Finally its time I begin this thread which I have been dreaming of since the last few months. This dream was actually inspired by another dream, i.e., to get my Bold New Drive. The Fiat Grande Punto.
From the day this car was announced to be launched in India, I began dreaming of owning it. Yes, this is my first car, although had a few family cars before, but since the last 5 years I had been carless :(. Nevertheless, here was the time to own it.
I began my search of a car in July '10 started with the Swift, went on to Ritz, i20 and finally landed to where it began the Grande Punto.
Before starting the actual search, I had fixed my budget from 4lakhs to 5lakhs, and not a penny above 5.0 Lakhs.
First the list of vehicles put in the wishlist, and the reasons why they were dropped:
Swift: Loved the looks, but it was too common on roads, moreover the price was a little on the higher side, so technically was out of my budget. The Petrol Vxi came for about 5.05 Lakhs On road kolkata. No discounts, no frills, no add ons, 2 months delivery period. So, got sidelined although I loved it.
Ritz: Was in budget, but was not totally impressed by the looks, my Fiancee liked the looks, but no one in the family did. So for the moment it was kept aside for a final round of comparo.
i20: Loved the looks, interiors are luxurious, spacious, nice drive. But too expensive. The Magna petrol 1.2L engine came for 5.5L on road Kolkata nearly. So, definitely chucked out of the list.
i10: Didnt like the looks personally, no other reason. Didnt take a TD.
Finally the
Grande Punto:
My and my Fiancee went into K.B. Motors on D.H. Road. A Bossa Nova White Punto 90HP was standing, we both fell in love instantly with it. The sales guy was well learned about the car and various variants. We took a qoute and left, promising to return soon. It was almost decided this is the wheels we are going to own and drive around. Somehow managed to convince each and everybody in the family. Many were sceptical due to very few Fiats in kolkata, and lack of Brand awareness for Fiat in Bengal. Nevertheless, managed to get everyone vote for it.
The Buying process:
Since we had been to K.B. Motors, I wanted to try out the larger TATA dealer in kolkata called Lexus Motors. They are very old and famous. Took a TD on the petrol 1.2 Emotion variant, loved it. Now it was time to close the deal. We had chosen Lexus over K.B. Motors because of many people in the family advising for the larger and better dealer.
Anyways, time to close the deal. Met the SA at Lexus, he was not very well informed about the car, seemed to be a new guy(later confirmed). I think since this car isnt really flying off the shelf for TATA, they had given a new guy the duty for selling Puntos. Never mind, I was very well informed about the car(thnx to Team-Bhp and many more), and didnt need to bug the guy much. Initially ordered the Tuscan Wine colour, but later decided against it because all in the family had fallen in love with the White and the Black. Decided against Black as it is being bought on an auspicious occassion(my shaadi/wedding). So booked the lovely Bossa Nova White.
I decided to go for the 1.2Petrol Active, because somehow I managed to reach this budget, have had many many commitments recently. And the Active model seemed to be pretty well equipped compared to other car's base variants. Planning to put in a stereo within a week and the Remote central lock and keyless entry from Xenos and not from Fiat. I have been assured that the Fiat Extended warranty will not be void because of that.
Price break up and the discounts:
Ex Showroom: Rs. 4,34,000/-
Tax, reg etc: Rs. 34,000/-
Discounts:
Insurance free: Rs. 16,000/- (approx)
Gift cheque: Rs. 10,000/-
Corp Disc: Rs. 6,000/-
Dealer Disc: Rs. 5000/-
Freebies: Mud Flap, Foot Mats, Perfume, Steering cover.
Final Cost: Rs. 4,47,000/-
Mods to be done:
A decent ICE probably Sony from Glix
Remote Keyless Entry: Xenos
Reverse Parking sensor: Brand undecided, maybe Fiat.
Mods already done:
Body coloured ORVMs and Door Handles
from the dealer workshop itself before taking delivery.
Just drove home my beauty. The drive is fantastic, nothing much to say, lot has been spoken about it in the forum. Controls are confusing, need getting used to. The MID controls are confusing too. Havent got the Manual, the SA told me I will get it with the Smart Card in about 30days. I was like
. How will I know wot is wot. Then he painfully tried to explain me, but failed miserbaly. He had no idea wot is wot in the MID controls. I told him to mail me a soft copy if possible or get me a photocopy of another punto the next working day. Lets see. In the meantime I have figured out some things. More need to be explored.
Desperately need the ICE, will get it next week.
Drive is awesome, AC pretty good and chilling.
Lovely handling and steering. But faced a huge prob while getting it into the garage. The car's turning radius is small, and the car is huge in size compared to other small cars. Finally somehow managed to do it with help of a friend who volunteered to act as a navigator. I will need a navigator for a few days and few mods at the parking garage. Hope I get used to it soon.
More experience reports will come soon. Please reply guys, I wud love to talk to friends here about my Punto. And if anyone can mail me a soft copy of the Manual I wud really appreciate. Or if anyone can explain me how the controls work for the MID.
Here are some pics:
more to come soon.