[srini234]

OP,
How is buying esteem now currently affects models discontinuing in 08. will spare parts be an issue

srini

[kjdesigns_2000]

Originally Posted by srini234

OP,
How is buying esteem now currently affects models discontinuing in 08. will spare parts be an issue

srini

According to M.A.S.S the spares will be easy to get for about a decade. I hope it really happens.

[redrage]

Congrats on the buy bro, drive her safe,as kjdesigns said change over to Turanza, car handles heavenly and of course, plonk in headers and FFE as well.

[smith]

congrats -i kept my esteem for 9 years -sold it recently-have very fond memories of it -it is a very reliable & faithful vehicle & needs minimum maintenance - by the way how much did you pay for it?

[PVS]

Congratulations on your new purchase.

Yes the Esteem is a nice vehicle and easy to maintain on the pocket as well. I had brought a second hand 99 model Esteem about 4 years ago, and am contended with its performance, though I had to put in quite an amount over the past couple of years.

In case you are interested you might want to go through the long-term ownership review of my Esteem: http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/long-t...ms-report.html

You will get an idea of how much some of the esteem spares cost.

All the best and safe driving!

[dinar]

hey PSV what sort of repairs did have to do... as you saiid you had to put in quite an amount??????
anything apart from the once mentioned in your thread...
I want to get one for myself..

[PVS]

Originally Posted by dinar

hey PSV what sort of repairs did have to do... as you saiid you had to put in quite an amount??????
anything apart from the once mentioned in your thread...
I want to get one for myself..

Its not PSV.. it is PVS:-)
In my thread I had covered a majority of the major expenses incurred on my vehicle. Apart from the ones mentioned, I didn't spend anything substantial. Got the seat covers changed for Rs 4500/-, got a digital clock installed for Rs 500/- and now, its time to replace the tyres.

If you are getting a new Esteem it should not be a problem. If you are planning to get a pre-owned one, its good to do a thorough checkup of the vehicle. Great, if you can find one from a True-Value showroom.

[dinar]

sorry for the typo.... PVS, I am looking for something to modify , but will be using it initially for say two -three month without any mods, so just wanted to know what I was getting into. Thanks for the info ....

[Venom_rider]

Update:

The cars clocked 60,000kms and was time for a major service. Off late I've been having few issues with the car and wanted to rectify it badly.

1) Clutch - WAS FRIED... It had almost become like a truck's clutch. Extremely hard!
2) Shuddering at low speeds
3) Stalling without a warning, need to rev the engine before moving in the first gear. (I guess it was the clutch to blame again)
4) Engine was groaning in low RPM and in higher gears (4th and 5th)
5) I was loosing pickup and mileage dropped a little bit
6) Rattling noise from the left rear side of the car, I suspected it to be the suspension luckily it was just the spoiler as I found out later
7) Electrical issues - Remote lock non-functional, Low beam had a mind of its own before the relay finally gave up.
8) Car was pulling to the left

PHEW... Quite a list!!!

I had sometime to spare last week and was determined to get all the issues sorted out come what may. I was contemplating between M.A.S.S (CARS India, Ambattur) or a local mech (A friend of mine who also owns an Esteem swears by his workmanship), but eventually decided to go ahead with M.A.S.S as I've been getting the car serviced there regularly and was pretty satisfied with them. I clearly explained all the issues, to the service engineer there. Also ensured that he test drove the car and acknowledged / understood the issues well (we drove for almost 1/2 hr... He must've been cursing me LOL)

I picked up the car in 2days and here are list of things that was serviced/changed.

1) The entire clutch assembly (Plates, bearing, wire...)
2) Suspension overhaul (Bushes replaced, greased and refit)
3) Injectors cleaning
4) Engine decarb
5) Changed ALL the oils
6) Throttle body cleaning
7) Oil / Air Filters changed
8) Rear spoiler refit
9) Electrical issues sorted out completly. A couple of fuses blown and relay changed (100/90)
10) Entire dashboard refit for reducing (Yeah.. you never get rid of them in this car) rattles
11) Changed all the four brake pads / shoes

Pending:
1) Change of tires... Guys, can you please suggest a good place to buy Michelin here in Chennai. Also is it good idea to install the 185/65/13 tires? Is this size available in XM1+ & app. how much would it set me back by?
2) Wheel alignment and Balancing (due to tires)

At the end of it all... I am one happy Maruti Customer!!! All the above issues have vanished to the say least, the clutch is smoother than in new car (They've done a splendid job). There is no groaning, no signs of struggling what so ever. However the gear shift is very notchy especially the 2nd and reverse... Not sure what the problem could be, any pointers would be helpful.

Managed to hit upto 100kms between the Moggapair - Thirumanglam stretch in the middle of the night and I was grinning from ear to ear. To be honest, the car is in better health today when compared to how it was 20K kms before!

I also learnt the trick to get M.A.S.S work for you well... Be persistent, show them the issue (recreate), have patience, recheck everything that they "Claimed to have done" and DO NOT ACCEPT THE CAR TILL YOU ARE SATISFIED.

Cheers!
Goutham

PS Mods: Can you please move my thread to the "Long-term ownership" section.

[esteem_lover]

Good work V_R. Could you also put up the cost for each of those works that you have listed. I am interested in the dashboard remove & Refix to fix some annoying rattles.

[pulsar56]

Nice to know that all the issues are sorted out. Esteem is a very good car to drive, both in the city & on the highways.

Can you also provide the costs of the replacements, service, etc for the record?

[WhiteKnight]

Originally Posted by Venom_rider

Pending:
1) Change of tires... Guys, can you please suggest a good place to buy Michelin here in Chennai. Also is it good idea to install the 185/65/13 tires? Is this size available in XM1+ & app. how much would it set me back by?

IMO, stick to 175/70/13. XM1+ would be ~3000 Rs.

Originally Posted by Venom_rider

However the gear shift is very notchy especially the 2nd and reverse... Not sure what the problem could be, any pointers would be helpful.

I thought Esteem's gear shif is smoother compared to Santro. Please discuss with your Service Center.

Originally Posted by Venom_rider

To be honest, the car is in better health today when compared to how it was 20K kms before!

So true!! My car just crossed 90k and is still going strong.

[Venom_rider]

Originally Posted by esteem_lover

Good work V_R. Could you also put up the cost for each of those works that you have listed. I am interested in the dashboard remove & Refix to fix some annoying rattles.

Originally Posted by pulsar56

Nice to know that all the issues are sorted out. Esteem is a very good car to drive, both in the city & on the highways.

Can you also provide the costs of the replacements, service, etc for the record?

The whole thing cost me ~10K, I don't have the bill with me right now, but let me try recollecting as much as possible...

1) The entire clutch assembly (Plates, bearing, wire...) 4K (including spares and labour)
2) Suspension overhaul (Bushes replaced, greased and refit) 1.5K
3) Injectors cleaning 1.5K
.
.
9) Electrical issues sorted out completly. A couple of fuses blown and relay changed (100/90) Not very happy with the Relay, it however costed me Rs. 300/- (!). If I am correct, Bosch relays costs almost Rs. 750/-

10) Entire dashboard refit for reducing (Yeah.. you never get rid of them in this car) rattles. This was part of the labour charges, I am not sure if they've provided a split.

11) Changed all the four brake pads / shoes ~1K

Originally Posted by WhiteKnight

IMO, stick to 175/70/13. XM1+ would be ~3000 Rs.

I thought Esteem's gear shif is smoother compared to Santro. Please discuss with your Service Center.

So true!! My car just crossed 90k and is still going strong.

Thanks for the information WhiteKnight.

About gears, I am kind of puzzled myself. I've driven a couple of other esteems and its certainly a lot more smoother than my car. I've raised this complaint a couple of times with the M.A.S.S guys, but never been able to completely get rid of it.

Cheers!
Goutham

[Venom_rider]

I "SEA" Change

Old Tyres: JK 175/70/R13
New Tyres: Michelin XM1+ 175/70/R13. Didn't want to go any bigger as the rims on the Esteem are only 4.5J

Intitial Impressions:

I drove for about 10-15 kms in the city today & boy am I impressed!!!

The tyres are true to its "comfort" tag, there are super silent & are able to absorb undulations on the road much better than the shoddy, worn-out JK tyres. I also feel that the tyres would have far superior grip (ofcourse...!). I am yet to experience this though, I am going on a trip to Pondicherry this weekend & will test the tyres a bit more on the highways and update this thread.

A quick question: Would the tyres need any sort of run-in?

PS: Special thanks to Esteem_Lover (John) for personally coming to the dealer and helping me out in the purchase. I owe you one!

Cheers!
Goutham

[WhiteKnight]

Good to see that. Watch the tyre pressure for a few weeks to see any unusual drop in pressure in any tyre. Also there is supposed to be a run in period even for tyres, say ~ 500 Kms.

You would also find the brakes responding better with this rubber. More so on the long drives. With MRF VTs, I always found brakes fading on long drives, leading to unwanted situations. I used to attribute it entirely to the poor brakes of Esteem. Things did improve a lot with Michelin.

You might also experience "my tyre is punctured" feeling due to the soft characterestics of XM1+