[planet_rocker]

Congrats JVH she looks stunning after the surgery. i am sure the small niggles will be solved very soon.

How come the head lights look so clean? New ones?

How does the car idle in stop go traffic?

[JVH]

Originally Posted by kri$hna

Glad that your GTX is up and from the pics it looks like a real good work was done !! Congratulations

Thanks!

Originally Posted by kri$hna

I would like to know where is this Venkatesh's work shop. Does he do mechanical stuff as well ? Where did you get the mechanical repair work done ?

I'm attaching a google map to locate his workshop - Gowri Automobiles. In fact, he does only mechanical stuff and is pretty good at it. The Body work was done by an acquaintance of his, Vardhan.

Originally Posted by kri$hna

I am having a few niggles in my palio 1.2, which i want to address..
also, how much did the Head Light assemble cost you ? Where did u source it from ? Mine is a pre-NV palio (no motor in the Headlight assembly).. I guess even u would have a similar setup.. what did it cost for the Assembly and labour ?

Head lights cost me 6k odd. I have the exact figure of the damages and I'll scan it by tomorrow. He sources all his parts from Chennai. He did not disclose the name though. He requires a lead time of 3-5 days which IMO is decent considering the notorious delay times of T.A.S.S

Originally Posted by kri$hna

Please do help me out with this information

I hope this was useful

[JVH]

Originally Posted by bottle

cars looking good, congrats. They still have retro palio headlights in stock ?

Thanks bottle! These were sourced from Chennai. The mechanic knows someone there who sources FIAT parts only. Am not sure if they are available in T-F. A.S.S and didn't bother to check with them.

Originally Posted by planet_rocker

Congrats JVH she looks stunning after the surgery. i am sure the small niggles will be solved very soon.

How come the head lights look so clean? New ones?

How does the car idle in stop go traffic?

Thanks Surya! The head lights are new ofcourse, the old ones were mis-aligned and had developed cracks on the edges. Idle is perfect, no issues at all. It's only the slight shudder when we leave the clutch (only at the beginning). But its slowly vanishing

[kri$hna]

@JVH
Do you have his contact number ? I just want to have a chat with him before i end up in his place. I ll get an idea of what to expect and his timings & so on..

it will be great if you can share his number. BTW.. this place is pretty close to my house, around 5 kms i believe

[JVH]

Venkatesh - 9379192193

Don't expect a clean, state of the art workshop. This is a place lended by one of his customers. But this was a compromise I was willing to make considering the benefit one can get.

BTW, he is Retro, NV and Pre-NV expert. Am not sure of his expertise on Stile models.

[kri$hna]

Originally Posted by JVH

Venkatesh - 9379192193

Don't expect a clean, state of the art workshop. This is a place lended by one of his customers. But this was a compromise I was willing to make considering the benefit one can get.

BTW, he is Retro, NV and Pre-NV expert. Am not sure of his expertise on Stile models.

Exactly !!! Mine is a pre-NV 2002 model 1.2 elx, so he is good for me.

Thanks again

[JVH]

While I was there, Lohith had called Venkatesh to enquire on the radiator fan. Was happy to talk to him briefly

Any update Lohith?

[lohithrao]

Hi Jayant,

Firstly congrats, your car is looking hot now!

Yes it was really nice talking to you, since both pf us were in hurry had to keep the chat brief anyhow looking forward to meet you.

On the update, i plan to drive down to Bangalore sometime and get it fixed. till then will have to live with the vibration:(
Seems like since their is a bend in the fan as the speed increase there is a lot of vibration caused.

Originally Posted by JVH

While I was there, Lohith had called Venkatesh to enquire on the radiator fan. Was happy to talk to him briefly

Any update Lohith?

[ravikn]

Congrats Jayant, Nice to see the car in shine again!

Did you claim insurance, please post the details

[chandrda]

Guys

I am buying a 2003 Palio GTX on Saturday, have already made advance payment.

Going by heart again

The car is in excellent condition now and has run around 33000 KMs.

My worry is how difficult is it to get spare parts if something goes wrong and what would go wrong on a car which already more than 6 years old

I don't want to spend Rs.20,000 every year on a car which will not be worth more than 1.2 lakhs once in my hand

All GTX Gurus, please advise if its worth going ahead with the deal or should I back off and look for the boring Marutis and Hyundai.

I dont want to miss this opportunity again of owing a GTX, please advise asap



Regards

[JVH]

Originally Posted by ravikn

Congrats Jayant, Nice to see the car in shine again!

Did you claim insurance, please post the details

Thanks Ravi! The total cost came to 40K. Insurance was half.

Originally Posted by chandrda

Guys

I am buying a 2003 Palio GTX on Saturday, have already made advance payment.

Going by heart again

Regards

The Palio 1.6 has always been a case of heart over mind. A well maintained 1.6 is just like a lottery nowadays. Very hard to come by. But when you do come across one, blindly pick up one. Because as the days go by, chances to find a very good machine will be almost negligible. In fact, my mechanic says, there is no well maintained 1.6 available for sale right now in Bangalore though there a lot of 1.9Ds.

In Bangalore, I never faced problems with spares. If you know the right people, spares can be made available within a lead time of 1 week max while the dealerships can take anytime between 1 week to months. So, this is one disadvantage of owning the car. Spares are not readily available but with the right contacts, they are.

You will spend 20,000 per year only if something is seriously wrong with the car. So, do a thorough inspection with the help of a competent mechanic before you take the plunge. Preventive inspection and identification of repair areas can also help in assessing the likely future damages. A normal paid service will be around 2k.

Accidental damage apart, I have written down a few costs of the spare parts and the labour on this thread. This can help you. You will also do well if you can check the ownership threads of rudrah, amit, ravveendrra, lohithrao, ravikn, drifter et al. Search option should help you.

All the best and keep us updated!

[lohithrao]

Its about 2 years and touch wood never faced any issue finding spares! infact @ Concorde and even at mlore Tass its been cake walk.

Have changed the belts, bearings etc last week got the fiat/Palio Adventure monogram had to order these and i got it in 3days...

Most of the times non availability of the spares issue is over hyped by people who dont own or know a fiat!

go ahead...do post the pics

Originally Posted by chandrda

Guys

I am buying a 2003 Palio GTX on Saturday, have already made advance payment.

Going by heart again

The car is in excellent condition now and has run around 33000 KMs.

My worry is how difficult is it to get spare parts if something goes wrong and what would go wrong on a car which already more than 6 years old

I don't want to spend Rs.20,000 every year on a car which will not be worth more than 1.2 lakhs once in my hand

All GTX Gurus, please advise if its worth going ahead with the deal or should I back off and look for the boring Marutis and Hyundai.

I dont want to miss this opportunity again of owing a GTX, please advise asap



Regards

[ravikn]

Originally Posted by lohithrao

Most of the times non availability of the spares issue is over hyped by people who dont own or know a fiat!

I totally agree with lohitrao


@Chandra,

Be careful since it is really tough to believe that a 7yr old car has only run 33K. Even if it is true, check for all engine related parts with the help of a competent mechanic since any work related to that could be very expensive in Palio 1.6 GTX.

Good luck. Do post the pics of the car once you get her home

[chandrda]

Thanks Guys

My Dad did check the service records and Odo reading seems to be consistent on all the service records.

Got it checked thoroughly in Greentracks as well, seems to be no problems with vehicle. Needs service ASAP as its more than 6 months last serviced.

Is 1.45 lakhs fine for the vehicle? knowing that after I buy it will not be worth more than 1.1 lacs immediately..

Regards

[JVH]

Originally Posted by chandrda

Is 1.45 lakhs fine for the vehicle? knowing that after I buy it will not be worth more than 1.1 lacs immediately..

Regards

If the vehicle really has no problems and no major components need immediate replacement, the price is a steal.

FIAT cars have never commanded resale figures and thats the reason you are also getting a bargain, right bro?

A 1.6 will give unmatched driving pleasure. You can compensate the resale for that