[Reisender]

Hello fellow tbhp-ians,
I just want to share my car purchase experience to all who influenced very much with my decision. Without which, it wouldn't been a herculean task.
Background:

I came back from US after two yrs long deputation by this june '10 and needed a car for daily office commutation, occasional trips and most importantly to take dad to hospital. I'm married and blessed with a boy (Naughty in the avatar photo).
Search actually started from this Feb '10 while in USA and guess where i landed... The great forum TBHP. Until this
time my perception of car and driving was in a different state and its changed in matter of time after joining the club.

Prerequisite:

What i need : A hatchback
How much i drive: ~60kms daily
Budget: 6L
Fuel Option: Diesel

Options and Opinions:

Swift & Dzire : Not even in radar due to look, common (10+1 factor) and atrocious of waiting period.
Polo: Read GTO review and others review about TDI but out of

my budget as i was looking for high-end trim
Ritz:Looks, nothing else. (sorry owners)
Jazz:No diesel option (i guess) and out of budget
Vista: Yeah, within budget and well in my radar
Figo: This beauty too was in the list
Punto: Man i love this simply.. added to the list
i10: No diesel (i guess)
i20: Rear seat recline is not upto my expectation, high end model was over my budget, Small car XL ( with all points + and - ) has not given good rating for brakes- Still in my list
Micra: I dont want to take chance with the current product support
Fabia: Oh, you really need any other reason than - Skoda ; so sKoda - poda

Test Drives:
Beat: Rear seat space and no diesel offering. ( i liked the front look - So macho)
Vista: My family simply love the space at back seat. Look was good compared prev gen Indicas. I liked the lower gear

torque, steering and amazing suspension gallops all bad patches. High end model at 6.32 L with free Insurance and

corp disc to 6K (I work in TATA group, no additional disc though) on road.
Figo: Oh boy, the steering was awesome for me and the driving pleasure was simply superb. Rear bench was comfort as

well. I didn't like the fixed head rest ( totally useless for my family were all of them above 5'6")
High end model (pack) came to 6.45 L NO NO NO discount. SA told : Saar, figo is hot cake sir.. No discount. Wait time:

~40 days
i20: Withing 5 mins , i disliked the steering( as some one said its like play station), Rear seat incline angle was too

straight (i10 was better here). Didn't remember the quote but well above my budget and no discounts.
Punto: SHORT first gear (a loading gear.. that's it), compromised rear legroom due to big boot, not an exciting

interior, TATA A.S.S --- All of these went down the well when saw the beauty in Tuscan wine color. Steering was the

best in the segment, awesome suspension, FIAT's hear beat when you revv the engine just blown away. Decided that thi

is my car...
On road 7.1 E+ with ~ 40K discounts and freebies.

Booking Time:
Had a quick discussion with mom, wifey and brother.

Finalized Punto E+ (Tuscan wine) and booked with 25K as

booking amount on 6th August 2010.
SA told 10 working days to get the car delivered.
Ordered for reverse parking sensors as swap for sunfilms

(yeah .. its is deal and much needed for the long nose beauty's U turn)

Waiting Time:
SA called a week later and told that there was a mistake from their side as they booked 75HP one and not the one i asked for. They re-booked and result is extended wait time.I went for cash payment and made 5L as interim payment.

Pre-delivery:
SA called me and informed that car has reached stock yard and he will bring it to showroom that day for me to validate
Went next day for Pre-registration check with the list (THANK YOU ALL AUTHORS OF THE LIST).
confirmed that car manuf. month is Aug 2010 with VIN and other checks went fine.
(Thanks to WILDON for confirming VIN )
Made remaining amount and completed all formalities

Registration:
Completed and i waited for a day due to auspicious matter and took deliver on 3rd Sep 2010 evening.

PDI:
Brother went ahead of me and did the PDI for me. I did for myself and looked fine from all sides.

Delivery:
SA gave doc overview and other stuffs. He explained me all control stacks func. and reverse parking sensor.
He handed over a chocolate pack with key. I gave a gift to SA as a token of appreciation.

we went to fill the 5ltr diesel using the coupon and added additional 25 ltrs to stallion.
They missed to put mud flaps as it is out of stock and informed me.
Overall Rating for Concorde Motors: 7/10

What I Like:
1) Looks all round - I drove in B2B traffic till i reached home and all around were drooling at this beauty in Tuscan wine color. ( GRIN WITH PRIDE)
2) Drivablity - Pretty awesome, car goes where i direct in steeting. Simply WOW
3) Drove in Chennai Bypass for 20 KMS with lot of cross wind (felt when i opened the window), GP planted like a tank and took corners without any jerks
4) Blue and Me
5) Steering mounted controls
6) AC is a chiller

What i dont like:
1) 1st gear is just a loading gear - move a few inches and upshift
2) I expected Goodyear GT3 in pack but i got Apollo ACELERE ( Experts, your thoughts please)
3) If i reduce speed in 3 or 4, which eventually redues RPM and if i try to push... yawn... ohwww.. it takes a while to surge ahead...

Add-ons:
(planned)
1) Seat covers ( fabric not leather ). Reason: I learnt that for chennai's sultry climate , leather is not good. Thoughts??
2) 3M sunfilm

Driven 550 KMS so far avg consumption ins 13.8 Km/L

Couple of pics for now and i will add more to it soon.

Thanks all

[aks_karthik]

Congrats Reisender,

Welcome to FIAT club.
Wonderful color and car indeed

Enjoy and Drive Safe.

[sanjaymugur]

congrats on the punto Reisender, just like the PALIO all the colours looks good on the punto.... run it in with patience & it will reward you in future....

[EARTHed]

Congrats da on the Punto! Punto craze never seem to come down even after so many new launches.

Hope to see a complete ownership review in future.

[SilkDrive]

Great choice ! Congratulations !

It seems that it is hard to find a punto owner, who is not a BHPian, considering the depressing sales figures (in the August Sales Report thread) and the raining number of puntos in the forum.

[mobike008]

Congrats on the new Punto. That color looks really like its been dipped in that stuff but, Punto in white still is my favorite.

Enjoy your drive!

@Silkdrive, well said. I reckon all Fiat owners are passionate about their cars and hence, you find them on this forum and non passionate people tend to stay away from this product.

Infact, there is another silent hyderabad tbhpian ( Srimath) who too contributed to Aug'10 sales. Bought same car in same color

[amoghchaphalkar]

Ordered for reverse parking sensors as swap for sunfilms
(yeah .. its is deal and much needed for the long nose beauty's U turn)

Pardon me : but I did not quite get this. Reverse parking sensors and U turn ??? How do they help while taking a U turn ?

I expected Goodyear GT3 in pack but i got Apollo ACELERE

No issues. You haven't missed out on anything. Apollo Acelere are actually better than Goodyear GT3

If i reduce speed in 3 or 4, which eventually redues RPM and if i try to push... yawn... ohwww.. it takes a while to surge ahead...

In fact, the Punto is the most fun to drive in the 3rd gear. Reduce speed to what levels ? Watch the rpm : the turbo kicks in @ 1750 rpm. Don't lug the engine (too high a gear for too low a speed)

1st gear is just a loading gear - move a few inches and upshift

+1 to that

took corners without any jerks

I guess you meant body roll


Congratulations on the car !!

[Driver2000]

Congrats, mate. Always good to drive a Punto with the sweet diesel. Havent really seen this colour earlier, looks quite nice!

Many happy miles of crunching.

[StarrySky]

Congrats on your new car Reisender!

The second Tucson Wine Punto on the forum in two days, Wow!

Originally Posted by Reisender

2) I expected Goodyear GT3 in pack but i got Apollo ACELERE ( Experts, your thoughts please)

The tires you get do not depend on the trim level. The TD car (90 HP) I drove had Appolos, but my car came with Goodyears.

Originally Posted by Reisender

3) If i reduce speed in 3 or 4, which eventually redues RPM and if i try to push... yawn... ohwww.. it takes a while to surge ahead...

Originally Posted by amoghchaphalkar

Reduce speed to what levels ? Watch the rpm : the turbo kicks in @ 1750 rpm. Don't lug the engine (too high a gear for too low a speed)

I guess he means slowing down to around 1K rpm. Yes, it is slow to pick up and yes, it should be avoided.

[smilyinblue]

Congrats Reisender on your italian beauty. Is it 90HP?
Drive safe and wear seat belt.

[.anshuman]

Congratulations!! Reisender. Your car looks very good in this shade. Acelere is actually a better tire than the GT3, do not worry about it.

[joe1980]

Congratulations on your new car. It looks awesome in this color.

Can you mention the OTR price of your car?

[Maverick1977]

Reisender - First of all Heartiest Congratulations on your buy. Enjoy many many miles of safe driving.
As far as tyres go, trust me the GT3's are useless. I have had it on my car and they have started showing all their weird characteristics after 20K km. Dont down rate the Apollo's just because they are an Indian co. These are also quite good, I have seen VW Polo's with the same brand.

[Klub Class]

Reisender, hearty welcome to the Fiat Punto Club. Congratulations on your new acquisition.

Fiat Punto looks equally good in all colors and I guess that you might have had troubles choosing the color. Anyway, you have made a right choice. Fiat Punto in Tuscan Wine looks gorgeous.

And, I feel that there is no need to worry about the tire. From my personal experience, Goodyear GT3 isn't a good tire. Moreover, the tire noise is very very irritating too. Yes, We've Goodyear GT3 in our Fiat Punto. So, I guess that Apollo Accelere would be much better when contrasted with the Goodyear GT3.

Do keep us updated with your experiences. Don't forget to upload more pictures of you Italian Hatch.

Drive safe.

PS: I liked the title of the thread.

Amith

[vigneshram]

Congrats.I see that you ve got the car at Concorde Ambattur.Where are you in chennai?I am planning to get the same colour in Active MJD variant for my unlce.I am using a Dynamic Diesel for the past one year.Just love the Punto.