[n.devdath]

Originally Posted by sudev

4. What were you stuck in? Esteem ATX 2004

OMG, you ventured into Sambhar lake in an Esteem??

OT: Going by your vast experience in driving across every conceivable terrain in the country probably, how much of an impediment does 2wd pose over 4wd if pure sand and slush is taken out of the scenario?
I somehow feel that it is mainly in slush and dune like sand where you really need 4wd, else everything can be managed in 2wd and a high GC with good LeT.

What is your say?

[ad75]

1. Where were you stuck? Near Sakleshpur, karnataka

2. Why were you stuck? Two tyres punctured simultaneously.

3. How did you come out? tyre repaired.

4. What were you stuck in? esteem lxi.

have a thread on this http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/street...py-ending.html

[shivshanker]

I was badly stuck up on Bombay last year in the month of May.. still gives me a hearty laugh whenever I think about it.

Story is a follows;

I am serving the customary notice period in my previous company and during the last week of my notice period, I am scheduled to visit my home town Hubli
to attend my first cousin's wedding.

2 days before scheduled departure from Bombay, my dad, living in Hubli is suddenly taken ill with high fever.

11.00 am in the morning we decide to prepone our departure and start off for Hubli at around 11.30. I was driving my 2005 Baleno, which has covered almost 90,000 kms on the ODO till then. I was accompanied by wife and two boys.

I was actually looking forward to some good driving on this trip, as I had brand new YOKO's running on my Baleno, upsized to 205/65/R14 with spacers for providing the additional lift. Additional mods being, struts, NGK Iridium Plugs, Freeflow Exhaust running on synthetic oil.

Since the Car is regularly serviced at MASS, I was confident about the road worthiness of the car and started off with a small prayer.

First Stop, Eastern Express highway, near Airoli Bridge Naka to fillup Neera.

Second Stop : Belapur for Lunch at 12.30.

We start off from Belapur at around 1.45, not too happy with the pickup on Khandala, was cursing my service mechanic as something was just not seeming right.

Time now is around 3.30; third Stop, you would not believe it, on the expressway, yes an emergency stop, the fun now starts.

The stop was maybe 30 kms before the end of the expressway, towards Pune, my rear right and front Left tyres are both flat.

Decide to deploy the spare on the front, as found the rear tyre to be totally out of shape. Looks like I was gunning the car on a semi flat type for a long time. I change the front tyre with the kids standing on the road side and the wife nervously clutching her jewellery. (we are on a way to a wedding also, remember !)

With One flat tyre.. limp to the nearest puncture shop after the toll naka, I ask my family to enjoy the refreshments in the nearby food court cum pertrol station and am struggling struggling with the kids running the Puncture Shop.

We roll up the windows for security purposes as it is now getting dark, guess what!!!, my keys are inside and I roll up the window using the automatic funtion on the driver side and slam the door.

My car has an auto door lock function, Keys are inside and the car gets locked.

Since it is a year from that date .. I do not think I panicked that day, no point in upsetting the family.

Call Maruti Help Line, for two hours, they could not decide if this problem had to be handled by MASS Pune guys or the MASS Vashi Guys. Finally, it was decided that I had to take the vehicle to either Mumbai or Pune MASS workshops, and that they would not service me on the no Man's land.

It is almost getting dark now, with mosquitoes having a feast on my bare legs. ( I was wearing shorts and a tee shirt.)

Final call to my service Advisor, what is the cost of a window Glass, 620 Rs. is the answer, we decide to break it.

Went in search of something strong to break the window pane and come across a crow bar. Using the crowbar was able to pry one the window glass by almost 1/2 inch.

This gave me the space to insert a long screw driver and unlock the central locking function which is on the door panel on the driver side.

Phew! unlocked the door reloaded the luggage and am ready to go with no spare tyre.

The front left tyre could be repaired, as it was a problem only with the valve. The rear right tyre was swollen like a pig now.. it had air bubbles all along and it was a write off.

After due deliberations, do we proceed or turn back, decided to proceed towards Hubli, I was confident that my luck was not that bad after all.

Crossed, Pune and proceeded on to Satara. We reached Satara at around 11.00 in the night. Luckily, we found some decent accommodation in Pankaj Executive at Satara and broke journey for the night.

Sit down for dinner, order Kingfisher Mild and gulp down half a glass, start feeling queasy after a few minutes, ask the wife to finish off the dinner, pay the bill and come to the room.

I bolted from that place and emptied my stomach.


Guys!!, do u remember the bottle of Neera.. I was drinking it all along the journey and I think it had fermented by evening completely, I was actually sipping Toddy or arrack.

Make an early start from Satara at around 6.00 am, to reach Hubli early. The rest of journey was uneventful.

Upon reaching, Hubli.. now my mother is also down with fever both parents have been diagnosed with Chikungunya.

The night we reach it is raining and electric supply is cut from 10.00 pm to 5.00 am due to heavy rains.

Chikungunya is not fatal, but has long lasting negative effects, hence we decide to move my boys back to Bombay.

To make matters worse, I am summoned back to Mumbai for a Urgent Customer meeting, we start back for Bombay. 100 Kms from Hubli front right tyre calls it quits.

Now I am worried.

Replace the only remaining tyre, which is shape less, as I did not want to ruin this tyre too and limp back to Hubli by 11.00 am in the morning.

Finally the problem was solved in Hubli by a road side tyre shop ..as he found all the 4 Valve pins to be inferior quality.

[sudev]

Another instance from October/November 2009.

Where were you stuck? Desert Dunes near Bikaner. Was on a recce mission to find a good track for use as a "section" in Desert Storm rally. Looking at the map and Google Earth showed some promising trails leading north from the National Highway #11 After consulting some locals started off on a trail. Few forks came and took judgement calls on left or right based on tyre tracks etc. As per norm we try and do recces of this nature with a back up vehicle but this time were were alone. My better half was with me as usual for the trip.

The trail would climb a ridge and then drop in to a bowl. Now these are places where locals plant seeds and pray that it rains. However the winter rains had failed and so the crops were all dead.

After about 10kms took a fork left and crossed couple of ridges. Realised that this was not leading anywhere. Wanted to turn back but the sand was not looking firm so kept on going hoping to find a spot from where we could take a turn.

A small ridge with few wild grass outcroppings seemed best place. Slowed to a halt and reversed on to grass clump while turning at right angles. Unfortunately the roots had held firm for long time and there was a solid clump which the rear right wheel could not cross and started spinning. Tried putting in to forward but the front left wheel was not finding purchase as it had lifted a bit due to angle in the terrain.

With no LSD/Rear/Front diff lcok there was no way we were able to get out without effort.

Why were you stuck? One front wheel and one rear wheel spinning uselessly. Even with central diff lock the vehicle was "beached".

How did you come out? First tied digging under the wheel but the slope and hard roots around the grass clump did not allow sufficient dig. Placing mats and using wheel jack also did not help as there were actually two hard clumps in front and back of rear right wheel.

And though it was late autumn but the sun was fierce in middle of the day. Needed to rest in shade after every few minutes.

No mobile coverage where we were stuck but walking back to the last ridge at elevated spot I could get signal. So phoned a local contact and gave him description of how we got to where we were stuck.
An hour and half later a local 2WD M&M jeep taxi with driver and a passenger showed up. With me behind the wheels and few robust pushes GV was able to find purchase and was able to go ahead and take a turn.
Now we were ready to go back. However then he got stuck making that turn back with wheels dug in. However was able to tug pull him out with tow rope.

What were you stuck in? What else. Grand Vitara 2.0 AWD. Its just not what you drive but how and where that is important.

[suzuki san]

Hi Guys,

An incident took place yesterday which has sort of shaken me a bit.

While driving from Goa to Bombay on the Chorla Ghat and while trying to avoid an oncoming car, I put the two left wheels just marginally off the road. My bad luck was that there was a very sharp stone/rock embedded in the mud (I found out later) at the side of the road and I did not (could not) see it. My speed at the time was about 40 Kmph.
Both left hand side tyres hit the stone, there was a loud bang, the car swerved a bit and my instinctive reaction was to come back on track and stop the car. This was done without any further to do. No one was injured.

I got out to inspect the car fearing the worst. The car was leaning over to the left and I saw immediately that both the left hand side tyres had burst. The front one had a 2 inch square hole and the rear about a 1 inch square hole. No other damage was visible. The alloys also appeared to be OK.

Now, what do I do?? There is just my wife and me in the car.
I have only one spare tyre and we are in the middle of a jungle (literally) with very sparse traffic. Luckily it was just getting light at 0645 hrs.
Just standing there was not going to help so I drove the car slowly to a small open patch of mud further ahead.

Proceeded to empty the boot of all our luggage onto the back seat so as not to have our belongings strewn all over the side of the road and attract unnecessary attention. Kept the boot closed and all off side doors locked. Hazard lights on.
Started trying to change the front wheel by myself with the intention that if I could steer then I could drive the car on a flat back tyre (it was destroyed anyway) to the nearest village (Jamboti) about 4 to 5 Kms away.

Changing the wheel turned out to be a Herculean task as the car was tilted over to the left and the camber of the road made matters worse.
Also, the car is fitted with a full body kit including side skirts which made finding the jacking point almost impossible.
Finally after struggling for half an hour I flagged down two local bikers with whose help we changed the tyre and I drove slowly on to Jamboti.

Meanwhile my wife (with great difficulty due to a sketchy mobile coverage) had called up the Maruti HelpLine and was told that there was "Nothing we can do to help". This was Sai Service in Goa from where the car was bought and where I do all the servicing. So much for a HelpLine!!

When the local tyre repair guy at Jamboti saw the tyres he point blank said there was nothing he could do. I needed two (or at least one) new tyres.

Jamboti is about 25Kms from Belgaum so I started calling Santesh Motors (Maruti) in Belgaum. Again a negative response. "We are closed and anyway we don't have that size of tyre or wheel in stock" was the response.
Now tried calling tyre shops in Belgaum (courtesy "Just Dial") and was lucky enough to find "Mega Tyres" who, surprise! surprise!! actually had the SX4 size of tyres in stock.

Tried waving down several private cars but at least 10 of them passed me before a gentleman in a Swift stopped and was kind enough to take me into Belgaum. He even offered me his spare wheel but a Swift wheel would not fit on an SX4, so...

The owner of "Mega Tyres" went out of his way to go and open his shop, pick up a new tyre and bring it to me on the other side of Belgaum.
I then caught a rickshaw and took the new tyre back to Jamboti where it was fitted on the wheel and I could now proceed in the car onto Belgaum where I went to the "Mega Tyres" workshop and had all 4 new tyres fitted, alignment and balancing done and checked for other damage. Thankfully there was none.

A big "Thank You" to the two young bikers, Majid of "Mega Tyres" and Mr. Patil who gave me a lift and offered me his spare tyre.
Once the new tyres were fitted we resumed our journey onto Bombay and finally reached home at 11 p.m. last night.

I have travelled the length of India from Manali to Kanya Kumari and points in between over the 35 years I have been driving - mostly in Maruti's.
I have always carried spares and yesterday I had my usual towing cable (2), battery jump leads, air compressor, emergency tyre inflator, first aid kit, extra long jack handle, extra cross spanner, gloves, torch, headlight bulbs, fuses, wiper blades, rubber mats, water, food stuff, mobile phone power bank, flasher light, seat belt cutter, hammer, a full (small) tool kit, jack knife, tommy bar etc. etc.

In all my years of travel I have NEVER EVER been stuck at the side of the road (not even for a puncture) and have never had any reason to use any of the emergency kit mentioned apart from helping other people who were stuck.

Yesterday, for the first time I got stuck at the side of the road and none of this kit was of any use at all. Not a nice feeling at all. I was pretty much helpless.

However, I still consider myself really lucky this time. Yes! You read that right! Lucky!! I drive from Bombay to Goa and back almost every month and have traversed this very same road in the pitch black with dense fog and/or pouring rain always having full faith in my ability and my vehicle.
If it was raining yesterday I would never have been able to lift the car as the jack would have sunk into the mud. Then what? Abandon the car? I guess that's the only option. And go where? No one is going to stop and give you a lift after dark.
The incident occurred just after day break. Imagine this happening in the pitch black on what is basically a jungle road.

So, the reason for this thread :

To make fellow BHP'ians aware of the risks involved in highway travel (especially off beat roads like this) and to always carry an emergency kit as listed above with you. If any of you can think of any additions to the kit mentioned above I would appreciate your inputs.
I would also suggest that you leave home just before daybreak and break journey at sunset - irrespective of where you are or how close to your destination you are.


Would like you guys' opinions on the following :

1. What are the odds of having two tyres burst and what can one do to solve the problem?
The only thing I can think of is to carry a spare tube which, might, with a thick patch inside the burst tyre be able to get you to the nearest town. Doubtful though.
Also, how does one fit the tube into the damaged tyre??
Carry a second spare wheel and tyre? That's going to eat up the luggage space.
Also, please remember that the village tyre guys do not have the equipment
to fit tubeless tyres on alloy wheels.

2. What does one do if you get no response from the supposed 24/7 helplines?

3. What does one do if there is no mobile network? This one is a killer!

4. Is there any point investing in the electric type jacks? There are some for sale on car websites. Some electric and some inflatable type. I would have thought the inflatable ones would be better in situations where the car is in the mud alongside the road. But, they have to be connected to the exhaust pipe and I don't know how easy that will be.

5. Is there any point calling the Police? Would they even bother to come out and help? What could they really do? Also, remember point 3 above!!

The only thing I feel would be of any use would be to keep the numbers of various towing companies in nearby towns on your route stored on your mobile in advance. But again, with no mobile signal what use is that???


By the way, I fitted a complete new set of Apollo Tyres yesterday at Belgaum before continuing our journey and they come with a 24/7 roadside assistance assurance for one year.

I have also informed Bajaj Allianz that when I renew my insurance next week I want the whole "Roadside Assistance Plan" included in the policy.

I am hoping the above two will be better than Maruti's HelpLine.

If any of you can think of any other mitigating measures, please do let me know.

Regards,
SS

[gkrishk]

What are the odds of having two tyres burst and what can one do to solve the problem?

I have had both my left tyres punctured in quick succession, probably from having driven over the same nail by the side of a road where there was a lot of garbage dumped. I changed the front one and noticed the rear tyre was under inflated. Luckily the rear tyre deflated only slowly and I was able to drive a few kilometres to a petrol pump, inflate it and drive home. One advantage of tubeless tyres is of course that one can sometimes pump up with air and drive on.

[SS-Traveller]

Originally Posted by suzuki san

...the reason for this thread :

A few things come to mind.

...put the two left wheels just marginally off the road...

...at 40 km/h is a great way to topple any car, not just get 2 ripped tyres.

...drove the car slowly to a small open patch of mud...

Again, not a great idea. With tyres gone, staying on a hard surface has its merits.

...sketchy mobile coverage...
What does one do if there is no mobile network?

A good reason to carry connections from multiple companies. I prefer Airtel as my primary phone, and an MTNL connection (roaming on BSNL) for when everything else stops working.

Is there any point investing in the electric type jacks? There are some for sale on car websites. Some electric and some inflatable type. I would have thought the inflatable ones would be better in situations where the car is in the mud...

Any robust jack is fine, as long as you are not off-roading. Just make sure they fit under the car!

...24/7 helplines...
...called up the Maruti HelpLine and was told that there was "Nothing we can do to help".
...24/7 roadside assistance assurance for one year...
...I want the whole "Roadside Assistance Plan" included in the policy.

I have Superman's phone number so he can airlift me out of trouble in an emergency. And I believe in fairy tales too.

Is there any point calling the Police? Would they even bother to come out and help? What could they really do?

They could issue you a ticket for parking in a no-parking zone of course!

Apart from tyres, there could be many other reasons for anyone to break down on a deserted road. If one drives at night, one needs to have a heightened awareness of the risks involved - and drive with a lot more empathy for the car.

[suzuki san]

Originally Posted by SS-Traveller

A few things come to mind.

...at 40 km/h is a great way to topple any car, not just get 2 ripped tyres.

Again, not a great idea. With tyres gone, staying on a hard surface has its merits.

A good reason to carry connections from multiple companies. I prefer Airtel as my primary phone, and an MTNL connection (roaming on BSNL) for when everything else stops working.

Any robust jack is fine, as long as you are not off-roading. Just make sure they fit under the car!

I have Superman's phone number so he can airlift me out of trouble in an emergency. And I believe in fairy tales too.

They could issue you a ticket for parking in a no-parking zone of course!

Apart from tyres, there could be many other reasons for anyone to break down on a deserted road. If one drives at night, one needs to have a heightened awareness of the risks involved - and drive with a lot more empathy for the car.

In answer to your above;

The other option to putting my tyres off the road was to have hit or be hit by the other car who basically forced me off the road. I did brake instinctively so actual speed would have been about 25Kmph. The mud surface alongside the road was just about 2 inches or less below the road surface.

I would have liked to have stayed on the tarmac surface but this is a narrow ghat road we are talking about with barely enough room for two vehicles to pass - the cause of the incident in the first place.
I would rather be off the road than take the chance of being hit by another vehicle.

I had Vodafone and Idea connections. Will rejuvenate my old Airtel number and see if that's any better.

So, apart from Superman we have no other options. Interesting.
Hmmmm. Maybe I can buy a piece of kryptonite on Ebay and can then manage without him.

By the way, have any members ever used the insurance company 24/7 roadside assist plans? Were they of any use? It would be good to know.

Regards,
SS

[Mr.Boss]

One of my colleague faced a similar situation (2 flat tyres) in a deserted state highway without any traces of traffic. Luckily all 4 occupants were gents and managed to walk few kms to get the help. Later he started using 2 spare wheels (2 space saving spare wheels in the place of 1 normal spare wheel) for past 1 year and he never got a chance to use them (touchwood)

This could be one of the solution and I'm planning to get one for my car as well.

Regarding mobile signal, it is always better to have connection from 2 different service providers. We (family of 4) have Airtel as our primary service provider and the secondary being Vodafone, Aircel, Idea, BSNL. Each one with different service provider and combination of Postpaid and prepaids (lesson learnt after a bad experience) with this we manged to have minimum 2 & maximum 5 different service providers everytime.

I had my worst experience with my previous car (Linea) breakdown on a Saturday night. After trying out various (almost all) possibilities, got a helpline by late night.

[libranof1987]

I think roadside assistance plans offered by both manufacturers and insurance companies have a certain radius around a city/town within which they can provide services.

So, I doubt you can completely rely on them.

Have you checked out Automobile Association of South India or west India (depending on the one Goa comes under)? They claim to offer a good set of emergency services too. Again, you can't really expect one entity to do it all.

[D C]

Originally Posted by suzuki san

So, the reason for this thread :

To make fellow BHP'ians aware of the risks involved in highway travel (especially off beat roads like this) and to always carry an emergency kit as listed above with you. If any of you can think of any additions to the kit mentioned above I would appreciate your inputs.
I would also suggest that you leave home just before daybreak and break journey at sunset - irrespective of where you are or how close to your destination you are.

Regards,
SS

SS, Thank you very much for posting to remind us of the risks on long drives. Glad that you were able to find help, though there was considerable effort, and the challenge hit you during day time.

Originally Posted by suzuki san

If any of you can think of any other mitigating measures, please do let me know.

- The best benefit of paying tolls, as per me, is the support we get on road, ambulance, towing services & police. So I try the best to avoid any deserted roads, though its not always possible. Toll receipts have helpline numbers
- I will try to get company of friends in other cars if we are traveling on deserted roads, else I don't drive
- If I cannot find help till late evening and my family is with me, I will drive the car to a safe spot if it is at least a bit drivable. Any damages to the car can definitely be repaired!
- Sunday's and holidays are more challenging days when we need to find help
- And, the biggest confidence generating factor - good and kind people do exist

[Patriot_Vishwas]

Had the same(well, almost) incident a month ago.
We(5 guys) were on our way to Gokarna from B'lore and we suffered this horrible accident just after a town called 'Kyaatsandra' at 1 in the morning.
The RHS tyres suffered sidewall punctures(speed was ~30Km/H) but I was able to safely take it to the shoulder.
Actual reason: The headlights do not offer sufficient illumination and this stretch of tarmac(riddled with potholes) had Sodium Vapour lamps illuminating them!
The car was also fully loaded(5 occupants + cargo) and the tyres were under inflated.
Reason given by the good cop: "You failed to perform the Ganesh puja".

Unlike your (rather impressive) list of cargo, I only had the Screw Jack, Socket Spanner and a punctured Stepney!
We got lucky as we found a Policeman who actually offered help(His esteemed colleagues who checked us out a few minutes before, offered brilliant advice: Roll up the windows and lock yourself inside the car).
He offered a ride to the nearest 'Puncture Repair Shop' and ferried us back and forth till all the three tyres were 'repaired'.
We cursed our luck, the car's low ground clearance, the illumination of the headlamps and my massive fish-up...and moved on.

I now carry two spare tyres.

[rpunwani]

I have faced a similar situation with my Passat in June this year. Was driving from Bannerghatta to Richmond Road when I went over an open gutter on the right side. In a few seconds the car tilted to the right and felt heavy to drive.

Luckily a gas station with a tyre shop was 30m away. On inspection, both tyres had a big gash which could not be repaired. The tyre shop sourced a Pirelli Cinturato P7 in 1.5 hrs and I used the spare as well.

Chances of losing two tyres is extremely rare - in our cases it had to happen :P

[pgupta]

I do not think carrying 2 tyres is the solution or carrying a laundry list of items. High way drives comes with its own risks and one can attempt to be prepared but never eliminate the risks involved in it. However since we enjoy doing it , we accept the risks, sometime knowingly and sometimes otherwise too.

[Grr7]

Sorry to hear your experience, but it can happen with anyone at any time. I appreciate the way you tackled the entire situation with your presence of mind. Your best bet is to forget this as one off incidence, make minor amendments to your already existing kits(like an alternate SIM card in your wallet) and plan trips accordingly.

Originally Posted by suzuki san

1. What are the odds of having two tyres burst and what can one do to solve the problem?
The only thing I can think of is to carry a spare tube which, might, with a thick patch inside the burst tyre be able to get you to the nearest town. Doubtful though.
Also, how does one fit the tube into the damaged tyre??
Carry a second spare wheel and tyre? That's going to eat up the luggage space.
Also, please remember that the village tyre guys do not have the equipment
to fit tubeless tyres on alloy wheels.

The odds of two tyres bursting simultaneously in the odd time is low. And if Murphy's law is to be believed, one may land up with 3 flats/busted tires while he/she is carrying an extra spare.
Otherwise too, the nearby tire shops in remote areas at times are unable to repair a puncture on alloy rims.
IMHO this kind of incidence is once a life time bad luck for which no preparation can help.

Originally Posted by suzuki san

2. What does one do if you get no response from the supposed 24/7 helplines?

The helplines have their limitations in term of area coverage owing to high operational costs and very low number of recalls/subscriptions. The free helplines are more of Company's marketing gimmick at the time of sale, however the likes of Maruti help you if the nearby dealer(in a defined area) is ready to extend services(in normal business hours), that too at a cost.
A good solution in such situation is to call the JustDial helpline(in case of network coverage) for some local towing/breakdown services in the vicinity. These guys are happy to help provided they are paid a little premium for odd place/odd time service.

Originally Posted by suzuki san

3. What does one do if there is no mobile network? This one is a killer!

You have very well answered this question by emphasizing importance of covering the journey in morning to evening hours(sane hours).
Youngsters like me usually tend to ignore/shrug off the elderly advice of travelling only during daytime in unknown/less-populated areas, but one instance like yours instills the much needed wisdom in us.

Originally Posted by suzuki san

4. Is there any point investing in the electric type jacks? There are some for sale on car websites. Some electric and some inflatable type. I would have thought the inflatable ones would be better in situations where the car is in the mud alongside the road. But, they have to be connected to the exhaust pipe and I don't know how easy that will be.

I dont see the need of an alternate jack arrangement. A little jugaad of grabbing a few roadside bricks to make a firm base or similar set up can do the trick.
However, the aftermarket/cosmetic modifications like side-skirting are a strict no-no for roads filled with crater sized potholes. The practical disadvantage grossly overshadows any aesthetic advantage.

Originally Posted by suzuki san

5. Is there any point calling the Police? Would they even bother to come out and help? What could they really do? Also, remember point 3 above!!

From what I have observed, it depends largely from one state to other. Chandigarh Police or for such matter even Delhi Police fellas are kind enough/equipped enough to offer their assistance to you. Police at states like UP and Haryana: the lesser said the better!

Originally Posted by suzuki san

The only thing I feel would be of any use would be to keep the numbers of various towing companies in nearby towns on your route stored on your mobile in advance. But again, with no mobile signal what use is that???

Signal coverage varies drastically in remote areas. The safest bet is to have a spare BSNL/MTNL sim tucked in some corner of your wallet. These govt players usually dont operate with commercial profit making interests, so there is a good chance of getting their towers in the remotest locations.

Originally Posted by suzuki san

By the way, I fitted a complete new set of Apollo Tyres yesterday at Belgaum before continuing our journey and they come with a 24/7 roadside assistance assurance for one year.

Apollos are good tires with optimal combination of hard rubber(resisting the side cuts) without sacrificing too much on performance.

Originally Posted by suzuki san

I have also informed Bajaj Allianz that when I renew my insurance next week I want the whole "Roadside Assistance Plan" included in the policy.
I am hoping the above two will be better than Maruti's HelpLine.
If any of you can think of any other mitigating measures, please do let me know.

I wont rely on any of the assistant-ships provided by them outside the city limits. Besides, these being 'free' add-ons to your policy. And there are no free lunch, forget about free assistance when it comes to calling in distress.

Regards