[sajusherief]

Originally Posted by tez

maybe ask your friend to cancel his booking and see the fun...

Originally Posted by supremeBaleno

It is over-confidence and even arrogance when a seller says "no offer will ever come on so and so car".

But I dont think so. As long as common perception of 'high resale value' for swift exist, i dont see even the slightest chance for it's demand to come down for atleast next 4 years !

PS: But never i mean to say that it's a bad car, it definitely deserves to be the nation's best seller as an overall package !

[Jaggu]

Yes the sales definitely seems to have come down, markets are choppy world over and spending is very cautious, so obviously spending on luxury item like cars have come down. But on the ground when you approach a dealer for a vehicle, discounts are also not that great. After serious haggling you get free insurance and some loyalty bonus, which is across almost all brands (not so new models ie). But apart from that, not much of discounts.

All this talk about 20% discount is still a mystery to me?!

[supremeBaleno]

I also don't know of any discount on Swifts in Kerala. What I did hear and which surprised me no end was the fact that Swift-Ds were available off the shelf, but there was a waiting period on the petrol versions. Exact opposite of what was the situation till some months ago. I think this could be because MSIL dropped production on their petrol lines recently due to low demand and not really due to the 50p per month hike in diesel prices.

Originally Posted by sajusherief

As long as common perception of 'high resale value' for swift exist,

We would be going off-track focussing on Swifts, since this is about cars in general, but since you mentioned it, I also thought the resale was overhyped, but was floored to see the resale value in the following post on another thread.

Originally Posted by swiftdiesel

My previous car was a Swift Vdi 2009 model.
Showroom price: 570000 (2009)
Sold in 2012 after an accident and 60000 kms later for 500000 (5 lakhs)

[hellmet]

Like someone once said "growth for the sake of growth is like cancer". If the market has slowed down due to 'n' reasons, then it should let be. Artificially trying to encourage growth by lowering interest rates (cheaper loans) or subsidizing fuel may provide temporary growth but it could all come crashing down later. Markets are self healing and will find a way to adjust to the new situation. And who knows, this might even liven up our used car market a bit.

[tj123]

To have a sustained growth, the interest rates have to come down drastically as cars are generally a depreciating asset. Somehow none of the monetary measures (bank rate policy, cash reserve ratio etc. ) are working and bringing the inflation under control. High inflation and high interest rates are like a vicious circle, coupled with other political , job uncertainty, fuel price and other market factors are slowing thing down across the board.

In general cars (small/mid-size) are priced at a significantly higher rate compared to average middle class annual earnings, this has to change to boost consumption. Car prices have gone up significantly in the name of high commodity prices and rupee devaluation.

Low demand has finally arrived at Maruti’s doorsteps and discount’s on flagship model as Swift is an leading indicator of deep trouble. Pipeline of new launches from Honda and Ford can also be attributed to low demand as informed people are delaying their purchases. We can see anticipate much deeper discounts if things don’t turn around soon.

[apachelongbow]

True indicator of a sluggish economy is when commercial vehicle sales dip. As of now, I dont think there is any severe dip in commercial vehicle sales.
Also its quite stupid of India to go in for a car based economy like USA. We simply dont have the land/resources or oil reserves to ape them. A more sustainable way is to build up public transport and renewable sources of energy to fuel vehicles.
PC's tax on vehicles and increasing fuel prices have curbed this ever growing demand for new cars, high interest rates have also helped.

Most of the inflation is caused by black money circulating in the market, black money hoarders are not affected if the interest rates keep increasing. The only way to curb this menace is to prevent black money transactions. Simple measures like any asset sold over x amount will need Pan card details of the buyer will stop black monied people from spending their loot.

[rajeev k]

Originally Posted by supremeBaleno

I also don't know of any discount on Swifts in Kerala. What I did hear and which surprised me no end was the fact that Swift-Ds were available off the shelf, but there was a waiting period on the petrol versions.

I talked to a Maruti dealer's sales person on Swift diesels and was told that is available off the shelf, selective colpurs but no discounts or freebies as yet. On Ritz discount ids Rs 25000 and a similar amount as exchange bonus.
But Dezire buyers still have to do some waiting. My friend is getting a Dezire petrol after 55 days of waiting and was told that petrol engines are not made everyday.
Another funny aspect is that an Ernakulam used car dealer told me two days ago that demand for small petrol used cars have increased slightly of late. I was, in fact discussing with him the sale of my Alto.

[sajusherief]

can i comprehend it like this - This is the best time to buy a car! Almost all manufactures are offering heavy discounts and a lot of accessories as freebies ! Had i not bought my car last year definitely i would have gone for it this year. Then, i wonder what's holding back the potential buyers to buy a new car and thus a sluggish automotive industry ?

[JoshMachine]

What goes up, must come down!
Every economic instituition - be it a macro market like export/import at a national level or a relatively "micro" one like the domestic car market needs to correct itself in order to be sustainable over a long term. In other words, all markets follow the classical sinusoidal wave pattern resulting in bull (high demand) and bear (considerably low demand) phases.
We can see this phenomenon across - equity markets, domestic car market, real estate..you name it!

[ARG]

Originally Posted by sajusherief

can i comprehend it like this - This is the best time to buy a car! Almost all manufactures are offering heavy discounts and a lot of accessories as freebies ! Had i not bought my car last year definitely i would have gone for it this year. Then, i wonder what's holding back the potential buyers to buy a new car and thus a sluggish automotive industry ?

That, my friend, is economics!

The scene should go further in favor of the buyer, in the next couple of months. Sadly, does not help my case. I've finally committed delivery of my car to my buyer next week, and plan to take delivery of a new car the week after.

And Ford, you lost another one from the Ecosport queue.


On the bright side, I might be in the market for another car, by Q32013.

[sri2012]

Originally Posted by apachelongbow

True indicator of a sluggish economy is when commercial vehicle sales dip. As of now, I dont think there is any severe dip in commercial vehicle sales.
Also its quite stupid of India to go in for a car based economy like USA. We simply dont have the land/resources or oil reserves to ape them. A more sustainable way is to build up public transport and renewable sources of energy to fuel vehicles..

I completely agree with you on your views on "public transport".

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/commer...ary-trend.html

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/commer...own-india.html

With regards to commercial vehicle sales, the market is bleeding for more than 6 moths now. Market Leaders are having pay-cuts, reduction of working days.

And this is expected to continue for atleast 4-6more months.
This is very unfortunate. Lets hope for the best.

[moralfibre]

The Times of India report an update on the situation:

News article.

I eagerly await Team-bhp's report on March 2013 sales figures.