I have bought a new Spark LS from Kropex India Limited Bangalore. Got it a couple of weeks back (on July 5th).
First of all I would like to thank mouthshut.com and all the people who have put up their reviews on Spark.
Statuatory warning: My tale of car purchase might be similar to the others posted in this site :-)
I had done a lot of research on all the small cars available in the Indian market. I basically wanted a car with - 1000 CC engine, AC , Power steering, good after sales service, costing max 4.2 Lakhs and pretty good to look at.
All my RnD finally narrowed by choices to Santro xing (personally I do not like the looks of i10) and the Spark. After going through most of the previous reviews, and thanks to them , I could decide without a second thought, to buy the Spark.
I do not want to do a car by car comparison, however I would like to list down some facts about my Spark:
- Looks : Cute. My car came with beige interiors which makes a lot of difference. The body colour
is white. This with dark sunfilm makes the car look really cute, just like a toy.
( I will be uploading the pictures with this review)
- Engine: Super SMOOTH. One can hardly notice that the engine is ON. Response is also very
good. It does not knock even at very low speeds. I could drive in 3d gear at speeds around
15-20km/hr and in 5th gear at speeds just near 40km/hr without engine knocking. With 4 people
sitting, I could not notice any lack of pickup.
Cost: Cheaper than other comparable 1000 CC Cars. It cost me 3.64 on road(insurance+tax).
Service: This is one of the best parts. I do not have to pay a dime for the first 9 service or 3 years
whichever is sooner. The company would bear the cost for even the oil change, labour or
repair of any part covered by the 3 year warranty ! The dealer network is pretty good too.
- AC and PS: As somebody rightly pointed out in another review. The pickup goes down very much
when the AC is on. I do not use it much as the climate now in Bangalore is pretty cool. Power
steering is very responsive.
Mileage: I have not re-filled the tank for the second time yet. So cant comment on that now.
Gear: Shifting to 1st and 2nd gear does not happen smoothly. As it is a new car, I am expecting it
to smoothen over the days. 3rd, 4th and 5th slip in easily. However the reverse gear requires a
small effort as it goes to false neutral often.
Dealer: Kropex India Ltd. This is a very new Chevrolet show room on Hosur road Bangalore.
One of the best dealers I have ever come across. Based on my experience of visiting various showrooms during my car research and test drives, I can say Kropex is the best. They know how to treat customers politely. The executive there patiently answered each and every query of mine.
Not only new customers, even the regular customers (who come for servicing the cars) are also treated like guests. They gave the delivery of my car within a week !
*Accessories:
*I got the door handles and the mirror painted to body colour cost me Rs 2000
Anitrust (3 year warranty) and paint protection(1 year), totally: 4500
Car cover: Rs 1000
Yet to get the stereo system fixed
Insurance: Around 7, 900 (part of the on road price0
Loan: I had gone for direct cash payment as I was a little apprehensive to take loan.
Rate of interest quoted by the banks were in the range of 11-12.25 % . If you are good at
negotiating, you can get the loan processing fee reduced to Rs2000 (otherwise Rs3500).
As this is my first car, I am very excited and extremely happy with my purchase. As I have not driven it around much , I will not be able to comment anything more.
I will keep updating the post as and when I feel there is anything important to mention.
Till then.. Bye.
Thanks
Ashish