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-   -   My Silver Surfer : Palio 1.2 NV Sport (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-drives-initial-ownership-reports/81166-my-silver-surfer-palio-1-2-nv-sport.html)

Due to a sudden turn of events in my life, I was looking at moving from two wheels to four. Not that I was giving my set of two wheels, its just that I need a safer medium of transport to go from Point A to Point B.

I was not exactly in the phase of life where I need a car and hence neither was my bank balance prepared for it. So I decided to hunt for a pre-loved car. Took into account all my viable finance options and figured that 2L is what I would be comfortable with as a my budget for the car. In this range the only decent options that I was getting was the Palio, Zen or the Wagon-R. Heart ruled over the head here and the superior ride quality and comfort too played there parts, but I zeroed on a Palio.

Cutting a long story short, after a brief search of two weeks I chanced upon a beautifully maintained Palio in Pune posted in the Tbhp Classifieds. It was evident from the threads...

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-d...t-3000-km.html

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/long-t...ms-update.html

That the car had been kept well and had just 20K on the clock and so began the few weeks of talking, negotiating the deal. It was finally sealed for 2.1L, my father took delivery of the car in Pune as I could not travel from Bangalore for the next two weeks.

My Palio and Dad's Punto


__________________________________________________ ______

Finally the D-Day arrived and I could make it to Mumbai to meet my first car! :)

The first time we met....




Finally on March 14th I set out to complete the 1000kms drive to Bangalore. The day prior to this I had got the car serviced at the FIAT free service camp in Mumbai. And everything was on track. Dad had driven down from Pune and his drive report read straight A's in every aspect.

Me and my friend fellow Tbhp member Krishna started our trip from Mumbai at about 3AM and finished the 1000 kms trip in about 17 hours all inclusive. It was on this trip that the name Silver Surfer came to be. The manner in which the Palio glides over the road with such precise control is just like the experience of surfing over roads. Through this drive I got 16.7 Kmpl and 15 Kmpl. Which is pretty decent by my standards!

The car's intended use is purely for the highways and a few weekend drives around the city. For major city commuting I still prefer my bike to beat the traffic.

In past 2 months of ownership have clocked 4.5K kms and after the Mumbai-Bangalore run, I've done one 1500 Kms trip to Goa and back. The behaviour of the car was impeccable throughout this trip and again I got mileage ranging from 16.9 - 14.5 Kmpl.

So far car has been running pretty smooth. There are few rattles introduced after the Goa drive thanks to some really really bad roads between Khanapur and MK Hubli.

Looking forward to getting the car serviced. And it is also in dire need of getting an ICE overhaul along with art leather seats. The 5 year old bridgestone S322's are good but they have to go and are waiting to be replaced by Yoko A-drives.

Looking forward to an amazing ownership experience from my first car! :)

Congrats praful. Hope you have a Fiatful life with the Palio! I dreamt to buy a Palio a lot. But, will not miss the chance to buy a Punto!

congrats praful, you got yourself a great car absolute VFM.
Are you planning to re-register the car in bangalore?
How much would the road tax and other formalities cost?

Thanks and the Punto is good car, just go for it.

I intend on keeping the registration as it is and also (committing an offence) not paying the road tax. I don't see any reason why I should pay Life Time road tax when I don't intend on staying for a life time in this state. Will take things as they come, I anyways have highway toll receipts to prove my entry into the state is less than 6 months.

Thought of posting a similar shot from my side. Palio & Punto side by side



Palio doesn't seem to age, does she?
I've decided that I'm not gonna sell Palio, just going to keep her.

@praful, do you know that in certain aspects Palio outsmarts Punto - GC & Steering feel comes to mind immediately :)

Congratulations on your acquisition :D. Welcome to the Fiat Club.Needless to say, the pictures are really awesome and your pictures make me feel bad. (Ya, I'm missing my Palio very badly)

Btw, the rear wiper seems a bit misaligned. Did you get it sorted out.?

Happy and Safe Motoring. Have Fun.

Sorry O.T(Can't resist)
cpics:
Bold(Punto) and the Beautiful(Palio). The dream Hatches!

Palio will create history for its looks and performance, atleast in India.:thumbs up

@Praful: Your PALio seems to be in perfect condition. Lucky Boy!

Very well maintained palio.Hats off for the Fiat Collection

Thanks!

Yes, look at those headlamps in third picture - they look like new (hope they are not new parts fitted)

Congrats Praful, you made a wise decision if its a neatly maintained car. Palio's are still drivers choice with its unique character. Happy to see one more satisfied FIAT user (infact happy ones are a minority due to the bad after sales support, though its better now with TATA).

My 5 cents from owning 1.2NV Sport since last 3plus years. I never had to regret about my choice. It still gives good road presence when compared to most of the other hatches. Only worry is the fuel efficieny which is nothing better than a sedan (10~12Kmpl in City and 14~16Kmpl in highway with AC).

1) Always get the car serviced by FIAT experts only (No road side garages please)
2) Its better to replace a faulty spare without waiting till the car puts a hardstop (You might end up spending double)
3) Try not to allow others to drive your car, driving style matters a lot in long run in terms of wear and tear.
4) Respect the age of car when it gives some minor troubles and get her some good treatment (saw many people cursing FIAT when a 5 year old rubber belt gives up etc :uncontrol)
5) Never compromise for a cheap aftermarket part unless its some cosmetic parts (strictly no cheap mechanical parts)

Wishing you a happy and safe journey ahead!

Finally your thread is up and running. Nice Report and buying experience.

That's a very well maintained Palio. Lucky guy and by the way congrats on the purchase

Congrats on the car praful! :thumbs up

Nothing better than Palio for VFM deals. However, 2.1L looks too high for a 5 year old Palio! Market value should not be more than 1.5L to 1.7L!

Finally, the thread comes to life clap:

Its totally in stock condition. How do I know?? Well its me who let her go to Praful :D

Totally depends on the car condition. There were 8 people ready to pay max 1.9 and 3 to pay 2. Finally there were couple of them who agreed upon 2.1L but Praful being a BHPian sealed the deal.

Hey Praful, I hope you dont mind me replying on the quote.

That decade old Palio design still gives the so called modern cars the run for their money. Beautifully maitained car and seeing the side by side picture with the blue Punto I realized that my good old Palio hasn't aged much. :)