[Speedshift]

I feel for you Sir. The first car is always special and no one should be made to go through such levels of frustration that you are enduring. Your disappointment is pretty clear from the stickers you've placed on your car, defaming your prized possession on which you've spent your hard earned money is not easy at all, clearly shows you're repenting your purchase.

Having said all that, If you are enduring such misery on a daily basis I would strongly suggest you sell your Baleno, it has pretty good resale value, and consider something like a Freestyle Titanium Plus with six airbags, traction control and all the safety kit. The built quality is also significantly better than the Baleno but not class leading and at current prices it is exceptional value for money for the equipment levels if offers.

[fine69]

Originally Posted by blackasta

Remove those stickers, they serve no purpose other than making you angry every morning

Totally agree

Originally Posted by blackasta

Dampen the doors as they shall for sure solve a lot of the rattles.

Having owned a Swift and spent 5-6k on dampening I can safely say that it solves the problem like 95%

Originally Posted by blackasta

4. Understand that sheet metal thickness, to most extent, may not hamper safety as it is mostly dependent on the the frame.

Sheet metal thickness (assuming no change in alloy) is very important if you're talking about an object piercing the car through, say its door, but given the likelihood of something like this happening, I'd have to agree here.

Originally Posted by blackasta

5. If all else fails, as suggested, use the MSIL resale value to your advantage and sell the car.

True that, Maruti is bound to fetch you great resale price.

Originally Posted by varun.ppl

Well, I bet I can be the one who can comment on the safety of the vehicle as I have witnessed it first hand.

I was involved in an accident and my speedometer was stuck at 90kmph....

I'm pleasantly surprised. The car seems to have absorbed the impact very well given there aren't any bent doors from the side shot.

[Highh5]

I second you sir. I'm owning one from the very first lot Nov'15 and at that time was not aware of the build quality, leave alone the ride quality. I have almost finalized the then launched Ford Figo diesel, but due to some money constraint, I shifted over to Baleno petrol.
Endless dimples and dents are one of the reasons I shy away from going on Team-Bhp Meetups. No matter how much you care but this car will get all the dimples it has to. Rattles are complimentary with Maruti, consider them as brownie points.
Even the high-speed dynamics doesn't inspire confidence due to the lightweight characteristics of the car. No matter how strong is the chassis to withstand impacts, I think making cars as light as Baleno, which will crumble like paper in case of even minor impacts doesn't feel good at all. I have to exercise utmost caution while taking it out.
Believe me, I enjoy my 2010 ALto way too much, it's build quality withstand some good amount of impacts, though it's poor on the safety front. But as GTO said, nothing can replace the pleasure of driving a slow car fast. It's just too surreal, and the small footprint of the car makes it even more fun in traffic.

[F150]

I am not sure, what's the point of pasting stickers to defame the car. If you don't like the car, sell it while it still commands a good resale value ,and part ways with it. Else gulp it down and live with it. Life is too short,to put up with such unhappiness, day in and day out.

[COMMUTER]

It's really heart wrenching to find our big investments turning out bad.

I have successfully managed to dissuade a few of my friends to stay away from Swift and Baleno. I pointed out that our driving conditions involve brushing off a lot of bumps that would incur frequent runs to service center's in cars of lighter guage build. I also pointed out that the fuel efficiency is not that high enough to be felt good about and definitely won't offset these unexpected costs. I was also able to prove to them that the maintenance costs are higher when compared to my Ford Figo 1.5D.

In your situation it's apparent that your need for car was to find a safe and convenient conveyance for your family. Had this car been reasonably priced, this situation might have been much more bearable. But at 9 lacs, this is stinging especially when a much more solid Kuv100 or Figo or Bolt is available at nearly half the price. At 9 lacs you had the option to buy TUV300, Linea(classic), Ameo, Polo, EcoSport petrol, among a lot others.

I feel that it would be helpful to list out the options at hand for you to act decisively.

Option #1
You have taken a loan on that which takes the selling off a tough proposition. Work out a deal with some one to offset your loan quantum and then sell it off. But this car costs over 9 las. You might find very less number of takers willing to pay a reasonable resale amount. I suggest you to avoid this option.

Option #2
Keep the car at home and use it for in town duty only. Beef up your horn to warn other vehicles better. Be mentally prepared to accept frequent dents arising out of every mild bump. If your highways runs are less frequent then consider taking self drive rentals or train/air/premium buses routes. If your highway drives are frequent then choose to fix a speed limiter and maintain a lesser speed(80 or 90kmph) on your highway runs.

Option #3
This is it not for 99% of us. Look around for an internal ROLL CAGE with a right setup that allows you to take the time to bolt on the most inconvenient side members just before your long drives. My rough guess is that this can be done for as little as 50k and might increase your confidence high enough for you to be peaceful when driving on the highway.

[//HB]

Originally Posted by GTO

If you absolutely cannot live with the car, swallow the bitter pill, sell it and do a lateral upgrade ...

Again, my first suggestion would be to try to work things out with your current car though.

Originally Posted by smartcat

You are over-reacting. Please don't be influenced by Baleno Vs Autorickshaw or Punto Vs Bulldozer photos on Whatsapp and blog posts... Till GlobalNCAP tests the Indian made Baleno, we won't have much idea about how safe the car is. But that holds true for almost all the cars sold in India.

+1 to both the above posts, try to get over the emotions and accept it, if possible. The rattles would not really be any indicator of how safe the car is anyway.

And as someone already said in this thread, please do remove all those stickers (whether or not you decide to put it up for sale) - If nothing else, just looking at your own stickers every day will increase your negative sentiments towards your car

[varun.ppl]

Originally Posted by fine69

I'm pleasantly surprised. The car seems to have absorbed the impact very well given there aren't any bent doors from the side shot.

Yes, the chassis absorbed the entire impact and the passenger cabin had nothing. Don’t have the interior pics but have another couple of side shots, sharing the same.

I believe one of the reasons of the impact being there on the chassis was that the collision happened dead centre and since the concrete blocks are typically 2.5 feet in height.

On a lighter note, I’m still alive to tell the tale! The insurance company post seeing the car were shocked to see me alive.

P.S. I used to work for an insurance aggregator and the loss ratio for the car disbalanced the business equation to some extent.

[Dr.Abhi]

You have bought a wrong car, not married a wrong person. So don't regret too much. Its easy to get out of this situation. What's the value of 1 or 2 lakhs rupees in your life if you always feel vulnerable whenever you move out with your family in this car. Make full use of Marutis good resale value. Sell the car, learn from your mistake and move on.
The bigger question is which should be your next car. You cant take chance now. During test drives, you have to feel the car as if you own it.
First you should shortlist the brands. All brands have some negatives and positives. Brands like Hyundai, Toyota, Honda, Ford generally make cars which give emphasis to all the aspects of car and its ownership, like they are generally reliable, easy to maintain, fuel efficient, ok built, good engineering depth, good looking etc.
If you are confused, involve your family, friend in the process.

[heydj]

I would suggest remove those stickers as more one things negatively more one gets affected. Its a vicious cycle.

Does this model have Airbags? If yes then don't worry too much about safety, be a safe driver. As for rattles those things can be fixed to an extent.

In case there are no airbags or option to install them then sell this and do a lateral upgrade or downgrade as per availability of M.

[chaudh2s]

Originally Posted by amvj

I have made a very wrong decision of buying Baleno. It has shockingly light weight metal and I am not at all feel safe to drive with my toddler in that crap. Also countless crash photos in Team-bhp and speaking with people who crashed Maruti cars now justifies what really they are made of. It is just 6.5Kms done and rattles are already started.

I too own a Baleno Zeta (P) and am very happy with the car, and i see that a lot of your concerns are unfounded.
1.) Safety: Thin sheet metal can be prone to small dings, but it is in no way a contributor to strength of body shell. If you had studied strength of materials, you would know that Section Modulus (capacity to take flexural loads) of a sheet is negligible, it is purely provided for aesthetics, or to form a body shape. In fact, no engineering graduate on this forum would dare raise the issue of safety (or lack of it) due to sheet metal thickness.
2.) Rattles: First, change your car tires to Michelin P3ST with higher aspect ratio. Then, dampen your cars doors with quality damping sheets.
3.) The competitors of Baleno would be no better or worse in structural safety department. They might be having a thicker sheet metal, but in crash tests they would fare the same. All of them along with Baleno, conform to Indian crash test regulations. These car manufacturers cannot sell their cars without approval from ARAI, the body which certifies their conformance to Indian govt. specified norms.
4.) You would have a higher risk of personal injury in your false perception of safety in other cars. At least in Baleno you would be driving more carefully, in the perception that it is an unsafe car.
5.) Load your boot with around 40-50 Kg of dummy weight. This would make the car ride more absorbing & last but not the least, use the isofix mounting points on rear seats of your Baleno, to fix child seats, and use them without fail everytime your child travels in the car. Don't buy chinese car seats, buy quality seats from chicco or some other reputed brand.

[Gildarts]

Originally Posted by amvj

Initially purchased it thinking that I will use it for 5 or more years but lack of Vitamin M prevents me from selling this tin box and buying a proper one.

I absolutely hate this car in every way.

The Tin-can sticker was custom made online.

Wow... Your stickers show how much you hate your car. I think it is going to be really stressful to live with the car since you hate it so much. baleno could fetch good resale value. My suggestion is 'Give it up soon and go for a good pre-owned car'.

[serious_maniac]

Lots of comments here on what actually makes a safe vehicle and the perceptions around sheet metal thickness. While sheet metal plays little role in safety of the cabin, it is the trust on brand (Maruti) which is low. There have been photographs on this very forum where the international version of Swift (1st gen) had a good shock abosrbing bar behind the bumper, while the Indian version had two hollow tubes. That image has stayed on and I personally no longer trust Maruti to give vehicles that are at par with their international versions on sale.

Coming to your situation as most have already voiced. Your frustration is understandable, but then posting stickers on your car doesnt help. Sell the car and move onto models where less compromises have been done. i20, Polo, Figo are the first ones that come to mind. You should also look at Jazz, although personally I think Honda in its bid to be more broad based like Maruti may have cut corners - I have no proof but more of a hunch.

~m

[Prodigy07]

I believe I have read somewhere that you have purchased parts manual for Baleno. I guess you are terribly confused.

Please spruce up the car by damping the doors, add an amplifier and a Sub and enjoy your drive.

For better road manners, upgrade the stock tyres to Michelins.

[Thilak29]

While I have not done math around ZAP program from Zoom car, you could possibly explore this too if selling is not an option, but do take out those stickers before you proceed.

I honestly feel, you must not live with it and sell it (save yourself from distress selling as you seem to have revealed the Reg. number in a public forum).

[Dr.Suraj]

The Baleno commands a decent price in the used car market. Do take off those stickers and sell it with all your heart. Part ways nicely, make peace.
And then, pick up a good used car at the same price. Something that would perhaps be a few years older but will have as many if not more features. Or you can buy a Tiago. It's cheaper than the Baleno but the build quality is SOLID going by the numerous accident pics seen around.