Stag or 10.95!?; Now Bought Stag


Status
Not open for further replies.
Thread Starter #1
Joined
Aug 24, 2009
Messages
5,891
Likes
1,143
Location
Dubai / Mumbai
As some of u'll maybe knowing, we have purchased two 49 seater buses as stated in this thread.

Now to add to the fleet of these buses, we are planning to buy a 25 seater mini bus with AC & pushback/reclining seats. initially the choices we had was eicher, ashok leyland, tata & force motors. we will be buying only the chassis from the manufacturer & getting the body & interiors done in prakash, as done earlier. though fully built buses are available, they are neither stylish nor has an inbuilt AC except for the force traveller which has AC in its 14 seater model. even trucks from Mahindra Navistar, AMW & MAN were considered but these trucks were too expensive & not suitable to us as they came with fully built front bodies.

there was a newer chassis from AL called the lynx but that was rejected as stag was longer than the lynx whereas the lynx was wider than the stag. in our case, length was more inmportant.

swaraj mazda was rejected as i have not heard any reviews about it nor have i seen enough on kerela roads.

tata was rejected as i personally dont prefer tata vehicles but other than that, i heard many negative reviews that tatas require frequent attention/maintainence & also that their vehicles get "old" very soon, as in, engine starts making noise, etc.

so finally, after comparing the specs of each vehicle in detail, we narrowed down our choice to eicher 10.95 or Ashok Leyland Stag.

Pros & cons of stag:
* It has a powerful engine, so AC can be directly coupled to the existing engine.
* Our other two buses are AL too & many parts are the same, so it has its own advantages.
* The eicher is more longer, which is a big disadvantage for the AL.
* AL's engine (118 bhp) is more powerful than eicher's (95 bhp), which also means the AL would consume more fuel.

Pros & cons of eicher:
* AC cannot be directly coupled to the engine, which means an extra engine for the AC which increases expenditure.
* Eicher chassis is longer than AL, which is a huge plus point.
* Eicher will be technically more efficient than the AL.

We are planning to build the bus body with sliding glass so that the bus can be operated with or without AC, as per needs. so without AC, the eicher will reap in more benifits with its superior fuel efficiency.

TATA is launching a new chassis with a CRDi engine in 2 months but i am against it as-
* CRDi engine maybe more refined (which is not our priority) & a tad more efficient, but it will also be more costly.
* CRDi tech in buses means more attention to the engine. Also, spares & maintainence will be on the higher side.
* Drivers down south are well versed with normal engines, but not with CRDi ones. they will be clueless even if a small problem occurs. also, a local mechanic wont be able to solve it!
* New tata vehicles are known for its share of gremlins & issues. i dont want to be tata's guinea pig!

So, finally we have got the quotation for the eicher 10.90 which is Rs. 7.56 lakhs. We will get the quotation for the AL stag tomorrow.

any advice or suggestion guys?
 
Joined
Sep 12, 2009
Messages
4,069
Likes
308
Location
Pondicherry
though i have no experience in heavy vehicles , i have contacts with tourist cab and van\bus operators here.

From them , i learnt that though coupling ac with engine is good , fixing additional gen-set for the same is same. Just the gen set's cost is initial. Over all fuel comes almost exact.


So eicher's plus is exact need that you are looking for.

1. additional gen-set one time expense.
2. Stress in cars engine is not experienced , so good to drive.
3.It has longer chassis (same running cost as in Al but more passenger a big plus)
4.Eicher has non crde(not so complicated structure) , low on your maintain cost.

5. If at all you are going to sell it after 4 to 5 years , remove the gen-set

So i think eicher is best for you . minimum maintenance , much efficient and more mileage


This is purely my idea with just ideas from talking to taxi operator friends!
 
Joined
Oct 23, 2009
Messages
9,164
Likes
330
Location
Chennai
Am also not very experienced in this segment!! But from Ilango's point of view the first 3 points suggest you go for an Eicher!! But isnt the AL also non-crde Ilango??

But we will be able to get a clear picture after getting the quotation for AL also!!
 
Joined
Sep 12, 2009
Messages
4,069
Likes
308
Location
Pondicherry
Both eicher and al that are present are non crde.
Plus both spares are avail easily.

Eicher have long chassis. Even addition of one seat is plus for operators.
so this one may be some 3 to 4 seats extra. so i preferred eicher theoretically.
 
Joined
Oct 23, 2009
Messages
9,164
Likes
330
Location
Chennai
Actually a more clear comparison can be made after comparing the price of AL , the spare parts availability and pricing of both and also the FE of both!!

In order to accomodate more persons maybe some max 5-10 persons you don want to spend more on fuel , spares etc!!
 

350Z

Core Team
Joined
Aug 10, 2009
Messages
21,165
Likes
7,834
Location
New Delhi
I personally don’t have much idea on commercial vehicles, especially the buses but perhaps you could give a thought to new Force Traveler which has nice looks and accommodates 14 passengers. You can also easily modify as per your needs but before you’ll need to check about After Sales & Dealer Network in your area. Link to their official website :Force Motors :: Traveller:



Drive Safe,
350Z
 
Joined
Oct 23, 2009
Messages
9,164
Likes
330
Location
Chennai
But 350Z he is looking for a 25 seater mini bus , this is just a van and can accomodate 14 persons only!!
 
Thread Starter #10
Joined
Aug 24, 2009
Messages
5,891
Likes
1,143
Location
Dubai / Mumbai
ilango[speed thirst];22812 said:
though i have no experience in heavy vehicles , i have contacts with tourist cab and van\bus operators here.

From them , i learnt that though coupling ac with engine is good , fixing additional gen-set for the same is same. Just the gen set's cost is initial. Over all fuel comes almost exact.


So eicher's plus is exact need that you are looking for.

1. additional gen-set one time expense.
2. Stress in cars engine is not experienced , so good to drive.
3.It has longer chassis (same running cost as in Al but more passenger a big plus)
4.Eicher has non crde(not so complicated structure) , low on your maintain cost.

5. If at all you are going to sell it after 4 to 5 years , remove the gen-set

So i think eicher is best for you . minimum maintenance , much efficient and more mileage


This is purely my idea with just ideas from talking to taxi operator friends!
what you said is true ilango. fixing an engine for the eicher is just a one time expense, but if it can be avoided, why not?

Am also not very experienced in this segment!! But from Ilango's point of view the first 3 points suggest you go for an Eicher!! But isnt the AL also non-crde Ilango??

But we will be able to get a clear picture after getting the quotation for AL also!!
yes, i am waiting to get the final quotation from AL before deciding.

I personally don’t have much idea on commercial vehicles, especially the buses but perhaps you could give a thought to new Force Traveler which has nice looks and accommodates 14 passengers. You can also easily modify as per your needs but before you’ll need to check about After Sales & Dealer Network in your area. Link to their official website :Force Motors :: Traveller:

Image

Drive Safe,
350Z
the traveller was first in our minds vibhor. we even had gone to a guy who does custom modifications to the interiors of the traveller. he had quoted us a rate of 2.8 lakhs to completely modify the interiors & some subtle/minor changes to the exterior like side skirts, rear bumper, spare tyre on boot door, spoiler, etc.

but now we want atleast a 25 seater bus, so the traveller is out of question.

Maybe he can think about this one???
lol aditya, that was a good one. [;)]

This is excellent idea, for Indian travellers.


How about Tata Start Bus
Image

or Swaraj Mazda
Image

Both are good and is used for my company's transport.
no, the starbus is too simple looking & interiors are very plain too.
 

350Z

Core Team
Joined
Aug 10, 2009
Messages
21,165
Likes
7,834
Location
New Delhi
the traveller was first in our minds vibhor. we even had gone to a guy who does custom modifications to the interiors of the traveller. he had quoted us a rate of 2.8 lakhs to completely modify the interiors & some subtle/minor changes to the exterior like side skirts, rear bumper, spare tyre on boot door, spoiler, etc.

but now we want atleast a 25 seater bus, so the traveller is out of question.
Ok, but it was one of the best looking bus, Anyways, Since you need seating capacity of 25 Passengers, How about looking for the shrunken version of full sized buses like this one, I don't have much idea about their brand etc. but you can do a research for details.

Drive Safe,
350Z
 

Attachments

350Z

Core Team
Joined
Aug 10, 2009
Messages
21,165
Likes
7,834
Location
New Delhi
yes, we are expecting something on that lines vibs. a shrunken version of our current bus.
So you must have already started researching. Which all brands offer such compressed buses? or will you build it separately as you did with your bigger buses? Keep us updated.

Drive Safe,
350Z
 
Thread Starter #14
Joined
Aug 24, 2009
Messages
5,891
Likes
1,143
Location
Dubai / Mumbai
right time now i am more worried about the issue in the AL buses regarding the brakes, so i am keeping a watch. the way AL responds to our issue will highly influence our further decisions.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Top Bottom