[bhaskar.guru]

Hello everyone,

My name is Bhaskara and I’m from Hyderabad.

I bought my Ford Freestyle Petrol T+ in 2018-Dec in the midnight surprise offer. I had a Tata Nano Twist XT before my Freestyle which I bought in 2014-Sep at Hyderabad and sold it in Bangalore as I was moving back to Hyderabad as I had changed the number of the car to KA number when I moved to Bangalore after doing 45k kms.

I’ve enjoyed my Freestyle so far with the mix of performance, ride and the safety offers (only set of cars to offer 6 airbags and the host of safety features at its price point).

Now with the news of Ford shutting down in India and also hearing some news of service centres closing down in some cities, I’m concerned about future of the service and availability of spares at a later time. I use my car daily(regular office times once normalcy returns) and during weekends for errands and family trips.

While Ford and our service centres have committed to providing service for the next ten years, I do not want a situation where my car is kept in service center for lack of parts and also possibility of spare parts prices increasing.

Hence, with this concern I’ve been very confused if I should keep the car and see how the situation plays out or replace it with something similar or better.

Unfortunately, at this price point, there’s no other car offering the whole set of safety features including the six airbags.

On some research, I’ve found the below cars to be a good upgrade to this situation –
1. Tata Nexon
2. Tata Altroz
3. Toyota Urban Cruiser, looks better than Brezza and Toyota ASS
4. Maruti S-Cross

I need your suggestions on –
1. Should I keep my Freestyle or replace it
2. If replace, what car should I think of

Requirements –
1. Petrol manual, somehow, wasn’t comfortable with an auto When I test drove my cousin’s car, also daily drive would be about 60 kms once normalcy returns
2. Space to seat five people
3. Decent performance, can be NA or a turbo mill
4. Safety features, would prefer six airbags( not many options available ��) along with other features like ABS-EBD, Traction control, HA etc etc.
5. Good ride and handling, need that assurance and confidence while I drive
6. Touchscreen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto options, fast charging USB ports
7. Cruise control

Well, all the above requirements were met by my Freestyle except Cruise control

Thank you in advance!

[Mr.Boss]

Originally Posted by bhaskar.guru

Ford Freestyle Petrol T+ in 2018-Dec
...
I need your suggestions on –
1. Should I keep my Freestyle or replace it
2. If replace, what car should I think of
...
all the above requirements were met by my Freestyle except Cruise control

Freestyle mileage is missing, which is one more parameter to decide either to keep or sell.

When all your requirements are met with the current machine you have, I don't suggest to move for something else for this one particular reason (sales operation winding up) Make your math, if you could convince yourself that making additional investment for a new car will meet break-even point w.r.t upkeeping the current car (even consider 200% maintenance cost), go ahead with new car purchase. Otherwise enjoy the current ride

[NevGin]

Originally Posted by bhaskar.guru

I’ve enjoyed my Freestyle so far with the mix of performance, ride and the safety offers (only set of cars to offer 6 airbags and the host of safety features at its price point).

Now with the news of Ford shutting down in India and also hearing some news of service centres closing down in some cities, I’m concerned about future of the service and availability of spares at a later time. I use my car daily(regular office times once normalcy returns) and during weekends for errands and family trips.

You should be looking to keep your car. You like it, enjoy it and I see no problem in getting service. This will be ensured so I would not be concerned at all.

[AkMar]

I feel it is too early & knee jerk reaction to sell the car right now. Unless you have done some crazy running like 1 lakh km or more, Chances of some uncommon/expensive part failure are very less as overall the Figo & Freestyle are quite reliable. All you will need are regular components like suspension, brake pads etc. I don't foresee Ford ending service support right away. Like GTO said, they also have a reputation to maintain. Even if they do, there will be enough aftermarket parts available.

Also you seem to be quite satisfied with the car itself. My suggestion is to hold this car for at least a couple of years more, and then think of replacing it. Till then you will also get idea of how service support is.

[ishan12]

Why sell a car in haste that runs fine and satisfies all your requirements? I don't see any issues in parts availability that you would need in general like filters, brake pads, suspension, clutch etc.
Also, it's a simple car to work on and any good FNG will be able to source the parts and service your car, assuming the worst case scenario that Ford closes down all its service centers (Highly unlikely). And lets not forget that Ford is no Datsun with handful of cars sold in recent years. They had their presence in India for more than 20 years. There are thousands of Fords running on our roads as on today. And almost all parts of cars like yours are locally manufactured and sourced, so I do not see any anything to worry about apart from minor inconveniences like some delays and a drastically reduced resale value.

[shancz]

Originally Posted by bhaskar.guru

I need your suggestions on –
1. Should I keep my Freestyle or replace it
2. If replace, what car should I think of

1. If its working for you then keep it. But for peace of mind concerns with Ford leaving that is something you'll have to decide based on the hit you're going to take in resale.

2, Since your shortlist is quite mixed with good options, I would suggest to add the following to your list :
- i20 : good interiors and feel, check the drivetrains and cost
- XUV300 P W8(O) : excellent 5 seater, check the boot and cost

[Shreyfiesta]

Originally Posted by bhaskar.guru

I need your suggestions on –
1. Should I keep my Freestyle or replace it
2. If replace, what car should I think of

1. Keep the Freestyle for now, I would suggest you to continue with the car at least till the five years mark. Selling a car soon after brand's exit makes no sense for the fact to be said. This is exactly the time when used car buyers offer dirt cheap rates for defunct brand's discontinued product. It is better to retain the car for now and sell it later. Spare parts and service support will be available from Ford atleast for the next five years.

2. If you really really want to replace the Freestyle right now, get something like a Rapid 1.0 TSI. It'll tick all boxes rightly in your case.

[anb]

Freestyle is excellent vehicle and selling it now doesn’t make any financial sense. Freestyle might fetch you around 6-7 lakhs now and you have to spend an additional 5 lakhs to get a decent replacement . You can use the Freestyle for 6-8 years and easily make up for the loss in resale value.

[Raghu M]

Simple, if I were you, I would never sell my Freestyle to begin with. The shutdown and the news articles related to it and not to mention the whole noise on all forums surely gives Ford owners some bad feeling. But trust me, the spares availability, service and other support will be fully available at least for the next 10 years. You can happily keep the car if it is good on safety and is giving you the driving pleasure. I for one would not sell my car if I am in a similar situation. These are not cars that are rare on the roads, there are decent no. of cars, so the spares will never be an issue. We get spares for older generation cars even now, so that will not be a problem. Don't worry, keep calm and enjoy your time with the car.

[anjan_c2007]

Many Ford car owners have become jittery about ownership of their machines. Just check the classifieds of teambhp. There are so many in the list 50% or even a bit more have been posted here after the Ford India D-day viz. 09/09/2021

The link:-

https://classifieds.team-bhp.com/sea...store=1&page=1

If you like your Freestyle for what it is, do not go for a panic sale at this moment. With your kind of usage going by the 45 k. kms on your Nano for a period of 4 years, there should not be any major problem arising in your Ford.

My suggestion would be to use it for at least 10 years and if there's an unprecedented, major issue during your ownership, you can then think of the next plan to swap it for something new.

[shancz]

To the OP, if you haven't, take a look at this Freestyle's adventures from our travelogues section, well written and good to read :
Thanks to bigDaddy_In (A Divine Call to Spiti Valley!)

Hope it helps you in making a conscious decision assuming that the Freestyle was purchased after some deliberation and reasoning, which would still hold to a great extent.

Best of luck with whatever you final call is

[abhishek46]

Originally Posted by bhaskar.guru

I need your suggestions on –
1. Should I keep my Freestyle or replace it
2. If replace, what car should I think of

You will lose loads of money, if you sell your vehicle now.
Just wait for a few months.
Once the flood of re-sales stops, the price will stabilize on it's own.

I have personally seen couple of Chevy Beats fetch decent prices, even couple of years back.

If you do plan on selling the vehicle, I am sure you will find many other suitable options (you have already short listed some good choices).

[bhaskar.guru]

Thank you all for your responses!

I just finished a road trip to Vizag on my Freestyle and based on your responses and my liking for my Greyhound, I’ll wait and watch how the situation goes!

[Big Smoke]

Don't sell your car. You clearly like your car very much. There's not a single reason to sell your car at the moment. Ford will continue to provide good service for at least 3-4 years, after which things might start getting slow. So use your car as much as you can for the next 3-5 years, so that your car is properly depreciated. After that too you'll get a good enough offer for your thoroughly used car. In the meantime, you can invest the 6-7 lakhs for 5 years that you save by not buying a new car and enjoy the returns later, while buying a new car after 5 years.

Wait for at least 2 years, I would say. If you're not happy with Ford India after that, then sell.

[shancz]

I would've asked you to keep but considering that a poll was added now which means that you're still not comfortable with keeping the Ford so I would suggest to look at selling it since peace of mind seems paramount in your case, IMO and voted likewise.

What I would suggest is to sell at a reasonable price and not do a panic sell. It's a good car and being a petrol manual it's not supposed to incur any significant maintenance costs/issues.