[espraveen]

Originally Posted by mobike008

Holy Moly! You seem to have spent most part of last year behind the wheel..
Can you share the mobile app details and is it available for iPhone?

My daily office commute is 110KM. Hence the heavy mile crunching by my Figo
I have the 'Fillup' app on my Android phone. It's a very basic app (good enough for me!).

[samaspire]

Originally Posted by espraveen

My daily office commute is 110KM. Hence the heavy mile crunching by my Figo
I have the 'Fillup' app on my Android phone. It's a very basic app (good enough for me!).

+1 for FillUp. I have been using it for the last couple of years to track my Alto, Scooty and Aspire. Very user friendly.

[mobike008]

Alright here is an update on how the car behaves after WA & WB

Last few weeks, I was feeling that there is a wee bit of drop in accelaration and the overall feel of the car felt "loose" for lack of a better word

Till date, I got the wheel alignment and balance twice only from Ford ASC when the car was dropped for service. I think that is a mistake I made which I never did with my Cruze as all WA & WB was done right in front of my eyes

Decided to repeat my previous habit, On monday got it done at the best center here (Mohan Chandra; I used to frequent when I had the Cruze)

Paid 750 for WA & WB and my god; it completely transformed the car

Some immediate observations :

1. Steering feel is very taut now (takes some effort to move it around)

2. Acceleration gives me the goosebumps. Exactly how I felt during the TD and reason for buying this car

Overall, the change in dynamics that I feel now is quite major which makes me wonder if the Ford ASC even made an attempt to do this activity on car when dropped for service?

Lesson Learnt : Tell FORD ASC not to do wheel alignment and balance and get it done outside in front of your eyes

[vnabhi]

Originally Posted by mobike008

Lesson Learnt : Tell FORD ASC not to do wheel alignment and balance and get it done outside in front of your eyes

Had you asked me, I'd have suggested the same. I've been doing it outside FASS for the past 8 years!

[mobike008]

Originally Posted by vnabhi

Had you asked me, I'd have suggested the same. I've been doing it outside FASS for the past 8 years!

My bad Venu! But, the difference is so amazing that I had to share it here

Accelaration is phenomenal now and feels like a true blue rocket

[Porschefire]

Wheel Alignment, Rotation and Balancing is a joke that I've noticed with ASCs of many a manufacturers. They either do not have the right equipment or the right people to carry out a satisfactory job.

With Ford SC, I plainly refuse the alignment/balancing/rotation for the fear that they might actually ruin them! I make it a point to take the car to a certified Wheel Alignment center right after the service to get it done.

I also refuse the interior/exterior "polish" which actually is a cheap, low grade sticky, shiny liquid. Another thing that irritates me is when they mix soap solution to the windscreen washer fluid. Every time I activate it, it leaves a soapy residue at the side of the windscreen! So the practice I follow now is, I tell my SC that if any of the above jobs are done in-spite of my refusal, I will not pay for the service.

[mobike008]

Originally Posted by Porschefire

With Ford SC, I plainly refuse the alignment/balancing/rotation for the fear that they might actually ruin them! I make it a point to take the car to a certified Wheel Alignment center right after the service to get it done.

Good Decision. I have now promised myself to get it done outside and religiously every 6000kms. This amount of difference to the ride feeling just cannot be ignored

Originally Posted by Porschefire

Another thing that irritates me is when they mix soap solution to the windscreen washer fluid. Every time I activate it, it leaves a soapy residue at the side of the windscreen! So the practice I follow now is, I tell my SC that if any of the above jobs are done in-spite of my refusal, I will not pay for the service.

Another good point. Even I wondered why they put this soap in the windshield washer and I completely agree that it leaves a large vertical line hindering your vision after it wipes the screen

On that subject, my windshield washer fluid is over. What should I add to it? Just plain distill water or anything else?

[Porschefire]

Originally Posted by mobike008

On that subject, my windshield washer fluid is over. What should I add to it? Just plain distill water or anything else?

There are quite a few options available online for windscreen washer fluids from companies like Wavex, Sonax etc. You can buy those if you regularly use the washer to clear/clean the windscreen.

I personally make it a point to wipe the windscreen with a clean damp cloth every time I head out and use the washer (containing distilled water) only when required. Excessive usage means you have to top up quite often and also makes the wiper blades hard which in turn will scratch the windscreen.

[Jaggu]

Originally Posted by mobike008

Paid 750 for WA & WB and my god; it completely transformed the car

Can you post a scan of the before and after readings with alignment? This will give a clear picture of how much off the readings were. Yes if the readings are way off, car can feel little awkward to drive.

How many kilometers since the last alignment / service?

[mobike008]

Originally Posted by Jaggu

Can you post a scan of the before and after readings with alignment? This will give a clear picture of how much off the readings were. Yes if the readings are way off, car can feel little awkward to drive.

Sure, I will. Though the scan report is at my other home which I wont be visiting for a week at least. I trust myself for the overall feel of the car and like I said it was major difference how it drove after the work done

Originally Posted by Jaggu

How many kilometers since the last alignment / service?

If I recall correctly the last alignment was done at Ford ASC around 8000kms

[a4anurag]

Originally Posted by mobike008

Lesson Learnt : Tell FORD ASC not to do wheel alignment and balance and get it done outside in front of your eyes

Exactly Avi. That is the best lesson. Never let the ASC touch the car for Wheel Alignment. They spoil the setting rather than aligning it.

I have strictly instructed MASS to not take my Swift for Wheel alignment & Balancing. I get it done outside.

It is time to visit Mohan Chandra again! Will be paying him a visit when the car hits 90K kms. How long did he take for the job?

[mobike008]

Originally Posted by a4anurag

It is time to visit Mohan Chandra again! Will be paying him a visit when the car hits 90K kms. How long did he take for the job?

Mohan Chandra is not a Wheel Alignment Store. But, he runs a magic business.

Akin to Aspire, I used to find a major difference in how the car rides after the job done from MC even with Cruze

He is the most popular guy in twin cities and luckily I stay 1km away from his store

[avingodb]

Originally Posted by mobike008

Alright

Originally Posted by Porschefire

They either do not have the right equipment or the right people to carry out a satisfactory job.

What I have noticed is that the service centres have equipment and people, but they are in so much of rush that the tasks don't get adequate attention.

Anyway happy to follow this thread, Mobike008, keep the detail reportage up!

[mobike008]

Yet another feather in the cap of Blue Bombardier

It took our entire family (5 folks) and loaded to the gill with luggage from here to Goa and back. It executed this trip (1600kms +) with ease, comfort and safety

A short write up on how it performed coming up in next post

In the meantime, enjoy a few pics from this trip (And, yeah incidentally it crossed the 18K kms mark too)

[sailukitta]

And finally,I sold my 7 year old swift and brought in my new companion,The Ford Figo (Ruby Red).Thanks to this thread for making it an easy and obvious decision as to where to put my money and get the best experience possible in return. I took the delivery on 1-Aug and started on a 2000km (round trip) to Wayanad(Kerala) on 3-Aug. That initial experience made it very evident how blissful my coming few years with this car are going to be like.

The experience with the Vibrant ford was smooth if not great.They are yet to provide me with the form 22,Invoice copies,4by4 offer document and a cheque for Rs 4,200/- excess which they swiped from my card and looks like I need to wait for at least a week more.

It was a huge upgrade from Swift VDI in every aspect.Again,thanks to this thread ,I took it straight to the Wheelocity store in Jubilee Hills and got the tyres changed to Yokohoma Earth-1 185/65 R14 and the difference in ride quality was phenomenal.

The music system is great and I started enjoying my entire music collection like never before.

The lumbar support is very good and it made me identify the real reason behind my back pain issue which I faced while driving my swift. Even after driving 2000kms all by myself, I haven't experienced any back pain which has been an issue for me for past 5 years.

My ford dock is very useful in holding the phone esp while sung google maps where most of those phone holders I purchased in the past failed miserably.In fact thats one of the most impressive features in this car.

The boot (parcel tray removed) could accommodate 2 suitcases and 5 duffle bags with some effort though which was quite a surprise for all 5 of us who went on the trip.

Rear seat is quite comfortable, the best part being the amount of space available under the front seats for those tall passengers.

I already finished 2,700kms and need to take it for the first service.Am planning to take it to the Sanat Nagar Vibrant Ford Service centre as it is close to where I stay. Any suggestions on this?.