FAW V2 Owner's Review

[rebeloasis]

Issues faced so far with the V2 in our home.

1. The wiper washer fluid motor was faulty, replaced in warranty
2. The squeaking of rear brakes settled with time
3. The fixture of the glass behind the rear window which is called "ainak" in desi slang is faulty leading to irritating sound of wind coming in at speeds exceeding 60 km/h, could not be fixed till now by the dealership after two attempts. Gharelu totkay of tapes being affixed there being tried now by us.
4. After the last service, when fuel was topped and the car came home, it was found that it was leaking. On inspection the clamp of the pipe which goes from fuel inlet to the tank was not even in its place, it was so lose that I was able to bring it back to its place by my hand and then tighten it with a screw driver. The car came back from service a day back, i think it was their karnama
5. The glove box is dangling from one side
6. The dealership should have informed the customer that the recommend tire pressure is different from the usual trend for cars here i.e. approx 33.5 front and 33 rear in psi, its printed in a different unit on the driver side exit. Incorrect tire pressure would lead to less then perfect handling and reduced economy etc.

So although I am convinced that the car offers far more value for money being new compared to other used options, the biggest area that will make it a make or break deal is the service level of their dealerships, since their customers don't have any other option. Let aside the technical expertise of the actual labor working on the cars, the very attitude of the dealership owner counts a lot. This is what screwed Nissan in Pakistan mainly, and this is where they seem to be heading as per my opinion. Let's see.

Agreed bro. This will be the make or break for FAW. We don't have data about how this car is going to pan out in the long run. Only thing convincing people to buy is the warranty. If the dealerships don't focus on customer satisfaction, their sales figures will nosedive. I hope they don't screw it up though, the local market is in dire need of entrants willing to stick around for the long haul.

[umerfayyaz]

spotted a V2 in my hosptal today, somehow these spottings have increased in twin cities in last month. interior didn't look plasticky at all

[umerfayyaz]

Thanks @alfa_whsky for the follow up.
I have not received my car yet because of certain delays such as the launch of a new FAW Heavy vehicle at the showroom on Friday (told him to keep my car wrapped up during). I went to see the car on Sat and there she was! Still can't give a review as I only sat in the cockpit for like 5min. Didn't even start the engine. I was annoyed that the car is coming from China without plastic wrapping on it because that would have saved the paint a lot. Still no minor imperfections in any of the trims or the paint so all in all a solid car. Brownie points for guessing the color.

Today I am going to be going to the showroom to give the remaining amount required for reg and tax. The total tax, I can now confirm , is Rs.57,000, broken up as 30,000(for filers), 19,000 and 8,000(this is service charge for import dept). That means this car will cost you Rs. 1,126,000 once it is at your home (in Karachi, freight not included). Once registration is complete I expect to bring her home on Thurs.
Meanwhile I've asked Pakwheels website if I can write a blog w pics of all three cars under review but have not received a response. Where should I post the review? A new thread maybe?

P.S= I have pictures of the car I bought. Will share once someone guesses the right color!

i remember these taxes were already paid by Alhaj FAW previusly, even withholding tax was exempted as it was already paid. did you pay these taxes? please correct me if i am wrong

[naheerameer]

i remember these taxes were already paid by Alhaj FAW previusly, even withholding tax was exempted as it was already paid. did you pay these taxes? please correct me if i am wrong

Yes Withholding tax is exempted otherwise custom duty of 200% give or take would apply. I remember a PW member writing that the car's actual value is 450,000 which comes up to 1049000 due to taxes so I need to confirm this.
I will upload the registration slip when I receive it so everything is clear.

[bilalahm]

spotted a V2 in my hosptal today, somehow these spottings have increased in twin cities in last month. interior didn't look plasticky at all

Is that in MH, then I believe I know the owner........ Aur is steering cover per ussay baat kerni peray ge

[umerfayyaz]

hospital isn't MH but doctor who visited here might have come from there, but you are so right about steering cover. he is quite senior but i will try to argue

[usmanpakistan]

Did you went to their dealer ship located in I-9 industrial area.? If you were there, let me put it this way, those guys used to be Mitsubishi Motors and you can read a lot fraud stories about those guys. Even in this thread. You can always complain to FAW head office and let see their response. But rest assured those guys are incompetent, lazy and cunning to say the least.

So although I am convinced that the car offers far more value for money being new compared to other used options, the biggest area that will make it a make or break deal is the service level of their dealerships, since their customers don't have any other option. Let aside the technical expertise of the actual labor working on the cars, the very attitude of the dealership owner counts a lot. This is what screwed Nissan in Pakistan mainly, and this is where they seem to be heading as per my opinion. Let's see.

[rebeloasis]

The way they give sureties when you're about to purchase makes the customer feel they'll provide excellent after sales service. Part of good service is knowing your product inside out, anticipating problems and then providing solutions.

I purchased from the I-9 dealership too and they seem unwilling to fix the brake issue until we've crossed the 1000 km mark. I filed a complaint on Nov 2 on the FAW Motors Pakistan Facebook page letting them know that multiple customers are facing the brake issue but I'm yet to receive a response. I hope foreign investors and companies wake up to the fact that you can't just team up with local crooks even if they seem to have a good track record. I guess if they're profit-oriented, they don't really care about the customer which in this day in age should be a punishable crime. Companies turning a deaf ear to customer feedback will suffer since consumers are becoming increasingly savvy.

[NASRUM]

all the people claiming for the gadgets found won't make the car reliable, I am amazed to read people replies with there v2s having bundles of problems,even though it ould be a good car its reliability should be tested by faw or the maintaince department should cater customers quickly.what i believe is that it won't be reliable compared to swift or either wagon r , I do own a swift myself since 2012, being an LSE student i drive it atleast daily for 50+ kilometers ,Swift has served me mind blowingly even i push it too hard & I have took it till 170,i do drifting burn outs & too much racing:P ,till yet it,s 71000 driven no works i have done on it except for timely maintainence & service also many people would say it's a 3 lakh expensive car,so let me also tell you about Wagon R my neighbour owns it,his driver drive it for around 50-100 km daily & they have achieved 25k on odo,since day 1 no work they have done on it or either no issue faced within warranty to be claimed for also my neighbour driver drive it too fast many times he tried to race with me ,obviously swift has better engine so i do win but at launch the speed till wagon r gives me challenge is impressive also they claim it's very economical except for hard foot driving it gives them 15/kmpl easily so except for airbags which have one time use,reliability which always is required is the key to impress the customer,which V2 does'nt seems to be promising even though it have 3 years warranty but dealership are less also parts problem which I don't need to explain so if I would have any choice like that I will Prefer Wagon R.Peace!

[xubair.ashraf]

all the people claiming for the gadgets found won't make the car reliable, I am amazed to read people replies with there v2s having bundles of problems,even though it ould be a good car its reliability should be tested by faw or the maintaince department should cater customers quickly.what i believe is that it won't be reliable compared to swift or either wagon r , I do own a swift myself since 2012, being an LSE student i drive it atleast daily for 80+ kilometers ,Swift has served me mind blowingly even i push it too hard & I have took it till 170,i do drifting burn outs & too much racing ,till yet it,s 71000 driven no works i have done on it except for timely maintainence & service also many people would say it's a 3 lakh expensive car,so let me also tell you about Wagon R my neighbour owns it,his driver drive it for around 50-100 km daily & they have achieved 25k on odo,since day 1 no work they have done on it or either no issue faced within warranty to be claimed for also my neighbour driver drive it too fast many times he tried to race with me ,obviously swift has better engine so i do win but at launch the speed till wagon r gives me challenge is impressive also they claim it's very economical except for hard foot driving it gives them 15/kmpl easily so except for airbags which have one time use,reliability which always is required is the key to impress the customer,which V2 does'nt seems to be promising even though it have 3 years warranty but dealership are less also parts problem which I don't need to explain so if I would have any choice like that I will Prefer Wagon R.Peace!

Nice points you have raised but the one time use of airbags you mentioned might be the difference between life and death especially if you are fond of driving at 170 km

[rebeloasis]

Can we move past the comparisons please? It's all been said and done and previous pages of this thread are full of them. All of these cars have their plus points and drawbacks and one could be preferable over another according to individual needs.

It makes it harder for potential buyers by having to skim through pages upon pages of irrelevant material instead of actual usable information that can assist in their purchasing decision.

[NASRUM]

thanks bro for compliment,you're somehow right but the most important factor here is that Airbags does'nt guarantees for life save,also a person like me who drives fast should & do know that he's risking himself so what I mean to say is that that if v2 brakes does fails/rams for a person who is driving on Murree with 5 persons(including him) his family,at this point Airbags are going to do nothing, ihave seen many accidents where even Civic airbags popped out but that did,nt even helped to reduce the injury, I don't mean to say that there should'nt be airbags but if a car fails(due to any part failure) even it's new, at any mountaineous area or area away from dealership at that point the buyer of v2 is going to regret,even though the parts being able to sell everywhere definetly takes time but but my point is unexpected failure of car's part is more likely with a V2 compared to wagon R.

[mumarabid05]

thanks bro for compliment,you're somehow right but the most important factor here is that Airbags does'nt guarantees for life save,also a person like me who drives fast should & do know that he's risking himself so what I mean to say is that that if v2 brakes does fails/rams for a person who is driving on Murree with 5 persons(including him) his family,at this point Airbags are going to do nothing, ihave seen many accidents where even Civic airbags popped out but that did,nt even helped to reduce the injury, I don't mean to say that there should'nt be airbags but if a car fails(due to any part failure) even it's new, at any mountaineous area or area away from dealership at that point the buyer of v2 is going to regret,even though the parts being able to sell everywhere definitely takes time but but my point is unexpected failure of car's part is more likely with a V2 compared to wagon R.

Stop praising SH*TY Pak Suzuki cars... i would rather go for the CITY or VITZ instead of going for fuel Drainer Conjested Swift/WagonR PakSuzuki is not a company its joke and fooling and looting us. People like you they don't want them to improve their quality and prices.

Mr. Racer you don't need to tell us you drive at 170KM. Just tell us how much fuel you wasted on that car at that speed on a tiny car.

170KM is nothing even a 1000cc VITZ can do it. But these cars a family cars we are not talking about racing here... If you want to talk about racing thing then go to racing thread.

The example you have given... Part broke down in the middle... Bla bla

I can bet on it even if you are using any car if the part broke down in the middle of your journey and at mid night or in the rural area you will be in trouble to... Or you have to carry the parts and Mechanic in your pocket all the time.

So you don't need to give us the same stupid examples those were coated earlier... Start thinking out of the BOX.

Out of the BOX thing is how to break the BIG three monopoly???

The reason people are discussing their problem is because its a Discussion thread of FAW V2 and u don't need to show massi Sugran impressions here...

Just go and join the technical discussions of the Swift and WagonR or whatever and tell them You are having a super car and never faced any problem and your neighbor are having super natural WagonR they are racing and we are racing and never faced any issue.... and tell em you guys are using china made swifts & WagonR that's a reason you are having those issues with your cars.

I hope you will never mind.

[DrUsmanNawaz]

Bhai on motorway and in Murree, there is no parts availability of swift or wagon r or any Honda, nor do any JDM parts... Swift parts cannot be found even in surroundings of few big cities...

[bionix9838]

As the weather is getting colder the thread is getting warmer, good thing keep it up!:)

[rebeloasis]

I've emailed FAW directly and my email was forwarded to several people in the company and they've asked for my contact details. Let's see insha Allaah. I'll keep you guys posted.

[umerfayyaz]

guys lets not make this thread just a praise thread like city's r wagon R's, he is right in many aspects but he elaborated it in a poor way, he is right company is new entrant yet dealership is not doing strong homework, i am not generalizing as FAW layallpur are amazing people and are doing publicity on their own while FAW I-9 islamabad? we have at least 3 unhappy customers right here who had to go to the top to register complaints, final touch up and examination before delivery is dealership's responsibility, they are overlooking minor issues which could have easily made customer completely satisfied.

[DeViL_UnLeAsHeD]

all the people claiming for the gadgets found won't make the car reliable, I am amazed to read people replies with there v2s having bundles of problems,even though it ould be a good car its reliability should be tested by faw or the maintaince department should cater customers quickly.what i believe is that it won't be reliable compared to swift or either wagon r , I do own a swift myself since 2012, being an LSE student i drive it atleast daily for 50+ kilometers ,Swift has served me mind blowingly even i push it too hard & I have took it till 170,i do drifting burn outs & too much racing:P ,till yet it,s 71000 driven no works i have done on it except for timely maintainence & service also many people would say it's a 3 lakh expensive car,so let me also tell you about Wagon R my neighbour owns it,his driver drive it for around 50-100 km daily & they have achieved 25k on odo,since day 1 no work they have done on it or either no issue faced within warranty to be claimed for also my neighbour driver drive it too fast many times he tried to race with me ,obviously swift has better engine so i do win but at launch the speed till wagon r gives me challenge is impressive also they claim it's very economical except for hard foot driving it gives them 15/kmpl easily so except for airbags which have one time use,reliability which always is required is the key to impress the customer,which V2 does'nt seems to be promising even though it have 3 years warranty but dealership are less also parts problem which I don't need to explain so if I would have any choice like that I will Prefer Wagon R.Peace!

I did not find people having V2 have complained about having bundles of problems with the V2 except for the brake squeaking sound which I would not consider as a serious problem if it is being resolved. Would like to read it if you can refer to any such bundles.

As a user, dual airbag is very important to me, whether I am driving at 170km/h or at 70km/h. It may not always me my fault. Maybe a Swift owner might hit some V2 owner (ALLAH na karay) at 170km/h and the damage would be same. Zindagi aur Maut ALLAH ke haath mein magar Safety/Prevention is always better that cure.

I have been following this forum/Blog since the very begining and I have not seen any User/Owner of the V2 complaining about any serious problem being faced by them.

I think you should be comparing apple with an apple. Either you compare it with Wagon-R (Price-wise with all the specs and features) or yoshould compare it with Swift (Again price-wise and them Features and performance). You should have also provided the mileage of your Swift which is 1.3l with the fuel average/mileage of V2 and not with Wagon-R which is 1.0l.

There must be Pros and Cons with every single car being made all over the world.... But I would say that in Pakistan V2 is the best package against the money I have spent. I am using V2 for almost 1 year and I have not faced a single problem yet. The only money I have spent on my V2 is on Oil change/Filters and Fuel, nothing else ALHAMDOLILLAH. It is performing brilliantly up till now.

[rebeloasis]

I want to stress that the brakes are working perfectly. The ABS is fantastic, we've tried slamming the brakes at 100 km and the car just stopped in its tracks. My dad whose been a loyal Suzuki customer for a long time was very impressed.

The people at FAW asked for my contact number and they called me today, it was a very prompt turnaround. Mr. Farhan Hafiz, Director of Marketing tasked one of his people to contact me and I spoke to a Mr. Asif from Karachi. We had a very candid talk, we spoke on the phone for a good 10 minutes. He was very courteous and we both agreed the brake squeaking does NOT have an impact on the brake performance and it was a minor inconvenience. He also said he uses the V2 himself and he's driven to Punjab from Sindh on a long tour and he's very satisfied with it. He said he would have regional manager get in touch with me. About 20 minutes later I received a call from a Mr. Naeem who was also very courteous and he said they'll arrange for the pads to be delivered to my local dealership and have them changed next week whenever I can visit. They were all thoroughly professional and I've spent most of my life abroad and can tell the difference between proper professionalism and the standard Pakistani professionalism. My mind was very much at ease after the conversations.

People can provoke and instigate all they like but the fact of the matter is that this is a wonderful car and if customers have access to FAW management for resolution of their concerns, then that is a big added bonus. They also specifically mentioned they're very eager to develop a good rapport with customers, this is their lifeline after all. I don't think you can expect such service from the big 3.

[imran.y1981]

I have been driving my V2(full moon silver) for over three weeks since I got it, I have not experienced any brake noise at all. My brothers' been driving his V2(red) for around 7 months and he never experienced any brake issue as well, he has even travelled to Kaghan Naran/Abbotabad/Murree in his V2 without any issue. I think it is the typical Pakistani mind set (no offense to anyone, I somewhat include myself in this category as well) that we cannot believe that something good can come from China. Its not our (consumers) fault, we are used to seeing the cheapest stuff from China. Now for a change someone has imported something good from China, I think we should take this as a positive step rather than criticize. After all we are flying Chinese fighter jets...