Used Baleno...dilemma

[aaggoswami]

Originally Posted by GTO - Touring

Neither Baleno's nor the OHC's parts are particular cheap....well, at least some of them. Don't fret over this. There are plentiful options to find spares for popular cars at the right prices. If you or your friends ever have trouble sourcing parts for an OHC, please open a thread up here. I am sure you will receive several leads.

Yes they are not cheap. We have expeirenced this. Thanks for the advice. Will implement it if found necessary.

Originally Posted by GTO - Touring

Your posts clearly infer that one should avoid buying a used OHC because of concern over spares availability. That is absolutely incorrect advice. I know someone who once had trouble sourcing a compressor for his Alto? So? Maybe we ought to start announcing that spares for the Alto are also a concern.

My point is clear that sourcing the spares might be a problem and so it is relatively risky deal than a new swift that will have spares avaliable and they are cheaper than OHC/Baleno that the thread starter is looking for.
Swift will have advantages with avaliability of spares for a longer period of time as compared to OHC/Baleno, cheaper spares.

Originally Posted by GTO - Touring

It is also prudent to realise that the person you are advising is from Bangalore which, last I checked, is a bustling metropolis. Just because someone had a problem finding bumpers somewhere in Gujarat does not mean it applies as a blanket statement to the entire of India.

Well, the problem that I am referring to about OHC is about the people who live in A'bad. A'bad is one of the 13 MEGA CITIES of India. So its not a small city like Vadodara where I live. I was referring to a mega city where they had problems. And the non avaliablity of spares is not limited to Bumpers ( that happens to be 3 piece, if some one remembers ), but headlights and grille also.
Check again, A'bad is not far behind the bustling metropolis, Banglore.
Ahmedabad - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Originally Posted by GTO - Touring

I reiterate that OHC spares availability will NOT be a problem for a long time to come. Sure, in smaller cities the only dealership may keep stock of fast-moving parts (exclusively). But that applies to ANY car....even those in production.

Anyone who stays away from an OHC because of spare part fear is just oblivious to market dynamics.

There is more than spare part fear to stay away from OHC.

[iraghava]

Originally Posted by aaggoswami

Well, the problem that I am referring to about OHC is about the people who live in A'bad. A'bad is one of the 13 MEGA CITIES of India. So its not a small city like Vadodara where I live. I was referring to a mega city where they had problems. And the non avaliablity of spares is not limited to Bumpers ( that happens to be 3 piece, if some one remembers ), but headlights and grille also.
Check again, A'bad is not far behind the bustling metropolis, Banglore.
Ahmedabad - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

And that's even more surprising. Most regular parts of the OHC are available off the shelf even in a small town called Moradabad in Up. Lights, bumpers, brake pads,, filters, bush kits, suspension components et al. You name it the local dealers have it.

I really don't understand how you're facing a problem sourcing parts for the car? Maybe you've not found the right shops yet.

P.S. You need anything for an OHC & I mean ANYTHING, it's available off the shelf in a city like Delhi from after market dealers leave alone Honda service centres. Even ECU's!

[kaushik_s]

Till now I'm facing not much problem regarding parts which are needed to keep the car running. Yes, there was a small issue of finding the inside door lock release latch as it was broken. But the issue was solved as the Alto latch is exactly same except a slight difference in color. And also there was a whopping price difference, Alto latch was 133 Rs and Baleno was 850 Rs. and the service adviser actually jokingly told me that if I don't find the color matching then for the price of one I can replace the rest three locks too. But anyway finding other parts like air/oil/fuel filter, belts etc. was never an issue.

OT :But it was really sad to feel that Maruti used similar quality plastic part to a 7 lakh car and to a 3 lakh car

[aaggoswami]

Originally Posted by iraghava

And that's even more surprising. Most regular parts of the OHC are available off the shelf even in a small town called Moradabad in Up. Lights, bumpers, brake pads,, filters, bush kits, suspension components et al. You name it the local dealers have it.

I really don't understand how you're facing a problem sourcing parts for the car? Maybe you've not found the right shops yet.

P.S. You need anything for an OHC & I mean ANYTHING, it's available off the shelf in a city like Delhi from after market dealers leave alone Honda service centres. Even ECU's!

I knew that OHC parts are avaliable, but never knew that even ECU are avaliable like this! Thanks for the information.

Going to different shops other than Honda Dealer was a solution given to them by many including me, but they said they have never bought the car to visit different shops around the city for spares. Right now the person who was using OHC1.3 is now using Palio S10 and he is mad about that car. Honda Dealer with a lot of dealy got the spares and now the car is about to hit the road again, with their selling off plans to be implemented right after that. They are now looking towards SX4/Verna/Fiesta. SX4 seems to be high on their list.

[MADMAX111]

aaggoswami Dear, Ahemdabad may be a metropolis but the number of car enthusiasts there may not be as many as let's say in Bangalore, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Chennai or Delhi. You see much better maintained (well not Delhi may be) and modded cars in these cities than any other city in India.

Simple Supply Demand equation!!

That explains the availabilty of parts in these cities. So I do'nt think Baleno spares will be an issue in Bangalore.

[aaggoswami]

Originally Posted by MADMAX111

aaggoswami Dear, Ahemdabad may be a metropolis but the number of car enthusiasts there may not be as many as let's say in Bangalore, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Chennai or Delhi. You see much better maintained (well not Delhi may be) and modded cars in these cities than any other city in India.

Simple Supply Demand equation!!

That explains the availabilty of parts in these cities. So I do'nt think Baleno spares will be an issue in Bangalore.

Yes, it might be true, but I was giving the best what I know from personal or relatives/friends experience.

[GTO]

Originally Posted by aaggoswami

My point is clear that sourcing the spares might be a problem and so it is relatively risky deal

Unfortunately, this statement has absolutely no grounds. Actually, I have yet to see an OHC query that expressed concern over spare part availability, until it was brought up in this thread. Plus, from the thousands of OHC owners on this forum (from all parts of India), not one single person has come up with a problem in sourcing spares for their cars. So.....we would rather believe the majority than make an assumption based on one case.

There is more than spare part fear to stay away from OHC.

Sure, feel free to outline those. But do not advise anyone to stay away from an OHC because there is a spare parts problem. That statement could not be farther from the truth.

I do hope this is the final statement on the supposed "OHC Spares problem".

[rjstyles69]

Your posts clearly infer that one should avoid buying a used OHC because of concern over spares availability. That is absolutely incorrect advice. I know someone who once had trouble sourcing a compressor for his Alto? So? Maybe we ought to start announcing that spares for the Alto are also a concern.

It is also prudent to realise that the person you are advising is from Bangalore which, last I checked, is a bustling metropolis. Just because someone had a problem finding bumpers somewhere in Gujarat does not mean it applies as a blanket statement to the entire of India.

I reiterate that OHC spares availability will NOT be a problem for a long time to come. Sure, in smaller cities the only dealership may keep stock of fast-moving parts (exclusively). But that applies to ANY car....even those in production.

Well put GTO, couldn't agree any better.

aaggoswami I think maybe you should stop shouting your heart out regarding spares. Coz the prospective buyer is in Bangalore and I am sure there wouldnt be a problem sourcing spares atleast here.

Just read this now , LOL you are all over the place. Let know if you need any spares at all I am more than willing to source it for you from here and courier it.

[married2speed]

I quite agree with my fellow BHPians. Honda wouldn't just wake up 1 fine day and stop supplying spares for the OHC unlike Maruti, which is struggling to keep abreast with the competition. (Personal opinion). If you would notice, honda has a policy of phasing out their cars keeping in sync the environment as well. honda earth dreams is not just an advertisement gimmick but something in which honda seriously believes in. People are given enough time to phase out their car and I can only assume yet safely say that the same would apply to spares, so obtaining spares for honda, will never be a problem. Not in the metros atleast.

The problem doesn't really lie with the manufacturer but primarily with the dealers. The dealers, in order to reduce their operational cost, keep only the essential spares for eg, engine mounts or shocker mounts but won't keep trivial spares such as a inside trim. The small little things, are then requested for as and when needed by the customer, so these take some time to reach (with follow up of course!)

In my opinion, Worse manufacturer when it comes to spares- SKODA. Anyhow. Another story all together.

You can go for an OHC without any fear. However, I would like to mention a few points which you could ponder over.
1. Honda stopped producing the OHC long time back. Buying a OHC would mean, the car would have been driven a lot and you would not be sure under what cicumstances. Buying an OHC could incurr more expense as time would go by and you might again regret your decision. Only power is not everything.
2. Spare a thought of the environment. Why would you want to buy something which is not considered environment friendly anymore?
3. The old honda city, like any other car, was a rattled lot. If during your test drive, the noise is not there, there are only 2 things to consider
a) the car was extremely well kept, which u won't know untill and unless u drive it personally for 6 months
b) it's a cover up and it's only a matter of time before the noises re-appear.
4. Re-sale for a OHC would not fetch you great value for money after another 2 years, so you might eventually not want to sell it and be stuck with it and then when Honda does phase out this car completely, then you might have problems with the spare, although this is a far fetched scenario, we don't know for how long do you plan to keep the car

Play it safe, go for the new swift and should something better come along which suits you more, sell the swift. You'll be a happier person.

Cheers!
M2S

[aaggoswami]

Originally Posted by GTO

Unfortunately, this statement has absolutely no grounds. Actually, I have yet to see an OHC query that expressed concern over spare part availability, until it was brought up in this thread. Plus, from the thousands of OHC owners on this forum (from all parts of India), not one single person has come up with a problem in sourcing spares for their cars. So.....we would rather believe the majority than make an assumption based on one case.



Sure, feel free to outline those. But do not advise anyone to stay away from an OHC because there is a spare parts problem. That statement could not be farther from the truth.

Ok the few fears are:
-> With the time passing, overall expense of having OHC will go up and after a few years down the line, it may dissappoint you.
-> The build quality of OHC is not as good as NHC. Its not about just rattles, but also the chassis strength is not good. Swift is definately better option than OHC as far as this point is considered.
-> The last sold OHC was in Dec 2002 ( correct me if I am wrong ). So the newest used OHC you could fetch will be atleast 5.5 years old and so definatley will the car will have life a fair share of its lifecycle. Here, even if the car has done 40K, it wont be a good value propsition as time passes by.

Comparing the used Baleno/OHC with new Swift, swift clearly will come out as winner. If possible you can opt for ABS and airbags in swift that are absent in both, Baleno/NHC. Just before being discontinued, Baleno came with ABS with climate control ( from swift ) and 14" wheels. If you can find this, consider yourself lucky. As people have pointed out, Banglore will have more balneos, and so juat look around a bit for it.

My personal opinion that one should definately opt for atleast ABS if avaliable. It is very improtant safety feature that cannot be ignored.

All the above factors tilt the scale in favour of Swift IMHO.

Originally Posted by GTO

I do hope this is the final statement on the supposed "OHC Spares problem".

After reading your replies along with others notably iraghava, I again got in touch with people who had problem. It was confirmed that general parts like oil filter, air filter and even spark plugs, are in stock. But it turned out to be dealer problem rather than Honda problem. The dealer in Vadodara had these parts in stock, but in very small numbers. Servicing OHC is also not a problem at Honda dealership in general. Vadodara dealer confirms that parts like OHC bumpers are kept in small numbers and not like NHC ( its understood ). On demand or requirement, they will get the stuff for customers. Almost all parts are avaliable, but its upto the dealer to stock them. The problem told by me also turned out to be the same. Thanks to Distinguished BHPIAN, iraghava, I inquired and got the real information.

[gigy]

anyone interested in OMB or OHC just buy to use it till scrap. this will make you decide. still you want to try resale buy in production models only. doubts clear have fun with OHC or OMB, there are plenty to modify and experience with these two, since teambhp will support you anytime.

[supremeBaleno]

Originally Posted by aaggoswami

Just before being discontinued, Baleno came with ABS with climate control ( from swift ) and 14" wheels. If you can find this, consider yourself lucky.

AFAIK, Baleno never came with ABS. The climateControl and 14" wheels part is correct though.

@aaggoswami, no one disputes the fact that it is always better to buy a new car, as compared to a used one. And it don't matter whether we are talking Swifts or Balenos or Hondas or whatever. But then, not everyone believes in buying new, due to various reasons. And in this case, even though the OHC and Baleno are no longer in production, spares are not an issue for either of them.

[GTO]

-> The last sold OHC was in Dec 2002

Mine is a 2003 build.

Baleno came with ABS

Never did.

But I am glad you see the light on the other issues. Cheers!

[iraghava]

Originally Posted by aaggoswami

-> The last sold OHC was in Dec 2002 ( correct me if I am wrong ). So the newest used OHC you could fetch will be atleast 5.5 years old

Nope, last pieces were sold in November '03. I bought mine in October '03.

Originally Posted by aaggoswami

Baleno came with ABS with climate control ( from swift ) and 14" wheels. If you can find this, consider yourself lucky.

No, no ABS was ever offered on the Baleno. My best friend owns one of the last VXi's sold & I drive it on & off. It did come with Climate control & 14" wheels shod with 185/65 R14 Goodyear NCT5's.

[aaggoswami]

Originally Posted by GTO

Mine is a 2003 build.

Yes, my mistake.
I just seem to remember the information when the news started flying in end 2002 on the net.

Originally Posted by GTO

Never did.

AFAIK, Baleno never came with ABS. The climateControl and 14" wheels part is correct though.

Whoo, one more, I confused it after I read that climate control is carryover from Swift. Mistake, man, mistake.
I am feeling really bad.Looks like I will have to drown myself in one molecule of Water for this.

Originally Posted by GTO

But I am glad you see the light on the other issues. Cheers!

Yes, I was just not satisfied with what news I got and it was perfectly in inverse proportion to Team-BHP. So went on digging around it and found the real stuff.