[donabrh]

Alexandre Dumas’s, ‘The Three Musketeers’ communicates the idea that good things, good friendships, goodness in general makes the world go round and makes our life wonderful.

Like the goodness in the friendship among the inseparable Musketeers Aramis, Porthos, and Athos, ‘The Three Estilos’, is a story about the goodness in owning an exceptional vehicle which led us to continually own not One, not Two, but Three Estilos. Yes we have three Estilos in the family, between both types.



BLACK: Type 1, 2006, F10 series engine, 4 cylinder, LX, bought new. 55,000 KM now.
SILVER: Type 2, 2010, K10 series engine, 3 cylinder, VXi, bought used in 2018. 44,000 KM now.
BROWN: Type 2, 2010, K10 series engine, 3 cylinder, LXi, bought used in 2022. 82,000 KM now.

For a long time I have been thinking about writing this ownership experience. Kept putting it away but then when it happened the third time, well I thought why not share it.

A note about the picture above. Picture of the brown car is the one I clicked first. Parked the car under the fig tree and crossed to the other side for some work. When I looked back I liked the composition and vivid colors, especially the fig tree shedding it’s drying leaves and the green color all around. When I thought about writing this post, I thought why not have a fitting picture about the journey. So went back with the other two cars over a period of 2 - 4 weeks. But by then the colors had changed. More than nature, humans had intervened. Next to the road behind the black and silver cars, the green undergrowth is all gone. Surprising! Yes. Someone sprayed weedicide all across the road side, which is powerful enough to dry out plants in a day. Sad!

What’s so special about the car, to own three of them?

I believe the Estilo is an exceptional vehicle because it does what it is meant to do beautifully and in style, which is what the word Estilo means in Spanish. It’s an all rounded car perfect for daily commute, accommodates a small family in comfort with a large enough boot. The car is great to drive in the city and also decent enough for highway travels. Have done road trips without much fatigue.

Offers all round good visibility and good seating position compared to the period equivalent Alto / Wagon R (Alto has a low driving position whereas in a Wagon R K10 while you sit higher, the higher window line can be obstructive for shorter drivers). It is easy to navigate, park and reverse. Low on maintenance as parts are shared with a host of Maruti’s, can be serviced at FNGs. Frugal engine especially the K10 engine with a mileage of 16 - 18 KMPL. With periodic TLC the car ages well.

Biggest plus point as a used car buyer is you get a better bargain compared to a similar vintage Wagon R, which in effect is the same car except the shell but commands a brand related premium even in the used car market.

Safety may nowhere be comparable to the recent times but then irrespective of how many safety stars a vehicle has, all depends on the persons stars and depends on responsible and safe driving.

1.Aramis, the first Estilo in the family

Type 1, 2006, F10 series engine, 4 cylinder, LX, bought new. 55,000 KM now.



The car belongs to my father. Post retirement he wanted to upgrade to a new car from the existing M800 which had been in use for almost 10 years. The new car was intended to be a daily driver for my parents for running errands around town with occasional out of town travel, overall averaging 200 KMs a month maximum, some months could be less than 50 KMs. Also of the 365 days in a year, only around 7 days would see all 5 seats occupied when everyone is home and around 50 days would see the front 2 seats occupied that’s when dad and mom would travel together. Rest of the days when the vehicle would be used it would be only my dad.

Back in 2006 the most popular choice in the segment was the Wagon R (remains so still) and also the Santro. The Estilo was a new entrant with a fresh design, looked sleeker or rather less boxy. Most important it had the Zen moniker which was also a deciding factor for the initial buyers, but as we all later understood, to some extent that worked against the marketing of the car. Eventually I believe people who bought the Estilo were those who wanted a Maruti and a car similar to the Wagon R. That’s what Maruti offered, ‘a choice’ to the potential customer who could look at competition.

My dad being one among the initial buyers was sold on the Zen tag and also believed in trying out newer things. He did check with his contacts at Maruti about the new car and figured out it would have the same F10 series engine and transmission combo successfully doing duty in the Wagon R.

Purchase experience was happy and delightful, the SA being a relative oversaw everything. The picture below is a happy memory of the delivery. At that time the Estilo came in some peppy colors - yellow, pink, green, red, blue and the usual white, beige, black. There was a yellow car lined up for delivery and a glimpse can be seen in the picture.



The Good and The Bad of the Type 1, F10, 4 cylinder, LX Estilo



Engine: Four cylinders offer better drive-ability. The engine is very silent and when the engine is idling it is very hard to figure out if it is turned on, no vibrations are felt inside the cabin and no load on the engine is felt when the air conditioning compressor switches on. The car drives effortlessly in Gear 2 / 3 in slow moving traffic without requiring frequent gear shifts. That becomes all the more evident, when we alternate between the F10 (4 cyl.) and K10 (3 cyl.) Estilos.

It offers a mileage of around 13 - 15 KM/L city and highway, which has been consistent over the last 16 years and 55,000 KMs.

Non Power Steering: LX variant came with no power steering (PS), which is not missed much as most of us who drive at home started driving non PS vehicles. Crawl the vehicle before steering is what we learnt and is the correct way to even steer a vehicle with PS, which some modern day users may be unaware about. The correct method to steer puts less stress on the steering and suspension set-up. Non PS set-up gives a feel of the road condition, steering turns back to centre after a turn (widely known concern with later Marutis) and to some extent controls the avoidable habit some drivers have of rotating the steering wheel when the vehicle is stationary. Also there is no surprise element about how the steering behaves with or without the ignition turned on, it’s always the same.

Color: Dad’s choice of color. The Black metallic color has blue crystals which under bright natural light become iridescent and spectacular to look at. The car in black looks stunning when clean and polished. Which is a task, with all year round rains and mud splashes. With periodic TLC including Turtlewax polish, the color and vehicle has aged well.

Lately Maruti has stopped offering Black as a color option. Have not seen a black colored Maruti after the Type 1 Swift (don’t remember if the Type 2 came in black), Type 1 Dzire, SX4, Type 3 Wagon R K10 initial batch, Type 2 Estilo, Type 1 Alto. A color difficult to maintain could not be a reason because, other dark shades are still on offer.



Cabin and Engine Space: Comfortably seats 5, though larger bodies in the back would be uncomfortable. Boot space for the overall design and from the outside looks limited, but is surprisingly large when the boot is opened.

In the engine bay, Type 1 Estilo with a shorter nose and an extra cylinder offers limited space for working around, but is a surprise and also a delight to see how a narrow space has been put to optimum use - form and function. When we go back in time and compare it with an Ambassador with a BMC petrol engine and imagine from the outside that big a hood would have that big an engine. But when the hood is lifted, lo and behold there is a puny looking engine and the engine bay is almost half empty. A passenger or two can travel in the engine bay of an Ambassador if required.



Maintenance: After the initial 3 service the vehicle has been maintained at a known multi-brand FNG specializing in Maruti vehicles. Periodic maintenance is done between every 8,000 KM to 10,000 KM. Includes engine oil change, engine air and oil filter change, brake clean and oiling with necessary brake pad replacement or slave cylinder replacement if leaks are observed. Averages spend around INR 3,500 parts + labour.

6 - 12 months under-body washing is done at a centre with hydraulic lift set-up. Less water, lesser the chances of rusting.

Tyre replacement around 20,000+ KMs, though the OEM set lasted more. The last set which were MRF had run around 20,000 KM over 9 years. Less use during COVID resulted in bulging in 3 of the set, all replaced. Average spend per tyre INR 2,900 JK - INR 3,500 Bridgestone, Apollo and MRF in between.

Non use during COVID and continuous heavy rain resulted in the car becoming a labor room for rats. First instance had a mother rat with 10 odd babies, the car smelled of rat droppings and urine all over. Tail light wiring and a seat belt was chewed into. Cleaning the interior was a task, used multiple stick pads to catch all of them. Shampooed the interior. I guess the rat community has identified the car as a labor room and try and get in once in a while. Stick pads take care of erring rats.

Mold formation in the car during monsoons is a persistent issue, cleaning with a mild soap solution keeps it under control. Also the A/C cabin filter which is often overlooked gets mold due to high humidity. The mold gets blown directly into our noses. I am sure mold would also form inside the A/C plumbing which would get wet due to condensation and remains invisible and inaccessible.

In Marutis the A/C cabin filter can be easily accessed by dropping the glove box and is also inexpensive at around INR 350. So I replace the filter every 3 - 6 months as by then it would turn black with mold. I also leave Camphor / Kapoor in the folds of the paper filter, the fragrance directly pushes into the cabin. For mold in the A/C plumbing, I turn the heater on and run the blower on full in each flow direction the knob allows - direct to face, face and feet, feet only, face and windshield, windshield only. With a hope the heat would dry the mold if any.

Mentioning about the A/C, a year back the evaporator coil had to be replaced which is an aluminium core something similar to a radiator but smaller. Installed inside the cabin behind the dashboard, the aluminium core sometimes develops holes and the refrigerant leaks. Known and fixable issue. The FNG did a decent and careful job of replacing the coil and cleaning the A/C plumbing and components. Cabin air smells fresh and less mouldy. In Estilo’s the dashboard has to be completely removed to access the coil. Expense INR 6,500 part + labor.

RC renewal: Last year got the RC renewed, with the increase in RC renewal charges the expense came to around INR 10,000.

What does the future hold for the car?: Well, ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’. Let it run, till the time it is doing what it is meant to do beautifully and in style.

2.Porthos, the second Estilo in the family

Type 2, 2010, K10 series engine, 3 cylinder, VXi, bought used in 2018. 44,000 KM now.



The car belongs to my wife, we bought it used in 2018. She wanted a car for travelling to work with a usage pattern of 300 KMs a month. We thought of a new car with a INR 5 - 6 lakh budget and a car like Wagon R / i10 would fit the need. Also searched OLX for used cars in the same segment.

Back in 2018 the used car market was a buyer’s market. For new cars, in the same segment multiple options were available across competition and were affordable too and hence the used car market was flooded.

We came across the 2010 silver Estilo, single owner, VXi full option, run 20,000 KMs over 8 years. Cost around 30% of a new 2018 Wagon R. Used Wagon Rs of the same vintage were being sold at a premium as usual.



Purchase process: As we had been using the similar car for sometime, we knew exactly what to look for and what all could go wrong.

Purchased the car post all the basic checks which included:

a. Documents and service records: RC / Insurance / PUC / No loan hypothecation / service record all in order and title was clear and embossed engine / chassis numbers matched. Cross checked last service KM and service details at a Maruti Authorized centre and figured out the ODO reading was not tampered. No accidental or mechanical repair recorded unless done outside.
b. Mechanicals: No fault lights were lighting up in the instrument cluster. Engine oil, Brake fluid, Coolant levels were normal, though the engine oil required replacement. Checked for oil leak under the engine, around the engine valve cover, leaking brake master and slave cylinders dripping brake fluid inside the engine bay and wheel rims. Coolant color in the radiator and expansion tank looked normal. Clutch and brake pedal play felt normal. Drive axle boots were secure and had no grease leaking. Battery was fairly new and 3 - 4 years of life left. All visible wiring inside the engine bay and under the dashboard were untouched.
c. Body: Looked for accident repair and found none, though there were scratches and paint chipping on the bumpers. Headlamp and tail lamps both looked the same vintage and were not replaced. Front glass had the original factory stickers. No paint bubbling, bleeding on any of the panels. All panel gaps were even. Main beams inside the engine bay on which the engine is mounted and the tie member holding the radiator assembly had no repairs and were straight. Under-body had no rust.
d. Expense post purchase: Roughly around INR 10,000 incurred for replacing two tyres and general service oil, filter, alignment, wash.

The Good and The Bad of the Type 2, K10, 3 cylinder, VXi Estilo



Engine: The engine and vehicle overall had the freshness of a fairly new car as it was driven less. Outright compared to the F10 engine the K10 engine is rough and noisy but it is not much of a deal breaker. You can hear the engine idling and mild vibrations can be felt inside the cabin. The load on the 3 cyl. engine is instinctively felt when the air conditioning compressor switches on. Slow moving traffic can be navigated only in Gear 1 / 2.

Mileage is where the 3 cyl. K10 scores over the 4 cyl. F10 and offers a mileage of around 15 - 18 KM/L city and highway, which has been consistent over the last 4 years and 24,000 KMs of ownership.



VXi variant: The feature list compared to the base LX variant is incremental while some are useful some are good to have. Configurable Auto Lock, power steering, all 4 power windows, fog lamps, electrically adjustable rear view mirrors, rear window washer, wiper, defogger, RPM meter in the instrument cluster. The RPM meter has its advantage and is a visual guide to help operate the engine at its optimum speed in each gear and adds to fuel efficiency. Have come to realize the speedometer is less important.

The car came with wheel caps. Have removed them as the wheels accumulate dirt behind the cap. Moreover the VXi variant has black wheels which contrasts with the lighter body color and look good. Have fixed small black wheel cups covering the hub.

Color: In the used car market, color is not a choice. However the lighter color is easier to maintain.

Engine Space: The longer nose of the Type 2 Estilo and one cylinder less has liberated a lot space in the engine bay.

Maintenance: Exactly the same as mentioned for the black car.

3.Athos, the third Estilo in the family

Type 2, 2010, K10 series engine, 3 cylinder, LXi, bought used in August 2022. 82,000 KM now.



The car belongs to my sister-in-law, we bought it used in August 2022. She wanted a car to learn driving ‘haat saaf karne ke liye’ (to get the hang of things) and eventually for office commute. A new car was considered and she liked the 2022 Wagon R, but the thought of damaging a new car in the learning phase pushed her to consider a used car. Options considered were a Wagon R and an Estilo.

COVID, loss of jobs, production hit, semi-conductor issue, unheard of waiting periods, delivery back logs, BS6 upgrade, increasing tax rates on vehicles has pushed up the new vehicle rates exponentially. For some of the new cars it’s difficult to visualize what is the value we as buyers are deriving for the incremental cost.

The current used car market is a seller’s market, exponential increase in new car price has incrementally pushed up prices in the used car market. In Kerala for a 12 year old Wagon R, sellers are quoting INR 2.8 lakhs (not worth) non-negotiable, reason given there is a long waiting period for new cars. Similar vintage Wagon R in Bombay is selling for less than INR 1.3 lakhs, reason greater supply of used cars.

Bizarre experiences while searching for cars: First bizarre experience, OLX AD mentioned the car had run 39,000 KM. Upon cross checking with the Maruti service centre last service recorded was at 40,000 KM in 2019. It was a clear case of ODO tampering. Second bizarre experience, the person with whom I spoke with mentioned the owner on the RC was his uncle and was in the US. When I went to see the car upon checking if there would be any complications as the owner is not currently in town, a lady in the family mentions the person on the RC passed away a year back and that they were the legal heirs. Complicated situation, excused myself as I could easily get cars with clear titles.

Finally came across the 2010 brown Estilo, single owner, LXi mid variant, run 82,000 KMs over 12 years. Cost around 20% of a new 2022 Wagon R. Used Wagon R’s of the same vintage were being sold at a premium as usual.

Purchase process: Owning not one but two Estilo’s had by now equipped us with all the information we needed to evaluate the third one.



Purchased the car post all the basic checks as mentioned above in the silver car’s purchase process. Yes the car showed age related wear and tear but was one of the better options available. Some specific points are mentioned below:

a. Happy Experience: Interaction with the family from whom we finally bought the brown Estilo was wonderful. It was a happy experience for both the families. A welcome change when compared to all the bizarre experiences mentioned above.
b. Mechanicals: Engine fault light was lit up in the instrument cluster. Figured out the O2 sensor was faulty. Did a cross check with my FNG and they confirmed at the most the sensor had to be replaced. Figured out engine oil leak from between the valve cover, possibly the seal was worn out. Clutch pedal had a bit of a mileage related play but still had life.
c. Body: Paint touch up had been done and there were scratches and paint chipping on the bumpers and some panels but liveable. Paint bubbling and bleeding on some panels, were again liveable. Plastic trim inside the front doors where the elbow rests, had cracks. Headlamp was all discolored and yellow due to extended exposure to sun and heat. Hard rubber around the steering wheel was spongy again due to exposure to sun and heat.
d. Expense post purchase: Roughly around INR 17,000 incurred for replacing two tyres, O2 sensor INR 2,500. Other than that general service oil, filter, alignment, wash. An adhesive was applied to the leaks in the valve cover seal. Crack in the plastic trim inside the front doors where the elbows rests, were plastic welded. A steering cover took care of the spongy steering rubber. Oh yes! about the discolored yellow headlamp lens, the paint shop at the FNG polished the lens and restored most of it. Before and after pictures of the polished headlamp lens are as below.



The Good and The Bad of the Type 2, K10, 3 cylinder, LXi Estilo



Engine: Have already covered everything about the 3 cyl. K10 engine in the silver car section. However I felt the car rode more freer than the silver car with the same engine, don’t know why. It returned a mileage of around 16 KM/L in the city. About the O2 sensor, once it was replaced the idling got way smoother. What I understand it helps burn fuel more efficiently. While I got the faulty sensor replaced with a brand new one, I read online a O2 sensor can be repaired by leaving it in petrol overnight, untested.



LXi variant: The feature list compared to the full option VXi is lesser but has everything useful. Power steering and front power windows. Yes the RPM meter is missed, it has its advantage as I mentioned in the silver car section.

Color: As I mentioned earlier, in the used car market color is not a choice. Brown color kept clean and polished is stunning but difficult to maintain.

Why I wanted to write this post?

While the characters in my story are decade old vehicles, what I wanted to share is the good and bad of owning and re-owning a machine.

More important what I wanted to share is the addictive kick one gets searching for the right vehicle. Buying a new vehicle is effortless compared to buying an used vehicle. The search for a used vehicle is addictive because it fuels ones knowledge and experience when we interact with all kinds of interesting people owners, brokers. While a deal may not happen but each interaction can be rated on varying scales of satisfaction. Some of the stories shared by sellers to pull a fast one are hilarious some scary. Some of the vehicles we come across are so well kept, the owners become a source of new information. Some of the vehicles are so shabbily maintained mechanically and visually, makes you think about all types of potentially dangerous and risky vehicles running on our roads. Makes you realize some people treat vehicles as trash. Further such interactions sharpen our logic of scanning for a bad and good situation, enhances understanding of the market conditions, gives insight into the type of scams in the market, put to test our ability to bargain and close the deal at a price and terms satisfactory to both parties.

Post purchase fixing issues and bringing the vehicle back to mechanical and visual perfection is another level of joy and satisfaction. Through research we come across varying sets of service providers offering unique and cost-effective services.

Overall feel proud that I could enhance the life of these machines and did not contribute to the ever increasing carbon footprint, though my effort may be minuscule in the larger scheme of things.



Hope you find the post interesting. Happy and safe motoring.

[GTO]

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the Reviews section. Thanks for sharing!

Going to our homepage today

[Raghu M]

Brought back many memories. I used a 2011 Estilo Vxi for 7 years. I bought it from a retired employee in 2014 and the ownership was a bliss. Bought it when the odo was 9K and sold it when it was 70K. Never did I face any single issue with the car. I did not spend a penny after I bought it from the elderly gentleman. It was a top end and had all the bells and whistles of then models. My annual service cost was always between 2800 to 3400 INR. Did not do many outstation trips as the build quality of MSIL is not great. When I upgraded, I wanted a safe car so chose the 3OO. However, the Estilo has it's own brilliance. Is a bliss to drive in city traffic and the engine is a gem. Thank you for the post, wish you many miles of happy driving.

[lordrayden]

They say you realize the value of something only when you lose it.

I must admit I mocked the Estilo when it first came out due to its boxy shape and obvious comparisons to the original Zen.

But today I'm in a position where i need to replace my city runabout in the next one year and if the Zen Estilo was still on sale, I would buy it in a heartbeat! The same boxy shape that I criticized makes it incredibly practical. That and the compact dimensions, peppy engine, great visibility and seating position make it the perfect city car.

It was very nice to see this thread. Wish your familiy many happy miles with these brilliant cars.

[sudev]

Nice to have comparison of three cars and their ageing trials and tribulations.

Delhi NCR does not allow vehicle older than 15 years in road. Missing out on opportunity to get lots of pre-loved vehicles.

Enjoy.

[sachin_cs]

It was an underrated car for sure. I owned one from 2009 till 2019 and did close to 1,90,000kms. It needed nothing else than just the regular maintenance. Due to parking constraints, I had to let go of the car but the good thing is the car is still in the family and used by my grandmother. You won't believe but it has clocked 2,50,000 kms and it's still going strong. Here's a recent click after service and some dent repairs-

It had a long dent running from front fender to doors to rear fender and we got it repaired under insurance



This one was clicked when we picked up Rapid. Notice the registration number

[Chinmay]

Aah, this brings back a lot of memories with my Zen Estilo (back in 2008, it was Zen Estilo). I spent a good 11+ years with this vehicle without any major hiccups. This was my first car and will always be close to my heart. My daughter loved to jump into the car and sleep off on her mum's arms. My pet used to hang her head out and enjoy the breeze. This vehicle served me well through thick and thin. I had to let her go in 2019 as we needed to upgrade to a bigger vehicle. However, the car will always be special. As my wife used to say then, an "Innova" on a budget, probably because of the design similarities.
Pictured here atop Nandi Hills with our ancestors enjoying an ice cream

[WhiteSierra]

Great thread. Loved the story of your three musketeers. It reminded me of my friend's car, and the only Estilo I ever sat in. During my 12th grade, a friend of mine got a Pink Estilo as a birthday gift on her 17th birthday. When I sat in her vehicle, the first thing I noticed that the cabin felt as spacious as a bigger SUV / MUV. True to it's tall boy design and boxy looks, the car is very spacious, with a nice peppy engine to freely maneuver in city traffic. It is basically a Wagon R with a different body shell, as I believe both have same engine + gearbox, same power figures, and almost same mechanicals.

When we were in lookout for a used city beater car in 2016, we picked up a 2012 Wagon R LXI CNG with a K10 engine which did only 21,000 kms, now the ODO is standing at 55,000 kms with very less maintenance. We also saw couple of Zen Estilo's in Maruti True value where we bought our Wagon R, but most of them were badly abused, had several dents, etc. You were lucky enough to get well maintained cars at very less premium compared to used Wagon-R's of similar vintage. Wish you many more happy miles on your three musketeers.

[ArTigor]

I always felt the older 4 cylinder engine was way more refined than the K10 motor in the Estilo. We owned a white 2007 LXi model for 4 years in the family. It was used for 60k Kms and then sold off for a Ritz. The 4 cylinder engine was so silent that it was barely audible. I learnt driving and appeared for my driving test in this car so it surely has a special place. The quality of interior was better than Alto and Wagon R, suspension were good and the drive was very zippy in the city. The sales representatives while selling used to literally say that the design and shape is inspired form the Innova . The biggest drawback of this car was that being a tall and narrow car, cornering or even taking gradual curves was not really good. Once while we were doing a Mumbai Hyderabad run we could feel the two wheels on the left side lifting off for a second while taking a minor gradual curve at 70-80kmph.
The Estilo was a rare car from Maruti where even the LXI had adjustable head rests for front and rear passengers, I really don't remember if the front power windows were also a part of the LXI or we had opted for it by paying extra. The cars interior were silent too, road noise did not creep in as much as in the then available Alto and WagonR. It was an ideal city car, my dad was rater oriented towards buying the newly launched k10 Estilo in 2011, but then I was adamant on the Ritz as exchanging one Estilo for another Estilo did not make sense to me. I surely miss our Estilo.

[GLAD73]

Lovely thread about an underrated car, back in 2011 when I wanted an upgrade from the 800 the obvious choice within the Maruti stable was the Wagon R.
Unfortunately the second gen Wagon R had compromised on boot space in favour of increased legroom. For a growing family boot space was an important criteria. At that time I did not consider a new Estilo as it was a sales dud and resale would be pathetic as compared to a Wagon R . Fortunately the True Value outlet attached to the showroom has a year old Estilo Lxi at a mouth watering price, The car was in pristine condition having only been driven for 10000 kms. The Estilo has since covered 180000kms in the last 11 years and has been totally trouble free. It is a breeze to drive and is definitely better built than current Marutis in built quality.

[ajayc123]

I have some strong emotions associated with the Zen Estilo. This was the car that sounded the death knell for the original Zen (my all time favourite car and I had purchased two of them back to back, and the second one was gone many years back due to the cruel NGT ruling). You can guess how I feel about the Zen Estilo.

[sachin_cs]

Originally Posted by sachin_cs

it has clocked 2,50,000 kms and it's still going strong.[/ATTACH]

Did not find an appropriate thread so posting here. Our Estilo is still in the extended family and is primarily used by my grand mother. In the recent past, it went in for a lot of work and it’s still doing the duty faithfully. The following work were done-

• Full service including gearbox oil change
• Hubs were making noise so they were replaced. It took a lot of time to get the parts
• Drive shaft was leaking so it was replaced
• New tail lamps and headlights were plonked in too as the old ones were getting yellow
• The remote key was in shambles so we got the new keys made
• Rear wiper was stolen so a new wiper was replaced
• AC service was done and trust me the AC of our 15 year old Estilo is more effective than our 2019 Kwid & Rapid. Maruti knows a thing or two about Indian summers

The car has currently done 2,92,000kms in 14 years 9 months. It has seen a lot of abuse in these years as the condition of road is not great where the car is primarily driven. Touch wood, in all these 15 years, the engine has never been touched and the car has never left us stranded ever. There’s a reason why Maruti Suzuki is a market leader! Though I absolutely hate how Maruti Suzuki does the cost cutting in all their cars, their safety is questionable, interiors are rattle machine etc but I will have to give it to Maruti when it comes to reliability and ease of repair. We often get it serviced in tier-2,3 cities like Kanker or Kondagaon it has been a fairly easy job. Mind you, in all these 15 years and almost 3L kms, the car still visits the authorised Maruti Suzuki service centre. The service history is intact since the day of purchase because of my dad, he is very particular about getting the cars maintained from authorised service centres only and I guess the habit is bearing its fruit in such a long ownership period.

I must give credit to Mr Anish, back when we bought the car he was the service manager at Sky Automobile Raipur and now he is the regional head of service and is a very good friend of my dad, over the years the relationship has developed. So, whenever our goes to the service centre anywhere in Chhattisgarh, we coordinate with him and he gets the work done on a priority basis, be it part ordering or any other work and many times he ensures that we get a discount too. So, a lot goes to the man that we are able to maintain the car so well.

Now that the car has already done 2,92,000 kms and will completing 15 years in October 2024. We are in two mind whether to scrap it or renew the fitness. A lot of sentimental values are attached to it because of the numerous road trips we have taken in the car, since when I was a kid to the time I got my own license to drive. But at the same time, we understand that it still is an old car which has seen a lot of abuse. And it has gotten expensive to maintain as well, because something or the other needs attention frequently. We are yet to decide but we are having a discussion in the family to decide on the future of our Zen Estilo (K series) VXI 2009 Dusky Brown. It’s a difficult decision but we will have to take a call keeping a fine balance between heart & mind. Here’s a click -


It still wears a TeamBHP.com sticker proudly that I bought back in 2012.

[nimishlalwani]

I had a similar dilemma, renewed the RC of my car and then sold it. Renewal costs were not much ~5k, the upside was that the car continues to live. I would suggest renew, your car seems to be in a good enough shape to add value to someone who needs 'a car' and might not care about a few imperfections.

[writetoavi]

Hi mate, would love to take your vehicle. One of the best part is to learn about engineering world is, if something is working, keep using it, do not break it. Will echo the same. Message me in case you want to dispose it. Khudoes to you & your family for using & keeping it well.

[Joli]

Kudos on maintaining and using the Zen the way it should be. It had similar space to the WagonR but slightly upmarket interiors. By any chance, did you change the engine timing kit of the car? If yes, what was the cost