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Old 26th March 2016, 13:09   #16
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re: The love of my life - A 2000 Maruti 800 DX 5-Speed. EDIT: Gets export model features on Pg 27

A commendable upkeep and write up of the 'golden goose' that has been shared at length. I also own the 2001 EX & it will be completing 15 years with us in just 4 days from now on 30th March 2016. Its been pleasure driving and owning it and I still recall the time we bought it as our first car. Cars fascinated me from the childhood and at the time of buyout I was hell sure to buy the 5 Speed MPFI though it costed 'lil more' than the standard MPFI model(with four gears) or cheaper carburrated one. Though I wanted the one with the 'AC' or DX model but theories like aircon is not 'successful' etc. made me settle for the EX. I still recall how one of our 'knowledgeable' neighbor even suggested that '5th' gear wouldn't be used in city driving at all and after the buyout I used to slot into top gear after 40kmph without any issues..! Gearshift is still as good as narrated here. Being my first car i just pampered it with care and also used to spend my savings in accessories...Wheel caps, A SONY cd player with 4 channel MOSFET Pioneer amp with twin 12" woofers(yes in that cramped boot space) with tweeters and SONY speakers,central locking, Duratuf toughened Black tinted glasses(still have em but removed due to SC judgement) and also got an aftermarket aircon unit installed at a later date . The car has clocked about 80 k kilometres without a fuss ever and now is my mom's daily drive to office. Although it now needs a thorough maintenance and change of few parts & some essential preventive maintenance which I am planning for a while but unable to due to restriction of time but this write up surely will be my inspiration to do it very soon. Last December when every one in our family wanted to trade our car at Maruti as we were almost in the process of finalizing the new one...I did not let her go..even if the offer was reasonable and I do not regret it..! The car has now got its fitness done with registration renewed for next 5 years.
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Old 26th March 2016, 13:38   #17
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re: The love of my life - A 2000 Maruti 800 DX 5-Speed. EDIT: Gets export model features on Pg 27

Hello Shashi,
Congrats for completing 16 years with this beautiful car and thanks for very well written long-term ownership review. Your dedication towards keeping this car fit and healthy is unmatchable. You have covered the maintenance log with the last piece of detail available, which inspire us to do the same for keeping track of all the ups and downs of our vehicles. I wish you will celebrate many more of these anniversaries in the future.
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Old 26th March 2016, 13:46   #18
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re: The love of my life - A 2000 Maruti 800 DX 5-Speed. EDIT: Gets export model features on Pg 27

Dear Shashi - I congratulate you on your AUTO-PASSION! Way to go! Keep the car forever and enjoy! All the best.

Best regards,

Behram Dhabhar
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Old 26th March 2016, 14:13   #19
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re: The love of my life - A 2000 Maruti 800 DX 5-Speed. EDIT: Gets export model features on Pg 27

Awesome maintenance. The picture of the engine bay alone speaks volumes about your passion and dedication, it will beat even professional detailing. Blessed to have good garage and skilled diagnostics consistently. Wish you and the goose happy motoring for many more miles. Hope the irrational rule makers don't kill such beautiful cars simply by citing their dates of birth.
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Old 26th March 2016, 15:56   #20
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re: The love of my life - A 2000 Maruti 800 DX 5-Speed. EDIT: Gets export model features on Pg 27

This sure did bring back a lot of memories from the times when we owned our '02 M800 STD. Thanks for an amazing write up.

I guess most BHPians have been associated with M800 one way or the other
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Old 26th March 2016, 16:46   #21
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re: The love of my life - A 2000 Maruti 800 DX 5-Speed. EDIT: Gets export model features on Pg 27

Excellent work maintaining a car through in as good as new condition for so many years over such a long distance.
I always feel that cars which run a lot are actually better kept than cars with many years and less km on the odo. Every component lives for many more km than cars with lesser running.

Rahul
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Old 26th March 2016, 16:53   #22
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re: The love of my life - A 2000 Maruti 800 DX 5-Speed. EDIT: Gets export model features on Pg 27

Great review Shashi. To other BHPians, years ago when I first saw this car I was literally shocked; in a pleasant way. From no nook or corner it looked like a 15 year old car.

The engine bay is always impeccably clean in a way it can shame new cars standing at dealers godawn. The car is always clean. The eye that you have for detail has shown in the way you have maintained her. That certainly takes a lot of your time, money and not to mention the skill but then it reflects everywhere.

May your passion continue and that gleaming machine keeps munching miles as ever!
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Old 26th March 2016, 17:53   #23
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re: The love of my life - A 2000 Maruti 800 DX 5-Speed. EDIT: Gets export model features on Pg 27

Just Wow! The maintenance shows your love for the car. This should be the luckiest 800 to get such a caring owner. Cheers!
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Old 26th March 2016, 18:54   #24
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re: The love of my life - A 2000 Maruti 800 DX 5-Speed. EDIT: Gets export model features on Pg 27

Your thread is an inspiration to those who wish to preserve their cars forever. Thank you for taking the time to write this wonderful review.
The engine bay is cleaner than that in a showroom car. Do you use water to clean it? I usually refrain from washing the bay to prevent wetting the ECU.
The 5 speed version of the 800 had the underpinnings of the Alto if I can recall correctly. It had coil springs at the rear (there was an EX version which came with the coil springs but without an A/C).
Kudos to your passion, commitment and attention to detail. The fact that you've allowed the seat plastics to remain intact after clocking more than a quarter of a million kilometers is a testimony to your love for the car.
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Old 26th March 2016, 19:02   #25
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re: The love of my life - A 2000 Maruti 800 DX 5-Speed. EDIT: Gets export model features on Pg 27

Ah the maruti 800 brings up so many memories...
It was our first family car and my dad even had the older model before I was born.
I remember nearly crying as a kid when we had to let it go. Maintaining this car in such a shape is commendable and really shows your love towards it.
May the golden goose complete more such years!
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Old 26th March 2016, 19:35   #26
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re: The love of my life - A 2000 Maruti 800 DX 5-Speed. EDIT: Gets export model features on Pg 27

Great report and awesome maintenance. It looks great after 16 years. What blows me off is that engine bay. Fantastic!!

It also takes me down memory lane to my family's first car which was a M800 EX 5 speed which I inherited when I started working. Alloys, 165R12 Potenza G3s, freeflow exhaust and 1 lakhs kms later i sold it in 2008. It never ever failed to put a smile on my face till the day it was sold.

The closest Maruti ever came to a sport variant on one of their models.

Drive on,
Shibu
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Old 26th March 2016, 21:41   #27
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re: The love of my life - A 2000 Maruti 800 DX 5-Speed. EDIT: Gets export model features on Pg 27

Quote:
Originally Posted by condor View Post

Wishing you many more happy years and miles together !
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rahulkool View Post
Man this brings back so many memories, we bought our 83' M800 and 96' omni from the same dealer, sushila automobiles.
Quote:
Originally Posted by fiestarry View Post
May this 800 cross 800,000 km and more.
Thanks all for your kind wishes. I will try my best to maintain her in the same healthy state for years to come. As commented by my mother, this baby grows younger with age.

Quote:
Originally Posted by baby_antu View Post
The way you have kept it in stock condition is worth appreciating. I have always admired your ways to maintain the car.
Thanks Anant. For me, it always has to be the top end of any vehicle, and any upgrade done, is always fully reversible in nature. I don't believe in fiddling with the car unnecessarily for cheap mods, loosing all reliability and
then running behind mechanics.


Quote:
Originally Posted by extreme_torque View Post
Lord that is a well maintained car! I was looking at the images thinking they were taken when she was bought and it struck me that it cannot be. Digital camera's werent common back in the day.
Haha!! Well that was my intention to surprise someone, and lead them into the confusion about the date of the pics.

Quote:
Originally Posted by arnabchak View Post
Shashi,

Simply outstanding.
It felt that the M800 is actually a person and not a car at all.

Celebrating "his" birthday since the last 16 years.
And feels great to see him mature into an ageless beauty.

One of our initial cars was the M800 carb and it was such a pleasure to drive.
This coming after the Premier Padmini that was my father's first car.

Superb handling, extremely frugal, low cost of maintenance and reliable till eternity.

Infact, you could take the M800 to hell and back, absolutely unscratched and with complete faith that this little 3 pot engine will be the last thing to let yo down.

Equally commendable about the way you have maintained her.
Two thumbs way up for all your efforts Leo!!
Completely agree about the reliability aspect. Recently during Chennai floods, my dad had to travel from Ranchi to Hyderabad by road. And when it came about the choice of the vehicle, he picked up his old steed aka the Golden Goose. And I am glad to report that it didn't disappoint.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Digvj View Post
A commendable upkeep and write up of the 'golden goose' that has been shared at length. I also own the 2001 EX & it will be completing 15 years with us in just 4 days from now on 30th March 2016. Its been pleasure driving and owning it and I still recall the time we bought it as our first car.
Thanks for your kind comments and wishing you car Happy Birthday in advance. Would like to see her in pictures, if possible.

Quote:
Cars fascinated me from the childhood and at the time of buyout I was hell sure to buy the 5 Speed MPFI though it costed 'lil more' than the standard MPFI model(with four gears) or cheaper carburrated one.
Superb decision. 5 Speed is a different animal altogether.

Quote:
Though I wanted the one with the 'AC' or DX model but theories like aircon is not 'successful' etc. made me settle for the EX. I still recall how one of our 'knowledgeable' neighbor even suggested that '5th' gear wouldn't be used in city driving at all and after the buyout I used to slot into top gear after 40kmph without any issues..! Gearshift is still as good as narrated here.
You are right, there were such "knowledgeable" and to be precise-jealous neighbours in my case also. However, the AC on the 5 speed variant was successful, and it chills so badly, that on a recent trip, my ear and face became numb before I switched off the AC. And this is when the ambient temperature was close to 40 degrees, and the car was parked in sun for more than 4 hours. All it took was 15 minutes to attain the comfortable condition.

Quote:
Although it now needs a thorough maintenance and change of few parts & some essential preventive maintenance which I am planning for a while but unable to due to restriction of time but this write up surely will be my inspiration to do it very soon.
Trust me, it is a one time expense and your 800 will be trouble-free for atleast 10 more years.
Quote:
Last December when every one in our family wanted to trade our car at Maruti as we were almost in the process of finalizing the new one...I did not let her go..even if the offer was reasonable and I do not regret it..! The car has now got its fitness done with registration renewed for next 5 years.
I request you to retain her for as long as possible.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Amit_Kapoor4750 View Post
Hello Shashi,
Congrats for completing 16 years with this beautiful car and thanks for very well written long-term ownership review. Your dedication towards keeping this car fit and healthy is unmatchable. You have covered the maintenance log with the last piece of detail available, which inspire us to do the same for keeping track of all the ups and downs of our vehicles. I wish you will celebrate many more of these anniversaries in the future.
Thanks Sir.

Quote:
Originally Posted by DHABHAR.BEHRAM View Post
Dear Shashi - I congratulate you on your AUTO-PASSION! Way to go! Keep the car forever and enjoy! All the best.

Best regards,

Behram Dhabhar
Thanks Sir. This car will be with me till my life. And I will keep troubling you with my queries in future, if any issue arises.

Quote:
Originally Posted by crdi View Post
Awesome maintenance. The picture of the engine bay alone speaks volumes about your passion and dedication, it will beat even professional detailing. Blessed to have good garage and skilled diagnostics consistently. Wish you and the goose happy motoring for many more miles. Hope the irrational rule makers don't kill such beautiful cars simply by citing their dates of birth.
Thanks for your kind wishes Sir.
Even if the idiotic rule makers ban this car citing its age, I will keep it in my drawing room rather than selling it.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Teesh@BHP View Post
This sure did bring back a lot of memories from the times when we owned our '02 M800 STD. Thanks for an amazing write up.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rahul Rao View Post
Excellent work maintaining a car through in as good as new condition for so many years over such a long distance.
Rahul

Quote:
Originally Posted by saket77 View Post
Great review Shashi. To other BHPians, years ago when I first saw this car I was literally shocked; in a pleasant way. From no nook or corner it looked like a 15 year old car.

The engine bay is always impeccably clean in a way it can shame new cars standing at dealers godawn. The car is always clean. The eye that you have for detail has shown in the way you have maintained her. That certainly takes a lot of your time, money and not to mention the skill but then it reflects everywhere.

May your passion continue and that gleaming machine keeps munching miles as ever!
Quote:
Originally Posted by kaushik51094 View Post
Just Wow! The maintenance shows your love for the car. This should be the luckiest 800 to get such a caring owner. Cheers!
Thanks.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Nissan1180 View Post
Your thread is an inspiration to those who wish to preserve their cars forever. Thank you for taking the time to write this wonderful review.
The engine bay is cleaner than that in a showroom car. Do you use water to clean it? I usually refrain from washing the bay to prevent wetting the ECU.
I use a mixture of Vim kitchen liquid and diesel to cut down the greasy stains. For simple dust, normal spray of water is more than adequate. I do cover electrical and electronics with plastic before washing her. LUckily, in Maruti 800, ECU is located under the dashboard.
Quote:
The 5 speed version of the 800 had the underpinnings of the Alto if I can recall correctly. It had coil springs at the rear (there was an EX version which came with the coil springs but without an A/C).
I would like to believe that it was from the ZEN. The rear suspension is identical, and parts like rear shock absorber have same part number for both the cars.
The EX variant was closer to the standard 800 than the DX. In simple terms, it was a STD variant+ Radial Tyres and rear coil spring. DX was EX+ AC and other features like vanity mirror, fabric seats, split seats etc.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Sz-14 View Post
Ah the maruti 800 brings up so many memories...
It was our first family car and my dad even had the older model before I was born.
I remember nearly crying as a kid when we had to let it go. Maintaining this car in such a shape is commendable and really shows your love towards it.
May the golden goose complete more such years!
Quote:
Originally Posted by shibujp View Post
Great report and awesome maintenance. It looks great after 16 years. What blows me off is that engine bay. Fantastic!!

It also takes me down memory lane to my family's first car which was a M800 EX 5 speed which I inherited when I started working. Alloys, 165R12 Potenza G3s, freeflow exhaust and 1 lakhs kms later i sold it in 2008. It never ever failed to put a smile on my face till the day it was sold.

The closest Maruti ever came to a sport variant on one of their models.

Drive on,
Shibu
Thanks gentlemen for your kind comments and wishes.

Regards,
Shashi

Last edited by Leoshashi : 26th March 2016 at 21:42.
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Old 26th March 2016, 21:53   #28
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Finally the review is here.. Better late than never!! I am in love with the car even more. She looks like delivery ready even after 16 years. Wow. You are an example for people like me who keep changing cars every 3 to 4 years or after 1 lakh kms.

I remember the days when we had the M800 for approximately 8 or 9 years in total with two cars (1992 - 1996 & 1996 - 1999). Never did she trouble note let us down. Both were in white and were modern for their time IMO.

There was actually no reason to sell the car in 1999 with 65, 000 kms on odometer but dad just needed an upgrade so it had to go to let the WagonR come in. I still feel bad that I couldn't drive it even once before it was sold off (Wasn't allowed to drive till I was 18 years). I'll make a trip to Ranchi so that I can drive yours.

Keep the care for this lovely piece of gem going on and keep updating this thread in the days to come. I have subscribed to this thread.

Thank you for the acknowledgement and also thank you for putting up this review finally.

PS: The MGP store fellow would be thinking what a mad guy who is still ordering "Maruti" logo/sticker on Hindi for the steering wheel.

Hats off buddy.

Last edited by a4anurag : 26th March 2016 at 21:59.
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Old 26th March 2016, 21:59   #29
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re: The love of my life - A 2000 Maruti 800 DX 5-Speed. EDIT: Gets export model features on Pg 27

First thing first. Thats a 5 star report you have penned in, close to the level of official reviews I must say.
Second-The way you kept the golden goose, just shows the passion you have to take care of your machine. It just looks refreshingly timeless, time after time.

We keep talking daily, and enjoy your expertise in keeping this car in good upkeep. Its in the right hands, and deserves to be.

Cheers and keep the goose revving.
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Old 26th March 2016, 22:16   #30
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re: The love of my life - A 2000 Maruti 800 DX 5-Speed. EDIT: Gets export model features on Pg 27

Just wow. Its a really well kept car!
And also thank you for the specs of 800 5speed, I was looking for those.
Please never sell the car what so ever!

I too got a 00' 5speed one last year!
It's been a great time with mine even in a city like Mumbai.
And the maintenance per annum is equal to the payments of 3 Uber rides.
Infact your report reassured me not to sell the car even when the cash for clunkers scheme kicks in.
And the autocar report is very much right tested mine till speedo showed the same, it was pretty planted at that speed.
Still pending little work though
The love of my life - A 2000 Maruti 800 DX 5-Speed. EDIT: Gets export model features on Pg 27-img_20151003_140634_hdr.jpg

Last edited by johannskaria : 26th March 2016 at 22:28.
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