[prince_pervez]

Congrats on the new purchase. Drive safe!

[GeekSrik]

Originally Posted by sachinj12

Would you mind elaborating? Never heard of people complain about the city.

You can read my ANHC thread sachin. Its also in the same section.

Originally Posted by prince_pervez

Congrats on the new purchase. Drive safe!

thanks prince.


To elaborate more on loan process. It took about 4-5 working days. I had applied at SBI who have partnership with Metro Ford. Had all my documents ready on day 1 including processing fee of Rs.1500/-. The loan interest rates were the teaser rates (8% first year, 10% next two years - ~9450 for first year per month, and ~ 9800 for next two years) after which floating rates would apply. I took 3 lac for 3 years. Any prepayment or partpayment would generate no penalty for me during this tenure as well according to SBI.

SBI gives you an appointment where you need to sign an agreement. That has a delay element since towards month end the rush is significant to meet targets. For this reason, my appointment was one week later even though I had paid 3.5 lacs and loan sanction letter was available in principle. Somehow though, the actual agreement signing was delayed.

Also the verification by SBI was done armed with a CIBIL report (you can read more about this on my blog) which essentially tells you your entire loan history since last decade or so including credit spends. Basically it gives them peace of mind to lend to a borrower after checking his credit history.

During appointment day, I was made to complete the necessary formalities with security cheques in ten minutes flat. loan number was generated in 30 mins, insurance was completed in another 10 mins. Such is the efficiency of SBI I was really pleasantly taken aback. An ECS mandate form needed citibank's seal and this took me a hopeless 1 hour standing in a lousy queue. Citi has changed from bad to worse these days. Once that was done, amount was disbursed same day to Metro Ford and car was delivered same day.

SBI also issued 2000 rupees as extra loan towards insurance which covers the emi's if something happens to me (disability/death, etc) its a good move i would say. more of B2B ventures with insurance companies! I whole heartedly recommend SBI for anyone who wants a car loan. Initial procedures are a bit cumbersome but once you sign up then the benefits show up! Not that other private banks are bad that is.

[torquarius]

Congrats GS. I second your thought on SBI. Though one has to run around initially during the process, the ROI and other clauses are very good.

[GeekSrik]

And the first hundred kilometers in style.

There is a plan to cover both Pondicherry and Kanyakumari sometime before the year end. It might happen this month or the next not so sure, but I am eagerly looking forward to that drive since both are nearing 1000kms. Just thinking that after the first service it would be wiser to take this beauty on longer drives.

[sumathindra]

Originally Posted by GeekSrik

Guys, i am so tired today that I have absolutely no energy to put a long post. After a whole day of banking and automotive hassles, I am finally home safe and sound through a mad 15km peak hour Bengaluru traffic negotiating my new Ford Figo Titanium Diesel Chill Metallic through some hair raising road situations. I am feeling lucky to be back in one piece before my patience went out due to missed lunches, uneven food timings and non stop bus and auto travel in the city today.

A new story begins. Watch out for more!

Congrats on the figo. I just love when i see another figo on the road. I make it a point to flash the lights and sometimes get acknowledged! i too have a moondust silver however it's petrol!

[GeekSrik]

Now its high security number plate time. He says cost is about 1500 bucks and i am also going in for ford neckrest which is about 500 bucks. I've asked him to bill me both and get it across. So finally the car will have the number plates after almost a week. Still no sign of actual insurance papers and also the smart card. And I know that story quite well on the delay part. I will need to spend some time reading stuff about high security number plates and what they mean on this forum.

[GeekSrik]

I finally got the number plates fitted. I got a high security number plate maker's no and called him from this forum, he said cost is 850 bucks. when i confronted ford with this info and asked them how come they charged me twice this almost, reply was: ok sir you can pay me 1,300 (200 down). then when he met me, he said i can pay him lesser if i felt like and some explanation on how he doesnt do number plates usually and he did it only for me and all that nonsense. finally i paid him 1300.

the horror was that i could not fit the plates made by him. either the holes were wrongly bored, or there were holes and no holders on the bumper in the front. it pissed me off to glory and i have him a piece of my mind along with my money. i made him come back and do this properly for me. still it isn't greatly good (the rear portion) but i will sort it out shortly. anyways good news it that my car finally now has IND number plates. Ideally they were supposed to be tamper proof and all that. the bolts were to be rivet style whose head would be chopped off once installed and if ever someone really removed the number plates they were supposed to break into pieces.

but i dont find this tamper proof aspect at all. seems just like this is another money spinning venture for the government. i can remove my IND number plates as many times i want and fit them as many times i want. so big deal on tamper proof aspect.

[GeekSrik]

Since my last post its been 650 kms already in less than one month of taking the car. While its not much compared to others here, it is quite a lot for sedate city drives. Car's doing fine and its helping me understand it more and more every passing day.

I am blown away by the stability of the music system which is a no fuss, no nonsense one. the bluetooth sync is an absolute delight and my Iphone keeps me company. Calls on the stereo, eyes on the road, hands on the steering. i am slowly learning to use the functions of the stereo particularly the phone ones.

i have not had a chance to check mileage, but then its a diesel, and I am not filling so often. prompts me not to check either! the inside of the windshield gets a bit foggy at times and the glare from oncoming vehicles is too high through the windshield at nights. With A/c the pickup is not as great as swift, but its all about adaptability. and i have adapted to manage that. the hydraulic power steering is a welcome change. i also like the wipers which wipe the windshield for a while and then stop, and then after few seconds give one last wipe. the lane change indicators blinking 3 times is also good.

unlike swift, there is no separate heat meter, but if the engine gets hot, a light will start to blink if its too hot for comfort. its a nice touch. i can charge my phone through 12v socket even without switching on the car - based on individual opinions this can be bad or good. i like it. you can drive fast in this car and yet remain below 3000 rpm typically around 2.5k mark all the time which is a beauty. while this car shows no signs of urgency, it shows no signs of laziness either. and now that i driver slower than swift (unruly hatch w.r.t dizzying speeds), i get lots of time for those wonderful conversations with people in the car.

parents feel figo has better rear space vis-a-vis swift and thats a welcome statement. son is absolutely thrilled daddy's got a car again and he chooses his seat depending on his mood. many a time he has dozed off on long journeys through bengaluru landscape. i did personally feel the car rocks a bit from side to side, but then the rear people have not complained so far about it. as is the usual case cars are made for good roads, not bumpy ones. slow is the way to go on these types of roads. a couple of instances i have scraped humps, especially when load is high in the car, or when road itself is bad. but no cause for concern.

i did one mistake after 10 yrs with cars which i dont feel good about. my house is on a right turn from a main road which has many right turns before the one i need to take in succession. hence when i reached my house turn, i put on the indicator and before it could blink twice or thrice i veered right and took the turn. it was dark and night time and i heard a big bang. just looked through side view mirror confirmed someone had fallen. parked car and ran back to enquire. a guy had fallen of his two wheeler since he tried to avoid banging into my car as he was overtaking at that time. no horn from his side either and i did not notice thanks to no presence of mind/ tiredness and dark tints in the car. he was on an activa, wasnt wearing footwear or helmet, but luckily no head injury, he got off with minor scrapes to leg. enquired about the need to take him to hospital but he said it was ok. initially he said i didnt switch on indicator, i denied that was true, and then he agreed i did but did it too fast for him to respond.

i wasnt in mood to question but learnt an important lesson to drive more slowly in residential areas, especially watch and take turns. been following now regularly.

one of the other things i dont like is the floor mats. i am not sure what ford was thinking but they have given velvet mats which accumulate dust like hell. i prefered the rubber ones. does anyone know whether rubber aftermarket mats are available for figo? in bangalore? i have still not done any mods. not even seat covers. the seats are well made with tight fabric and they dont get dirty too often. i am contemplating seat covers for figo but sometime down the line. with school admissions coming up money isnt available for these things!

The fuel cap is a bit flimsy as in even when its locked one can try tugging at it and feels cheap. the rubber surrounding the gear shift also is the same feeling. gear shift itself has smoothened up a lot. clutch is smooth and easy to use but car stutters if you are not in right gear. in terms of actual number of gear shifts, the figo needs more than swift. period. but due to a good clutch and gear shift this is a joy of an affair. the keyhole is too small and so is the key. many a time i struggle to find the sweet spot. the boot is large spacious and i can throw what i want without a worry unlike the other hatch i had.

i am planning a trip to pondicherry on saturday morning and returning two days later. that will total another 600 kms in all. also my insurance is done, but my RC smart card is still pending. would probably take a month more perhaps.

as of now i am enjoying driving bliss soaked in some soothing music. the title of the thread says it all. photos to follow after the trip guys!

[jayded]

Glad to know you are enjoying your Figo

About the floor mats, yes, the carpet mats are too difficult to keep clean. You can buy the Packy Poda universal rubber mats that will fit the Figo. I got a set when i visited Bangalore last month, but still haven't installed it in the car, will be doing it this weekend. I bought a set of black from "Sachin's Autoshop" at Koramangala. They cost me 650/-. They are also available in grey, beige and transparent.

Also you mentioned about having dark tints. Could you specify the Visible Light Transmittance figure and the brand if you know it? I initially installed VLT 5% but then had to move to 20% due to very poor visibility at night and especially around corners with the blind spot adding to it. Now with the 20%, it's a perfect balance of heat rejection, visibility and privacy.

[mooza]

Hello GeekSrik, that's a nice Figo you have there, glad to know you are enjoying it ! The car feels good to enjoy life in, as I discovered on some intra city drives in my cousin's red Figo (petrol).

Originally Posted by GeekSrik

I did personally feel the car rocks a bit from side to side, but then the rear people have not complained so far about it. as is the usual case cars are made for good roads, not bumpy ones.

I too felt this a bit, and yes, the interior roads of Bangalore are quite bumpy, particularly in Koramangala where I stay. These roads have not been prepared well at all. The ride on average / good arterial roads is quite comfortable.

Originally Posted by GeekSrik

My house is on a right turn from a main road which has many right turns before the one i need to take in succession. hence when i reached my house turn, i put on the indicator and before it could blink twice or thrice i veered right and took the turn. it was dark and night time and i heard a big bang. just looked through side view mirror confirmed someone had fallen.

Lucky for you and the biker that nothing serious happened. I can understand your situation, my house too is located just after another turn, I have a tough time entering my house past the vehicles joining in from the cross road.

Wishing you many happy journeys and enjoyable holidays in your Figo

[SILVERWOOD]

Congrats on your new Figo.It looks good.

Its raining Figo's on T-Bhp.Figo's are a regular sight in Hyderabad now.

[GeekSrik]

I was so much looking forward to tomorrow's trip to pondicherry. but its not happening. thanks to inclement weather. its cyclonic there right now. in fact i checked Malpe near Udupi, Mangalore, Kanniyakumari as well - everywhere its raining. So much for this planned trip. I ll have to make it elsewhere though.

[krish3]

Make it to the other end.. Goa :-). Will ensure that you get to drive longer as well and in all types of roads.

[A K Vidyarthi]

An excellent report. I am also going to get Ford Figo 1.2 Patrol EXI on 3rd Nov. Looking forward for it.

[goldie_malhotra]

Congrats & welcome to the Figo club, GeekSrik.

Originally Posted by GeekSrik

I am blown away by the stability of the music system which is a no fuss, no nonsense one. the bluetooth sync is an absolute delight and my Iphone keeps me company. Calls on the stereo, eyes on the road, hands on the steering. i am slowly learning to use the functions of the stereo particularly the phone ones.

I am not sure what you mean by stability. I have found a few bugs while playing music via bluetooth.
- If you switched engine off while in BT audio mode and start again, the BT audio will refuse to work. You need to switch back to radio and BT audio again to get it working.
- The same problem happens after finishing a call - though this is quite random - havent been able to pinpoint exact reason.

Anyways - for me, being able to take calls is good enough. I love the loud volume of the audio and the theater effect it creates. If I take conference calls in it - it seems like I am there in the meeting room rather than in my car

Originally Posted by GeekSrik

i wasnt in mood to question but learnt an important lesson to drive more slowly in residential areas, especially watch and take turns. been following now regularly.

one can never bee too careful in residential areas - I find a lot of people driving @ 40-50 on roads that can barely manage 2-way traffic.