[JVH]

Hi Folks!

Some news to share!

It's been a while I wanted to get rid of my old Zen, reasons being lack of safety on the highway, lack of power and pretty ordinary looks in today's good looking car world.

Going for a new car was strictly banned both by wify and family for lack of usage and unnecessary investment. We drive only on weekends and sometimes during the weekdays for dinner, my daily office commute being the company's good old BMTC pushpak bus . So the hunt began for a good conditioned used car with reasonable spending after I sell my Zen. The budget was around 2L.

The criteria for decision making were

Spacious (Zen is awfully cramped. So is Swift at the rear)
Good ride and comfort
Good pick up and stability (My Zen was awful in this aspect)

I was never bothered by FE (a few drives a week wouldn't require significant thinking on FE) and resale since I was planning to keep the car for atleast 2 years with the idea of thoroughly enjoying it

Just for the heck of understanding the ride and handling characteristics, I test drove Palio Stile 1.6 and Multijet, Swift ZXI and VDI, Hyundai Santro and Getz. The idea was firstly to understand how the cars score over what I was looking for and secondly, how these cars age since I was primarily looking for a used one among the mentioned cars

The Palio was streets ahead and it was not a difficult decision to make. It's negatives like poor resale and FE were not a concern for the reasons mentioned above. I absolutely loved the 1.6, 100 BHP engine and my heart said 'Yes, go for it pal!'. So, crazily began hunting for used Palio 1.6 sport/GTX/S10. The S10 rocks but the owners have crazy passion about the car and were quoting quite high prices for a decent condition S10. So, the S10 was ruled out. Besides wify didn't like yellow colour

Finally, I hit upon a GTX. This was one of the rare models where more than 60% of the parts were imported. The GTX cars manufactured in 2001 and early 2002 were of superior quality than its sister 1.6 sport which was released later after GTX production stopped. The reason being the parts then started being manufactured in India.

It was a beauty no doubt with a few scratches. I estimated a body work of around 5K. The brakes were hopeless, The right side mirror was gone. Engine was making a peculiar noise like a diesel. Apart from this, it was in a pretty decent condition. The interiors were well maintained. Seats were upgraded by G-sports (that saved some money since I was planning to get them done with the G-sports folks). I took it Greentracks servicing center on Hosur road for a check up. They gave an estimate of about 12-15K of repair and conditioning work. The owner was quoting 2L. I negotiated for 1.3L considering that I would be the 3rd owner and it had already clocked 69K on the odo. I took aside the Fiat mechanic (khopche me leke) and asked him what he thought about the car. He said if I get the car by 1.5L it would be a great deal considering the repair job for the beauty was peanuts in comparison to what it had to offer. Struck the deal and gave it to the same mechanic for servicing the repair work. This was on last Friday

This Monday, I got the beast home and boy what a great job those guys have done. The difference between the test drive of new Palio Stile 1.6 and my GTX for the factors I was looking was minimal. I repeat The difference between the test drive of new Palio Stile 1.6 and my GTX for the factors I was looking was minimal. Isn't it enough to judge the quality of the build, its parts and the engine? I was one happy man for stupidly not going for a new car and having got a gem for very little NET money.

Vitamin 'M' Statistics -

Sale of Maruti Zen - 1.3 L
Price of GTX - 1.3 L
Repair costs - 13K
Total price for GTX - 1.43L

I had to spend only 13K to bring the 100 horses home. Isn't it amazing?

There are still a few things pending

Pioneer 4050 ICE is semi-kaput. The CD sometimes gets stuck. The tuner is working fine though
Tires will have to be replaced after another 1K of driving, Planning to do it after a few days since my running for the time being will not be much.
Body work. Some scratches have to be fixed. Though not significant at the moment, but eventually planning to get it done later.

Well, that's it. Sorry for the long post but couldn't hold my excitement and started typing whatever came to my mind. Enjoy the pictures. Comments welcome

Happy driving!

Jayant

[snaronikar]

That's a nice car you have bought. BTW what was the odo reading. Have you thoroughly checked the car from a mechanic? Just in case...

[JVH]

The odo reading is 69K

It was thoroughly tested by Greentracks service center on Hosur road before buying

[mjothi]

Originally Posted by snaronikar

That's a nice car you have bought. BTW what was the odo reading. Have you thoroughly checked the car from a mechanic? Just in case...

He mentioned it as 69K.

The owner was quoting 2L. I negotiated for 1.3L considering that I would be the 3rd owner and it had already clocked 69K on the odo.

Man its a great looking car. And you got it for 1.3L, its real good price.

Enjoy your red bull. Hope to see those sooner in next meet

[HappyWheels]

It is a beautiful car. No argument about you getting a very a sweet deal - its a steal! :-)

The condition of the car and the interiors looks smashing!

Happy ownership and wishing you miles of pleasant motoring, JVH!

[amit]

Congrats on your new car. You will have a lot of fun driving it. Trust me .

Originally Posted by JVH

Finally, I hit upon a GTX. This was one of the rare models where more than 60% of the parts were imported. The GTX cars manufactured in 2001 and early 2002 were of superior quality than its sister 1.6 sport which was released later after GTX production stopped. The reason being the parts then started being manufactured in India.

From your post, it seems like the car you bought is a 2001-2002 model. Is that correct? However, the car in the pictures seems like the newer one that was launched post the Tata-Fiat tie up. The red colour of your car was not avaliable on the GTX initially unless your car was repainted earlier. The red colour was made avaliable on the sport after the Tata-Fiat tie up. But, even if the car was repainted, the Fiat emblem at the rear was also not avaliable in the initial GTX's of 2001-2003.

[finneyp]

Congrats Jayant on your 1.6 beast!

Have fun! But keep the 100 horses in control!

[jazzy_2cool]

Man You Rock,Lucky Guy to get her home at that price.cheers:

[JVH]

Originally Posted by amit

Congrats on your new car. You will have a lot of fun driving it. Trust me .



From your post, it seems like the car you bought is a 2001-2002 model. Is that correct? However, the car in the pictures seems like the newer one that was launched post the Tata-Fiat tie up. The red colour of your car was not avaliable on the GTX initially unless your car was repainted earlier. The red colour was made avaliable on the sport after the Tata-Fiat tie up. But, even if the car was repainted, the Fiat emblem at the rear was also not avaliable in the initial GTX's of 2001-2003.

Amit,

It is a Nov-2001 model to be precise. Was not aware that a red GTX was not available during that time and the emblem thing is news to me.

GTX owners, could you please confirm?

I'll check with the previous owner if there was any repainting job done.

[gods-envy]

Originally Posted by amit

Congrats on your new car. You will have a lot of fun driving it. Trust me .


From your post, it seems like the car you bought is a 2001-2002 model. Is that correct? However, the car in the pictures seems like the newer one that was launched post the Tata-Fiat tie up. The red colour of your car was not avaliable on the GTX initially unless your car was repainted earlier. The red colour was made avaliable on the sport after the Tata-Fiat tie up. But, even if the car was repainted, the Fiat emblem at the rear was also not avaliable in the initial GTX's of 2001-2003.

congrats on ur car buddy!! and welcome to the Palio Club
I too agree with Amit on the fiat emblem at the rear. the GTX models came with the FIAT at the top left of the rear.
Either the owner has changed it or you have landed yourself a bargain!!

Please do check if it really is a Post 2002 model.

[shantyrocks]

congratz dude!!
good car at an amazing price.plz take care of her.regular oil and filter change should keep her fine for another 69000 km!
palio is really a damn good buy in the used car market.100 horses at a reasonable price and that too in red!
what more does one want

[sajands]

Hey Jayant,

Congrats on your car, scuderia red color looks good on the car. Just an observation. dont you think the right side tail lamp looks dull or faded compared to the left tail lamp.

Regards,
Sajan

[JVH]

Thanks guys! It does feel really special to be a GTX owner.

Amit and Gods-envy - It is Nov 2001 model alright and the original colour was Tangerine. The first owner got it painted metallic red and the logo job is also his effort. The service guy missed telling me this. I asked whether this could be an accidental vehicle because of the repainting and his answer was negative.

Sajan - Your observation is spot on. One of the bulbs is missing on the right tail lamp, that's one of the things pending.

I haven't really listed what are the parts kaput and are likely to be replaced and repaired. I'm planning to get them done slowly and will update on this ASAP.

By the way Amit, I really got to know the real FIAT and the real PALIO through your post on the S10 review 4 long years back. Great Job!

[amit]

Originally Posted by sajands

dont you think the right side tail lamp looks dull or faded compared to the left tail lamp.

The headlights lens cover in the Palio are prone to fading. On my S10, I have changed the headlights thrice due to fading! But, the taillamps somehow don't suffer from this problem.

By the way Amit, I really got to know the real FIAT and the real PALIO through your post on the S10 review 4 long years back. Great Job!

Thanks buddy. It's time to update that review though. It's coming soon .

[snaronikar]

Originally Posted by mjothi

He mentioned it as 69K.

Ahh! Its my oversight.