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Old 3rd April 2010, 10:52   #1
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Summer nightdreams - My red hot Figo TDCi Titanium

Hi BHPians, It is more than a year since I started following this forum. Getting membership itself was a dream come true, now the time has come to start a thread of my own. Many of you may have followed my agony about the delay in delivery in the Figo TD thread, at last it is going to happen this afternoon ! I saw my baby last evening at the showroom, did a PDI and the car will get registered today morning. I hope there won't be any further surprises and delays.

Now a little bit about myself and my association with automobiles. Driving had been a passion for me right from early teenage, though I was not fortunate enough to own even a bike at that time..Yet it didn't stop the enthusiast in me who would yearn for every opportunity for a ride on brother's Hero Honda or my friend's Yamaha. If I ever regret missing something in teenage, it is a Yamaha bike, the rage during late eighties and early nineties..And then I graduated towards 4 wheelers, when my brother bough the good old Amby. Occasional short stints of drive under the strict surveillance of my brother or driver, was all I could manage. ( Man, how much I hate it to be told how to drive, especially from my brother whim I would recommend as the benchmark of sedate driving !). Learning driving in Amby has a big advantage - after that, all the new generation cars will feel like a breeze for you ! The first time I drove a Maruti 800, I almost felt like I am driving a toy car. My friend's dad's good old Fiat, cousin's Contessa these were all the other cars that I could try those days.

Many years of moving from one city to another, the struggle with career etc - I never had a chance to own any vehicle though I would jump at every opportunity to drive. Then comes a period of 6 years when live and worked in the island nation of Singapore where owning a car is for the rich class only. ( rich by Singaporean standards). That's when I started seeing a lot more cars, many of them I had only seen in magazines only. Things were changing rapidly back in India too. Late 2004, I made the big career decision of returning to India and I landed up in Hyderabad with a new job. Life had changed, a married man and a father now. In a city like Hyderabad where public transport is nothing to cheer about, a car became a basic necessity for me and I felt I can afford it now. With limited budget, what other choice than M800 for an Indian like me ? But I decided to stretch my budget a little more and go for an Alto which was fast replacing the aging M800. The bright yellow Alto ( choice of color is my wife's, and I always get curious questions about why this color). The "Yellow Car", as it called by my 3 year old son, has never disappointed me, faithfully served me and family for last 5+ years, moving along with us to Bangalore in 2005.

The driving enthusiast in me kept up the spirit, always looking forward to that long drive where I can hit the highways. Driving a fully loaded Alto with a/c on a highway, you might be laughing how it can satisfy a driving enthusiast ! Believe me, there is fun in that too, trying to make the best out of the limited resources you have at hand. Wife used to have a good time watching my cribbing and cursing about the lack of power, especially when I see powerful car with an "L" board, trudging along the highway. 5 years of Alto, I decided it was time to move up. And what better times - Punto and Jazz launch around the corner. Jazz pricing was shocker and immediately dropped the idea, Punto had always been the top choice, though sometimes preferring for the trusted Maruti brand again with a Ritz.

More about the reasons I finalized on Figo coming in other posts. FYI, I booked it after seeing it and verifying the space etc, no TD done at that time. ( 6 March ). Why I was so confident, you can guess it ! A review by GTO was enough for me to make my choice and book the car early, though I did a TD few days later to confirm my choice. ( Again T-BHP advice - no matter what others say, don't buy a car without doing own TD )
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Old 3rd April 2010, 11:02   #2
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I think I am the first to congratulate you on buying this red hot beauty. I have been following your posts more so in the Figo TD thread.

I liked the way you patiently dealt with the dealer till today.

Best wishes for your new ride. I know you will never regret your decision

Last edited by mayukh : 3rd April 2010 at 11:03.
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Old 3rd April 2010, 11:06   #3
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congrats on the red beauty, good one. I myself would lay my hands on the lady in red hopefully by next week. Mine is the Zxi . All the best my fellow figonian.
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Old 3rd April 2010, 11:17   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mayukh View Post
I think I am the first to congratulate you on buying this red hot beauty. I have been following your posts more so in the Figo TD thread.

I liked the way you patiently dealt with the dealer till today.

Best wishes for your new ride. I know you will never regret your decision
Thanks Mayukh and scorpio for the wishes ! Yes, patience and perseverance helped me a lot in getting this delivery, though later by 3 days..Of course, advices from Ford people like Mustang was so important, I escalated the issue and got some result. Eventhogh I missed the 31 March deadline to save hikes, there is one relief - the dealer is managing the VAT hike and giving me at same ex-showroom price. Only extra will be the road tax hike, I hope it is not more than 5K.
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Old 3rd April 2010, 11:40   #5
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@ Revvy : Congratulations! I hope we see new pics of your car this evening. Have fun!
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Old 3rd April 2010, 11:59   #6
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Hi Revy, congrats for new life in new car, red is my favourite color and I will be also buying this soon. Please post some very good pics of red Figo so interest me even more.
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Old 3rd April 2010, 11:59   #7
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Ever since I paid off the loan for my Alto, I had started dreaming about the new car. That was in Sep 2004. With never confirming leave plans, almost impossible to book train tickets for my home journey, this happens once in a quarter. I used to have the road trip covering 440 KM, but an Alto was never the best choice for this. Yet, I enjoyed it and my wife too started agreeing with me that we need an upgrade! She is a very practical person and always argued that Alto is more than enough for our need as it is used mainly for my office commuting. Couple of shopping trips during the weekend with family and that’s all. So investing money on a new car is utter waste, which was her argument.

I started my research more than a year ago. Honda Jazz was the most anticipated one, though the India launch was having no confirmed date. The initial rumors about it’s pricing in the range 6 – 7 Lakhs kept me hopeful. But towards the actual launch, it became clear that this car is going to cost more…I was still willing to stretch my budget a little more to get that Honda badge. But then they really gave a shocker with their pricing and I did not even have a look at it. As the reviews in T-BHP found, the car is of course premium but the price is “extra-premium”! So, bye bye to Jazz…

Punto was launched even before that and I zealously followed the reviews. Made a visit to nearest dealer and had a short TD, found very much in line with the observations in T-BHP. Excellent car, very good handling and ride comfort and sure winner on highways. I was so much tempted to buy a Punto, though may friends and relatives were skeptical of the A.S.S of Tata-Fiat. Also, the large turning radius and turbo lag which will affect city driving very much, made me think twice. So I decided to wait. Meanwhile I kept watching all the ownership threads in BHP for Punto and it was tough for me to remain patient! While visiting dealer to see Punto, wife had a look at Indica Vista and she was bowled over by the amount of space, especially in the rear! And with a lower price tag, she was so much willing to go with a Vista. I was not convinced, having doubts about the build quality of Tata. They are improving with every version, but may be I will wait for a few more years before putting my money on them. No offence meant to Tata owners and by no means I insinuate that Indian companies are inferior. Tata is still young in passenger cars and at the rate they are improving; soon they will be in the league of Japanese/Korean/European/American manufactures.

The Ritz story – It was always comfortable to stick with the same brand of Maruti. I did not consider Swift as it had become too common and 5 years in the market already. Also, the rear seat comfort was a major consideration for a family man like me. The looks of Ritz rear put me off a little, but felt it would be accepted soon by people like it happened for Swift ! Had a test drive of Ritz petrol and was so impressed by the performance of the K series engine. Somehow, the space inside did not feel adequate. My wife too felt the same and opined that it is almost like buying a Santro or i10, that feeling of upgrading is not there considering the investment. Also, I wanted a change from Maruti. So Ritz too was voted out. Didn’t take TD of Diesel version, as my rejection was purely due to other considerations than performance.


Then there comes the new one from GM, the cute and stylish Beat ! I was always impressed with the Spark, but Beat did not look big enough for me. By that time, I had made up my mind that I will buy a diesel only. Chances of moving to a different office which will make me drive 50 KM a day was getting real. Fuel economy and low end torque of diesel suitable for city driving became important factors for me. Last week my friend bought a Beat, I did a short drive and felt the engine very refined. Almost silent at idle making me feel that the engine is off ! But the space inside, especially the rear with small windows convinced me that Beat is not for me. And no Diesel as of now, so it was out of my list.
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Old 3rd April 2010, 12:17   #8
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Congrats Revvy!! Today is the big day right? Go a bit early it looks like its going to rain heavily again.
Few more hours and your scorching hot red baby will be with you.
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Old 3rd April 2010, 12:30   #9
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Waiting for the "Big Moment" when you drive out of that dealership on the the roads. Dont you dare go missing enjoying your car before giving us some good pictures
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Old 3rd April 2010, 12:35   #10
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Captain, I should have some surprises and last minute delays just like you ! So far it happened like that and the big day is not different. Tried calling the Lathangi SP and he is not in office today. ( He had a minor accident 2 days back, yesterday when I met him, he had 3 stitches on his chin). He had told me to come to showroom by 3 PM today and delivery will happen by 4 PM. Now that he is not in office, I call his backup and he is not aware this commitment ! Asking me to come by 4 PM instead and I don't want this delay. so I insisted and he hesitantly said ok to it. So, by all means, it will get late and I am unlikely to drive home by 4 PM. Just did not want it to happen very late like in your case. The only consolation is, the car is already at dealership since yesterday and they still have time to keep it ready. The SP was saying like he will get the tax paid confirmation by 3 PM only and invoicing can happen after that only. Fine, let it be - I will land up there by 3 PM and push them do all other things needed for delivery. Captain - did you give any token gift to SP as per BHP suggestions ? I guess not, as you didn't get very good cooperation from them !

@gemi - Snaps possible by tomorrow only as it will be evening ( or late evening). I want to take them in daylight, the red hot beauty looks best under sunshine !

Last edited by Revy : 3rd April 2010 at 12:38.
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Old 3rd April 2010, 12:50   #11
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Which color of dash you have opted ?, I am dying to see red hot colour.
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Old 3rd April 2010, 13:27   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jacksons View Post
Which color of dash you have opted ?, I am dying to see red hot colour.
jacksons, for the Red exterior color, there is only one option of dash color - Ebony. That was one reason I chose this Colarado red ! For any other color, Coral red dash is a choice for higher variants and in all likelihood, they will offer that as they are more in supply. I would be tempted to take that for early delivery. By committing to red exterior color, I preempted that possibility of accepting the coral red dash

I guess it looks fine on the White and Black color Figos. For the other colors, I find it a bit odd combination. Squeeze with coral red dash is absolute no no for me. For that matter, squeeze itself is not my choice !

I owned a bright yellow Alto for 5+ years and always faced question from people like why this color ! Now I am opting for red which is somewhat common across many cars. The reason is not be in the conventional group, but red looks really hot on this car !
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Old 3rd April 2010, 14:04   #13
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Ok folks, time to go to the dealer ! I am sure there will be some delay, still I hope I will be able to post the good news by night !
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Old 3rd April 2010, 15:44   #14
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Congrats Sir.
Come back soon and upload a few pics .
Your thread till now is like the extra innings T2o show which we have before the IPL matches :-)

Cheers
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Old 3rd April 2010, 15:50   #15
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Congrats Revvy. I hope you would be back with your Figo by night
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