[FrodoOfTheShire]

Originally Posted by damager21

Interestingly last week I got a call from my SA that as per Ford India system, a Titanium+ AT matching my color preference was manufactured and was allocated to some other dealership but it seems the buyer had not sorted out his funds so it was available for me if I was ready with the balance amount to be paid.

I heard from my SA that Ford India has something called a "National Pool" where all the cars are available that were cancelled by dealerships. Dealers all over India can check this National Pool and if they find anything that matches their orders, then they can get it allotted to themselves. It depends on how quickly a dealer can act, kind of like the flash sales on e-commerce sites.

This makes me believe that the allocation system is not based on First in first out booking but it is possibly driven by number of bookings a dealer is able to garner. So large dealers may be given a higher priority when it comes to allocation.

Agree with your thoughts. Big dealers with multiple showrooms might be getting preferential allotments.

[ravib]

Originally Posted by damager21

It will be interesting to know as to how the allotment system works.

Does Ford in its system know who has booked the car, on which date and hence automatically as and when a car gets produced, it gets allocated to the respective dealership basis the allotment number?


My SA told me that he is trying to expedite the process and see if he can handover the car this month. This makes me believe that the allocation system is not based on First in first out booking but it is possibly driven by number of bookings a dealer is able to garner. So large dealers may be given a higher priority when it comes to allocation.

Both are actually true. I received a direct SMS from Ford once the car is manufactured and alloted against booking.
However, if the person for which car is alloted is not picking it up for any reason or changes his mind, dealer can reassign it to other customer. Big dealers do get bigger chunk of allotments and it also depends on how their relationship with Ford and their prior history.

Originally Posted by rudrah

As simple as it is, shoot a mail to Ford and dealership about this experience. Post the same on Ford's FB page. That should help get you a official hearing from them

+1. Well said. Ford has tighter control with their dealers and i have experienced it several times. Though i haven't sent emails, when i call Ford customer care for any issue with dealer, it is taken with utmost seriousness and within hours i will get a call back from the dealer to sort out the things that made me unhappy. Truly appreciate the Ford's customer focus in this aspect.

[FrodoOfTheShire]

Originally Posted by Samfromindia

My OEM car cover got shredded after 3.5 years of use. I didnt find any single manufacturer including the expensive tph covers who provide cutout for the antenna like the OEM ones does. I dont want to remove and fix the antenna everyday or keep it folded inside cover. Lets see if i get any more options.

I was wondering whether to get the cover from the dealership or from outside. From your post it seems non-OEM cover won't have the cutout for the antenna. I am taking only the mudflap from dealership which I negotiated to get it for free. Planning to get rest of the accessories from local shops. Would you suggest I get the cover from the dealer itself?

[Samfromindia]

Originally Posted by FrodoOfTheShire

I was wondering whether to get the cover from the dealership or from outside. From your post it seems non-OEM cover won't have the cutout for the antenna. I am taking only the mudflap from dealership which I negotiated to get it for free. Planning to get rest of the accessories from local shops. Would you suggest I get the cover from the dealer itself?

Well this is how the car cover of the older generation Ecosport looks:
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/attach..._seatcover.jpg

As you see there is a big antenna on front. The new facelift is having a relatively smaller antenna at the back which i think will create less problem with generic covers. Also Ford is offering two qualities of car cover now. There is a premium option available now for a price which you can easily afford. So ya you can totally go for it.

[Anupam1024]

Hello Everyone

My membership was confirmed late last week which coincided with the delivery of my Diamond White Ford EcoSport Titanium Plus (D) and 2 of the Team-BHP T-Shirts delivery by courier. I am really glad to be part of Team-BHP



Here is my experience of buying Ecosport. Hope this may be of some help.

I was searching for a car which could have extra security features and had a solid built. I saw a thread, where else but our very own Team-BHP site about the Ford Ecosport Facelift 2017. I was following this thread every day to know more and more about the car and finally ended up visiting Metro Ford Showroom Mahadevpura probably the same day when it got launched. I saw a white Trend+ in the showroom but I could not TD due to lack of time. I went there to TD the car after a week. I drove Diesel version I had made up my ind to go for Diesel due to FE. I was impressed with car and I asked the SA if I can get Insurance & Registration done myself. He said no. I kept on asking the same question before booking. He got me meet his manager - who said that if you get the insurance & Registration done yourself then why are we sitting here. I could not digest this answer from the manager and came out of his showroom thinking I would not buy a ford car ever.

I kept quite for 3 weeks but it was there in my heart & mind and the affliction of having a car of my likes instilled a thought of visiting another showroom. Contacted the St Marks Road branch and asked for TD. They promptly sent me the TD vehicle at my home. I was so happy with this prompt service and the person who brought the TD car that I ended up giving him the cheque of booking amount (on 14th Dec 2017). I had asked my SA, Arjun, if I can get my Insurance & Registration done myself which he readily agreed with. I was surprised! However, he advised me that getting registration done on my own could be a lot of hassle.

The dealer was giving me the same car in Silver color during 1st week of January which My wife had denied. In the meantime I was told by the SA that St Marks Road branch is closing down (due to renovation) and my booking will be moved to Metro Ford, Palace Cross Road branch. I was a bit skeptical about what if they mess up my booking.

Finally my choice of car, Diamond White, got allocated to me in the 23rd Jan and was advised that the car is in transit from Chennai. I did the PDI on 31st Jan and also tried asking for some freebies or discount but the SA did not buzz. I did the balance amount through bank transfer on the same day and I was advised to come on Friday to take the delivery. I also asked for a specific number (not a fancy or a series) from Indira Nagar RTO. The RTO guy from Ford asked me for 4K which I said I will pay. The RTO guy called me on Thursday and informed that registration of the vehicle is done and its my choice of number.







The bumber 2 bumber + Zero Dep insurance was done from HDFC Ergo at the premium of 26.5K - a lot less than ford.

I, along with my son and wife, reached to showroom a bit late due to traffic congestion enroute. I was handed over the Invoice Of The Car, RTO challan, FasTag Receipt, 5 Litres free Diesel receipt from BP Petrol bunk situated at museum road. and was given the complete overview of the car. And that followed some photo clicks in the delivery bay at the basement and post that I was off to home.

My Wife & Son Posing with car:


All Of Us together:


I was not very sure as I was driving after 1.5 months and that too a diesel car but after some time it was okay. I took slightly longer route to reach home and parked it in he basement.





I took her out to Sarjapur Road for a free drive yesterday and I felt that its really peppy. I must say that I am getting used to of driving a diesel car. So far 174 KM on odometer which shows a FE of 15 KMPL.



I find the gear a bit harder than Baleno. Yes, the suspension is also a bit harsh and is not as soft as Baleno (which is obvious) but if I slow down on humps etc then it crosses them rather conveniently. I wish that it had inbuilt navigation for ease. But for live traffic conditions Android Auto (would require data connectivity) is better though one will have to download the offline he/she is going to tread an unknown path. My son loves the ambient lighting feature and my wife is also happy with the upgrade.

This is where I am today and I will keep posting more updates about my ownership.

Best Regards,

[FrodoOfTheShire]

Hearty congratulations Anupam1024!! Diamond White looks gorgeous! Wishing you many happy miles and pleasant ownership experience.

I have booked the T+ AT and currently in the waiting period. I had told my SA before booking that I would be taking the insurance from outside and he had readily agreed. The dealership had quoted ₹51k zero depreciation insurance while the same is available for ₹25k from HDFC Ergo.

Did you do the PDI yourself or had some help? And did you buy any accessories from Ford or got it from outside?

[Anupam1024]

Originally Posted by FrodoOfTheShire

Hearty congratulations Anupam1024!! Diamond White looks gorgeous! Wishing you many happy miles and pleasant ownership experience.

Thanks for the complement and wishes.

I have booked the T+ AT and currently in the waiting period. I had told my SA before booking that I would be taking the insurance from outside and he had readily agreed. The dealership had quoted ₹51k zero depreciation insurance while the same is available for ₹25k from HDFC Ergo.

Congrats for your booking, wish you get your car delivery soon.

Did you do the PDI yourself or had some help?

I took one of my friend along for the PDI who was of great help. It really helps if you have someone along with you as you might get busy in asking questions to your SA.

did you buy any accessories from Ford or got it from outside?

Not yet, but will buy the illuminated skid plate soon. Prabably window curtain as well but only after seeing it elsewhere.

[FrodoOfTheShire]

While going through the old and new EcoSport reviews and threads, I came to know that Ford provides an engine guard in the diesel EcoSport but not in the petrol model.

Some have said that this is a calculated cost saving by Ford. Others have said that this is as per Ford's design that the engine drops down in the event of a crash, hence no engine guard (but then why provide it in diesel models?)

Also read that many fellow BHPians have had their petrol EcoSport fitted with an engine guard from Ford's accessories, only to lose it later on the road without their knowledge!

How important is the engine guard for the EcoSport and is it worth installing it if the car is used mostly in proper city roads, highways and rare soft-roading?

[DasJager]

So the facelift has done it for the Ecosport! Strong showing with the car sales in January 2018, it has moved ahead of WR-V and Nexon to claim the second spot.

Brezza of course remains the numero uno, no surprises there. But it's fantastic to see people starting to appreciate good products from other stables as well. Here are the numbers:

• Maruti Suzuki Brezza (11,785 units)

• Ford Ecosport (6,833 units)

• Tata Nexon (4,917 units)

• Honda WR-V (4,273 units)

Source: Autopunditz

If remains to be seen if Ford can sustain these numbers in the coming months.

[libranof1987]

Originally Posted by FrodoOfTheShire

While going through the old and new EcoSport reviews and threads, I came to know that Ford provides an engine guard in the diesel EcoSport but not in the petrol model.

I checked with multiple SAs about this. Some said no EcoSport comes with an engine guard, some were more knowledgeable and told me that only the diesel comes with one. Why? Because the petrol doesn't need one. No better explanation.

Also read that many fellow BHPians have had their petrol EcoSport fitted with an engine guard from Ford's accessories, only to lose it later on the road without their knowledge!

Some petrol owners have got it installed; some swear they don't want it.

How important is the engine guard for the EcoSport and is it worth installing it if the car is used mostly in proper city roads, highways and rare soft-roading?

I have taken my AT on really terrible roads a lot and have so far come out unscathed. Do such roads make me nervous, yes. Do I want to fit the engine guard purely for the peace of mind, even if it has no real value, yes.

On a side note, none of my current cars (City, i20 and EcoSport) have an engine guard. My Corsa had it and it took the hit on a huge 3ft crater on Charmadi ghat during a Bangalore-Manipal drive.

I've checked with two A.S.S' and neither had it in stock. It is for ~7k so not exactly pocket change you don't mind losing if the engine guard just drops off somewhere.

[sansvk]

Originally Posted by libranof1987

I've checked with two A.S.S' and neither had it in stock. It is for ~7k so not exactly pocket change you don't mind losing if the engine guard just drops off somewhere.

Do check out the guard on old ecosports, its a flimsy sheet which you could DIY. Certainly not worth 7k, at max it would protect the engine bay from pebbles.

[strawhat]

Can the rear seat armrest be installed on the lower variants as an aftermarket fitment? Would have been great if Ford provided it as a standard accessory.

[PrideRed]

Originally Posted by strawhat

Can the rear seat armrest be installed on the lower variants as an aftermarket fitment? Would have been great if Ford provided it as a standard accessory.

A detachable armrest was provided as an accessory back then, which had integrated cup holders. It was bulky though and costed about 3-4K about years back.

[roy_libran]

Originally Posted by libranof1987

Some petrol owners have got it installed; some swear they don't want it.
I've checked with two A.S.S' and neither had it in stock. It is for ~7k so not exactly pocket change you don't mind losing if the engine guard just drops off somewhere.

I have the Guard installed since the last 4+ years. The front clips holding the guard gave way after about 1.5 yrs or so. I used Zip ties to refix the guard and it has been trouble free ever since. It does protect against pebbles that are flung by the wheels etc., but won't protect if you were to hit a big rock or obstacle.
The guard that the dealerships sell is expensive for what it does. I suggest to use sheet metal to fabricate and install. It's a fairly straightforward design.

[findviru]

As per Cartoq data, January sale of Ecosport is more than Tata Nexon. Sales numbers. Ecosport-6833, Nexon - 4917, Brezza- 11785.
https://www.cartoq.com/ford-ecosport...january-sales/