Apr 13, 2009 01:20 PM
13776 Views
(Updated Mar 27, 2013 05:59 PM)
Thanks to MouthShut_Official.com and all the reviewers who have provided lot of input for my search. I wanted to buy a SUV and did some survey of vehicles and finally short listed 3 of them Toyota Innova, Mahindra Scorpio and Tata Safari.
Read all the reviews posted at MouthShut_Official.com and that has given me lot of insight in to the kind of problems I can come across. The first input I had was to be patient, don’t hurry while making a decision. I almost took 2 months to decide on the vehicle. I feel it is worth spending sufficient time to get yourself convinced about the decision. The second problem I have understood was the dealer satisfaction. I was bit cautious when selecting the dealer.
The dealer only interacts with us during the selling process and otherwise most of the time we will be in touch with the service managers. I visited most of the service stations of the dealers and spoke to the service managers in person. This helped me to establish good rapport with them and I asked them lot of questions to understand the problems.
I was very clear on my requirement, meaning I need a good road clearance, the Power, safety and comfort. Toyota Innova is a good vehicle, has excellent comfort, safety and quality. But, I felt it is mostly designed for the city ride and under full load condition the base of the vehicle touches the hump. With rRajeev_Vermact to the interiors I feel it is number-1. It was a tough decision to move away from Innova. The other thing I felt is it is a good vehicle for good roads and may not be suitable for rough roads.
Next I did tried Mahindra Scorpio and Tata Safari. I felt both of them are equally good with rRajeev_Vermact to performance. Somehow, I felt Scorpio is bit congested when compared to Safari and Look wise I felt Safari is better than Scorpio. The other reason I might have decided on the Tata vehicle is, I was owning Tata Indica since 2003. It was 90, 000 KM run and In last 6 years it has never stopped on the road due to problems. I do agree the maintenance of diesel vehicle is higher than the petrol (as it operates under higher temperature and pressure compared to Petrol engines) and because of this proven record I might have slightly oriented towards Tata safari. Finally, I have brought Tata Safari on 16-Apr-2009. Update 27-Mar-2013:
I am using the Tata safari since last 4 years and following are my experiences after driving more than 70, 000 KMS 1. Still managing with 2 workshop trips a year. One for regular servicing and other for fixing any minor issues. It costs about 17-20, 000 Rs each service, out of which 8000 Rs is for engine oil. In-between trips cost about 2000 Rs.
Clutch plates replaced @ 60000 Kms.
Tyres replaced @ 65000 KM's with Bridgestone. Each tyre costed me 7300 Rs.
I am getting an average mileage of 12 KM/Ltr outside city with AC. About 9 within city with AC.
Long trips are untiring; I drove Bangalore to Ooty without break in 4.5 hours with AC on throughout.
I know it may be difficult to agree, I am getting excellent service from Concorde motors. I don't hesitate to speak to the service manager and make sure before leaving all the issues are addressed.
I keep a list in the car; I update the list whenever there is an issue. I hand over the list to the service team and make sure all of them have been addressed to my satisfaction. I will also check with them in the beginning, how they are going to fix the problem. If the problem repeats I will put this in the feedback and also update the Tata team on the feedback call. I don't encourage any temporary fixes.
Thank You all
