Venue vs Tiago: Battle of my first car-decision time!

Feb 14th update: It is Valentine day but my valentines are showing no sign of coming home.

Visiting Automatrix Mangalore- Tiago has arrived, seems fine during PDI- but they won't drive it to Udupi under my supervision- claim they don't have space in Udupi showroom, their drivers drive it under 100 kmph etc and they will drive to Udupi only after I pay full amount.

Udupi showroom now says they didn't book the car as per ID proof I had given. Would need an affidavit that would cost 1000 Rs extra. I feel it is some pressure tactics, so will resist this. 

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Many of you know about my car purchase story. I had booked Tata Tiago XZ back in December and was expecting delivery by end of Jan 2021. The need for the car, initial assessment and decision process explained in this post.

Above: I kept close watch on Hyundai stockyard and dealership- found a red Venue S+ which was lying there for weeks. Was later told it was registered to someone else. 

However I was disappointed how things developed in December & Jan

• It felt like dealing with Govt Office as Tata Motors local dealer was lethargic, won't share any update, information and zero enthusiasm in the whole process [Detailed experience here]
• I learnt that Tata Motors only has a booking counter in Udupi, no stockyard, no service station. Cars are sent in truck from Sanand to Mangalore via Udupi and then driven back to Udupi by road. Without a reliable service center I wasn't sure about time and effort I may have to spend if car develops problems
• With no delivery date in sight even after 5 weeks, I felt I need a plan B. I evaluated other options, zeroed in on Hyundai Venue S+ for which I was told waiting period is 1 month. Booked it by paying a small advance on 12th Jan 2021. [Hyundai vs Tata Motors booking experience]. I didn't want to spend 2-3 lakhs more on SX or SX(O) with turbo engines, sun roof etc. Was Ok with relatively underpowered but cheaper, easier to maintain 1.2 NA engine.
• Whole of January I had no update either from Tata or Hyundai on what is happening with my booking

Venue and Tiago are two different categories, so not directly comparable. While Tiago XZ on road price given to me in quotation was about 7.3 lakhs after some discount, my next option- Grand i10 Nios Sportz had an on road price of almost 8 lakhs. Nios had few bells and whistles like DRL, reverse camera etc but had lower ground clearance. I felt like "why am I spending 8 lakh on a hatchback". At that time Hyundai Venue S+ caught my attention- though its on road price was 10.3 lakhs.

	Tiago XZ	Venue S+
Pros	Decent hatchback in budget Good safety Saving 3 lakhs means I can buy something else (a drone or camera etc) or can afford to upgrade a bit earlier	Would elevate me couple of categories above: From hatchback to compact SUV 2 cm extra ground clearance Few more features- DRL, LED tail lamps, driver arm rest, 2nd row adjustable headrest, reverse camera, climate control, slightly bigger and wider tyre etc Venue sells 10-12k units a month, no major known issues Good dealership experience & service center available Less waiting period (1 month) Same size spare wheel
Cons	No service center, stockyard yet in Udupi, will be driven by road from Mangalore Poor dealer experience Still a hatchback (small car) 2 month waiting 1 inch shorter spare wheel	Have to spend 3 lakhs more upfront + little more on fuel, insurance etc all the time. Slightly underpowered engine, old style instrument cluster design, no rear wiper Unknown safety rating (Australia NCAP got 4 star, don’t trust Hyundai to keep same standards for India, some cost cutting would be there, but hoped it won’t be too low- didn’t see any crash videos

After initial set back, lack of information, update and basic courtesy, I decided to stop pursuing Tiago. If I get it with respect in reasonable time I will consider, else will go with Venue. I stopped following up with Tata Motors or its dealers. However a few developments happened thereafter.

1. Tata Motors Regional Sales Manager responded:

After seeing few of my tweets, Tata Motors Passenger cars regional sales manager called me, addressed many of my concerns and responded on email. Few answers were prompt and honest while few were only politically correct. Quick summary below

• Service center will open in Udupi soon, may take 2-3 months, so problem is temporary and they have an arrangement with Shama Honda for Sunday service camp
• Trucks have way bill written till Mangalore hence they can't legally stop in Udupi to offload Udupi cars. (I think Automatrix has only 1 master dealership account for all their showrooms so unable to get the cars delivered directly to different showrooms- some red tape dealer n tata motors can sort out if really interested)
• He confirmed car will be driven from Mangalore to Udupi at dealer's expense and risk- won't cut from 5 liter petrol I am supposed to get during delivery and any damage during this transit dealer is responsible.
• When I asked how do I ensure dealer driver won't drive faster than 100 kmph, I was told "staff are trained and can be trusted", similarly when I asked who will support breakdown between Udupi n Kundapura, answer was "call 24x7 helpline, they will assist", while answers are politically correct, I know ground realities can be different as every dealer has his own problems or agendas (remember Mandovi motors Baleno RS service video? or how earlier Tata dealer Hanuman Motors was cheating customers in Udupi). I didn't respond further.
• I was offered a 2020 made Tiago XZ (without any discount) and was told XZ+ can be delivered faster and blue colour takes more time. I had already waited close to two months, so didn't bother changing my preference of colour or variant.

2. Price increase from both Tata and Hyundai:

Tata Motors announced price increase in 2021, but they offered price protection to those who had booked before Jan 21. This meant I can still get my car at earlier ex showroom price. I read that 15k consumer discount that was available in Jan is also extended to Feb, so I would not be paying more.

Later Hyundai has also increased the price- venue will cost some 12k more ex showroom, 20k more on road, but unlike Tata Hyundai has not offered any price protection to those who have already booked (these are public info, need to check at dealer level what happens)

3. New Models in market

Renault launched Kigor, which is a competitor to both Tiago and Venue. But test drive vehicle is not yet available and it is a bit risky to book a newly launched model. New Swift is also expected soon.

Tiago limited edition was launched on a lower XT variant (I had booked higher XZ)- this felt like I did a mistake booking expensive variant. Altroz iTurbo was also launched- but as usual, no communication from company, no option to change model or variant. I am on my own.

4. Tata Motors record highest ever sales

Tata Motors registered their highest ever sales in 9 years. Clearly they have their hands full selling over 27000 cars per month, don't have time and patience to give too much attention to one hatchback buyer. So probably I should keep my expectations in check. Other one, Hyundai is #2 in the sales chart selling over 52000 cars a month. But Hyundai has a better dealer network to handle this much demand is what I feel.

5. Latest Updates

Yesterday Tata Motors staff called and said "your vehicle has been allotted, will be arriving in a week"

Hyundai people didn't have any clear update, got a generic estimate "should be available by 20th Feb (2 weeks from now)

	Tiago XZ	Venue S+
Booking Date	1st December 2020	12th Jan 2021
Waiting period stated & Advance paid	2 months 11000	1 month 2000
Delivery I was expecting by	End of Jan 2021	Feb 2nd week, 2021
Current status	Allotted, arrival expected by Feb 13th 2021	Not allotted yet, Arrival expected by 20th Feb 2021
Price increase	7.3 lakhs (Jan quotation) Feb: same price (ex showroom price increase is protected but consumer discount also continues)	10.3 lakhs (Jan quotation) Feb: 20k more (price increase, no protection)

Now both dealers are after me to make some payment. I have to decide between the two next week. I am thinking of the following

• I will not pay a single rupee more till I see the vehicle in person and do PDI
• I will see how the final price negotiation goes. I have watched enough videos last month to understand how all dealers cheat and where all I can save money. So will drill own on all components ranging from registration fee, insurance, AMC, essential kit etc. If a dealer gives honest answer and options he will have my trust. If they try to arm twist me I will walk out.
• Getting satisfactory response to my concerns from local dealer is also a critical factor.

Tiago will serve my purpose, save me 3 lakhs and has better power, mileage and safety. Only concern is Tata Motors dealer experience and after sales service. My plan is to use the car for at least 5 years before thinking of any upgrade. If I can get convincing answers/solutions/assurance for these and car is available sooner, I might close with Tiago. If Tiago gets delayed further, or dealer experience continues to be pathetic then I will close with Venue. Will have to stretch my budget for Venue but has its advantages.

Venue competes with Nexon. For about 11.5 lakhs on road I may get Nexon XZ which has lots of features including sunroof. But after initial experience my plan was to have an option outside Tata. Let me see how it goes. Let me know your thoughts. Venue or Tiago?

Related: Venue PDI checklist * Is Venue S underpowered? * Venue Owner Review *