[rjalihal]

I guess one more reason why Indicas may appear more ruffled up than other cars is that 'chalta hai' image. I mean, on a Maruti or Hyundai, a small scratch makes the car look ugly. Whereas on Indicas it is hardly noticeable as people may not look twice at them. If on the other hand, you have a cracked bumper on an Accent/Swift etc, people will look at them. So such people may get conscious and fix them asap. On Indicas it's not so and they can drive around with that 'what stays off, remains off' concept.
I may be wrong, but that is the perception that I have.

[amitk26]

Originally Posted by greenhorn

My indica has suffered generous doses of # 1 & 2 ( but oil changes done at half the intervals). After 3 years, the ride had become quite tired, but after 7k of repairs ( ball joints, bush kits, anti roll bars) , it feels good as new

An abused supension means faster tyre wear ( as I found out) and reduced performance, so its better that you fix it anyway

The highlighted portion tells you where the problem lies , At Maruti A.S.S just suspension bush kit replacement ( termed as overhaul) for lowest price variant M800 sets you off by 11000 Rs.

With in initial ownership period of say one year a Honda owner for instance very well understands what would be the assocaited cost if there is any serious damage to the car. So he drives carefully going dead slow on speed breakers and bumps ( and in turn Irritating SUV drivers like me) where as Indica owner has "Cheap maintenance " at back of his mind so his car is roughly driven always.

[aoussie]

A very nice thread guys. I too have an indica which we bought in 2005. she has completed 29000 km. we do take care of her, although not excessive, but adequate. and i have noticed majority of indica's in bad state. guess what you all said is true .. people dont treat indica's well as they feel no pride in ownership. i have attached a pic of our indica.

[AutoIndian]

Stumbled upon this thread while I was browsing through the Indian Car Scene. Thanks to Greenhorn for starting this thread & all others who have contributed to this thread. Most of you have rightly pointed out, being one of the cheapest car around to maintain, very reasonable running costs, people have a tendency to care less for such a car. I quite liked the example of the 2 lakh rupees pen versus the 5 rupees pen. Indica is no race stud & will continue to be treated as trusty loyal donkey from whom you can extract all the work you want & you don't worry about its survival.

Since we are talking here about the Indica owners who mistreat their cars, I would be at the extreme opposite end of that spectrum. My wife often cribs, that I love my car more than her & that love is not one way, every time my Indica has returned that love back to me. Have traveled several states, done a round trip of 3500 in 12 days in my Indica, with my family of five with loads of luggage, car never complained. Age & running of my car in signature. Car has been dented on 5 different occassions, but every time it gets back in shape. Now in its ninth year, I have planned to keep it till 10 years or 1,50,000kms, whichever is earlier. For further details you can refer my long term ownership experience thread over here --> http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/long-t...ms-beyond.html