Starting To Buy My New Car (Read Replacing 16 Year Old Workhorse Maruti Zen)

[Suryaputhra]

I believe certified engineers will know better than non certified general public. One can not become Engineer or Doctor reading books. If this debate is between engineers in respective fields then it is trustful.

The man asked for new car advice but debate always going between two brands this is not good. New members feel awkward.

 

[Akash1886]

I believe certified engineers will know better than non certified general public. One can not become Engineer or Doctor reading books. If this debate is between engineers in respective fields then it is trustful.

Enthusiasm is not defined by profession. Anyone with experience and knowledge about cars can and should be allowed to share their opinions. Professions have nothing to do with a open forum.

The man asked for new car advice but debate always going between two brands this is not good. New members feel awkward.

When there are 100s and 1000s of members participating in a discussion, agreement and disagreement happen.

Regards

Akash

 

[Suryaputhra]

If it is the case then open non certified general public can design cars. Enthusiasm has limits it can not define engineering design. Simple example when designing engine cooling system there is a sub section called heat and mass transfer of applied thermodynamics which is of a very great difficult subject.

 

[kkn13]

Though I already replied (vide my post # 31 above), a very interesting post came in another TAI thread on FE Vs Safety.

Member Acechip writes, "a large goat/sheep jumped in front of (friend's) Vento traveling at about 80 kph ... the front bumper/grill and part of the headlight were damaged ... any other lighter car, there would have surely been additional damage ... (friend) is now fully satisfied in buying a well-built German car even if it gives him a meager average ...".

The Force due to hitting a "20-25 kg animal at 80ish speeds" is NOT small. In a lighter car with THIN SHEET METAL PANELS, the Bonnet Hood could have collapsed before passing the impact to the Chassis. With thicker sheet metal (which is less plastic), the force of impact gets transferred to the Chassis, as intended; the more rugged Chassis then takes over.

An Engine Bay under a damaged hood is more prone for additional damages; could have resulted in an Immobile Car. The Driver would have been left to deal with local people trying to make quick buck. Buggers would start with Rs 30,000 and settle for Rs 15,000/- . May be the day's program would need to be canceled too. Waste of time and waste of money. Solidly built Vento helped Acechip's friend avoid all those unnecessary tensions. Kudos.

The link to Acechip's post is here. Any thread on Safety in any forum has the potential to help OP and others looking to buy a new car to choose wisely.

Even then, I doubt purely sheet metal is the key here
Good chassis design is more important here
However there are other factors too to consider such as angle of bonnet , point of impact, which could change everything
PS- Bumpers are plastic in all cars these days and are generally polycarbonate, which is almost shatter proof and has high strength, tensile etc, it can still be dented though
Given the bonnet angle and height of cars like Verna and City, its possible impact will mean the goat will be thrown upwards using the bonnet as a slope

I hold a PGDP diploma for plastics and other materials

 

[vijay_968]

@ kkn13

Great man, I'm zero in these :-)

BTW, poor OP Mr. Quickboy. We have sort of hijacked his thread

Hope Lawyer Sahab is able to concentrate on his Prime agenda.

 

[kkn13]

@ kkn13

Great man, I'm zero in these :-)

BTW, poor OP Mr. Quickboy. We have sort of hijacked his thread

Hope Lawyer Sahab is able to concentrate on his Prime agenda.

Not zero, your explanation has good reasoning as such and very civil

I should mention, Vento has a slightly better stability at insane speeds than the competition(Note the words - Insane speeds ie >160 :D )

Sorry Mr Quickboy, dont worry, we shall help you select the ideal car for your requirements - be it Maruti,Tata or any brand you fancy

 

[QuickBoy]

Well we did a tour of car dealerships here today. Toyota, Tata, Honda, Ford Nexa and Maruti and two accidental finds, will come to that later in the story.
Nexa and Maruti guys were most cordial and courteous of all as usual , They even knew my name when I stopped the vehicle(Zen )and walked in. I asked them how do they know my name, They showed me the pc screen they have put in my vehicle number and even my mob. No is there and explained they have fullservice records and My zen is due for next regular service next month and they will call.Impressed !!.

checked most cars there. Maruti and Nexa people wanted us to check out all cars, even if we are not interested and explained features of each and everyone of them. My son collected handful of glossies from there too.

Now when we reached HOnda showroom. My wife suddenly seen to be very much hooked up with Jass CVT. She did a TD, with me and Junior in
the meantime, in total surprised how easy she handles it. while I was left wondering "is this the same women, who finds my Zen intimidating.!"

Well the trouble came now, While on TD she noticed two more showrooms in the same road. and wanted to check them too. So went to volkswagen and Fiat
too. and had a detailed look there too.

TATA told us their TD can be done on Saturday, and please fix the time. Now by the time, we reached home, The list of initial probables were prepared. There was a dispute going on between the Junior and his mom. He dont want IGNIS in her probability list. Well solved it by saying "let her choose her car,You can choose the one I will be buying and agreed upon that one.

So madame's list (Well if it looks different from popular opinions, It is)

1. Punto (no automatic, but looks the best and feels the best for some reason, want a TD, was not available today)
2. Honda Jaaz CVT (that looks the best and TD went fine)
3. TATA TIGOR AMT or Tiago AMT (provided the dealer fits the reverse camera)
4. Ignis AMT (that was always in shopping list anyway, my list I mean)
5. POLO automatic --- booked a TD by herself (looks classy,well the interior is great to touch, for some reason it smells the best too, any idea on these?. touch and smell of car?)

She will take all the glossies for opinion in the staff room tomorrow and then decide).
Junior has now only three in the list
1. Brezza
2. Ecosport
3. Etios cross

The tour and results have taken me by absolute surprise. If it was women who decide car buying, I seriously doubt Maruti will be in contention. But my son likes the Brezza most. Even though he would like to get a wr-v like sunroof in it.

One thing is sure. We need to have two cars, Both of us are looking for two different products and there is no car with all those options anyway.

 

[kkn13]

Get a hatch(Jazz,Ignis, Tiago) and an Ecosport
Also Ertiga might be best of both worlds if you want,though 2 cars is probably better idea if you have the budget

IMHO Jazz CVT and Ecosport are the best combo

 

[QuickBoy]

Did a TD of TATA tiago XZA today. The car they brought had done jsut 25 kms, Not even a Reg No is there. Both me and my wife took drives. Liked it
We are going for the Vehicle. It is full VFM.
some slight annoyances
1. When I keep the brakes pressed with knob in reverse on a descent and try to turn the steering full right and left. Some sound does come. (a slight krr...krr at the ends)
2. Take off is a little jerky with sports mode
3. Clutch engages a liitle late for my taste and feels it on an incline
Good ones
Superb AC, Comfy seats, all bells and whistles available in automatic. I dont feel so much NVH as they tend to project in online review)
Ride was quiet nice, no jarring or huge khadas when hitting most self-respecting potholes even at 30-40kmph
Music system takes a little meddling to get the BASS thing lowered and to get the vocals out clearly
All together very nice, Forgot to add even in this condition while I was driving the MID was showing 16.7 kms at about 55kms of speed. The vehicle was showing 5th gear . wow
around a 65kmph cruise for about three four kms on straight road it was going up to 19.6kmpl. Is that a mistake or real !! for a car which shows just 20-30kms total that is awesome if true

 

[QuickBoy]

Meanwhile the construction begins for a newer shed to accomodate the new guest

That is one Mango Tree less now

Well the TD vehicle reached the place, A lot of work is going on, Well this may become a familiar sight in a month or so

One last query Which colour of this model is the easiest to maintain?
And how do I stop the pictures from repeating again on the post?

 

[Nanofreak]

Did a TD of TATA tiago XZA today. The car they brought had done jsut 25 kms, Not even a Reg No is there. Both me and my wife took drives. Liked it
We are going for the Vehicle. It is full VFM.
some slight annoyances
1. When I keep the brakes pressed with knob in reverse on a descent and try to turn the steering full right and left. Some sound does come. (a slight krr...krr at the ends)
2. Take off is a little jerky with sports mode
3. Clutch engages a liitle late for my taste and feels it on an incline
Good ones
Superb AC, Comfy seats, all bells and whistles available in automatic. I dont feel so much NVH as they tend to project in online review)
Ride was quiet nice, no jarring or huge khadas when hitting most self-respecting potholes even at 30-40kmph
Music system takes a little meddling to get the BASS thing lowered and to get the vocals out clearly
All together very nice, Forgot to add even in this condition while I was driving the MID was showing 16.7 kms at about 55kms of speed. The vehicle was showing 5th gear . wow
around a 65kmph cruise for about three four kms on straight road it was going up to 19.6kmpl. Is that a mistake or real !! for a car which shows just 20-30kms total that is awesome if true

Congrats on choosing the best VFM tiago XZA, I had a strong feeling that, once you and your family do a serious TD, you will love it.

I've it's step half-sister the Nano XTA, and we both enjoy using this more than Wagon R.

Just a few precautions, put the car in N on stop lights and long halts in bumper to bumper traffic. You will love the creep modes both in the A & R drive.

Regards
Vinod

 

[Akash1886]

Did a TD of TATA tiago XZA today. Both me and my wife took drives. Liked it
We are going for the Vehicle. It is full VFM.

Congrats buddy! Finally a deserving car won the battle. After owning Tigor, I must add, for the price it is sold, in the segment, no-one can even dare to be as VFM. I got the Tigor top spec On-Road in less than 7L what else can one ask comparing to the segment.

One last query Which colour of this model is the easiest to maintain?

A Silver one will be best and easiest to maintain.

And how do I stop the pictures from repeating again on the post?

Prior to clicking the reply button, do preview of the post and if the pics are repeating, then, check the attachment manager and if need be try and re-attach the pics.

Regards

Akash

 

[vijay_968]

Meanwhile the construction begins for a newer shed to accomodate the new guest

image

That is one Mango Tree less now

Well the TD vehicle reached the place, A lot of work is going on, Well this may become a familiar sight in a month or so
image

One last query Which colour of this model is the easiest to maintain?
And how do I stop the pictures from repeating again on the post?

Dust on Car "catches eye" MORE on Darker shades while "dust doesn't catch eye THAT PROMINENTLY" on lighter shades. Car owners normally don't get bored for years with least offensive "White and Silver" colors. White dominates sales charts for this reason only.

BTW, I found this Zigwheel test drive report (link) on Tiago XZA AMT throws more light on your choice. I feel every potential buyer looking for a Rs 6 Lakh Car (on road price) should read it and TD this car before committing on any other model.

 

[QuickBoy]

Well Told TATA dealer I will take it, But will book after December I need to get a 2018 manufactured car, I will loose a whole year in R.C if I buy a 2017 one now. So will book accordingly. Of course I know there is a lot of offers like one rupee insurance and stuff like that to sell this years stock nowadays. But in any case since this is going to be changed in about four or five years I would like to keep the R.C entry as 2018 only will wait for about 15th January and will instruct them to get a 2018 one only. That should help me get a better exchange value when I change this one. And of course if TATA keeps up the current style of Business even I may change My car which is the next project . I have a Sedan in my mind and hope the much talked about Prima may be the one !! will wait for that one now. Tiago XZA is decided to be the one for this purchase.

 

[Akash1886]

Well Told TATA dealer I will take it, But will book after December I need to get a 2018 manufactured car, I will loose a whole year in R.C if I buy a 2017 one now. So will book accordingly. Of course I know there is a lot of offers like one rupee insurance and stuff like that to sell this years stock nowadays. But in any case since this is going to be changed in about four or five years I would like to keep the R.C entry as 2018 only will wait for about 15th January and will instruct them to get a 2018 one only. Tiago XZA is decided to be the one for this purchase.

Though the Tiago is a fast moving car in terms of sales for TML, I feel, even in Jan-2018 you'll probably get a 2017 model Vin number because like you many others will hold back their purchase being year-end and there by creating inventory of 2017 models. If you want a 2018 model then buy that in February end 2018 or March.

Regards

Akash