| Dream comes true! Got my Iravat- White Swift Dzire VDi
It all started exactly 18 months back. Yes, my desire to buy a car sparked in my mind when I moved to Chennai from Mumbai. With my sisters and mother in Chennai I badly needed a car to move around for family functions and weekend outings. My father was in my native town and when every time we had an occasion to go out in Chennai or to my native town either my dad would bring a car all the way to Chennai which is 300 KMs away from my native town or we had to hire a cab . While the latter is more meaningful it hardly serves our purpose of a travel with pleasure. So buying a car is appropriate. The decision was made.
I had few ideas about cars and started digging the websites and auto-magazines. Then I came across with TBHP where I got more than the info I required to buy a car. This website is so nice that I can able to thoroughly learn about each and every aspect of a Car, its engine, Tires, ICE, Interiors, Exteriors, fuel economy etc., etc.,
Well, initially I had a number of cars in my mind which includes used Lancer Diesel, Used Accent Diesel (CRDI/DSL), Palio MJD, Vista Quadrajet, Hyundai Getz CRDi, Punto, Linea and Swift D. Due to various practical and technical reasons I dropped one by one and only Getz, Swift D and Palio MJD were in my wish list. In between I missed the opportunity to buy a Getz CRDi when it was phased out last year. I was in dilemma for a few days to buy a phased out car and in the mean time the last car from Hyundai was sold out. I like Getz for the comfort and flexible rear seat with a moderate boot space. Now my desire slightly moved towards Dzire for it boot and higher class. Even though it was slightly more than my budget I convinced myself because I don’t have much option. The greatest pain in going for a Dzire DDiS is the waiting period. People at Maruti showrooms told me it is 7~8 months. Alas, I already delayed my car buying process in deciding the car by 5~6 months.
Every friend of me started asking when is your new car arriving? People who started the car buying process much after mine have already bought cars and some people have done 7k in the ODO. My sister started convincing me that why don’t we go for a swift? Here one of my close friend Jay came for the rescue. One of his close relative owns Maruti dealership across Tamilnadu and he can get a Dzire in a much lesser time. So I booked a Dzire VDi model at his native town called Pollachi which is nearer to Coimbatore.
Everything after that was very smooth and I got a call on 20th December from the dealer that my Dzire would arrive by 25th December i.e., exactly 40 days from my date of booking. He sent a proforma for the vehicle and I started the loan process. I had only 5 days in between and I straight away approached Central Bank of India where my dad has A/c for more than 25 years. The manager is a very well known to my dad and he assured me that he will sanction the loan in single day. The next day I went to the bank with the required documents and filled in the application form. The loan quoted was @10% for three years for a loan amount of 3 lakhs. The EMI comes around Rs.3240 per lakh. I posted a query regarding this in TBHP and many BHPians adviced me that the EMI is a bit higher. But I don’t have much option here as I need the loan as soon as possible and my father insisted me to go with CBI as he feels they are more flexible than other PSU banks. Initially the Dy.Manager who handled my loan said there is no processing fee or pre-closure charges with the bank. But when I went to collect the DD (banker’s cheque is not applicable in my case as the dealer is out of Chennai) the banker said they will recover Rs.750 (Rs.250/ Lakh) as the documentation charge and another Rs.210 for stamp duty. I was surprised by this but no way to think back at this stage as I need to rush to Pollachi which is 550 Kms away from Chennai by the next day. The bank will remain closed for three days due to Christmas, Sunday and Moharram and so is the RTO office. So I didn’t bargain for it and collected the DD. The documents asked by the bank were
1. Address proof (Ration card/ Voter ID issued by election commission)
2. ID Proof (PAN Card/ Passport/ Driving License)
3. Form 16 /Income Tax returns for recent two financial years.
4. Salary Slip if employed.
5. 4 Passport size photographs
6. Invoice copy of the vehicle
7. And a SB A/c is required in the name of the applicant at the Branch ( I opened a new one)
8. Post dated Cheques (I gave 10 cheque leaves)
The dealer requires the following documents to release/ register the vehicle in the name of the applicant.
1. Form 20 duly signed and attested by the bank which issues the loan.
2. A letter of authorization from the bank saying that the so and so person carrying this letter is given a loan amount for the sum of xxxxx Rs and the vehicle should be registered in the name of so and so person.
3. 5 Passport size photos
4. Address proof for vehicle registration (Ration card/ Voter ID/ Passport)
In all, the loan process went smooth and I got the DD as promised.
Well, before buying the car I did some analysis on the mods and decided to change the tires as soon as I get the delivery. So prior to start the loan process I have got some ideas about tires and their price. I particularly thank Ph03n!x and Nitrous for giving me very valuable suggestions on tires and where to get them. I preferred Yokohoma A Drive (185/70/R14) and Michelin XM1+ (185/70/R14).I got the following quote from the Tyre Store in Greams road,
1. Michelin XM1 185/70/R14 -3750 Rs/ Tyre
2. Yokohoma A Drive 185/70/R14 -3300 Rs/ Tyre
3. Continental 185/70/R14 -3400 Rs/ Tyre
4. Bridgestone - No Stock.
In between one of my friend introduced me his cousin who owns a Tyre shop (Mahendar Tyres) at besant nagar, Chennai. When I called him to enquire about the prices he told me to come directly and promised he would give the best price (lower than the quote I got from the “Tyre Store”, Greams road). I had hardly one day before I start for Pollachi, so went directly to this guy but my felt my decision was wrong once I went there. This guy seems he is not at all interested in doing any business and very arrogant when I asked my questions. Very callous attitude and was chatting with some one in his mobile when I was talking to him. It was around 9.00 PM and I had to catch my bus to Pollachi by 10.30 PM. I called my friend and he says he will take care of everything. For his sake I ordered 5 Michelin XM1+ tires @ 3750 (same as that of Tyre Store) and paid the amount. The shopwala agreed to send the tires by KPN/ABT bus service (not the parcel service which takes 2-3 days to reach Pollachi) so that the tires will reach Pollachi on the day of my car’s delivery. My close friend Venkat joined me to get the car from Pollachi. He is from Udumalapet which is near by to Pollachi.
The next day morning I had a small personal work at Trichy which is on the way to Pollachi. While at Trichy in the morning I called the tyre shop owner to get the status of my tyres but he didn’t attend my calls at all. Finally got an update from my friend (who introduced me to this guy) that he sent the tires by parcel which is the worst scenario I feared. Alas I couldn’t use these tires because by the time I will reach Pollachi I would have left Pollachi. No point in waiting for the tires at Pollachi for two more days and extending my leaves, so I started enquiring the tires through my cousin at Trichy. Within an hour got the best deal of Rs.3650 per tyre from Dheena Tyres at Trichy. I called this guy and said I will get the tires once I reach Trichy bus stand by 10.00 PM only. But we could reach his place only around 11.00 PM but he was waiting patiently. To my surprise he helped us to get the tires to reach bus stand. We got only four tires and agreed to buy the remaining one on the way back to Chennai. He agreed duly.
We started our journey from Trichy by bus and reached Pollachi by 7.30 AM in the morning. In between we had a small halt at Venkat’s home to refresh ourselves and his dad brought us in his car to Pollachi. In the early morning with a lovely mist and cloudy weather we directly drove to the dealer. Hurrah! I saw none other than my beauty. She stands gigantic with a white dress like the Iravat. I gave the required pares to the salesperson who came very early to receive me. Then we went to a temple called “Meenkulathu Bhagavathy” in Kerala which is a 45 min drive from Pollachi.
We returned by 10 O’ clock and started the delivery process. The dealer tried to convince me to buy some accessories. I was not in a mood to buy any as the dealer had very few options for me. But the seat covers and reverse parking sensor looked convincing and I went for them. Seat covers cost 5.5 K (including one for steering wheel) and the reverse parking sensor for 4.2 K. Floor mat cost me around 1.8 K. The dealer didn’t have much options for sun film so I deferred my plan and thought of doing it once I reach Chennai. The temporary registration process took much time and the dealer started the remaining process only after 5.00 PM. Normally the dealer insists on next day delivery after this registration process is done but for me he did it on the same day. So is the delay. I sincerely thank the sales POC Mr.Saravanakumar and the Manager Mr.Dharmalingam for their patience and extra care shown on each process.A pooja was done by the dealer in a temple which is just opposite to them. A handful of my friends from Pollachi assembled there during the delivery. These people are so affectionate that they arranged a lunch for us at their homes and took care of me well. I heard people from this region are very affectionate and I must agree they are the perfect hosts. Finally around 8.30 PM got the delivery and got into my Iravat. This is one of the happiest moments in my life. The dealer couldn’t change the tires as the equipments at his service yard got repaired. I gave some tip to the guys at the showroom and we directly went to the tire alignment shop and got the tires fixed. There I got my tires filled with nitrogen cost me 50 Rs a tire. Then filled the tank at a reputed petrol bunk (NM&Co) and had a pleasure drive with my friends there.
Around 10 O’ clock we started our journey to Trichy. We reached Udumalapet and had dinner at venkat’s home then continued our journey. The road was a mix of good, bad and worst stretches all along. We reached Trichy by 3.00 AM. I stayed at Trichy for two more days but my friend left Chennai on the same day. One remaining thing is pending with my Iravat i.e., sun film. I heard about Garware, 3M, V Kool and LLumar brands. I don’t have much idea on this and am confused to select a good one a right place and price. Guys please advice me on this regard. My preference is to go for a lighter film which is not so dark from both inside and outside.
Thanks a lot for spending time to read my story and I must thank TBHP, dears and nears who helped/supported me in this process. I already clocked 1500 KMs on the Odo and have done the first free service. Till date the drive is breezy and awesome. Every time I step into the car I feel my body secretes more adrenaline. And hope to write a detailed post on the short trips I have made. In between I had a scratch in my Iravat while parked.
Few Photos:
Last edited by ForeRunner : 10th January 2010 at 02:25.
Reason: formatted
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10th January 2010, 02:09
. keep updating the thread with ownership experiences. 
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