[oxyzen]

Originally Posted by blackfire_9

I often feel that it's a misconception about Maruti being cheap to maintain, because they are certainly not & a lot of other companies including Ford (at least with the Figo) are "almost" at par with Maruti.

1st hand experience Zen>Beat>Palio>>>>>Vento
Forget ablout the parts, even the labour charges of Maruti is a lot more reasonable than others.

[misquitas]

Originally Posted by blackfire_9

I would agree to all the points but one & it's the lower cost of ownership. And this comes from the experience of owning & maintaining an Alto & a Santro over the past 7 years now.

The Santro we have is a 2003 model whereas the Alto is 2004, & most times, we find that the bill for a similar job in the Alto costs a lot more than for the Santro.

Same goes for DZire & Accent as well. I often feel that it's a misconception about Maruti being cheap to maintain, because they are certainly not & a lot of other companies including Ford (at least with the Figo) are "almost" at par with Maruti.

Am quite surprised to read your post. Most people, including those on this forum, have found the Santro a tad expensive to maintain, and more so, as it ages. Moreover, most would claim that the Alto is one of the cheapest cars to maintain.

And to think that your 8-year-old Santro is actually cheaper to maintain than your seven-year-old Alto.

Well, it is true that other companies have realized the importance of providing cheaper and more affordable services, but I thought that Maruti was still the king in this department.

[blackfire_9]

@oxyzen: I agree that what I have heard w.r.t the cheapest car brand to own is also a Maruti. But having maintained two of the cheapest cars from Maruti & Hyundai, I can say that for a lot of things (in fact, most of them), the Maruti is a pain. And not just w.r.t the cost but also the time & headache that comes along with it, primarily due to the huge rush at most of their service centers.

Just to quote an example, I was asked to pay Rs. 500 or Rs. 550 for getting my Alto's tappets set as labour charges. While the same job on the Santro costs me Rs. 300.

@misquitas: You won't believe the number of times I have myself been surprised looking at the bills for these two cars. The Santro which in fact, belongs to a class or category above the Alto 800 costs less to maintain.

One of the most recent expenses that I incurred were for air-conditioning servicing. For the Alto, I paid close to 4K for a complete AC service. The same job on the Santro costed me about 2.5K. The Alto's AC was serviced at Competent Automobiles workshop in Mehrauli, Delhi & it's the same place where all our Maruti cars have been going since the past 2 decades.
The Santro was given to Hans Hyundai at Moti Nagar, again the same place where we have been taking the Santro for a long time now.

Drive safe.

[Aroy]

Originally Posted by blackfire_9

@oxyzen: I agree that what I have heard w.r.t the cheapest car brand to own is also a Maruti. But having maintained two of the cheapest cars from Maruti & Hyundai, I can say that for a lot of things (in fact, most of them), the Maruti is a pain. And not just w.r.t the cost but also the time & headache that comes along with it, primarily due to the huge rush at most of their service centers.

Just to quote an example, I was asked to pay Rs. 500 or Rs. 550 for getting my Alto's tappets set as labour charges. While the same job on the Santro costs me Rs. 300.

@misquitas: You won't believe the number of times I have myself been surprised looking at the bills for these two cars. The Santro which in fact, belongs to a class or category above the Alto 800 costs less to maintain.

One of the most recent expenses that I incurred were for air-conditioning servicing. For the Alto, I paid close to 4K for a complete AC service. The same job on the Santro costed me about 2.5K. The Alto's AC was serviced at Competent Automobiles workshop in Mehrauli, Delhi & it's the same place where all our Maruti cars have been going since the past 2 decades.
The Santro was given to Hans Hyundai at Moti Nagar, again the same place where we have been taking the Santro for a long time now.

Drive safe.

I would not rate Competent as a good workshop. It may be one of the biggest MUL dealers, but the rates and quality is not at par with other work shops. One of the best is the Maruti Service Masters in Okhla. The rates are good as is the quality of service.

Though I have not owned Santro myself. From what I hear from those who have, the Hyundai service costs are increasing monotonically, while the MUL costs are static.

[blackfire_9]

Originally Posted by Aroy

I would not rate Competent as a good workshop. It may be one of the biggest MUL dealers, but the rates and quality is not at par with other work shops. One of the best is the Maruti Service Masters in Okhla. The rates are good as is the quality of service.

Well, we have always been satisfied with their quality of work barring some instances & that's why our cars have been going to the same garage for the past 2 decades. Also, for MSM (Okhla), I have no prior experience yet. Maybe, other workshops owned & operated by Competent like the one in Gurgaon are not at par. But I think this is out of bounds for the topic being discussed in this thread, however, I would give MSM a shot probably the next time around. Thanks for the pointer mate.

Originally Posted by Aroy

Though I have not owned Santro myself. From what I hear from those who have, the Hyundai service costs are increasing monotonically, while the MUL costs are static.

I was just thinking & I wonder if this could be attributed to the model of Santro that I own. It's a ZipPlus & what you get today is Xing. Are there any differences in the service costs of these two models?

As for Maruti, I am assuming "static" was meant in a relative sense because even Maruti have been escalating their labor costs & service costs with time.

Drive safe.

[saion666]

Test Drove the EON a week back. The car simply refused to go beyond 50KMPH with 4 adults and the AC on!
The gear shift indicator is another gimmick. Loved the handling of the car though,light steering and easy to drive. The gear stick seems to be a tad bit taller to my liking.

Would vote for the Alto K10 over EON any day.K10 engine is enough to steal the show.

[ankurvirmani19]

Originally Posted by saion666

Would vote for the Alto K10 over EON any day.K10 engine is enough to steal the show.

+1

I think Hyundai has only given attention on giving interior styling and not the overall package. They could have worked a bit more on the engine side. I simply doesn't take off with 4 on board and full A/c on.

To me Alto K10 would always be on top in small segment, MSIL has truly created a masterpiece with K10 engine.

[IQBAL VEERJI]

Originally Posted by hemanth.anand

Alto k10 is the car IMO.
The resale value is yet to be proven by the eon.
In this segment a tried and tested car is the best bet.
Eon is promising, but i would right now stay away owing to the relatively higher maintenence of hyundai cars

No sirji, absolutly WRONG this Alto K10 car is a pain, Maruti gives tall claims that the car gives 20 kms/ltr,and adding fuel to the fire there was a full page advt in Times Of India saying a lady and a guy in mumbai got 39 and 36 kms/ltr respectively from their Alto K10 in a test drive in Mumbai.Even Maruti regional engr just laughed off this advt.saying no it is not possible.
The car gives not more then 13KMS/LTR without AC in not so bad mumbai traffic.
My car inspite of tests conducted by the Maruti Engrs at A.S.S. at Andheri never crossed 15kms/ltr that too with TRICKY DRIVING by the so called stupid engr in mumbai streets.
At last he got fed up and told me a simple sentance "15 kms/ltr is also not BAD".I have fallen into this trap by Maruti.My K10 gives me 12 kms/ltr w/o AC.Ihave given up all hopes to improve it, I may sell it off in near future.
Advise to all dont fall into Maruti's false claims.......

[Aroy]

Originally Posted by IQBAL VEERJI

No sirji, absolutly WRONG this Alto K10 car is a pain, Maruti gives tall claims that the car gives 20 kms/ltr,and adding fuel to the fire there was a full page advt in Times Of India saying a lady and a guy in mumbai got 39 and 36 kms/ltr respectively from their Alto K10 in a test drive in Mumbai.Even Maruti regional engr just laughed off this advt.saying no it is not possible.
The car gives not more then 13KMS/LTR without AC in not so bad mumbai traffic.
My car inspite of tests conducted by the Maruti Engrs at A.S.S. at Andheri never crossed 15kms/ltr that too with TRICKY DRIVING by the so called stupid engr in mumbai streets.
At last he got fed up and told me a simple sentance "15 kms/ltr is also not BAD".I have fallen into this trap by Maruti.My K10 gives me 12 kms/ltr w/o AC.Ihave given up all hopes to improve it, I may sell it off in near future.
Advise to all dont fall into Maruti's false claims.......

My heart really bleeds for you. You have some how got a "Lemon" from MUL, the first one I have heard of.

My K10 gives me the following

1. Short trips - 1/2 to 1km between stops. Mostly 2nd and 3rd gear, with AC. 10 km/l
2. Medium trips - 5-10 km in city traffic, with 50% 4th gear, AC. 14-15km/l

3. Highway - mostly on 5th gear (Delhi - Ambala - Delhi), driving with full AC at 90-100. 19 km/l

4. same as 2. above but with a choked air filter (water ingress during servicing!). 8 km/l

My trips are short (from my log - 550 of 600 trips, less than 3 km round trip, rest 10-30 km round trip), so that in 15 months of ownership I have just completed 4,700 km. Take the Ambala trip out and it is 4,250 km.

Other forum members have reported even better FE. So on the whole the K10 has one of the best FE going around in real life conditions. I remember getting the following FE in my M800
- 3 km/l with AC, while going to pandals during Puja
- 6 km/l on Christmas Eve, From NH - Chail and Back. 10 liters filled from the pump at turn off, on a 60km trip, mostly in 2nd and third.
- 18km/l Delhi - Kalka, Delhi - Dehradun

So the FE is totally dependent on the driving conditions. To test whether it is the car or the driving style, take the car to a highway, fill the tank to brim, travel 100-200km at an even speed (90-100) in 5th, and top up the tank on return. If your K10 gives 19+, then it is OK, else a "LEMON".

Just to test my FE again,I aim to take my K10 to Kalka this time, a round trip that should take 9 hours over 600km (hope to get 20+ without Ac in winter)

[vinair]

Keep the Alto 800 out of the list. It looks and feels dated (resale value will suffer for sure, with new models flooding the market in the next 5 years). Between the Alto K10 and the EON, I would pick the EON for its build quality and looks (though the rear looks quite bulky..). Resale value of the EON is something that would be a wait and watch affair as the product is pretty new and would take another few years to (there could be exceptions..) enter the used car market. But going with what Hyundai has done with the Santro and the i10, the new baby should match up with its bigger siblings in asking a potential buyer to take it home without a second thought! Go for the EON!

[IQBAL VEERJI]

Originally Posted by Aroy

My heart really bleeds for you. You have some how got a "Lemon" from MUL, the first one I have heard of.

My K10 gives me the following

1. Short trips - 1/2 to 1km between stops. Mostly 2nd and 3rd gear, with AC. 10 km/l
2. Medium trips - 5-10 km in city traffic, with 50% 4th gear, AC. 14-15km/l

3. Highway - mostly on 5th gear (Delhi - Ambala - Delhi), driving with full AC at 90-100. 19 km/l

4. same as 2. above but with a choked air filter (water ingress during servicing!). 8 km/l

My trips are short (from my log - 550 of 600 trips, less than 3 km round trip, rest 10-30 km round trip), so that in 15 months of ownership I have just completed 4,700 km. Take the Ambala trip out and it is 4,250 km.

Other forum members have reported even better FE. So on the whole the K10 has one of the best FE going around in real life conditions. I remember getting the following FE in my M800
- 3 km/l with AC, while going to pandals during Puja
- 6 km/l on Christmas Eve, From NH - Chail and Back. 10 liters filled from the pump at turn off, on a 60km trip, mostly in 2nd and third.
- 18km/l Delhi - Kalka, Delhi - Dehradun

So the FE is totally dependent on the driving conditions. To test whether it is the car or the driving style, take the car to a highway, fill the tank to brim, travel 100-200km at an even speed (90-100) in 5th, and top up the tank on return. If your K10 gives 19+, then it is OK, else a "LEMON".

Just to test my FE again,I aim to take my K10 to Kalka this time, a round trip that should take 9 hours over 600km (hope to get 20+ without Ac in winter)

Hi, Respected sir ji, I am doing that tank full to tank full tests only and the results are in front of me.I am sure there is definately something wrong somewhere,Iam in a mood to go to consumer court for this matter ,what you suggest?These 12 to 13 kms are without AC use ,Idont use the AC at all.

[vinair]

I refuse to agree with the engineer here. It is very much possible for the car to achieve a figure as claimed by the manufacturer.

On what parameters did the service engineer check the machine? its not just the driving style that matters, what if the brakes are acting up and robbing the engine power which in turn is affecting the fuel efficiency? this is just an example that I have quoted, there could of a lot of other reasons due which you could be getting a poor mileage.

I suggest get your vehicle checked by a different engineer at a different location.

[hemanth.anand]

Originally Posted by IQBAL VEERJI

No sirji, absolutly WRONG this Alto K10 car is a pain, Maruti gives tall claims that the car gives 20 kms/ltr,and adding fuel to the fire there was a full page advt in Times Of India saying a lady and a guy in mumbai got 39 and 36 kms/ltr respectively from their Alto K10 in a test drive in Mumbai.Even Maruti regional engr just laughed off this advt.saying no it is not possible.
The car gives not more then 13KMS/LTR without AC in not so bad mumbai traffic.
My car inspite of tests conducted by the Maruti Engrs at A.S.S. at Andheri never crossed 15kms/ltr that too with TRICKY DRIVING by the so called stupid engr in mumbai streets.
At last he got fed up and told me a simple sentance "15 kms/ltr is also not BAD".I have fallen into this trap by Maruti.My K10 gives me 12 kms/ltr w/o AC.Ihave given up all hopes to improve it, I may sell it off in near future.
Advise to all dont fall into Maruti's false claims.......

i can only feel sorry for you. but just based on FE you can't say a car is bad
FE is different from car to car and driver to driver.
no car in the country will give you the FE as claimed by the manufacturer.
btw, coming to the topic of this thread, how do u know that the eon gives better FE.(and it is a hyundai).
the eon had come to our office for a promotion and after seeing the car in detail, I didn't feel it was any better except looks.
take no offence but don't give so much of importance to FE. this is where maruti is cashing in on.

[IQBAL VEERJI]

Originally Posted by vinair

I refuse to agree with the engineer here. It is very much possible for the car to achieve a figure as claimed by the manufacturer.

On what parameters did the service engineer check the machine? its not just the driving style that matters, what if the brakes are acting up and robbing the engine power which in turn is affecting the fuel efficiency? this is just an example that I have quoted, there could of a lot of other reasons due which you could be getting a poor mileage.

I suggest get your vehicle checked by a different engineer at a different location.

Boss when I went for that ecnotest that idiot just fixed the equipment and we went for the test.

[Aroy]

Originally Posted by IQBAL VEERJI

Hi, Respected sir ji, I am doing that tank full to tank full tests only and the results are in front of me.I am sure there is definately something wrong somewhere,Iam in a mood to go to consumer court for this matter ,what you suggest?These 12 to 13 kms are without AC use ,Idont use the AC at all.

Yes you can go to consumer court for poor performance, but before that please carry out the following checks
. Check if the brakes are binding
. Check if the clutch is slipping
. Check if air filter is choked
. Check if spark plugs are clean
. Check the FE on a 100km highway run at 90-100 km/h

If every thing is right, and the highway FE is low, then you have a point to make. If the highway FE is good - 18-20, then it is the driving condition that is the problem. As I pointed out in my post my K10 returned an FE of between 9km/l and 19km/l depending on driving conditions. I definitely cannot take MUL to task for getting 9, as the driving conditions are bad.