Indica V2 DLS: 80000 Kms plus!

[CtrlAltDel]

I could not notice any long term reviews of Indica so I decided to contribute one about my black 2003 Indica V2 DLS.

My experience with the Indica through these five years have largely been very pleasant. I hear so much about "pathetic" TATA cars and TATA a*s*s but my experience has always been to the contrary!

I decided to go for the Indica because in 2003 I was commuting around 45-50 kms daily and Indica was the best option at that time. I still dont regret it after around 80000 kms. Now i have decided to sell it and go for a new car.

The purchase was smooth and I managed to wrangle free teflon coating, mud guards and a Blaupunkt Longbeach head unit (cassette player and it still works well!). I had added a left ORVM (for cosmetic purposes rather than practical!), front Blaupunkt component and rear Blaupunkt Co-axials (still provides enough thump), fabric seat cover, sun film and CEAT tubeless tyres.

In the first 3 years of running it gave at least 18-19 kmpl without AC and 16-17 kmpl with AC in city conditions. Now, after 5 years, it still gives me 14kmpl of diesel in city.

Contary to most opinions my Indica never gave me serious trouble, except for a problem with the self-starter last year. it cost me about 12000 to fix and that was the biggest amount I spent on it.

there were occassional small niggles with electricals and once with fuses but most were fixed at < Rs. 250. i guess these niggles are the main cause of Tata's bad name but over the years I have seen the niggles reduce. Maybe the engineers are working hard! I only hope they find a "cure" for the "kich..kich" belt noise that plagues even new Indicas.

for the low price I paid for the car and the considering the savings on fuel, these small niggles cost almost nothing.

Servicing, oil change, etc were a breeze and cost me not more than 2000, once every 5000 kms. Tata spares are low priced too.

I believe regular servicing keeps a diesel engine trouble free for many years. Treat it like a child and it will respect and love you in return. Treat it like a cab driver does and it might conk out in three years.

I also liked the courteous service I recieved at the Tata Auth. Service Stations. initially I used to frequent Autofin and then switched over to Auto Chenoy, both in secunderabad. I am very happy with the service and professionalism in both the places. The service engineers used to understand what a layman like me required and serviced accordingly. I dont understand why people complain about "bad" or "horrendous" Tata a*a*s...

Now my car has run around 80000 kms, dented in some places and for the first time, the shock absorbers have started to remind passeners of their presence. Inspite of all this, i am recieving offers ranging from 1.5 to 1.65 lakhs in its current condition.

I would love to go for another Tata car now - the Indigo CS Dicor to be specific, but I am also considering a few other brands for a change.

[sridharps]

Congratulations, 80K of distance run is not small by any measure!

Originally Posted by CtrlAltDel

In the first 3 years of running it gave at least 18-19 kmpl without AC and 16-17 kmpl with AC in city conditions. Now, after 5 years, it still gives me 14kmpl of diesel in city..

Any idea, what were the reasons given by the service guys for this drop?

Contary to most opinions my Indica never gave me serious trouble, except for a problem with the self-starter last year. it cost me about 12000 to fix and that was the biggest amount I spent on it.

Did you not do any change of clutch, brakes, tyres, suspensions etc?

there were occassional small niggles with electricals and once with fuses but most were fixed at < Rs. 250. i guess these niggles are the main cause of Tata's bad name but over the years I have seen the niggles reduce.

Yes, partly. I agree with you that Tata deserves much more praise that it has got.

for the low price I paid for the car and the considering the savings on fuel, these small niggles cost almost nothing.

Agree , Great VFM - probably one of the best ever.

I believe regular servicing keeps a diesel engine trouble free for many years. Treat it like a child and it will respect and love you in return. Treat it like a cab driver does and it might conk out in three years.

These words are worth their weight in gold

Inspite of all this, i am recieving offers ranging from 1.5 to 1.65 lakhs in its current condition.

Whew, not bad at all. Tell me onething, does an Indica get a better resale value than an Indigo?

I would love to go for another Tata car now - the Indigo CS Dicor to be specific, but I am also considering a few other brands for a change

, now that you have come to this forum, decision making is likely to be a highly intellectual, protracted process. Wish you all the best!!

[phamilyman]

Welcome but you are second. Tanveer's thread is your guide. His car is almost 1L now (or not?)

[mobike008]

Fabulous report. Another satified Indica owner. I think couple of our own mods own an indica and they too are highly satisfied with their entire ownership experience.

Indigo CS is a good car but at the same time do check out Logan too.

[rahuldeodhar]

Hi - great to see your Indica did so well. I am a satisfied customer too - I am at around 50K. It still gives 18-19 on the highway. In mumbai city it gives me 14-15 kmpl.

No major complaints - just that it makes a little more noise than I would like. Me changed the light indicator stock. Got better lamps and thats about it.

Only one gripe is the Amazer tubes (and tyres) I got the car with. I got about 4 flats in 8 months of purchase - all same problem the tube gets worn around the air valve. Changed all the amazer tubes with MRF tubes and life became better.

Anyways good to hear its still getting good resale value.


RD

[rajneeesh]

CtrlAltDel,

I am another satisfied user of the Indica DLS. I bought my cari n April 2004 and till date it has clocked 78K Km. The car has not demaneed much in terms of maintenance. I have changed two sets of tyres, sume suspension bushes and bearings, one wiper motor, the wiper stalk assembly,the horn pad and a couple of batteries (one was stolen). I have got consistently decent mileage(15- 18 Kpl).

I have never regretted buying this car. It has a few weak points in terms of poor low end torque, high NVH levels( compared to petrol) but for the price you pay ( initial and running costs) no other car comes close to the good old INDICA. It is truly a car built by Indians for Indian conditions. I am sure the Next Gen Indica will be a much better product to match the rising aspirations of Indians.

[rkavthekar]

CtrlAltDel - Good report. Nice to see people writting good about the car that has been beaten to death, not only in this forum, but else where as well. I too own Indica DLS V2 Jan 2003 and has done 88K till now. I don't plan to change it as it has given me excellent service till now and never let me down on the road even once in past 5+ years of ownership. Also, with my first car as Indica, I don't see much value for money in entry level sedans as the inner space is almost same (if not lesser) than indica if you leave boot space out.

Only off late, I have issue withthe AC blower which would not work on level 1 speed. I have been regularly servicing my Indica every 5000KMs with Oil change every 5000KMs and AirFilter Change every 10000KMs. I have changed Brake Pads sometime back and Carbon Cleaning treatment with couple of fluid cans (don;t remember exact name) when milage was around 50K.

I am in love with Indigo CS, especially Red colour. Dicor engine would be great in CS. I still don't see too many CS Dicor in Pune though.

Happy driving

[CtrlAltDel]

Originally Posted by sridharps

Any idea, what were the reasons given by the service guys for this drop?

'old age' they say...u mean a 5 yr old Indica can give more FE?

Originally Posted by sridharps

Did you not do any change of clutch, brakes, tyres, suspensions etc?

i did. in these 5 years, i had 3 changes of clutch (i have a light left foot ) and 3 of brakes. they were not very expensive. in 2005, i installed CEAT tubeless tyres which were changed late last year to Bridgestone. Suspension is only just beginning to give trouble, but the service guys recommend not to bother fixing it coz i am selling the car anyway and that spending that money wont increase the market value by much (same reason why i am not fixing the dents in the body).

Originally Posted by sridharps

now that you have come to this forum, decision making is likely to be a highly intellectual, protracted process. Wish you all the best!!

its already affecting me! after scores of hours spent on research, i have narrowed down my choice to the following:

1. i10 Kappa ASTA. TD report: http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-d...tml#post915546 (Tested and Ripped: Hyundai i10 Kappa)
2. Fiat Palio MJD SDX. TD Report: coming soon!

I have ruled out Swift VDI ABS and Dzire VDI/ZDI only because of the crazy waiting period (does Maruti think we are still in the socialist shortage economy?). But if i get a good deal on a used Swift or Dzire (less than 2 years) i might go for it.

Originally Posted by rkavthekar

I am in love with Indigo CS, especially Red colour. Dicor engine would be great in CS. I still don't see too many CS Dicor in Pune though.

i TD'ed the CS DICOR yesterday but was not so satisfied. but this may be because I drove it immediately after TD'ing the Palio MJD at the same dealership and my opinions were colored by the amazing Palio experience!

i will post my TD report soon in an appropriate thread.

Note from the Team-BHP Support Staff : Please use the "edit" button if posting within 15 minutes of the first post, instead of creating another back-to-back post

[sridharps]

Originally Posted by CtrlAltDel

u mean a 5 yr old Indica can give more FE?

No, to be honest, I don't know much about an Indica. But the other cars I have owned, including a Tata Indigo, have dipped by 1 or 2 km per litre over a period of time. Hence I thought a dip in mileage of 5 km per litre may be a bit steep. But, then, I never did get 19 km per litre from any vehicle I owned

[condor]

@C-A-D, good to see another Indica owner with similar experiences. We are at 70k + on our second Tata - a 2000 Indica (83k) and a 2004 December Marina - at 73k now. Both have been good, and we have generally got good service at Prerana, BLR.

Like you, have an eye out for a replacement - though I'm trying to get a change from the styling. After 8 years of seeing the same interiors, would like to see something different.

[opendro]

A nice looking car, real value for money with decent handling. I owned it for three years, done 43Mm. Power was the disappointing factor here. I don't want to complain about the rattling which is common on many Indian cars. I had another problem, which was bugging me like hell, rain water comes inside the car through the door rubber biddings. That used to create stinks. I don't know if other owners are also facing the same.

I used to get around 18 kmpl when driven aggressively and above 20 when driven gently.

[CtrlAltDel]

Originally Posted by condor

After 8 years of seeing the same interiors, would like to see something different.

my sentiments exactly...Indigo CS looks similar to Indica on the inside and I find it boring after 5 years!

Originally Posted by opendro

I don't want to complain about the rattling which is common on many Indian cars.

oh yeah...for me it was a rattling dashboard that I used to tighten at every service. same thing with the classic "kich kich" belt noise!

Originally Posted by opendro

I had another problem, which was bugging me like hell, rain water comes inside the car through the door rubber biddings. That used to create stinks. I don't know if other owners are also facing the same

oh...i never had that problem...no water seeped in.

[CtrlAltDel]

An update:

2 weeks ago Hyderabad was affected by torrential rains and as expected half the roads were waterlogged.

at 11pm, while driving in pouring rain, I drove the Indica into a waist high pool of water that was invisible in the darkness (no street lights).

by the time i realised that i was in water, it was too late to push it to first gear and race away - the engine died on me!

my friends and I pushed the car out of the water and left it parked by the road side on higher ground.

next day I called a tow truck and paid them 1500 to tow it to my regular workshop (Auto Chenoy). the tow truck walla was talking about the great business he has been enjoying since the previous night!

anyway, the workshop guys asked me to leave the car until monday when it would be checked (it was a saturday and no mechanic had turned up coz of rains).

monday afternoon, i got a call form Chenoy with the supervisor excitedly telling me that there was nothing wrong with the engine except for excess water inside and maybe a screwed up filter or two. he estimated the cost to be around 1000-1200 Rs.

he also told me that though the work would be done that day itself, he would not give me the car until wednesday because he wanted to dry the car thoroughly inside and out to prevent fungal infestation.

come wednesday, I recieved an SMS from Auto Chenoy asking me to collect the car! when i went to the workshop, i was floored by a bill for only Rs 730!!!! the expenses were cleaning the cat. convertor, replacing 2 filters and some labor charges!!! i was told that more than a bucket of water was drained from the engine and that was it. i paid the amount and tipped them 300/-

since then the engine seemed smoother and more silent like a new car! my dad joked that the water logging had acted like an enema, flushing out the unwanted stuff and cleaning the engine thoroughly!

anyway, Tata Zindabad! what ever their so-called fault, i cannot imagine a lower cost of maintenence I had been enjoying last 5 years. even the A.S.S was great at Auto Chenoy which had been my regular workshop.

[greenhorn]

CtrlAltDel, how about waiting for the all new indica

[nithinnarayanan]

Good review! CtrlAltDel, I am also an indica owner,

I felt very good when i saw this review and sombody praising TATA indica.
My car is also nearing 80000 kms in a few days and was preparing a detailed review of the same.
Will post the review as soon as I clock 80000 .

IMHO Please wait for the Indica V3 before you take a decision

For your ref the pic of my speedo, taken a few days back.