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How I ended up buying Skoda Kushaq instead of Mahindra XUV300

8th February 2022, 15:17 by Utkarsh Chaudhary

Even as I was about to close the booking with Skoda, I reached out to Mahindra one more time to get a final answer but, again, got no response.

BHPian thanixravindran recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

My car purchasing conundrum and how I ended up with a Skoda Kushaq in 2022. Read on.

Prelude

I own a 2011 Hyundai i10 Kappa2 VTVT Asta which has run 67,000 Kms. It was purchased when I was working in Bangalore and a few years ago I have relocated back to Chennai. Thanks to our government rules/inefficiencies, I have to shell out Rs. 40,000 as road tax to register again here. I did not want to let it go as I love the car as it has never let me down in the last 11 years. It was running smoothly with just routine servicing both from Hyundai as well FNG. I was procrastinating about getting a new car for some time but kept delaying and the pandemic that struck two years ago delayed the decision further.

In between, due to circumstances, I have to change my job and my new job is in Hyderabad. I am totally remote till now but the thought of moving to Hyderabad has put the car purchase decision ON HOLD. However, at the start of last year (2021), my i10 has started showing the age with AC failure (Guess AC pipe leakage or evaporate core leakage), Silencer rust (which is a common complaint) and the failure of a small LCD in the Infotainment system.

It looks like Hyundai has designed with a reliability target Mean Time To Failure (MTTF) of 10 years. Though I am willing to live with them after fixing, I do not want to be stopped often with the outstation car. Since we do not have any travel due to the pandemic, the needs were not immediate. However, by the end of the year, my family really wanted a new car in Chennai and hence I decided to proceed with the car hunt.

Car Hunt

I started my car hunt in December though I have burnt my fingers in my first car purchase during 2007 when I was cheated by a Maruti dealer in Bangalore [Sagar automobiles agreed on the offer and after payment, simply gave it to someone else who gave a few more thousands of rupees. I was told to take the new Jan model. I walked away turning it down and got the money back].

My order of preference for a new car is:

No car (Not the best time to buy a new car as the entire auto industry is in a flex).
Electric car (Futuristic and go for it if you don't want to pay obscene taxes and support the manufacturer).
Petrol Automatic (if you want to support yourself for better health in our congested roads).
Petrol Manual (It will always be an option in the table as 'Salt & Pepper' when all else does not work).

I do not prefer Diesel due to my low running needs. The first option is obviously ruled out by the wife. Second option is ruled out as the electric supply in my area itself is erratic since it is on the outskirts of Chennai even though I have rooftop solar available. So it has to be a Petrol - Automatic (Preferred due to my Bangalore traffic experience) or Manual is acceptable. While researching, I realized how the market has moved from naturally aspirated engines to small Turbo petrol engine cars. Now there are only very few options for NA petrol.

I shortlisted my requirements as below:

Ride comfort (obviously coming from i10).
Safety (11 years ago itself my i10 had ABS and 2 airbags).
Comfort Features (I like how Hyundai and now Kia brings all the higher segment features into daily usage cars).
Reliability (Being a single car garage, it is important to have less downtime. My i10 has never seen beyond a single day service).
Immediate delivery (Not a big fan of long waiting time models as in our country there are too many variables and the customer always bears the brunt; I like to book and take in the same month).

My constraints are:

Parking - Since I stay in an independent row house, my parking is limited. It is exactly 4.3 meters.
Crossover - Since I stay in the outskirts of Chennai, sedan is ruled out due to speed breakers.
Budget - I have a max budget of 15 Lakhs. I do not have an option for any tax breaks as I don't have a business (depreciation benefit). As I am salaried, I do have a company car policy but it is applicable only for Hyderabad. So I didn't want to go beyond 15 Lakhs. Also, I never buy things on loan and I will save the money even if it takes years and purchase outright only. The bliss of living a debt free life needs to be experienced!

With the above constraints, I have considered the below cars - Sub 4m crossovers calling themselves SUVs. This is the hottest segment in India and we are spoiled by choices. Combined with small turbo Petrols (< 1.2L), the tax structure results in competitive prices.

Ford Ecosport - Ruled out as Ford decided to pack the bags after creating the segment.
Maruti Brezza - I will never buy a Maruti after my first car buying experience.
Mahindra XUV300 - Amazing car which has fitted the bill perfectly.
Tata Nexon - I still think Tata cars lack quality control though recent experiences in the forum show otherwise. Ruled out.
Renault Kiger/Nissan Magnite - Very good VFM package.
Kia Sonet - After all everyone in the town buys a Kia.
Honda WRV - I was surprised that Honda still sells them.
Morris Garage Astor - Don't want to let the entire world know that there is Internet Inside (In reality we all know about the internet behind the great wall).
Hyundai Venue - I have lived with Hyundai for 11 years but am really tired of their service center antics.
Toyota Urban cruiser - Seriously Toyota, all you can do is to rebadge a Maruti?

With the above, I have done a Pugh matrix with Needs Vs Features of available cars. It is no wonder Mahindra XUV300 came as the winner with flying colors. Kia Sonet came second and Renault Kiger/Nissan Magnite came third. All of these on paper. Now it is time to validate the theory.

Showroom Visit and Test Drive

Mahindra

Visited the Mahindra website and booked a home test drive on 12 Dec, 9.00 PM on Sunday. In the next minute, I got a call from Mahindra and got all the details and based on my location, he assigned it to OMR Dealer AMPL. I was impressed by the quick action. Next day morning, the dealer contacted me and got the address. They sent the Diesel AMT since they don't have Petrol AMT for a test drive by lunchtime. I took the test drive and the parking test.

Pros:

Wide Cabin - Proper 5 seater.
Ride comfort - Okay but not very smooth maybe because of the test drive vehicle.
Interior and Comfort features - Excellent. Loaded to the brim. Dashboard and infotainment are well integrated.
Proven Safety and Build - Top notch. Everything was well put is an understatement.

Cons:

Boot space - Very small boot and as written in Team-BHP, they don't have parcel tray even in the top model so that it masks the shortcoming.
Feature deletion - Long list of feature deletion over the period of a few years. I got three different brochures for it. So it is a gamble to book.
AMT - I feel for the price, a proper automatic can be provided but this is not a deal-breaker for me. But given Mahindra's poor track record with TUV300 AMT, I decided against it. Petrol AMT was just launched 1 year ago and I was not sure of its sales numbers and hence its reliability.

It passed both the test drive and parking test. So I have decided to go for Petrol W8 (OPT) MT. Price is 11.8 Lakhs Ex-showroom and On-road price will be closer to 14 Lakhs. There are year-end offers of Rs. 25,000 Cash discount and Rs. 4,000 Corporate discount. There is also a Rs. 25,000 Exchange bonus available. But the dealer is not transparent with these Mahindra offers. I have got this confirmed by Mahindra itself. I told them I will visit the showroom and will finalize the booking the following weekend with color choice but could not make it on 18 Dec. However, I visited the showroom on 19 Dec, Sunday and looked at the vehicle and colors. Red was the choice of the family. Being Sunday, I could not finalize the price and book the car there itself.

Renault

I decided to visit other showrooms also since they are in the same area - Perungudi, OMR. I skipped Honda as I have already ruled out WR-V. I visited Renault showroom and looked at Kiger. They are straightforward and have only stock on the top end Dual tone and only two pieces - White/Black and Blue/White combination left. All else have a waiting list of 3 months. I somehow did not like Kiger interior space and crossed it out.

Kia

The next visit is to the Kia showroom. We checked out the Sonet. This is a big disappointment as the interior space looked exactly like i10 and the Infotainment screen with its disproportionate buttons is a huge letdown. The roof liner slopes towards the front makes it worse for me as my head almost touches the roof (I am 6 feet tall). My wife did not even want to sit in the car for a test drive. We checked out Seltos and was really impressed by the overall package. It ticks all boxes and no wonder it sells like the hot cake notwithstanding the safety rating. Seltos has too many variants and decently loaded variant is outside of my budget. However, the dealership experience is very sub-par - They did not even take my number or were interested in my requirements but gave their number to call if I wanted to book. This is how success has made them arrogant.

Skoda

Next to Kia is the KUN Skoda showroom. Providence has made me walk into the showroom to just show my wife the Kushaq just for comparison purposes. Little did I know at that time I will eventually buy it from the same place. We checked out the display car and it felt okay though it lacked the finesse of Seltos. Biggest reason is the interior theme which is dull and reminded the Wagon R of the past decade. On just casually checking the price, I was told Ambition has 50,000 INR discount and insurance discounts are also available (the feel-good discount without any real discount). I realized how Skoda messed up the pricing and a new car within 6 months of launch is providing discounts. I was offered a test drive the next day, I politely declined and informed I will reach out if I need it as I was not keen on Skoda.

Final Selection

How Mahindra dropped the ball

Next day (20 Dec), I tried to finalize the Mahindra XUV300 and contacted the Sales advisor. For some reason, he did not pick up the call and also not reverted to my message. He messaged in the middle of the night informing me he will call the next day. That call never happened. I thought he did not have stock and hence not wanted to engage.

I have reached out to the other dealer MM motors who connected after a few days and was eager to finalize. However, they have only Petrol W8 in Stock and no W8 (OPT) stock. They promised to revert if they can get a W8 (OPT) in stock. Also, they informed that there may be a price hike in Jan. I am okay with that and told him that I will take insurance from outside or they can match the price. I also asked him to waive off handling charges as none of the other car dealers - Kia, Renault and Skoda are charging in Chennai. He did not revert after this.

By the new year, the car exchange person from AMPL called to book an appointment for my old car evaluation. I informed that there is no response from your dealership to finalize the car. He promptly arranged a call from the sales manager who assigned another sales advisor who never bothered to call. When I called, it seems there will be a price revision and they are waiting for it. After that, there is no response from AMPL.

The third dealer Zulaikha motors did not even respond to my calls on XUV300. It seems they are in another world after the XUV700 and Thar success and do not want to sell any other vehicle. I was not happy with this attitude of Mahindra dealers as service may become even worse.

Later, even as I was about to close the booking with Skoda, I reached out one more time to get a final answer but no response. They are not interested to tell a Yes or No for the final price but simply vanish without replying or talking. There was a silent price hike on XUV300 for around 20,000 INR along with Thar and XUV700 price hikes. Though Mahindra is making great products, the situation on the ground is made dismal by the dealers they have chosen and has lost a willing customer.

How Skoda Kushaq was selected

I have thought of dropping the car purchase plan altogether as I feel the car buying experience remains the same even after 10 years. However, my wife persisted to consider the next best thing she liked - Skoda Kushaq. So on 10 Jan, I called Skoda dealer and within 2 hours, I got the car for a test drive. The assigned Sales Advisor Eswar is a gem to deal with. He is knowledgeable on the car as well understood my requirements. He immediately told Ambition MT will fit the bill and will check for availability. Parking test is also done and it passed narrowly.

My impressions after test drive in comparison with XUV300:

Pros:

Beautiful exterior design.
Better ride comfort.
Eager to be driven and better gear ratio (can drive around in 4th gear even less than 40Kms speed without lugging).
Usable better boot space.

Cons:

Dull interior and narrow width.
Lesser features.
Untested safety.

After the test drive, I become smitten by Kushaq as an option despite the Skoda horror stories, initial EPC issues & niggles I have read. I asked for the availability/pricing and also decided to keep the i10 as a backup in case I am bitten by Kushaq.

Booking

New price list was shared immediately. Interestingly, Skoda did not increase the Ambition variant prices. No handling charges were mentioned. No push for the standard accessories kit. 'Feel good' Insurance discount was shown which is nothing but matching the direct Insurance company quote. RTO charges are accurate. He is even okay for me to get my own Fastag which I did with PayTM as I have my other FasTag linked to the same wallet. Stock availability is Oct 21 manufactured, White color car for which offered price was 14.64 Lakhs. I have requested 14.50 Lakhs. He came back the next day, 11 Jan with 14.56 Lakhs as the final offer in writing and beyond which they cannot come down.

I was pleasantly surprised by the openness and transparency of the dealer and agreed to proceed. However, by now, my wife does not want White color as it is too staid to look. Her preference is Tornado Red or Carbon Steel color. Since I decided to retain my i10 which is grey, Carbon steel is ruled out. I checked for Red stock availability but no stock in MT but available in AT. He will check for December stock and if it not allocated we have to get the 2022 model only. He informed me that discounts won't be applicable for 2022 models except for insurance. I agreed and told him I may drop the car buying if it is beyond 15 Lakhs even for the 2022 model. He is okay and there is no cancellation charge also. So I booked the car on 13 Jan with Rs.10,000.

Delivery

I was informed on 17 Jan that the car is in transit and will be intimated once it reaches Chennai. During this period the news about Electric folding ORVM took the internet world by storm. I got another call on 21 Jan informing that car has come and whether I can finalize the purchase. I calculated the final price to be 15.16 Lakhs with the same insurance which is 1% more than my budget. I decided to visit the showroom.

On 22 Jan, once I reached the showroom, without even asking he immediately told me about the feature deletion and asked whether I want to proceed or go back to the 2021 model but compromise on color. I asked about the final price of the 2022 model and he discussed and came back with a finalized price of 15.00 Lakhs itself. It is a straight discount of 16000 INR for a 2022 model. I asked the details and was told it is through cash discount and further discount in insurance. I agreed to proceed and was shared the VIN number. The dealership is hesitant for doing PDI in the yard but I was ready to go to the yard but the car was already en route to the showroom from the yard. So I waited and did the PDI in service center attached to the showroom itself.

While I matched the VIN number and confirmed Jan 2022 model, my wife confirmed it with the ORVM electric closing option missing in the car (No wonder women are smarter than men) and the car came out clean with 22 Kms in ODO which matches the distance from yard to service center. I have agreed to proceed with payment and delivery was set to 27 Jan (auspicious day). On 24 Jan, payment is cleared in the morning itself.

Here is the tragic twist, there is no sign of an invoice being generated or Form 20 generated to get my signature for registration. I was already down with Sinus and hence could not follow up. In the evening, my sales advisor called me and told that internally they messed up the pricing and the actual price is 15.10 Lakhs and I need to pay 15.00 Lakhs after adjusting the initial booking amount of 10,000 INR already paid. They did a 'mistake' in the pricing calculation while taking into account the 10,000 INR I have paid for the booking. I was not impressed and SA also did not know what to do. He apologized and told his manager will call me to discuss further.

His manager called me and the conversation did not go well. First, he blamed that his team member communicated wrongly to me that 15 Lakhs is the final price when in fact 15 Lakhs more needs to be paid apart from the booking amount. I kept my cool and told him this is your internal issue and needs to be resolved by you as a leader and not by me as a customer. First management lesson - Never throw your team member under the bus in front of a customer.

He repeated that I have to pay the balance. I got irritated and told him why should I pay the penalty for his pricing error. I am ready to drop the purchase. Now he bluffed that the car is already invoiced on Saturday itself after my PDI because there may be a tax change which will cost a few thousand rupees more. Now I am at my wit's end and asked him which business invoices without getting the money in the account and what tax is changing in the intervening Sunday. Second Management lesson - Do not lie to your customer.

Finally, I lost my cool and told him to drop the deal and refund the money. I was requested to take a day and reconsider my decision. I do not want to hear any more of this as the experience is already sour. I turned the table and told to bring a solution to the table by the next day, 25 Jan noon.

Next day at 11.00, I was offered Skoda genuine accessories - Leatherette seat cover (11K), Floor mats (2.5K) and mud flaps (1K) worth Rs.14,500 if I agree to pay the 10,000 INR as he could not get permission to invoice at 15.00 Lakhs and have to refund the money. I told him that this was nothing but making me purchase their accessories.

I would have been very forgiving if he has made an apology at the start explaining the pricing error and given a solution or no questions asked refund, I would have happily accepted the solution. End of the day, business is just not measured only by numbers but how you conduct it. I accepted the deal and paid the remaining Rs. 10,000 the same day.

Insurance was processed immediately from HDFC Ergo (with Zero dep, consumables cover, RSA, NCB protection, Engine/Gearbox protection) and Form 20 as generated and sent for my signature. Car was sent to registration on 27 Jan (since 26 Jan is Holiday. Once the RTO charges are paid online by the dealer, we get an SMS immediately. Once car inspection is over (which is still needed in TN) we get the Registration number by SMS immediately. Car was delivered the same day albeit late in the evening since accessories have to be fitted by them but without HSRP plates which takes max 3 days to arrive. We can download RC from Digilocker and add our vehicle in mParivaahan the very next day.

"All's well that ends well" - William Shakespeare

So with Skoda, I have taken the leap of faith, only time will tell whether my decision is right or not.

Below is Kushaq meeting my i10.