[ajay_satpute]

Originally Posted by Monaro CV8

Hi ajay,

Great going with the oil change buddy. Good to see that you are already enjoying the benefits !

The moment I read that you've got Mobil1 for your car, I was like - dude, thats the best synthetic oil available in the country, followed by Shell and then Castrol (IMO).

There's a thread about synthetic oil vs non-synthetic oil, in this forum. You will notice that Mobil1 is highly talked about.

Thank you Monaro Sirji. Ya, Mobil1 was planned for long time. If companies like Porsche recommends it, it must be good. Even though my Vista won't run like Porsche, its still good.

[ajay_satpute]

I am thinking debadging the Vista. I Want to get rid of the 'Indica' badge first and foremost and then either remove the Tata logo or TATA badge. IMO, Tata have put too many badges on the Vista, really not required.

Before:



After:

[Monaro CV8]

Hi Ajay,
Thats a very nice idea.
Two Thumbs-up for that.

The clean looks on the Indica's back is what the TATA's should have done..

[Swanand Inamdar]

Good going with the oil change man! I agree, the car feels completely different when driving (post oil change).

Well, Mobil is surely high up there in the list of synthetic oils. No one I've come across has complained about that. All are all gaga over the oil.

EDIT: Ajay, have you already debadged, or are the images photoshopped? If you have yet to do it, be very careful. If not done properly, the badges do leave some sort of stickyness behind, that over a period of time look very ugly.
There is a thread on debadging rides. Have a look at that before you go ahead.

[ajay_satpute]

Originally Posted by Monaro CV8

Hi Ajay,
Thats a very nice idea.
Two Thumbs-up for that.

The clean looks on the Indica's back is what the TATA's should have done..

Originally Posted by Swanand Inamdar

Good going with the oil change man! I agree, the car feels completely different when driving (post oil change).

Well, Mobil is surely high up there in the list of synthetic oils. No one I've come across has complained about that. All are all gaga over the oil.

EDIT: Ajay, have you already debadged, or are the images photoshopped? If you have yet to do it, be very careful. If not done properly, the badges do leave some sort of stickyness behind, that over a period of time look very ugly.
There is a thread on debadging rides. Have a look at that before you go ahead.

Thanku thanku. I have not yet debadged my Vista. Its a photoshopped image. I was not aware of such thread. Will go through it today. Thanks Swanand.

[TSEA]

The Vista should never have been tagged along with the Indica badge in the first place. I also agree that it would look much better without the Indica logo.

Regarding the engine oil quantity, you should check the dipstick level. If the oil is above the high mark, then it could be an issue of overfilling; otherwise you should not worry about it.

[ajay_satpute]

Yes, the dipstick level was OK. I was constantly monitoring while the oil was being poured in. The CARWALA owner was pretty knowledgeable person, so I was comfortable.

Re debadging, I am seriously thinking of doing it after going through the 'Debadging Pros and Cons' thread. Will keep everyone posted here.

[skumare]

Originally Posted by ajay_satpute

Reg debadging, I am seriously thinking of doing it after going through the 'Debadging Pros and Cons' thread. Will keep everyone posted here.

Not sure about your car (as it is a bit old), but debading my brand new Vista was done in a couple of seconds, just yanked off the larger "T A T A" and smaller "Indica" stickers. Of course, checked with the car accessory guy before yanking and he confirmed that it is just a flexible 2-sided tape that is used to stick them. Took a few more seconds to clear of the residual white tape pieces, rubbed them of with fingers.

[ajay_satpute]

I think I am going to retain this car for another 20k KMs or so. There is no point in selling such a passionately maintained car for peanuts. I just checked the value of my car in the market and the best offer I got from a dealer was 1.72 lacs. No way! I am sure if I try to sell it to an individual, I will get something like 2.15-2.5 lacs, which is decent. But, I will wait.

If at all there is a need to upgrade, I will retain Vista and try and add another one rather than replacing this one.

Things lined up for Vista:

1) Debadging

2) 3M complete detailing package (worth about 7k)

3) ICE revamp (budget about 20-22k)

4) Tyre change at 30k or 3 years (whichever is earlier). Will go for Michelin this time. I, luckily, got Bridgestones as stock tyres and they have done a decent job till date and can do another 20k easily, but I will change them just for the heck of it at 30k KMs.(Worth about 3k per tyre, not sure)

5) Along with tyre change, I will also get 3D Kagu mats. (Worth about 3.5-4k)

6) HID headlamps (just may be...Worth around ???)

I thought of adding DRLs, but honestly I dont think they suit Vista, atleast not on the Solar Orange color. I am looking out for a spoiler, but thats like secondary, ternary, etc. etc. on the list.

Also, since all my mandatory free services with Tata have exhausted, I am also going to try out a service center such as Tune Up Plus or Car Cupid Workshop for the next servicing. I am 'almost' sure the output would be better than the Tata A.S.S.

My Vista (PETROL) delivered 14.1 kmpl in horrible Pune city driving conditions. I am elated. Just hoping that the FE remains around 13-14 throughout. IMO, the increased FE could be result of two things, though I am not too sure:
1) Fully synthetic oil.
2) Consistent use of SHELL fuel.

[TSEA]

14.1 kmpl is surely a great figure for Petrol Vista when it comes to city driving. Good going.

And as I said before, your vehicle is in a good condition. Frankly speaking, no other affordable hatchback will give you a overall better experience than a Vista.

[ajay_satpute]

Originally Posted by TSEA

14.1 kmpl is surely a great figure for Petrol Vista when it comes to city driving. Good going.

And as I said before, your vehicle is in a good condition. Frankly speaking, no other affordable hatchback will give you a overall better experience than a Vista.

Thanks TSEA. I agree with your view. Even though the K12 engine doing duty in the various Maruti vehicles is more frugal, the overall experience is better with Vista.

BTW, while returning home yesterday, at one of the bottle-neck points, one bloody moron on a Pulsar took a U-turn from my left to my right in a moving traffic. He got a nice thumping blow on the rear of his bike. However, he just fled thinking that I might screw him for hitting my Vista. I checked the damage after returning home and the front bumper was dislodged a bit from its original position. I can sell this by saying that Tata vehicles usually have big fit & finish problems. On a serious note, the damage is not much, infact its negligible.

Whenever and wherever I am driving, I am always apprehensive about few particular types of vehicles around me:

1) All Pulsar riders
2) All TVS Apache riders
3) All Honda Dio maniacs
4) Swift drivers
5) Auto-rickshaw (In Pune particularly)
6) 3 wheeler tempos

All these have extremely unpredictable pattern of driving style IMO. I usually let all these vehicles go ahead of me or I try and keep them as behind as possible.

EDIT: I do not mean to criticize all those who ride/drive any of the above mentioned vehicles. Its a general observation. Obviously, any TeamBHPian would not drive like this, would he?

[ajay_satpute]

I always feel that Maruti has got atleast one thing right about their cars, the suspensions. This is only in comparison with Vista's suspensions, not comparing it with any other car. I really feel that the hard suspensions of the Marutis (Alto, Swift, Ritz, Estilo) are very useful over the pot-holed roads of our country. Vista's soft suspensions are not good for bad roads. I don't like the ducking behavior everytime there's a crater on the road.

BTW, I was just collecting prices of all DIESEL hatchbacks in the market and the price range is huge, starting at 5.5 to 7.08 lacs ex-showroom. The reason for doing this research is that there is a high possibility that my office would move to a very far off location in the nearest future. When that happens I will shift to diesel car ASAP, since the daily running would be around 40-45 kms. Even if this running does not warrant a diesel car, there is a reason for going for diesel. Even though the distance seems only 40 kms per day/~1000 kms per month/~12000 kms per year, its the traffic on this route. It is simply killing. So on this kind of route, even the diesel FE would come down by 2-3 kmpl from a normal city drive. Petrol car is unthinkable on this route, unless you are Ambani's son.

Here's list of diesel hatches with their ex-showroom prices, for the top-end variants. I have not considered the RITZ here, since it does not have a proper top-end variant.



The last one is i20. There are 2 in this list I might never go for, LIVA and i20. I have my own reservations against these two. Top contender could be the Beat diesel. Let's see, how things unfold in the next few months.

What an irony! Just in my last post, I mentioned I don't want to get rid of my Vista. But, you never know what's in store for you.

EDIT: Just checked the prices of 3 entry-level sedans and they are not too far from the hatches. This shows the premium hatches are asking for too much premium to be premium.

[selfdrive]

Originally Posted by ajay_satpute

BTW, I was just collecting prices of all DIESEL hatchbacks in the market and the price range is huge, starting at 5.5 to 7.08 lacs ex-showroom. The reason for doing this research is that there is a high possibility that my office would move to a very far off location in the nearest future. When that happens I will shift to diesel car ASAP, since the daily running would be around 40-45 kms. Even if this running does not warrant a diesel car, there is a reason for going for diesel.

Tell me about it dude! Even I am seriously considering replacing a petrol with a diesel.
Why dont you look in the used car market? Two things here:
- Diesels are in short supply, and also overpriced (typical demand/ supply thingy)
- Petrols are not selling, so you could get another petrol car for a throwaway price.

If you want to go for a diesel, why not go for a preowned Fiesta? Or if you want a new one, I think the Fiesta classic may not be priced that far away from the list of hatches that you have given. Note: I mention Fiesta only because I like it; feel free to substitute based on your likes.

PS - All said and done, I am glad you are staying away from the i20

[ajay_satpute]

Originally Posted by selfdrive

Tell me about it dude! Even I am seriously considering replacing a petrol with a diesel.
Why dont you look in the used car market? Two things here:
- Diesels are in short supply, and also overpriced (typical demand/ supply thingy)
- Petrols are not selling, so you could get another petrol car for a throwaway price.

If you want to go for a diesel, why not go for a preowned Fiesta? Or if you want a new one, I think the Fiesta classic may not be priced that far away from the list of hatches that you have given. Note: I mention Fiesta only because I like it; feel free to substitute based on your likes.

PS - All said and done, I am glad you are staying away from the i20

Yes, SD I also like the Fiesta a lot. Infact, I heard from one guy in our company that he got the NEW top-end petrol Fiesta at the price of the middle-variant's ex-showroom price. I had taken a TD of the new Fiesta and fell in love with it, instantly. Somehow, buying a new Fiesta Classic diesel doesn't interest me too much. I would rather buy the new Fiesta in petrol avatar.

I am also on a lookout in the used car market. I had recently found an amazing deal on City AT. The owner is ready to sell his City at <7 lacs, because he is migrating to the US. It was a mouth watering deal. Unfortunately, I can't seal any deal so soon. Will wait for a while.

Besides, I am very much attracted to the Duster. It looks like a great vehicle. If they price it as expected (7-9 lacs), then its worth the mullah.

BTW, Which one of your petrol you wish to replace?

Re i20, Nai-No-Never ! Period.

[sindabad.sailor]

Ajay Satpute:
I am also on a lookout in the used car market. I had recently found an amazing deal on City AT. The owner is ready to sell his City at <7 lacs, because he is migrating to the US. It was a mouth watering deal. Unfortunately, I can't seal any deal so soon. Will wait for a while.

just OT here, apologies. I too am on a lookout for City AT for that matter AT sedan, preowned. I would be back in India on 11th. Could you pls PM me abt the one you saw. I would be interested. Thanks in advance.