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Old 23rd April 2010, 17:03   #1
vihang15
 
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My New Chevy Beat: Cocktail Green



Hi friends ,

i am very happy to be on teambhp forum , this is my first post . Hope we can share some good experiences on the indian auto segment together , expecting your support for the same .

got my new green beat LS version on 26th Feb 2010 , i must say that the review from GTO was one of the reason for me visiting the chevy showroom . once i saw the car i felt in love at first sight . Specs were good for my first car 1.2 ltr peppy engine , good interiors , big car feel and VFM .

i must admit that i did not knew ABC of driving before my purchase and joined motor driving school after booking the beat . i did not own a bicycle before the same . and i must say that what an experience it has been . got my license to drive and have done 750 km on my baby chevy .

experiences with my baby chevy .

1. got the car delivery after lots of pushing to the dealer , paid extra 5500/- for cocktail green and extra 2000/- for a special registration number to the dealer .

2. the car has great screen presence and is a photogenic beauty . after bringing the car in my building a lots of school kids say " are yeh toh ad wali gaadi hai naa " . makes you feel really proud on your purchase .

3. learnt driving by going on empty roads after 11 pm , slowly but steadily enjoying the ride on the chevy , sometime i have problem while downshifting where the vehicle suddenly looses its power and have to revv up again to gain momemtum .

4. baby chevy has a lots of road presence and handles highway very well . took the car to my village in alibaug and must say it was a pleasant and comfortable ride . ofcourse took a driver with me.

as i was not comfortable with my driving on highways . the car handles 100 plus km speed without shaking and has a good straight line stability and control .

5. interiors have been discussed a lot on this forum and are currently best in class in india . shorter drivers and ladies might have problem with the protuding dashboard but at 5.8 i am not that tall and have faced no issues yet .

6. woke up on a saturday mornings and the car washer showed me that the windshield of my baby chevy was broken by a stone . it was a very bad feeling to see the windshield broken . the culprit were kids who want share of there raw mangoes beneath which the baby was parked .

7. called the dealer and he told me that windshield was covered in insurance i had a sigh of relief . however i needed to pay for the rubber part and sealent , total bill was 1900/- , got the same done from the dealer and the baby chevy was delivered to my stable .

8. got the reaasurance service from the dealer which was just a check up and car cleanup .

overall i must say it was a great experience for me purchasing the chevy beat and more then anything it is my first car .

would keep you posted on further driving experience of the baby chevy .


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My New Chevy Beat: Cocktail Green-htcapr2010-019.jpg  

 
Old 23rd April 2010, 18:16   #2
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Congrats Vihang for your new Beat.What's the average FE you got in your highway drive?I'm a little worried about mine.i guess it's the way i drive thats giving me low FE.
Oh..and here's the link to my Beat ownership thread.Guess i should've posted the link here earlier as noone seems interested i guess.Have more to write in the thread.will update.
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-d...ip-thread.html
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Old 23rd April 2010, 18:23   #3
vihang15
 
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Some missed points .

1 . got a keyless entry , terminator make from the dealer at 3200/-
2. installed a garware sunfilm with 60% transperency
3. got a chevy OEM inverter for charging laptops etc at 1500/-
4. mudflaps , floor mat and chevt keychain were given free by the dealer .
 
Old 23rd April 2010, 18:47   #4
vihang15
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by akshatverma1979 View Post
Congrats Vihang for your new Beat.What's the average FE you got in your highway drive?I'm a little worried about mine.i guess it's the way i drive thats giving me low FE.
Oh..and here's the link to my Beat ownership thread.Guess i should've posted the link here earlier as noone seems interested i guess.Have more to write in the thread.will update.
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-d...ip-thread.html
hi akshat ,
thanks and congrat to you too . welcome to the beat club .

the FE i got on my highway trip was around 14-15 km/lt because of smooth driving from my driver . he said that the car is " makkhan " and asked me to maintain the baby chevy well .

in city you cant expect 8-10 boss in clutch/brake traffic . unless you forget about the autowallas and the BPO drivers . they drive as if they have just arrived from a grand prix training camp
 
Old 23rd April 2010, 19:27   #5
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Cool car..

Congrats Vihang15, on your purchase. Did you feel lack of power esp. in the 2nd gear? How are the rear seats comfort wise?
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Old 23rd April 2010, 21:13   #6
vihang15
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by auto-one View Post
Congrats Vihang15, on your purchase. Did you feel lack of power esp. in the 2nd gear? How are the rear seats comfort wise?
hi auto-one , thanks .

yes the second gear sure lacks power and the RPM vrooms above 2500 with a slight push on gas . but then the little chevy is no ferrari . its a city hatchback , i read it somewhere GM has tweeted the gear ratios purposefully for FE .

rear seats are quite comfortable , they dont have a bumpy ride quality . feels like a sedan when you cruze on highways . one more point is that in the rear seats of some hatchbacks the cup holder blocks you from streching your knees if you are sitting in middle . this is not the case with beat . where the cupholder position is bang next to the driver seat .
 
Old 25th April 2010, 18:46   #7
vihang15
 
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[quote=salbin;1853995]Congrats vihang15.
Happy to see one more Green Beat in TBHP other than mine.
Wish you a safe and wonderful experience with Beat.


thanks salbin , sure the cocktail green is a great choice . it is a new color for the season , i think figo , i20 also have a shade of green now .

i have opted for the LS model as i wanted to have a bluetooth enabled music system as i would be using the phone a lot during driving . as per GTO review the OEM music quality was also not that good and we cannot change the same as it is fitted to the DASH .

can anyone please suggest which BT enabled system would be good for beat , the options i am thinking is bluapunkt hamburg , sony xplod BT 3500 and pricing if anyone has already purchased one.
 
Old 25th April 2010, 23:31   #8
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Vihang15, I suggest you avoid both, Sony and Blaupunkt. Instead, go for Pioneer / kenwood / JVC.
Check for the 2010 models offered by the companies.Some dealers may stock the older ( 2009 ) models , so better confirm before purchasing.
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Old 26th April 2010, 12:14   #9
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Congrats vihang15.
The green chevy looks gud and that windshield stuff must have felt bad for a new car.
Anyways njoy ur baby and take care of her.

Cheers
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Old 26th April 2010, 12:29   #10
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Congrats sir. The beat is really a head turner. The color you selected is again a extra point

Do you have the 3 years cashless plan for your Beat too?

Quote:
Originally Posted by vihang15 View Post


6. woke up on a saturday mornings and the car washer showed me that the windshield of my baby chevy was broken by a stone . it was a very bad feeling to see the windshield broken . the culprit were kids who want share of there raw mangoes beneath which the baby was parked .
It really hurts to see the new baby in this avatar. Good that it was all done.
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Old 26th April 2010, 12:38   #11
vihang15
 
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thank you schoudhury , yes it really felt bad with the windshield stuff . and the emotional person that i am was literally in tears , to the see the new car like that .

but thank god , it was taken care by the dealership and was replacement was done for only 2000/- rs. hole to my pocket .
 
Old 26th April 2010, 12:48   #12
vihang15
 
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thank you mjothi ,

the beat is covered for 3 yrs manufacturer warranty but not a 3yrs service plan , GM might be offering a 3yrs service plan for beat may be after 1yr at 13999/- which would be between spark and UVA service plan .

currently the beat sales are good and i dont think GM would lose there revenue by offering service plan on beat . it would be offered only when sales start dropping or they do expectional numbers in 1yr .

i have heard they have done 10000 units uptil 31st march . and total GM sales are up by 200% compared to last year , i think beat has done the trick for GM in hatchback segment and the cruze in sedan segment .
 
Old 26th April 2010, 12:52   #13
vihang15
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by auto-one View Post
Vihang15, I suggest you avoid both, Sony and Blaupunkt. Instead, go for Pioneer / kenwood / JVC.
Check for the 2010 models offered by the companies.Some dealers may stock the older ( 2009 ) models , so better confirm before purchasing.
hi auto-one

any specific reasons to avoid sony/Bluapunkt , is it the *** or product quality . please suggest the pioneer BT model so that i can check with the retailers.

thanks
vihang15.
 
Old 27th April 2010, 01:13   #14
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Congrats vihang, the car is indeed a looker.

Where did you buy it in mumbai, what was the OTR and how was your buying experience. Are you sure chevy is not currently providing its service plan on beat? (can other beat owners please throw some light on this aspect).
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Old 27th April 2010, 17:44   #15
vihang15
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by panks15 View Post
Congrats vihang, the car is indeed a looker.

Where did you buy it in mumbai, what was the OTR and how was your buying experience. Are you sure chevy is not currently providing its service plan on beat? (can other beat owners please throw some light on this aspect).

Hi panks15

i got it from AVK auto , the OTR was around 4.20 L and the buying experience was sound as there was a waiting period and no freebies on offer being a new model .

my question for baby beat owners and team bhp experts :

1. while driving i feel a very high steering response from the beat , sometimes it is good for driving maneuvers but in some potholes and quick turns the steering is difficult to control as it shakes with the car , this happens until the roads are smooth and the car comes in straight line .

2. is there any way we can minimize the steering response . and if done would it affect day to day driving .
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