[bluevolt]

We needed a replacement for our five year old Maruti 800. The car had done 50K on the Odo when we sold her back to Maruti True Value for 1.2 Lac. So we were in market to buy a new car. Our budget was up to 4 lakhs. Fuel efficiency, after sales services, inside space, value for money tag were our prime concerns. We needed AC with heater, Power steering as minimum fitments.

We short listed three cars - Alto, Santro and WagonR. We took out Alto due to few reasons.

Alto: Very good car. Has got everything we wanted, however, space inside does not meet our requirements. 5 Persons can’t sit comfortably in Alto, especially with luggage. Also, with AC on, the car performance (pick-up, engine smoothness) gets affected. So after a lot of thought, we took out Alto.

After dropping alto, we finally had to decide between WagonR and Santro.
We had almost made our mind to buy the Santro but four things put me off when i took the test ride of both cars.

1. Very uncomfortable back-seat ride
2. Overall Bumpy Ride
3. Less Boot Space
4. Noisy Engine & Cabin
5. Less Effective and noisy AC
So we decided to go for WagonR Lxi.

Buying experience

Got call from DD motors (Peeragrahi, Delhi) that the car is available for test drive. My Dad, elder brother and I took the test drive and we were impressed by the space and headroom. The car's pick up was also very good, so we booked the car on 26 March 2007 and got it delivered 4 April 2007. The on-road price was Rs.3.85 Lac.

Accessories fitted from showroom were foot mat, Sony CD player along with 2 speakers, wheel cover, mud flaps, side molding, gear lock, remote locking.

No PDI was done by us as we were not aware of such things at that time, but did same thoroughly while buying Honda city. The entire delivery procedure was smooth and hassle free.

Ownership experience

Till Date, the car has crossed 31,000 km and it performs as well as it did when it was new. Though there are some bits where i think Maruti should have done better.

What i like

1. The looks
2. Engine
3. Headroom and boot space.
4. Front legroom is great.
5. A perfect city hatch with mix of optimum power and mileage.

What i don’t like

1. Rattling and creaking noises.
2. Ride quality of the car.
3. The quality of plastics could have been better.
4. Pathetic Gearshifts (especially second one)

Services

Let me summarize regarding the service history of the car.

First service

First service was done at DD motors. The car had run 1050KM by then. There was a minor issue relating to gear tightness. Service adviser told me that the gear box of WagonR is just like that. Engine oil was replaced as advised by Maruti. The car was washed and waxed well. The bill amount was Rs. 1120

The consumables which were replaced are

- > Engine Oil – Rs. 540
- > Oil filter – Rs. 66
- > Fuel additive – Rs. 311
- > Misc. consumables – Rs. 40
- > Taxes – Rs. 160

Second Service

Second service was also done by the DD motors, peeragarhi. we still complained of gear shift problem but they gave similar excuse, by the time i read so many reviews about WagonR and almost every owner has this issue. The bill amount was Rs. 120

The consumables which were replaced are

- > Misc. consumables – Rs. 50
- > Screen fluid – Rs. 12
- > Pollution certificate – Rs.45
- > Taxes – Rs. 10

Third service

Third service was done at 10,400KMs. Engine oil and oil filter was changed. I did wheel alignment and rotation from outside as Maruti people charge a bomb for the job. The bill amount was Rs. 1250
I lost the service bill so couldn’t write minute details.

At 12,000 KM, a sad incident happened with the car. While driving at speed of 50-60 KM/H near azadpur, a big stone (usually found near construction sites) came under the car and destroyed oil sink, gear box. The complete oil came out and engine was halted. We were lucky that engine was not seized as car was driven for about 100-200 meters to park it to safe place. Called Maruti people and they towed the car to SVC. The SVC people gave a total estimate of around 50-60K and the estimated down time was one month including all formalities of Insurance etc. At that time we were not having any other spare car, so decided not to give car to the SVC, instead by reference of a good friend, we took the car to a Reputed workshop and they estimated repair bill around 35k only as they checked that engine was OK and no work would be done to engine whereas Maruti SVC told that there is damage to engine. Complete gear box housing, engine oil sink and several misc. items were replaced by genuine Maruti parts along with complete service and car was back home after 7 days.
Though initially we were thinking of selling the car, but after getting the car repaired there was no change in performance and it was as good as new. So we didn’t sold her and used in normal manner.

Fourth service

Fourth service was done at 20150 KM. Engine oil, oil filter, gear oil were changed. Engine flushing and injector cleaning was done. Also some minor parts were changed. The bill amount was Rs. 3900.

The consumables which were replaced are
- > Oil filter – Rs. 70
- > Engine oil – Rs. 740
- > Coolant – Rs. 210
- > Brake fluid – Rs. 140
- > Misc. consumables – Rs. 65

Labour charges are

- > Paid service – Rs. 710
- > Brake bleeding - Rs. 450
- > Engine flushing – Rs. 675
- > Injector cleaning - Rs. 400
- > Taxes – Rs. 250

Fifth service

Fifth service was done at 30,000 KMs in December. This one was heavy on pocket as bill amount was Rs. 7700

The consumables which were replaced are

- > Oil filter – Rs. 70
- > Engine oil – Rs. 850
- > Spark plugs – Rs. 220
- > Air filter – Rs. 160
- > Wiper blades – Rs. 170
- > Fuel filter – Rs. 250
- > Decarbonizing – Rs. 1650
- > Gear oil – Rs. 770
- > Misc. consumables – Rs. 100

Labour charges are

- > Paid service – Rs. 850
- > Tappet adjustment - Rs. 350
- > Throttle body cleaning – Rs. 450
- > Drum and disc brake cleaning - Rs. 850
- > Taxes – Rs. 900

I am overall very happy with the car. Fuel efficiency is around 12-15 KMPL (overall) depending on AC use and riding pattern. I am also impressed with the handling, can easily do 120-140 safely. It is still running on stock battery and tyres.

Here are some photos of the car.

[himavanth_m]

Nice photos of your car. Black is my favourite color.
Anyway, I would suggest you do not exceed 100-110 kmph in a Wagon R on long stretches. The prime reason that I am saying is because it has puny tires and I feel extremely skeptical about their capabilities.
I think those speeds are meant for your other vehicles in your signature viz i-VTEC City.

Wish you more happy miles with your vehiclees

[DMehta]

Hey! Are those the eeco wheel caps? look surprisingly good on the wagonr. looks like you are facing the typical 'maruti' problems. Ride quality, rattling, loose suspension.
People like a firm and nice suspension! are you listening maruti?

[bluevolt]

Originally Posted by himavanth_m

Anyway, I would suggest you do not exceed 100-110 kmph in a Wagon R on long stretches.
Wish you more happy miles with your vehiclees

Hi himavanth_m, thanks for your wishes.

Yes the tyres of wagonr are too puny for the size of the vehicle, also they are noisier too. I rarely exceed the speeds over 110 kmph. Mainly the car is driven in Delhi NCR region.

Originally Posted by DMehta

Hey! Are those the eeco wheel caps? look surprisingly good on the wagonr. looks like you are facing the typical 'maruti' problems. Ride quality, rattling, loose suspension.

Hi Dmehta, the wheel caps are MGA, bought from maruti showroom.

Few more pics

[DicKy]

Just bumped into this thread, and we too have the same WagonR LXi in black colour.
Though we were keen on the Royal Beige colour , only black was in stock and available within two days.
But now except the 'cleaning bit' love the colour as it gives some kinda elegant look to it, unlike other colours that make the waggie look like a toy car.
Mine done 7k KMs in one and a half years and is sparingly used.
No extra expenses other than routine service done so far.

[bluevolt]

Originally Posted by DicKy

Just bumped into this thread, and we too have the same WagonR LXi in black colour.
Though we were keen on the Royal Beige colour , only black was in stock and available within two days.
But now except the 'cleaning bit' love the colour as it gives some kinda elegant look to it, unlike other colours that make the waggie look like a toy car.

Yes, the WagonR looks quite good in black color. We also considered ocean blue color but that was not available in LXi trim at that time.

Dicky, what mileage do you get from your car? Do you also have problem in gear shifting?

[Utopian]

The Waggie still looks in great shape after all those K Kms up its sleeve. Apart from the pathetic gear shift, everything about the car was just good.

[DicKy]

Originally Posted by bluevolt

Yes, the WagonR looks quite good in black color. We also considered ocean blue color but that was not available in LXi trim at that time.

Dicky, what mileage do you get from your car? Do you also have problem in gear shifting?

Gear shifting - Of course, even the guyz at Maruti acknowledged it. The gears are notchy and we have to force into each gear, though after a few thousand kilometres things have slightly improved.
The only problem areas are the 3rd gear- sometimes it doesn't slot correctly if we just nudge the lever like other cars. But proper shifting will do the trick.
But reverse gear is a real pain. sometime it won't just engage and only after shifting through other gears (to loosen it ) will it engage.
Sometimes even after slotting the gear ,all you hear is a whirring noise and you have to repeat the exercise all over again.

Mileage - The best we have got is 17km/l (approx.) ,that too in a very conservative sedate driving style.
And with spirited driving about 14km/l.
Please note that these are full highway figures. We are in the suburbs and city driving is only a once a month affair, so don't know about bumper to bumper traffic figures. And we use A/C all the time.
Well , the Waggie is not that fe, 'cos the engine itself is based on 80s engine and also the tall boy design.
@ bluevolt- What avg fe do you get? since you are in Delhi/Gurgaon and it's city traffic?

[bluevolt]

Originally Posted by DicKy

Gear shifting - Of course, even the guyz at Maruti acknowledged it.
But reverse gear is a real pain. sometime it won't just engage and only after shifting through other gears (to loosen it ) will it engage.
Sometimes even after slotting the gear ,all you hear is a whirring noise and you have to repeat the exercise all over again.
@ bluevolt- What avg fe do you get? since you are in Delhi/Gurgaon and it's city traffic?

That's true, sometimes there is whirring noise and looks like something will break inside the engine. Sometimes third gear engages while engaging first gear.

In city traffic, the mileage is around 11 KMPL only, but on freeways like Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway, the car gives mileage of over 15-16 KMPL.

Is Waggie's Engine that old? Maruti sold 20th century engines in 21st century?

[DicKy]

Suzuki F10D engine - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
It's actually a 21st century engine . but still based on the old 80s engine found on the 1000 and Gypsy.
Basically a refined MPFi version of the Maruti classic 796cc 3 pot. (i guess)

[bluevolt]

My WagonR returns me a fuel efficiency of 10-12 KMPL in city traffic which is quite low IMO. Now with summer setting in and frequent use of AC, mileage is around 9-11 KMPL.

Please suggest me some ways so that the car gives me good fuel efficiency.

PS - It has done around 32K KMs.

[vnabhi]

Originally Posted by bluevolt

My WagonR returns me a fuel efficiency of 10-12 KMPL in city traffic which is quite low IMO. Now with summer setting in and frequent use of AC, mileage is around 9-11 KMPL.

Please suggest me some ways so that the car gives me good fuel efficiency.

PS - It has done around 32K KMs.

Well, 10 to 12 with 100% AC in city traffic seems normal. I get 11 to 12 during winter months, with minimal use of AC. My Waggie will complete 10 years this July.

When the car was new, it used to give me 13 to 14 with AC and 14 to 15 without AC, but that was in Vizag Steel township, which has minimal traffic. Not so in Hyderabad, which has heavy traffic.

In your case, I suggest you give premium petrol a try. Or else top up with system G --for every litre you need 1 ml of System G. A bottle of System G costs around 300 INR, and it contains around 200 ml.

[bluevolt]

^^^ Hi Vinabhi, Thanks for your suggestion. Yes the mileage is quite normal as stated by many of my friends also but you know i am expecting little more from waggie (over enthusiastically may be). Can you please tell me more about 'system G'? Is this some kind of fuel additive and where is this available?

[vnabhi]

System G is normally available at BP outlets and also in Ford workshops. I buy mine from the latter as I own a Fiesta also.

The Ford and Opel Corsa manuals recommend use of System G. It is cheaper than premium fuels.

Best of luck to you.

[bluevolt]

^^^ Ok, thanks for information. I will try this and share experience with all.