| Platinum Beauty has Arrived - Fiesta 1.6 ZXI
The saga of my new car purchase and the time involved in taking this decision is explained below. At last I have the car which would satisfy my need but with little extra money from my wallet.
I was in a dilemma for the past 1.5 months and I have lost sleep for close to 4 days to make a decision on a new car
I was having esteem and it had already crossed 77K on odo so thought of getting a new one, my starting budget was 6L and it got stretched till 7L. During the first week I was confused to select the body type sedan or hatchback and at last managed to convince myself for a sedan (Still mind says hatchback, it’s only the heart which says Sedan)
My commute would be 85% in City (This is one of the reasons why my mind still says hatchback) and 15% on highways. Second week confusion started on the fuel (petrol or diesel), the confusion still continues and I have parked it until I select the vehicle as almost all the manufacturers have Petrol and Diesel and I can choose the fuel at later stage. I know Diesel would easily cost more, but I need justify the cost for a diesel so partly my mind had accepted for petrol (I am a petrol head)
I stay very close to my office (3Kms) and my monthly average would not cross 700Km (including weekend travel) and may be twice in a year it might cross 2000Kms. So overall I do not see more than 12K commute per year.
In highway I would ride like a monster (only when I drive alone and mostly I do) with fast lane cutting and drag style driving which calls in for some extra safety features...at least to keep my family happy that I have some safety onboard. In City it would be very sedate driving with some stop and go traffic which calls for a quick response machine. The number of occupants would 60% of the time only me and 40% of the time 4 - 5.
After taking all these considerations I have narrowed down on these 4 vehicles,
1. Ford Fiesta 1.6 ZXi – 7.5L (On road Chennai)
2. Ford Fiesta 1.4 EXI – 7.4L
3. Fiat Punto Emotion Pack 1.3 MJD – 6.9L
4. Hyundai i20 Asta 1.4L CRDI- 7.67L
My priorities were
1. Excellent Ride quality & dynamics
2. Better FE – 11-12 (City) 15-16 (Highway)
3. Low maintenance
4. Good After service and resale value
Honda’s are above my budget and Maruti had a terrible waiting period. I need to finalize and get my car before diwali.
With all these considerations started my journey to finalize on my dream machine, Apart from Ford none of the dealers gave me a separate quote for purchasing the vehicle on lease plan. The quote given by ford is so tempting that I almost cancelled all other vehicles and was concentrating more on Ford.
I need to accept that pricing played a major role on my selection of Ford Fiesta than any other factor and some factors were overlooked due to the benefit which I would get. I was offered a price of 6.8L (on road) for 1.6 ZXI which was too tempting to go in for lease plan.
Decision made and it was favoring 1.6 ZXI after consulting with Phoenix, Token advance paid for the car on 28th September and I wanted the car before Diwali. Dealer did not have the silky silver on stock and he stated that he would need at least 3 weeks to deliver the vehicle and he cannot assure me the delivery by Diwali. So changed my mind and booked the Platinum color.
I was supposed to start the paper processing on the same day, but due to some official work and travel I did not do that till 5th October. Managed to complete the paper work with my lease company by 6th October and I was able to get the confirmation from the dealer that the vehicle would be delivered by 12th. I wanted to go in for some special number and informed the dealer that I would take care of RTO formalities for getting new number and here again the RTO work got over only by 12th so the delivery date got pushed to 14th.
I did a stockyard PDI and an initial showroom PDI before registering the vehicle in my name (Thanks to the PDI checklist provided by TeamBHP)
Atlast my platinum beauty arrived on 14th in glaze and smile, due to an auspicious belief and delayed registration process I had to push the delivery of the vehicle to Wednesday. I was present with my dad & my friend at MPL Ford sharp at 11:00AM and I started doing my final PDI check to confirm if anything had changed since the time I did my second level PDI in the showroom. Everything was perfect and MPL ford had diligently rectified the complaints which I had noted to them.
Completed the PDI check and found that the rear mud flap was not attached properly and they rectified it in a minute (Somehow I am blessed with an eye for detail…I think so). Then came the tough part, document signature...completed all formalities and signed the papers by 1:40PM. All set and ready to roll my beauty on road… the dealer had arranged for Pooja and then the key handing over session. I started the engine and was confused whether it was running or not,It’s very quiet and no vibrations noticed. I have been repeatedly reminding myself that this is a new car and I am not going to rip her till 1000 Kms atleast . Directly went to sun film fixing, you cannot imagine the pain I went through when I saw my baby literally torn apart to fix the sun film. Everything set and the vehicle is back to its original condition. Good work done by 3M. Took the vehicle to the temple to do another pooja. Now the time is 6:30 PM, I am already tired and I want to come back home and start to office. I ensured that I am not crossing 2500RPM and I was able to cruise at 60Km comfortably without any issues and not much of gear changes required in tight city traffic situation.
Overall I am satisfied with my decision... Go Fida
Minor hiccups
1. Mileage noted was around 8.5 in City. Again this is not Full tank test. I would reserve my comments till I do a full tank test and update the thread.
2. No freebies from the dealer, not even an air freshener. I would have a separate talk on that with the sales manager after sometime.
3. I had given 10K to block the allotment and it was agreed that the dealer would return this amount at the time of delivery and I do not have the cheque with me till now. When contacted, they apologized and said it would be ready by Monday.
4. The technical advisor assigned for demo did not have any clue about the engine. I think they get some kind of training to repeat what’s been told to them. Few of his answers to my questions were
My question:
Where is the radiator and how can i open the cap?
His answer
Ford Fiesta does not have a radiator and whatever i have to do it should be done in the coolant tank
My question
what is the coolant used and what should be the amount of coolant i need to have on stock?
His Answer
No sir, No need to have any stock as everything is covered by Ford, it will be taken care by authorized service rep
My question
What is fuel inertia switch and where is it located ? (I know the answer but wanted to ask him to check his reaction)
His Answer
Fuel inertia switch is used to release air lock in a petrol vehicle and it is situated near the engine... (I asked him to show the switch, he opened the bonnet and was searching for it and then called someone over the phone and then informed me fuel inertia switch does not come in petrol vehicle and it is available only in Diesel)
I can’t stop laughing at this point and I said thanks for your demo, I can read and write English and the user manual would be sufficient for me. What a Jerk, He did not come to me after that and i wanted him to be near me when i was testing the radio and other stuff and i was teaching him how stuff works.
5. No remote for the audio system. Damn a 7 Lac car's audio system does not have a remote... what a joke... but still I liked the finish of the audio system. (Can any of the Fiesta owner’s confirm this?)
I am all set for my Trip to Tirunelveli for Diwali celebration with my family. Good that I am getting the chance to complete the running in period by this trip.
Accessories fitted till now:
Rear & Side sun film - 3M RE35
Front Windshield - 3M CR70 (Believe me the glare reduction is amazing as of the initial looks) i can post the results after some regular night usage. | 
21st October 2009, 03:29
