Q.Is the Ford Figo really cheaper than the Maruti Swift on maintenance costs?

My Figo clocked 1.37L kms done service at Chennai Ford and paid 6k including wheel alignment and balancing. Still I like the Engine performance smooth like the New. If you maintain your car properly it will not give any trouble. Ford car's are very cheap to maintain. Also getting feedback call every FASS visit. If you complaint anything about you concern you will get proper response and solution. I recommend Ford any day instead of Maruti . Ford for safety , fun to drive and VFM .

Roshun You have very wrong Opinion about ford, As mentioned by one of the person (may be pradeep) . All there service centers "STAND BEST" in giving "REAL BAD SERVICE" (even when its costing me an arm and a leg). Company should provide the service after sales, that builds the brand name and just selling a low price car.

[QUOTE=Roshun;n23115]Once a company earns a certain reputation, it becomes hard to shake off. And that is what Ford India has been facing for a while. Even though it offers the cheapest maintenance costs compared to other competitors in the segments it operates in, the company has seen that people are still of the opinion that Ford cars are expensive to maintain - a reputation the company earned back when it first sold the Ford Escort, Ikon and Fiesta in India. Telling people that its cars are cheaper to maintain is one thing, but Ford decided it would go a step further and demonstrate to the press how exactly Ford cars are actually cheaper to maintain than competitors. Ford India organised a visit to its Technical Training Centre in Manesar, where it not only shared details of its maintenance costs, but also offered a demonstration and comparison with competitors' replacement parts. Here are some of the key takeaways from the event: Ford claims the cost of service for the first year for a Ford Figo is just Rs. 1,500 (all-inclusive). Now that is really low, as a Maruti Swift costs about Rs. 3,000. Even in the fifth year, Ford claims the annual service cost is not more than Rs. 3,600 or so. Check out the image below: [ATTACH=CONFIG]n23116[/ATTACH] The company also said that the total maintenance cost one would incur if you drove for 1 lakh km would be quite affordable. For the Ford EcoSport, the total maintenance cost comes to about 0.42 to 0.46 rupees per kilometre (Rs. 42,466 to Rs. 46,416). For the Ford Figo and Aspire, the cost is just Rs. 36,300 to Rs. 38,000 for a lakh KM. For the Ford Endeavour, the maintenance cost comes to Rs. 67,763 - Rs. 71,535 for a lakh Km. (This has been calculated by taking the service cost for 10 services, or once every 10,000 Km). [ATTACH=CONFIG]n23117[/ATTACH] That's N.Prabhu who heads customer service at Ford, walking us through the demonstration: [ATTACH=CONFIG]n23118[/ATTACH] One of the key reasons why Ford is able to keep its maintenance costs low is because of its child parts strategy as explained earlier in this thread. Just to demonstrate what Ford means by child parts strategy (where only a component is replaced instead of an entire assembly), Ford had some demos set up. Like this alternator assembly, where the whole alternator costs Rs. 13,300, but only parts may need to be replaced: [ATTACH=CONFIG]n23119[/ATTACH] Here is a comparison of some common parts with its competitors. Ford EcoSport vs Hyundai Creta headlamp assembly price: [ATTACH=CONFIG]n23120[/ATTACH] Ford EcoSport vs Hyundai Creta tail-lamp assembly price: [ATTACH=CONFIG]n23121[/ATTACH] Oil filter and belt price comparison: [ATTACH=CONFIG]n23122[/ATTACH] Ford EcoSport vs Maruti Vitara Brezza vs Hyundai Creta air filter price: [ATTACH=CONFIG]n23123[/ATTACH] Front fender comparative cost - Ford EcoSport vs Maruti Vitara Brezza: [ATTACH=CONFIG]n23124[/ATTACH] Ford also says it supplies genuine parts in the aftermarket as well through 13 parts distributors in the country, so even non-authorised workshops can pick up these parts to install in a Ford car. Besides that, it offers a warranty of 1 lakh km or 4 years on its vehicles. There are about 376 authorised Ford service centres in the country. What do you think? Share your experiences with Ford Service in this thread, by clicking reply and posting. [/QUOTE] I certainly do not agree with this whole child part strategy. It is a mere marketing gimmick. A recent issue with the dysfunctional AC was identified to be due to a melting coupler. An item which would normally cost INR300 or so, costed me INR 2800+ taxes. I first tried to replace the part from Mahindra First Choice near my house, but they could not get the part. Ford reserves sales of certain parts to their service network. Figo recently completed the 60K service for 11K. This is huge considering that the car has an anti-inflation package which runs until 2018.

[URL="https://www.zigwheels.com/forum/profile/6"]Roshun[/URL] In ford, a simple fuse which may not cost 5rs for manufacturing, it cost 495rs after discount. other company cars will give spare fuses but ford did not bothered​ to give.

Ford is an international brand, they are having only a few of their showrooms in India. As their service rates are more than compared to other company. Compared to Maruti Suzuki Swift, the waiting period for these cars are low. Key features of Swift:- 1) Good Average 2) Good Handling only 1 Problem Rear Leg space is low... F-ROHAN SHIGVAN

[URL="https://www.zigwheels.com/forum/profile/15524"]Sandeep_Mathure[/URL] I don't think so. The new-gen Figo is heavily localised and the spare parts prices are quite affordable. Plus, the modern diesel engines are very reliable and prescribed service intervals are all that you have to look out for. If I were you, I would go with the Figo in a heart beat.

[URL="https://www.zigwheels.com/forum/profile/21"]JijoMalayil[/URL] Hello Jijo, thanks for your kind response. Yes I had driven both cars and certainly figo diesel is more powerful. Since my monthly running would be with in 1000kms..I am inclined towards baleno. However I had a setback when baleno waiting period is 22 weeks. If I go with figo diesel and use my vehicle daily around 10 kms only will that be a problem for maintenance visa a vis petrol?

[URL="https://www.zigwheels.com/forum/profile/15524"]Sandeep_Mathure[/URL] Hello, if your monthly mileage is not more than 2,000 kilometres, it's better to stick to a petrol car. Having said that, it's a tough choice between the Figo Diesel and Baleno Petrol. Figo diesel definitely has the upper hand in performance, handling and ride quality. Plus, being a diesel it will return better fuel-efficiency. Ford claims that the maintenance cost is cheaper than their corresponding Suzuki cars (Baleno diesel in this case). Have you driven the cars? Which one do you prefer?

I am looking to buy either the Suzuki Baleno Delta 1.2 or Ford Figo trend 1.5 TDCi. My general use would be weekend occasionally long. Figo diesel is costing me Rs 80k more. So can you please suggest between two, w.r.t maintenance as well.

I have been using a Ford Figo for almost 4yrs and here is what I have to share. When I bought the car, there was a similar advt campaign with huge banners with comparison of consumables and service costs + a huge claim of 'child-parts' (meaning a large part needing a repair on one of its parts can be bought at a smaller price and get it fixed, thus lowering maintenance and service costs). In theory, all of this works wonderfully well. However, I have spent more than a lakh rupees on spares till date and not even one had a 'child part'. The latest one being a coupler pin for air conditioning which turned loose thus turning off the compressor every now and then. I had this reported even in my last service (60K Kms) which was unattended. The coupler pin is just like a plug a socket and as usual, there is no child part. A part otherwise would've cost less than 100 Rs, cost me INR 2,660.00!, Yes. A coupler pin costs so much with Ford, why because the customer has to pay for anything which is attached to the coupler pin too (which in this case is a perfectly working coil). This is a common issue with Ford Figos and Fiestas and the company very well understand this. Neither did they bother to bring a child part for this, nor did they bother to improve the design or reduce the price of the product. There are 100s of such issues which I can quote on this ford car where almost everything is manufactured in India, still with prices as expensive as premium cars. My friend's swift went a banged the rear of another friend's ecosport. Both the cars had some amount of damage. While the swift got the front bumpers, a fender, hood, radiators, condenser and impact beam replaced (along with painting) for approx INR 50K, a rear door replacement, bumper, denting and painting of other metal parts etc cost him a whopping 1.8lakhs! Service quality is equally pathetic with Ford while we compare it with Maruti. So guys! NEVER TRUST THESE ADVERTISEMENT CAMPAIGNS OF FORD. Period.

[URL="https://www.zigwheels.com/forum/profile/13203"]Dhanabal_Venkidusamy_Srinivasan[/URL] How much mileage and how old is the car? Is it within warranty? If it is, the AC evaporator will be covered under warranty. If the car has been regularly serviced and AC cleaned every 10,000 km, I don't think this part should fail. For the new Figo this part costs Rs. 6000, not sure how much it is for the older one. You could escalate this issue to Ford customer care - and Tweet to Ford India (@FordIndia) as well, as the company follows social media very closely. [url]https://www.zigwheels.com/forum/posts/23134-ford-figo-titanium-ac-issue[/url]

Once a company earns a certain reputation, it becomes hard to shake off. And that is what Ford India has been facing for a while. Even though it offers the cheapest maintenance costs compared to other competitors in the segments it operates in, the company has seen that people are still of the opinion that Ford cars are expensive to maintain - a reputation the company earned back when it first sold the Ford Escort, Ikon and Fiesta in India. Telling people that its cars are cheaper to maintain is one thing, but Ford decided it would go a step further and demonstrate to the press how exactly Ford cars are actually cheaper to maintain than competitors. Ford India organised a visit to its Technical Training Centre in Manesar, where it not only shared details of its maintenance costs, but also offered a demonstration and comparison with competitors' replacement parts. Here are some of the key takeaways from the event: Ford claims the cost of service for the first year for a Ford Figo is just Rs. 1,500 (all-inclusive). Now that is really low, as a Maruti Swift costs about Rs. 3,000. Even in the fifth year, Ford claims the annual service cost is not more than Rs. 3,600 or so. Check out the image below: [ATTACH=CONFIG]n23116[/ATTACH] The company also said that the total maintenance cost one would incur if you drove for 1 lakh km would be quite affordable. For the Ford EcoSport, the total maintenance cost comes to about 0.42 to 0.46 rupees per kilometre (Rs. 42,466 to Rs. 46,416). For the Ford Figo and Aspire, the cost is just Rs. 36,300 to Rs. 38,000 for a lakh KM. For the Ford Endeavour, the maintenance cost comes to Rs. 67,763 - Rs. 71,535 for a lakh Km. (This has been calculated by taking the service cost for 10 services, or once every 10,000 Km). [ATTACH=CONFIG]n23117[/ATTACH] That's N.Prabhu who heads customer service at Ford, walking us through the demonstration: [ATTACH=CONFIG]n23118[/ATTACH] One of the key reasons why Ford is able to keep its maintenance costs low is because of its child parts strategy as explained earlier in this thread. Just to demonstrate what Ford means by child parts strategy (where only a component is replaced instead of an entire assembly), Ford had some demos set up. Like this alternator assembly, where the whole alternator costs Rs. 13,300, but only parts may need to be replaced: [ATTACH=CONFIG]n23119[/ATTACH] Here is a comparison of some common parts with its competitors. Ford EcoSport vs Hyundai Creta headlamp assembly price: [ATTACH=CONFIG]n23120[/ATTACH] Ford EcoSport vs Hyundai Creta tail-lamp assembly price: [ATTACH=CONFIG]n23121[/ATTACH] Oil filter and belt price comparison: [ATTACH=CONFIG]n23122[/ATTACH] Ford EcoSport vs Maruti Vitara Brezza vs Hyundai Creta air filter price: [ATTACH=CONFIG]n23123[/ATTACH] Front fender comparative cost - Ford EcoSport vs Maruti Vitara Brezza: [ATTACH=CONFIG]n23124[/ATTACH] Ford also says it supplies genuine parts in the aftermarket as well through 13 parts distributors in the country, so even non-authorised workshops can pick up these parts to install in a Ford car. Besides that, it offers a warranty of 1 lakh km or 4 years on its vehicles. There are about 376 authorised Ford service centres in the country. What do you think? Share your experiences with Ford Service in this thread, by clicking reply and posting.

[URL="https://www.zigwheels.com/forum/profile/12185"]Prasad_Divakaran[/URL] Which model year Figo is it? If it's a new car, this injector replacement should be covered under warranty. And I would also suggest getting a second opinion, because many dealers often change parts that are unnecessary, mainly because they make their profits from after-sales service. It is highly unlikely that injectors will go bad so soon, unless the fuel quality is really bad.

[URL="https://www.zigwheels.com/forum/profile/8134"]Anoop_4[/URL] I can see your dilemma here. As Arjun has already pointed out, the top-end Ford Figo Titanium is cheaper than the base variant Maruti Vitara Brezza LDi. He has a point when he says you can go for the Titanium Plus and get Ford's SYNC infotainment system and six airbags. Or you could consider the Ford Figo Aspire Titanium diesel and get more boot space. In terms of engine power, the Figo is much better. However, if you look at interior space the Brezza will have a bit more to offer. Fuel efficiency, both would be similar in the city at about 15-16 kmpl. Maintenance costs - the jury is still out on this one. While Figo is theoretically lower for regular service and spares, owners have reported otherwise for replacement parts. (See above)

[URL="https://www.zigwheels.com/forum/profile/8134"]Anoop_4[/URL] Which variants of the cars are you comparing. The price difference between the Figo Titanium(not plus) and the Brezza ZDi(not plus) is 2 lakhs. Its even higher when you compare the Titanium + with the Zdi +. The price difference of 60k you mentioned is between Figo Titanium and the Vitara LDi, which is the base variant of the Brezza. In terms of engine, the Figo is more powerful and has minimal turbo lag. The Brezza , with the VGT is known for turbo lags and that affects its driveability in traffic. However the noise levels are lower on the Brezza. The Figo is also more fuel efficient according to ARAI tests, but in real world conditions the difference in fuel efficiency won't be much. In terms of handling the Figo is better, and is more steady in high speeds. The Figo also has a smaller turning radius which is useful while parking and while taking U turns. In terms of space, the Brezza is bigger and little wider but the rear leg room isn't much better in the Brezza as compared to the Figo. The Brezza has a much bigger boot which is quite useful. The Brezza looks better, has higher ground clearance , and more space. The ground clearance however is quite good for a Figo also considering its a hatchback. In terms of features there is no comparison at all. Figo is much ahead. It has 2 airbags (1 in Brezza LDi), ABS,EBD, automatic climate control, driver seat height adjustment, front and rear power windows(compared to front only in Brezza), and a warranty of 1lakh kms/2 years over 40000kms/2 years of Maruti. The warranty can be considered same as mostly there would not be so much running in 2 years. However comparing other things, the Figo Titanium is a much better deal. For the price of the Brezza LDi you can even go for a Titanium Plus variant of the Figo and get a better ICE, and 6 airbags. Otherwise even going for a Ford Aspire Titanium, will solve the bolt space issue and still save you 10k over the Vitara Brezza. The higher variants in the Brezza do narrow the gap in terms of features, but they would cost more than a lakh more than the Figo options. The Brezza also has longer wait times. Unless you are specifically looking for a compact SUV, the Figo/Aspire are much better deals over the Brezza LDi.

Ford has launched a service cost calculator. Here's the link: [URL="https://www.fordservicepricepromise.com/?extcmp=serca_101115_105328_fordind"]https://www.fordservicepricepromise....105328_fordind[/URL] Ford says the calcualtor will let you know how much your car's serivce is going to cost before entering the service centre. It says you just need to take a print of the calculated quote and show it to the dealership and the price you pay is the price you see. Have to check out how far this claim is true. [USER="1623"]Geo[/USER] recently bought a Ford Figo diesel, will check out how far this claim is true while taking his car for the regular service.

Recently I have done 1L10K Service for my Figo TDCi @ Akash Ford Hosur. Bill amount ₹7015 including front two suspension ( 1214 + 1214 + 576 Labor ). [ATTACH=CONFIG]temp_3681_1459762898638_696[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=CONFIG]temp_3682_1459762905749_136[/ATTACH]

[QUOTE=shankarsuresh10@gmail.com;n6884] I have Ford Figo 2011 (5 Years old and done 1L 9 K kms ). I think this post is related to regular maintanace. For accidental repair If we go for Insurance the cost will be more even the quotation given from service center to insurance company they list even good parts. I think the same will happen in all brand service center's. If we talk about regular maintenance Ford will be reasonable and easy to maintain.[/QUOTE] Can you share what your last regular service bill for the Figo was like? It might help us analyse the costs. Is your car a diesel or petrol Figo? @prajeet.ps@gmail.com you have a point. At the end of the day, service centres have to make money by providing as much additional 'service' as they can and hence many will try and sell you things or changes things that don't need changing - and that's what increases prices. In the process they end up ruining goodwill.

[QUOTE=prajeet.ps@gmail.com;n6836]I own a Ford Figo Titanium (D) - 2013 model and let me tell you that the claim of having child parts is a myth. In 2013 when the car hit a stray dog on the highway the bill came to a whopping INR 50,000.00. Yes. There were no child parts which were available for any of the vehicle parts needing a replacement. The service center were reluctant to even fix up the horn which had a bent clamp. The front 'Ford' logo costs a whopping INR 2,000.00. Same with the ABS. The service center guys at Lathangi ford broke the rear ABS sensor while servicing the car and it costed some INR 10,800.00 + 2months of running after them to get it replaced. There were no child part for that too. You take any useful part in a Ford Figo and you'd see that more often than not, there would not be any child part available. The even significant point to note here is that though, Ford is a volume seller, their after sales service is one of the most pathetic experiences. They have a significant number of service centers in major towns and cities, with equally disappointing service experience. Chennai ford guys will make sure that I need to take my car back to them every time after a service, inorder to fix up something which were not done right the first time. The Kairali Ford service center in Thiruvananthapuram did not even permit me to service the car there, since it was a free service. They simply asked me to take it back to Bangalore. This is not something which I experienced with any other brands of cars which I've owned or used in the family - I've used Fiat Premier(Padmini), Daewoo Matiz, Maruti(800\Alto\Zen\SX4), Hyundai Santro, Chevrolet, Mahindra (Thar\XUV 500. I found that Ford Service centers are as bad as Nissan\Renault\Skoda and come close to a Mahindra service quality. Stick to Maruti or Hyundai. They are 'relatively' better any day than Ford.[/QUOTE] I have Ford Figo 2011 (5 Years old and done 1L 9 K kms ). I think this post is related to regular maintanace. For accidental repair If we go for Insurance the cost will be more even the quotation given from service center to insurance company they list even good parts. I think the same will happen in all brand service center's. If we talk about regular maintenance Ford will be reasonable and easy to maintain.

[QUOTE=Roshun;n6838] Thanks for this feedback Prajeet. But, I'm just wondering - could this has been before Ford started its child part strategy? I think this started in 2014 - the Happy Pocket and Child Parts strategy thing. Have you recently got the Figo serviced? Did you give this feedback to Ford's customer care about Chennai Ford and Kairali Ford? This is the issue with many companies - the management has one plan, while the dealers work on another, and end up ruining any good intention that OEM management may have. [/QUOTE] Hi Roshun - I bought my car in Apr 2013 and the 'Child parts' strategy was very much in action, then. The Ford showrooms used the price charts against Swift along with child parts list etc to prove their point. I agree with your point on Dealer vs Manufacturer. I remember having spoken to a senior exec from Skoda at an airport (couple of years back) where he (in his expansive style) spoke about the initiatives taken to improve customer satisfaction. However my friend having owned a skoda felt '0' improvement until 2015 when he decided to sell the Laura for an Innova!! However, in the case of Ford, there is little improvement there. They take feedback from customer and then the dealer calls me to give verbal guarantee of resolving it...and there dies down the feedback. If customer feedback led to disciplinary actions against dealers, then Lathangi would have long lost their dealership. Readers can google to find out what all they've done to customers! They even recently shared my registered email ID (official) with some third party insurance providers who started spamming my mailbox asking for Insurance renewal.

[QUOTE=prajeet.ps@gmail.com;n6836]I own a Ford Figo Titanium (D) - 2013 model and let me tell you that the claim of having child parts is a myth. In 2013 when the car hit a stray dog on the highway the bill came to a whopping INR 50,000.00. ... I found that Ford Service centers are as bad as Nissan\Renault\Skoda and come close to a Mahindra service quality. Stick to Maruti or Hyundai. They are 'relatively' better any day than Ford.[/QUOTE] Thanks for this feedback Prajeet. But, I'm just wondering - could this has been before Ford started its child part strategy? I think this started in 2014 - the Happy Pocket and Child Parts strategy thing. Have you recently got the Figo serviced? Did you give this feedback to Ford's customer care about Chennai Ford and Kairali Ford? This is the issue with many companies - the management has one plan, while the dealers work on another, and end up ruining any good intention that OEM management may have.

I own a Ford Figo Titanium (D) - 2013 model and let me tell you that the claim of having child parts is a myth. In 2013 when the car hit a stray dog on the highway the bill came to a whopping INR 50,000.00. Yes. There were no child parts which were available for any of the vehicle parts needing a replacement. The service center were reluctant to even fix up the horn which had a bent clamp. The front 'Ford' logo costs a whopping INR 2,000.00. Same with the ABS. The service center guys at Lathangi ford broke the rear ABS sensor while servicing the car and it costed some INR 10,800.00 + 2months of running after them to get it replaced. There were no child part for that too. You take any useful part in a Ford Figo and you'd see that more often than not, there would not be any child part available. The even significant point to note here is that though, Ford is a volume seller, their after sales service is one of the most pathetic experiences. They have a significant number of service centers in major towns and cities, with equally disappointing service experience. Chennai ford guys will make sure that I need to take my car back to them every time after a service, inorder to fix up something which were not done right the first time. The Kairali Ford service center in Thiruvananthapuram did not even permit me to service the car there, since it was a free service. They simply asked me to take it back to Bangalore. This is not something which I experienced with any other brands of cars which I've owned or used in the family - I've used Fiat Premier(Padmini), Daewoo Matiz, Maruti(800\Alto\Zen\SX4), Hyundai Santro, Chevrolet, Mahindra (Thar\XUV 500. I found that Ford Service centers are as bad as Nissan\Renault\Skoda and come close to a Mahindra service quality. Stick to Maruti or Hyundai. They are 'relatively' better any day than Ford.

I did some digging around for more parts prices and found a comprehensive list of parts prices. This price list for the Ford Figo and Maruti Swift is for the parts alone and does not include labour and painting costs. For instance, a bonnet that is listed at Rs. 4080 - that price is for the unpainted bonnet alone. Add another Rs. 2500 for painting and you should get the actual cost. Similarly for the doors. Windshield glass will have to include labour charges and the cost of that silicone sealant gasket, so again add another Rs. 1,500 to Rs. 2000 to the cost of the windshields listed below. [USER="12"]Arjun[/USER] You are right about replacement panels being slightly more expensive, but then it's not that much more compared to the Swift. [ATTACH=CONFIG]n6058[/ATTACH] Source for parts prices: [URL="https://www.cardekho.com/ford-figo/spare-parts-price.htm"]CarDekho[/URL]. This has been compiled from store parts data from various dealerships.

Being a Ford user for last 10 years, I would agree to this. We have had a Ford Fiesta in our family since 2006 and I have a Ford Figo Diesel. I have always been surprised about the service costs coming much lesser than I expected. Especially since in the initial years, it was very high. We had just moved from a Maruti 800 to the Fiesta, and the service costs felt way too expensive. Now it has improved a lot, both in terms of service cost and the service experience. The customer lounge, the feedback call from Ford India to find out about the service experience and the transparency in service costs are welcome moves. However, there the body work for Ford is much more expensive as compared to other brands. Although , this is covered by insurance, if you are planning to pay for it from pocket, it turns out to be quite expensive. It would be great if you can also add the comparison of body parts and body shop labor charges also to this list.

If Ford cars are actually the most inexpensive to maintain, why is it that car buyers still have a perception that Fords are expensive? [ATTACH=CONFIG]n6009[/ATTACH] Here’s what [B]Anurag Mehrotra, [/B]executive director marketing, sales and service, Ford India, had to say on Ford’s parts strategy – the full transcript from his interaction with us: [QUOTE]“One of the pillars of our brand transformation story is around breaking this myth that many people have around cost of ownership. Some people still believe that owning a Ford is expensive, but it is far from the truth to be honest. We have done a lot of things to address that perception. I will tell you of about five things that I can think of right now. The first one is in the area of affordability. Here, there are two things predominantly that we have done. One is the sub-assembly strategy. When we launched the Ford Figo in 2010, we had some 200 sub-assembly parts. We used to call it, for the lack of a better word, the ‘Child Parts Strategy’ at that time. When we got to 2015, when we launched the new Figo, we had 800 sub-assembly parts. That itself sends out a strong message on how the maintenance cost of Ford has come down. The more number of sub-assembly parts, the cheaper the cost of servicing. I think the second big thing that we have done from an engineering stand point has been around localization. When we launched the Figo in 2010, our localization was about 65 percent. When we launched the new Figo and Aspire, the localization at launch has been 80 percent. So the higher the localization the lower the level of price I can give parts to customers. So on affordability, we have a more aggressive sub assembly strategy and the second has been localization. Then we have attacked it on the accessibility front. So you can be affordable, but if people can’t access you, there is a problem right? So we have opened up the parts distribution. We probably are one of the few OEMs or at least one of the global OEMs who have opened up their parts. So today across the country, we have 60 percent of my car park covered. By the middle of the year 100 per cent of my car park will be covered. What does that mean? So all my customers can go and buy parts from outside of my dealer network. They can go to a retailer or they can go to a local garage owner and buy a part. If they don’t want to come to my dealership, doesn’t matter. Let them go to a local garage owner, get their car serviced – but please, please use genuine Ford parts! This is a strategic move by us to make our parts more accessible to our customers. I think the other thing we have done is that we have invested or over-indexed our expansion on service. Today we have 350 odd service stores. There’s a reason why we have over-indexed on service – we want service to become more accessible. Someone will travel 100 km to buy a car, but he doesn’t want to travel 100 km to get his car serviced right? Quite honestly, over the next two years, we will open a service store somewhere every 3 weeks to make sure service is more accessible to our customers. The third thing we have wrapped all this around is a very strong commitment to transparency – as a layman if I was to ask someone what his service cost would be when he sends his car for service, there is no way in hell he would know! Today, what we have done is on our website you can go, select your car, the year and the mileage, and it will tell you what your maximum bill is likely to be. It will also tell you what all jobs we will do on your car. You can print that out, take it to my dealer and my dealer will not charge you anything more than that! We believe that level of transparency is critical to win the trust of our customers. The next step is to put up our full parts price on the Internet so you can see the cost. I will ask you to think of a brand who you think has the lowest cost of maintenance in India. In all likelihood there is one OEM’s name that will pop up. I can promise you we will be at least 6 to 12 percent lower than that. The third leg of our strategy, which is something we are still doing some work on is the area of customer experience. It is ironic, if you look at the Nielsen report on most trusted brands, do you know how many automotive brands are there? None! So the next most expensive thing that you buy in your life after a house is a car – and you don’t trust the brand – that tells you something right? We are not doing something that you would expect. This is an opportunity to deliver an experience that would help build that trust.”[/QUOTE]

For the past couple of years Ford has been shouting from the rooftops that it has the lowest maintenance cost especially for the Figo, compared with other premium hatchbacks such as the Maruti Swift and Hyundai i20. This low cost of maintenance apparently went down even further with the new Figo launched a few months ago – it applies to both the Ford Figo hatchback and the Figo Aspire compact sedan. [ATTACH=CONFIG]n6795[/ATTACH] At the recent Auto Expo 2016, we got chatting with [B]Anurag Mehrotra[/B], executive director marketing, sales and service at Ford India during a roundtable session, where he again insisted on just how inexpensive it is to maintain a Ford Figo. Anurag’s claim – the Figo is much cheaper to maintain than the largest player in the segment, which is the Maruti Swift. Fair enough. In the past, Ford cars have earned themselves a reputation of being expensive to maintain – a reputation that got built because of the earlier Ford Ikon. But with the Fiesta, Figo and now the new Figo, Ford has been trying hard to clean up that reputation. There is the [URL="http://www.zigwheels.com/news-features/news/ford-expands-network-in-india/17956/"][B]“Happy Pocket”[/B][/URL] service initiative it launched a couple of years ago, where you only had to pay Rs. 2,199 per service – and that included all consumables, such as engine oil and filters for a regular service. What it has been trying hard to prove is that its “child parts” strategy is working – where instead of replacing an entire assembly, only a component would need replacing. For instance, if the door is damaged – you need not replace the entire door, only the skin can be replaced or inner frame as the need may be. Still, a quick search online throws up plenty of complaints about Ford service experience – and that’s something Anurag and team say they are trying hard to fix. Dealers are being severely dealt with for shoddy service and training is being imparted on how to handle customers. Well, to take a look at whether what Anurag and the Ford team have been saying is really prevalent in the market, we decided to poke around a bit and compare for ourselves what the parts costs really are. Here’s a head to head comparison of the Ford Figo and the Maruti Swift maintenance costs. If you want to check out how they compare with each other on performance and features, then [URL="http://www.zigwheels.com/reviews-advice/shootouts/2015-ford-figo-vs-hyundai-grand-i10-vs-maruti-suzuki-swift-spec-comparison/23261/"]CLICK HERE[/URL]. Both cars have 10,000 km or once a year service intervals. The initial service costs are roughly similar for both, but it’s as the cars age that the bigger replacements happen. First a look at regular consumables – stuff that you would constitute a major service. This would approximately be what you would change at 40,000 km or perhaps 80,000 km (don’t look at all the parts/consumables together). [ATTACH=CONFIG]n6006[/ATTACH] If you look at the above chart, you will find that the Figo and Swift have very comparable parts replacement costs. The maintenance costs for both the petrol cars is roughly similar, while the diesel Figo is a little cheaper to maintain than the Maruti Swift diesel! Ford has done its own research and put up these signs at its service stations and dealerships. We can only assume that Competition 1 in the photos below is the Maruti Swift Dzire, while Competition 2 and Competition 3 are the Honda Amaze and Hyundai Xcent respectively. [ATTACH=CONFIG]n6007[/ATTACH] [USER="42"]CorsaVeloce[/USER] – had a Figo. [USER="82"]konarktyagi[/USER] – has a Swift. Guys, what’s your take on the above pricing?