Velankanni – extended trip no:1 – 2013

A larger view of photos can be found here
This post is a continuation of  Chennai – Thanjavur Road trip No:1 – 2013

As I said we reached Karikal, had to meet a relative and from there we set out to Nagapattinam to reach Velankanni in the morning.

Velankanni is a commercial place, yet the temple didn’t sound any were near to commercial when compared to Tirupathi or other places. Devotees maintained silence and the place prevailed tranquility.

Seems like this place is the new Velankanni, there seemed to an existence of old Church in that vicinity. I heard it from an other friend who had been to both the Velankanni. I did miss to visit this Church.

This photo should give you an idea about the old shrine no 4.

Layout of the Basilica complex. 1.Basilica, 2.Nadu Thittu shrine-site of second apparition, 3. Adoration & Reconciliation chapel, 4.Our Lady’s Pond-site of first apparition, 5.Stations of the cross, 6.Stations of the Rosary, 7.Stations of the Sacraments (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

When I said commercial it is because I did see few more Churches in the near vicinity, heard a story about locals demanding work in the areas of maintenance around the Church, the locals have seen the improvements, they feel there is a lot of money. Well I can’t prove you by numbers, Could be rumor floating around the Church.

Photography was not allowed inside the Church, meaning they didn’t want distractions for the devotees. All of you would have watched the live event of the Church broadcasted on TV networks.

Velankanni amazed me with the kind of architecture and how the place has been maintained.

Wish the beaches had been maintained properly, for the kind revenue coming in. Proactively the locals around could have take little care.

Finally a suggestion If you ever wanted to take a trip to Thanjavur, take the Trichy highway, Yes the highway is extended till Thanjavur, you will be making more miles, certainly your car doesn’t have to suffer the bad roads, neither the driver has to undergo fatigue.

I am not sure about the ECR route, If there is any one who has taken this route, please do comment.
Well now there aren’t good roads to Nagapattinam. Guess we will have to wait.

Maruti rating has got to do with JD Power

For a month I have been researching on buying a new hatchback, had a Mahindra Renault Logan petrol GLX for 2 and half years and finally gave up on Mahindra’s marketing strategies of reducing the pricing of car. Imagine what happens to early adopters is a big middle finger.

My criteria was responsive, economical, spacious for 2 adults and 2 kids, good mileage and little occupy little space on parking.

Cars I had in mind where, Hyundai i10, Hyundai i20, Fiat Punto, Chevy Spark with gas, Maruti Alto, Maruti wagon R, Maruti Ritz and Maruti A-star.

The real battle was between Chevy Spark with gas and Maruti A-Star Vxi.

No rants out here. Maruti A-Star finally won my family’s heart, and I was happy that I did have to shell out much on the accessories. The deal had sun film control, PU steering grip, PU car seats, Car body cover, Pricol Remote locking and under chassis painting.

PU – imitation leather.

Finally had to give the feed back when people from popular vehicles people call me up, I said my rating was 6/10 for Maruti. The person who call me said it was a problem, check the rating which I have attached as image. I said Maruti has their rating system for which I will not respond. I had my own rating system were 6/10 was actually good.

These are marketing guys gimmicks. I have a feeling J.D Power satisfaction report has got to with Maruti rating system. Where every customer responds with 8/10 naturally J.D power will have to be biased towards Maruti. Check the link below

http://www.indiacar.com/jd_power/default.htm

check the "customer satisfaction index" for 2008. You will understand what I am referring to.

P.S: I believe Chevy Spark will do better in coming days. I received a call from Spark guys and they wanted to analyze on why they lost a customer. I told them about resale value, mileage. It was indeed a call I didn’t expect. I love their "Chevy" car design, interior, responsiveness and handling. Just that, this time it didn’t work out.

tags: Photography, Chennai, Cars, Maruti, Hyundai, Chevy, Fiat, JD Power, Customer Satisfaction

maruti a star

maruti rating card

Honda hybrid now in India

Good news for people in India who care for the environment, but the cost of these cars will be dear to their pockets. With 104 percent duty levied by the Indian Government the ex showroom price would be 21.50 Lakh INR.

Here are the details about the new Honda Hybrid from the Honda Indian website

Wish there are more buyers, so that Honda thinks about having a plant in India, as we could see the prices of these cars coming down.

My best wishes for the Honda Team – Power of dreams
Technorati Tags: cars, foreign cars, safety, green, environmental, fuel, India, hybrid

How I bought my new Mahindra Renault Logan – space, value for Money- Review

The questions which I asked myself before I bought my car.

When should you buy a car?
When there is a need to commute (atleast 40 KMs a day) or for other reasons like family, prestige etc. The reason why I choose a sedan and not a hatchback was that, I take my car to my native place, which is around 650 KMs away. So didn’t want my family to feel cramped.

What would be the best option to buy a car?
If you have full cash, that is the best option available. If choosing finance, go for atmost 3 years not more than that. Look for any travel agencies their cars would be financed for not more than 3 years. That is the best value for money.

Why 3years?
Imagine if you took 5 years finance and at the end of 4 year you are planning to upgrade to a new car. Which I did, selling my Maruti 800. You end up making a huge loss.

Market price of car during the 4year + Finance settlement charges (1 year interest rate + pre closure interest amount) = Market price of your car at the 5 year.

What are the things you should look for?
Safety, Value for money, Space, Looks – these are my terms. May differ with individual.
Why?
The moment you drive your car from the car lot, the value of the car depreciates by 20 percent. Shit man. I look for value for money than looks. Look for your ideal car.

What car to choose, Petrol or Diesel, Why?
Petrol cars – good, if you are going to use for your personal and family use and won’t cross more than 50 KMS/day.
Diesel cars – good, if you are going to travel more than 60 KMS and odd/day. That should be better choice when you look at the service point of view. That is one reason you will find most cabs and travel agencies operate Diesel cars than the petrol one.

Now let us break down the pricing details of the car you plan to purchase.

Ex Showroom price – cost that the manufacturer expects, no tax.
On Road Price -Cost of the car + Life time road tax + Annual insurance

Now let me discuss where all you can save money in the price components

1. Actual car value – manufacturer price – depends on the dealer. Bargain here with the dealer
2. Annual Insurance – Don’t take the policy from the dealer, talk to some private insurance agencies (Bajaj Alliance, TATA AIG, ICICI lombard), even the public players like (New India Assurance) Bargain here
3. Life time Road tax – Don’t even dream about it. The Government own our ass.
4. Finance (if you have100% cash that is the best option) Don’t take the options from the dealer, talk to private players like (Kotak, ICICI, ABN Amro etc) Bargain here

Sites to visit before you buy a car http://www.carwale.com

The carwale site has enough calculators for eg. the EMI calculator.

Kindly note: I would have asked you not to get leads for the Finance and the Annual insurance from the dealer. Still compare the prices individually and the comprehensive package offered by the car dealer. Check which is the best & Go for it.

compare cars of your choice before you buy, take test drives, show it to your friends and family. You will come to hear about the good and bad about the car which you are planning to own.

Here is my test drive experience on Mahindra Renault Logan

Some more post which are in continuation with Mahindra Renault Logan

1. Why Mahindra Logan, Renault Logan, Dacia Logan?
2. Mahindra Logan – Usability Explored
3. Is your Mahindra Logan in safe hands – After sales, What service
4. Mahindra Logan – Look out for the new version
5. Mahindra Renault Logan free service – unveiled
6. The Devil in my Mahindra Renault Logan
7. Tested on animals – Mahindra Renault Logan

Technorati Tags: Renault, Logan, Mahindra Renault Logan, Review, safety, kids, usability, car, chennai, dealer, howto, best, petrol, diesel, fear, marketing, sales, savings, automobiles

Mahindra Renault Logan – Look out for the new version

Well seems like Mahindra Renault logan 1.6 GLS could be phased out and a new model with ABS could replace. Just a possibility, heard from the sales representative, from the dealer where I bought the car. Well did you note that the particular model alone seems to have the highest Offer, Offered.

Well the above news can be unconfirmed or not an official one, but for sure Mahindra logan will be introducing a new Car with ABS – anti-lock braking system.

Don’t tell me that I didn’t warn you?

Here is my test drive experience on Mahindra Renault Logan

Some more post on Mahindra Renault Logan

1. How I bought my new Mahindra Logan – space, value for money
2. Why Mahindra Logan, Renault Logan, Dacia Logan?
3. Mahindra Logan – Usability Explored
4. Is your Mahindra Logan in safe hands – After sales, What service

Technorati Tags: Renault, Logan, Mahindra Renault Logan, Review, safety, kids, usability, car, chennai, dealer, howto, best, petrol, diesel, fear, marketing, sales, savings, automobiles

Software Professionals – Beware

When was the last time you used internet search to buy new or old homes, or when was the last time you made a search to find used cars.

Well con man have become tech savvy and using sites to find the lazy software professionals as bait. 

Try searching this site like magicbricks.com  to find new homes at low prices. Well the answer you are sure to hear is “Boss it is sold out, there are some more homes in that range, do you want to try?”

You take the lead, they will show you homes at the sky rocketing market prices. The real market.

Even the used car industry is not spared by these offline spammers. You are bound to find cars at low market price. Do not fall a bait. Check sites like carwale.com Use the online tools to find the best market price to buy used cars.

Well internet has become their local leads than usual petty shop leads.

Maruti Driving School – now in chennai

I had seen the website of Maruti Driving school long ago, but recently on the Velachery main road happened to see one of the new showroom from Cars India, I knew that Maruti driving school has come down to chennai, So made a visit to the showroom and landed on the inquiry desk. There was a warm welcome and I started to ask about the course which they offer and how different from the normal driving school.

The advantage I found Maruti driving school was the

1. Simulator
2. More about safety
3. How to drive

Well the packages they have is basic and the advanced one. The pricing are bit high.

Kindly note: What Maruti Driving school offers you to learn on the basic and advanced skills on driving. For obtaining the driving lesson, it is the same agent story whom you get at any driving school and shell out another 1200 INR (recent trend, may shoot up).

If you are very serious about safety and worried about your loved ones who want to learn to drive the car this is the right place.

1. As your car never gets damaged
2. Your loved ones learn the road safety side by side ( your wife or daughter)
3. Handing of car with respect to theory and practicals

Why I would choose Maruti driving school?
I tried to teach my Wife on how to drive the car, I got fed up, and she messes up with my car badly. At last I had to take her to a normal driving school to get the basics, even now she is not that great driver. So choosing Maruti driving school is ideal for woman and for angry husband who love their car.

Wide variety of Maruti cars available for learning driving classes.
Maruti Driving school, now currently available in Velachery and Arumbakkam

Update:
Here is the address for the Maruti Driving school at velachery
Old No:48/ New No:141
Velachery Main Road,
Velachery
Chennai – 600042
Ph: 044 22553464, 044 22553484

Technorati Tags: cars, driving school, maruthi, safety, road safety, driving class