[car-dent]

DECISION PROCESS: (long and confusing)
i wanted a car when i joined for Post Graduation in 2007. my parents had promised me a car if i cleared the deadly All-India PG Entrance Exam. (i think they were not expecting that i could). but as parents always do they kept deferring the car buying thing because i didnt need one.in the meanwhile i got married in feb 2009.
Anyways we decided to buy a car in Dec 2009. i was to finish my course in May, 2010 so i started looking for which car to buy.
Initially i wanted ANY car, Just any four wheeled vehicle(i dont like to travel on a bike).

the cars which i Didn't want were:
-FIAT after reading all the reviews on the T-bhp.
-Chevrolet ( dont know why but just didnt want a chevrolet)
-Ford (Fiesta was too old looking, figo was not launched then)
So it had to be a Maruti or Hyundai.
I thought i10 magna or sportz would be good enough.But my wife said that we are not going to change the car for at least 5-6 years so buy a better car. then Swift Dzire came into picture. even i was thrilled at the prospect of owning a "BIG" car. we took test drives for Vxi and VDi. By that time we didnt know what will be our usage after completion of the course so didnt know whether to buy a petrol or diesel.
then someone suggested to look at the i20.my wife was blown away by the i20 interiors and the new decision for the day was i20 diesel.
One day while coming back from Hyundai showroom after seeing the i20 for the third time, we saw the Honda showroom. It had a car which i had never even considered.
THE JAZZ.
one look at the jazz and we both were jazzed away. the looks, the interiors, the space, everything spoke quality. the salesperson demonstrated each and every feature with patience. the hospitality at the honda showroom was miles ahead as compared to that of maruti and hyundai. while maruti and hyundai people gave test drives as if they were doing a favour, the honda guy insisted on a TD even when i felt it was too dark for a TD.
so i20 was out and jazz was in.one more thing that went in jazz's favour was that it was available through the CSD(My father in law is a retired air force officer).so it was coming out to be cheaper than the i20 diesel.
but somehow the decision got defereed again for a few months and it was decided that we would buy a car after finishing my PG Course.
next few months were uneventful ( while there was not a single day when we didnt discuss cars and before sleeping a car was decided which obviously changed the next day(from alto to honda cityand everything in between was considered) )

Fast Forward to JUNE 2010.

now that My course was finished and we were back to NOIDA.We now needed a car. we got a job in modinagar and the daily travel now was going to be about 150kms, so petrol was out of option for us. the only option now was i20 asta crdi.
i enquired with at least 4-5 dealers and noone was able to give a correct waiting time. it seemed that they were not interested in selling an i20 diesel.(some even saying that bS4 i20 production has not started yet, and all this when a few had already come on t-bhp.) anyways frustrated with all this, i decided to have a look at linea. Just a look wouldnt harm i had thought as i wanted to be away from FIAT A**. but as luck would have it. the car had everything a person could desire. the looks, the engine, the features., the status, basically everything that a little over 8 lakh rupees could buy. so we compared the i20 and Linea in our minds and found that since linea was avilable through CSD and i20 was not, buying a linea meant getting an alltogether different segment car for just about 60k more than the i20.

phew.. so thats the journey from the humble i10 to the gorgeous linea diesel emotion pack.( some points have been skipped to keep it short and simple for example the scorpio option given by my brother as we already have an SX4 so he was against buying one more sedan)

BUYING PROCESS:
the car was booked at TAYAL motors faridabad on 25th july, 2010.it was to be bought through CSD ambala. the CSD buying process was fairly simple. my father in law had to go to ambala with the indent form and submit the draft and documents. the CSD issues a delivery challan which was to be given at the showroom and delivery to be taken.

pricing:
CSD cost :798929
insurance : free
extended warranty: 5350
Draft charges: 2000 approx.
registration (faridabad): 14000 approx.
other misc.: 4000
TOTAL: approx. 825000/-
freebies: floor mats and mud flaps

To be Continued.

[balajird]

Congrats on your new car, LINEA is a gorgeous looking car and there are so many ownership thread which you could look upon for any references.

And, very good writeup and an excellent start, keep it going with your driving and ownership experience.

[car-dent]

Originally Posted by balajird

Congrats on your new car, LINEA is a gorgeous looking car and there are so many ownership thread which you could look upon for any references.

And, very good writeup and an excellent start, keep it going with your driving and ownership experience.

thanks a lot.
i have gone through each and every linea thread here. and now i am totally in love with the italian beauty.
i have driven it 6000kms in 6 weeks.
the review will follow shortly.

[car-dent]

the car was readily available and we even did a inspection of the BOSSA NOVA WHITE car which was to be given to us. the car was checked thoroughly and evrything found okay. but then, the CSD canteen was closed for a week at the end of month. so the process had to wait. finally the draft was submitted on 4/8/2010 and delivery order issued by CSD ambala.
but the confusion was not over as yet, our SX4 is white, so the folks at home wanted a different colour.i liked the tuscan wine and that was also available in stock, but my wife still liked the white more. we decided upon the tuscan wine and we went to take delivery (my wife had gone to her parents house in dehradun that time.) the car was ready for delivery and my wife was still confused whether to buy a white or tuscan wine.Incidently, the indicators on that car were not working and the electrician was not available that time and the people at the showroom could not find the fuse,etc. after about 30 min we decided to postpone the delivery as it was getting dark and didnt want to take delivery in a hurry.
the colour confusion still prevailed.
Finally i said that we will take delivery only when my wife comes back. the showroom guys were told to ready both colours and that we would take any one.
the D-Day came on 8/8/2010. there we reach the showroom and decide upon the white colour linea that was ready for delivery.
i checked the VIN No. but it was not the same car we had inspected. it was a may2010 made car while earlier we had inspected a June 2010 made car. i said , i want the car i had selected. Then they showed me the previous car . it had scratches on the front bumper and the ODO showed 72 kms while it had shown 9km during inspection).

finally decided to take the May 2010 made car.
the delivery was not without few minor glitches.but alls well that ends well.
a small chocolate box was handed over and there was absolutely no ceremony. the delivery was a bland one but doesnt matter, we were too happy within ourselves.

first few pics:

[Klub Class]

Congratulations car-dent for your new acquisition!

Bossa Nova White is definitely the best color for Fiat Linea & Fiat Punto. Btw, will you be going for any accessories like sun-films, reverse parking sensors etc?

I'm currently looking forward for a detailed report with lots of pictures!Yes, I guess that you might have clicked lots of pictures of your beauty .

Drive her safe. Happy motoring.

Regards
Amith

[NutsNBolts]

Congrats car-dent. My decision making was too much like yours, only difference I chose Linea over Punto Car looks smashing. Drive safe.

[car-dent]

LIKES

1. the styling. i feel its the best looking car next only to superb.
2. i love the gadgets. i have so many features to show off whenever someone new sits in my car. the keyfob, the rear curtains, the hand rest, the speed alarm, the display,the list is endless.
3. i absolutely love the blue n me.
4. my wife speciaaly likes the lighted vanity mirrors.
5. the engine is absolutely flawless.
6. ambient lighting.
7. awesome steering with music and phone controls

DISLIKES:
1. the music system should have been better.
2. ground clearance. first you learn driving and then you have to learn to drive a linea.
3. lack of even a single bottle holder. SX4 has many.
4. glove compartment is too small. hardly anything fits in it.

DRIVING EXPERIENCE
my office is in modinagar so we travel everyday from greater noida to modinagar. that makes approx 140kms per day. i have driven the car 6100kms in 50days. and i have loved every single minute of its drive. the car is easy to maneuver in traffic and handles brilliantly.
the brakes are good and at one instance i have experienced ABS (felt pulsations in the brake pedal on hard braking).

the seats are comfortable but i feel the lumbar support could have been better. i sometimes get a hint of backpain on a long drive.

Fuel Efficiency:
the overall FE i am getting is 15kmpl. the road conditions are really bad these days. and delhi meerut highway (NH-58) cant be called a highway by any means. overall i am satisfied with the FE and expect it to increase when road conditions improve after monsoons.

i am attaching an excel sheet for fuel consumption.
GAURAV car maintainance and fuel record.xls

some more pics:

[Schoudhury]

Congrats Car-dent ( strange id i must say :-) )
Punto/linea BNW smiply looks smashing.Also wanted to know ,how much difference does it make to buy the car through csd and directly form the dealer.
Hope you have a wonderful time ahead with the BNW linea.
Post some more picture of the car.
Take care and drive safe.
Cheers

[car-dent]

thanks. i sure drive her safe. this id is for cars and dentistry as i am a dentist.
the difference is quite a lot. the difference between ex showroom price and csd price is about 70k. but dealers hardly bargain on csd cars for freebies, etc. as they know we have from them only because there are a selected few csd dealers. but still we save money without the freebies also.
and i opted for registration from haryana. so saved another 30k in that.

[nkrishnap]

Congrats on the BNW Linea. Nice pictures there.

By the way, the confusion from Alto to Honda City made a very interesting read and finally an interesting buy in the end.

Enjoy many more happy miles with the Linea and drive safe.

[lsp]

Congrats cardent!! Good to have another dentist on the forum.

Could you please share the breakup of the cost? (If you are comfortable doing so)

You mentioned that your F-i-L is a retired Air Force officer. So does that mean the car is in his name? Or is it in your name? Sorry I am unaware of how things happen the CSD way.

Congratulations and best wishes, car-dent, on becoming a proud owner of a precious car Fiat Linea. Happy and safe driving in your Linea.

[neoonwheels]

Hey congrats on the car and welcome to FIAT family

[anupam00]

Very Good Choice & Congratulation on your buy.


I have few Fiats – happy with all of them- include 1.3 Multijet D as well.

In case any help required for Service Centre –Noida let me know,

Thanks & Regards
Anupam

[Autocop]

Many congrats for owning the Italian Beauty. Ensure you follow the run-in period rituals.

The car is simply great but *** is the biggest pain. While giving the car for servicing make sure you thoroughly inspect your vehicle. The reason I say this because SC people have habit of take parts of out new vehicles to fix the ones that have come for repair. If possible remain at SC while car is being serviced.

Wish you many many happy miles!