This one is just about the true value experience.
I had an 800 and decided to upgrade. Did not want to go in for a new car so thought like before, let me go and buy from the same place.
I bought an esteem from truevalue paying a premium of atleast 30-40k considering that it is safer than be sorry.
But I did end up being sorry having taken the safer route.
Within 8 months the A/C compressor Conked off and I had to put in a new one at a fairly high cost.
So did the battery after another couple of months.
Now, a story about the battery! I saw lot of ads about Panasonic battery and went in for one! The new battery conked within 6 months. I had to fight with the dealer to give me a replacement and that one conked too! Instead of fighting with Panasonic people and getting my car stranded in the middle of the road because some one made a highly unreliable battery and look like a fool and also feel frustrated, I went and bought an Exide battery and my life is peaceful, I must say! Someone may advertise it is an Ex-Idea but this is reliable! If you park your car some place come back and your car would not start how do you feel! Advise is don’t buy Panasonic batteries ever!
Back to the Car,
I got the engine tuned, tappet valves, upholstry, reworked on some of the electricals(there were electrical problems!), rattling noise from the doors, suspension, dashboard squeaky(what 118 checks! haha)
Car Stereo to a Sony!(It had an awful blaupunkt cassette player with awful speakers and I love my music!), Added an AMP and a Subwoofer and sony speakers in the rear. Six months ago I changed from Sony to Pioneer 6950 as I was not happy with Sony. For car stereo, buy Pioneer if you can get a genuine one and also Kevlar Cone speakers from Pioneer - Great Sound!
Tyres - I changed to MRF ZVTS and that gave me a good service without major hassles for 40k+ KM and I changed to bridgestone. I am not happy with Bridgestone S322. ZVTS is a better tyre anyday.
Now, I have a much better car(Tell you it is the same car but the dealer himself would not believe if you don’t tell him).
I don’t believe their 118 or 128 tests whatever they claim. To me it is a big farce.
What have I done? My trusted local mechanic did some wonders to the car in addition to all that I have said above. It has clocked 1.3L on the Odometer and is good for another 70k km!
I have also put in a K&N filter. performance and fuel effeciency have also improved. I get about 11 in city and 15 on highways. Good car but bad deal! Ladies and Gentlemen, the moment you buy a car, get a K&N filter in! you will not regret it. It is for life of the car and beyond. you don’t have to change it every 5000KM.
The list goes on. In summary, I moved out from the dealer fedup with the way they had managed the whole relationship.
Moral of the story, don’t buy from True Value because the value you get is . .(fill in the blanks yourselves!:)
whether it is the company dealer or an individual, do a thorough check and buy your car through a known and reliable source.
I also wish we could have some sections on Tyres.