[shajoshi]

My Fiat Palio SD will be 7 years old on 5th May. The Multijet engine is what attracted me to buy it, and the legendary Palio handling makes me keep it for so long. It really excels on the highways and on ghat roads with turns and inclines. So far I have been fortunate to not have any major mishap requiring repair of the car.

Since 2011 it is being serviced at Pune under the able hands of Mr Vitthal Tavare (Phone: 9850811304) who really maintains Fiats with love and care. He is an ex-Fiat Service Manager, and has an extensive network of contacts to be able to get OEM parts for the Palio. I would highly recommend him as an able mechanic for all makes of cars in Pune - after you get frustrated with your OEM service.

Apart from routine service at every 5000 km for oil change I have had to spend on the following during these 7 years:

1. 35,000 km - Replaced Camber bolts (Rs 600)

2. 35,500 km - Oil Sump replaced (damaged on dirt road and leaking) (Rs 6,500).
I was stuck with a leaking sump and a red oil warning light 80 km out of the city. Used M-seal Phataphat to plug the leak, and filled up with Soyabean oil from a village store. Drove slowly below 1500 rpm to nurse the car to the service station. No damage to engine - jugaad saved my day that time.

3. 36,550 km - Battery Changed to Exide Max DIN-50 (Rs 4,800)

4. 40,600 km - Tyres changed to Michelin XM1 185/70 R13 (Rs. 20,500). Big improvement from the stock Goodyears.

5. 50,000 km - Oil Pressure switch, oil lines cleaned to fix intermittent Oil Warning lamp when engine was hot. Could have been caused by my soyabean oil jugaad 15K km before. Front Strut upper mounts replaced (Rs. 8,000)

6. 55,000 km - Steering Ball Joints and Front Brake Pads changed (Rs. 6,000)

7. 59,600 km - Steering rack overhauled - steering had suddenly lost its feel and had become vague. Since no OEM part was available, opted for overhaul service at a so called Rane Service center in Pune (Ph: 9890670272). No leaks and steering feel is back to normal. (Rs. 10,000 including refitting labour - with 1 year warrantee)

8. 59,600 km - Clutch master and slave cylinders replaced, to fix hard gear shifting problem - (Rs 5,000)

9. 61,800 km - Repaired speedometer (again at local Pune shop in Nana Peth) as a rat had entered the cabin, and chewed a wire that caused a short circuit and the speedometer conked off. Hats off to Vitthal Tavare who could debug this problem, and get this fixed without needing a new Speedo that would cost more that Rs 16K. (Rs, 1600)

Total non-routine maintenance so Far - Rs 63K for an odometer reading of Rs 63K. Considering that I ride a lot on broken village roads outside Pune city very often to visit a farm, I am quite satisfied with the running cost and the rugged nature of the Fiat Palio Stile. I have ridden it many times to Ratnagiri, couple times to Goa and once from Pune via Ahmedabad to Sasan Gir as well.

The car gives an FE of 22 km on the highway, and about 20 km in Pune city with about 50% AC usage. It continues to be a pleasure to drive and feels rock solid on the road. I will plan to keep it for 2 more years atleast.

[FINTAIL]

Originally Posted by shajoshi

My Fiat Palio SD will be 7 years old on 5th May. The Multijet engine is what attracted me to buy it, and the legendary Palio handling makes me keep it for so long. It really excels on the highways and on ghat roads with turns and inclines. So far I have been fortunate to not have any major mishap requiring repair of the car.

A friend has a similar Palio Stile- But it is a 1.1 I think. Current odometer reading is well over 1,00,000. As we speak- A Punto shown below, has taken over the Palio's duties- And they've retained the Palio (thankfully!).

And- thanks for the mention about an expert FIAT Mech!

Ladies and gentlemen, presenting, MH 12 ET 8321, Palio Stile SDX.



The Palio still looks sublime- after all these years!



Note the Veglia speedo- Genuine Made-In-Italy stuff.

As they say- FIAT- Way of life!

Going by the number plates on your car- I presume the dealers were good 'ol B.U Bhandari? And what are the last four digits in your car's registration? Just inquisitive.

Thanks!

[Eddy]

Originally Posted by shajoshi

Since 2011 it is being serviced at Pune under the able hands of Mr Vitthal Tavare (Phone: 9850811304) who really maintains Fiats with love and care. He is an ex-Fiat Service Manager, and has an extensive network of contacts to be able to get OEM parts for the Palio. I would highly recommend him as an able mechanic for all makes of cars in Pune - after you get frustrated with your OEM service.

Hi,

This information can be very helpful for Pune members and readers. If possible, can you please create a new thread with more details about the fellow / garage in the Team-BHP Directory section

Thank You

[shajoshi]

Originally Posted by Eddy

This information can be very helpful for Pune members and readers. If possible, can you please create a new thread in the Team-BHP Directory section

I do not have privilege to open a new thread in the Directory section. Who can help - I will be glad to add a thread for Vitthal's service station there.

[shajoshi]

I did purchase the Palio from BU Bhandari. Mine is MH12-ET series in the 38XX range.

[Eddy]

Originally Posted by shajoshi

I do not have privilege to open a new thread in the Directory section. Who can help - I will be glad to add a thread for Vitthal's service station there.

Oops, I did not realise that you are a new member. Never mind, please wait till your account status is upgraded to Bhpian level and then you can start the thread.

Thanks

[alavandar]

Originally Posted by shajoshi

My Fiat Palio SD will be 7 years old on 5th May. The Multijet engine is what attracted me to buy it, and the legendary Palio handling ......
2. 35,500 km - Oil Sump replaced (damaged on dirt road and leaking) (Rs 6,500).
I was stuck with a leaking sump and a red oil warning light 80 km out of the city. Used M-seal Phataphat to plug the leak, and filled up with Soyabean oil from a village store. Drove slowly below 1500 rpm to nurse the car to the service station. No damage to engine - jugaad saved my day that time......

The car gives an FE of 22 km on the highway, and about 20 km in Pune city with about 50% AC usage. It continues to be a pleasure to drive and feels rock solid on the road. I will plan to keep it for 2 more years atleast.

Attachment 1348923

Its a great ownership review synopsis. And you really ran the engine on soya bean oil? It is educative that such juhad works. Key factor probably is you did not push the engine to limits. Hats off to you and hats off to this 1.3 L MJD engine

[FINTAIL]

Originally Posted by Eddy

Hi,

This information can be very helpful for Pune members and readers. If possible, can you please create a new thread with more details about the fellow / garage in the Team-BHP Directory section

Thank You

Originally Posted by shajoshi

I do not have privilege to open a new thread in the Directory section. Who can help - I will be glad to add a thread for Vitthal's service station there.

If @shajoshi does not mind, I could start a thread on his behalf. Could I ?

Thanks!

[Eddy]

Originally Posted by FINTAIL

If @shajoshi does not mind, I could start a thread on his behalf. Could I ?

Thanks!

Only if both these conditions are met:

-- You may submit a review ONLY of those product / service providers whom you have had a first-hand experience with.

-- You have had a good experience and recommend this to everyone.

[shajoshi]

You can start a thread - I can share my first hand experience about "Tavare Motors" Pune.

Originally Posted by alavandar

And you really ran the engine on soya bean oil? It is educative that such juhad works. Key factor probably is you did not push the engine to limits. Hats off to you and hats off to this 1.3 L MJD engine

It was a choice between no lubrication and soyabean oil - being stranded in the middle of nowhere with my family in the car - and night fast approaching. The vegetable oils have reasonable viscosity, but shelf life/stability is the problem. So keeping a low RPM it carried the Multijet safely home for 80 km. I remember the engine was very smooth throughout that journey.

[alavandar]

Originally Posted by shajoshi

It was a choice between no lubrication and soyabean oil - being stranded in the middle of nowhere with my family in the car - and night fast approaching. The vegetable oils have reasonable viscosity, but shelf life/stability is the problem. So keeping a low RPM it carried the Multijet safely home for 80 km. I remember the engine was very smooth throughout that journey.

Yes I agree. Its a Hobson's choice. And you were lucky and it worked. It is a highly calculated risk in a tricky and trying situation.

I remember in 80s one guy filled his Maruti 800 sump with coconut oil instead of the lubricant on the advise of some off cock mechanic and landed up with serious issues.

[architect]

Over time, I have accumulated almost all fluids with me: PS fluid, Oil and even transmission oil. Generally put these small 1 litre cans with me in the boot when I travel. The two fluids I don't have are coolant and clutch / brake fluid. If I am not wrong, distilled water works for both in an emergency (but not sure).

Sorry for the silence but a lot has happened since the last post. Starter motor winding up, an accident etc. Will type out a long review once the car cross 7 years in three weeks time. Odometer stands at 1,46,000 km now.

[architect]

Okay the next post will be a long one, so I will write it at length. here's the sorter summary.

The long and short of it is that my Palio MJD had to go for an engine overhaul. The symptoms were there for the last 7000-8000 km (noise from piston rings on starting up till oil circulated, consuming about 1.5-2.0 litre every 3000-4000 km, smoke coming from dipstick, engine running slightly hot and general unwillingness to accelarate).

I will be severely criticised for this from some quarters, but instead of going to an FNG, getting the block re-bored and replacing only those pistons and rings that were bad, I went for a full half-engine (lower block, pistons, rings, connecting roads, crankshaft, etc. all in one package). This was done after one or two competent FNG's advised me to go for a block replacement for peace of mind for another 1,00,000 km or so. The head was worked on a lathe and 10 valves out of 16 were replaced.

Also replaced were timing chain, adjusters, water pump and some other necessary parts. EGR was cleaned and put back.

Along with it, I also went for a reconditioned turbo (old turbo casing with replaced internals), new clutch kit, replaced my power steering which was leaking for two years, replaced the only original shocker in my car and replaced the leaking AC heater core and serviced the AC.

In addition to this, the starter motor and both clutch cylinders (master and slave) were replaced about a month earlier. That's a huge list of parts in the last 3-4 months and it has cost me a total of Rs 1.40 lakhs. (Ok, that's another Rs 1 per km on the total cost of ownership!). All this work was done at Kashyap Fiat, Okhla.

Suspension was done 2 years ago at around 1-lakh km mark and radiators were replaced twice due to successive accidents.

Also the point lots of people are making is with the new legislations, is there any point of spending Rs 1.5 lakh on a 7-year old diesel car that does not fetch Rs 50,000 in the market? My answer is: I don't have Rs 7 lakh to spend on a new car and won't have for the next 2 years. I have to run this car and run it with enough reliability to stand me in equally good stead as it has through the last seven years. It's market price may be abysmal but its current value for me is okay for this sort of expense. I can't justify these calculations with a calculator. But I guess, not all decisions are fiscally prudent.

1,47,500 km. 7 years and 1 month up. A new life.

[abhii176]

Originally Posted by shajoshi

My Fiat Palio SD will be 7 years old on 5th May. The Multijet engine is what attracted me to buy it, and the legendary Palio handling makes me keep it for so long. It really excels on the highways and on ghat roads with turns and inclines. So far I have been fortunate to not have any major mishap requiring repair of the car

Great to see this able workhorse serving you well over the past 7 years. I own a Punto myself and its closing in on 6 years now and shows no signs of slowing down. Have had a wonderful journey with my Punto and just as you, I do intend to keep her for a couple of more years atleast. Cheers mate and hope to keep seeing more updates from you.

[alfafan]

Originally Posted by shajoshi

I do not have privilege to open a new thread in the Directory section. Who can help - I will be glad to add a thread for Vitthal's service station there.

@shajoshi - great to see your update and congragulations on a wonderful machine. Can you please share some additional details on the location of Mr.Vitthal's garage and how your overall experience has been compared to say Pandit Auto in overall service and care of your car