[nkrishnap]

Brake pad wear needs to checked for the inner pads. Out pads will have lesser wear. This brake pad thickness - the rotors wear will give the left over pad life. If you consider this to be less, change it, else it will create metal grinding noise while braking even if the pads have life but the rotors have worn.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by nkrishnap

Brake pad wear needs to checked for the inner pads. Out pads will have lesser wear. This brake pad thickness - the rotors wear will give the left over pad life. If you consider this to be less, change it, else it will create metal grinding noise while braking even if the pads have life but the rotors have worn.

Sure sir. I didn't take a picture of the inner pads, but it looked similar. Will check it once after logging some more miles.

Rotors were changed once already around the 100k mark and are relatively new.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

A Punto / Avventura chassis that came in to repair a badly damaged car, while I was present at the service center -









Required more than a dozen hands to unload this from the truck.

[Gannu_1]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

A Punto / Avventura chassis that came in to repair a badly damaged car, while I was present at the service center

I'm really surprised the owner hasn't chosen to write off the car and instead chose to get the entire chassis replaced! Any idea what happened to the original car and the occupants CD?

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by Gannu_1

I'm really surprised the owner hasn't chosen to write off the car and instead chose to get the entire chassis replaced! Any idea what happened to the original car and the occupants CD?

Even I was!

So I asked the same to one of the service guys and he said the car insurance had expired few days before the accident, which the owner failed to notice. That left him with no choice but to repair the car, which would otherwise have been written off as total loss.

No serious injuries to any of the occupants, is what I've been informed. I didn't see the damaged original car to assess what would have happened though!

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

The Punto has been doing it's job quietly and the odo currently is around 134k kms. The attention had shifted to my bike hunt, purchase, run-in, service etc and the Punto silently kept doing it's duties without missing a beat.

Last weekend, I decided to give the Italian lady the attention she deserved. A whole lot of hours later, she was looking fresh once again - ready to take on more work. Below jobs were done, although not professional work, by myself -

- Wash
- Amway Silicon Glaze Polish
- 3M Tech Wax.
- Meguairs Natural Shine Plastic Protectant.
- Tyre Polish.

And the results -









Almost after 3 years of purchase, I am finally happy to have got to the bottom of this tin. Proved to be a very good exercise, but I'll buy a liquid wax next time around!

[nkrishnap]

Shift to Collinite 845 or a high quality sealant. Will give even better finish.

Close to 5 years and still looks fresh. Credit to you for maintaining it that way.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Punto continues its uneventful run, and hence no updates recently. The brake pads look good for another 2k kms, while the tyres should last till 150k on the odo.

Currently has done around 136k kms and off it went for the regular 5k balancing and alignment ritual -

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

When a 5 year old car tempts you stop and click photographs at 3:40 early morning after a long tiring day of work, you know the bond is special.

Shot with the mobile cam. Should carry the camera next time!

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Insurance has been renewed one last time with a zero deprecation policy, still with Royal Sundaram.

Premium came to 13741/- for an IDV value of 4,34,322/- including 5429/- for depreciation waiver and 261/- for windshield cover. Not to mention 50% NCB as well.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Happy Birthday!

My TurboKat turns five years old today.

Now, I know I haven't used that name ever since page one of this thread, but somehow felt like reviving it. Five years is good enough time for a car to start the next fresh innings, so as these things go - time to revive up some good old memories.

Funny thing though - When we booked the Swift, my plan was to retain the car for only five years. Whereas wife didn't see any sense it selling a car all too soon, and suggested we should retain it for 15! Now, 5 years with the Punto, it feels not so different from what it was during the day of delivery, except for some minor scar marks on her body to reveal her true age. That, I promise, would be corrected soon enough. Good enough for that 15? Only time will tell.

For the beauty this car is, it deserves to be kept in top cosmetic shape. I still feel the urge to look back at the car after parking it - never getting tired of those timeless lines devoid of any quirky touches.

5 of my favourite photographs of the car -

See what I did there? 5 year old - 5 favourite photographs. I'm playing around with the number five. Although that might sound cliche'd, still continuing on that same note -

Here are the top 5 things I like:

- Simple and stunning design. Still love it, day in and day out. Aged gracefully IMO.
- Solid build quality, inside out. The body and the paint looks and feel much better than other cars of similar age. Interior has also help up well with time.

- Brilliant highway machine, with a superb suspension, raised ground clearance, wide tyres and confidence inspiring brakes.
- Upgraded ICE is just to my taste. Love it. Punto dashboard and layout turned out to be a blessing in disguise for staging.

- Very reliable till date with no major niggles and issues. Service costs have been reasonably cheap as well.


Here are the top 5 things I don't:

- Two issues faced include Microsoft Blue & Me system that conked off, but after 1.04L kms of service & a/c console replaced under warranty after 50k kms.
- Power could have been better off the line. Outright performance doesn't justify the 90hp on-paper performance figure. However, she is very capable in the turbo zone, specially higher gears.

- Service centers are always a concern. And no, travelling 200 kms for good service doesn't make the situation any better.
- Not very spacious, and is beaten by a huge margin by the other sub-4m car in our garage - the Xcent.

- Has become outdated when it comes to features. No reverse camera, no parking sensors, no automatic transmission, no automatic mirrors, no keyless entry, no 1L bottle holders, not enough charging sockets, no rear a/c vents, no ESP, no touch screen headunit etc as compared to modern cars.


Issues faced + Service Experience #22 - Clutch replacement, brake pads change & General Service @ 137500 kms.
Service Satisfaction - ****-
Service Centre - True Sai Motors, Salem.

Clutch Replacement -

After 1.37L kms, the clutch was starting to show its age. I bet I could have used it without any issues for another 10k kms as it had no shuddering whatsoever, but the whole thing was starting to play on my mind and confidence. The bite point was way too low these days, and if depressed without proper concentration would result in ackward gear shifts and sounds of protests from the first and reverse gears.

Why another trip to Salem? Well, True Sai might be as disappointing as the others when it comes to billing, but there sure do the best job. Haven't seen such attention provided in other FIAT authorized workshops. Plus, upon booking the appointment - they promised all the parts were in place and the work would be completed within a day. Was time for another good long drive, then -

Specially because I wanted the car back in top mechanical condition before it's birthday today. The actual plan was to get it detailed as well, but that will need to wait as I am bankrupt since the bike purchase.

The Clutch Plates -






Release Bearing Looked straight out of Titanic wreck!

Brake Pads -

They seem to always have 1500 kms of life left in them!

Last service also they had only 1500 kms of life left in them as per the service technicians, and after 8000 kms - this service also the service center is sure they will last only another 1500 kms. But anyways, I wanted to get it changed this time around as it surely wouldn't have lasted till the next service.

Billing -

After keeping a keen eye, and knocking off some expensive but useless items from the bill like Outside Machining Charge (Rs 400/-), Smart Diagnosis (Rs 320/) etc, they still managed to get some useless items into the bill. Have classified those items under the 'Charity' section. I never fought with them for any items, only asked them to explain the work done to have the item included in the bill. They were completely unable to explain the above two items and promptly excluded it.

Anabond? Was explained as wheel balancing sticker glue, only to realize later that I didn't do wheel balancing with them. Then they came back saying the bonnet cladding was loose (as I reported), which they had to stick with Anabond (to the damping material I had added after market). Fair enough for Rs 20/- Putty blade? Well, that was for cleaning brake discs and pads. Fair enough for Rs 30/- Hand Gloves? Very good indeed. Infact, I wouldn't mind buying it and giving them - if only those were used during the service. Hope these minor amounts help the service networks survive. Charity amounts then!

But then, they added consumables twice in two pages of the bill. That was a rip-off that I failed to notice completely.

Anyways, the car feels as good as Day 1 and was a joy during the return drive. Thats what finally matters.

The only good thing about travelling a long distance for service. Good empty roads as far as eye can see -


Clutch replacement in progress. Funnily, I never recollect having seen more darker colours than white in any service center -


Loved this new colour of the Punto Evo -


Parting shot, taken on mobile, on the way back from service. So this is how she looks after 5 years and 1.38L kms -

[mxh]

Wow, what a beauty. A very well maintained car and can see that it has been lovingly maintained... And great photos too - I guess you applied some filter for the effects right?! How do you manage to cover so many km in such a short time? Do you do a lot of highway runs or is your daily commute a long one? I am quite surprised at the service costs which seem to be quite high. How did you get bills of 7149 and 8694 for free services? Did you change a lot of parts?

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by mxh

Wow, what a beauty. A very well maintained car and can see that it has been lovingly maintained...

Thank you.

Originally Posted by mxh

And great photos too - I guess you applied some filter for the effects right?!

If you're talking of the photographs in the favourites section above, the action shots were taken by BHP'ian KarthikK. Others were taken by myself in the SLR.

The ones in the section below (recent) were all taken in the mobile phone. Thankfully, modern phones allow full customization including a full manual mode.

Originally Posted by mxh

How do you manage to cover so many km in such a short time? Do you do a lot of highway runs or is your daily commute a long one?

A question I have been asking myself, since my estimate before purchase was around 10000 kms/year. I haven't kept a log book of sorts, but I believe the highway-city ratio should be somewhere around 50-50, my hometown being 800 kms away from my current City of Bangalore.

And even with my current office location being the nearest to home as compared to earlier years, it is still a good 34 kms per day. Used to be ~60 - 75 kms per day earlier.

Originally Posted by mxh

I am quite surprised at the service costs which seem to be quite high.

Service costs are higher than expected since I dont stick to the company recommended service intervals. FIAT recommends 15000 kms service intervals, but I have been maintaining 7500 - 10000 kms intervals till date, on my own accord. Also, the major services are recommended every 60k kms, but I had done the same for 30k, 60k, 90k and 120k service.

This is just in keeping with my long term plans for the car. I am hoping the extra effort spent in maintenance will be worth it in the longer run.

Originally Posted by mxh

How did you get bills of 7149 and 8694 for free services? Did you change a lot of parts?

Second free service and 3rd free services come at 15000 and 30000 kms respectively. "Free" in company terms only means that the labour component in the bill is waived off.

Parts costs were as follows -

2nd Free Service @ 15,000 kms.

Total - 7149/-

1. Engile Oil - 1L Synthetic * 4 - 2270.74/-
2. Oil Filter - 358.95/-
3. Air Filter element SDE 75 PS - 262.88/-

4. Wiremesh Filter - 47.16/-
5. Assembly Fuel Filter SDE 90PS - 1834.06/-
6. Other Item - 147.60/-

7. Wiper Blade Front RH - 538.86/-
8. Plug Oil Sump - 68.12/-
9. 65GM Wheel Weight - 170.31/-

10. Standard Checkswiper washer - 75/-
11. Wheel balancing - 480/-

3rd Free Service @ 30,800 kms.


Total - 8694/-

1. FIAT Diesel engine Synthetic (?) Oil 5W40 - 3.2L - 1903.23/-
2. Coolant 1L Paraflu - 1222.71/-
3. Transmission Oil 1L Synthetic - 875/-
4. Power Steering Oil 1L Synthetic - 427.95/-
5. Brake Oil - 169/-
6. Fuel Filter Diesel - 1798/-
7. Air Filter - 296/-
8. Windscreen wash - 78.60/-

Not to forget VAT which came to 1101/-

Also, please note that transmission oil etc was not to be replaced as per company recommendations - I went ahead with it as I needed the car in full health before trying out the Racedynamics Dual Channel box on the car.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Festivals are supposed to spread cheer, for everyone around! Well, certainly wasn't one I'd like to remember -

Some decided to give my car a full bath with colours. From every possible angle!

Thankfully, no permanent damage done. While mine happened while parked outside an office at Koramangala, saw similar scenes in my apartment parking as well, for other vehicles.

[nkrishnap]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

Festivals are supposed to spread cheer, for everyone around! Well, certainly wasn't one I'd like to remember -

Some decided to give my car a full bath with colours. From every possible angle!

In your case, their happiness has caused you pain. People who do not care for other's properties and spoil them are as good as morons. No amount of education can get them to think sensibly. Upbringing matters a lot.