Looking at the need of an hour , which is to have a 7 seater
(5 adults + 2 kids)car at home .
I visited Malad Concorde last sunday.
Left my Manza's Keys at the reception of the showroom for the valuation to be done while i TD the STORME (my options are XUV 500 and Storme) .
Out of curiosity i also TDed the Diesel Zest.
The Storme Experience : It was Good .
1)I was immediately feeling at home with the size and bulk of the beast.
2)Engine had nice grunt. Allthough No Manza like Turbo spooling push.
But this was a different engine with a different character.
3)Tremendous road presence and respect from bikers , rickshaws smaller cars and even XUVs.
4)Inspite of the size and the bulk it felt comfortable in horrible sunday infinity mall traffic scenario.
5)Dismissed the horrible speed breakers as if they were just small pebbles.
There was a certain land Roverish feel from the underpinnings.
6)Steering felt very lower and did touch my knees (i am 5'10') but i got used to it by the end of TD(not a deal breaker in any way)
7)Interiors of base model looked way better then full biege on top model which i Tded
8)Clutch was worn out and too hard. The Sales rep told me that this is due to abuse the TD vehicle gets .
It had 14k Kms on the ODo but the clutch felt like done 60k+ Kms.
8)Interiors of the TD vehicle were horribly dirty. It felt like the truck has been kept open in a rural village for sevaral weeks.
9)Interior Door pads of rear right door was loosely fitted and rattling.
10)The sales rep who came with me was very crude, shabbily dressed and type of 1 from some Mafia gang. Was continuously directing me to the way back to showroom. But i was like hey i am planning to spend my 14 big ones on this and i plan to take 3-4 more such detailed long TDs before finalizing.
Due to above 3 points i felt like i am planning to buy a cheap rural truck/jeep/ pickup van/bolero
But still those were not the deal breakers for me.
Overall quite liked the Storme , the drive, the ride quality , Everything felt good and tempting about the beast.
Now the real deal breaker :
My 3 year old Manza qjet Aura Abs done 43-44 k kms on ODo was valued at a horrible 2,60,000 only.
(please go through the Tata Manza thread latest posts to know the condition of my Manza. It has been very well maintained.)
I told them "boss it costed me more than 8lacs in June 2011" and i have spent lavishly on accessorizing it.
To which the sales rep told me that then you need to find a buyer yourself .
I was like
Overall verdict : I was so pissed off by the valuation of my Manza that i decided to cut short my next TD plan of the XUV then and there.
Thanks to Concorde Malad . I have found my lost love again in the Manza and i now intend to use it for another 2+ years without any major hiccups(fingers crossed)
And yes By the way the sale rep was supposed to call me back by tuesday with revised and realistic valuation of the Manza.
He havnt done it yet and again a BIG THANKS TO CONCORDE MALAD to have saved me from indulging in spending on the truck.
Now i can very well relate to the poor sales number the TATAs manage month after month.