Well the Story of the horse (named Marengo) continues. Although, the thread hasn't been updated in a while, mainly because the ownership has been largely uneventful, from perspective of maintenance issues.
We had an Intervening Ladakh trip. Read about it here
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travel...h-episode.html
But before undertaking the trip, we wanted to ensure that the 85k milestone service was undertaken a bit early, to give us more of a breathing space till the 90k service milestone.
The 85k service was thus taken up with the Odo reading 83779kms, giving us a bit more than 6000 kms till the next service and hopefully enough to see us through in Ladakh.
However, apart from the usual 85k items, since we had a Ladakh trip planned, I had requested a replacement of Belts and hoses, just to be sure and a thorough check of all Suspension components and bushes. So rather than a forced expense, it was more of a precautionary measure to see us through Ladakh. Here is the Expense breakup
Parts
Bulb 5v 21w Rs. 30
washer copper m14 Rs. 12
Clip worm type no-2 Rs. 13
clamp Rs. 24
clamp Rs. 24
plug drain Rs. 36
hose oil cooler pipe outlet Rs. 90
Belt 1171 Rs. 885
Belt 1115 Rs. 885
Hose egr cooler outlet Rs. 154
Bolthex flange Rs. 96
bushing upper arm Rs. 868
bush stabiliser bar Rs. 157.5
bush lower link chassis Rs. 1372
bush stabiliser bar rear Rs. 134
loctite ultrablue sealant Rs. 148
kit o ring clutch tube Rs. 14
maximile ultracool Rs. 735
nitrogen inflate Rs. 100
consumables Rs. 225
rust remove Rs. 250
brake oil dot 4 Rs. 190
balance wt sticker Rs. 900
Parts Total Rs. 7342.5
Labour
Machine shop charges Rs. 674.16
Accesory drive belt inspect and replace Rs. 314.61
85000 service labour Rs. 404.50
Labour Total - Rs. 1393.26
85K Service total Rs. 8735.76
The Maintenance Charges per km till this milestone thus was
Marengo at 80K Rs 73012
Marengo at 85K Rs 81747.76
Translating to a maintenance cost of Rs 0.96 per km
So after this it was time to set sail.
Marengo conquered a lot of Ladakh, including the elusive and difficult Marsimik-La
Infact the Ladakh trip went as a breeze for Marengo
Seen here, its basking in the sun at Nubra Valley
However, mid-trip the 90k milestone was also nearing. So we scheduled the 90k service at Shuhul Mahindra at Srinagar. The service experience was far from satisfactory, in the end, I was happy that the vehicle made it back from the service center within a day and without having developed any snag.
However here are the details of the expenses
Just needed front and rear differential oil change. Rest being inspection items.
Maximile Elite 1.8 ltrs - Rs 1426
90000 km service Labour - Rs 1680
Total 90000 km service cost = Rs 3106
Cost of maintenance at 90k milestone = Rs 84853
Translates to a Rs 0.94 per km.
Marengo came back peacefully. Thankfully remained troublefree till 95k milestone. Had seen an OTR from the Kolkata Offroaders team.
Marengo emerging out of the ground! Pic courtesy bhpian Samba
Marengo tries to fly! (Pic courtesy Vivek Arora of KO)
The 95k service was also largely uneventful. Because it had only some checklist items for checking.
Nothing required to be done.
95000 Service Labour - Rs 404.5
So cost of Maintenance went up only to Rs 85258. The cost translated to a cost per km of Rs 0.89 per km. Impressive for a 95k vehicle having been through a lot of adventures and events.
But, four days after the service, this was about to change by a bit. There was a gnashing sound on application of brakes. 95K service did not have a check of the brake pad wear situation.
The front left pad was worn out till the metal and had impacted the rotor as well. Probably the rotor could have been saved had the situation been caught during 95k service. But looking at the service schedule, they were not wrong in not checking for pad thickness, besides the pads were changed at 80k itself.
Even the front right pad was worn and so were the shoes at the rear. I am told, its actually the Ladakh effect, premature brake wear is not uncommon.
So here was an additional expense item, in a long time though. But to take back something from it, the component prices have reduced.
Parts
Kit Lined shoe Rs. 3300
Disc RH Rs. 2795
Disc LH Rs. 2793
Kit Pads Rs. 3995
caliper grease Rs. 40
Consumables Rs. 225
Parts Total Rs. 13148
Labour
Brake Liners Rand R Rs. 989
Front Brake Disc R and R Rs. 899
Labour total Rs. 1888
Discount Rs. 625
Total repair cost Rs 14411
With this there would be a spike in the cost per km, but still hanging around the 1 rupee mark, given the inflation and the adventures Marengo has seen, its within quite acceptable limits.
Maintenance cost at 96k milestone
Rs 99668.5
Cost per Km = Rs 1.03
Have a tyre change coming up and also a Battery change.
However, Marengo continues to gallop as one faithful and reliable horse and hopefully it will continue after crossing the 1lakh km milestone, after which, he will be out of the extended warranty scope as well as Mahindra's guardianship. Keeping fingers crossed.
A pic of Marengo in the kind of habitat he so loves to be in.