[shridhar.s.i]

Originally Posted by noopster

Hey sridhar, nice to know you're finally taking the plunge. Ritz is a nice car and Vxi is the right trim level IMHO. I have a 5 year old Swift Vxi that I can't bear to let go off. The new engine is even better and the Ritz once you get over the initial shock of its rear end, is quite a delight. So all the best and do post a nice ownership thread.

Yes, the plunge is decided, some of my friends say it is too early to let go of the bikes..but i tell them in return that a car will always be my second wife, no one can ever replace a bike in my heart
And yes to tackle the tacky rear, i will be soon fitting a Rear Spoiler..as they say makeup cant change the way you look but it sure can divert the attention

Originally Posted by mdsaab

I too would like to see you drive out with the vxi. Worth the money IMO.
Also you can take the tests now if you like. Let the dealer stew a bit and run after you for your money. This will help in getting a better deal too.
Still curious did you check the wagon r?

Yes mdsaab, Wagon R was my primary consideration, but the height of the car does not go with its narrow body design and i am worried how it would behave on tight corners at higher speeds and also the ride is little bumpy
Ritz / Swift both feel a little more planted on roads and have scope for certain upgrades (like wider tyres + alloys)
Also the power on Ritz is more appealing coz it makes all the difference when riding on Indian Ghats (which i love to do often)

[vina]

Any reason you dropped the idea of a diesel? A quick computation shows that a diesel is about Rs. 2/km cheaper at today's prices (and the difference will keep increasing going forward) even accounting for maintenance and even with 1000km/month you can recover the entire car-price difference in 4 years (about 1.5years if you account differences in resale values)

[mdsaab]

While i agree with you here, the ritz is definately going to be a better choice.
The wagon r too is quite a car. We hired one while in Goa once. and took it on a cross Goa drive. we covered the whole of Goa including the places we hadn't seen before, starting from North, all the way down to the south of goa. Tackled a few ghats, it was truly a joy driving the waggie on the ghats as well as the highway roads of goa. i loved that waggie so much that i though to myself, we were once to buy the wagon r to use as a second family car and i am the one who turned it down saying it looks like a mini ambulance. regret it still.

[shridhar.s.i]

Originally Posted by mdsaab

While i agree with you here, the ritz is definately going to be a better choice.
The wagon r too is quite a car. We hired one while in Goa once. and took it on a cross Goa drive. we covered the whole of Goa including the places we hadn't seen before, starting from North, all the way down to the south of goa. Tackled a few ghats, it was truly a joy driving the waggie on the ghats as well as the highway roads of goa. i loved that waggie so much that i though to myself, we were once to buy the wagon r to use as a second family car and i am the one who turned it down saying it looks like a mini ambulance. regret it still.

Well mdsaab, was it the new blue eyed facelift wagon r or the old one, coz such comments to tend to change my mind and reconsider waggy..but still i have one question..how did it perform on hairpin bends in the ghat and also on highway roads did the car feel planted say at 100 kmph
I need to tell you i am a hefty guy and my family members also are not in the slim category so can waggy take the load..

Originally Posted by vina

Any reason you dropped the idea of a diesel? A quick computation shows that a diesel is about Rs. 2/km cheaper at today's prices (and the difference will keep increasing going forward) even accounting for maintenance and even with 1000km/month you can recover the entire car-price difference in 4 years (about 1.5years if you account differences in resale values)

Hey Vina, diesel is what i actually started the thread with, but considering my average running of 1000 KM / month people suggested it is not needed and as you say it will reach break even only after at max 4 years and by that time i will be ready to buy my dream machine..so as of now with current petrol prices i do not mind a petrol hatch coz i get to save on the initial cost which can be utilized for upgrades / maintenance later

[selfdrive]

The new WagonR has more space than the older one and it should be fine for 4 full sized adults. IMHO the WagonR offers more space than the i10 (as you mentioned you have seen that one)
It performs well on highways, but is more suited to cruising and an occasinal spirited run. What works is the added headroom due to the tall boy stance, but I would not venture to comment on the body roll, it is more subjective.
Just curious, did you ever consider the Nano? I was very apprehensive about it before, but it seems the perfect car for city driving and the occasional highway run. No airbags/ ABS unfortunately :(

[download2live]

Originally Posted by shridhar.s.i

So as of now with current petrol prices i do not mind a petrol hatch coz ......

You do check this thread also. Right?

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/techni...thread-90.html

I will again repeat. If its going to be your first car then add at least 100 kms to your calculated usage.

[mdsaab]

the waggy i am speaking of was the pre facelift model.
the facelift would probably be an improvement over this.
at speeds of around 100 the car was very surefooted, and i never felt uncomfortable throughout the entire cross Goa trip. but i have to admit i did not keep the car at 100 throughout the highway drive. i am more comfortable driving at speeds of around 80kmph. and till today try and maintain the same while driving our civic. but being the petrol nuts that we are, obviously we reach and cross 100kmph once in a while.
coming to bends and turns, well for a tall hatch, i would say it was pretty accurate, and quite stable, but at the same time this is no enthusiasts car, so if you want some fun on the ghats then i think the swift would make a better choice.
but what's important here is ~
i got very comfortable with the waggy, it took me just a few kms with the car to be well versed with the characteristics of the car. and thats what i loved about it. also being your first car the waggy will be quite confidence inspiring to drive, as she makes you soo comfortable after a few kms.
also wanted to note here ~
this car was a rental, thought it was not very old and around 6 months old. it was driven by a lot of people before me too. and yet she blew me away. and IMO that's saying a lot.
So do test drive all three before you decide.

[selfdrive]

Do you have to, have to buy a new car? you can get some amazing deals on used cars. I was apprehensive about this myself till I bought a used car. Of course, it is a matter of luck as well, but you might as well get a used Punto in the same budget. Or get the same Ritz at a lower price; let someone else bear the brunt of initial depreciation!

Just putting a thought in your head

[shridhar.s.i]

Well, first of all sorry for not posting on this thread for sometime now but i guess i had done a lot of talking and it was time i got something to the table with the next post, so here it goes
Pre Review Comment: This is a big post so make sure you have some time to read it and respond as well
Ok, now that i had finalized Ritz in my mind and on public demand i had to include Waggy in my list
Once i was sure i have some Vitamin M to back my purchase and also the loan plan was in place, on May 2, 2011 i decided that enough of surfing details on the web, now it was time to step foot out of my house and step into a showroom
Now from many TBHP threads i have learnt that always take a quote from a competitive brand before entering the showromm of the manufacturer whose car you have decided to buy, so for me (no prizes for guessing) i had 2 options only..

1. Indica Vista - For which i already had a quote from April
2. Hyundai i10 Sportz

So me and my father went to Kundan Hyundai, Thermax Chowk, PCMC
The Hyundai Experience:
The salesperson greeted us and enquired which car were we looking for, we stiffly replied "i10" and funny part was that when i was saying i10 my eyes were all glued upon the i20 CRDI (i just love that car) and my father was continuously looking at the Santro (with already 3 cars in family, his opinion was favored for this workhorse), i am not sure if salesperson was confused for a second but he got the hint and ptomptly got us brochures of all the three cars with pricelist
Then as he started explaning the features i said i have read it all and know what a rear wash n wipe means (heck even my TATA Estate has it boss, no big deal for me)..So i told him to come to the main point which was the pricing
So here are the details
Model: Hyindai i10 GLS Sportz
Color: Grey Metallic
Base price: 4,57,720
Registration + Road Tax: 32040
Other Charge for Registration: 4500
Insurance: 15743
3 Year Extended Warranty: 2500
Final Gross Price: 5,12,503
Then obviously we asked what are the discounts and he quickly said - Insurance + Extended Warranty + Corporate Cash discount of Rs 3K which comes to 21,243
So the Final Net Payable = 4,91,260
We were OK with this as our budget was 5 Lacs and car was on the border line but on our side of the border
Now again thanks to BHP threads i further enquired what would be the Accessories we would get and he again quickly said
Perfume
Seat Covers Worth Rs 1200 (Melba Material but he said they are very basic and i could upgrade to ART Leather for 3K)
Sun filming (Some local brand but he said it was RTO Approved)
Full matting including rear boot
Ganesh Idol
I tried to push him a little more but with one of the best selling cars in market he was not ready to budge more
Once we discussed it was time to check if the honey was worth the money
I asked if i can check out the car, he enquired do i need a test drive and i said "NO"- the reason was simple how can you drive a car in which you can not sit comfortably
Note: For people who do not know me in person, i am a hefty guy with 5' 9'' height so i have to make sure i fit in the car
I opened the door and i must tell i had a good feel to it - strong but easy to handle and it closed with a "thud"
I sat into the car and i could see that my thigh was rubbing a little against the steering and also the legroom was faling short so i adjusted the travel to take the seat a little backwards
Now i was comfortable, but then i asked my father if he can hop onto back seat (This guy is also 5'10'') and funny part was that he started wondering how to enter the car coz he said there was no much space left after me pulling the seat backwards,
i first thought he was overexaggerating considering he would try and compare it to TATA Estate legroom, so i came out to check the situation and Oh boy, there was really not much space, a guy / girl who is about 5'6'' tall can be seated but not anyone above that
I tried fitting myself in (seeing us struggle entering the rear seat salesperson knew the deal was off) but once i got in i found the shoulder room was pretty decent and the seat height and seat angle on rear was good enough though headroom for us was just OK,
The fit and finish were as expected, good for the pricing
My father proudly asked me to check out the Santro assuming it would be very spacious but i felt the Santro interior space to be a carbon copy of i10 except that it had a nice leg rest next to clutch and the gear shift lever was right where my hand would want it to be, but my knee was rubbing against the big AC knob which my father saw and he was silenced, i did not face this problem in i10 due to its smartly designed center console which tapered towards gear lever with nice plastic inserts on the side of the console to prevent the knee from getting rubbed
I also asked him did he get any customers who complain about Electronic Power Steering issues and like a typical showroom salesperson he replied and i quote "I never heard of it in my entire tenure here" and then he gave us a cunning smile which made it clear that he has seen such complaints but is lying to my face to strike the deal
Overall my experience with the salesperson was "strictly OK" as he knew the cars but he was not smart enough to convince us that i10 was better and when it came to accesories he was not ready to commit anything and he covered up by simply saying "i10 sportz fully loaded aata hai, koi alag accesories ki zaroorat hi nahi hai..isme music system bhi hai"
Hearing this me and my father looked at each other with a funny smile and Heck !!! that music system sounds horrible and ICE upgrade is highly recommended for audiophiles
Me and my father knew it was time to move out and after greeting him with a shake hand, we left the hyundai showroom, we did not even bother to ask for the accesories quote as we felt he was not upto it
Following were the takeaways from Hyundai visit
Good things
i10 is a good car for people who are medium built / slim but trust me after sitting in Santro i definitely feel if your primary requirement is city driving then Santro still is better given the price and engine and finish of the car, i mean you can ICE it, go for best sunban filming / alloys + tyres and everything else you can think of and still it would be cheaper than i10
Bad things
1. A myth busted that Santro is spacious than i10 and for others who think vice versa--that's also equally false
2. A salesperson with average marketing skills can spell disaster to the owner of the showroom as sales are bound to drop with so much competition around the corner

Now we had a competitve quote of i10 for negotiating on the Ritz / Wagon R so our next stop was Wonder cars, Near KSB Chowk, PCMC, details on next post

[sajo]

Thanks shridhar for sharing your impressions about the i10. I think its a decent city car.
None, barring the Figo and Vista, will meet your space requirements though. Even the Ritz will not feel much spacious than this. They are small cars after all.


EDIT : How much was the waiting period quoted to you for the i10 ? was it available off the shelf if you were flexible about the colour ?

[shridhar.s.i]

2. The Maruti Experience
We enterd the showroom and went to enquiry desk, as a typical maruti showroom we were not greeted nor were asked anything, my father started the conversation by asking the lady about the Wagon R / Ritz, so she asked the details and i filled out the form as she seemed to be not interested at all (Ya right it was actually 4.30 PM IST and she was all set to leave for home, typical government working attitude)
We were told to get seated and a sales representative would attend to us shortly
I noticed something wierd - neither Ritz nor Wagon R were on Display in showroom, i thought to myself "How can they not display 2 of their mainstram cars, one of which is the second largest selling car for Maruti - The Waggy and other being portrayed as the best family car for the Nexgen (Pun unintended)"
As i was about to share the same thought with my Dad i heard someone say "Sir Pehchana ???", it was a young gentleman wearing a tie and the sales uniform, neither me or my father were able to recollect (Thanks to our Volatile memory which keeps flushing data on FIFO basis..ok that was geeky but true)
Seeing our blank faces he quickly replied "Maine hi appka Apache ka Deal Karaya tha" and suddenly as a person recovering from Amnesia i quickly replied "Arre yes, yaad aaya..bahut badal gaye ho...kaise ho"
Boy, we were happy to see him because we were not very optimistic after the sales experience from Hyundai and also inital experience with lady in Maruti showroom, but i knew this boy..he was always the smart one, he would always support what you want rather than selling what is more profitable..I know it well because when i went to purchase Apache i was more keen on the Fuel Injected model due to its technology and the rear discs..he honestly told me that sales figures for the bike were not the best and also the FI system experiment was first from TVS..I knew the risks and i went for it ..not regretting it yet
I guess he must also have felt happy considering our past experience ..and he promptly said "So Car..Kaunsa ???", we said "Ritz ya Wagon R, not final yet"
He quickly got us water and also the brochures of both the cars, he did not explain the features to me because he knew i always do my homework before going shopping (And thanks to TBHP members i can do my homework faster)
When he started comparing Waggy to i10 i quickly cut him off saying i10 was way ahead of Wagon R list with the features and the engine on offer, he knew he could not brainwash us
He smiled and said "Aap bilkul nahi badle"...it was Deja Vu for him because back then he compared Apache with Pulsar 220 FI and my answer was the same "the latter is too powerful"
So we went outside to checkout the Ritz
The perfect Anticlimax happened here
I was loving it ..i saw the car..i sat in it...i started to dislike it
Here is what happened, i approached my dream car (It was a ZXi trim) and salesrep was quick enough to open the door and he also quickly pushed the driver seat all the way back and height adjusted it to max height, i sat in the car and suddenly i felt like i am actually not SITTING in the car but HIDING..Trust me the front Dashboard felt a lot higher than the usual and with seat fully pulled back i felt it even more coz of the leaning angle, i quickly pulled the seat a little forward and asked the sales rep if i could take the seat further higher..he said height was at maximum..The feeling could be described in only one word "DISAPPOINTED" and guess what? the Steering was too close to my thighs (I did not have this problem even in Santro guys)
IMHO the centre console gear lever positioning has one disadvantage..if you pull your seat a little backwards on the horizantal travel, the gear lever is not that comfortable to reach..i felt the same about both i10 and Ritz which have gear shifter on the console
The salesrep quickly said "Aap bilkul comfortable nahi lag rahe...lagta hai gaadi pasand nahi aayi"
I promptly replied "It is my body shape which the car did not like, car is good overall but not the one for me"..but guys i really feel that the bonet judgement was none and thick C pillar obstructed the view from IRVM
My mood was no good as it took only 5 minutes to shatter a dream that was built over 3 months, i felt i should leave for home but our task was not done yet
So we went to take a look at the Wagon R, i have always loved the tallboy but also feared its drive dynamics and body roll mannerisms on tight corners or windy highways (already discussed in this thread)
I dont know but there was something about the car which gave me good vibes, it was a Lxi trim and the chrome strip embedded with "Wagon R" truly added a character to the rear

The perfect Climax
I Came: I Saw..I Finalized the car
I opened the door and Holy Moly!!!..it opened very wide..2 peopled of my size could hop into car parallely with such a broad doorway..and the seats were positioned just right, i did not have to crouch to get into the car..thanks to tall boy styling
I sat in and steering felt just in place (being base model it did not have tilt steering but was not required either)
I closed the door to get a feel of the interiors...the quality was not comaprable to Korean Hyundai but was OK given the pricepoint
I could also see that the wide front windshield coupled with new mirrors and bigger windows translated to better view of the outside world from the cabin and a thinner C pillar meant i could spot vehicles clearly using the IRVM
Now was the bigger challenge, with my driver seat in position to accomodate me, is there enough space left for the rear passenger?
I quickly opended the door and hopped onto the rear seat and trust me on this, i could testify that what people say in car reviews for this car is true...it had decent space for a guy like me at the rear too..So fitting 4 big size people into the car was not a problem and with 69 PS under the hood it should not be a problem to pull them as well (atleast i hope so)
When i came out of the car, i had a smile back on my face..and suddenly it struck me..is that not what we expect from our cars / bikes...to make us feel happy and comfortable when we use them...and at that moment my decision was made..I said the 3 magic words "Kitne Me Diya ???"
We went in and he gave me the quote
Model: Maruti Suzuki Wagon R Vxi
Color: Glistening Grey Metallic
Base price: 4,00,411
Registration + Road Tax: 32029
Insurance: 12961
Extended Warranty: 1890
Final Gross Price: 4,47,290
Then on enquiring for offers he said Rs 12K cash discount + Rs 3K Corporate bonus
So final Net payable was Rs 4,32,290
I was OK because this was well within our budget
Now we asked him what accesories do we get free and he bluntly replied : "NONE" - our jaws dropped on hearing this as we expected an answer somewhat different..we asked him again and he replied the same, i showed him the quote from Hyundai where they had given some accesories but the maruti sales-rep had a very smart answer (atleast he thought so, not me!) "They may give you free accesories but the best service is still given by us, we own 55% market share and the car you are buying is much more reliable and proven than i10"
Actually i did not know what to reply to this comment...looks like he finally got his facts right because it was true, how can i deny that
So we decided to take the quote and leave when it quickly struck me i need to load some accesories, read more on this in the next post

[shridhar.s.i]

Originally Posted by sajo

Thanks shridhar for sharing your impressions about the i10. I think its a decent city car.
None, barring the Figo and Vista, will meet your space requirements though. Even the Ritz will not feel much spacious than this. They are small cars after all.


EDIT : How much was the waiting period quoted to you for the i10 ? was it available off the shelf if you were flexible about the colour ?

Yes SAJO, you are correct it is spacious for a city car adn the color i had asked for was Carbon Grey so it was available off the shelf

[shridhar.s.i]

Since i had some money to spare the next chapter was Accesories, i stepped into the MGA store in the showroom and he really had some good options
I enquired about the Body Kit including rear spoiler and also the alloy wheel options
He said the Kit would cost somewhere around 25K (including rear spoiler + fitting + paint matching) and 14" alloys (Set of 5 including buyback of steel wheels) would cost me 21K
But he promptly said he needs to confirm on Alloys compatibility with Wagon R as they were meant for Swift and also pricing of body kit again with Maruti
I am a person who is not an audiophile though but i love to hear good music with good clarity and i knew the OEM Waggy HU + speakers are no good, so i enquired about the Cost to ICE my car and would i get any buyback for the existing HU + Speakers, he first said no promptly but when i threatened him that i could get it replaced from outside which would mean loss of business, he said he would get back to me on this one after talking to the manager
He Quoted pricings as follows
Sony HU (WX-GT77UI) - 13K
Front Components JBL 6" - 6500 (I am not very sure if he is aware of components coz they are not so cheap right!)
Rear 3 Way coaxial JBL 6" - 4000
JBL Woofer (1200 watts) 12" with Tube Housing - 6800
Amplifier Kit - 950
JBL 4 Channel Amplifier - 8500

Here are further accesories details i plan to fit in my car
Seat Covers : Rs 4500
Steering Wrap: Rs 510
Neck Rests : Rs Set of 4 Rs 700
Bead Cushion Rs 550
Full Matting including rear boot : Rs 950
Mud Flaps: Rs 350
Bumper Moulding (Front + Rear) : Rs 490
Door Guards : Rs 350
Reverse Parking Sensor with park assist : Rs 3500
Autographix : Rs 1250
Paint Protection 3M (1+2) : Rs 3400
Engine Dreasing + lacquer Coat : Rs 850
Sun Control Film: VCOOL
Front: 13,600 for 94% reflective
Other windows + Rear : Rs 10,600 for 72% reflective
I felt the filming charges were monstrous so i will recheck with 3M for the same as i plan to give Paint protection + filming as one package to 3M
They said undebody treatment will not be required as AMaruti has started doing it by default since last 8 months
Folks, i have one dilemma should i go for the Body kit, i mean i love it and it will make my car look more aggressive with alloys on board but i am scared would it drastically reduce teh ground clearance of my car, beacuse i dont want the beaty at cost of scraping the side skirts frequently
Also please advise if any of the above accesories are overpriced so that i can negotiate with MGA salesrep
Cheers

[sajo]

The sunfilm is certainly outrageously priced dude. 24k for the filming alone!

[ajay_satpute]

Good report Shridhar. I read it full...hushhh!

I liked the way you eliminated i10 and Ritz with very logical reasons. I do agree with the shortcomings of i10 and Ritz. They are below average on passenger space. Even though the Nextgen i10 is loaded to the brim with pretty good features, if you can't be comfortable in the car, then no point having all those features.

WagonR is certainly a very good choice I would say. The new Wagon R is much much better over its predecessor.

BTW, did you ever checkout the Vista or no? You had it in your initial options, so I was wondering whether you TDed it or not. Being a Vista owner for close to 2 years, space will never be an issue. Its HUGE on the inside. Its just designed for ultimate passenger space. Unless you are sold on Wagon R completely, do check it out once before finalizing. There are 3 happy Vista owners who you can query anytime for your doubts, me, Reinhard and Amitwlele.

I think the price the of accessories is reasonable and you can go ahead with most of them. As you've said, the filming charges surely look atrocious to me too. I got 3M films for my Vista for the sides and rear for just 6K. I dont know much about VCOOL brand and its pricing, but I dont think you need to spend so much on films.