Hyundai Creta SX Executive Petrol Manual - Buying Experience by the ClicktoBuy process
This is my first post in the forum and hopefully can provide a good writeup on my buying experience of Hyundai Creta SX Executive Petrol Manual. Apologies as I could not understand where to place this post. Help from Admin would be highly appreciated.
Background - Why did I need to buy a new car
I was happily driving my Diesel Honda Amaze 1st Gen 2013 model (will post a ownership review later) and the car was kept in pristine condition (interiors + exterior). It was around 8yrs old and had clocked 115000 km but still the pickup, mileage and condition was excellent. Somehow I feel those old Hondas were better put together (although Honda always lagged in features) and did not have any rattling noises or sound from interior panels.
The main factors for considering the new car
- Safety, No Airbags in the S Model, though it came with ABS and EBD - This was the main driver
- The engine had started to develop minor leakage from the wall area. During a routine service SA advised to fix it (approx. cost 20-25k) if I intend to keep the car.
- Steering had started to develop a sound/play which could be heard if turned hard (approx. cost 35k)
- Lack of Modern day features, even by 2013 standard this Amaze was pretty bare bones. Though I had upgraded the ICE to a 9" Android Touchscreen unit.
Requirements and consideration- It should have better space than the Amaze
- Power should be more or equivalent of the Amaze
- More features than the current car - actually any modern car would have it
- Manual Petrol because of the Car Price Factor, Diesel would be approx 1.5L more expensive , similarly Automatic would be also expensive
- Price range 12-13L
- Fuss Free Ownership Experience - Coming from a Honda, the service experience with free pickup and drop, transparent communication, fuss free insurance claims has become my benchmark in ASS.
- Non Black Interior - Coming from an All Beige interior from the Amaze, this was a must have thing. Airy cabin with sense of space.
- I love doing long road trips and in the Amaze there wasn’t any uncomfortable niggles for the driver or the passengers even after 12-13 hrs of driving. So the car should be comfortable for long drives both for the driver and backseat passengers.
Options Considered
• Kia Sonet - The day this car was released I had shortlisted it based on the features that were being offered. The HTX iMT version was looking extremely tempting esp. with the iMT version which I still believe would have been relaxing to drive in City. Even my wife who has a problem with clutch and gears and cars stalling would have found this easier as it was practically impossible to stall the iMT. But when I saw the car in person the interior space was quite low. REJECTED
• Honda City - Coming from a Honda Stable it was a quite obvious choice and kind of a dream car from teenage. It checked all the required boxes for sure and the cabin had lots and lots of space and a sense of premiumness. All the safety related aspects was also covered even from the base variant. The manual VX model was within my budget also and seemed a most VFM proposition. The ZX with the 15+ onroad price point was too high, but had the eye catching LED Headlight. Took a TD and ivTec Petrol engine was very impressed with the smooth, refined engine and the pull of the vtec when pushed harder. Also the sound in the higher rev range was true music to the ears. Suspension was also on the softer side, good for the city potholes I guess. But and a big but. The experience somehow felt similar to the Amaze. Same beige interiors with practically a similar design, similar seating position, similar viewing angles made things extremely similar. Good or bad but the newness quotient was missing. Also being a sedan the low ground clearance and the larger front overhung was sure to graze inclines and surfaces. SHORTLISTED
• Hyundai Creta - Sold on the Panoramic Sunroof. The WOW factor was immediately evident when the huge sunroof opened. It ticked all the required boxes except the price. Space, Comfort, Light interiors, decent petrol engine and the sunroof. My wife and son simple loved the sunroof and was not willing to consider any other car without a panoramic sunroof. Took a TD of the Petrol and the Diesel manual. Felt the diesel engine with low RPM high torque was better for city driving and also cruising on the highway. Diesel engine was way refined than the Honda unit but again the 1.25L premium price for the diesel motor did not make any sense and decided to stick to the petrol manual NA engine (more on that later). Also since I had previously driven the 1st Gen Creta (courtesy Zoomcar) for long journeys I was confident of the comfort factor in long drives both as a driver and passenger. It is a comfortable car. SHORTLISTED
• Kia Seltos - Again a car which ticked all the right boxes along with the best looks(personally) for all the cars. . Did not take a TD of the NA Petrol Manual but had driven the GTX Petrol Manual once and was floored with the equipment list and the digital instrument cluster and the 360 degree camera. But that was way expensive. The HTX Petrol manual was around 20-30k more expensive than the SX Executive but it lacked the PANORAMIC SUNROOF. Paying extra and not getting a panoramic sunroof was something that was absolutely not acceptable to my better half. REJECTED
Then the offer which I could not refuse
My wife said, buy the Creta with the panoramic sunroof and she would bear half the cost (half of the down payment and half of EMI), else any other car without a panoramic sunroof, there would be 0 contribution from her.
Buying Experience - The biggest risk of my life in terms of money
So with all decided in favor of Creta, I checked into multiple showrooms for the best price available. What became evident is 3 things
- SX Discontinued, SX Executive was the best value for money option (With the panoramic sunroof). No fancy color preference like Galaxy Blue or Lava Orange.
- No offers, not even a foot mat free.
- Minimum 2months+ of waiting time
So on my birthday 20th August, I drove onto the nearest Hyundai Showroom (will name later if asked) made a deal for Mulberry Red SX Executive for a deal price of 14.30L including 4&5 yr extended warranty. Insurance is to taken from outside which the dealer flatly refused saying they are not going to take the booking. So after a lot of persuasion the deal was done with the assurance that the loan would be done by the dealer and best rate would be provided to me. Booked for 5000, with a assured delivery by October 1st Week (before Puja) or just after Puja as motor vehicle registration would be closed during Puja.
September 2nd Week - Got a call from the Sales Representative saying a SX Executive in White Color Available immediately - Rejected
September 3rd Week - 2 more offers, Grey SX Executive available immediately - Rejected as I wanted Darker Shades. SXO IVT in white color available. Rejected due to price
All these while the Sales Representative was very confident of the car being delivered in the 1st Week of October. But on Sep 22, he called me and said there is an acute crunch of Creta deliveries and people are waiting in the queue since 5-6 months. My case also he is not sure when it will be available, maybe in Feb 2022. Crestfallen, I asked him to refund my booking amount and he asked me for a day.
One of my friends (or friend of friend) who had booked the same version from a different dealer two weeks before me also had the same fate with the dealer not giving any assurance or timeline when the car would be available. When pressurized the other dealer also asked the guy to come and collect the booking amount
Clicktobuy to the rescue
On 22nd September evening, got a call from the sales representative saying there is a process by which car could be delivered within 15 days max. Hyundai online car purchasing process via ClicktoBuy. My 1st reaction was that I am not going to pay a single penny more than the deal amount. He said the deal amount would be honored and asked me to visit the showroom the next day to complete the process. Searched in the internet and TeamBhp forums but could not find much on click to buy and definitely nothing on the priority delivery.
September 23
Went to the showroom to understand what the process was going to be. Basically it’s the same portal which you can access from your home except in this case a PROMO code from the dealer was keyed in. So what this PROMO code does is that it shows the inventory and makes the booking a priority booking.
So what's the catch here. The sales guy was assuring me based on things he has heard and communicated, the new car would be allocated within 5 days. But I was going to be the 1st use case of this priority delivery from their showroom/group.
Advantages of this process
- Entirely online in Hyundai Portal
- Loan to be processed via this portal only and was kind of providing me the best rate from my preferred vendors
- Assured Priority Delivery - this was being said by the dealer, not the portal. Caveat was that Black and White options were only available and I had to forego the Mulberry Red for Phantom Black
Now the risk factor
- Entire amount to be paid within 48 hrs. window (Loan + Down payment)
- Loan would be auto processed based on the AUTO APPROVAL based on your PAN and the amount you want to avail.
- Down payment to be done to an account slip generated via the portal. Later upon verification came to know if was a virtual account from ICICI, created only for this transaction. Everything would go to Hyundai bypassing the dealer.
- So basically I was making an upfront payment for a car which I did not check (PDI before payment and registration). My car buying processing is very simple. Book -> Car comes to the dealership -> Inspect -> Rest of the Payment -> Registration. But in this case I was not following the prescribed process.
- Any delay in Delivery would mean my down payment amount is blocked with Hyundai and I would be starting with the EMIs without having the car. [Biggest Concern]
- Also concerning was that I was not doing a PDI before payment. But the sales guy assured me a PDI before registration.
September 24
Discussed with a couple of my friends and relatives. No one has bought/heard anything via this process and could not vouch for or against this. So after much deliberations decided to go ahead with it. Down payment was to be done via NEFT and I went to the nearest bank to do it. Amount credited to Hyundai's account within 2 hrs. and the same was reflecting in the portal. The status changed from Pending Payment to Priority Order received. What next now? Called by Sales representative and he asked be to wait for 72hrs.
Sleepless 3 nights. Did I just commit the biggest monetary blunder of my life?
September 27
Like the COWIN website I was constantly refreshing the Hyundai Click to Buy website for a status change. And it happened. Status changed from Priority Order Received to DISPATCH from FACTORY! What! I called the Sales Representative, he checked internally and said car has been allocated and it will be shipped and shared with me the VIN Number.
September 29
Car shipped from Chennai, as per the dealer would take around 10-12 days to reach the dealership
October 12
Car arrived at Dealer Stockyard. But due to Puja vacations dealership will open on 18th Oct ( I was also out of Kolkata)
October 23
Visited the dealership stockyard and did a PDI. Happily asked him to proceed for registration. Motor Vehicle Kolkata would open on Oct 25th.
October 30
Delivery post registration and number allocation. So basically the entire process took for me. Sep 24-Oct 30. Time was lost due to the Puja vacations but nevertheless car was delivered and driven before the FIRST EMI was deducted!
Happy to take any questions on the Click to Buy Process.
Kudos to the sales representative who went out of his defined process to provide me the car through this alternative process. I asked them why they were willing to go the extra mile to deliver a car for which I had not taken the insurance from them and also bargained for a 10k discount! And why was I the chosen one…But did not get any reply!
Upcoming Post :
- Hyundai Creta Ownership Experience with a point for view based on my previous car Honda Amaze
- Honda Amaze Ownership Experience after 1lakh Km.