[srivatsahg]

Gosh !!

Sid I bow before you for your zeal / patience in maintaining your muse.
I also own the same beauty in red, but even when it is out of 3M Car wash it never does look as new as yours.

[desdemona]

Hi Sid.

Can i too compliment you on the care you lavish on your ravishing red Punto?

And urge you to pen your views on the Punto facelift coming up, as also the Avventura, after TDs, like you used to back before you became a Fiat owner? I'd be very keen to hear your take on both these cars.

cheers

[sidindica]

Triple barrel teething troubles...

And so at 36,000 kms, the beluga keeps on churning out miles, but the problem is that typical whalefish like warantantrums that continue to irritate. The tailgate had its factory paint blabbering, even after twice being repainted at mohali and oberoi noida respectively, so oberoi guys shot an e-mail for a new tailgate, which got approved and the panel will be replaced day after tomorrow.
Two weeks back, LHS front shocker showed a leak and mount busted, again replaced under warranty.



Wile KKR won the IPL 20-20, my warranty claims now stand at 20-20...hope it does not enter 21,22,23 etc.
Full marks to oberoi for tolerating my car for unscheduled visits, and minus 20 marks to the blokes at Fiat India for manufacturing cars with poor QC.

[sidindica]

The heat is on.....



Delhi is sweltering, with temperatures rising, and rising. Humidity and heat combined makes living a big hell, and this also brings an opportunity to test the car's potential. Clocked 36,500 kms in 21 months, and 3,500 kms in liqui moly fully synthetic oil. There will be a drop in engine performance and FE due to extreme weather plus heavy usage of AC, but I can vouch for this oil in giving superior lubricating qualities and the car jut drives like a new piece. The PLCs are aging well, and will be replaced with yokohamas at the 40,000 km mark. Alignment and balancing with rotation is carried out every 5000 kms.

FE is somewhere between 13-14 kmpl in city with AC on, and 18 kmpl on highways with moderate traffic. I absolutely love this car's airconditioning, as it keeps the interior cool even at 47 degrees, without a sunfilm.

On the service part, I see a tangible improvement. Warranty claims aside, I get to notch service from oberoi, probably its to do with the gelling with the team and extra care I take towards maintaining my car to perfection. The tailgate has been replaced and few days back, the car ran over an unmarked ditch, twisting the front bumper and bending the radiator support. Thankfully, the strong underpinnings only caused minimal damage and the bumper was realigned back to shape, and the 200 rupee radiator support was replaced with a new one, plus the undercarriage protection shield hammered and bought back to shape.



Mechanically the car has proven to be reliable so far, but Fiat needs to make QC right at factory level itself.

(Pics taken today from Nexus 5).

[sidindica]

J'igglin a Value Card



Since the alto got this car's pioneer 6590, the main reason behind this is a change in HU, called the JVC KD-R 80 BT. Heard very good reviews about it, so thought its time for a swap. Costed 8.9k, and has all the usual features like Bluetooth (can pair 2 phone at one time), twin rear USB (one for bluetooth dongle), rear aux and CD lot inside. I didn't find the looks of the HU interesting, but for the price, its a great HU. Brings out the best in the rainbows. Output and SQ is way better, bass is more pronounced and mid range is much improved. Also, it features a unique 3 band parametric equalizer to individually adjust bass, mid and treble settings as per the track genre.

Further tuning is required, though, and at this price, I recommend a buy.

[gemithomas]

I remember our Fiat Uno came with dozen of quality check stickers on the wind shield. I still remember one for "rain check" which must have been about water seepage. Sad that Fiat just decided to do away with that kind of quality checks. Sid. Good to see you back with a Punto.

[NNair]

Hi, I also have a four and a half year old (41000 kms) Punto Grande. Its been a pleasure to own and drive. I have never had any issues, probably due to my lower running (avg of about 9000 kms/year). I have though changed my Front shock absorber struts. Was making a slight rattle on bad roads.

I recently got the 3M advanced treatment done. What a world of difference its made. The car is really shining again. I have fallen in love with it all over again!

[sidindica]

The master stroke





A well designed car is only complete if its designer gets a salute. Got this from a friend from Italy. Placed under both the rear doors, as the original euro punto came with. Currently at 39k kms, with major service due at 40k.

[arun_josie]

Nice detailed review with some awesome pics.

Originally Posted by sidindica

Wile KKR won the IPL 20-20, my warranty claims now stand at 20-20...hope it does not enter 21,22,23 etc.
Full marks to oberoi for tolerating my car for unscheduled visits, and minus 20 marks to the blokes at Fiat India for manufacturing cars with poor QC.

Do you mean to say that 20 parts were changed under warranty? You have mentioned 11 in the previous page, do you mind sharing the other replacements?

In my Linea Mjd, I am facing a steering issue too. Especially when I take sharp turns or a turn in a uneven road, I get a sound Grrr kind. Is this something similar to your steering sound? For me they have replaced the steering rack but this did not resolve the issue completely. Now I get it during right turns only.

[sidindica]

Originally Posted by arun_josie

Nice detailed review with some awesome pics.



Do you mean to say that 20 parts were changed under warranty? You have mentioned 11 in the previous page, do you mind sharing the other replacements?

In my Linea Mjd, I am facing a steering issue too. Especially when I take sharp turns or a turn in a uneven road, I get a sound Grrr kind. Is this something similar to your steering sound? For me they have replaced the steering rack but this did not resolve the issue completely. Now I get it during right turns only.

I suspect could be worn out CV joins or steering column.

Review: Liqui moly 5W40
So the car completes 6000 km in liqui moly fully synthetic oil. Not many people are aware of this brand and this is because the company only has two distribution outlets pan india. One is at noida (next to uttam toyota-ottozone by fucon) and another somewhere in Mumbai I guess. Why they sell at 500 bucks a litre is because they get direct supplies from the company at wholesale rate in drums. This oil is better than the mobil 1, why, because of its superior claimed viscosity and lubricating qualities. Its more refined and thinner (no, does not abnormally consume oil like what is perceived) and engine NVH is greatly reduced to an extent. The car runs more open and accelerates faster in mid range. FE goes up by an average of 1.5-2 kmpl overall.
Give it a try, and you won't be disappointed.

[sidindica]

Celebrating 40,000 kms is good. But, celebrating 40,000 rounds of a kilometre is interesting.



Celebrating warranty claims is good.
But, celebrating freedom from workshops is no more interesting.
The car continues to perform as expected, and has now crossed 40,000 kms. Was thinking to get the 2 year service (involving complete fluid replacements) at this interval itself, instead of waiting till september.
Took the car to kashyap noida, and performed the following on my request:

• Diesel filter change
• Air filter and AC filter change
• Coolent, transmission oil, brake oil and power steering oil change
• Cleaning of brakes

Took 2.5 hours and was charged about 7.9k from them.Overall they did a fairly decent job this time except for overlooking two things:

• Brake pads accuracy
• forgotten to reset service level reminder

The oil and oil filter will be changed once the car crosses 43k from the liqui moly outlet.



Meanwhile, her tantrums continue....
Few days back, the car was developing some kind of whsitling sound from behind the instrument cluster. Was near to Oberoi Fiat so decided to took it there. They failed to diagnose the issue and to add to the woes, kept me waiting for 90 minutes due to non availability of lift. They checked mounts but was fine. Surprisingly, according to them, they told it came from from the relay that was fitted for the 90/100W headlamp that my car has. A nut was tightened, but after a week, the noise returned. Drove the car normally, but of late, few more areas were producing whirring sound. After thinking twice and hard and fed up of terrible service from Oberoi (jut became worst now) called up a friend of mine who had just joined a new dealership located in sonipat, called sahil Fiat. Explained him my issues and then took my car there. And was in for a few good and nasty surprises.

Review: Sahil Fiat on this visit
Reached there in morning, and I was immediately greeted by the SA who promptly opened my job card and listened to the issues my car had. We went on a 10-15 km road test to get the root cause and the senior mechanic tried his best to judge from where the whistling and whirring sounds came from. The car was taken up the lift, and as per them,

• The whistling sound inside came from some loose nut near the turbo pipe that was hitting the underbody. The nut was tightened, and the linings checked, and road test taken. Problem solved.
• The whirring nise was a combination of two more parts that developed premature failure. The water pump bearing developed lay and was replaced in warranty. Second, some other part near the belt (I guess pulley) was jammed and again, replaced in warranty.
• Third-the biggest concern-brake pads worn out at just 20k kms, were replaced. Costed R. 3290 plus 350 for labour for other jobs done.

Another road test was taken, and this time, all the problems vanished. Overall, a brilliant job done by their service team. Something which Oberoi still cannot even try to do.



Next month, insurance renewal is due and will probably continue with Royal Sundaram as I am happy with their services.

Like, they say, 22 is a tricky sum of tricks being played by someone who manufactured my car. 22 warranty claims in 2 years in 40k kms, and high price of stock brake pads is something not expected from a company which sits at the bottom of the sales chart. I guess it will be hard to recommend Fiat to people till their QC issues are resolved.
Else, the car remains a great option at that price, and that High GC remains a boon for our bad roads.

Requesting the mods to change the thread title to: Fiat Grande punto: Story at 40,000 kms

[F150]

What a beautiful car and what a beautiful maintenance by you Sid. The new Punto has lost the class.

Any plans for remap as your car is going to be out of the warranty soon ?

[sidindica]

No plans for a remap F150. I have extended warranty till November 2016.

[sidindica]

The french connection gets disconnected to the call of the Japs.

Gets new shoes, yokohama C drives, 195/60 R15 as the Primacy LCs had shown their age. Fitment was done from Resham tyres, Indirapuram. Will post a review in the coming weeks, but initial impressions look promising.

[ad3952n]

Originally Posted by sidindica

The french connection gets disconnected to the call of the Japs. Fitment was done from Resham tyres, Indirapuram.

Well, with due respect to Shri Sidindica. Both of us went to this place called Resham Tyre at Indirapuram inside the basement of Jaipuria Mall yesterday. Firstly I laughed off at the feminine name itself.

Now my impression about this outlet!

Upon entering the outlet we come across a person by name of Ankit who appears to be so busy that he can't even attend us. After strolling there for more than 20 minutes finally Ankit regains his senses and asks us the purpose of visit (if we visit a Tyre shop then obviously we have come for a Tyre Job not a facial or pedicure!).

Sidharth told him that we need 195 size 5 Yokohama C Drive for the Punto. It took them more than 1 hour to arrange those 5 pieces within their shop. Somehow they managed to get 5 of them. So, me and Sidharth checked each one of them for the size and manufacturing date. After approving them our ordeal begins.

Issues faced:

1) Totally mismanaged staff.

2) Technicians are useless.

3) Cheque Payment dishonored.

Apart from the above, me and Sidharth had a tough time when we saw that our car's front right wheel was not even bolted and the car was removed from the jack. On my insistence, Sidharth readily took a photo and I took up their English Speaking so called manager to task. After sharing of the peace of mind the fault was corrected to our satisfaction.

After this, another lie of Resham Tyre was unearthed. Since Sidharth got a call so I and my driver kept a watch on the car. Even after telling the technician to fill 32 PSI of Nitrogen in all wheels he filled 35 PSI. I saw this and immediately objected, upon which we came to know that Nitrogen machine was faulty. So we got the excess air reduced from all wheels.

After coming out this mess we had to literally "tell" the manager that after being harassed for 3.5 hours we will not pay any surcharge on the credit/debit card. If they want they can remove the Tyre and store them as a souvenir from our side. In the end we won and finally came out after paying INR 24,250/- for 5 Yokohama C Drives.

We pledged there itself that we will never refer or recommend this outlet to anyone. Yaar, We skipped our lunch too because of these morons. Pathetic work!

Thanks