| re: Bought a 2002 Fiat Palio 1.6 GTX - At a premium
It has been a very long time since I updated anything about my car on T-Bhp. This was mainly because of restricted access at office and my busy office and family schedule.
Last I updated about my car, I was at the DINK stage of my life. Double Income No Kids.
Now at the time of updating this thread, the phrase has changed to Single Income Two Kids, in roughly 5 years.
All through this, the car has kept going and going, without complaints. It easily accommodates my family of 4 adults + two kids, without anyone feeling out of comfort. It has ample space inside. It also swallows decent amount of luggage.
The Odo currently stands at 46k. Was bought at 15k in 2008. Worthwhile to note is that the running has come down dramatically, because of the following
1. Previous Employer was 10 kms away. Current Employer (since 2010) is merely 2 kms away.
2. Bought a Royal Enfield in 2009 and most of my single runs happen on the Bull. Had it not been the Bull, the Palio would have another 14k on it.
Spares changed so far after buying the car
1. Alternator – the very first issue to crop up and this was thoroughly discussed on the forum. Blame it on the car being hardly used from 2002 to 2008 (15k) by the first owner. Cost me around 12k.
2. Front brake discs – 1k each.
3. RPM Sensor – The car just abruptly switched off while coming down a fly over, at 2:00 am !. Was stranded in the middle of no where. Decided to sleep in the car and just then two cops on night duty turned up and started asking questions. Once they were satisfied and left, I too decided to leave the car on the side of the road and go home for good. The Fiat/Tata 24hrs assistance is a joke as I tried many times. The dedicated number was never picked up. Called the A.S.S. guys in the morning and reached there. And the car started after 10-15 cranks. Weird. Next morning, it refused to start again. Called up a knowledgeable person at other A.S.S. He diagnosed it as either RPM sensor (1k) or Fuel Pump (12-15k). I just hoped that it should be RPM sensor. The mechanic came with both the spares, replaced the RPM sensor first and tried to start. Started at first crank. Relief.
4. Experienced a ticking sound from the engine bay every morning, and it stayed till the car heated up. So it was a pain, because by the time I reach the garage/A.S.S., the car was heated enough and there used to be no sound. Luckily the sound came again once and the technician at Bhoomi Motors, Camp caught it. Was related to some bearing. I do not recall the exact names of the parts that were replaced but it solved the issue. This cost me another 12k. I will try to check it in the bill if required.
5. Lower Arms and Strut mounts. Don’t remember the cost of it now, but these were after market. Since 2010, it has been impossible to fetch original spares. Of course, now we have 99rpm.com
6. Spark Plug wires + Ignition coil changed once. Do not remember what they cost me. Maybe around 5-7k.
7. Once the valet parking driver screwed the reverse gear and broke it. Spent some 2 k on rectifying it. Thankfully it did not require the entire Gearbox change. That day onwards, it has not seen a valet parking driver. It is a pain to self park at such places, but it is worth the effort.
8. Battery changed thrice. It’s amazing how they last exactly a month more than the warranty !
9. Set of 4 tyres changed once. The threading had still a lot of life but the rubber had become very hard. Apart from this, two more tyres bought. More on this later.
10. Lately it started leaking coolant. Culprit was a clogged radiator. This was cleaned and the problem was resolved.
11. Regular services have cost me between 5-10 k depending on what was being done.
I have maintained it in a very good mechanical condition, however haven’t spent on the cosmetics. It has had its share of dents.
1. Once it was parked in Mumbai (of course roadside. Is there any other option!) and the BMC garbage truck decided to give it a deep kiss right on the front end of the bonnet. It was scratch less until then.
2. Next, while going from Pune to Mahabaleshwar, at bibwewadi (Puneites would know the traffic condition there), in bumper to bumper traffic, at the speed of roughly 5-10 kmph, I applied brakes and the tires just jammed and the car skid and hit the 6-seater in the front. This deepened the initial kiss from the BMC truck.
3. And on another instance, I was waiting to take a right to Magarpatta and I spotted a Tata Ace coming at a high speed in the RVM. Thank God I applied the brakes, as there was a Truck coming from the other side. The fellow just banged his right side front at the rear left of my Palio. The Ace was loaded with material and hit my car at atleast 60-70 kmph. The noise of the impact was so big, I thought the rear is definitely flat (Fiat Uno flashed my mind for a moment !!). On inspection, the rear tail light had cracked and the bumper had a big dent. Nothing as compared to the fear I had in mind.
I have often thought of doing up the bonnet, but I was sure that the repainted bonnet would not match the original colour, which I would hate to see. Hence I never went ahead with the denting and painting. The dent isn’t that big, but because it is at the front end, it comes in way of the bonnet release mechanism and hence, two people are required to open the bonnet. One to hold the bonnet release lever and the other to pull the bonnet.
Most important of all, it saved my life once.
I had to leave for Mumbai. As a habit, I check the car for its coolant level, oil level etc a day before the trip. On inspection I found that out of the 4 replaced tyres, one developed a bubble. Discussed on T-Bhp and it was unanimous. Can’t run the car on highway with a tyre with bubble. Decided to change the tyre next day. I do not remember what that day was, but I found all shops closed. Drove till PCMC and did not find an open tyre shop. So stopped and replaced the bubbled tyre with the spare at a puncture shop. After the first toll on e-way, heard a strange sound from the rear left. Before I could slow it down, BAM, the tyre burst and at the speed of 120, the car first turned 90 degrees to the right and then 180 degrees to the left. And finally came to a standstill on the left most lane at an angle of 45 degrees. All this in a matter of probably 4-5 seconds. I was dumb struck. I was a fool. I should have remembered that the spare tyre was actually not a new one but one from the earlier batch. Without thinking about any of this, I drove at 120. It was very stupid of me and till date I curse myself for this stupidity. On the other hand, I also knew that had it been any of the Maruti/Hyundai’s, these cars would have toppled (summersault ?). Imagine being at 120 kmph and suddenly the car turns 90 degrees. No chance for the tall boys and the thin metal cars to survive this.
Two lessons learnt
1. Always change all 5 tyres, and not 4.
2. Car is a machine and it is under the driver’s control till all its parts are running well. The moment even a smallest part goes kaput, the driver and its occupants become redundant and helpless, as the car will not be under any control whatsoever. Respect this fact, maintain it that way and drive keeping this in mind.
Replacing the car did come to my mind twice.
Once, after this accident on the e-way, after which my family was scared to sit inside the car if it involved out of city trips.
Next a month back, for the same reason as above. But I think it is more of that 7 year itch.
But I have decided to hold on to it for now. I cannot find a suitable car with enough space within my budget (which is not much in any case for now) in the resale market. Even the resale value of the Palio GTX is quite encouraging for me to hold on to it !
Other details
1. The AC really chills the cabin, even today, just as if it was new.
2. For the most commonly asked question, it consistently gives me 8-9 in city with 100% AC. Has been a long time since I took her for long journeys. My small runs of Pune-Lonavala-Pune have returned 12-13 kmpl (100% AC). But it also has been a long time since I stopped calculating tank full to tank full.
3. The pleasure and the confidence that this car gives to the driver is unmatched for the price you pay for it. Period.
4. There is not a single rattle inside the cabin even today. This according to me is one of the biggest factors why I still have this car. Total silence inside the cabin. A car with rattles will discourage the owner every time he drives it.
5. The new Airport road adjacent to Viman Nagar, Pune. I had 4 occupants in my car and there was one more car with two occupants - a Polo 1.6. The entire stretch was empty. The person must have been an enthusiast because he slowed to match my speed. We exchanged a glance and it was understood. We both wanted to test our cars. From that same speed, we did a straight line drag and believe me, Palio did beat the Polo in the third gear, because it kept going and going without the need to shift, whereas the Polo missed a fraction of a second to probably shift and lost it there. Beating a brand new Polo 1.6 with just 2 occupants with a 9 year old Palio with 4 adults. Priceless. Total Paisa vasool. I had a grin on my face all day ! and my wife got tired of that grin by the EOD. “Whats the big deal about it” she said. If only she was an enthusiast.
6. After the accident, I have been driving with a very light foot. Since some time now, I feel the car isn’t performing as it used to. Showed it twice to two different mechanics. Their reply matched. “Start high revving her, there is nothing wrong anywhere”. Can this be the case ?
7. The rear left window is jammed, from the day I bought it. On at least 4 occasions I have asked the mechanic to rectify it (twice in A.S.S. and twice to outside garages). It works for a couple of days and then gets jammed again. So I have learnt to live with it.
To summarise it, there have been times when I have cursed myself over deciding to buy this, especially when replacement of spares crop up. They are either not available and / or cost a bomb compared to other cars + also while finding a good mechanic for it. But barring those times, I have thoroughly enjoyed my car and the car has thoroughly served me really very well. My previous car was a 1999 Santro and it was also a very robust car, but there is a difference between both. Santro used to bring smiles at the petrol bunks and service centres. Palio brings smiles while driving it. Though I will agree that I have never smiled at Petrol bunks + service centres with the Palio (and also while driving the Santro on highways). It is not aesthetically great as compared to how the other bhpians have maintained their car, I will take some recent pictures and upload it. Somehow, I feel the long term ownership review without pictures is incomplete.
Request to the Mods : Please move this thread to the Long Term Ownership review. | 
8th October 2008, 11:59
(6)
Thanks
