A long term owner ship is iFF..

[headers]

The car has clocked over 50,000 kms..or so..

Well.well. Most of the posts for long term ownership has been for a few thousand kms run.. Normally, Any new car will NOT have problems with respect to clutch / brakes / engine / gearbox etc..

The kind of problem in certain cars over 50,000 kms will be with regard to

1. Power windows / central locking [especially if they are aftermarket fitment]
2. ICE [again an a cheap after market fitment]
3. Extra's we buy for the vehicle from our local accessories shop.
4. Wheels / tyres lack of grip or noise being heard
5. Air Conditioner / blower and HVAC related components.
6. Suspension related issues.

Now having braodly specified the problem areas, I've found that even some reputed Auto magazines report a long term road test as 20,000 kms or so.

The problem is these guys portray a wrong image of that car.. A car breaking down / having problems within 20000 kms in todays world is a sure NO NO..

Some car companies have closed down because of their poor competetiveness in the market.

I request fellow tbhpians to post some long term ownership reviews especially if the car is more than 50,000 to 70,000 kms.. The real challenge is in these cars which have crossed this mileage.

We should share the problem faced with these high mileage cars so that other high mileage users benefit from the same.

Posting a review of a car after say 5000 kms [in my opinion] does not really point to any thing. Todays modern vehicles are all advanced in their technology to even broaden their service intervals.

Hope we see the correct sense in this post and START sharing information.

my apologies to people who see things differently before you start banging your keyboards..

cheers

[androdev]

valid point but we need more ownership experiences.. long or short :-) i don't mind so much if the owner feels 5K km is a long term ownership as long as he/she gives an unbiased opinion.

[headers]

Originally Posted by androdev

valid point but we need more ownership experiences.. long or short :-) i don't mind so much if the owner feels 5K km is a long term ownership as long as he/she gives an unbiased opinion.

You may not ebe able to give a valid opinion within 5K..

You can just inform how tha car feels..!

[androdev]

i see what you mean. you are right. most of the time the early ownership experiences (<10K?) are full of 'my car is the best' stuff. maybe mods can make it more structured so that people looking for long term info actually read only long term info.

[hrag]

Absolutely agree. I had mentioned this in a PM to one of the mods when I joined. An LTR must really be Long Term or Long Distance.

That is one of the reasons why I have not put up a report of my Indica so far. I could have done it after 50K km but I think I'll do it in March 2008 - 5 years of ownership and maybe 90K - 1L kms on the clock by then.

No offense meant but we have people here who drive a new vehicle out of the showroom, drive 100 km, take the long route home and start an LTR thread.

With respect to the issues headers has highlighted:
1. Aftermarket central / remote locking stopped working partially around 75K km.
2. I replaced my OEM front and rear tyres at ~65K and ~75K km, respectively.
3. The A/C discharge hose failed at ~49K km and I had a dream sequence scene (like someone has reported recently). The compressor bearing is shot at ~81K km, am yet to get this fixed.
4. I'm still running OEM suspension on the car, one of the reasons why I may come across as slightly biased towards Tata.
5. Still on the original clutch assembly as well.
6. Did change the timing belt at 50K km.

More in my LTR when I put it up.

[Venom_rider]

Originally Posted by androdev

i see what you mean. you are right. most of the time the early ownership experiences (<10K?) are full of 'my car is the best' stuff. maybe mods can make it more structured so that people looking for long term info actually read only long term info.

Originally Posted by hrag

No offense meant but we have people here who drive a new vehicle out of the showroom, drive 100 km, take the long route home and start an LTR thread.

I certainly agree to you points here... I guess getting bit more structured is the way to go. Maybe the MODS should consider an "Initial Impression" section for both New Cars/Used Cars bought recently.
The reason we are seeing 100km report in LTR is due of the lack of this (Heck... I started one today )

[ballkey]

I've a slightly different opinion:

- IMHO , most people dont keep their cars for more than 50-60K/5 years.. Atleast the depreciation-conscious folks rarely do..
- The value of a TeamBHP review is that it helps new car buyers to make more informed decisions. A good number of new cars now have issues in their early years; even premium cars are no exception. In this respect, it's much more valuable to have a review of a 2 year Getz/Fusion or even a 6-month old VDi, than a 7 year old VTEC. Not that a 7 year old VTEC review isnt interesting enough
- It also helps in determining how much a company or brand is improving over the years - such as Tata.

Maybe we just need a mid-term category ...

[shuvc]

While the thought is good. I'd put it this way.

- All unbiased reports are helpful
- A person starting a low mileage LTR thread should keep on updating it at regular intervals. That way one will tend to capture more details of the ownership experience than a one off report
- Sometimes, these reports throw up issues with the car which others might point out; things that we may not have noticed. Hence enabling early corrective/preventive actions
- As long as the LTR mentions the current kms on the clock, it would not be misleading. A reader will always know that it's a report on a relatively new car.

[headers]

Originally Posted by hrag

Absolutely agree. I had mentioned this in a PM to one of the mods when I joined. An LTR must really be Long Term or Long Distance.

That is one of the reasons why I have not put up a report of my Indica so far. I could have done it after 50K km but I think I'll do it in March 2008 - 5 years of ownership and maybe 90K - 1L kms on the clock by then.

No offense meant but we have people here who drive a new vehicle out of the showroom, drive 100 km, take the long route home and start an LTR thread.

With respect to the issues headers has highlighted:
1. Aftermarket central / remote locking stopped working partially around 75K km.
2. I replaced my OEM front and rear tyres at ~65K and ~75K km, respectively.
3. The A/C discharge hose failed at ~49K km and I had a dream sequence scene (like someone has reported recently). The compressor bearing is shot at ~81K km, am yet to get this fixed.
4. I'm still running OEM suspension on the car, one of the reasons why I may come across as slightly biased towards Tata.
5. Still on the original clutch assembly as well.
6. Did change the timing belt at 50K km.

More in my LTR when I put it up.

Hey thats great..

Will be good if you put up a synopsis of your driving experience as the car grows older..wrt engine smoothness.., brakes etc..

I've been in Indica Taxis in Delhi that had run as high as 2,50,000 kms without a rebore..! and that car was smooth..really smooth than my 02 Indica that i' had till around 70K kms..

[GTO]

I request fellow tbhpians to post some long term ownership reviews especially if the car is more than 50,000 to 70,000 kms.. The real challenge is in these cars which have crossed this mileage.

Posting a review of a car after say 5000 kms [in my opinion] does not really point to any thing.

Why cant we have both? Why only insist on 50,000+ km reports? While a 50,000 km report will give an insight into the long-term reliability of a car.....a 5,000 km report will be an eye-opener in disclosing how the car behaves and feels. Living with a car for 5,000 kms is enough of time to make honest comments on important factors like a comfortable driving position, ergonomics, interior space and comfort, fuel efficiency, boot space, handling, braking, power delivery etc.

Therefore, value lies in both; shorter term as well as longer term ownership reports.

[headers]

Originally Posted by GTO

Why cant we have both? Why only insist on 50,000+ km reports? While a 50,000 km report will give an insight into the long-term reliability of a car.....a 5,000 km report will be an eye-opener in disclosing how the car behaves and feels. Living with a car for 5,000 kms is enough of time to make honest comments on important factors like a comfortable driving position, ergonomics, interior space and comfort, fuel efficiency, boot space, handling, braking, power delivery etc.

Therefore, value lies in both; shorter term as well as longer term ownership reports.

GTO, Hi,

You dont need 5000 kms to assess a comfortable driving position, ergonomics, interior space, etc etc.. even 10 kms would do..

What I meant was the need to share / educate our friends in what it is to have a car for 200,000 kms or so..

Also, if you'd read my post..I've clearly mentioned that it makes no sense in todays world for a car to fail within 5000 kms.

I do NOT insist on 50000+ kms report..but only stated that it would be nice if we could have the meaning of a long term test as a real long term TEST..not just an EXPERT opinion of ..

"oh i took delivery of this great car...people rave about the shiny red color it had with orange mag wheels running on 205/40 DUNLOPS etc etc..amazing sound man..the clutch was semi automatic though and had a tough time to .....

You know finally that is ONE GREAT CAR.."

Such a report is frankly a waste of time..What one needs to know is not just the look and feel..but the ownership experience..and if it is okay to put one's money in it..

Cheers

[headers]

And I dont know why you shifted my thread to shifting gears..I wanted to express my opinion of a LONG TERM OWNERSHIP EXPERIENCE / ROAD TEST..

Cheers

[Surprise]

5,000 or 50,000 a honest review would do. Within 5000 kms in my swift, the biggest problem I identified is of rattling issues.

This reveiw is just to pen down the + and - of a car. Honest review will be of no harm

[esteem_lover]

Agree with headers. There could be 2 different ownership reports section. An initial impressions section which should be between 100kms to 5000 kms & the LT ownership report should be for cars that have been used by the present owner for at least 50k kms or more. People buy a car & immediately start off a thread in the LT ownership thread saying that they will be updating this thread which actually makes no sense. It kinda resembles a rant or a blog rather than a report.

Originally Posted by hrag

Absolutely agree. I had mentioned this in a PM to one of the mods when I joined. An LTR must really be Long Term or Long Distance.

That is one of the reasons why I have not put up a report of my Indica so far. I could have done it after 50K km but I think I'll do it in March 2008 - 5 years of ownership and maybe 90K - 1L kms on the clock by then.

assuming that you are currently around 90k kms, you should be making that report very soon.

[supremeBaleno]

Vikram, while I agree overall with the idea you have in mind, there are some issues here. Today, its rare for people to keep their car for a duration of 50K kms. Ofcourse there are exceptions like me who will keep it for that and much more, but the general trend is to buy, drive for say 20K kms (or a few years), sell it and buy a new one. So...

Originally Posted by headers

A car breaking down / having problems within 20000 kms in todays world is a sure NO NO..

Might not break down (though that is also not ruled out, given what I have read here), but I have seen serious issues (problems) in cars that I would not imagine in a new car.

Originally Posted by headers

I request fellow tbhpians to post some long term ownership reviews especially if the car is more than 50,000 to 70,000 kms.. The real challenge is in these cars which have crossed this mileage.

What's the big challenge here ? You mentioned about Indicas doing 2.5lakh kms. I am not sure I buy that, but assuming I do, if an Indica can do 2.5lakh kms without a rebore, your average Jap / Korean / American car should easily do a million kms. So how come 50K kms is a challenge ? Then we should wait for a 5lakh km or a 10lakh km report for those cars.