Hi guys
Our Cielo has been serviced by MyTVS (Saidapet, Chennai - Vahana Motors) since about 2003 and they've been doing a fairly good job.
The car has now gone for a few things:
(1) Front shocks replacement, mounts, bushes etc
(2) Tie rod (juddering sound when front wheels turn)
(3) Rear wheel bearings replacement as totally worn
(4) LHS mirror replacement and factory paint (the internal adjustment knob failed and we had to adjust the mirror by hand !!)
(5) Front bumper full factory paint (as the right side was badly scraped by one of the call drivers who drove the car for my parents a few months back)
(6) Some relay replacement for the rear windshield defogger which isn't working
(7) Refitting of seat covers since they're loose
(8) Replacement of wiper blades
(9) Wheel alignment
(10) A/C belt, gas checking & refilling if required, etc
However about 4 months back, when the car went for routine service, I had complained regarding the headlights since they were not bright at all and visibility was not very good. The Cielo uses H4 60/55w bulbs like the Santro and Avenger 200 and upon checking I found that the Philips Rally 100/90 bulbs had been fitted without any relay, cutout etc.
Anyway MyTVS guys then returned the car after a headlight upgrade. They had now fitted Philips Rally 130/100 bulbs with a cutout, extra wiring etc. But still I have not been satisfied with the brightness. They now tell me that the reflectors inside the headlight have lost their reflective ability and hence the full brightness of the bulbs is not seen.
The headlight units are being replaced now for 2000 bucks per side. Totally 4k for the pair. Brand new headlight set - lens, reflectors etc. I read on the forum that this kind of wattage would harm the holders and ceramic holders need to be fitted. I don't think the MyTVS guys have done this.
Where do I get these Ceramic holders fitted for the headlights in Chennai ? Chennai BHPians please help me out on this. I think once this is done, the car should be fine.
The next thing I'd like to do is to do up the interiors nicely like the Verna in this thread:
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-d...-sx-abs-5.html
Spending 6-7k for this is totally worth it I feel. Your ideas are welcome, since the car is Canterbury Green in colour (mix of grey and green I guess). Even the early Lancers came in this colour. A few pics are attached for you all to see. They were taken during the Ayudha Pooja in 2007.
The car has run only around 30k+ kms and my dad doesn't want to push it off since the resale value anyway is bad now. So he says we might as well use it as long as possible. I agree with this point.
Recently the stock 175/70/13 size tyres were changed to 195/60/13 imported tubeless Good Year Eagle Ventura tyres for around 3k per tyre.
Look forward to hearing from you all on the ceramic holders and other things. Any other tips to maintain / improve stuff in the car are always welcome.
Warm regards,
Venkat
12th December 2008, 20:43
