| BHPian
Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Cochin
Posts: 42
Thanked: 10 Times
| Suzuki Swift - The pain and the pleasure
Hi All,
This is my first review; ignore the errors which came up because of this,
I own a Silky silver Swift VDI (ABS) model, bought on March 2008, and have completed 11111Kms till now. So I though this is the right time to consolidate my take on this,
How did I reach on Swift?
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Initially my family had an Esteem (carb one, 99 model) and have completed around 70K in 7 Years. So we were planning for an upgrade to this car. And by this time I also got settled down here in Kerala. So the requirement was to have a car where I can commute daily to the office around 60Kms - 65Kms as well as family car, obviously the petrol vehicles can't be a choice for these kinds of runs, and my pocket will not afford too. Hence started looking for a diesel vehicle, Another problem was that being a low floored car the esteem started giving problems for ingress as well as egress to my parents. We all are tall built, me being 6'4. So need a car which will accommodate my family too, and the budget is fixed to 5.5. As this was the max which I can get from my company for the car lease plan.
So the first confusion was to go for a new car or a big second hand car. We tried the later option for some time, and discarded due to the various risks/used car dealer issues, so finalized that only a new car. Then the options which we had were indigo/logan in the sedan range, swift/indica on the hatch and sumo/bolero on the UV range. So we started off with indigo, nice spacious car, but my cousin was not at all allowing me to go for a tata car because of the experience which he had. He was keep on telling me that go for this car if you can sell this after 2-3 years, which I can't do and I was also bit hesitant for going for a TATA based on the various posts on the Team-BHP, so dropped the indigo.
Then went for logan, Again good spacious car, but the dealer was TVS, Those who are in Cochin, can think off what treatment which I would have got. And I was bit concerned about wiper direction too, It is just opposite to the normal car. In this region the monsoon last for 7-8 months, and I don't want to take chance. Hence dropped logan, Now the UV, SUMO is directly put off my parents due to taxi image, which I was not concerned about, and I was bit inclined to this UV, Some how I liked this UV very much. For the Bolero the dealer again was TVS and didn't even look in to this too. Then the left out is indica/swift. The indica is dropped out, and finalized on the swift.
The dealer was very co-operative in the sales department. They promptly arranged a test drive car and took it to our home which is around 30Kms away from their main dealer ship. Front seats were comfortable for my parents. But the back seat was really pathetic. If we all have to travel together for a long journey then we need to look for some rental car. Since there were no other options we decided to go for this car. Currently the car is used as three seater car for long journeys and five seater for a max 30min journey. From the Team-BHP I understood the necessity of an ABS, so opted for ABS model. Dealer directly said that 4-5 months waiting period. Agreed to it and put 50K as advance and forgot about the car we booked. The booking was done October first week. Waited till February end. In the mean time the sales guy used to call me, and informing me about my priority number etc... A good sales guy, He is Jibin from Indus Motors. So by the end of Feb Jibin informed me that the car has shipped from the factory.
So finally at the first week of March I got the car in my hand. Did the pre-delivery inspection as per the Team-BHP check list even before the registration and everything seems to be fine. The ODO was working and had a reading of 5Kms on it. But by the time I got the delivery the ODO was at 75Kms. This is mostly because of the far located RTO office and dealerships which I took the delivery is 30Kms away from the yard, finally my father went and picked the car and took it to my home. Next day took it to the temple and did the pooja etc, and ready to go. Mud flap, mats are free from the dealer. Did the under body coating, Teflon coating from the dealer, low quality seat cover and light upgrade to 80/100 Osram with relay too.
The swift experience
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The service experience was a mixed bag. As expected the car started the rattling from the first day itself. I was getting a good mileage, even before the first service the worst mileage which I got was 19Kms/ltr with A/C. used the normal IOC diesel. Went past the 1000Kms very fast, and took it to the first service at Indus motors's main dealer ship. I was expecting a good service as this was their main dealership. But my expectation was totally wrong. I complained about the rattling sound, water goes inside to the front fog lamps, wiper was not wiping properly, and dealer promised free mud flaps. I waited there while the car was getting serviced. The service got over in 1Hr. changed the engine oil, put tape on the back seat holding brackets. That's it. Then the car wash took nearly 3Hrs. not because of the quality of the car wash, no one took it to car wash bay.
So finally I have to go there and ask them to take it to the car wash bay. Then I checked for why the mud flaps was not fitted? then came the immediate answer that mud flaps was out of stock. Since I waited there I saw a car was getting fixed with the mud flaps. So told them about this and suddenly the mud flap came in stock and got fixed. But they got billed to me. Again called the sales guy then he called the manager and finally it got resolved. The front fog lamp was again out of stock. Asked him whether I wait for some time then will it come in stock? Then he confirmed that the fog lamp is really out of stock and he will inform me once the stock arrives from the factory, which he promptly did in another three days time. Took the car for the test drive with the SA. All the rattling noise was there, and SA also confirmed the same, again the car went to the service bay and after some time told me that everything is fixed. Paid the bill and took the delivery. But all the rattling remained. I was really disappointed with the kind of service which I got; based on the sales experience I was expecting a good service from them.
Even though they took one full day the problems didn't got sorted out. Those who want to service please beware, only the oil change will be done, don't expect any of your complaints which gets sorted out from this service station. Now I started thinking of the ICE and films for my car, Films was finalized to V-Kool, even though they are pricy it is good. Took it to the V-Kool agent at Cochin, they also screwed up my car. Applied the VK-70 on the front wind screen and a bit more darker shade on the side windows. They are using some of the liquid for fixing the film on the front wind screen. The V-Kool guy at Cochin didn't put proper covering for the electronics on the dash board. After fixing the film I started the car with in seconds the some of the circuits in the car got shorted, and my A/C, central lock, dash board light etc stopped working. Next day took the car to the work shop and they confirmed that the module went burst and need to be ordered from the factory. They quoted 25days for the part from the factory and cost around 7500/-. I don't know why it took 25days for the part from the factory. Again the dealer was Indus motors, Kakkanad. Since this was a fault from my side I have to pay from my pocket. The V-Kool guy also didn't pay me back the money, went there for numerous times, but didn't get it. Please be very careful when you do any alteration outside the dealership. Now on I won't do any alteration outside the dealership. It this was happened with the dealer suddenly this would have a manufacturing defect and it would have got replaced under warrantee.
By this time I did the ICE too, and Alpine CDA-9886 head set, infinity components for front and ovals for the rear. No amp. The setup is OK. The sound is bit bright, is there any way to improve the bass on this setup? By this time the car reached 5000Kms and took it to another service station, it was Indus motors, Kakkanad service station. Since this was a small service station, I expected more satisfying experience. I was getting my esteem service from here, and the experience was good. But time has changed a lot from my esteem experience time. As soon as I went there the SA was like, I know what are all the issues can come, and you don't have to tell me a thing. I specifically wrote out all the complaints, again the rattling, wiper issue, sound coming from the back suspension, wheels are getting locked during hard breaking, oil change and the back seat belt buckle was not kept properly. This was on a working day. So I left the car at the dealership and went to my office. No drop till the nearest bus station or auto stand. Need to walk all the way. By evening got the call and I could reach only by 6:30pm. SA took the money, no test drive to see the things are fixed or not. By the time I take a look at the car the SA is no where seen. Such a good experience.
Again none of the issues are fixed. At least they can put the back seat belt buckle in to the proper position. How much time that would have took? Next day wrote a mail to Maruti about the ABS breaking issue, Got a reply from them and TSM from the Maruti came and inspected my car at the same dealership. He confirmed that there is no issue with the ABS, and during hard breaking due to the friction there will be tire marking in the road, and it is not wheel locking and not to worry. He was very kind and explained me all about the ABS. since the wiper was not working properly I changed to Bosch wiper from outside, and from that change it started working properly. Wiping action was much better. But still there is an oily layer which is getting formed during the wiping action. This is very difficult during the night driving. Any solutions to this? I checked the thread about this in the technical section, and it seems that no one had an exact solution to this. So leaving with this issue. By this time I switched to nitrogen in the tires. I didn't notice any difference between air and nitrogen. For the time being I am running on nitrogen on the tires. No other issues from there on till 10,000Kms, consistently getting 21Kms/Ltr with 100% A/C.
By this time I heard about another service station from Team-BHP. AutoTeam MSM. So I tried my 3rd service with them. They are 100% better than Indus. At least they hear what you have to say, and try to fix what ever they can. For the 3rd service I had the following complaints, sound coming from the back suspension, sound from the front right side, seat belt issue, oil change some rattling from the doors etc... Finally they guys fixed my seat belt issue, it is kept proper now. But the sound from the back side and from side is yet to resolve, they told me that they did inspect the suspension and there were no issues with it.
Following is my problem, when I turn the car towards left and during this time if the front right tire goes through a pothole then there is some kind of metal clicking sound. In the opposite way the sound is not there, any idea what could be the reason? For the sound from the back, it comes when the car goes through an uneven surface, which doesn’t have any pothole, but the road surface is not smooth. Have any of you experienced the same? I am taking my car back to the service station to check this. Any help on the same will be very much appreciated. From my experience following is my suggestions, avoid the Indus motors for the service if you have any specific issues to be resolved. They are least bothered about the issues; they will only do the oil change, wash the car and give back in the evening. Any of you want to do a V-Kool film installation don't go directly to the V-Kool dealer at Cochin, Instead get it done through the car dealer itself, The price will be same, but if any thing happens due to mistake of the V-kool guy it will be covered under manufactures warrantee.
Driving and Ownership
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I would say the ownership was too good. As of now nothing got fall apart, and no issues from the car expect the rattling; now I am considering this as a feature. so no issues. Some how I like the dark interiors in my car. I prefer black color interior for my car, personal choice. I love everything about this car. The driving was also a nice experience. After driving esteem, this car is like dream to drive. Good pick up. I am a very sedate driver. I will be going a max speed of 100Kms if the road conditions are too good, else settle for 50-60Kms/Hr is my normal speed. I drive on narrow two line state high way and narrow single line roads. Those who have traveled on NH-17 starting on Edappally will understand the road condition much better. The car is so smooth on the smooth road surface, the car's behavior also changes with the road surface. If I encounter a bad surface the car will let me know that the road is bad and need to go slow. See the technology improvement, a machine which can indicate the road condition to the driver. Most of the time I drive alone. The car's pick up is good, good to overtake the two wheelers on the narrow roads.
The front seat is an OK place to be in. I won't say a good place. I am of 6'4". Even after pulling the seat all the way back the space seems to be adequate; not good. With this setup the under thigh support is also not so good. Hence after driving on these roads I feel really tired. And none of the pedestrians/bicycles/two wheelers/auto/car/buses/trucks bother about you. It is their birth right to go first and you have side line for them, this give more frustration/tiredness. I don't know how to tackle these; if the car is not side lined they will literally come and bang on the car, which again is pain. Is it only I or any of you are also facing these issues? In the night it is again worse, none of the vehicles come on the opposite side comes with low beam. All are using the high beam which literally blinds you, and guys coming on the back will also be using high beam. Again need to side line and proceed. I was thinking that why the government should make a law to put auto dimmer standard on all vehicles, which will be very helpful for the night drive.
Conclusion
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After having these experience I some time really repent my decision of not going for a UV. Instead of the swift if I have gone for a SUMO then I might be labeled as taxi guy, and I didn't have got the butter smooth ride. But the oncoming vehicle would have treated me more realistically, not because of respect, but because of the fear that it is a taxi which can ram in to car and hence give way. So given a choice would you buy a Swift once again? Can't say, I may go for a swift only if I have good wide roads and Maruti gives 4 year extended replacement guarantee for the rattling issue. I know these are not practicable. But a wishful thought, at present I love my car and love driving this machine on good wide roads.
Last edited by Jaggu : 16th October 2008 at 14:41.
Reason: Readability
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16th October 2008, 13:51
(Im a newbie to cars).
it...
