[swarnava.m]

Received a reply from Sunil Shanbhag. Quoting his reply:

"Hi. The grades depends upon weather and then viscosity. The Mobil oil which we are using suites to Mumbai conditions. Plus it has better cleaning additives."

Honestly, I am shocked. I have never heard such a logic before. The thumb rule with engine oil grades is where the grade is aaWbb, you go not go above aa and you do not go below bb. In this case the higher value is breached.

It would be excellent if someone could clarify this. At the moment it sounds like I need an imminent oil change.

[saurabhkum]

I don't think you need to worry. The lower level is perfectly correct for Mumbai weather. Many car makers specify grade to be 20w40 that is a variation of 20 between lower and higher range. In this case that range is intact. Until and unless you are operating your engine at very high temperature or rpm or under high load this thing shouldn't worry you. Mr Sunil is known for his knowledge and experience this is very unlikely that he will get something done without knowing about it.

[swarnava.m]

Originally Posted by saurabhkum

I don't think you need to worry. The lower level is perfectly correct for Mumbai weather. Many car makers specify grade to be 20w40 that is a variation of 20 between lower and higher range. In this case that range is intact. Until and unless you are operating your engine at very high temperature or rpm or under high load this thing shouldn't worry you. Mr Sunil is known for his knowledge and experience this is very unlikely that he will get something done without knowing about it.

Thanks for the comforting reply. But the issue is not with the lower level. I have used 15W40 or 10W40 in the past. Please see this:

This is lifted from my Alto owner's manual:

Viscosity 20W40, 20W50 for temperatures between -20 C to 40 C;

Viscosity 15W40, 15W50 for temp. between -15 C to 40 C;

Viscosity 10W40, 10W50 for temp between -20 C to 40 C;

Viscosity 10W30 for temp. between -20 C to 30 C;

and 5W30 for temp.between -30 C to 30 C.

The temperature in Mumbai is not always below 30 C is it? Also, I frequently go on long drives and my car visits a lot of different places with different climatic conditions.

Another thing, you mentioned "unless you are operating your engine at very high temperature or rpm or under high load".. High temperature (assuming you mean engine temperature) and high rpm are out of the question, but please explain what you mean by high load? Long running hours? Running the car fully loaded?

[saurabhkum]

By high load I meant towing something, long running hours means continuous ruuning of 7-8 hours or more without any break. Don't worry your car is in right hands. I've used services of Sunil sir for my Accent and Honda Vtec and I can surely vouch for him.Every time my Vtec has gone to him which was every 6 months he used to make it even better.

[palitrana]

I am looking to get my Fiat Linea T Jet serviced, this is the third year that the car will complete. However, I am thinking of getting out of the Fiat authorised service center and start giving it to a good garage. There are some problems like hard suspension, gear getting stuck at times, lots of rattles and generally de-graded service - for which I know that the FASS will draw up a huge bill! Select Auto seems to be a good option, but I am really wary about the time they take, given that this is my only vehicle at present. Is there any scope of him doing my car on priority or something like that?

[saurabhkum]

Originally Posted by palitrana

I am looking to get my Fiat Linea T Jet serviced, this is the third year that the car will complete. However, I am thinking of getting out of the Fiat authorised service center and start giving it to a good garage. There are some problems like hard suspension, gear getting stuck at times, lots of rattles and generally de-graded service - for which I know that the FASS will draw up a huge bill! Select Auto seems to be a good option, but I am really wary about the time they take, given that this is my only vehicle at present. Is there any scope of him doing my car on priority or something like that?

Sorry, but it's first in which gets the priority. You can always discuss with him on how much time will your job take. He will be honest and upfront on the timeline needed. Other than suspension and gear work your car should be ready in 2 days time is what I can see. It's better not to hush up with him because then he won't be able to do justice to your car.

[kalpeshc]

Do they also have expertise with electrical issues e.g. possible faulty ECMs?

[maverhick]

Originally Posted by kalpeshc

Do they also have expertise with electrical issues e.g. possible faulty ECMs?

He'll fix anything. The guy is awesome. Charges a bit more than other garages, but I think for peace of mind I won't give it anywhere else.

[kalpeshc]

Is the makeshift map provided on the 2nd page the latest one? i.e. near Dadar Central station?

[yogi1771]

No that is not right.You have to pass two left side turns,after the 2nd turn go ahead about 500 meters you will find a large yellow gate on the left enter that compound

[honeybee]

Thanks to Lamborghini for the pointer to this thread - I called up Mr. Shanbag's mobile number, but it's out of service. Then I called up the landline and spoke to a lady who gave me his new mobile number.

Spoke to the gentleman himself and appraised him of the Accord brake discs - he said he can only look at the car on Monday even if I dropped it off today. Sundays they are closed.

Since the brakes are not fully functional on the Accord, I am thinking of driving it to Dadar today itself - hopefully the traffic will be sparse. Will see how things work out.

On the estimates part, the indicative part prices and labour prices that he has quoted for the brake disc and pad replacement are close to what the HASS has quoted - although Mr Shanbag's is more of an approximation as he hasn't seen the car yet, while HASS has given a firm estimate. So I won't comment on the price part at this moment.

[anky]

In case you are not satisfied with his estimate, you can always go to Arya Honda Sewri, which is nearby and drop your car off there, not sure if they are open on Sunday's though. Saturday is fine.
Don't drive with the bad brakes to Dombivili though. Finally give opera house a try for the Honda spares, maybe you'll get lucky .

[honeybee]

Just got the car back from one HASS and I don't think I am ready for another HASS experience so soon.

I had tried Arya Honda at Kanjurmarg, and am not too impressed. I was impressed by Hallmark earlier, but this time the service experience was not so good - not by Accord standards at least.

I am going to try Mr. Shanbag for now and see if he can source the original parts and perform the work cheaper than HASS. He did mention that the parts are available.

[anky]

The other option , if you are not satisfied with Honda service , is to go to opera house , after showing your car to Mr Shanbaug , and try to buy all the parts over the counter from there . For this you must go there physically and ask around , then your chances of getting original spares will be better .

Get all the parts from there , and hand them over to Mr Shanbaug , thereby you , yourself are confident that the critical spares you are using are original , as brakes are involved here .

[Y@SH]

Got my Skoda laura (4th service:31,000km) and Audi Q5 (3rd service: 33,000km) from Mr. Sunil Shanbaug

• Good person to deal with very honest and straight forward.

• He personally looks into every job and test drive's the car before handing it over to the customer.

The Skoda had a ABS brake sensor issue and needed a service.
Whereas the Q5 needed front brake pads to be changed


The cars were superbly serviced by Mr.Sunil. Both the cars have lesser NVH levels compared to previously and feel more responsive when driven.

Conclusion: Even though the prices may be same as compared to Authorized Workshops I would still give my car to Mr. Sunil as I know he is honest in his work and personally looks into everything. He will never charge you for something the car doesn't need.