[superutp]

Originally Posted by KarthikK

It was a long time since the Jet® got the detailing session it deserved, such a long time, that the black had started to appear brown, since I hadn't had the time to clean the car over the past few days.

Your Jet® looks sweet, even more so after the detailing work!! I get what you mean by Black turning Brown. I fooled a fellow BHPian a few days back showing him the pic below, saying that chevrolet had come out with a new brown colour for the Beat.


BTW, was it after the paint sealant treatment that the swirl marks disappeared or does a foam wash suffice? OT, how much does the paint sealant treatment cost?

[Sathya_sc]

Awesome job there and your Jet looks absolutely stunning.. You have now tempted me to visit 3m in Chennai. Mine has 18k on the odo and needs some paint treatment badly.. Lots of dirt.. Tar marks and what not. Time for a beauty make over for my white lady love

[KarthikK]

Thanks a lot for the compliments guys!

Originally Posted by Ricci

How long does the gloss/sheen finish last usually ? Being black, it must be tough keeping it looking pristine , thumbs up for the zero scratch/dent record !

The paint sealant layer is supposed to last for one year, provided the owner doesn't frequently wash with a rough cloth. With a microfibre cloth + duster and a washing frequency of once in 10 days, it should last for around a year I think. My washing frequency was a bit high (around once in 2-3 days) and this I think was the reason for premature wearing out of the sealant layer. I will reduce my frequency down to once a fortnight now.

Just browsing Fiat site yesterday, seems the Bronzo Scuro shade has been discontinued. That was also an awesome color, though I never saw one outside the showroom.

Oh that is sad. Bronzo Scurro was a good color, quite rare but I don't think it took off in India at all. I don't think people will have even known about that color existing, never seen that color being promoted in ads or promos.

Originally Posted by superutp

Your Jet® looks sweet, even more so after the detailing work!! I get what you mean by Black turning Brown. I fooled a fellow BHPian a few days back showing him the pic below, saying that chevrolet had come out with a new brown colour for the Beat.
Attachment 910290

Haha that is funny. Bronzo Scurro for beat, anyone?

BTW, was it after the paint sealant treatment that the swirl marks disappeared or does a foam wash suffice? OT, how much does the paint sealant treatment cost?

The swirl marks were there only on the bonnet. The rest of the car body was perfectly fine. I initially went in for what is called a 'Power Shine' programme at 3M. That is just a foam wash + interior vacuuming + engine bay cleaning + tyre dressing + 3M wax polish. Later, after seeing the swirl marks on the bonnet and my distress about it, the owner Sidhu (also a BHPian) was kind enough to offer a paint sealant re-application on the bonnet to remove the swirl marks (foam wash will not remove them). Later they did the sealant treatment on other areas wherever traces of swirl marks were present as well (some small areas on the roof and on the boot).

Paint sealant treatment costed me around 4.5k back in July last year. That depends on the length of the car and surface area to be detailed, so it would be around 3.5k for a hatchback and around 5.5 grand for a safari-like SUV, for example. The power shine treatment costed around 995 bucks. The bonnet treatment was complimentary for being a BHPian

Originally Posted by Sathya_sc

Awesome job there and your Jet looks absolutely stunning.. You have now tempted me to visit 3m in Chennai. Mine has 18k on the odo and needs some paint treatment badly.. Lots of dirt.. Tar marks and what not. Time for a beauty make over for my white lady love

Thanks Sathya. I think you too should visit 3M and get the detailing done for your white beauty. Moreover, the difference after detailing is more clearly visible in solid colors like your bossa nova white or my hip hop black. On a sunbeam beige or Silver, I don't think the detailing beauty can be seen that well. Do put up pics of your white beauty after the 3M makeover. Waiting to see them

[Ricci]

One year, that's quite good. I don't think I'll be washing my Figo more than twice a month , and being silver , it's pretty good handling finishing blemishes vs dark shades. I have a soft corner for the middle grey though, the Grande Punto looks fabulous in that, and I'd hope Fiat brings that color for the Linea too by the time I'm ready for my next car ! yet to see the new 2012 Ocean Blue in person/on the road, that looks nice in pics too.

PS: if you have driven the T-jet hard, does the power taper off earlier than a NA engine, or compared to Japanese petrol motors like the City's ? The City's engines rev out to 6500+ , max power is 6000 I think , whereas the 1.4 FIRE is around 5000rpm IIRC. In short, how is the top end ?

[KarthikK]

Originally Posted by Ricci

One year, that's quite good. I don't think I'll be washing my Figo more than twice a month , and being silver , it's pretty good handling finishing blemishes vs dark shades. I have a soft corner for the middle grey though, the Grande Punto looks fabulous in that, and I'd hope Fiat brings that color for the Linea too by the time I'm ready for my next car ! yet to see the new 2012 Ocean Blue in person/on the road, that looks nice in pics too.

Silver is a very safe colour for maintenance, I agree with you. The medium grey was available on the Linea also until recently, as far as I know. It was a beautiful colour, but never took off in the Indian market. Almost 90% of the lineas that I see on the road are flamenco red.

The T-Jet however doesn't come in medium grey, silver and flamenco red. Not sure why they did that differentiation though.

EDIT : The medium grey seems to be removed now in the Fiat website.

PS: if you have driven the T-jet hard, does the power taper off earlier than a NA engine, or compared to Japanese petrol motors like the City's ? The City's engines rev out to 6500+ , max power is 6000 I think , whereas the 1.4 FIRE is around 5000rpm IIRC. In short, how is the top end ?

I have not driven a 1.4 Fire NA Linea so I am not sure about that comparison with a NA petrol Linea.

I have driven my friend's City plenty of times (ANHC) and compared to that -

- the T-Jet does redline much lower at around 4500-5000 rpm. The City will go all the way to 6000-6500 I guess. The honda's VTEC motor seems to produce peak power also a wee bit higher than the T-Jet, at around 6600rpm. The Honda feels much better when redlining

- Comparing the two in acceleration, the T-Jet's monstrous turbocharged torque kicks in at 1800 rpm and due to this turbo effect, the 1800-4000rpm range feels way more punchier than the City's acceleration. I think this is because the torque is a hefty 207Nm produced as low 2000rpm in the T-Jet, while the City's mill produces a peak torque of 146Nm at a high 4800rpm. After 4200-4300rpm, T-Jet's acceleration slowly tapers off while the VTEC will continue to pull till 6500 rpm or so. For sheer driving pleasure, I would favour the T-Jet any day since the pleasure is in the usable rpm range of the engine. I'm not sure if one would would want to risk redlining a City till 6k+rpm inside the city roads for really experiencing the true pleasure of that VTEC gem. No offense to City owners, but I'm not a fan of the City's low end torque, it just doesn't feel that good.

In short, the T-Jet will give a kind of overall punchy feeling during acceleration throughout most of the rev range, and I find the T-Jet sufficiently refined till 4.5k rpm. It is a very silent motor.
But if you are looking at sheer redlining prowess, the City wins hands down.

[Ricci]

Medium grey Linea ? I haven't seen one ever, and Fiat website didn't have this color either. Medium grey is limited to the Punto , and Bronzo Scuro was limited to the Linea ; now for 2012 models, the misty blue Punto disappears and only Linea gets that shade.

About the engine : 4200-4300 seems low for a petrol engine powerband to end at , it's more diesel-like. The torque from under 2000 sure must be addictive, but surprised to have a petrol that doesn't like revs that much.

EDIT : alright, I stand corrected , the mythical beast exists and it's a beauty ! Surprising never seeing one around here on the roads.
Thanks !

[KarthikK]

Originally Posted by Ricci

Medium grey Linea ? I haven't seen one ever, and Fiat website didn't have this color either. Medium grey is limited to the Punto , and Bronzo Scuro was limited to the Linea

Oh no, here is a link to clarify that doubt of yours Check out the pics on page 3 to confirm it is the same color we are talking about

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-d...dium-grey.html

You'll find lots of medium grey lineas' ownership threads right here on t-bhp. It was a very rare color on the roads though.

About the engine : 4200-4300 seems low for a petrol engine powerband to end at , it's more diesel-like. The torque from under 2000 sure must be addictive, but surprised to have a petrol that doesn't like revs that much.

It definitely doesn't rev all the way as much as a Honda. that's true, but its not as bad as a diesel either. It actually redlines at around 5.5k (in contrast, Multijet diesel Linea redlines just below 4k from what I saw in my TD), I have not pushed my T-Jet beyond that mark of 5.5k, but what I meant in my previous post is that beyond 4.2-4.3k, the insane turbo rush gradually gets over and it feels more like a NA engine. The VTEC will be more linear throughout until 6.5k.

[Ricci]

Found this thread ! Reason I was looking for it now, is that last few days I am seeing a medium grey Linea near my office quite often , while all this time until 2-3 weeks ago I had not seen a single Linea in that colour , and now I see it almost everyday !

[Sathya_sc]

Originally Posted by KarthikK

I have not pushed my T-Jet beyond that mark of 5.5k, but what I meant in my previous post is that beyond 4.2-4.3k, the insane turbo rush gradually gets over and it feels more like a NA engine. The VTEC will be more linear throughout until 6.5k.

Tjet revs until 6400 to 6500 RPM before the cut off. Have tried it at 4th to reach a speed of 185types after which the rev limiter kicks in. At 5th (around 5300-5500rpm, am not sure..had to see the road than the rpm actually) to reach a speedo indicated double ton. But the turbo feel grdually tapers off beyond 4500rpm.. and the motor feels really strained at 5500+ rpm.. definitely not rev friendly as the vtec.

[jagan0677]

@KarthikK:

Just wanted to check with you on the spoiler that you have on your T-Jet. Is that a Fiat Genuine accessory. To me, it appears from the fiat website, the FGA spoiler is different from yours. Confused!

Thank you.

Cheers,
Jagan.

[KarthikK]

Guys, the offers sound great at 7-8L. Just remember that these are 1 year old vehicles which have been unused and rotting in the stockyard under the open sun, rain and dust for a year now. Some recent T-Jet buyers who bought these old stock vehicles seem to have faced battery issues and one other guy faced corrosion on some metal body parts. Do a proper PDI before settling on a purchase decision.

Seems like Fiat is really getting rid of old stock aggressively. Are these signs of the updated T-Jet being launched very soon??

Originally Posted by jagan0677

@KarthikK:

Just wanted to check with you on the spoiler that you have on your T-Jet. Is that a Fiat Genuine accessory. To me, it appears from the fiat website, the FGA spoiler is different from yours. Confused!

It is a FGA spoiler itself . The one on the fiat website is phased out. From what the fiat customer care helpline guy told me, they modified the spoiler shape to include the stoplamps with this version (older one didn't have it). Try getting a hand on one of those older models if you like that design better. You can check with your dealer if he can procure one of those older ones for you.

P.S - price remains same - 3899 for spoiler + 1000 for painting and labour charges for fitting.

Originally Posted by mchanna

These are all 2011 June-July makes, Fiat really wants to get rid of them ASAP, They have increased the cash bonus to 1.15Lakhs

But the valuation surprised me, is my palio 1.6sports canary yellow 2007, 37K kms run..worth of just 70K

Good thing is they have given me an option to sell it in open market and get 1lakh exchange bonus.

I need to find a buyer now, before that I need to make up my mind to sell it off

2007 model Palio 1.6 sports is good to go for around 1.5-1.7L in the open market. But are you sure you want to sell it off? If I were you, I would keep it . Its not worth giving it away just for some 70-80k of discount. The exchange bonus of 1L is tempting though. Tough call!

[mchanna]

Thanks Karthikk

Just remember that these are 1 year old vehicles which have been unused and rotting in the stockyard under the open sun, rain and dust for a year now.

This is my major concern too, and also only color choice available are bossa nova white and sunbeam beige. But we were asking for Black/Tuscan Wine.

Seems like Fiat is really getting rid of old stock aggressively. Are these signs of the updated T-Jet being launched very soon??

Same thoughts here again, Are they planning Linea 2013?

But are you sure you want to sell it off? If I were you, I would keep it

Mind says let it go and get an elder brother, heart (wife as well) says clear no.
I have rejected an offer(2.3L) last nov. I cannot keep 2cars due to parking issues. But definitely I'll not let it go for anything less than 2.5L :-)

[KarthikK]

Jet update - this weekend I will be scouting around for a black shark fin antenna for the Jet. The present bee-sting antenna protrudes through the car cover and is soon going to cause a tear in that region of the car cover. I will be getting a shark fin antenna to give it a BMW-look. Let me see how weird that looks. If I don't like it, I can always revert the change and switch back to the old bee-sting aerial.

Originally Posted by mchanna

This is my major concern too, and also only color choice available are bossa nova white and sunbeam beige. But we were asking for Black/Tuscan Wine.

So they have cleared up all the black/tuscan wine stocks, looks like. Why not wait and buy the updated T-Jet itself? They will surely launch it with the rain-sensing wipers and automatic headlamps at the least (since the new linea and punto come with those). I am guessing they might add a sunroof also for the t-jet, wishful thinking, eh?

I have rejected an offer(2.3L) last nov. I cannot keep 2cars due to parking issues. But definitely I'll not let it go for anything less than 2.5L :-)

If you have parking issues, then in that case, go for the bigger brother. You will definitely not regret it.

Originally Posted by selfdrive

Though I am surprised at the valuation price, I am glad they are offering the exchange bonus even if you sell it outside.

+1. How do they verify that we have actually sold it? I can show someone else's car as being sold and claim the discount. That they are allowing this exchange bonus to be claimed in this manner, indicates they are desperate to somehow give a discount and get rid of the old stocks at any cost.

Perhaps they have been told point blank to get rid of all stock before it moves to a Fiat only offering. I wonder how existing Tjet owners would feel after seeing this offer.

To be quite frank, on the financial front, I feel somewhat cheated because I paid 11 lacs for this model exactly a year ago. However, I feel satisfied that I bought a May-2011 manufactured car in June 2011 (when the car was still new in the market), and enjoyed it to the core for the past 1 year. That feeling is entirely different.

That said, the present cars which are remaining stocks, are tremendous VFM. As long as the PDI is done cautiously, it (old stocks or not) really shouldn't matter to hardcore enthusiasts who don't want to look the honda city / vento / verna way.

[VLOCT]

Karthik,

Just noticed this thread today. Your car sure is a looker. It surely is one of the better looking car in the Indian market. Just wondering, if a full spoiler/skirting package is available for this model, either from Fiat or aftermarket. The shape of the car just seems to scream for such a package. To me such a package will really make it look aggressive and intimidating. Combine that with an 18" alloy, oh boy, now we're talking, never mind the practicality of it all.

Again, it's a real beauty. Cheers and keep taking care of her.

[KarthikK]

Originally Posted by VLOCT

Karthik,

Just noticed this thread today. Your car sure is a looker. It surely is one of the better looking car in the Indian market. Just wondering, if a full spoiler/skirting package is available for this model, either from Fiat or aftermarket. The shape of the car just seems to scream for such a package. To me such a package will really make it look aggressive and intimidating. Combine that with an 18" alloy, oh boy, now we're talking, never mind the practicality of it all.

Again, it's a real beauty. Cheers and keep taking care of her.

Thanks a lot VLOCT
I do agree on how good looking the shape is. As far as I know, there is no body kit provided by Fiat. I had seen one interesting picture on the web somewhere of a Bossa Nova white Linea with a body kit. Looks too low slung to be practical here, but that aside, looks smashing!

This is the picture, took it from another site.