[V.Narayan]

Originally Posted by Leoshashi

The SS80 weighed around 610kgs and had 39.5BHP engine.

Regards,
Shashi

Shashi, you are our Maruti 800 resident guru. My driving license may be a lot older than you but the depth of your knowledge of cars is most impressive and way beyond mine. Hence, with me, you never need to substantiate your statements. 610 kgs -Oh My God. No wonder she always zoomed off with the slightest touch of the pedal. Glad I didn't know then that it was 39.5 bhp. 55bhp made me feel like a fighter pilot!!

[anjan_c2007]

Just happened to go through the classifieds "for sale" of Maruti 800's on teambhp. The quoted prices are :

- 1988 model is being quoted for Rs 110,000=00
- 1994 model for Rs 115,000=00
- 1986 model for Rs 85,000=00
- 2007 model for Rs 127,000=00
- 1985 model for Rs 123,000=00
- 2000 model for Rs 65,000=00

http://classifieds.team-bhp.com/sear...qs_button=Find

A pleasant surprise to see the northward prices. We could not have imagined such price tags even a year back. Many have been sold and scrapped for as little as Rs 15 - 20 K.

Is there a sudden spurt in demand ?

[Leoshashi]

Originally Posted by anjan_c2007

Is there a sudden spurt in demand ?

Not sure about the spurt in demand, but well maintained examples will surely command a premium in days to come. Already, well maintained examples of rare cars like the SS80 DX, 5 Speed 800, Zen 2 door etc are beginning to command a premium. Even nicely maintained Type 1 800s are seeing an increase in its resale value.

Regards,
Shashi

[visky]

Originally Posted by Leoshashi

Not sure about the spurt in demand, but well maintained examples will surely command a premium in days to come. Already, well maintained examples of rare cars like the SS80 DX, 5 Speed 800, Zen 2 door etc are beginning to command a premium. Even nicely maintained Type 1 800s are seeing an increase in its resale value.

Regards,
Shashi

According to you, what should be the rate for a well maintained Zen 2 door?

[Leoshashi]

Originally Posted by visky

According to you, what should be the rate for a well maintained Zen 2 door?

Dear Sir,

I am nobody to decide a price of a car, I am too inexperienced for that. But recently I did ask a few owners, and some of them quoted 3L plus for a well maintained Zen carbon. I was surprised that both of them sold it for more than 3 lacs, and both the cars got sold within hours of their listing on classifieds.

There are people who love to collect these cars, and its definitely priceless for them.

Regards,
Shashi

[visky]

Originally Posted by Leoshashi

Dear Sir,

I am nobody to decide a price of a car, I am too inexperienced for that. But recently I did ask a few owners, and some of them quoted 3L plus for a well maintained Zen carbon. I was surprised that both of them sold it for more than 3 lacs, and both the cars got sold within hours of their listing on classifieds.

There are people who love to collect these cars, and its definitely priceless for them.

Regards,
Shashi

I asked you price of the Zen because I had an offer for it & the quotation for it was similar to what you said. I thought the prices were unrealistic but now I know the ongoing rates for it.

[anjan_c2007]

Originally Posted by visky

I asked you price of the Zen because I had an offer for it & the quotation for it was similar to what you said. I thought the prices were unrealistic but now I know the ongoing rates for it.

Visky, please also check the Zen prices on the teambhp classifieds. These are also moving northward. Zen is likely to get a Japanese Classic tag sooner or later. It was a sort of game changer and had provided the first ever fillip to the "B" segment.

These have not become rare still. Maybe after a decade or more things will change.

[dailydriver]

Originally Posted by V.Narayan

Shashi, you are our Maruti 800 resident guru. My driving license may be a lot older than you but the depth of your knowledge of cars is most impressive and way beyond mine.

+1 to that.

His association with and value addition to all Marutis in general and the Golden Goose in particular are the reasons why Leoshashi has found a firm place in many a car enthusiast's hearts.

[King_pin09]

One thing I could recall was during 1990 when I studied in school and we had a chapter on Internal Combustion (IC) engines. Our teacher while explaining various aspects of automobile engine systems once said “Cars have their engines cooled by circulating water which collects heat from the engine and dissipate into air from the Radiator. Maruti Car, however, is an exception which has oil cooled engine.” This special mention earned this car a huge respect amongst our group of friends and I tirelessly kept “Educating” everyone of this greatness of the car.

Maruti Car, as I knew it, was a car of immense aspiration value and ever since childhood I always dreamt of owning one (and having a very beautiful wife seated along ) as and when I began earning. Sadly, neither my family nor did any of my close relatives owned one. Never did I had any opportunity of even sitting in one (except for one instance during 2003, where one of my colleague offered a 3 km long lift in his M-800 of 1986).

However the M-800 continued to be the queen of my imaginations for very long so much so that I had even planned to modify its rear seat so that the back rest can be lifted up from bottom end and clamped to the roof in horizontal position using steel chains forming a bed so that the rear passenger area gets converted akin to II-tier sleeper compartment .

[maker_of_things]

My dad has a 1988 Maruti 800. Though it's probably not been running for some 4+ years now, it was in a great running condition before.

We took so many trips in it. Mostly in the Eastern and North Eastern parts of our country. Dad even drove it down to Mettur in Tamil Nadu from Pune, once in 2006. It hasn't run a lot, probably only 35k km.

I don't have any photos with me as of now. Learnt driving on it and what fun it was. Like a go kart, with a peppy engine.

I have plans to restore it to its former glory (including the original paint scheme). But don't have much time on hand.

[Cooltronics]

Originally Posted by maker_of_things

I have plans to restore it to its former glory (including the original paint scheme). But don't have much time on hand.

My personal experience after doing a near complete restoration is that the more you wait - tougher it becomes
a) An idle car is a rust magnet - the otherwise rock solid body will suddenly start rusting and it keeps spiralling
b) Parts start becoming rare and scarce - I personally know many parts have been CLOSED by Maruti and every day many more are getting hard to find.
c) Finding a good mechanic also becomes difficult

My recommendation would be to not hold back your restoration (if at all you want to do) for months and start finding parts so that you can replace them with new. If you can keep sentiments away - sell of the car to some one who can preserve it

As we read, more and more SS80 and SB308 are becoming prize possessions and their parts in market are quickly drying up.

On side note - eagerly waiting to see few clicks of your car

[pedrolourenco]

Originally Posted by anjan_c2007

This car a 1987 model (cost was around Rs 82,000)that has been with me all along, was parked by me in front of my friend's house in 1991.He was a car broker.A customer came and liked the car and offered Rs 1.10 L instantly for the car.I said no politely, explaining that I had come to visit my friend and exchange pleasantries and not trade my car..
A new car would cost Rs 1.20- 1.25 L and there were long waiting lists.

I think this car deserves a full restoration. Specially since it's one of the first few SB308's and you've got a cool registration number. Try and find the original grill.
Here are pics of a pair of well restored cars.

[anjan_c2007]

Originally Posted by pedrolourenco

I think this car deserves a full restoration. Specially since it's one of the first few SB308's and you've got a cool registration number. Try and find the original grill.
Here are pics of a pair of well restored cars.

Thanks for the suggestions. The original grille has already been fitted.

[pedrolourenco]

Originally Posted by anjan_c2007

Thanks for the suggestions. The original grille has already been fitted.

Looks good with the old grill. It's slowly becoming impossible to find.

[pedrolourenco]

Does anyone have photos of the original accessories that were available with the SS80? I remember seeing some SS80's when they were launched with nice Roof Racks. They were really neat good quality ones and not the Taxi type. I remember asking one owner then and he told me it was bought from the dealer.