[rajneeesh]

Tanveer, great to hear that you will continue with the White Elephant for a few years more. I hope and pray that some manufacturer introduces a good SUV with 4 WD at the price level indicated by you. However, even monocoque Mini Suv''s like the Ecosport and Duster are pretty expensive. For a FWD drive car the Duster top end is close to 14 big ones ( on road) . Moreover it suffers from poor low end torque, is low on space ( compared to a Safari) and is at best a soft roader. Maybe Mahindra will do something with the Scorpio replacement.

My SX4 is also 6 years old. I have been looking for a replacement, but have not found a car / Suv which justifies the switch. None of the new products have a zing factor. For example if I go in Duster, other than a huge EMI, I would hardly get any thing over and above what my SX4 offers. So till I get a better replacement, the SX4 soldiers on .

[anupmathur]

Originally Posted by rajneeesh

.... For example if I go in Duster, other than a huge EMI, I would hardly get any thing over and above what my SX4 offers. So till I get a better replacement, the SX4 soldiers on .

That is very true, Rajneeesh!
The SX4 is, in fact, a sedan built on an SUV platform and is worth staying with for the time being.
Pity that Maruti did not think it fit to offer a 4WD variant of the SX4.

But then, isn't that how every manufacturer has behaved in India? They simply do not offer a 4WD choice/option!

[rajneeesh]

Tanveer,

Do you still have the White Elephant or have you sold it?. No updates for a long long time.

[tsk1979]

Time for an update I guess.
Well she has done about 122000kms till date. Running has reduced with the Liva. I take her out for the "mountain" trips only.

And she is definitely showing her age. With no suitable cheap offroaders in the market which offer reliability, I am flogging the white elephant.

At my price point there is currently just the Scorpio, and I guess a known devil is better than the unknown one.

Moreover, with the large amount of money the white elephant has consumed since the last update on this thread, I figure selling her right now would be money wasted.

So without further ado, lets see what all has been done in the last 20K odd kms in order

Rear suspension bush kit change(Non TASS) : 4000
Tie rod ends, left lower ball joint, axle boot(left), wishbone bushes (Non TASS) : 5200

Major service at 108500kms which included
Oil change
Gear oil change
Transfer case oil change
front diff oil change
Air, oil and diesel filters
Sedimenter change
Cost : 10799 (Thanks to Aristo motors - Guru still worked there then)

At this service we discovered that the rear LSD kit is shot again + Front bearings too. These parts take time to source.
So a week later I am at Aristo again for
LSD kit
Front bearings
Rear bearings (Surprise on opening up the rear stuff)
Rear diff oil

Total : 20,423 (Whoa)

Then we went on a trip and car starts making weird sounds. Its the AC belt. We are in the hills, and if belt breaks it can wreck havoc. Thanks Tata for not making the car with one belt to rule them all. AC belt is removed, no AC, but no noise either. 750rs damage to change the belt once we are down

At 112000kms we change the battery : 4500rs
Oil leak : Concorde fixes it(or thinks they fixed it) 1000rs

AC tensioner bearing is going : 1000rs

And then she leaks oil again. Guess what, I rush to Aristo
Gear box needs to be removed to gear box seal Damage : 2200rs

And before we know it, at 117000 odd kilometers, we need suspension work. Death wobble for the win.
Any car can have Death wobble. But to create death wobble on IFS, you need a Tata
Time it with the service. Fuel filter, air filter, oil filter, center pin(again), and those familiar parts like tie rods, center link rod etc., + one damper too

Damage : 28000 INR!!!

And now comes the biggie. She just dies. Needs new ECU.
40,000 INR !!!!! at 118000kms or so. (More details on that later)

After ECU change all the problems of erratic idle and surging idle which have been there from when the vehicle is new are gone!! She ran on a Faulty ECU for almost 120,000kms. Take that Toyota!!

End of problems? Nope, AC gas leaks, + rear starts to jam
AC gas charge? Thanks to service camp with 30% discount its 2500 INR only at Concorde.

Rear wheels jamming, I am getting estimates ranging from 10K to 80K. So I go to World of Service. They change hand brake wire and its sorted.
I also get the horn adjusted, get the drivers side lock fixed (Concorde has tried 4-5 times), and get a headlight re-sealed(its becoming a fish bowl)
Damage ? 2400 INR

ECU change saga:
So she dies. Does not crank at all. Before this I had got some service lights with engine occasionaly dying, but never reproduced in service center.
This time she is dead.

We go to Oberoi Noida, and car is there as I try and source used ECUs. A friend who tunes safari's(GT Tunerz Akshay) opens it up and resolders stuff, but that does not work too.

Since their dealership license has been cancelled, I have to move vehicle to Concorde. And guess what, they steal the rear view camera. Thankfully Tata gives me a new camera. This is the second time they did this. Maybe they got their dealership cancelled because they keep stealing stuff from customers. Earlier also Tata customer care got me a new camera. And this is the second time they have had to do this.


Other gremlins:
There is some problem with 4x4 shifter motor as a result I have only 4H. Recommendation ranges from ECU change to 4x4 motor change and what not. I was thinking about shiftster, but due to poor access it would mean crawling under vehicle to engage 4x4. Due to position there is no proper place to cut floor and make access hatch.
Will be getting it sorted. Will see if I can get motor repaired.

So to sum it up. Its been a rocking 20,000kms.
Lets tally the repair expenses
20,000kms and 2 years
4000
5200
10799
20423
750
4500
1064
1000
2170
28000
40000
2544
2400

= 113650 or 5.6 INR/km

But still significantly less than EMI for a 14L SUV (40,000 I think/month)

Guess, what I will stick to her.
On the bright side
1. Engine is running fine
2. New ECU has bumped up mileage too
3. Electrical are holding up too

I expect costs to be 3-4rs/INR in repairs and with a run of less than 2000/month, it makes sense not to sell as resale for a safari(even a 4x4) is quite less.

And what's an update with pics.
So here goes.
Should she take a holy dip to banish the demons within?


Or maybe she needs some Elevation to rise above her problems.




Or maybe she just needs to chill in some ice




After all I need to find the solution. She is car, but when it comes to maintenance expenses, she thinks she is a....

[rrsteer]

Originally Posted by tsk1979

= 113650 or 5.6 INR/km

You are a good man. Committed folks like you are hard to come by in this day and age.

[Deeps]

What does your overall maintenance per km stand at now?

[tsk1979]

Originally Posted by Deeps

What does your overall maintenance per km stand at now?

Pre 80000kms it was around 3.5rs/km approx for maintenance excluding tires.
Now its gone a bit too high, thanks to ECU change, hopefully it should settle down around 4.5/km or so max.

[n.devdath]

Originally Posted by tsk1979

Now its gone a bit too high, thanks to ECU change, hopefully it should settle down around 4.5/km or so max.

Not a lot, considering she's made you an automobile engineer/senior mechanic/Ustaadji...!!!

Colleges charge much higher capitation fees these days, and of course, you've had some great bone chilling, nerve numbing, mind jarring experiences with her too.

[ISO]

@TSK

Do you think maintenance cost would be lower in refreshed storme due to new upgraded suspension setup?

[tsk1979]

Originally Posted by ISO

@TSK

Do you think maintenance cost would be lower in refreshed storme due to new upgraded suspension setup?

Nope, it would require new company setup.

[nvldvr]

Hi Tanveer. Can you share your calculations regarding whether to continue ownership of your car or buy a new one. I have been contemplating whether to continue with my 6 year scorpio with 1 lac on the odo. The car is in great condition. The only thing is 5 years down the line when i have say 1.75 lacs on the odo, i will get hardly anything for it.

[tsk1979]

Originally Posted by nvldvr

Hi Tanveer. Can you share your calculations regarding whether to continue ownership of your car or buy a new one. I have been contemplating whether to continue with my 6 year scorpio with 1 lac on the odo. The car is in great condition. The only thing is 5 years down the line when i have say 1.75 lacs on the odo, i will get hardly anything for it.

EMI for a new car will be 30000 atleast.
I can sell safari now for 2.8L and 2 years down the line it will fetch 2L.
The fastest crash of the resale value happens earlier. Even 10 years down the line, she will fetch 1L or so probably

[maglev]

Originally Posted by tsk1979

EMI for a new car will be 30000 atleast.
I can sell safari now for 2.8L and 2 years down the line it will fetch 2L.
The fastest crash of the resale value happens earlier. Even 10 years down the line, she will fetch 1L or so probably

Hi TSK,

I got a chance to see, start, and sit in the Isuzu D-Max VCross today, couldn't drive it as it was yet to be registered. The car will be launched in 15-20 days, and is expected to be priced at around 14.5 Lacs in Delhi (on-road).

I'd suggest you should look at it as a replacement for your white elephant. The car had all the required features - ABS, Airbags, Climate Control, Xenon Lamps, Auto-folding mirrors, 4x4 (with high/low ratios), on-board trip computer, and an amazing road presence with a ground clearance of 225MM.

In any case, it would be great to know your thoughts/views on it.

Thanks,
Maglev

[tsk1979]

Originally Posted by maglev

In any case, it would be great to know your thoughts/views on it.

Thanks,
Maglev

Safari is still running quite fine for her age. So no point selling it now just because there is a newer better vehicle in the market. Maybe after 2 years or so. I am sure DMAX is great, but it costs 15L on road, and that is a lot of money. To put it in perspective, its 3 Iceland vacations.

[swsumit]

hello everyone

Well this is not my thread but then the subject of this thread has a deep connection with me now . Tanveer i think you will like the visuals

I think it is time to post an update on the White Elephant( though no more called so anymore ) , from the mountains and roads of Northern India where HE ambled along , he finds Home in the Konkan region now and is at peace amongst the Western Ghats and the Maratha lands.















Has clocked an additional 11000 kms on the Odo in the last 60 odd days and has been running perfectly fine.