Before buying Santro, I test drove the Wagon R and the Swift too. Loved the space in the Wagon R but the gear shift is awful. For a moment I thought I was driving an Auto Rickshaw with a floor gear. Swift is cool but a bit outside my budget. Santro seemed to be a good zipper on the streets at a reasonable price.
Since I live in Jogeshwari, I visited Sreenath Motors located at Link Road, Andheri West. Beautiful Showroom but lousy sales guys. I warn all prospective buyers of Santro to keep away from this dealer. I met this sales guy called "RAJDEEP YEDPAL". He promised me a terrific deal on the Santro XO metallic. Loads of accessories free which included a Steering cover, floor mats, engine light, seat covers, sun film, car perfume, teflon coating, undercar coating, reverse horn and car body cover. When I told my friends that I got a good deal on santro from Sreenath Motors, one of them suggested that I take everything in writing on the invoice copy. Accordingly I once again met Rajdeep Yedpal to take the confirmation in writing. At this time the sales guy wasnt very happy to have me on his table as he was negotiating another deal.
When I told him that I wanted everything in writing, he tried to convince me that I have to trust him. When I did not agree with him, he flatly told me " SIR, HUM HAR MAHINE 250 SANTRO BECHATE HAI. HUMARA 6 CRORE SE JYADA INVESTMENT HAI IS DEALERSHIP ME, SAB CUSTOMER HUM PE BHAROSA KARTE HAI, AAP JAISE THODE AUR CUSTOMER HUMARE SHOWROOM ME AYENGE TOH HUME SHOWROOM BANDH KARNA PADEGA". I really felt insulted at his behaviour but my daily Yoga hlped me to remain calm. I took a refund from them and straight went to CONTINENTAL MOTORS at Khar. The sales guy there clearly gave me in writing a discount of Rs 22000 plus a few accessories like floor mats, steering cover and engine light. Ultimately I booked the car from them. Got the delivery on Dassera as promised and now I practically live in my Santro. Its too good man, I love the pick-up and the powerful aircon. Good for parking in tight slots as the turning radius is too good. The gear shift is a class apart from the wagon r and this makes it easy to drive in stop and go mumbai traffic. Seats are comfortable with the front seats giving a good under-thigh support. Go in for the Santro XO, it makes sense.
Once again Great Car but Beware Of the Dealers.