Avid biker buys his first car: 1-year ownership of Tata Tiago

We decided to go in for a small car, with good safety ratings and under our Rs 7 lakh budget.

BHPian saurabhgupta710 recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

1-year ownership of Tata Tiago XT (P) – BS6 2021 model

This is my first naïve attempt at journaling my thoughts and our journey of getting home in the first car. It’s going to be a lengthy one, so please sit back and read leisurely. Hope you enjoy reading about the journey (please ignore the errors, if any.)

Will try to keep this very centred around our journey and the entire experience of owning a car (and how we got there). Now that I have one, and spent some amount of time behind the wheels, I feel it’s the right time to share our story with you all.

Prologue: (The decision-making phase)

I have been an avid biker since 2013 and love exploring on two-wheels (..now on FOUR, from ’21)! The covid pandemic has changed a lot in life. To begin with, the last few weeks of 2020 were spent in contemplation, sleepless nights, endless conversations with wifey, and finally with a heavy heart made the decision to bid farewell to our trusted steed the ‘BlackPearl’ (Bajaj Avenger Street 220 – 2016 model, ~57,000 km on the ODO). It was really a tough decision to make and bid farewell. (Mods done include: top-box, Customised seat, mobile holder with charger, Windshield with black vinyl)

Here are a few departing shots of BlackPearl

While in 2020, we moved to the outskirts of the city and so the immediate requirement at hand was for a scooter/bike to run errands (given that we’re both working from the office) and the other plan for me was to upgrade, not to another bike, but to a car instead. The thought was surprising to me as I was never into cars!

(PS: I did not know driving, so the first task was to learn it and get a license. Around Dussehra of 2020, I enrolled for car driving lessons with Maruti Suzuki Driving School, Yelahanka.)

My previous license was only for bikes with gears, as the intention was to ride bikes. Plus in my family, we never had a car of our own, and in Mumbai, the need for a personal car hardly existed for us. They say necessity is the mother of, I say, everything! With some free time at hand and with the dynamics of life learning a new skill is always an advantage. Learning to drive a car has been on the top of the list, followed by swimming (someday, I guess!). It was only on 4th Jan’21 that I appeared for the driving license test and cleared it. While my spouse holds a license, she had hardly driven a car in the past decade, so next was to have her brush up on her skills (from the same school, and the same trainer).

We had started to consider used cars and new cars from Diwali 2020, with a 6-month timeline to zero down on a car and then wait for the right time/deal to close the hunt. In the interim, I spoke to a lot of my friends to understand the basics and figure out the technicalities (I consider myself a noob on the technical parameters, and so needed even more help on it).

We looked at used car markets – Spinny, Team-BHP Classifieds, Olx, Facebook Markets, Dealership used cars as well, but nothing seemed to be of our liking to say ‘that’s the one’. Wifey was very inclined to have a brand-new car and not a used car. Moreover, a good car i.e. well maintained and fewer km cost more or less 65-85% of a new car.

The Process:

The car would be my primary daily runner and weekend or at least once a month will be on the highways (though covid has made me even more finicky and I prefer to play safe bets in terms of going out. Since Feb’20 until now, the only proper trip we had was a week-long covering North & East Sikkim.)

One tick on the bucket list!

Our requirement for a car was (in order of preference):

• I have always taken my bike whenever, wherever I liked – I mean highways/off-roads/bad-roads. So, the first expectation was that the same can be continued. While I understand cars are a different ball game, I hope you understand the essence. The fun shall continue.
• With the ever-increasing traffic, we decided to have a small car/hatchback with at least a 4-star safety rating
• Budget: 7L on-road (not really keen to extend)
• Manual transmission (somehow AMT did not really have us hooked)
• Trusted brand (pref. Indian brand) with good A.S.S. and wide network of ASC + spares availability (Ford’s exit Last year and current air around Honda, makes us realize the uncertainty of foreign brands)
• The music system and speakers should be of good quality (though touch-screen infotainment is not a necessity)
• Decently done interiors
• Fuss-free ownership
• Reliable and tested engine/car overall (again, not keen to invest in something new in the market)
• My first preference is for a new car since it will be our first, and the goal was to bring home something that will be with us for at least the next 5 years and take us places, we want to go without thinking much of “will it go there” but rather “it will go there”.

With all this in mind, here are a few hatchbacks that we considered:

1. Tata Tiago (top preference, ticked most of the requirements. But the top-end model was over the budget).
2. Renault Kwid (off the list, due to no safety ratings and build quality)
3. MS Spresso/Celerio/Alto/Swift (off the list, as we learnt our lessons on Alto and Swift, the cars are good no doubt, but did not meet our expectations for calling it “the one”).
4. Hyundai Grand i10 NIOS/i20 (off the list, as I’m personally not really a fan of Hyundai)

After a lot of discussions with friends, watching reviews, reading forums like this, we narrowed it down to the below two:

1. Tata Tiago – mid variant ie. XT (90% fit on the bill. The only thing missing: foglights, rear parking camera, rear windscreen wiper. But, yes, it very well suited our requirement)
2. MS Swift – base variant (based on lower maintenance costs) – off the list due to the looks of the facelift model.

Having said that, we finally had the Tata Tiago XT as the only contender left and it was last week of December when I started to reach out to showrooms to get the quotes. Most of them shared the generic price list (for the entire Tiago range).

Screening Offers:

With no good deals offered, we finally began the most tedious task i.e. visiting showrooms to have a clear picture of what we are signing up for! We started the list with Kropex Motors, E-city (as in a few recent YT reviews, the users mentioned good deals, and the SA told me he had 2-3 2020 models of Tiago in the stockyard, and if I like the vehicle, we can talk on the deal part). I was very keen to know the numbers before knowing the details of the vehicle (helps in mental calculation, for me).

One visit the stockyard and let me tell you, the preference changed to something like this:

• Tata Tigor – base variant in Arizona Blue colour (though this had us to extend the budget and due to lack of many necessary features, it went off the list). I really really liked the car when i first saw it on the display at the showroom!!
• Tata Tiago – mid variant (yes, that’s “the one” we brought home).

I also saw in flesh: Tata Harrier Dark Edition and Nexon Camo/Military Green colour, they looked “wow”!

We did not like the white and silver colour models of Tiago and Tigor, and the SA broke the news of the price-hike. The news had us on heels, but given the uncleared price-hike and rush from dealerships to close the deal without good offers, we decided to take a step back and not rush on the decision. We took this time to visit other showrooms, and by the end of 1st week of January 2021, we visited below showrooms in Bangalore (with the essence of transaction/deal):
One important thing to note is, “Most showrooms said we can book at current price but they’re unsure what it would be/or how much they’re expecting the hike to be”. (Due to Covid, semiconductor, and some other issues they were clueless about the revised price). This took me off guard and the entire process was on halt for about 2-3 weeks. Wherein I was intermittently following up with all the SA to see if any news has come.

Kropex Motors, E-city

First, they denied the deal was closed with the Store Manager during an evening call by the SA (to persuade me to book). I asked for a day’s time and at the time of booking (when I considered, the deal was almost finalized), the SA stepped back with some dull excuses. And this made me hold back the booking with them. I thanked them and said I will contact them IF I want to book with them.

Prerna Motors BTM & Yeshwanthpur

The SA at Yeshwanthpur were pretty laid back, while the BTM SA gave me incorrect answers regarding quotes and other queries ( I know it was incorrect, as we visited multiple outlets, on the same day, and the picture got clear with time).

Aadishakti Motors – Hebbal

Never heard from them on our query despite calls (since this was the closest showroom, from my home, they were on my preference list.)

KHT Motors – Whitefield/Kundanahalli

A quick reference guide for new buyers (that’s what we referred to):

• Team-BHP forum has more or less the entire encyclopedia for a first-time buyer/owner and even driver!
• Do a thorough comparison of the model we chose and what the other variants had on offer
• Take a test drive (if you are confident enough, we both were not, and chose to just book the car instead).
• YouTube channels like MyCarHelpLine, DDS helped me understand many things as a first-time new car buyer.

Referred a lot of:

Review videos and posts/threads of preferred vehicle

Become part of various FB groups to see ownership reviews, complaints, understand and get insights into the entire phase of new car buying.

• Speak to other owners of the same model/variant. Always good to hear from people and know their perspectives, issues, et.
• Lastly, refer to the Team-BHP PDI list, it is spot on!
• One of my daily tasks includes going through the team BHP portal and the newsletter, plenty of insights. I thoroughly enjoy the newsletter. Kudos to the entire Team-BHP core team/moderators, and all the enthusiasts.

Booking process/PDI/Delivery:

Pre-booking:

After multiple visits to various showrooms, we got a call from the SM (KHT Motors, Kundanahalli) and after a lot of discussions, we got a good deal.

Booking (30th Jan):

The booking was virtual!

We were in Mysuru when the SM called and we decided to grab the offer and close the deal and put an end to our search. He assured me that my presence is not required (as I informed him on Day-1 that I stay in Jakkur and travel to the showroom for any work, which means at least 3hr travel to/fro for me) and we can collect all our documents during PDI or delivery.

The actual Booking Process we went through:

• Post the call, the SM shared the UPI QR scanner.
• Booked the car on spot with the basic token amount of Rs. 5,000/-.
• At the time of booking, I decided to not take any EW and accessories.

But by the time of delivery, we added the below accessories from the showroom:

1. Mudflaps
2. Door edge protectors
3. Chrome Car Bumper Guard Protector
4. Parcel Tray (had to chase them a lot, as the item was out of stock, and got this delivered only after daily follow-ups and consistent persuasion)

PS: Before booking, I had confirmed to the SM that until I do PDI, I will not release any payments. And the same was assured to us.

Delivery time was estimated to be 6-8 weeks, and we were OK with it, all we wanted is to ensure that we get a 2021 production model.

I was in touch with the SM on a daily basis. To our good luck, it was 1st Feb and the SM informed us that the car was under billing at the plant (as another customer had cancelled the booking and since we have the same requirement, it can be allocated to us) and insisted on partial payment. I denied the request and stood my ground on the offer we signed for. After some persuasion and back and forth, he agreed to wait until PDI. He committed to calling back once he has an update on the shipment.

PDI:

We got regular updates and on 4th Feb we were informed that the car will reach the stockyard in a day or 2 max.

We did the PDI on 6th Feb’21 and the preferred date for delivery was any day (but not 14th Feb, preferably). We were taken to the stockyard in the Altroz fully-loaded variant, and the rear seat feel was really good. Should easily fit 3 people. We referred to the Team-BHP PDI list for inspection before the vehicle went for RTO registration and insurance. A thorough check was done, VIN, Chassis and Engine number noted and verified, and took photos of the machine. Unfortunately, some customers during PDI had cranked the engine and ended up banging the car into the wall and then absconded, which made them not allow cranking the engine. (a fishy story, but we were OK with it, as the physical aspects of the car looked good, and no major observations/complaints).

Overall, the PDI was smooth. We went back to the showroom, gave a go-ahead after the PDI and paid the balance payment. Then we cleared the loan papers and disbursements, before heading back home.

Here are a few pictures from PDI:

Tip: If you’re buying a new car with financing/loan, please check BoB rates and offers.

After the entire process, on 9th Feb, we got an indication that the Delivery Day will be the same week i.e. around the weekend or 14th Feb (in all probabilities).

The D-Day: 13th February 2021 it is!!

On the evening of 12th Feb, the SA confirmed that we can come tomorrow for delivery.

We were excited yet slightly nervous at the same time, something that I personally experience a lot when a ride that I look forward to and is about to happen, the anticipation, the sleepless night before, remember? It was the same for me.

The next day we got a cab and started for the showroom when the famous Bengaluru traffic caught us! Took us a whopping 2.5 hours to reach and finally made it to the showroom.

Tip: Do remember to buy some gifts as a small token of appreciation for the SM/SA, as they’re the ones who we usually forget in the total process of buying a car (especially after the delivery). A small thank you gift would make them feel appreciated too!

Introducing: “Toothless” (Tata Tiago XT (P)– 2021 model

Why did I christen my car as “Toothless”??

I really adore the character of “Toothless” from the animated movie – “How to Train your Dragon”, and the bond that Hiccup and Toothless share, in the movie. I feel Tiago is just like Toothless to me. Though it looks killer but is many times underrated to be a regular hatch-back! No, it’s not! It’s far better than what people perceive of it.

Some Mandatory Clicks:

We got the car delivered, as promised. 2 key things missing:

• Number Plate: yes, they asked me to wait for another 4 days for the HSRP number plate to be issued by RTO (in my case I will have to wait for 1 week, as I can’t come down on weekday due to office), We went a week later to get the number plate fixed.
• Parcel Tray: like mentioned earlier, after a lot of follow-ups, got this accessory only after 3 weeks from delivery.

Honestly, it was a crazy and highly cautious drive from the Showroom to home, with wifey being on high alert in the co-passenger seat to ensure we reach safely (without kissing a scratch to any other vehicle).

Brought Toothless home, and here are a few pictures from the Pooja that we performed at home (due to the covid situation around, we weren’t keen to go to a temple and perform the pooja).

List of Accessories installed:

• FastTrack (did not get it via showroom, but through Paytm directly)
• Sai Baba Statue- a customary gift from my FIL
• 7D Floor Mats and Waterproof Rain Cover (got it from a vendor in New Delhi) – DIY installation, not more than 30 mins job.
• Dashcam: Using my SJCAM 4000 WiFi action camera on dashcam mode, since Day-1
• Dashcam Holder
• Boat products: a) 12V charger with a fast charge USB slot; b) braided type A USB {for dashcam}; c) Unbreakable Type C charging cable – 2M
• ELV Mobile Holder
• Car Perfume
• Key Protector silicone case and Leather key case from Daily Objects
• Car Seat Covers and Steering Wheel Cover (got them done to our liking)

Other car accessories bought: Mostly ordered online from Amazon

• RNG Eko Green vacuum cleaner for the car (as I have a furry girl home)
• Dog seat cover
• Inflatable Bed
• Icebox
• Microfiber cleaning brush, Microfiber cloths for usual dry and wet wash, and 1 hand-shaped cleaning towel cloth from HomeCenter (makes cleaning hassle-free and a chore one would love to do..Well, at least I love keeping my car spotless and clean)
• 3M rubbing compound for scratches
• Formula 1 car wax
• Car interiors/upholstery spray polish
• Leather polish/spray for the new seat covers

In this small time, we’ve managed to take Toothless for some small trips around the city and a couple of long trips too!

Few peeks of our small adventures over the weekend:

Continue reading about BHPian saurabhgupta710’s Tiago ownership for more insights & information.

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