.

rajagopal_j · 13th April 2009, 13:07

Thanks everyone for the wishes!

Just got an update from the dealer, he may not be able to deliver the car today. Blasted him to oblivion, with a threat that I will come over there and cancel the car. Again he has promised that he will give my car today.

But I do know that at the moment I am helpless, because the form 20 is signed, so he can just register the car and I wont be able to cancel anymore!!

Hoping things just work out and I get the car today!

Quote:

Originally Posted by nehamit

Dear Rajagopal,
Congratulations and one more t-bhpian owning 'Hiphop Black MJD+, like me and Xplora!

Quick correction! Mine is a Hip hop black Petrol E+ not an MJD.

Quote:

Originally Posted by nkrishnap

Congrats Raj for the linea purchase.

How come there is no lead time from booking the car to delivering the same.

Is there no waiting period for Linea now. Can somebody confirm on this.

This was discussed in another thread, cant remember which one. But the basic conclusion was that Me and RedOne are getting our cars early because we paid in full immediately!

forbhaskarm · 13th April 2009, 13:57

Quote:

Originally Posted by nkrishnap

Congrats Raj for the linea purchase.

How come there is no lead time from booking the car to delivering the same.

Is there no waiting period for Linea now. Can somebody confirm on this.

Yea, the same question struck me as well... Is it that Petrol Linea's are not selling enough in Bangalore & hence there is ample stock available in the yard for ready delivery or perhaps this particular dealer happens to have good enough stock ...

-xplora- · 13th April 2009, 16:08

Quote:

Originally Posted by nkrishnap

Congrats Raj for the linea purchase.

How come there is no lead time from booking the car to delivering the same.

Is there no waiting period for Linea now. Can somebody confirm on this.

This was discussed in another thread, cant remember which one. But the basic conclusion was that Me and RedOne are getting our cars early because we paid in full immediately!

Well, I was ready with my full bank DD for over three weeks, the dealer did not take the full payment since he did not have the car or the confirmation of its availability. The delays are in Epack MJD that too Black has maximum, it was also due to March ending, now I think the factory is just focusing on E packs or converting Emotions into E packs, hence the deliveries are better than a month back.

pranava999 · 13th April 2009, 17:20

guys a source at the dealer told me that tata pressurizes dealers to pay fully in advance for the packs.. and that there is pressure to ensure that emotion packs will only be shipped with a batch of regular non pack variants..i did not understand half of what that meant and am just happy the car finally did come after nearly a 2 month wait. now am loving every km with it and its hard for me to stop driving her and my wife is upset that i drive the linea more than i ever drove the wagon r

cant wait to ice the linea.

13th April 2009, 09:38	#1
rajagopal_j BHPian Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Bangalore Posts: 37 Thanked: Once	Time to own my very own italian beauty - Fiat Linea Petrol E+ When we shifted back to India from the UK, we were in the market for a car. The missus laid down the first rule, "No SUV/UV/MUV or anything which is taller than me this time." Quick history: We owned a Bolero SLX before we sold it and moved abroad. Also from the time we had deceided to wind up and come back to India, I have been filling my wife's head with stories about the new Scorpio. Well that didnt work, did it?? So the big question, hatchback or sedan, we have previously owned a maruti 800 (with my father-in-law now), an Alto (with my uncle now), an i10 1.1 (with my dad now). The only hatchback left was the Swift. Second rule of the missus "Nothing with that big a backside!". I am like "Whats wrong with a healthy posterior, I like it??" and I get one of the black ominous looks. OK, its a sedan then. We short list the Fiesta 1.6 S and the Linea E+. After a couple of TDs with the missus and parents and in-laws, everyone is very happy with the Linea. So Linea it is. 6th April We book a Silver, Linea Petrol Emotion Pack with a cheque for Rs 8.32+ L, at Concorde motors, hosur road, with a guaranteed delivery on Wednesday. 7th April Wife and I walk into the stockyard and are shown a silver linea which is to become ours. My wife is all excited and she loves etc etc. At the last moment I notice that the car doesnt have any steering wheel mounted audio control. Thats when it strikes me I am looking at an Emotion and not a Emotion Pack. I bring that to the sales guy's notice and after a long drawn discussion with the warehouse manager, and a frantic search around the yard, the sales guys comes up and say. "Sir, we dont have any emotion packs, but we are expecting a buch of cars on thursday and I can guarantee delivery on Monday". Ok then, we deceide that I will get to check my cars on Saturday and he can then register and deliver the chosen car on Monday. Suddenly I hear a scream of surprise and excitement from about 2 cars away. So I walk up and there is my wife looking at something, so I turn to see what's holding her enthralled, and thats when I see the Black Linea. This is the first one we have ever seen and instantly the decision was made. So I quickly enquire if there are any black cars in the new bunch, the sales guy calls up someone and gives an affirmative. All's ok! Last saturday morning, the missus and I are all ready to go to the stockyard to pick out our Linea. The sales guy calls up 10 mins before departure from home, to say "Saar, I lost my cousin sister! Only one black linea has come, so can we directly register your car and bring it on Monday". I am sorry for the guy, but he doesnt have an answer to why the hell he cannot delegate work to another person, I am really pissed off and I just disconnect the call. Its the start of the weekend and I hate to loose my cool, so my wife sits next to me and makes sure I dont blow my top. After a lot of "Calm down"s, "Chillax"s and "Poor guy yaar, he just lost his cousin"s, I call up the sales guy and tell him that I have to see the car before registration and I better get the registered car on Monday otherwise the deal is off. Immediately the sales guy goes all hyper and calls me back in 15 mins to say that Sunday morning he will open the yard and I can pick out my car, I grumblingly accept. Later in the night, my wife and I have a long discussion, to deceide if we want to go ahead with the Linea or should we cancel and book the new Scorpio (I havent written in detail about my experience at Concorde, thats for another thread, but it has been horrible from the first), but finally my wife prevails and we deceide to stick with the Linea, but I lay it down very clearly, that if something goes wrong on sunday then monday morning I am booking a Scorpio. Its Sunday 11:30 AM, the sales guy, his friend, my wife and I are at the yard, a big fat security guard, who couldnt possibly walk fast let alone run and catch a thief, comes slowly ambling half asleep in the hot sun and refuses to allow us inside the yard without written consent. After some heated discussions, animated phonecalls, etc etc the security bozo relents. We walk in to see the new set of cars which have arrived on Friday, 5 in total, 2 black, 2 red and 1 silver. The security guy walks into the middle of the yard to a Tata indica, opens it up and and brings out 2 sets of keys from in there. Then he hands the 2 sets of keys to me and points at the black cars and then he joins the sales guy to share a smoke. I was a little surprised at this, as i had made up my mind that they will just allow me to have a look at the car with the sales guy hovering over my shoulder all the time and thats it, max 5-10 mins with each car. Whereas what actually happened was I took almost 30 - 45 mins with each car, started the cars, checked the odo readings (22kms and 24kms for the 2 Blacks), checked electricals etc etc. The only thing I was not allowed to do was drive the car, even that was only due to lack of proper space in the yard and many other cars would have to be moved out of the way first. Well after a full inspection, I am very happy with both the cars. The sales guy approaches me at this point to say, "Sir, You are ok with both the cars no? Why I am asking is because at the moment we havent done PDI on both these cars, so one of these cars will definitely get allotted to you on Monday morning", I look at my wife and she is all ok about the whole thing. And I am a happy customer. We handover all the required documents, photos of my wife and she signs the Form 20 for registration. Now, Yaaaay its Monday, today is the day I get my very own Linea Petrol Emotion Pack. Hopefully, fingers crossed!!!
	() Thanks

13th April 2009, 10:33	#2
pranava999 BHPian Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: BANGALORE Posts: 845 Thanked: 23 Times View My Garage	congrats rajgopal... welcome to blore linea owners club. I completely understand your initial frustrations with the dealer. I had a sour experience that's been posted here, but I guess thats now in the past. Look forward to seeing a few pics here of the black beauty. I can understand the sense of excitement and i am sure you will truly enjoy every km driving her (your linea) .
	() Thanks

13th April 2009, 10:33	#3
redeff BHPian Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Mumbai Posts: 356 Thanked: 272 Times View My Garage	The Linea looks hot in black, but you will have to take care of her to keep her that shiny all the time!! Enjoy the Admiration! I believe that the Linea is the best 'Fell good' Car at that price. Here's wishing you many hours of fantastic driving!
	() Thanks

13th April 2009, 10:45	#4
bIte tHe bulLet BHPian Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Bombay Posts: 441 Thanked: 279 Times View My Garage	rajagopal, congratulations on the new car dude. have a blast with her and have fun keeping her clean though!!!
	() Thanks

13th April 2009, 10:49	#5
Bubby BHPian Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: New Delhi Posts: 503 Thanked: 168 Times	Congratulations Rajagopal. Enjoy the new car, drive safe and always wear seat belts. How about for some pictures, for us to admire the beauty.
	() Thanks

13th April 2009, 10:55	#6
amit Senior - BHPian Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Mumbai Posts: 3,717 Thanked: 449 Times	Congrats on your new Linea buddy! Has anyone noticed that we are seeing an average of one Linea being bought / delivered on team-bhp everday! Looks like among the newest kids on the block (Linea, Xylo and i20) team-bhp has taken the maximum to the Linea.
	() Thanks

13th April 2009, 10:55	#7
hillram Senior - BHPian Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Hyderabad Posts: 2,942 Thanked: 1,326 Times View My Garage	Congrats on your Linea purchase Raj.You wont regret your buy and Lineas have now become an admiration.Please post some pics once you take the delivery of the car today.
	() Thanks

13th April 2009, 10:59	#8
HappyWheels Senior - BHPian Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Bangalore Posts: 4,106 Thanked: 537 Times	The first black Linea here! All the best RajaGopal! A nice narration there!
	() Thanks

13th April 2009, 11:18	#9
nehamit BHPian Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Ahmedabad Posts: 121 Thanked: 3 Times	Dear Rajagopal, Congratulations and one more t-bhpian owning 'Hiphop Black MJD+, like me and Xplora!
	() Thanks

13th April 2009, 12:08	#10
ACM Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Mumbai Posts: 4,745 Thanked: 4,361 Times View My Garage	Best of Luck, Linea looks lovely in Black. Hope the process ends in Joy.
	() Thanks

13th April 2009, 12:50	#11
nkrishnap Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: May 2006 Location: Bangalore Posts: 3,983 Thanked: 7,407 Times View My Garage	Congrats Raj for the linea purchase. How come there is no lead time from booking the car to delivering the same. Is there no waiting period for Linea now. Can somebody confirm on this.
	() Thanks

13th April 2009, 17:20	#15
pranava999 BHPian Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: BANGALORE Posts: 845 Thanked: 23 Times View My Garage	guys a source at the dealer told me that tata pressurizes dealers to pay fully in advance for the packs.. and that there is pressure to ensure that emotion packs will only be shipped with a batch of regular non pack variants..i did not understand half of what that meant and am just happy the car finally did come after nearly a 2 month wait. now am loving every km with it and its hard for me to stop driving her and my wife is upset that i drive the linea more than i ever drove the wagon r cant wait to ice the linea.
	() Thanks