[speedzak]

There are 3 reasons to buy a Palio.

1. Pure, blind and insane love for anything FiAT.
2. Very low resale price tags.
3. Fun to drive factor in the 1.6ltr version.

If the above 3 is found, then there's nothing wrong in buying a 2nd hand Palio and making it a worthy buy.

But as with anything in the world, even a Palio is not perfect and will have it's share of problems. The famous ones being of less fuel efficient, poor spare parts availability, bad A.S.S (this has very much improved after it's association with Tata), problematic and dated interiors and controls etc..

You can get a Palio 1.6 for less than 2lacs. If the car's service and maintenance history can be checked by an expert mechanic and verified/approved, then it will be a good bang for the buck, fun to drive car.
Also note that whatever money saved on the price tag will soon be absorbed in fuel costs and maintenance if not very careful. But world ain't that cheap, right?

[finneyp]

Originally Posted by speedzak

There are 3 reasons to buy a Palio.

1. Pure, blind and insane love for anything FiAT.
2. Very low resale price tags.
3. Fun to drive factor in the 1.6ltr version.

Not really!!! I didn't buy a Palio for the above reasons!

I bought a Palio mainly for its Build quality, Ride comfort, Space, Looks etc!
Yes, I did consider the A.S.S (that time there was no Tata-Fiat, only Fiat!) and the Resale value as well.
Fiat Service in Blore was ok that time (far better now!), and for Resale, I didn't care since I intended to keep the car for 5+ years.

[rudrah]

I suppose I can merge both Speedzak and Finney's response for my decision to buy a Palio Stile 1.6 Sports

1. Pure, blind and insane love for anything FiAT.
2. Very low resale price tags.
3. Fun to drive factor in the 1.6ltr version.
4. I bought a Palio mainly for its Build quality, Ride comfort, Space, Looks etc!
5. Yes, I did consider the A.S.S but with TATA-FIAT tie up i gave it a go
6. I didn't care for resale since I intended to keep the car for 5+ years.



I agree to Speedzak's view on a used Palio 1.6. Find a good mechanic or show it to the service centre and buy on its merits! You wont regret it.

Sadly I coudnt find a good one here and then at a tempting price for new Stile 1.6, I felt its best to go for the new!

Cheers~

[for_cars1]

Perception1: Palio has a Low Mileage ??
For Palio 1.2, I've always got mileage in the range 11(city-AC)to 15(Highway-AC) KMPL over a 5 year period. Personal best of 15.9, always measured tank full to tank full.
The above figures are certainly not low for a petrol car. For most petrol cars with the exception of 800 (or Alto), it would be in the same range, max 1 or 2 KMPL extra in practical conditons. So mileage is quite decent for a petrol car.

I've no experience about Palio 1.6, so can comment.

Perception2: Service is not good..
This was certainly true in the past in Bangalore with one service centre at Rajajinagar in the pre-Tata merger era
What is the scenario now in Bangalore ? There are so many authorized centres for Palio
Concorde - Hosur Road
Concorde - Mysore Road
Prerana - Old Madras Road
Prerana - Hosur Road
GreenTracks - Hosur Road
Manipal - Old airport Road
So there are multiple choices for Authorized service centres, Things have definitely changed for the better after Tata-Fiat joint venture.
So IMO the perception about inadequate service is a hangover from the past atleast in Bangalore.

In addition, the car has good reliability, handling, comfort just like the other cars in the market, nothing less at least..
Bottomline if you choose to go for a Palio, it will be decision you can comfortably live with.

[Radnam]

[quote=for_cars1;1054635]Perception1: Palio has a Low Mileage ??
For Palio 1.2, I've always got mileage in the range 11(city-AC)to 15(Highway-AC) KMPL over a 5 year period. Personal best of 15.9, always measured tank full to tank full.
The above figures are certainly not low for a petrol car. For most petrol cars with the exception of 800 (or Alto), it would be in the same range, max 1 or 2 KMPL extra in practical conditons. So mileage is quite decent for a petrol car.

I've no experience about Palio 1.6, so can comment.

Who said Palio is a fuel guzzler!!!!
I drive a GTX and am always envied by my friends. My beast returns a mileage of 11.8 with 50% A/C in the city and highway figures hover around 16.8 with 40% A/C. Personal best on Highways 17.2 Kmpl.

[maven]

my GTX completed 5 yrs in Sep. it isnt a fuel guzzler. wrong perception which could have been spread by maruti and hyundai? i get 11.8 to 12.5kmpl city and 15 - 17kmpl on highways where i take it to 145kmph.

on the second hand vehicle thing - why dont you ask hilllram. he got a pre owned Palio couple of months back.

[nim_peter]

I bought a Palio 1.6 GTX in pune 3 days back for 1.3L. 2002 model. IMO, if you want a car just to take you from one place to another, then a Hyundai or Maruti will serve the purpose. If it's sheer driving pleasure which your friend wants, then I would say nothing beats a Palio 1.6. Its all about what you expect from the car. I hope you guys agree with me.

[garry.brant]

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-d...ed-my-car.html

[psp62in]

Originally Posted by kaushik_s

He wants some good space and don't want to spend more then 1.75Lakhs. At that price only thing we could think of is a Palio.

Definitely agree with you. In fact you can get a good Palio for a some what lower sum than that.

Is it worth going for a used Palio 1.2? Or shall we look for Indica also?,
And what about GTX 1.6? to my knowledge the mileage is very poor. Haven't found one though, but just incase we can find one is it advisible to go for a GTX? My friend is a new driver, so is it ok to go for a powerful car like the GTX?

Dont bother with Indica and other cars. Palio is the way to go. Certainly a used Palio offers an excellent Value 4 money. In fact the GTX is even better, the mileage of GTX is not that bad, and is close to 1.2. And Dont worry about new-driver on GTX, It's not at all difficult.

BTW, one Palio we've seen looked good but the clutch padel was very hard to press. Can this be a major problem or can easily be rectified? Pickup seemed to be ok actually. But the hard clutch was a pain to drive.

I think you can get this easily rectified. (problem with the hydraulic cylinder (~Rs 2k?) and in the worst case the clutch plate). But you better take hard look at every thing (with a mechanic if possible), which is true for any used car.
All the best!!

[Glifford]

Originally Posted by psp62in

And Dont worry about new-driver on GTX, It's not at all difficult.

Actually I have read (and experienced) that the enormous torque offered by the GTX/1.6 engines actually facilitates easy driving for a newbie (like me) or lady driver. Plus the hydraulic clutch is very easy to slip from a standing start.

Higher torque means easier standing starts (without stalling the engine) and lesser gear changes in traffic!

[fast lane]

I have just bought a 1999 fiat siena....frankly spares are available easily either at Pune or Mumbai. Cost of the spares are OK but 1.5 times that of Maruti zen (earlier car).

what goes for siena is SPACE and LUX at the cost it comes for. at abt 1.2L you will get a 2000+ siena and love driving around also..

Soumo Chatterjee
Pune
cell- 9970411311

[fast lane]

three things need to be mentioned here..
1. Clutch may have to be replaced - its gone hard. Same with my Siena - replaced the clutch and its soft and smooth.
2. Spares are NOT a problem....I have got clutch, axle boots, timing chain cover and other parts easily in Pune.
3. 1.6 Lakhs is HIGH for a 2003 palio. Bargain it down. Palio can be had for 1.2 - 1.5. max. Its a good car and I guess he will not sell it off in 2.5 years after he drives it around.

Soumo Chatterjee
Pune
cell - 9970411311

[SimplySooperCar]

I also bought a used Palio 1.2 a year back and till now did not have any issues. In the 14 months period travelled approximatly 12K kms (total 53K) mainly on the highways. Not yet faced even a single issue except for tyre punture one time. Tyres are due for replacement. Got the vehicle serviced from Green tracks and was happy with their service. We have been using MUL cars from the day I new about cars but did not find any difference in the service levels, to be precise Green tracks was more cooperative and were giving attention to detail than the so called *** of MUL.

I bet no other car can match Palio in the highway run in its class. I have travelled more than 800Kms at stretch in a day and did not feel any strain. Mileage I am getting is average 14Km. Highway mileage is around 16~17 with AC.

[arsenik]

kaushik, zen has a lot of space, and it's surprising you find it to be cramped.. let your friend have a closer second look. it has ample space, excellent driving dynamics and is damn good looking... plus, being a maruti, it'll offer peace of mind second to none...
do consider it.

[Glifford]

Originally Posted by arsenik

kaushik, zen has a lot of space, and it's surprising you find it to be cramped.. let your friend have a closer second look. it has ample space, excellent driving dynamics and is damn good looking... plus, being a maruti, it'll offer peace of mind second to none...
do consider it.

Well it depends how you look at it.

For just one person, it doesn't matter. Add four more, it does feel cramped. The Palio has loads of shoulder space and foot space in the front too. The rear passengers can sit comfortably without brushing against one another.

Add some luggage and in the Zen you may have to decide what to carry. Max you can squeeze in is just one suitcase vertically. In the Palio a couple more should easily fit.

The Palio should give you a thrill when driving and a smile on your face. The Zen would offer peace of mind (in comparison) only when it breaks down!