Due to size limitations and minimalistic needs, I did not consider the Hyundai Venue, Maruti Brezza, Kia Sonet or anything bigger like the Honda Elevate or Hyundai Creta.
BHPian OpenRoads recently shared this with other enthusiasts:
Buying a car in less than a week
Background
My parents (senior citizens) love to travel quite frequently. Their primary mode of transportation within the city is Uber or Ola and for outstation trips, they opt for rented cars.
However using apps always is a challenge for my parents as they are not very tech savvy folks. Most of the time I take care of the bookings remotely but in many situations they are left stranded due to multiple cancellations by the driver.
Also, there have been instances where my father had booked an Uber and left in another car (yellow taxi) while getting calls from the Uber driver since he forgot to cancel.
Managing such situations is not an easy task and having a car of your own seemed like a logical choice. With a little persuasion, they agreed to go for it.
Requirements
This is how I imagined the requirement in my head.
- Size: A small car which would tend to my parents’ day-to-day travel needs.
- Fuel: There was no need for a mile muncher and Petrol would do just fine.
- Maintenance: Hassle-free and easy on the pocket.
- Quality: This is a tricky one as the look and feel do not equate to good quality. Of course, using premium materials instead of hard plastics does make a difference in some segments. Honestly nice to touch is just a nice feature and not more than that for me.
- Safety: Decent. Basic six airbags, electronic stability etc. would do. Safety ratings conceived at 64Km/h is not my mantra. Safe drive and some luck do the job for me. However, a better/higher rating is always welcome.
- Transmission: Manual would have been fine, but I opted for automatic based on my experience. My knee thanks me every day now that I am driving one.
- Budget: 8 ~ 14 lakhs
Selection
- Size: With the budget in mind many cars would have fit the requirement, especially the base variant ones. But due to size limitations and minimalistic needs, I did not consider Venue, Brezza, Sonet, etc. or anything bigger like Elevate, Creta etc.
- Maintenance: Low or no maintenance with a large after-sales network. Suzuki and Hyundai were the only ones meeting these criteria who have small cars. Honda and Toyota too are part of this list but sadly no small cars are there in their lineup. Also, I excluded Tata (Tiago, Punch) for poor after-sales service and Citroen for lack of network.
- Transmission: Normally torque convertor or CVT would be my primary choice but due to limited options in this segment I was left with AMT. With this, my selection narrowed down to only Grand i10 Nios or Exter. Suzuki may have many small cars but they are still not at par in terms of smoothness when it comes to AMT. However, when it comes to TC, their Aisin-sourced transmissions are doing a pretty good job.
Now both Grand i10 Nios and Exter satisfied all the requirements. Few things which gave Exter an edge over i10 are:
- Higher ground clearance (185 mm)
- Roomier and better headroom at the back.
- Ingress and egress is better (helpful for my parents)
Thanks to TeamBHP and numerous discussion forums, all this analysis was already done in my head and didn’t take any additional time
Buying Experience
The fastest I have ever seen.
Day 1: Showroom visit
In the morning I took my parents to the nearest Hyundai showroom and was greeted promptly by the sales advisor (SA). I eagerly showed both the cars (i10 and Exter) to them. My mother liked the Exter more as it was a bit roomier from the inside. Starry night colour looked good and was in stock. My father liked the i20 N-line in terms of looks which I told him would be an overkill (role reversed after a certain point of time in age).
I took a test drive with my parents in the Exter (manual) which was available. The gearbox was smooth, and the visibility was great. My parents had no complaints either.
The only thing left to do was negotiate on the price. Got an initial estimate and told the SA that I would contact him soon once I compared the quotes with other dealers.
In the afternoon I called all the other dealers and got similar responses (some better). By evening I decided on a quote and conveyed it to all the dealers and fortunately, the dealer we visited in the morning agreed. I paid the booking amount and asked the advisor to arrange for the AMT version for another test drive.
Day 2: PDI and Paperwork
The SA got the new vehicle washed and I completed a quick check in daylight. Everything seemed fine as there were no scratches or dents. The ODO read 10Km. I started the car and checked all the controls.
The SA kept all the paperwork ready to be signed and arranged for the test drive. I took the AMT for a spin along with my wife. She drove the car with ease and gave the final nod. While signing the papers I asked the SA about the registration process, and he assured me that once the finance part is done it will be initiated. He also shared the Engine and VIN with me. It was a July 2024 manufacturing. I came home and completed the insurance with Acko.
Day 3: Road tax: Payment was completed and the registration process started by the afternoon. Registration tax was paid by evening and the challan was received via SMS.
Day 4: Registration: Vehicle registration number was allotted and confirmed. I opted for a normal number. Number plate request initiated by the showroom.
Day 5: Readying the car: Number plated was fixed along with a few other accessories like foot mats, door guards and mud flaps.
Day 6: Delivery: I requested for a morning slot. Along with my family, we reached the showroom by 10:00AM. The car was ready at the delivery bay. With few more formalities and a little puja ceremony, the keys were handed over. It was a happy moment for all.
My father asked me if they had topped up the brake oil and engine oil properly. I tried to explain in vain and told him we would need only petrol for now. I took them for a long drive and could clearly see the happiness on their faces in the rear-view mirror.
Overall expense for Exter SX AMT
- Ex showroom + additional warranty (4 & 5th year) + Lifetime tax (15 years) = 9,53,000/- (Discounted price post negotiation)
- Insurance = 25,000/-
- Fastag = 400/-
3rd party accessories:
- Seat Covers = 9600/-
- Dash cam + Memory card (70mai A510) = 15,200/-
Replacement:
- Horn (DHC) = 1700/-
- Headlights (Philips weather vision LED) = 5100/-
Total cost = 10,10,000/-
Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.
