New Black SPARK LS has lit us up!

Finally, made it! Writing at NDTV auto about my black beauty. We (myself and my wife) felt the need to write back to give it all back, a thank-you note for all the findings in the last couple of months and the help that we got here and Team-BHP (too harsh folks out there - could not post there.)

It all started in mid-Aug 2009.

Requirements: something different than the others, a budget of approx 400K for my first car, good for the city, should be manoeuvrable like my Splendor, should be bigger than a M800, Alto. My wife feels that I had an eye on a black Spark which I saw somewhere on the road once a year or so back. Maybe it was in my subconscious mind. Had a favoritism towards it right thru the search. We did not like the looks of any of the hatchbacks that we have today except for the M800, Alto, Spark. We liked the looks of some of the Sedans however we were not ready to drive the Sedan in a crowded city.

Surfing: We started our research on the net for the Spark and found soon that Team-BHP and NdtvAuto carwale were the sites to have loads of info about Indian cars. Thanks everybody! Threads such as A-Star vs Spark vs i10 and the ownership section were some which we followed keenly. Black had the added advantage of not having to go for body-colored bumpers and would mean we could go for the PS version with having to pay 20K lesser (atleast thats what we thought until we went for the test drives)

Test drives and dealers: KLN and Sundaram Motors. Found the drives very comfortable, one within the city and the other near to my house on a new non-traffic long straight stretch where I could test the speeds, brakes, swivels, etc. Loved it. The one which I would never forget of the test drive was the full turn around I could do just like my bike - with the Power steering. I had previously only driven my Dad's M800. At the Sundaram showroom my wife found a parked black PS, however the black of the bumper was way off in color from the black of the body and we decided to go for the LS version. However my wife found the seats to be a little hard during the test drives.
 
Aug 31: Last day of the Chevy deal (later they extended it till mid-Sept.) After a few calls to both the dealers finally settled for KLN - supporting the underdog and relatively new folks tilted it in their favor, and more so it was the first deal that the young salesman was doing.

ExShowRoom                    3,49,252
Insurance                            13,171
Registration & Life Tax          33,960

Discount                           40K+4K+10K

Net                                   3,42,363

Accessories: Central locking, car cover, sun-film, mud-flaps, floormat.

Previously there were talks about 1gm free gold coin, 2K reduction in Insurance however then the sun-film were not talked off and finally an other salesperson said that no matter how you look at it, there is only a limit upto which they could give discounts or freebies. We were pretty happy with the deal. Paid up 25K as advance.

Sept 11: Paid the remaining amount after PDI.
Sept 22: Went for registration.
Sept 24: Delivery.

contd...

... contd

We went for a highway drive on the 26th weekend upto Kalpakkam on the famous ECR (70 km up and 70 km down from home.) It was great. Just like some others who own the Chevy I too experienced the sudden faster movement when releasing from full clutch and release of the brake - something one has to get used to.

Now for the ICE:

Oct 4: I quickly went thru the options on the sites in the morning. Drove at around 11 am to Kalyani Car Jewels - 15, North Usman Road, T.Nagar and finalised the following:

Tweeter - TS-S250 - 40mm 1-1/2" - 50/250W MAX. = 400 (Pio)/1400(if JBL)
6" x 9" - GT5-S396 - 70W RMS - 280W Peak.  = 1790 (on box) / 1400
4" - GT5-S204 - 30/120W     = 4490 (on box) / 3400
DEH-2190 UB -      = 7990 (on box) / 5800
Rear tray       = 600
Antenna       = 250
Settings      = 450
Set sockets     = 300
steering cover (leather/stitch-type-thread&needle) = 550
Discount      = -500

Net: 12,650

They did a good job. No mess. However we need to go back to fix an internal antenna, as he said the external was not possible. We wanted to get the seat-covers done as well but they did not have enough choices.

Chennai folks, please suggest a place where we can get a variety of choices and a reliable dealer.

Ah! Btw, the dealer called us up and asked if we had done 1K km by now (a bit too early for a 2 week old car, I thought!) and if so they were calling us for the first service. That alleviates the A** fear more.

So far so good and we are having fun with it. We will be going to receive our parents from the station tomorrow, visiting us thru Diwali for a fortnight. So there would be 5 people in the car for a few days. Some more stress testing ;-)

The Spark has lit us up!

Jeev,

All the best. happy motoring. I am in Hyderbad and is buying Alto xcite (new variant with front power windows) next week. I was also interested about Spark, but going for Alto because of Mileage, service, spares.

Any way all the best!!!

congratulations,all the best,

about ceat cover,ive heard of DOLPHIN in royepettah,have a look(in my linea,bought at GP road,they installed after tearing the cover during installation,stuck it up for half the tear size n did the fitting,so ask the guys to do it without tearing)

Congratulations for your new car.Spark indeed is a superb vehical.Make sure you runin the engine well.Wish you many S(miles) with your sparky.

Thanks Om and Bala. Just waiting for my first service slated for 24th Oct. After which I can go on high speeds. Is there a limit to the speed before the first service? Om, Is there anything else I need to take care before the first service / run-in period? Went on the GST to Vandalur and then to Kelambakkam and then to ECR to Mahabs and back. Nice drive, 5 people, AC on! Thinking of going to Bangalore around Diwali - can I do it before the first service - If I dont exceed 80kmph? Dont know? Should restrain myself but am not able to.

You should not exceed the 80kmph barrier.

To runin the key is to vary the speeds and keep the car under 2500 rpm.Dont drive in too high gears(which many do while runin)just keep it in the power band.Yes you can go for a long drive just give the car frequent breaks as its a new car.All the best.

Great review dude! Btw what is the Chennai on road price for Spark LT? And can you throw some light on LS vs LT

@Jeev,

You have got a great deal. Spark is an excellent city car with decent highway stability. I got the seat covers fixed for my i10 from Kalayani in T Nagar. Why don't you check with them as they fit your ICE also ?

There is also one Haute car zone in OMR. Its far but they did a neat job on my M800.

Thanks everybody. Kartik - I would put the LT in Chennai to be at 3,76,319. Btw, I got my internal antenna fit later at Kalyani. But the sticker comes off. Would try and stick it well. Btw, I went for the long drive to Bangalore on Diwali weekend, started Friday morning at 5 am. Good roads. 80kmph and at times 100 kmph. On my way back 100kmph most of the times. 700 km on-trip. So the odo read 1400 when I reached Chennai on Sunday. Gave it to Ekattuthangal for service. I also happen to see the Ambattur workshop. Happy that they have enough people working at these places and am assured of the service. Very happy with the Sparky. More later... Paramesh: I was looking for beige/black covers. I saw a recent i10 with that color combination. Dont know where he got it. Looked good and would look good for my black Spark.