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Old 31st March 2010, 22:27   #1
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My First Car, Ritz VDI

Hi everyone, I finally found some time to post an initial ownership review of our first family car.
Background :-

My hunt for buying a car started way back in mid of 2009 when my parents came to Bangalore to stay with us for a couple of months and I started feeling the need of a car when you have a family, especially in Bangalore.
By that time I started eating my parent’s and my wife’s head with the thought of buying a car and which car it should be. I bugged them to such an extent that they almost got fed up with idea of buying car.
Anyway I knew that I had to buy one but I was not sure when and which car.
So I started spending good amount of time researching for “WHICH CAR” it should be? And there is no mark for guessing where I was searching , T-BHP.
I always knew that I need to buy a car, which will be powerful because I love driving fast.
Oh Oh we had a problem , I didn’t know how to drive so how will I check, which car will fulfill my requirements?
So decided that we would buy a used car, and started looking for the used swift because I read everywhere that its driver’s car and all the ownership review confirmed the same.
All this deciding stuff almost took 6 months. Man I never thought that it will take so much time, but that’s how it is, I guess.
So in December, I enrolled myself in a driving school nearby my house. It was just 7 days and I was still in the stage of only using the steering wheel while driving. I saw that there was a Swift ZXI 2005, 32 kms on the odo and in mint condition for sale in First Choice.
The First Choice showroom was just a 500 mts from house, so went to check the car and it looked really really nice. I was like WOW, this car looks good .Took a couple of pics of the car from all the angles.
The sales guy asked me, “Sir shall we go for a test drive” and I told him “ I am still learning to drive” and he was like “OK, No issues sir “
Anyway that guy was nice. He showed every aspect of the car and also told me that a couple had already test drove the car and they liked it and might book it today itself. So I went and checked with the manager of First Choice, and he quoted 3.75 lacs for the car and was ready to arrange the used car loan for me from syndicate bank @ 9% fixed.
So I almost made up my mind that I will go for this car.
I went back home and showed my wife all the pictures of the car and explained her finance options, as she was about to pay the down payment amount. All these were in end of December 09.
Before I proceed further, I would also like to mention that, at that point of time, I was staying in a house where we didn’t have car parking and all the people were parking their cars in the road side only.
I knew that if I buy a car and keep in the road, I will not be able to sleep the whole night.
By that time, we decided we will post pone the idea of buying a car till I got my DL and had the confidence to drive in Bangalore’s bumper to bumper traffic.
We had also plan of shifting to a new house with lift facility as my parents, who are old, found it difficult to climb stairs.
So we decided to hold on to my plan of buying the car till then.

Buying experience :-

In the month of Feb, I got my DL and we had also finalized a new apartment where we had car parking facility. We were moving in the month of March.
By the time I learnt driving and got my DL, I got the confidence to drive.
So I was ready for the second phase of the car hunt.
I’m a big guy 6’3” ft and weighing 110 kgs. I knew that I will not fit in all the cars, so shortlisted two cars:
1. Indica Vista
2. Maruti Ritz
Then, like a new car buyer, got confused, whether petrol or diesel.
And I was like “not again”.
So decided I will go for a diesel as I plan to keep the car for 6-7 years.
So one fine day, we decided to visit the Tata showroom near dairy circle to check out the VISTA.
The response at the showroom was good and the sales person showed the Vista Aura.
I already started blushing at the first site of seeing the car.
So I asked my wife to first get into the car and get the feel of it as she will also be driving the car when needed.
Then I just sat inside the car, and guess what, my head touched the roof of the car.
Also the quality of plastic was very poor, the door handle almost came out when I opened the door to get inside the car, and the power windows switches etc. didn’t look that good.
I conversed with the finance person @ the showroom regarding the loan options available.
I already had loan quotes from Axis bank, SBI, and HDFC. I found that the rate of interest offered in the showroom was higher than what was quoted by the bank directly.
We had an appointment that day, so could not take a test drive and decided to come the next day for a TD. The sales person took our contacts details etc.
So we moved out and my wife told me that she is not impressed with the car, don’t know why but she didn’t like it very much.
I was also not very comfortable with my head touching the roof.
So we walked out of the showroom and headed back home.
We finished our appointment and went straight to the Maruti showroom at Outer ring road.
First we checked a used swift Lxi, which was in display at the true value counter.
We liked the car. It was well maintained. So I checked the prices and loan options available for the used car in true value, and found that it doesn’t make sense buying a used car with 15- 16 % rate of interest for EMI.
So we decided we are buying a brand new car.
My wife was also happy with the decision.
So we went ahead and checked a Ritz Vxi which was there in display. We sat inside the car and got a feeling of “BIG” car.
The view from the driver’s seat was nice and also felt that the quality inside was also 100 times better then Vista.
So we wanted to check the diesel version.
To that the sales guy asked me about my month running, which will be around 800 kms. He suggested going for petrol instead of diesel.
I also agreed to his advice, and asked for a test drive, to which he arranged the gate pass and we went for drive.
I told the sales guy that I have just got my DL and still learning. He gave a smile and we went ahead with drive.
The car was really zippy compared to the Santro in which I learned to drive.
I was impressed with the car so as my wife with my driving skills and the comfort on the back seat.
We went back home again confused over petrol or diesel. So, I decided to take TD of the diesel version also and then take a call.
I called up the sales rep and told him about it.
I booked a TD the next day after my office hours.
My office is near the showroom, so I went over the next day and took a TD of the diesel version.
The moment I put the car in 1st gear I immediately got the feel of diesel turbo, which people keep on saying.
The car started to move smoothly without even putting my size 10 shoes on the gas pedal.
I immediately got the feeling in the back of my mind that this turbo will be ideal for bumper to bumper traffic.
Decided, we were buying a RITZ.
We needed to finalize whether VXI or VDI.
We found that the cost of diesel will be almost the same as petrol and since we were planning to keep that car for long time we finalized, it will be a VDI.
There was 20k discount on diesel and 15k discount in petrol.
These are the small calculations that I made for petrol and diesel
Onraod Price EMI @ 9.6 Monthly Cost
481000, vxi -- 8588 - 60 months --800 km/m 3323rs --- 12000
530000 , ldi -- 9483 - 60 months --800 km/m 1835rs --- 11318
560000 , vdi -- 10020 - 60 months --800 km/m 1835rs --- 11855

So then arrived the phase of deciding to buy it from which dealer.
Checked out the offers provided by other maruti dealers in Bangalore .
I found that Pratham motor gave me the best deal.
So on 17th Feb, we booked a Ritz VDI by paying an advance amount of 10k , but we didn’t confirm the color
I took my wife along with me for giving the advance.
I wanted a black car but my parents were against black so we decided to go with fire brick red, informed the sales person about the same and he confirmed that it is available and he will book it for me.
We wanted the car on the 1st week of March, as by that time we will move to our new house where we have covered car parking place.
I told the sale guy that I will do a PDI before the car is booked, to which he agreed.
In a couple of day’s time the sales guy confirmed that the car is on its way to the stock yard .
In the meantime I applied for car loan from SBI by my own and because of SBI loan mela, my loan was sanctioned within 5 working days and the cheque was ready on 24th. That was quick isn’t it?
So I asked the sales person to collect the cheque on 25th and get the car registered.
On 27th got a call from the sales guy that the car is there in the stockyard and I can come and do the PDI.
Went for the PDI with the PDI checklist, all looked good, it was 2010 model.
I gave a heads up to the sales guy to register the car.
He said that he will get the car registered on Monday, so I just asked me if there would be some additional discounts available if the car is booked in the month of march, as we all know “DIL MANGE MORE”.
To that the sales person told me that he can’t assure the same.
By that time the budget was also placed and price hike was also in the picture, so wanted to confirm that I will get the car in the old price.
But the sales guy said he cant assure.
And he told me that there might be price hike and also additional discounts might also be available as it’s the year end month (March) .
I told him that if there is a price hike and I need to pay some money extra, then it will be trouble for , as they received the cheque on 25th and should have got the registration done.
To which he told me that the car was not in stockyard @ that time, to which I reminded him that he told me that the car is readily available and I booked the car with a token amount. Also told him if needed I will take up the matter with his boss.
He told me that he will check with his boss and let me know .

So I reached home after doing the PDI, and got a call from the sales guy saying that he can get the car registered with the same offer for Feb, and price and discounts for the month of march will not be applicable. I said that I am ok with it.
So on 1st march he got the car registered and asked me to come and take the delivery of the car.
I wanted to take the delivery of the car in the daylight and on weekdays it will not be possible. So after checking with my parents, I found that there is a good time on Saturday when I can bring the car home. It was between 2pm to 4.15 pm.
So on 6th March, I went to the showroom along with my wife.
The sales guy was out for lunch, so we had to wait for some time.
Once he came back, we asked him to get the car to the delivery area so that I can do a complete PDI .
In the meantime he handed over all the documents, warranty cards, etc.
The service advisor explained all the aspects of the car. I checked all the accessories that were promised at the time of booking and all looked well .
We went to the showroom in my two wheeler so we asked for a driver who can drive the car back home.
It was a brand new car and I didn’t want to take a chance of driving the car through the traffic and the risk of getting the dents to our baby.
So the car was filled with 5 lts of diesel, and my wife was driven to my home in our brand new car, escorted by me in my bike.
I gave some tips to the driver so that he can go back to the showroom. And yes, I also handed over a pen to the sales guy as a small token of appreciation before starting from the showroom.
I took some snaps of our new family member .
By the time we reached home, the temple near our house was closed.
So the next day we went to the temple and finished the puja and headed straight to the pump to fill the tank.
I also checked the tyre pressure, it was 46 psi .
So I got the tyre pressure adjusted as per the pressure mentioned in the sticker inside the car and went for a small drive.

Free Accessories :-

Mud Flap, Idol, perfume, floor and dickey mats, remote locking, sun-film, door beeding, steering grip and fabric seat cover.

ICE setup done @ EVO, thanks to Satya for getting it done .
Wanted a pioneer HU but Satya suggested to go with Kenwood HU , as he feels kenwood are better then pioneer, so went by his advise and got the kenwood KDC –U346, and GTS –S265C for front door and GTS-S396 for the back.

Till now I have clocked around 800 kms yet to check the mileage.

Some picture enclosed.

Cheers
Attached Thumbnails
My First Car, Ritz VDI-dsc00901.jpg  

My First Car, Ritz VDI-dsc00905.jpg  

My First Car, Ritz VDI-dsc00928.jpg  

My First Car, Ritz VDI-dsc00929.jpg  

My First Car, Ritz VDI-dsc00931.jpg  

My First Car, Ritz VDI-dsc00933.jpg  

My First Car, Ritz VDI-dsc00936.jpg  

My First Car, Ritz VDI-dsc00938.jpg  

My First Car, Ritz VDI-dsc00941.jpg  


Last edited by Schoudhury : 31st March 2010 at 22:34.
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Old 31st March 2010, 22:43   #2
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Congratulations !!!. Very good snaps. keep writing about your initial driving experiences.
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Old 31st March 2010, 22:52   #3
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Excellent colour, superb choice... Happy miles ahead in your new Joy!
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Old 31st March 2010, 23:13   #4
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Yup Mr Schoudhury

You have finalized and bought the best car in B hatchback segment today !!!

Ritz is one of the finest build hatchbacks and finest built maruti suzuki's

have a safe drive and if possible report out the mileage that you are getting
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Old 31st March 2010, 23:14   #5
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Welcome to Ritz family. I too have recently purchased Ritz Ldi. I can very well understand how tought it would have been for you to decide the car. Well I am driving for last 12 years. My first car was fiat and after that got Wagon R. Still, I found it so difficult to finalise the car.

Any accessories you are planning? I got kenwood music system. If needed I can tell you the details. Overall, performance is good.

Happy riding.

Supercool
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Old 31st March 2010, 23:20   #6
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Congrats. This car is fresh off the block and has good interiors as well,

Its understandable why you didnt drive back from the show room as well :-)
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Old 31st March 2010, 23:32   #7
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Congratulations Schoudhury for your first car. Enjoy the drive and keep us updated about car's performance, FE, servicing.
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Old 31st March 2010, 23:35   #8
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Nice choice and I really like your to-the-point buying experience!
Enjoy driving around in this beauty.
Any further mods planned? (alloys / better tires)
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Old 1st April 2010, 00:14   #9
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Very well written! This is why I prefer maruti dealers compared to ford!
Which maruti dealer did you buy this from? They seem really friendly and nice.
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Old 1st April 2010, 19:20   #10
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Congrats on the Ritz, Schoudhury! That's a great 1st car...lucky you, most of us started with something smaller / less powerful. A detailed report - with excellent pictures to match - and one that will be immensely helpful to others.

Do share some more information on the actual driving experience.
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Old 1st April 2010, 20:31   #11
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Congrats on your first car schoudhury.. very nice write up and pics.

As blackasta pointed, your buying experience was very crisp and to the point which will help others on the look out for a new first car.

Since you are close to the 1000kms mark, pls do post your drive experience.
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Old 2nd April 2010, 11:40   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Simhi View Post
Congratulations !!!. Very good snaps. keep writing about your initial driving experiences.
Thanks !


Quote:
Originally Posted by alstonlobo View Post
Excellent colour, superb choice... Happy miles ahead in your new Joy!
Thanks !

Quote:
Originally Posted by PCS View Post
Yup Mr Schoudhury

You have finalized and bought the best car in B hatchback segment today !!!

Ritz is one of the finest build hatchbacks and finest built maruti suzuki's

have a safe drive and if possible report out the mileage that you are getting
Approx ,getting around 17 -18 with very less AC

Quote:
Originally Posted by Supercool View Post
Welcome to Ritz family. I too have recently purchased Ritz Ldi. I can very well understand how tought it would have been for you to decide the car. Well I am driving for last 12 years. My first car was fiat and after that got Wagon R. Still, I found it so difficult to finalise the car.

Any accessories you are planning? I got kenwood music system. If needed I can tell you the details. Overall, performance is good.

Happy riding.

Supercool
Thanks Supercool.
I already got the ICE installed and it sounds pretty good .
And also i some how managed to get all the necessary accessories as freebies from the dealer . so i intend to go a nice set of alloy for the time being.

Quote:
Originally Posted by thedreamcatcher View Post
Congrats. This car is fresh off the block and has good interiors as well,

Its understandable why you didnt drive back from the show room as well :-)
Actually i was not at all confident about the driving a brand new car in peak traffic.

Quote:
Originally Posted by gaddiwale View Post
Congratulations Schoudhury for your first car. Enjoy the drive and keep us updated about car's performance, FE, servicing.
Sure Sir i will keep this thread updated regularly .

Quote:
Originally Posted by blackasta View Post
Nice choice and I really like your to-the-point buying experience!
Enjoy driving around in this beauty.
Any further mods planned? (alloys / better tires)
I will definitely go for alloys , but it will take some time.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Captain Slow View Post
Very well written! This is why I prefer maruti dealers compared to ford!
Which maruti dealer did you buy this from? They seem really friendly and nice.
Yes, they were pretty good .Its Pratham Motors in Outer ring road.
The sales rep's name is Kushal, he is a nice chap.
Quote:
Originally Posted by GTO View Post
Congrats on the Ritz, Schoudhury! That's a great 1st car...lucky you, most of us started with something smaller / less powerful. A detailed report - with excellent pictures to match - and one that will be immensely helpful to others.

Do share some more information on the actual driving experience.
Thanks GTO.
Yes, to be very frank i was also planning to go a smaller & less powerful car, then i thought, anyways im not going to giving full cash for the car and have to take a car loan, so why not take some extra loan and get a powerful car which i can keep for sometime and enjoy also , instead of looking for new car after sometime .


Quote:
Originally Posted by abhinav.s View Post
Congrats on your first car schoudhury.. very nice write up and pics.

As blackasta pointed, your buying experience was very crisp and to the point which will help others on the look out for a new first car.

Since you are close to the 1000kms mark, pls do post your drive experience.
Thanks Abhi.
Yes i will do that in my next post.

Again, THANKS everyone for all your wishes.

Cheers
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Old 2nd April 2010, 11:52   #13
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Congrats, excellent choice of colour and great to have Ritz as your first car.
Drive safe and have loads of fun.
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Old 2nd April 2010, 12:00   #14
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Great detailed review on the buying process. Hope to hear a simmilar detailed review on driving experience soon.

Great choice of colour. Just be careful with the turbo in city (since you mentioned you are just learning).
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Old 2nd April 2010, 22:27   #15
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Some more pics .
Will update the thread will more details about driving and other stuff soon.

Cheers
Attached Thumbnails
My First Car, Ritz VDI-dsc00936.jpg  

My First Car, Ritz VDI-dsc00950.jpg  

My First Car, Ritz VDI-dsc00951.jpg  

My First Car, Ritz VDI-dsc00958.jpg  

My First Car, Ritz VDI-dsc00960.jpg  

My First Car, Ritz VDI-08032010036.jpg  

My First Car, Ritz VDI-20032010043.jpg  

My First Car, Ritz VDI-20032010044.jpg  

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