[vinit.merchant]

Went through your review, both Liva and Linea. You have kept the car quite well and take care of the car religiously.

One question: With the total amount that you spent on the Linea for its servicings/regular wear and tear, Isn't it that the Liva would have turned out to be cheaper to maintain and run even after considering the diesel advantage? Since you are so methodical in maintaining the data of your car, maybe you have the total that you spent on it till date.

I am in the process of "reviewing" a car purchase decision (petrol) and both your cars (liva-new & Linea-used) are on my list of consideration.

And seriously, the cost of each alloy made me too go
No doubt maintaining Fiat is expensive.

[neoonwheels]

Originally Posted by vinit.merchant

Went through your review, both Liva and Linea. You have kept the car quite well and take care of the car religiously.

One question: With the total amount that you spent on the Linea for its servicings/regular wear and tear, Isn't it that the Liva would have turned out to be cheaper to maintain and run even after considering the diesel advantage? Since you are so methodical in maintaining the data of your car, maybe you have the total that you spent on it till date.

I am in the process of "reviewing" a car purchase decision (petrol) and both your cars (liva-new & Linea-used) are on my list of consideration.

And seriously, the cost of each alloy made me too go
No doubt maintaining Fiat is expensive.

You may also want to check out my thread (Punto MJD emotion pack) which has all the maintenance details right from the date I purchased it. That should give you some inputs on maintaining MJD car.

[nkrishnap]

Originally Posted by vinit.merchant

One question: With the total amount that you spent on the Linea for its servicings/regular wear and tear, Isn't it that the Liva would have turned out to be cheaper to maintain and run even after considering the diesel advantage? Since you are so methodical in maintaining the data of your car, maybe you have the total that you spent on it till date.

Though the total running cost for the Linea might be slightly higher, Linea is way better built than the Liva and feels solid, a lot more involving to drive and it brings a grin on the face when you drive it spiritedly or on bad roads. This is something definitely not visible straight from the financial calculations.

Do I regret buying the Linea by selling Liva, a resounding NO.

I am in the process of "reviewing" a car purchase decision (petrol) and both your cars (liva-new & Linea-used) are on my list of consideration.

And seriously, the cost of each alloy made me too go
No doubt maintaining Fiat is expensive.

The bent alloys is solely due to my driving style and have been hard hits. So cant blame the manufacturer for it. Do check the out the cost of fog lamps, bumpers and few other parts of few other cars in the segment, these parts will have more changes of getting damaged due to our traffic conditions. Teh comparison will provide you the answer.

I would not say it is cheaper than competition, it is definitely at par.

[pdma]

Originally Posted by vinit.merchant

No doubt maintaining Fiat is expensive.

Dear Vinit,

Linea comes with 30,000 km - 2 year's free service schedule (5k, 15k & 30k respectively). With 15000km/ 1 year maintenance interval along with a decent FE and not so expensive spares with good life period, Linea is definitely not expensive on maintenance.
I have made a comprehensive analysis on paper and showed the value for money proposition of the Linea in comparison related to input cost, running cost and return cost ( resale). Kindly check page 2 of the thread My Grey Linea 2014 for these details which will give you a fair idea.
Link to thread : http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/showthread.php?t=160950
All the best in your decision making and purchase.

PS: The intention is just to rule out the thought that the car is expensive to maintain and not to influence your buying decision .

Cheers,
pdma

[nkrishnap]

Linea is slowly munching up miles more in city and with a recent drive 3 days drive. Cross the 54,000 km mark a few days back.

Mileage update



Had a couple of issues with the car behaving weird. There was powerloss and smoking issue. It was diagonized to a faulty clutch pedal sensor which was fixed.

Another issue that happened during the 3 days drive was a tyre sidewall damage and the windshield crack. An over enthusiastic i20 guy slid off the road in the ghat section and was destined to hit the Linea head on. I managed to swerve and run off the road but not before running over a limestone block which resulted in the tyre sidewall damage and windshield crack. Got the windshield fixed at Vecto by claiming insurnace after the trip. The windshield installation job was pretty average, the sealant was not cleaned at a few places and the wipers were fixed incorrectly as it was getting extended way beyond the A pillar. Fixed that myself, not a difficult task though. Off late the experience with the service center is a hit or miss and it is inconsistent. With the labour cost going up exponentially, I am planning to do the basic maintenance at home myself.

Cracked glass



After the windsheild was replaced got the CR 70 sunfilm installed for the windshield.



The car turns 3 year old tomorrow, so gifted the car with the aluminium pedals.



Insurance renewed with Royal Sundaram with zero depreciation and windsheild cover. All set for another 12 months.

[nareshov]

Congrats @nkrishap on the 3 year anniversary. Mine turned 3 today and has clocked nearly 43k km. I think I'll do the CR70 film on the front windshield too.

(Also insured with RS second year in a row)

[arun_josie]

Originally Posted by nkrishnap

tyre sidewall damage and windshield crack. Got the windshield fixed at Vecto by claiming insurnace after the trip. The windshield installation job was pretty average, the sealant was not cleaned at a few places and the wipers were fixed incorrectly as it was getting extended way beyond the A pillar. Fixed that myself, not a difficult task though. Off late the experience with the service center is a hit or miss and it is inconsistent. With the labour cost going up exponentially, I am planning to do the basic maintenance at home myself.

Oh..Bad luck. Is this the third wind-screen?

Yes, I think few good mechanics have left vecto. I am nearing my 60K servicing and hence little concerned now. But so far I have not faced any issues with them.

[nkrishnap]

Yeah. The third one unfortunately.

The service has spiralled downwards. A recent experience for friend. He has not checked the brakes pads which were changed just after 8k kms. Heights of fleecing the customer and ignorance by the customer too. Not a pleasant experience.

[nareshov]

@nkrishnap: Do let us know if you've found a better workshop to get servicing done at.

[nkrishnap]

Originally Posted by nareshov

@nkrishnap: Do let us know if you've found a better workshop to get servicing done at.

None yet. Planning to do the service myself or be at the service center when the work is being done.

Let's see how it goes.

[autocrat]

Originally Posted by nkrishnap

None yet. Planning to do the service myself or be at the service center when the work is being done.

Let's see how it goes.

Count me in Sir

My car crossed 90000 km in 3 years, but its not running much after I got the FZ16 V2.0 to beat the traffic around whitefield. The car is definitely very economical to run and maintain and the solid build is something that wont let me switch to any other car.

[nkrishnap]

Got this yesterday morning drive.



Planning to have the car detailed inside out soon.

[nkrishnap]

An update after quite a bit of time.

The odo has cross the 58,000 kms mark and continuing.

Mileage Update:



Thanks to the rains I was working for home during this period and the car was left stationary. The rains add one more problem, gets the rodents out of the borrows to look for new places. The end result is this.





Fixed with opening up the clips and soldiering the new wire joints and put back to place. The car was back running again.

PS: The soldering gun is not connected and hence cold, so not undue risks here.





Did a quick trip Bangalore - Mumbai - Bangalore in about 48 hours time, as usual the Linea performed brilliantly.

Now for the bigger update, the ICE. Finally decided to bite the bullet and change the stock headunit. After a bit of research decided to pick up the Pioneer DEH 80 PRS which costed me INR 25,780/- including shipping and customs. I have plans of taking it active in the next few months (as and when Vitamin M permits) and hence got another 4 channel Acoustika Class D amp. A few pics clicked during the installation (please excuse for the mobile pic quality). Got an interface to keep the steering controls going (currently available for Pioneer and Sony Head units. The voice commands and Call buttons do not work, the rest works just like stock).

Quality of audio is significantly better than the stock headunit which is quite obvious. The audio is a lot more pleasant with clarity at good amount of volume. Still fine tuning the setting to suit my taste. Time for now to get high bit rate songs of my existing collection.





OE Head Unit removed, retiring from service.



2nd Amp





Switching it on first time after installation



Fascia looks out of place. Was not able to source the OEM on time, hence the After market put in place temporarily.

Color options on the headunit makes it blend perfectly to the OEM amber lighting in Linea.

[quadbike]

Which interface did you use to connect the HU with the stock steering wheel controls ? Was it connects 2 ?

[nkrishnap]

Originally Posted by quadbike

Which interface did you use to connect the HU with the stock steering wheel controls ? Was it connects 2 ?

I believe its Connects 2. I will reconfirm this with my installer.