[Neur0t0xin]

Thanks for the reply guys!
I was particularly looking for the facelifted model with less than 3 years of age and found one in Bangalore. The deal seems to be a 'no go' as of now. The guy selling the car is a second owner, has bought it in 2018, but hasn't transferred the ownership. He's also unwilling to let me take it for a check with the Honda service center, even after promising a token advance. So I just let it pass.

[ps_abhijith]

So after searching for a car which can replace our Nano, be an occasional highway runner and a car that can be shared between my wife and myself, I had zeroed in on
Brio, mainly for the smaller footprint as most of the usage will be within city. I was looking for a worthy used Brio MT, within my budget. The search was going slowly, and occasionally I did test drive few Manuals. One thing I noticed across all cars was issues with front suspension, noises etc.

While I was at my parents place, saw an ad on olx for a brio automatic. I had not considered AT so far as I was expecting the prices to be higher. This one was well within my budget, and the asking price was not much higher than MT brio's from similar year / mileage. This was a white, 2013 brio with 60k km on the ODO.

The car was extremely well maintained, not even a single scratch on the entire body. Obviously the front and rear bumbers were repainted. All glasses were original. This was a top of the line VX AT model. I expected it to have rear defoggers and driver seat height adjustment, but the car didnt. Think the first brio automatics didnt have these. The interiors were like brand new, had premium 3D mats and the rear seats looked like they had never seen passengers. AC was working fine, and the car was extremely smooth to drive. The car was initially owned by a very famous builder in Kerala, and shared garage with a fleet of BMWs, Mercs and a Jaguar. Later, the car was given to a contractor of his, whose daughter was using it since 2017. post 2017, the car had done only 13k kms. Tyres were changed at 47, and car had a new battery. All services were done on time, and at Honda service centres. I was wondering about the low asking price until I checked the service history through a friend who worked in Honda. So the car had the following issues:

Critical Mechanical issues :
a. Service was due (8th year)
b. Rear right wheel bearing needed replacement.
c. Rear brake cylinders were leaking slightly.
d. Car needed alignment & balancing.
e. Need new wiper blades

Other mechanical issues :
a. Few bulbs / switches needed replacement.
b. Car is running on 195 tyres, need to switch to stock (175)
c. Front suspension needs overhaul (Lower arms, bush kits, strut mounts etc)

Cosmetic:
a. Front seats are dirty. Need seat covers.
b. Steering wheel shows age, worn at few places, needs a new cover.
c. AC fan speed knob has broken from usage.
d. Rear RH door glass seal broken / torn.
e. Front doors missing stopper bushes.
f. Washer fluid cap was missing.

The estimate I got for service (with full synthetic engine oil), replacing the wheel bearing, rear brake cylinders and alignment was around 15k.

Considering this, negotiated for the price of the car further, and to my surprize, the final price on which we agreed upon was quite low. The engine/ gearbox was in good condition. Proceeded with the purchase, and gave the car to service the next day. Changed oil, transmission fluid and changed the wheel bearing and brake cylinders. Also replaced some switches and bulbs and did wheel alignment. The bill came to 16k.Post this, went to a car accessories shop and got perfect fitting laterite seat covers and leather steering wrap for 7k. Also got new bosch wiper blades from the same shop. The cosmetic bits, amazingly I was able to order all the 4 pieces I needed from boodmo for cheaper rates, compared to the ASC, and after 10-20 days had all the parts. Was able to install them on my own.

I have had the car for 3 months now, and have done close to 5k km on it. The suspension shows age, makes noises when you go over potholes, but is okey for now. Alignment is also fine, there is no side pulling, or irregular wear patterns on front tyres. The service advisor recommended not to do anything to the suspension until I change back to stock tyres. This is my first automatic, so it took some time to understand how the car will change gears, overtaking was messy in the first few weeks, but fine now. I have seen mileages from 9kmpl (full city usage) to 19 kmpl (200km long drive on the highway, in early morning). On an average I get anything between 12-15 based on mixed usage. The key was already upgraded to a Honda flip key, I believe the stock key would have broken off as mentioned by someone in this very post. I also had got an ABRO fuel injector cleaner bottle, and added it to the fuel as instructed to clean the injectors.

I was told to expect spending around 6-8 k for the front suspension overhaul and add another 6-8k if the steering gearbox also needs overhauling. Shock absorbers seems fine for now. Not sure of these rates. Any insights into these will be appreciated. Considering the age of the car and the mileage, are there any other jobs which I may expect or anything which I should keep an eye out for? Currently the car sees around 1000 km usage every month.

[JithinR]

Cross posting from the Brio thread since my query is related to an automatic.

I am looking to purchase a used Honda Brio automatic for my dad. I took a look at the pictures the seller shared and can see some sort of leak on the right hand from below near the engine oil filter.

Can members here tell me what could be the possible cause for this. I will take a test drive later today so I thought I would ask here to get any pointers on what to check.

[Crankpin]

Sorry just saw this post! Have you purchased the brio AT? Suspension struts both front and rear should be checked for wear or Strut upper bush damage. Check wheel bearings.

[JithinR]

Originally Posted by Crankpin

Sorry just saw this post! Have you purchased the brio AT? Suspension struts both front and rear should be checked for wear or Strut upper bush damage. Check wheel bearings.

Sorry sir, I am not sure if your post was for me (since there is no quote). I didn't get the Brio AT but did pick up a 2013 City AT for my dad a few weeks back.

Thanks for the help regardless.

[THE-U-]

All Brio owners, I have a question (seems like this thread is not active but here it goes). I was in my friends 2013 or 2014 Brio and I felt like the engine was racing sitting inside the car (at 1200 rpm idle). But, outside with the hood open, it felt normal. In my experience, all modern cars idle around 800 rpm (if there is a tach) after a brief kick up at about 1000 rpm to warm up the engine. Is the 1200 rpm normal? I wanted my friend to check it out, but, perhaps I am overly cautious. Any thoughts? Thanks in advance.

[HartBandit]

Originally Posted by Neur0t0xin

Hi folks,
Just wondering if it's worthwhile buying a Brio automatic at Bangalore

Since the Brio is out of production, I looked up the used car market and have zeroed in on a 2017 facelifted version with 22k on the odo. The asking price is around 5.7lacs.


Thanks

WOW! It is still the exact same that folks are charging for a 2017 model Brio VX AT, that too with more than double the odometer reading! The second-hand market is insanely expensive nowadays!

[Neur0t0xin]

Originally Posted by HartBandit

WOW! The second-hand market is insanely expensive nowadays!

The new car prices are also equally inflated these days.
I ditched the plan to buy the used Brio and bought a new Jazz end of 2019.
'Peace of mind' is priceless!