[shuvc]

say, how good is the standard kenwood deck / speakers that come with the ELX ?

[devarshi84]

the more you get into this decision making thing the more confused you will be.

fiat dealers will make their car cheaper by a few k's than all other brands to sell.

remember petra looks better than baleno and maybe better than accent too.

accent is not as sturdy and powerful as the petra and even the FE is the same. they may offer more kit though.

baleno is powerful and more efficient but again not as sturdy and not as good looker. it doesnt even have much kit.

so stick with your petra. start niggling with the dealers and maybe after a month you may have an excellent deal in your hands.

[shuvc]

spoke to the dealer here an hour back and mentioned @scorp72's OTR of 5.14 .. they were quite amazed .. and still stuck to their quote of 6+ ..

problem @devarshi is that in my case there's only 1 dealer around here .. hence not sure how much they will go down .. my advantage is that I'm in no hurry to purchase one .. so I can take my time , even if it means sometime in 2006 .. and even if it means finally going for some other car ..

but the heart keeps saying that if I get a good deal on a Petra ELX, I might take the plunge sooner ..

[Buffetfan]

Baleno is the biggest, fastest, most fuel efficient and has the best customer service (My exp with Maruti has been good till now)

Petra is the sturdiest and has the worst after sales service. It is the smallest car too, apart from the boot

Accent is the one that looks the best but has neither the efficiency, nor the power to be in this segment. It is, however, the second largest and is the MOST RATTLE FREE car you will find. all the accents I have seen are completely rattle free...

You decide...but I would advise a Black Baleno with Spoiler and alloy Wheels thrown in aftermarket

[Buffetfan]

Originally Posted by AvinashKeezh

Hi Surprise!,

I feel that should be the case, the A.S.S for fiat. It has been truly blown out of proportions, just my opinion. After all it all melts down with how we interact (even in this age of competition), so if a good product goes badly in the market people blame a lot of things and the easiest target is the after sales service.
Will someone advice me on the best choice on the following
Fiat Petra 1.6
Suzuki Baleno (LXi)
Hyundai Accent GLE
Of these i personally wanted to go for the fiat, i've loved the way the car works on the road .. built like a tank...
Please advice

I OWN a Fiat even till date..(a Fiat Uno 1.2 ELX) ...I do no believe the talk abt Fiat ASS is incorrect...they deserve all the comments people make abt them...

[Mpower]

Originally Posted by AvinashKeezh

It has been truly blown out of proportions, just my opinion. After all it all melts down with how we interact (even in this age of competition), so if a good product goes badly in the market people blame a lot of things and the easiest target is the after sales service.

You're right about the public perception. Indians just love to gossip and spread rumors. That said, there are a few Fiat dealers who are blackmarked. I recomend you find an existing FIAT customer in Chennai and get an opinion about the Sundaram and any other local dealer .

[RX135]

Originally Posted by Buffetfan

Baleno is the biggest, fastest, most fuel efficient and has the best customer service (My exp with Maruti has been good till now)
Petra is the sturdiest and has the worst after sales service. It is the smallest car too, apart from the boot

I guess, you are stretching your Fiat hatred (or is that Fiat dealer) hatred too far :-)

For those with academic interests, Petra is supposed to have marginally higher top speed than Baleno courtsey its more powerful engine. (185 vs.179). It is rock stable on roads at high speeds. Fiat Hyd. dealer is notorious, but then people have received good service in Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore and Chennai. We have people on this forum vouching for that. So, I suggest you review your comment about general Fiat ASS. Petra being smallest car is a joke. That honour goes to Corsa. Sit inside a Petra and see how spacious it is. It is definitely not as big as Baleno (at least on exterior). But has bigger boot than even Indigo And we have enough people to vouch for Petra FE. I can personally do that as well.

In nutshell, barring "Fiat factor" in mind, there is nothing wrong with Petra. I personally find Baleno to be a fantastic car, which I was planning to buy myself before I got sold on Petra.

[Buffetfan]

Originally Posted by RX135

I guess, you are stretching your Fiat hatred (or is that Fiat dealer) hatred too far :-)

For those with academic interests, Petra is supposed to have marginally higher top speed than Baleno courtsey its more powerful engine. (185 vs.179). It is rock stable on roads at high speeds. Fiat Hyd. dealer is notorious, but then people have received good service in Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore and Chennai. We have people on this forum vouching for that. So, I suggest you review your comment about general Fiat ASS. Petra being smallest car is a joke. That honour goes to Corsa. Sit inside a Petra and see how spacious it is. It is definitely not as big as Baleno (at least on exterior). But has bigger boot than even Indigo And we have enough people to vouch for Petra FE. I can personally do that as well.

In nutshell, barring "Fiat factor" in mind, there is nothing wrong with Petra. I personally find Baleno to be a fantastic car, which I was planning to buy myself before I got sold on Petra.

If you are quoting ACI.....Please correct me if I am wrong..ACI had only tested Fiat Sienna 1.6 and have never tested Petra..to the best of my knowledge..and I also believe that the 1.6 that they introduced initially is not the same anymore for sake of efficiency..

Baleno has a top speed of 185 (Per ACI). I believe that Sienna 1.6 (Which..IMHO is dead and not the same as Petra..In my view Petra has a recalibrated ECU and is slower...) had a Top speed of 185 or 189 (cant remember which).

Baleno is surely faster 0-100...and I am getting a mileage of 11.5-12 kmpl in a new car with 185/65 R 14 tyres and I am not exactly a slow driver. My more sober friends are reporting 12.5 - 13 kmpl...which I guess even many B seg cars find it difficult to beat. According to an Owners survey Baleno reported 13.2 KMPL as opposed to NHCs 13.7 KMPL ( the class topper in teh segment).
I agree that Baleno is not as sturdy as probably Petra is...but I can assure you that it has a solid chasis with absoklutely no flex at all and handling is very good..I recently touched 175 kmph on the expressway and took several turns @ 130 / 140 +.

I am not a fiat basher, but I strongly believe that peace of mind does have a lot of value while one purchases a car...and fiat certinly does not supply one with that..Petra is certainly one fantastic car...but it is just that slight difference of judgement that always exists between two persons.

[shuvc]

I was wondering ..

The FIAT plant was I believe flooded during the July rains ..

Would that have affected any of the cars already stocked at the plant ? And if some cars were damaged, hopefully the dealers are not refurbishing them and selling them off ...

Where in a Petra/Palio is the date of manufacture mentioned ?

[RX135]

Originally Posted by Buffetfan

Baleno has a top speed of 185 (Per ACI). I believe that Sienna 1.6 (Which..IMHO is dead and not the same as Petra..In my view Petra has a recalibrated ECU and is slower...) had a Top speed of 185 or 189 (cant remember which).
I am not a fiat basher, but I strongly believe that peace of mind does have a lot of value while one purchases a car...and fiat certinly does not supply one with that..Petra is certainly one fantastic car...but it is just that slight difference of judgement that always exists between two persons.

It has a recalibrated ECU and not detuned. It still very much produces 100bhp and hence there is no question of being slower.
I can understand that you are pissed off with the A/S/S in Hyderabad. But, it is not the same everywhere. So as I said, barring "Fiat factor", there is nothing wrong with the car or even A/S/S in certain cities (definitely not Hyderabad )

Shuvc, there is a danger of these cars being passed on by dealers. But, getting such faulty cars first out of Fiat factory premises sounds unlikely, unless there are corporate blessings for such stupid move.

[AvinashKeezh]

Here's the price for the Petra 1.6 ELX in Chennai and the details,
Exclusive Showrrom Price Rs.5,53,540
Insurance Rs. 21,175
Life Tax Rs. 33,212
Regn & Delivery Charges Rs. 3,050
On Road Price Rs.6,10,977
Dealer Discount (Insurance) Rs. 21,175
Effective Price Rs.5,89,802

Specifications:
A/C with heater,
Tinted glasses,
Body Coloured Bumpers,
Internally adjustable mirrors,
Remote Tail gate & Fuel Lid Opener,
Fire Prevention System,
Anti-Submarine Front & Rear Seats,
Power Steering,
Power Windows (All around) with Child Lock in the rear windows,
Collapsible Steering Column,
Central Door Locking,
Digital Clock,
Full Wheel Covers (14" Alloy Wheels for 1.2 ELX [Price Difference is 7,300] & Palio Sport [1.6 - 36,000 & 1.2 - 82,000] only so its adviceable to go for the 1.6 Package on the whole),
Rear Window Defroster,
Height adjustable front seat belts,
Stone Guard,
Chrome Plated Radiator Grill,
Front & Rear Ashtray,
Two tone dashboard,
Instrument Cluster with white dials,
Tachometer,
Rear seat neck restraint.

Accessories which will be an extra (free) are
Mats & Mud guard for all 4 wheels.

Hope i can ask for some more things, other than this.
What could possibly be included other than this?
Any one!!!!

[typeOnegative]

Try to get the registration and delivery charges and part of the tax knocked off. If you are going for the finance option then you should be getting a further discount.

[shuvc]

Originally Posted by RX135

Shuvc, there is a danger of these cars being passed on by dealers. But, getting such faulty cars first out of Fiat factory premises sounds unlikely, unless there are corporate blessings for such stupid move.

Yes .. I would like to believe so too ..
Which brings me back to my other query .. can Petra owners try and find out if and where in the car, the manufacturing date is printed ?


@Avinash

Your quote is similar to that in Kolkata .. except that the ex-showroom price itself is around 20K more here ..

An observation - aren't they giving the following on the 1.6 ELX ?
1. Kenwood deck and speakers
2. Rear spoiler with lamp
3. Height adjustable front seats
4. The side mirrors are I believe, internally and electrically adjustable.

[AvinashKeezh]

I'll check with the dealers on that one, shuvc, if they are giving these options too for the 1.6 ELX.
typeOneg, i'll try to get that one too waived off....
Would keep you guys in the know-how of how things materialize on this!!!

[AvinashKeezh]

Like RX135 mentioned ... a move to sell off damaged cars would really not help the fiat bosses and i'd like tot think that they would not go in for such a move.. coz the only thing that's atleast selling their cars is that because they are bullet proof!! and compromising on that would really hurt them most!!!
don't ya feel so!!!!