I took delivery of the truck on 15th of last month and have clocked about 1050 kms so far and due for 1st service. Before, I forget the experience which is still fresh in my mind let me share my experiences of buying and initial ownership experience of Safari. I will base my write-up on Dadu’s initial experience thread which I found well structured and informative.
Why Tata Safari
Already have a car (Wagon-R, VXi, 2002, ~42600kms). Wanted second car, mainly for weekends and occasional extended guests.
Cars considered:
- Corolla Altis top end (MT)– was floored by smoothness of engine, interiors, features and champagne red color (no black in Altis [FONT=Wingdings]L[/FONT]) in the showroom. Salesman was very warm and courteous too. After excise cut, was almost decided to book it. Black Altis not available- another reason, worked against it.
- Honda Civic- top end MT – Pune dealer/salesman was a put off. He didn’t value our time and probably didn’t take us seriously. Didn’t turn up with TD vehicle. Probably, he looked at my small car and gauged my wallet size as much ;-). Anyways, both missus and self didn’t quite like overall looks- too funky and sporty for me. We like classic and sober stuffs.
- Innova and Scorpio – ruled out due to looks and owners' profile etc by both missus and self.
Why Tata Safari:- Looks (love at first sight), long time cherished goal of owning one ever since saw the 1st release circa 1998.
- Value for money
- Road presence
- Liked the power, field of view and overall feel during TD
- Already have a car, buying another sedan will intersect with utilities and it will just be ‘another’ car.
- Loyalty to brand Tata (both wifey and me grew up in hinterlands of Jamshedpur) and “Made in India” patriotic feeling.
Apprehensions
-Negative user comments
-Niggling issues reported
-Touch and feel of interiors, plastic, rattles etc.
Discounted the apprehensions and went ahead with heart. My earlier experience, of buying Royal Enfield on similar gut, haven’t made me regret after.
Buying Experience
Negotiated with all dealers. TD with two. None offered any cash discount other than already stipulated by TML. The offers of two (Pandit Auto and B U Bhandari) were at par. Other dealer did not look very professional. Didn’t have a TD vehicle. Used the showroom piece (EX variant) for TD and asked for 50% OTR as booking amount. BuB, Pashan was nearest from my place of dwelling and had a polite salesman. They had a VX 4x4 version (early 2.2 release, ~25000kms) for TD. Test drove 4 times with them, including a 4x4 mode demo on a remote construction site before making final decision to go with them.
Delivery period committed was 3-4 weeks (note 4x4 is usually made to order and not readily available with TML) with following freebies:
- Ext warranty 5k
- Corp Discount 6k
- Underboady coating
- Waxoyl + matting + mud flaps
Expected to receive keys by 3rd week and present it as a wedding anniversary gift to wifey but did not get it [FONT=Wingdings]L[/FONT]. The salesman I was speaking to left job and for about a week I had no update on the delivery. After I spoke to GM of BuB, everything started moving ok and finally got the delivery within committed period of 1 month. All commitments were met without any ifs/buts, contrary to stories of false promises.
Overall, I would recommend B U Bhandari, Pashan.
Delivery
Went on 15th Feb, Sunday, 11AM for delivery with T-BHP checklist. I had already downloaded the PDF of Safari Owner’s Manual from TML site and read it couple of times- this helped me to augment the T-BHP checklist.
The vehicle was washed clean, but, none of the committed accessories was done as the vehicle was received from TML on Saturday afternoon and Sunday, being a holiday, their workshop was closed. A small puja was arranged by them and photos were clicked. Paperwork was already done and kept ready. Warranty for tyres and PUC was not present. As per them it is reckoned as per delivery date. Other usual documents (battery warranty, immobilizer/ICE remote and manual/vehicle manual) was given. Extd warranty booklet was not ready as vehicle was not yet registered.
Odo reading was 53kms. I immediately noticed the missing 4x4 decals on sides. The delivery executive from BuB also noted it and immediately contacted their store in-charge to check with TML. Also noticed the old style "Safari" spare wheel cover. Liked it.
Following things were agreed to be completed by Tuesday:
1. 4x4 decals, if available
2. RTO Registration
3. Insurance Cover note
4. Extd warranty
5. Underbody coating +waxoyl+matting+mud flaps
6. Right rear door knob was protruding out a wee bit (to be fixed in 1st service).
Since, the truck did not have a number and insurance, I drove it home carefully and parked it quietly. I was looking out for unusual noise like power steering hissing, krr krr, engine hiccup etc on the way. But did not feel them on my short journey (~5kms) back home. Also noticed that it took a while (almost reached my home) before the engine temp indicator moved from extreme left. I was confused, as wagon-r warms up in a mater of minutes if not few seconds. Googled around and was comforted by the fact that diesel engines loose less heat and hence takes a longer time to warm up.
Waited impatiently for two days and took the car back to BuB, Pashan on Wednesday for the remaining work. Everything was done except #1 as decals were out of stock and it was placed on order with TML.
Initial drive
After number plate, the odo reading was ~90kms. Filled 500/- worth of shell super diesel and took it out for a short spin on NH4 bypass… all the while worrying about tales of service light, krr krr, hiss, hiccups etc. But, none of them surface in my short drive of about 20kms or so.
1st day in office was interesting. People queued up wanting to get a ride in the truck. The moment I unlocked through remote, folks huddled to get into front and middle rows. Finally, 8 full adults, including me, went on for a luncheon to veer-da-dhaba. Touched 80+, other than the grunt of diesel, there were no more sound. Peace. Meanwhile, 4x4 decals arrived and were fixed and every now and then as opportunity presented, kept doing small, small rides, 80kmph/2500 RPM experiments etc. But did not face any issues so far. Touch wood. Feeding the beast on Shell Super Diesel.
Finally, last weekend, took out the beast for some cruising on Pune->Nashik highway to Bhandardara. Did about ~550 kms of tarmac (NH-50) and broken roads (Otur -> Brahmanwada), state highway (SH-46) and some off roading (Randha falls, Amruteshwar and near by hills), tested 4H too. No issues. The truck held its ground very well. I will post the ride in a separate travelogue. In the process, I have just crossed 1k mark on odo and the beast is due for first service.
Some issues that I found so far are:
- Wind turbulence noise around pilot window. Getting used to it. Now not that irritating.
- Rear door rattles after otur->brahmanwada (~20kms) ride on broken road through ghat. Felt like the spare wheel cover causing the rattle?
- Tail gate cladding is loose towards right edge
- Felt some suspension creaking (driver side) noise when taking a sharp turn downhill with brake pedal pressed to the floor. Normal? Was it due to ABS as the gravels underneath sliding off?
- AC blower speed controller knob on the dash feels bit warm when switched on?
- Rubber stopper missing on rear left door?
- 3 out of 4 door rattles when closed with a thud. Looks like the x-members that hold the glass vibrates?
- Glove box lead rattles- since last drive.
Am I happy?
Yes.
What do I miss?
The new ORVM’s with indicators and 2.2VTT/Dicor metal embossing on the fenders. Added just after a couple of weeks of my delivery.
Will I recommend Tata Safari?
Absolutely yes.
Cheers,
-BJ
19th February 2009, 16:01
(1)
Thanks
you got all of us here in splits by this comment and picture! Good one mate!
What an idea! A bit too late for me to implement this, though - 44kg can make a dent on the roof and a larger one on my pocket @ McDees.
