Maruti 800 - Ownership Review in detail

[Coolman]

Folks,

Finally I decided to pen down this Long Term Ownership Review of my small car – Maruti 800.

Specs:

Car: Maruti 800 BS II STD
Model: September 2004
Color: Silky Silver
Registration: Bangalore

Ex-Showroom Price (today): MARUTI 800 MPI BS III STD (Karnataka) ~ 2.07 Lakhs

Purchased from: Mandovi True Value
Purchased in: September 2007
Odometer Reading @ start: 31000 odd kms
Odometer Reading till mid-Dec 2011: 49000 kms

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At the time of Purchase

What I liked about the car:

• Good exterior paint condition
• Exteriors neatly maintained, minus a few dents and scratches
• Interiors neatly maintained
• Was good to drive
• Was available for a good price
• Good Seat Covers

What I did NOT like about the car:

• Had some amount of vibrations at times (largely from the front left side passenger cabin and from the hatch door)
• Rear suspension was average
• No A/C

*** Pictures – a brief glance ***







History of the Hunt:

• Once I decided that I wanted to settle for a second hand car, I quickly realized (remember this was a good 4 years back) that it had to be one among Santro, WagonR, Alto and Maruti 800 to be in a budget of 1.7 – 2 Lakhs. Today there are more options in the market to choose from.
• My next decision was to look for it in the second hand market, despite the fact that I would be paying a premium when compared to a direct deal. I wanted the deal to be hassle free; I liked the fact that there are avenues that offer a complete checkup, some amount of refurbishing with a limited period of warranty / free service.
• My penultimate decision was to give a skip to agents and non-company dealers and limit my search to Company Owned True Value Dealers.
• After a brief hunting, I decided that it would be an Alto or an 800. With the models on display and the prices on offer, Alto was falling on the higher side of the budget.
• After short listing and rejecting 13 vehicles (all 800s and its variants) in a span of a month, I chose this Silky Silver Automobile.
• Reasons for rejection till then were varying between - more kms on the Odometer, need for a good amount of refurbishing (read battery replacement, new tyres, paint job, need seat covers / rework on seats etc), poor NVH levels, more no. of years, higher price quoted (in terms of value for money) etc.

The Deal:

• I bargained for and got a deal from Mandovi Motors True Value, wherein I got a price discount of around 10K, one year free insurance (I bought it in September, when the insurance had just expired), reworked rear suspensions, a new windshield, freshly painted bonnet etc.
• Warranty - 3 free services for 1 year is standard for True Value Cars from Maruti.

It is more than 4 years now and the time has passed, just like that with this car.

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Initial Ownership Review

What I liked:

• Easy to drive, fuss free
• I like driving sitting higher up and the driving position is good. I improvised further by getting a simple customized seat height adjust, more on that in the pictures later)
• Good mileage even in 2nd, 3rd gear traffic – averaging about 13 to a litre
• Can make a mockery of the traffic to some extent
• Surprisingly it’s fun to drive an 800, no sluggishness
• In short it does what you ask it do without any complaints

What I did not like:

• I did miss the A/C during hot summers; Bangalore is no longer the way it used to be
• I noticed the vibrations (mentioned above under “what I did NOT like”) come to play in peak traffic, stop and go situations. At other times though, it was totally a different car, quite quiet. The boot door got damaged in between and that added to the vibrations.
• Suspensions are very average. This car needs good roads; poorer the roads, more the vertical movement especially in the rear seat

Other significant points:

• The battery conked in about 5 months (as it was already 3 yrs 5 months old by then). Replaced it with a new Amaron battery.
• Got a 3M under body coating done somewhere in mid 2008 for Rs. 1900 with 1 year warranty. Lasted for about 2.5 years
• Regularly driven - 95% usage in the city (in the first year of my usage)
• Regularly serviced

*** Pictures – Ingress-Egress, Cabin and Seats ***

Using a pillow in driver’s seat for seat height adjust, I love the added visibility offered in traffic


Front Bucket Seats – decent back and under thigh seat support, Adjustable Headrests


Rear Seat back – decent back support, Fixed Headrests


Rear Seat– decent under thigh seat support, not just a bench. Check the seat covers.


Rear Legroom – Min and Max, useful storage on front seat back pockets (courtesy: seat covers)


Rear Legroom Min – Usability – I am a little over 5’9” and could just manage. For a proper driving position, the driver seat has to move forward (from what is shown in the picture) and there would be at least another 2” of additional legroom which is ok for short trips or with maximum 4 people on board.


Front Seat Adjustable Headrests – 3 point Adjust – High & Mid shown in the picture

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Long Term Ownership Review

What I liked:

• Continued to be easy to drive, fuss free
• Mileage improved slightly by about 0.75
• Boot space good enough, not sure about how much it measures to, but close to 85% of what the Alto offers and can be used completely unlike some other cars
• Very nice ground clearance for Indian roads. Very few countable speed breakers (poorly designed ones) that I encountered where the car underbody scraped the ground with 4-5 people in, in 2nd gear with a speed of 20 kmph
• Suspension, I felt weighed up better and provided marginally better ride and comfort with tyre pressure at 30 rather than at 32.
• Vibrations reduced by some amount after I got the damaged hatch door replaced. Cost me around Rs 6300, out of which I paid Rs 2200 and the rest from insurance claim. The car was close to 6 yrs old when I got this job done and hence managed only about 65% in the claim. The 3 No-Claim Bonuses (NCB) that I got for the Insurances during the 3 years before this claim can be considered as an adjustment.
• Boy! The Amaron battery has lasted a full 4 yrs 3 months and is still going good
• The seat covers have lasted and are still in good condition

What I did not like:

• Vibrations were still there from the front passenger cabin
• Service and Maintenance costs were increasing due to wear and tear of components like rubber, pads, plastics, wires etc. The engine, brakes, clutch and other mechanical components though have come through nicely.
• Overall, rear suspensions are just average

*** Pictures - Controls ***







Gear lever – 4 Speed + 1 Reverse. Notice the small storage slot between the gear lever & the hand brake


Footwell – no issues, no dead pedal but a small legroom that can be used to the left of the clutch pedal


*** Pictures - Doors and Storage ***





Simple no-nonsense Boot, almost flat, low loading lip – good and easy to use


Almost nil protrusions on the inside from the rear suspension / wheel well setup


Rear Seats fold flat for maximum storage, no seat split though – asking for more eh?


Other significant observations / points:

• Mileage:

• Peak City Traffic (1st, 2nd gear) – 12 kmpl
• Average City Traffic (2nd, 3rd gear) – 12.5 – 14 kmpl
• Regular Driving (2nd, 3rd, 4th gear) – 14 – 14.5 kmpl
• Long drives and inter-city – 17 – 18 kmpl

• Smoothness and NVH:

• After a good wash or on rainy days (after the downpour has subsided), when I take the car out, with the atmosphere having reduced temperatures, it showed noticeable improvements in smoothness and NVH levels. Do not know how.

• Regularly driven - 85% usage in the city (over 4 years of my usage)

• Regularly serviced

• Spent about Rs 8000 odd in the year end 2010 and got some refurbishing (for mechanical wear and tear) + complete servicing

*** Pictures - Interior Fit and Finish & Others ***

Panel gap – in the front passenger compartment below the dash


Interior frame beading below the B-Pillar – Non-Uniform Fit


Rear Window Frame beading – Near Rear Quarter Glass - Notice the gap


A peek into the spare-wheel compartment (hidden underneath the boot floor from inside)

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That’s about it; about the car I call “The People’s Car”. It has been a thoroughly enjoyable experience – owning / driving the car and presenting this review - both.

Thanks for reading thus far.

As I wind up, this car is sold. And it has gone back to the same True Value Dealer where it came from .
I have booked a Maruti Ritz VXi. And that shall be presented in a separate post in the days that follow.

Happy Motoring & Happy Team-BHPying.


Thanks,
C_

[mayankk]

Nice.
love the detailed pictures and narration.
I honestly love the 800.
It was the first car in house, and I learnt how to drive on it!
Thanks.


Ps: Checked the camel.Its healthy and well!!

[JustCause]

You've covered all nooks & crannies of this quintessential little car. A very detailed review echoing some of the common issues in M800 ownership.

This car doesn't scrape speed breakers because of its very short wheel base. It can tide over craters with panache.

[Coolman]

Thanks Mayank, JustCause.

Originally Posted by mayankk

Nice.
I honestly love the 800.
It was the first car in house, and I learnt how to drive on it!

That's cool. This was the first car @ my home too. Learn to drive, drove it and loved doing it...

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Originally Posted by JustCause

You've covered all nooks & crannies of this quintessential little car. A very detailed review echoing some of the common issues in M800 ownership.

This car doesn't scrape speed breakers because of its very short wheel base. It can tide over craters with panache.

The common issues - are a pain, but bearable given the fact that this car has its origins to a design that is 25 years old, except for the 3 face lifts it has received throughout its lifetime.

The short wheelbase (~2175 mm, which is a good 18 cms shorter than the Alto's, doesn't increase the rear leg space so much in the Alto though) and the high ground clearance (170 mm) in the M 800 do the trick here.

[Coolman]

Recommended usage:

1. This car doesn’t like bad roads, owing to its mediocre suspensions and absence of power steering
2. Occasionally people have used their 800s for longer drives between cities / towns and have felt quite ok, if not comfortable, but this is largely meant to be a city / town car
3. I have clocked Max Speeds of 103 kmph and 116 kmph (note that there is no 5th gear) with 5 on board and some luggage. The steering starts giving vibrations and feels extremely light at speeds above 80 kmph
4. Easy to park, maneuver and reverse

[GTO]

Wonderful review of an ICON! Thanks for sharing. I'm happy to have owned 2 Maruti 800s (including the SS80). The first time I drove the Fronte, I thought it was all the car I'd ever want. I mean, anyone whose exposure was limited to the Padmini & Ambassador would be blown away by the ergonomics, direct steering, smooth gearshift and peppy engine.

It's amazing when you think about it : 25 years down the line, the Tata Nano (India's new people car) still cannot beat the Maruti 800 for stress-free ownership. One reason, and a BIG one at that, why the Maruti 800 became what it did was unparalleled reliability. The li'l car just went on & on, no matter what kind of abuse you put her through.

[condor]

@Coolman, nice review there. I really liked the way you have highlighted the features using the dialogue boxes inside the pics. Only point about that is if you could have used a diff color font where-ever the back-ground was dark.

It's a good lil city car, goes about what it should. Personally, after the Padmini, I was not feeling comfortable with the light weight of the car. And hence have stayed away form this one.

Wishing you a long, happy owernship of this one.

[MercLover]

Nice review there Coolman, reminded me of our first car. Btw any plans for adding an ICE to your car?

[Coolman]

Originally Posted by MercLover

Nice review there Coolman, reminded me of our first car. Btw any plans for adding an ICE to your car?

I had, but the plan never materialized, and then I bought a new car with ICE and all the extras... yes, just a couple of weeks back!

Watch out for the review in the Ownership section.

Thanks,
C_