Why Fiesta?
I always wanted to buy a sedan as hatch-backs never appealed to me. I started my search in Nov’08 and had almost finalised Swift Dzire. Then I heard scary stories of dealers asking for additional amounts ( bribe ) to ensure the delivery of the car on promised date. This was happening due to long waiting lists all over India. In 21st century, one manufacturer holding customers to ransom was not acceptable to me and decided to move away from Maruti stable and check out other manufacturers.
I did td of GM- Aveo, Hyundai Accent., Hyundai Verna and Ford Fiesta. Aveo is hardly seen in Hyd and Accent was too old, so both were dropped from list. Now the choice was between Verna and Fiesta. Both cars were equally good. From a driving experience perspective I liked Fiesta more. Few of my friends suggested me to go ahead with Verna as they told me that people had a perception that Ford vehicles are costly to maintain. I was also confused which car to finalise, that’s when I read an article in an auto magazine which compared the spare part cost of different manufacturers and it was explicitly mentioned that Ford spare parts costs have come down considerably over last few years and now its comparable with any manufacturer (except Maruti) in India. On further research on internet I found that Ford’s claim is correct and they are seriously working towards correcting the wrong perception about their cars in India
Then came the deal-clinching offer. Last year March, Ford was running some schemes for meeting March sales target and they offered free insurance, corporate discount and some other discounts. All these resulted in 50K saving for me. I finalised Ford Fiesta and booked ZXi version Color- Thunder (greyish blue) and took the delivery on my b’day along with my folks.
Till date, I am enjoying the ride in my car. The built quality is any day better than Maruti . No rattling sound till now. Before buying Fiesta I never had an experience of driving a sedan . But the confidence I get while driving Fiesta is incomparable as its handling is best in its class. It makes me very comfortable even while driving in crazy traffic of Hyderabad. Its AC is also very good as its able to handle Hyderabad summer easily.
Dealership Experience- Mody Ford
I booked my car at Mody Ford. Booking and delivery experience was very good. Their staff was very courteous and helpful. I have posted a detailed review about Mody Ford on https://mouthshut.com/review/Mody_Ford_-_Hyderabad-188545-1.html .
After Sales Service-Regular Service- Mody Ford
In last one year I completed my 2 free services. Till now , by god’s grace, vehicle is running trouble free. I have tried Mody Ford’s both service centers (Bowenpally and Mud Ford) and found both to be equally good. The service advisors there are ready to give you a patient hearing regarding your problems and will try to resolve it your satisfaction. I found that service turn- around time for Ford cars is fast as they have started "Quick Service" at their service centers across country. My first service bill was "0" while for second service I had to pay for consumables which came to Rs 1200/-. My service advisor has been Mr. Naveen (9885915011) whom I found to be very good and helpful. Whenever I have any trouble/doubt relating to my car, I generally call him and he always answers nicely to all my queries.
After Sales Service-Accident repairs- Mody Ford
Few days back my vehicle met with a small accident near my office. While taking a U-turn, a Santro guy tried overtaking me from left .While trying to avoid a collision I hit the road divider damaging my car’s rhs wheel arch and got some scratches on rhs rear door. I took the car to the body shop where Navin and body shop in-charge inspected the damage and advised me not to take the insurance as I will lose my NCB. The estimate for the job was around Rs 2000-2400/-.
They promised to get the dent fixed and deliver my car in 2 days. When I went to collect the car next day, I found that color used for repainting doesn’t fully match my car color. The dent was gone but entire area was looking horrible. The scratches which were fixed on rear door were also looking horrible as color was not matching. When I raised the issue with Naveen, he also agreed that body color done was not properly and they will do the entire job again. He later informed me that mistake happened because their paint shop guys got the vehicle color wrong while mixing paints. He apologized and as complimentary offered to repaint the entire rear door for me free of cost. After 2 days, again I went to collect my car and found that everything was done properly now. The paint work looked really neat. While making the payment I was informed that entire cost of around Rs 2000 on my car is being written off for the trouble caused to me due to their mistake . It was unbelievable that entire work was done free for me. This experience was truly a customer delight.
Who says Ford cars are expensive and tough to maintain. Truly as Ford’s tagline says”Feel the difference”, my experience has been different till now from the normal perception people had about Ford.