[sdp1975]

Many of you may have read my ownership review of the first car that I owned - my M-800 :

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/long-t...ip-review.html

I've sent her to my home in Kolkata for my parents to use - just could not sell it off. She will always have a special place in my heart.

So it was time for a new car, and the hunt began. With a budget of within 8L, both sedans and hatches were in contention:

1) Swift Diesel : Drove it and liked it. Horribly long waiting period for the vdi(abs). Booked it but later cancelled it after waiting for 1.5 months. Maruti's "take-it-or-leave-it" attitude in selling the swift did not impress me either.

2) Scorpio : Smashing vehicle. The SLE variant was coming to almost 10L on road in Bangalore. Could not afford it. Next time I'll think of it.

3) Fiesta petrol : Took a TD. Great pickup and driver oriented car. Good interiors. But with my long distance travel plans a petrol would not fit in very well.

4) GP - Thought of it initially but dropped it. Listened to my "brain" and had booked the swift instead. With my swift booking cancelled, I read the reviews extensively here, and finally thought of taking my chances with Fiat. Many thanks to the reviewers here, especially GTO and .anshuman towards helping me making a decision.

Took a TD and liked the vehicle, packed with all it's features. I'm not a road scorcher, and I liked the drivability of this car , as opposed to it's lack of outright performance.

With the diwali offer of free insurance, EW and RSA , the OTR of the top end emotion pack came to 7.03 L. The dealer offered just the basic accesories( mats, purfume, flaps that are yet to arrive, and a ganesha idol). The sales person at concorde was courteous, however I wish he was more knowledgeable on the vehicle details.For example, he did not know what engine oil was being used in the car.

I booked the white color that was in stock with them by paying them 25K. Insisted on a PDI, and he got the car to the showroom for inspection.

Apart from some minor instances of rusting that was acceptable, the car looked good. Paid the balance amount and got the car delivered yesterday evening at around 5 PM.Drove down to my home carefully , about 14 km from the dealership.

Woke up today morning as I turned 34 , took her to a temple and got the puja done. During the puja, several people came down and kept asking about the car.

I've just about driven 16 km since yesterday and these are my observations - more or less in conjunction with other reviews here :

1) Solid build quality - at least of the vehicle body. You can make this out while closing the door or lifting the bonnet. Fabulous suspension - excellent ride quality on bad stretches.

2) Good comfortable and spacious front seats. Rear legroom could've been better. However with my height ( I'm 5'6" and I'm the tallest in my family , I should not have any major issues. Boot space is good for a hatch.

3) Great looks and style. Has road presence.

4) Slightly sluggish below the 2K rpm mark. Feels peppy after that. City drivability is good.

5) Rear visibility not great - need to be careful while reversing

6) Packed with features, definitely a VFM proposition. Will take time to understand all of 'em.

7) Interiors are reasonably OK - nothing great

Overall satisfied so far. Taking her out to a temple today on the mysore road - will get a feel of how she behaves on the highway.

More details and pictures coming up soon !

[vijaythacker]

sdp, let me be the first to congratulate you on your italian beauty, its raining punto as well on bhp.superb car with all rich features one wishes to have.White looks cool.Have a great ownership and post some pictures as well.The only thing i didnt liked was its rear seat space which isnt adequate as per my wish, else superb package.

[FanaticOnWheels]

Let me be the first to congratulate you. The Punto is an excellent VFM car. You would have got a load of features that you probably wouldn't get with 10-12L cars in your Punto for 7.03L. Waiting for the pictures.

[Klub Class]

Woww..!! Congratulation for your new buy..Welcome to the Fiat Grande Punto Club .I am also a proud owner of Fiat Grande Punto 1.3 MJD E+ Bossa Nova White

Please do upload loads of pictures and keep updating...Drive her safe...Happy Motoring

[mustiguy]

Hey sdp1975, first of all a hearty congratulations to you. Did you buy it from Concorde Dairy circle branch? If yes then I think I saw your car. I was there to do the PDI of the Punto I have booked. There was one white standing beside my black one. My car will go for registration today, and might take the delivery tomorrow.

Any suggestion on the formalities that needs to be done before delivery? Also concorde guys told me an extra amount of 3500 will be required if I want the registration number to be odd. Is that correct? As Prerna people had told me 2500 when I enquired there before booking the car. Which sales guy you were dealing with?

[phamilyman]

Congrats boss. Please to post pics

KC: Please update your display pic!

[sdp1975]

Originally Posted by mustiguy

Hey sdp1975, first of all a hearty congratulations to you. Did you buy it from Concorde Dairy circle branch? If yes then I think I saw your car. I was there to do the PDI of the Punto I have booked. There was one white standing beside my black one. My car will go for registration today, and might take the delivery tomorrow.

Any suggestion on the formalities that needs to be done before delivery? Also concorde guys told me an extra amount of 3500 will be required if I want the registration number to be odd. Is that correct? As Prerna people had told me 2500 when I enquired there before booking the car. Which sales guy you were dealing with?

Yes I took the delivery from concorde dairy circle branch. Just do a quick PDI for scratches/dents, check the ODO reading one more time before taking the final delivery. They don't take the vehicle to the RTO - the inspector comes there from what I was told - so your ODO reading should be unchanged. Check all the docs ( invoice , RTO tax receipt, EW, insurance, battery warranty etc ).

One thing I missed out was the RSA - they should give me something for the free RSA being offered - have to ask the sales guy again.

I was dealing with Shyam ( Ganshyam Dubey).

IMHO, I think 3,500 or even 2500 is on the higher side just for the number to be odd. See Transport Department. Click on RTO Services ->Advance registration No.

Fancy number charges - not just odd - are 3000. Try negotiating with the dealer - they are already charging 5.5 K for the regn+handling so another 500 or 1000 max should be reasonable.

[allenzaracer]

Congratulations on your purchase. So you are celebrating your birthday today(as per your post) wish you a very happy birthday and hope you have many miles of happy motoring.

And yes your review needs to be updated with some pics of your beauty in white.

[somebodystopme]

Nice color congratulations. Personally even i love white color. MJD is quite drivable in city and a fabulous car nonetheless. Have a wonderful ownership exp.

[mustiguy]

Originally Posted by sdp1975

Yes I took the delivery from concorde dairy circle branch. Just do a quick PDI for scratches/dents, check the ODO reading one more time before taking the final delivery. They don't take the vehicle to the RTO - the inspector comes there from what I was told - so your ODO reading should be unchanged. Check all the docs ( invoice , RTO tax receipt, EW, insurance, battery warranty etc ).

One thing I missed out was the RSA - they should give me something for the free RSA being offered - have to ask the sales guy again.

I was dealing with Shyam ( Ganshyam Dubey).

IMHO, I think 3,500 or even 2500 is on the higher side just for the number to be odd. See Transport Department. Click on RTO Services ->Advance registration No.

Fancy number charges - not just odd - are 3000. Try negotiating with the dealer - they are already charging 5.5 K for the regn+handling so another 500 or 1000 max should be reasonable.

Even I am also dealing with the same guy. He promised me mud flaps and floor mats. Let see how much he sticks to the promise. I felt he is little slow and does not know much about the process etc. He himself admit once that he is new. Just keeping my fingers crossed for a smooth delivery tomorrow. I have not paid them anything extra for the fancy number. Have just told him over phone and he said, he will take care. Lets see how it goes tomorrow. And one more thing. I have seen a priest in the showroom. He was not available to do Puja for your car? Just asking as you said you are going to take the car to a temple thats why.

[GTX007]

Congratulations on your new Punto. How many days did you wait for you car?

[Latheesh]

Congrats on your new car, White Punto is a head turner for sure. How about adding white alloys with red lip!!!!:-)

[NutsNBolts]

sdp, congrats on the new acquisition. How do you like the transition from M800 to GP?

[Tushargohil]

Congratulation !!!!! On your new car man..... cya soon..

[sdp1975]

vijaythehacker,FanaticOnWheels, Klub Class ,mustiguy,phamilyman,allenzaracer,somebodystopme ,GTX007,NutsNBolts,Tushargohil and Latheesh , thanks much for your wishes.

@mustiguy, I agree that this particular salesman is a bit inexperienced - but keep following up with him - he'll get the work done. Actually I was in a hurry to reach home, so I declined the puja from the showroom. I should have got some puja done, since it's a new car that I got. I've PM'd you my number , free feel to call me if you need anything.

@GTX007, I booked that car on 15th and got delivery on 23rd. They had the vehicle in stock. The delivery would have been quicker had it not been for the intervening diwali holidays. I know that you've been waiting for yours, I'm sure you'll get it now soon.

@Latheesh, I guess I'll stick to the stock alloys/tyres , at least for now

@NutsNBolts, there's a sea of difference between the 800 and Punto. I never really felt safe in the 800, particularly on the highways. The brakes and the hard gearshift were a big letdown.I once had an accident for the poor braking. No such problems with the Punto. Having said that, the 800 had it's advantages in terms of city driving and parking, and it's low maintenance.

Took her out to Channapatna on the Bangalore Mysore highway through the NICE corridor yesterday evening. 140 km covered in about 3 hrs - no feeling of tiredness at all.

Did not cross 100 kph. The car is simply outstanding at high speeds. It's stability, steering feedback, grip and ride is amazing.

The engine starts becoming noisy above the 2K rpm mark, and even with the windows all closed, the engine noise is pretty audible in the cabin.

Brakes are quite powerful - sometimes I fear that I may get rear ended if I were to brake hard enough.

And finally, some pics.