[lucifer919]

Rikhav,

Its odd that @$$ is Mumbai does not have these parts in stock. In Bangalore, I went to a workshop that is new and just about settling in and they have most Palio parts in store not to mention all the required tools and technical know-how.

Also, just to clarify, the part cost is inclusive of the belts and their respective tensioners and pulleys.

One other thing i wanted to mention is that all parts used on my car were imported from Brazil and in original Spanish packaging. so it is surprising again to know that the Kawa person offered to take parts off a new engine. New engines are now only imported if there is a car waiting on order and not otherwise is the information i have and its from a genuine source inside the Fiat factory. I used to work for Motoroids and have visited the Fiat factory a couple of times and was in touch with the top guns out there.

No Offense, but are you sure its not just the workshop guys taking you for a ride here?

EDIT: the labor cost for all belt changes are not workshop specific but is specified by Fiat/Tata in their Siebel CRM system. It is Rs. 1500 so please stick it to the guys in the workshop and ask them to show you the system when creating the work order. All labor charges are specific to each bit of work you are getting done. These should not vary irrespective of which city or workshop you go to unless they are not an Authorised Service Centre. If they charge any more than specified, you have the right to approach Fiat and ask for an explanation.

Honestly, i know this because the service personnel at B.U. Bhandari, Pune were transparent about all this and used to create job cards in front of me when ever i approached them for any work to be done. Even jobs like denting and painting have specific charges according to parts that are affected irrespective of how much damage they have.

[lucifer919]

On a side note, i do need some advice from you guys.

Lately, driving in the rains in Bangalore have left my car making weird sounds. If i have the clutch depressed and turn the steering (like while parking/ at stop light maneuvers), there is a squeak from the bottom of the steering column. If i get the car washed, all is silent till i drive in the rains again! Is it time to get something repaired/ replaced in the car or is it just something that needs a bit of grease?

Also, the car has currently done about 63000 Kms. and I have a feeling the suspension is shot! I can feel all bumps and undulations on the road (even pebbles and gravel) through the tyres. The amount of tramlining has also increased quite considerably. One reason for this could be that Bangalore roads are like moon craters as compared to the roads in Pune that I was used to, and, I'm also running on 15 inch 195/50 profile tyres. Any sure way of finding out if suspension needs attention? I have checked for oil leakages and did not find any in all four corners.

EDIT: the car now does corner like its on rails. I love that part but not the jarring ride :P

[rikhav]

Originally Posted by lucifer919

Rikhav,

Its odd that @$$ is Mumbai does not have these parts in stock. In Bangalore, I went to a workshop that is new and just about settling in and they have most Palio parts in store not to mention all the required tools and technical know-how.

Also, just to clarify, the part cost is inclusive of the belts and their respective tensioners and pulleys.

One other thing i wanted to mention is that all parts used on my car were imported from Brazil and in original Spanish packaging. so it is surprising again to know that the Kawa person offered to take parts off a new engine. New engines are now only imported if there is a car waiting on order and not otherwise is the information i have and its from a genuine source inside the Fiat factory. I used to work for Motoroids and have visited the Fiat factory a couple of times and was in touch with the top guns out there.

No Offense, but are you sure its not just the workshop guys taking you for a ride here?

EDIT: the labor cost for all belt changes are not workshop specific but is specified by Fiat/Tata in their Siebel CRM system. It is Rs. 1500 so please stick it to the guys in the workshop and ask them to show you the system when creating the work order. All labor charges are specific to each bit of work you are getting done. These should not vary irrespective of which city or workshop you go to unless they are not an Authorised Service Centre. If they charge any more than specified, you have the right to approach Fiat and ask for an explanation.

Honestly, i know this because the service personnel at B.U. Bhandari, Pune were transparent about all this and used to create job cards in front of me when ever i approached them for any work to be done. Even jobs like denting and painting have specific charges according to parts that are affected irrespective of how much damage they have.

Kiran
I think what Kawa was offering me was maybe used belts from a engine taken out from a car. I am not sure but I had visited their warehouse once and I saw huge pile of spares. This was a while back. As mentioned by Vijay they might be having original spares now

Thanks a lot for giving information about the labour charges. Just a while back I got a call from Fortune Motors and they asked me the reason for making a complaint against them. When i told him that their labour charges are very high and for the same work my friend had paid almost half the amount at Bangalore, the guy replied that "THIS IS BOMBAY AND THAT IS BANGALORE". I calmly told him that if that is the case I will not get my car to you and hanged up

Kiran, in Mumbai the workshop managed by Tata also don't service the Palio. Out of 7 or 8 workshops, half refuse to service a palio and others say they don't have the spares

[lucifer919]

Originally Posted by rikhav

Kiran
the guy replied that "THIS IS BOMBAY AND THAT IS BANGALORE". I calmly told him that if that is the case I will not get my car to you and hanged up

Kiran, in Mumbai the workshop managed by Tata also don't service the Palio. Out of 7 or 8 workshops, half refuse to service a palio and others say they don't have the spares

It is quite disturbing to see the apathy towards Palios in Mumbai. I feel for you man. I think your best bet now would be to get in touch with Fiat again and get a recommendation on the best workshop to approach and also get a labor estimate if they agree to provide one. I know the second part is a long shot but they should be able to tell you which workshops still service Palios.

[parimal_g]

Originally Posted by rikhav

I had a talk with Mr. Vijay (manager at Kawa) regarding the belts. He tells me he will remove all the belts and bearings from a brand new 1.6 engine and give it to me
So basically he does not have brand new packed parts and for critical parts of an engine I cannot take that risk.
Secondly, no FIAT A.S.S. is happy to do a job if you get the spares from outside and even If i dont wish I have to go to Fiat A.S.S. as they only will have the cam locking tools for timing belt change


Have made a complaint with the FIAT helpline. Lets see what it leads to

You can also check with Shetty motors in Mumbai or Best place is BU Bhandari, Pune, they still give service for Fiat vehicles, if the required parts in Stock they will be happy to serve you. And as they are not authorized service center the service cost has reduced drastically. And they had Awesome fiat team.

[rikhav]

Originally Posted by parimal_g

You can also check with Shetty motors in Mumbai or Best place is BU Bhandari, Pune, they still give service for Fiat vehicles, if the required parts in Stock they will be happy to serve you. And as they are not authorized service center the service cost has reduced drastically. And they had Awesome fiat team.

Shetty Motors can provide the parts but again which Fiat A.S.S. will do the job if i get the parts from outside. For sure I will never approach Fortune Motors

If nothing works out with Bombay Cycle, i will think of talking to BU Bhandari.

Thanks for the suggestion

[parimal_g]

Originally Posted by rikhav

Shetty Motors can provide the parts but again which Fiat A.S.S. will do the job if i get the parts from outside. For sure I will never approach Fortune Motors

If nothing works out with Bombay Cycle, i will think of talking to BU Bhandari.

Thanks for the suggestion

There was one service Adviser in Fortune Named Rajendra, now he has opened his Private work Shop, and He was very knowledgeable about Fiat Cars, i will check if i can get his number.

[rikhav]

Originally Posted by parimal_g

There was one service Adviser in Fortune Named Rajendra, now he has opened his Private work Shop, and He was very knowledgeable about Fiat Cars, i will check if i can get his number.

Hi Parimal
Yeah, it will great if you can get his number. Will speak to him and see if he is ready to do the job
Thanks

[parimal_g]

Originally Posted by rikhav

Hi Parimal
Yeah, it will great if you can get his number. Will speak to him and see if he is ready to do the job
Thanks

I will PM you His number. You can speak to him, if am correct he even goes for the PUG (A yahoo group for Palio Lovers) meets.

[lucifer919]

its been a couple of days since the last update so i thought i'Il add an update here. Been in Bangalore for 6 months now and its been a great experience so far.

The car had it share of surprises though.
Was at the MG Road/ Brigade Road junction at a red Light and got rear ended by a drunk in a Skoda Laura. The bumper took all the brunt of the impact and also the left taillight. Could not do much at the time coz the guy wasn't in his senses. The Skoda was pretty bad to look at. The hood, fonder, head lights, radiator were smashed. He gave me his card and offered to fix the damage so I let it go at the time.

Dropped the car for insurance and it was out of commission for almost a month. The bumper was not in stock so had to wait on it to arrive. The Aadya motors guys did a good job of painting the bumper but when I went to take delivery of the car, saw that they had put 2 new dents in the left side doors. Made a scone out there and they fixed both doors and painted them at no extra charge.

So, the norm still stands of my car taking damage when standing still. I really don't know how to stop there silly incidents from happening At my wits end here.

Any ways, woke up early today and gave the car a nice shampoo and polish. This is how she looks now.

[akhilesh]

A well maintained Palio is still a sigh to behold. Lovely looking ride there

[jagan0677]

Nice pics and the car looks happy !!

Originally Posted by lucifer919

...
So, the norm still stands of my car taking damage when standing still. I really don't know how to stop there silly incidents from happening At my wits end here.
...

.. Elementary, Lucifer919!! Do not let the car stand still. Drive all you can!


Cheers,
Jagan.

[lucifer919]

Hi All,

need a little help in terms of Palio spares. I need to change the lower arms on my car as the bushes are busted and they make a clanking sound when going over bumps.

now the problem is that @$$ gave me a quote of 5200+tax for each lower arm. the thread by JVH on his car ownership has some spare costs pegging the lower arm at ~2100. Venkatesh from Gowri automobiles quoted around 4000. which price is correct and how do i confirm?

also, the price of strut kit in the same thread by JVH pegs the strut at 1800 each and the @$$ is quoting 17000 for it.

and yes, you guys read it right. the descrepency is over 15000 Rs.

i need to replace these parts in my car and need help to figure out what is the correct price. in case Palio spares are available anywhere over the counter in Bangalore, i'm more than willing to purchase them there and get it replaced from Venkatesh.

advise!

[nkg77]

Originally Posted by lucifer919

Hi All,

need a little help in terms of Palio spares. I need to change the lower arms on my car as the bushes are busted and they make a clanking sound when going over bumps.

now the problem is that @$$ gave me a quote of 5200+tax for each lower arm. the thread by JVH on his car ownership has some spare costs pegging the lower arm at ~2100. Venkatesh from Gowri automobiles quoted around 4000. which price is correct and how do i confirm?

also, the price of strut kit in the same thread by JVH pegs the strut at 1800 each and the @$$ is quoting 17000 for it.

and yes, you guys read it right. the descrepency is over 15000 Rs.

i need to replace these parts in my car and need help to figure out what is the correct price. in case Palio spares are available anywhere over the counter in Bangalore, i'm more than willing to purchase them there and get it replaced from Venkatesh.

advise!

Source your spares from Kava Automobiles, Mumbai. They are the cheapest and reliable.

[sanjaymugur]

Originally Posted by lucifer919

Hi All,

need a little help in terms of Palio spares. I need to change the lower arms on my car as the bushes are busted and they make a clanking sound when going over bumps.

now the problem is that @$$ gave me a quote of 5200+tax for each lower arm. the thread by JVH on his car ownership has some spare costs pegging the lower arm at ~2100. Venkatesh from Gowri automobiles quoted around 4000. which price is correct and how do i confirm?

also, the price of strut kit in the same thread by JVH pegs the strut at 1800 each and the @$$ is quoting 17000 for it.

and yes, you guys read it right. the descrepency is over 15000 Rs.

i need to replace these parts in my car and need help to figure out what is the correct price. in case Palio spares are available anywhere over the counter in Bangalore, i'm more than willing to purchase them there and get it replaced from Venkatesh.

advise!

thats a very expensive quote for lower arm..

did you enquire @prerana service center on Hosur road ? please check with them..

you can check with JK Automobiles on JC road who sell fiat spares over the counter & gets all spares from concorde in bulk... though he charges a bit of premium, but reasonable..

be wary of KAVA automobiles, he usually supplies taiwan make which are not that good, go for original FIAT parts & it lasts long & serves well

as usual, keep this thread updated.