Lost my Tata Hexa to floods

The car was submerged in water till tyre level for 3 days. I couldn't move the vehicle to a safer place as it happened overnight.

BHPian grkonweb recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

An Abrupt End to my Hexa Ownership

Earlier this month, with a heavy heart I gave up my beloved Tata Hexa to salvage buyer as the beast got flood damaged and was assessed as total loss by insurance company on the basis of repairs estimate provided by authorized service center.

Back in Nov 2021 we are on a trip to a village near Nagercoil, Kanyakumari for an Ayurvedic treatment, it was raining heavily. Due to flash floods triggered by opening of dam gates upstream overnight, Hexa was submerged in water till tyre level for 3 days. I couldn't move the vehicle to a safer place as it happened overnight and in the morning I was stunned to see the below scene.

We waited for 3 days for the water to recede and thereafter I got it towed to local Tata Authorized Service Station (TASS) at Nagercoil and the repair estimate (mostly connected car spares & electricals like ECU, main wiring kit, etc) exceeded 75% of IDV and hence they pushed for total loss. Since being a true blue beast lover I was not mentally prepared to accept the decision and got the vehicle shipped (in flat bed truck) to Bangalore TASS at my own expense in December for second opinion. I wanted to try my best to save the vehicle and spent Rs 96k from my pocket for this effort.

The local surveyor at Bangalore advised the TASS to first check the engine and automatic transmission are in good condition before proceeding with any repairs. This time it was found the auto tranny got water ingress and the transmission electronic component in question was major replacement cost-wise. The new repair estimate at Bangalore exceeded the IDV! More than the repair cost, what convinced me to give up the car was given the water damage to the auto transmission unit and it would not be reliable especially for my long drives with family. Many of my friends who had experienced water damage in Chennai floods, advised me to give up as they said the car electronics (and reliability) will never be the same even after expensive repairs.

I've owned many cars in the past and I was never emotionally invested in any of them. To me, car is a word but Hexa is an emotion. It was gut wrenching decision to finally agree for total loss and it took all this while to mentally prepare myself (first time when I heard total loss advise from insurance company in Dec, I got angry - so much emotionally attachment to Hexa) and the family too are fond of the beast. Finally, the insurance formalities got completed earlier this month.

This is how my beloved Hexa looked ready to be towed by the salvage buyer...too good to let go!

Few lessons I learnt from this episode which I'm sharing for everyone's benefit:

1. Please do not cut premium costs by reducing IDV (mine was just Rs 7.73 lacs & my repair estimate came up to Rs 7.85 lacs, of course, some components could have been checked & used instead of replacement) especially if your vehicle is 5+ years old. I didn't apply my mind when the insurance came up for renewal last year, I didn't bother much about the reduced IDV and that did me in.

2. If you are in flood prone area, take engine protect cover as well in the insurance. Also opt for return to invoice feature if eligible.

3. Take insurance from TASS as I heard (not sure though) they have big clout with insurance companies to push insurance claim favorable to owners.

4. Take RSA from TASS (I heard, not sure though) which has a feature where there is no limit on distance covered for peace of mind if your vehicle is 5+ years. Of course, extended warranty coverage goes without saying.

5. In case water level is raising and you are unable to move the vehicle to safer place (in my case the road level was lower than the place we were staying and moving out will only make it worse), the best option is to:

(i) disconnect the battery to avoid fouling up with electronics.

(ii) wrap the exhaust pipes with polythene sheets to avoid water ingress

I'm yet to fully come to terms with the abrupt loss (just 40k in odomoter, Sep 2017 XTA model with no prior accident history, maintained passionately) and the vehicle body in pristine condition and engine parts intact. Had it met with accident and body went out of shape it's a different matter. In hindsight, to come to think of it, at least we didn't meet with any accident that would have harmed us physically but Hexa went away intact except for electronic & electrical components.

Tata Hexa was an aspirational vehicle for me and Hexa was all the more special for me personally as I came from buying the cheapest (not in a bad way) car Tata Indica Xeta GLG way back in Sep 2007 and God was kind to me that I could pick up the flagship model in Tata lineup - Tata Hexa XTA (my first automatic, https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/offic...ml#post4262444 (Tata Hexa : Official Review)) in Sep 2017 - in just 10 years. We enjoyed the car, the long drives, admiring looks from people, great memories and the camaraderie of extended Hexa family - Hexatrons Bangalore Group (HBG) and Tata SOUL (SUV Owners United League) group.

Thanks to the brotherhood of HBG and I personally got to know many Hexa owners. Will be missing the breakfast drives and the great conversations & company. The passion for a car, helpful nature of members, bonding over Hexa are all something I experienced first hand thanks to Hexa and I'll remember for long.

Yet I've to move on and I started looking (upon family's insistence) for similar 7 seater full sized SUV and none of the existing models in today's market comes close to Hexa’s ride handling, quality and comfort & at my budget (less than Rs 30 lacs which itself is a big stretch for me). Someway or other the current available line up of 7 seaters seem to be a compromise and they are no match for Hexa in terms of ride quality & tank-like safety IMHO.

What Next?

I did extensive survey of the 7-seater market (family wants next vehicle equivalent to Hexa if not better) and none of the cars match the value, comfort, safety & road presence of Hexa today IMHO. In my survey, I found SUVs either obscenely priced or don't look the part (subjective) or lack certain utility aspects.

Here's a quick review of the SUVs/MUVs I looked at:

Mahindra XUV 700: Nice package with Auto + AWD combo, loaded with tech features to the gills (not sure how they will hold up in the mid to long run plus my experience of how too many electronics if water damaged, will go down the drain). Polarizing looks IMHO (it is subjective) - I don't know how it will age over the next few years, I'm afraid the vehicle might look odd down the years. It costs almost 29 lacs top end AT +AWD at Bangalore on the road price. The biggest downer for me was the insane waiting period of 75 weeks thanks to the ongoing semiconductor chip shortage. Ruled out this beautiful car as I believe I don't have to do tapas to get a vehicle. Reminds me of my Dad's purchase of Bajaj scooter way back in mid-80s thanks to then government policies, production was controlled and waiting period for a Bajaj Chetak was 7 years. He had to settle for a Bajaj Super bought from a broker (technically my Dad was 2nd owner) by paying Rs 7k premium over the price. In this aspect, the more times changes, things remain the same!

MG Hector Plus: Did not want to buy Chinese owned though it is a British brand. Plus the vehicle looked oddly proportioned in certain angles (subjective, no offense to owners). The huge vertical-oriented tablet was a turn off for me as I learn even AC controls are in-built in the unit with no hardware knobs. I believe a driver should not be distracted by such gizmos and his/her focus 100% should be on the road for safety.

Toyota Innova Crysta: Reliable, Resale value, great service center experience, Toyota brand, long engine life (as they say, Toyota outlives its owners!), proven mile muncher were all plus points. But the biggest negative for me was the non-availability of bench seat in 2nd row in the top end ZX AT version. With a kid it is a must for a 2nd row bench seat as it is convenient for her to sleep during long drives. Checked with dealers if seat swap could be done at the dealer level - nope was the answer. At 32 plus lacs on road price at Bangalore, it is an expensive buy which I'm reluctantly OK but the lack of bench seat was a turn off. I'm fine with the lack of creature comforts like panoramic sunroof, connected car features, MPV looks and taxi image but still when it doesn't fulfill my functional requirement, it didn't make the cut.

Ruled out:

1. Kia Carnival - luxurious though, but super expensive for me plus didn't want to drive a van (no offense to owners) and huge size.

2. Hyundai Alcazar - it is a notch down in the pecking order with 1500 cc engine. After using 2000 cc engines for the last 13+ years, I didn't want to downgrade to a lower cc engine.

3. Kia Carens - Same reason as above, both Alcazar and Carens are nice cars which will be appreciated by 1st time owners who upgrade from hatchbacks but when you are used to Hexa-level luxury, they don't make the cut.

4. Mahindra Scorpio (2022 yet to be launched) - This old workhorse was my ride many years ago and I wonder how I put up with the bouncy ride in those days. Heard it is slated for launch in mid-2022 and it is being slotted a notch down Mahindra XUV 700. Not for me!

5. Jeep Meridian - Had a silly wish that this vehicle when launched could be in Rs 30 - 35 lacs price OTR. But nope, heard that it is being slotted in Rs 40 - 45 lacs price range OTR and this is way beyond my budget.

No pre-owned vehicle is preferred by myself & family, so there goes the option of pre-worshipped Hexa.

What I found in my hunt for Hexa replacement was, at Rs 25-29 lac range OTR in Bangalore, very few capable 7 seater SUVs are available suiting my needs. Either a notch below (<20 lacs OTR) or above (>30 lacs OTR) you have options but again they are few. IMO, proper 7 seaters SUVs are available only from Tata & Mahindra stable in Rs 25 to 29 lacs OTR price range.

Finally, after reading the entire threat in this forum, ownership reviews, many Youtube review videos and multiple test drives I booked Tata Safari XZA+ Dark Edition (again a Tata - rather going to be 5th Tata vehicle in our family's ownership history), proves once a Tata customer always a Tata customer! Hoping to take delivery before end of March 2022. Safari is not a perfect replacement for Hexa, for sure there are few features that were not available in Hexa but still I feel Safari is a compromise and not in the league of Hexa. Only Hexa owners will get this. And I know dark colors are a pain to maintain - scratches & dust are visible easily and any dark color is a safety hazard while driving at night especially in highways. I went for dark edition purely for the black seats & interiors (family didn't like Adventure Persona edition Tropical Mist color) as white is super difficult to maintain. I did notice the test drive car front seats were soiled.

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