[ThePunter]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

Which is the best sales + service center in Chennai?

The one closest to my house is TAFE at Pallikaranai. Are they good?
...

I dont think TAFE at Pallikaranai (I stay here) has Service station attached to it. It is not very full fledged, hence and more kind of a Sales extension.

Recently I found another Tata Motors outlet (more or a two room size one) at Narayanapuram and that too off the Main road, , that is in the road going to IIT colony. Not sure if it is commerical vehicles one.

[nkg77]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

Is 90HP worth the additional 1L over Dynamic version? Interested in Dynamic version (not Emotion except if its 90HP) since it gives me the flexibility to add alloys + tyres of my choice. (Hopefully - finding 98 PCD wont be that hard?)

Don't bother about alloys, you can use 100 PCD alloys with spacer rings. Please refer to Team Fiat India site for reviews on spacer rings.

[MAS]

Got a call from Tafe Chennai. I was interested in a GP to replace my Santro. The SA called to inform that the GP 2012 is now available with Free Insurance.

IMO, discounts offered will increase and make the GP 2012, an even better VFM car.

[Sridhar K]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

Which is the best sales + service center in Chennai?

The one closest to my house is TAFE at Pallikaranai. Are they good? I might need to drop my Swift booking afterall. Hence looking (Once again ) at all options.

Is 90HP worth the additional 1L over Dynamic version? Interested in Dynamic version (not Emotion except if its 90HP) since it gives me the flexibility to add alloys + tyres of my choice. (Hopefully - finding 98 PCD wont be that hard?)

Please avoid TAFE reach Pallikaranai at any cost. First
1) It is an extension counter for booking only- For delivery, you have to go to Mount road office
2) Had an horrible experience in buying my Manza from there. You may check out my Manza ownership thread for details. Very sweet talking till the car is booked and you can see their attitude change after that. You have to follow up many times for small things like number plates, invoice thousand times.
3) Service wise VST is the better option. Would stay away from TAFE reach unless it is body work (check the dealership review thread).
4) Concorde at Velachery road is a decent option for buying. Called them up at 11:00 today and a test drive vehicle was at my home at 12:30.

Total cost of Emotion 75bhp version is 7.94 minus the insurance (free) + corporate discount. OTR Chennai is 7.62 lakshs. Over dynamic , you get ACC, alloys, ABS, steering controls, , leather wrapped steering wheel , 15 inch wheels

1) Plastics quality is the same. The plastics on the a, b and c pillars reminds me of Manza's. FIAT should have seriously improved it in 2012 versions
2) Ground clearance and supsension is too good. Drove through some pathetic uneven roads with martian craters with . no scraping, hardly any body roll. The increased ground clearance helps a great deal. Perfectly balanced between ride and handling. Not sure whether I am stating it correctly, but felt the rear slide a bit when trying making rapid lane changes
3) Dual tone interiors makes it slightly better than earlier but black and grey is still old school
4) Driveability at slow speeds is not bad as I had expected except for the long though light clutch travel
5) NVH levels have improved from inside but from the outside felt Marutis' DDIS feels a bit more silent
6) Had difficulty in slotting the 3rd gear (felt it too close to 1st). This may be due to me being used to Manza where the slots are a little farther apart

[headers]

Originally Posted by MAS

Got a call from Tafe Chennai. I was interested in a GP to replace my Santro. The SA called to inform that the GP 2012 is now available with Free Insurance.

IMO, discounts offered will increase and make the GP 2012, an even better VFM car.

Ask them for Insurance other than Future Generalli - FG belongs to FIAT group. Ask them if they would give any national insurance companys insurance free!!

[pareshraheja]

Originally Posted by headers

Ask them for Insurance other than Future Generalli - FG belongs to FIAT group. Ask them if they would give any national insurance companys insurance free!!

Are you sure? I thought Future Generalli belongs to Future group. Its owner is Kishore Biyani who also owns Pantaloons, Big Bazaar, etc. Pls correct me if I am wrong.

Further, my friend who met with a minor accident had a very pleasant experience with this insurance company.

Cheers

[CliffHanger]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

Which is the best sales + service center in Chennai?

The one closest to my house is TAFE at Pallikaranai. Are they good? I might need to drop my Swift booking afterall. Hence looking (Once again ) at all options.

Is 90HP worth the additional 1L over Dynamic version? Interested in Dynamic version (not Emotion except if its 90HP) since it gives me the flexibility to add alloys + tyres of my choice. (Hopefully - finding 98 PCD wont be that hard?)

Let me know in case you are seriously considering the Punto, I can pass on some contacts for smooth sales and service experience.

And regarding the worth of 90HP - If you drive regulary on highways and are a spirited driver, buy 90HP with eyes closed.

I strongly believe that there is no hatchback in India that even remotely matches the 90HP's overall performance on highways.

[recshenoy]

Originally Posted by hemanth.anand

@recshenoy, have a look at the below comparision...

...So we have to see only the difference and not the final price.

Super one. My friend who wanted to buy Punto looked at price and said "man Punto has become really expensive". Met another friend who got Punto last week in Mangalore and said OTR is 7.3L for dynamic. i was like "What! year and half back when i checked Emotion was at 7.3L AFAIK, and now DYNAMIC at 7.3L sounded like 1L difference"

yes now I totally agree that its well priced.But for FIAT to improve sales, they have to price it as VFM car (like Figo/Vista) after all they share same floor with Manza/Vista.

My friend wants to buy in Bangalore. Its never a problem since there are many T.A.S.S over here. But for me buying in Mangalore sounds little risky. We just have one T.A.S.S there. No other choice but to go and service over there. Its not just TASS, same case holds good even if i buy a Ford, Skoda,VW,Nissan,Toyota,Honda etc etc. Only MSIL has 3-4 vendors. So can change the dealership if i am not happy with A.S.S.

Due to concern over A.S.S looks like i have to settle for RITZ

Thanks again for detailed explanation. I will ask my friend to read this to zero on Punto

OT: checked on Carwale, looks like Toyota Liva GD SP has almost similar feature and 20K less.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by hemanth.anand

Option of aftermarket alloys (98 PCD is not hard to find but you deifinitely will have less options) and tyres OR the above features (some of which are impossible to get later)

Thanks for that!

Originally Posted by teky

Service - VST > TAFE > Concorde

Where is VST showroom and service station? Checked the same in FIAT website, but its hard to understand the location from that (my limited knowledge of the city may be the problem).

Originally Posted by MAS

Got a call from Tafe Chennai. I was interested in a GP to replace my Santro. The SA called to inform that the GP 2012 is now available with Free Insurance.

IMO, discounts offered will increase and make the GP 2012, an even better VFM car.

Got the offer of free insurance + corporate discounts (Almost 30k off on the 90HP version) yesterday.

IMO, they should have priced the cars properly rather than bringing in discounts a month after launch of the new versions. On the face of it - new version looks overpriced. Most people dont look statistically at the features offered. They just go by general perception and say - its (90 HP) even more expensive than i20!

Originally Posted by Sridhar K

Please avoid TAFE reach Pallikaranai at any cost.

Originally Posted by CliffHanger

Let me know in case you are seriously considering the Punto, I can pass on some contacts for smooth sales and service experience.

Thanks guys!

To be frank - I was rather impressed by the Pallikaranai showroom. Much better than what I experienced in VW/ Ford showrooms. Would never have suspected them to be a wolf in a sheep's clothing.

@CliffHanger: Will definitely mention in this thread if I'm going through with the purchase.

[CliffHanger]

Originally Posted by recshenoy

yes now I totally agree that its well priced.But for FIAT to improve sales, they have to price it as VFM car (like Figo/Vista) after all they share same floor with Manza/Vista.

Figo was well priced when launched, but not anymore. There 've been a lot of silent price increases making it venture into Punto territory but with same old set of features and stuffs.

Below is an excerpt from one of my previous posts.

Guys, for those who think that Fiat has increased the price - Yes, but you get a lot more for the extra you pay.

Consider this -

My friend bought his Punto Active(MJD) on Aug '11 for 5.85Lakhs. Today I paid Rs.6.20Lakhs for my Punto Active MJD, and following are the things that come extra.

1. Central Locking
2. OEM Music System (though crap, it still is a worthy addition)
3. Higher GC (Fiat has quoted `12k for this alone)
4. Turning radius of 5m (pretty awesome this one!)
5. A lot better Air Conditioner Unit
6. Improved NVH
7. With new shade of interior plastics coming in, I expect the quality to be better

35k for all this. Cool, isn't it?

I was offered Figo Base Diesel(that doesn't have passenger ORVM, wheel caps, central locking, engine immobilizer, engine sump gaurd, etc, etc,.) for 5.65L. I was lured. But then realized Punto offers all these and much much more for just extra 55k bucks...

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by CliffHanger

Figo was well priced when launched, but not anymore. There 've been a lot of silent price increases making it venture into Punto territory but with same old set of features and stuffs.

Sorry. Not true IMO. Punto may be a 'better car' (arguably), but features-wise the Ford is still VFM.

Figo Titanium costs 7,03,359 OTR Chennai. Punto Dynamic costs 7,24,575 OTR (minus 20k discount on free insurance) which makes it the same as Figo Titanium. (Note - Figo on road price includes Ford's Titanium pack accessories also included with ex-showroom price)

What Figo Titanium gains over Punto Dynamic -
Dual Airbags.
Bluetooth + USB.
Alloy wheels + wider tyres.
Art. Leather seat cover. (Part of Titanium pack accessories included in OTR)
Reverse parking sensor. (Part of Titanium pack accessories included in OTR)

What Punto Dynamic gains over Figo Titanium-
Adjustable rear head restraint.
Foldable key.

I don't own both the cars. Hence no comments on which is best or such. Above is just based on feature comparison and what I felt while visiting both the showrooms yesterday.

I was offered Figo Base Diesel(that doesn't have passenger ORVM, wheel caps, central locking, engine immobilizer, engine sump gaurd, etc, etc,.) for 5.65L. I was lured. But then realized Punto offers all these and much much more for just extra 55k bucks...

Not a fair comparison between Punto Active and Figo LXi IMO.

Figo EXi would have come at 6L OTR. Still cheaper than Punto active by more than 20k, but having all the above features you missed in the LXi version. (I'm not sure if any version of Figo comes with engine sump guard though. Full credit to FIAT for that!). It also has keyless entry, but no music system.

[hemanth.anand]

Originally Posted by recshenoy

My friend who wanted to buy Punto looked at price and said "man Punto has become really expensive". Met another friend who got Punto last week in Mangalore and said OTR is 7.3L for dynamic. i was like "What! year and half back when i checked Emotion was at 7.3L AFAIK, and now DYNAMIC at 7.3L sounded like 1L difference"

Now thats because of the change in the versions and names from 2012. I don't blame you for that
Features wise, the earlier "Active" is no more
Name wise, the earlier "Emotion Pack" is no more

Pre-2012 Dynamic is 2012Active
Pre-2012 Emotion is 2012Dynamic
Pre-2012 Emotion pack is 2012Emotion

So, actually your friend's 1-week old Dynamic and the Emotion you enquired a year back are nearly the same

Originally Posted by recshenoy

But for me buying in Mangalore sounds little risky. We just have one T.A.S.S there.

If you want more TASS centres, Bangalore is just 320kms ...A Punto would be more than obliging to drive on a highway

Someone once told me "Until and unless any car will breakdown after every kilometre, you don't need an A.S.S in every road"
No car in our country at present will breakdown so often, will it?

On a serious note, from my experience I've seen that...
A T.A.S.S might just not give your car a good wash or the service centre may not match the look and feel of a fiat car, but they do not spoil/abuse the car.
I have experienced that if they do not know a solution to some problem, with this very good toll-free customer care centre, they learn the source of the problem and solve it for you.
It may cost you 3 more trips to the A.S.S but finally you'll be happy.

Originally Posted by recshenoy

Due to concern over A.S.S looks like i have to settle for RITZ .

I won't tell you not to buy a ritz, but Just don't be so much concerned over A.S.S and "settle for" something else.

[teky]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

Where is VST showroom and service station?

The showroom is located between LIC and Spencer's signal on the right hand side if you are driving from Tambaram. This part of mount road is going to be closed from Feb 25th I believe due to metro work but the service lanes shall still be accessible. Check the Chennai Traffic police FB page for more info.

The service centre is located between Sundaram Honda and India Garage in mount road. Called as TVS bus stop.

An individual service centre exclusive to Fiat is opening in August/September.

[Ravenblood]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

Got the offer of free insurance + corporate discounts (Almost 30k off on the 90HP version) yesterday.

Please elaborate on the above offer, as i was offered insurance + RSA waiver on a charge of Rs 3999, is it the same offer.

[sridharj]

Hi,

I have booked a Punto Dynamic in Madurai. They are offering free insurance and the sales rep said the insurance will be from Future Generali. But I wanted the insurance from a nationalized insurance company. But the sales rep said Fiat has direct tie up with this insurance company and if i'm going with another insurance company they might not able to offer the free insurance. People who have booked or taken delivery of your Punto kindly enlighten me on this.

Again a quick query guys, as freebie the sales rep is offering engine coating. Should I take it? He says it's good for engine but I'm not very sure.

Thanks,
Sridhar