[WhiteSierra]

Sad to see your car go this way sir. I totally understand your feelings when you compared your car to a pet dog and when you mentioned your solo ride on complete ORR just for that personal feel. I too have similar connection with my cars, I've been a regular follower of this thread when I was a silent visitor, even before my membership was accepted in this forum.

Since this car has a lot of personal value for you, did you not consider fixing it from FNGs? Does the engine only need replacement or are the ECUs also damaged? I'm sure few FNGs can fix it and restore the mechanicals easily, some deep cleaning of interiors and wax polish will return the car to it's original glory.

[W.A.G.7]

Originally Posted by vnabhi

With a heavy heart I want to disclose that the Red Injun met with a watery death a couple of weeks back, owing to the deluge that followed heavy rains in Hyderabad.

Really feel sad, reading about this now. Every time I used to see that Avatar and I used to wonder - he still has his Fiesta with him The day you send off the car (either to the scrapyard or a new buyer) you see it's soul.

Probably this is one of the best cars that Ford has ever produced in India.

[PatienceWins]

Sorry to hear about the loss. I have a Getz bought in 2007 and have been regularly following your thread. A very well maintained car. I can understand the attachment that one would get after owing a car for a long time. Take care

[TorqueMonster]

Sorry to hear about the loss of your vehicle . Hope the car gods have a better vehicle waiting for you in the future .

[yesyeswe]

That's a really bad way for a car to die, i'm sorry for your loss, but it must have given you many happy memories, so cherish them and let the new hunt begin after you are ready.

[vnabhi]

Originally Posted by WhiteSierra

Sad to see your car go this way sir. I totally understand your feelings when you compared your car to a pet dog and when you mentioned your solo ride on complete ORR just for that personal feel. I too have similar connection with my cars, I've been a regular follower of this thread when I was a silent visitor, even before my membership was accepted in this forum.

Since this car has a lot of personal value for you, did you not consider fixing it from FNGs? Does the engine only need replacement or are the ECUs also damaged? I'm sure few FNGs can fix it and restore the mechanicals easily, some deep cleaning of interiors and wax polish will return the car to it's original glory.

For a car that was nearly under 10 feet of water for a week, I would not risk fixing it at an FNG. There's lot of electricals like ECU, wiring, ABS module and sensors, AC, power windows, Odo/ speedo, ICU and many other items that i cannot even fathom that might fail, even if some of them are fixed.

This apart, the entire body is prone to rusting. So now, take your call!

[mbz180]

So very sad to see a beautiful car go the way she did. Cruel.

I have a 2006 Fiesta 1.6 SXI. I just bought a VW Vento 1.5 tdi. Though the Vento is a great car, when I got into the Fiesta today after a few days of using the Vento, I had an instant grin. She's done 86k kms, not nearly as well maintained as yours was, corroding under the doors, but her handling & punch & engine snarl as you mentioned is too good. The engine is still perfect. She's due for her fitness in March 2021 & I think I'll keep her going.

You're very right, atleast in India, Ford doesn't make cars like the Fiesta 1.6 Duratec anymore.

Regards,

Prithvi

[vnabhi]

Originally Posted by mbz180

So very sad to see a beautiful car go the way she did. Cruel.

I have a 2006 Fiesta 1.6 SXI. I just bought a VW Vento 1.5 tdi. Though the Vento is a great car, when I got into the Fiesta today after a few days of using the Vento, I had an instant grin. She's done 86k kms, not nearly as well maintained as yours was, corroding under the doors, but her handling & punch & engine snarl as you mentioned is too good. The engine is still perfect. She's due for her fitness in March 2021 & I think I'll keep her going.

You're very right, atleast in India, Ford doesn't make cars like the Fiesta 1.6 Duratec anymore.

Regards,

Prithvi

I am glad that you still enjoy using the 1.6 Duratec. Even I drove my cousin's 1.6 TDi Vento a few years back, but it did not bring a smile to my face as the Fiesta did.

I'm concerned to hear about rusting by many Fiesta and Figo owners--especially under the ORVMs and doors. Somehow neither of my Fords has had this issue. The Red Injun was put through anti-rust treatment when it was new, and I think that cost me around 3500 rupees back then. Looks like it has paid off. Even when one of the doors was being painted a few years ago, the FNG told me that he has seen anti-rust coating inside the door pad.

I am going to get this done to whatever car i buy in future.

Yesterday I took the Figo 1.4 tdci Titanium for a long spin in the city. It gave me almost the same feeling of driving the Red Injun, except that the dash, gear console and speedo seemed spartan in comparision. Also, though it has one of the best low-end grunt in the diesel segment, it was still no match for the 1.6. There was some lull when i tried to dart forward in 2nd gear to fill the traffic gap in front of me, and the darned auto bolted faster and darted into my trajectory. The auto could not have done so if i were driving the Red Injun.

This apart, i still need to get used to diesels on inclines. I find the grunt lacking on steep slopes. In first gear there is too much of grunt, but the speed is too less, in second it lacks punch. I just need to be more patient, I guess.

I'll update the thread later on how far I have come with the insurance claim.

[vnabhi]

The sequence of activities related to the flooding and insurance claim are given below:-

1. Oct 9th, 2020: Cellar gets flooded at around 7 pm. We come to know only an hour later. We are shocked because it had not really rained that hard, compared to earlier years. After I see that there is roof-level drain water in the entire cellar, I lose hopes of retrieving the car and restoring it.
2. Same day 9 pm: I lodge an online claim on Reliance General Insurance website. I get an SMS with the claim number.
3. Oct 10th, 2020: Someone from Reliance Insurance calls me and gathers details. He gives me the number of the Hyderabad contact, who I should contact for further processing. I contact the person the same day, and he promises to send a surveyor on Monday (as it was already Saturday late morning). He also asks me to get an estimate from Ford or any reputed garage, as it would certainly be a total loss. He also suggested that the mechanic inspect the car in the cellar itself instead of being towed to the garage, as it would lie there for nearly a month, and I'd have to pay parking charges per day. I appreciate his inputs and I advise him to call before coming, because I was not sure how long it would take to empty the cellar.
4. I contact Vibrant Ford the same day, and I was told that they would certainly inspect the car at home and give me an estimate. However, they charge around 1.9% of the estimate. This surprised me,but when I inquired from others, I found that this is a normal practice. Ford rates are apparently lower than other manufacturers'.
5. Oct 12th, Monday: Cellar is still having 3 feet of water, and pumping out is taking longer than anticipated. I call the local insurance guy and ask him to plan for Wednesday, and that I would update him on Tuesday. I also contact Vibrant Ford. They said they would give me the estimate soon after I paid, even without inspecting the car, as they have abundant experience with flooded cars. They also said they would give a higher estimate so that the insurance company is forced to give me the IDV. So I paid Rs 11500 (incl GST) and got an estimate in an hour for Rs 5.5 lakhs. I share it with the Reliance guy.
6. Oct 13th, Tuesday: The cellar is only having a few inches of water, but is filled with slippery muck. Not possible to enter, except for a few cleaning guys. On my request, then take pictures of all cars. We found 21 of them, all filled with muck, and not in the same place they were parked. I share all pictures taken with the insurance guy on WhatsApp.
7. Oct 13th night: Very heavy rains lash Hyderabad all night, causing a deluge all over the city. The darned cellar is filled again with water till the ceiling!
8. Oct 14th Morning: No water pumps are available on rent, owing to demand all over the city. Apparently hundreds of cellars got flooded.
9. Oct 15th morning: We manage to get a fire engine with a single pump. After 12 hours of pumping, the water receded only by a foot!
10. Oct 16th to 20th: Took 4 more days to get back to the position we were in on Oct 13th---only a few inches of water in cellar. As there was a prediction of heavy rains over the next few days from Oct 20th night, I pay Rs 1500 and get the car towed out to the road outside. At least the surveyor could inspect it on the road. He could not for the past 9 days. I spoke to the surveyor before towing it out.
11. Oct 21st: A surveyor comes and takes pictures of the car--outside from all angles, inside and the engine bay. He struggles to take a picture of the VIN on the floor in front of the front seat, because it has an inch of water still inside. The glove box also had water in it.
12. Oct 22nd: I am given a 4-page form the fill and submit. I do so the same day.
13. Oct 23rd to 30th: I call the insurance guy regularly He says they have put the case up for total loss, and is pending decision at headquarters.
14. Nov 2nd: I get information that my claim has been approved for total loss, and i am given 2 options that i have already mentioned about in my preceding posts.
15. Nov 6th: I go to Reliance office and get a signed letter to RTA requesting for RC cancellation.
16. Nov 7th: I go to RTA and give them the letter, the original RC, insurance policy doc and a covering letter requesting RC cancellation. I also give them a xerox of my Aadhar and DL.

Now the waiting process has begun. Normally it takes more than a month. This apart, hundreds of requests might have been made to them. But my son has a contact, and he assured to get it done sooner.

I'll update the thread, based on progress in the case.

[mbz180]

Originally Posted by vnabhi

This apart, i still need to get used to diesels on inclines. I find the grunt lacking on steep slopes. In first gear there is too much of grunt, but the speed is too less, in second it lacks punch. I just need to be more patient, I guess.

I'll update the thread later on how far I have come with the insurance claim.

This is exactly what I like about the Vento TDI engine. There is virtually no lag & it revs almost like a petrol, almost upto 5,500 rpm. And I never had a diesel before!

Regards,

Prithvi

[hserus]

Originally Posted by mbz180

This is exactly what I like about the Vento TDI engine. There is virtually no lag & it revs almost like a petrol, almost upto 5,500 rpm. And I never had a diesel before!
Regards,
Prithvi

Get a Scorpio. It won't rev like a petrol but the low end torque my god. Surprisingly good city ride for that one reason, and a relaxed, comfortable highway cruiser if you don't mind going around maximum 110-120 kmph.

[vnabhi]

Originally Posted by hserus

Get a Scorpio. It won't rev like a petrol but the low end torque my god. Surprisingly good city ride for that one reason, and a relaxed, comfortable highway cruiser if you don't mind going around maximum 110-120 kmph.

For some reasons, i dislike SUVs or vehicles with high GC. Having got used to the precise handling of the Fords that I owned, I hate body roll. This apart, the middle seat of the Scorpio bounces at triple digit speeds on the highway, as with most Mahindras. But I do envy the fact that high GC gives you more room to manoeuver on broken roads and also in water-logged roads.

Perhaps i may consider a CUV like Ecosport/ Nexon/ Brezza, or go for a new sedan like the Rapid 1.0 turbo. Buy hey, that will be only after a year. No point evaluating options now.

Coming back to the Fiesta, there are a couple of big gripes that I discovered after the drowning:-

• The boot does not have a key slot, and therefore could not be opened so far. The only way is to use the remote key fob, or by pressing the button on the dashboard. Both of them rely on the battery. A battery in a car that was marooned for more than a week will surely not work.

• Owing to the constraint above, the tow hook could not be removed---it is somewhere near the spare wheel inside the boot. Luckily I had a Figo and so we could use that for towing the Fiesta out of the cellar.
  

The workaround is to fold the rear seat and access items in the boot by crawling into it from the rear seat. But heck, I don't want to do that as I know for sure that the Belkin charger, the aged Garmin, tyre repair kit, some shopping bags and some polish cans would all have got damaged by the drain water that the car was immersed in. Not worth entering the filthy interiors, if you ask me.

[hserus]

I think what you need to look out for is the all new fiesta and that fixed a lot of the issues you raised.

You will find a good few available for sale in chennai.

[vnabhi]

Originally Posted by hserus

I think what you need to look out for is the all new fiesta and that fixed a lot of the issues you raised.

You will find a good few available for sale in chennai.

A lot of issues? LOL, I've raised only one issue so far, and that is regarding the boot not having a key-hole. Sadly, the 2006 top end models had it, and also the ones that were manufactured in 2008 and later.

The new Fiesta is certainly good, but finding a good one, with the Aston Martin grill is tough, especially in AP/ TS. Buying it from another state involves payment of partial life tax.

[mbz180]

Originally Posted by vnabhi

A lot of issues? LOL, I've raised only one issue so far, and that is regarding the boot not having a key-hole. Sadly, the 2006 top end models had it, and also the ones that were manufactured in 2008 and later.

The new Fiesta is certainly good, but finding a good one, with the Aston Martin grill is tough, especially in AP/ TS. Buying it from another state involves payment of partial life tax.

Quite right, my 2006 Fiesta has a key hole for the boot. Had no idea that some versions didn't. May I suggest you take a drive of a good, used VW Vento TSI with the 7 speed auto gearbox or the 1.5 TDI with the auto or manual gearbox.

I was driving the Fiesta yesterday. Though the instant low end power is great, it's no match for the 1.5 TDI engine in the Vento in in gear acceleration. I never thought I'd say this but my Fiesta feels 'slow' at higher revs whereas the Vento pushes you back in the seat & goes to silly speeds very fast

Regards,

Prithvi