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Originally Posted by AutoIndian Why wait for your ownership thread to be up? You can post pictures & initial experience over here. That way it could benefit a lot of potential XUV owners & also the existing owners. |
Delivery of my XUV-W6 got delayed by almost a week because guys at the dealership goofed up by not depositing my cheque (issued on 20.10.12) for clearing. Since they had told me that delivery could be made only after clearing, I was patiently waiting, thinking that the bank holidays during Durga Puja were delaying the clearing. But when a whole week passed, my patience ran out. I demanded to be told WHEN my cheque had been deposited and then it came to light that it was still (on 25.10.12) lying in the dealer’s accounts dept.! Apparently, the accounts guys had been in a ‘holiday mood’ during Durga Puja and forgot to deposit my cheque. I just lost my cool, asked to meet the proprietor and demanded immediate delivery. And within minutes they informed me that I could take delivery the same afternoon.
The Service Manager ceremoniously handed over the car keys and the RM handed over a box of chocolates to my wife and me. The confetti bomb was a pleasant surprise by the dealer. Also, I requested the dealer to at least give me free rubber mats and they obliged, probably because they were feeling apologetic about their goof-up regarding my cheque.
After filling 10 litres of free diesel (using a voucher issued by dealer) at a pump near the dealership, we drove home in our new XUV. I took the Adityapur toll bridge and thereafter the Marine Drive (yes, Jampot too has its own Marine Drive, a road that runs along Jampot’s two rivers – Kharkai and Subarnarekha) which has some pretty bad stretches. The suspension, ride quality and handling of my XUV on these broken and undulating stretches impressed me. Even this short (10 km) drive was enough to drive home the fact that I had taken a quantum leap from my earlier cars (M-800, 118NE, Esteem and Swift).
Insurance
At the time of booking itself I had informed the dealer that I’d be doing insurance and registration on my own. I took out comprehensive Insurance from New India Assurance before taking delivery yesterday. My car was insured for 95% of the ex-showroom price (Rs 12,00,219 x 0.95 = Rs 11,40,209). The premium was just Rs 13,885 as I enjoy 65% NCB and I transferred the NCB from my Swift VDi to the XUV-W6. My insurance covers use of my car in Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Maldives. Many Indian car-owners who drive to neighboring countries tend to forget that their insurance cover does not extend beyond the boundaries of India unless they opt for ‘Geographical Area Extension’. This costs a mere Rs 500 or so extra and should always be done by those who intend driving to Nepal, Bhutan, etc.
Another aspect all car-owners should know is that a small discount on premium is admissible if the car is fitted with a theft protection system. All XUV owners should insist on this discount.
Registration
Today I initiated the Registration procedure at the local RTO. I paid Rs 48,846 for one-time tax, registration, fitness fee and smart card. Here in Jharkhand the One-time tax is 4% of the ex-showroom price. Now I have to present my car for ‘inspection’ by the Motor Vehicle Inspector next week who will verify the chassis and engine numbers and whether the car is road-worthy! Everyone knows that new cars are never inspected by the MVI when the dealer does the registration because dealers bribe the RTO / MVI handsomely. Since I have chosen the non-bribe route (anyone who gets registration done through the dealer must remember that he is indirectly helping corruption) I have to present my brand new car for inspection! Anyway, since I have already paid the registration fees / tax and have the receipt from RTO in my car, I am supposedly free to drive my car anywhere even without a number plate.
So now that I have my car + insurance + registration (almost) all I have to do is to figure where to go! User reviews would follow shortly. Watch this space.