[Bubby]

Congratulations Finney

Your running seems to be quite low, I have completed 10500kms in little less then 5 months on my MJD SDX.

[shantyrocks]

CONGRATZ FINNEY!

good to see a happy FIAT owner.
wish you another trouble free 30k but in lesser time

[finneyp]

Thanks Phamilyman, Hrishi, Sanjay, Architect, Mjothi, JVH, Ms001, Bubby & Shantyrocks for your wishes!

I knew the carfreaks here will reprimand me for the low odo reading!
Actually, I didn't drive my Palio for almost 2 years (1st year of ownership, used the car only on weekends and then I was onsite for around 1 year).

Originally Posted by architect

This is sheer injustice to the car and you will probably end up with a vintage in your hands by the time you do 1.5 lakh km!

Good one! Point noted

With a 7500 km service interval This also means you are changing your engine oil less than once a year, right? How about other fluids?

I service the car every 7000 kms, that will be every 8 - 9 months based on my present usage.
During the service, apart from Engine oil change, they top-up the fluids and other misc stuff as per the checklist behind the service coupon.

Originally Posted by JVH

Have you thought of changing your oil to Mobil 1? With Michelin, Mobil 1 and Aura alloys, you couldn't ask for more!

JVH, you are tempting me to change over to Mobil1
Yes, I'm seriously considering it.....!

[speedzak]

Wow!
That's great to know. No wonder you are such an ardent fiat fan.

Congratulations on completing 30 thousand kilometres in 5 years. I'm sure you have looked after the vehicle very well. Keep it up!

Now, put some good numbers onto that odo and enjoy the real thrilling Fiat experience, buddy!

[JVH]

Originally Posted by finneyp

JVH, you are tempting me to change over to Mobil1
Yes, I'm seriously considering it.....!

You bet!

I have myself noted the difference after I switched to Mobil 1 on my GTX and to say it rocks is such an understatement!

[sushanthr77]

Hey Finney,

Congrats on completing 30k. We all know how well you take care of her. The FE is excellent as well! Hope you complete a happy 100k sooner than you intend to ;-)

BTW, you need to trouble the Odo a bit more.

[finneyp]

Originally Posted by speedzak

Wow!
Now, put some good numbers onto that odo and enjoy the real thrilling Fiat experience, buddy!

Thanks Zakko, will do that!

Originally Posted by JVH

I have myself noted the difference after I switched to Mobil 1 on my GTX and to say it rocks is such an understatement!

Great, I need to convince myself on the benefits & value factor of Synthetic oil.

Originally Posted by sushanthr77

Hope you complete a happy 100k sooner than you intend to ;-)

Thanks Sushanth, 100k is miles away, will target the 50K first

[finneyp]

My Palio 1.2 NV completed 10 years of proud ownership on 21st Jan 2014 and clocked 66K kms on the odo.

Did a comprehensive 66K service, followed by exterior & interior detailing at 3M Care Care.

Service done at: CarTech, Ramamurthynagar, Bangalore

• Changed over to Synthetic engine oil (Selenia) this time. Was using semi-synthetic oil so far – tried Castrol Magnatec, Total Quartz 7000 & Shell Helix HX 7. Total & Shell are equally good, and definitely better than Castrol.
• Replaced Brake fluid, Gearbox oil, Powersteering oil & Coolant.
• Replaced all the belts – A/C belt, Alternator belt, PowerSteering belt (Timing belt & tensioner bearing was replaced at 50k kms, hence not done this time).
• Replaced Spark plugs, regular stuff (Oil filter, Fuel filter etc).
• My stock horn had almost conked, hence replaced with Roots (sounds like the one in Skoda).

Procured Selenia engine oil & Paraflu Coolant from Fiat Caffe & all other stuff from 99rpm.com.

Servicing charges:

• General service – Rs.1300/-
• Labour charges for replacing belts, fluids & horn – Rs.850/-

Did the Wheels balancing, rotation & alignment at Madhus Enterprises, Richmond circle (owned by our Bhpian - nikhilb).
Michelin XM1+ tyres has performed very well over the last 40k kms. Front 2 tyres have very less tread left in them, have rotated them to the back, can manage for another 5k kms.
This time saw the new Road Force Wheel Balancer in action at Madhus, quite impressive, as usual guys there do a good job. Also, got the customary TBHP discount

After the service, could feel the engine getting smoother & revv-friendly. Also, the steering has gone bit lighter. It is more fun to drive now! Waiting for the next long drive…

As it was my beauty’s 10th Anniversary, decided to get the exterior & interior detailing done at 3M Car Care. Booked an appointment for Thursday at their outlet at RMV II Stage / Ashwath Nagar. Dropped the car in the morning at 10:30am. They gave a demo on the Paint sealant treatment & glass polishing. The surface looked shiny & smooth after the treatment. The owner of this outlet (Amit) joined in bit later, chatted on various things – how I came to know about this place/T-BHP/Fiat etc. During the conversation, realized he himself is a proud Fiatian. He had a Punto that met with a serious accident & car suffered heavy damage with roof caving in, but he escaped without a scratch, he was mightly impressed & got another Fiat (Linea). Hence, we had a lot to talk on Fiat, sales, service etc,
Finally, I opted for Paint sealant treatment (for exterior), Germiclean Plus (for interior) and Glass polish (from front & rear windscreen). The price is certainly on the higher side, but people say it is worth it.

Now let the pictures do the talking…

[architect]

Good job, Gemi, doesn't look and feel like a ten year old car. My car is cosmetically in a slightly battle-scarred state, but mechanically it has been fine except for the usual Fiat niggles.

[anandpadhye]

Hearty congrats on completing 10 years with the Palio. I love this car. And I also believe in keeping a vehicle for a long long term. Cheers!

BTW,

Originally Posted by finneyp

Glass polish (from front & rear windscreen).

Can you post a review of the glass polish? How is the visibility in rain/fog, how is it in the night time, how is the reflection of oncoming headlights (is the scatter reduced), etc?

Thanks!

[nkrishnap]

Thats one well maintained car for sure. Definitely does not look 10 years old.

Can you post more details on the Glass polish (from front & rear windscreen). What are the benefits of getting this done?

[finneyp]

Originally Posted by architect

Good job, Gemi, doesn't look and feel like a ten year old car. My car is cosmetically in a slightly battle-scarred state, but mechanically it has been fine except for the usual Fiat niggles.

Thanks architect, BTW I am not Gemi I am following your ownership report as well, good going at 1lac+ kms...

Originally Posted by anandpadhye

Hearty congrats on completing 10 years with the Palio. I love this car.
Can you post a review of the glass polish? How is the visibility in rain/fog, how is it in the night time, how is the reflection of oncoming headlights (is the scatter reduced)

Originally Posted by nkrishnap

Thats one well maintained car for sure. Definitely does not look 10 years old.
Can you post more details on the Glass polish (from front & rear windscreen). What are the benefits of getting this done?

Thanks Anand & Krishna!
Reg Glass polish, they applied a white paste like polish, spayed little water & polished it with a Polisher.
Had some hard water stains, minor scratches, paint particles (in the front windscreen) etc., after the treatment, 90% of these are gone. The glass is now super clean & smooth, improving the visibility!
BTW my front windscreen has 3M CR-70 sun film, reduces the glare of oncoming vehicles to some extent.

[architect]

Originally Posted by finneyp

Thanks architect, BTW I am not Gemi I am following your ownership report as well, good going at 1lac+ kms...

Sorry, Finney, I was thinking of you and Gemi as two of the first people owning Fiats whose passion enthused my way back in 2008. Which is why the confusion. Gemi, of course, has moved on to Fords.

[finneyp]

Reached the 70,000 kms milestone today