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-   On owning a car (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/owning-car/)

-   -   Your car's midlife crisis - How to rejuvenate your existing car and save a lot of money (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/owning-car/222936-your-cars-midlife-crisis-how-rejuvenate-your-existing-car-save-lot-money-3.html)

Looks great with new set of wheels! these RS alloys really make it look meaner and the improved handling/grip is a bonus.

Are remaps and wraps road legal in India?

Well, this is very convincing and informative thread as to why not to buy a new car every 5-6 years.

Since I am still a noob in this area I want to focus on the other aspects of upgrading a car, mainly warranty and Insurance before going ahead.stupid:

My Vitarra brezza is almost 4 years old and still under extended warranty.
So , it will helpful if I can get some guidance on what areas(tyres, suspension, ICE, Visual aspects(wrap. paint)) can be upgraded without voiding both warranty and car insurance.

Also related to insurance :-
1. Do we need to get the upgrades included in insurance cover? When to do it(anytime or during renewal)
2. Will not doing this lead to my car insurance getting void?
3. How to get it done and how much more do one will have pay for additional cover(approx.)

Jazz 2009. Can not think of anything available today that has so much space, reliability of the engine and mechanicals and the 10 Cup holders! So, instead of a new car, I upgraded the ICE to a 10 inch Android tablet with camera for 11k, installed an adjustable armrest and four corner ambient lights off aliexpress.com for Rs. 3500 and Rs. 800 respectively. Some new tyres and front suspension work with a healthy and regular dose of WD-40 on the moving bits. Good as new!
Hopefully one day I'll figure out what is the safest way to install H4 LED headlamps without melting the plastics

What a nice thread at the right time!

I had almost decided to change my Renault Koleos, now at 1.6 L km, which i bought preowned due to market slowdown 4 years back but it has absolutely no issues regarding the drivetrain. Only some minor issues keep creeping up once in a while which are cosmetic or something like door handles, power window lifter, etc. Otherwise i absolutely love it as my daily driver as it gives me the experience close to that of Q5 with its performance, comfort and features. And i absolutely love that split tailgate on my nature outings which is not available on anything short of X5 now a days. Also, this covid 19 and related uncertainties had started making me to reconsider my sale as the equivalent replacement is going to cost me close to 40 Lakhs (Kodiaq/Endeavour/MuX). But, now after reading this thread i have decided to rejuvenate it and give it a engine remap if possible as the car anyway has the poor resale value so why not use it for 4-5 years more (will do approx. 1 Lakh km more) as the drivetrain is from Nissan and very reliable. Even if i buy a new car in 2021 after these covid uncertainties settle down, i can still continue to use my Rejuvenated Koleos as a spare/beater car.

Thanks for the thread!

I noticed that all the pictures are from threads on teamBHP itself as I recognise a few of the pictures from other threads, but could someone please help me with where the LUXURIOUS UPHOLSTERYpicture is from,
Amazing thread.
Looking to see more BHPians posting more pictures of their revamped rides.cpics:
thanks,
Vixit.

Timely thread indeed. I own a humble Alto covered 98K km. I personally maintain my car since most of the works are DIY with easily available spares.

This car is mostly used for city runs and a max of 5k-8k km per year. The itch of getting a new car is running in my mind for the past 6 months. Thanks to COVID and GTO's threads, I stopped looking for a new car since this one has lot of juices left before I sell it off.

I just gave my car today to our trusted mechanic for the below jobs.

Driveshafts and Steering joints replace
Replace Front and Rear suspensions
Replace spark plugs, Packings, and all fluids
Few dent repair and a rubbing polish
Timing Belt, Tensioner, water pump replace
Powder coat the full interior to black to give a fresh new car feel
New number plates
Rims and Tyres upgrade to 155/65/R13.

All the above works would cost me around 30k - 40k
If i sell my car now, It would not fetch more than 70K, and replacing with the similar car would cost me around 5 lakhs.

I have to spend around 4 Lakhs from my pocket for the same usage for the next 5 years. Instead, i spend only 40K now which will last for another 4 years (another 30k kms) easily.

I think the best way to stay rejuvenated with a car and avoid midlife crisis is to completely understand the capabilities of the vehicle in terms of what it cannot do or is not practical for to the aspirations and use cases of an individual.

If this is understood and the perfect machine is purchased, it always fits the bill and its difficult to part with the machine due to the practicality, dependability and the utility it provides.

My 7 year old Vento TDi is one such machine that I'm absolutely in love with. Interior, Exterior cleaning from professionals, Periodic tyre change and occasional number plate template switch from the various allowed templates. Haven't bothered changing the HU, remap, spruce any part and I keep it as stock as possible so as to not jeopardize any reliability.

Here's the pic of my ride from couple of months ago -

What a lovely thread Blackwasp!

So here's my story

2013 VW Vento 1.6 TDI
1.3 lac kms

Around the 4 years, 1 lac kms mark, i was being hounded by my family to get a newer car, but instead I got:
Wolf Moto Remap
IES Performance SS Downpipe
TRW Dampers
Brembo rotors + pads
RCD 330G
Euro Air Intake Guide
Chrome Delete

Im sure most of us are 'Tuned > Stock' guys here, a tuned car always feels more special and a better extension to your personality than most stock cars.

Ive planned some mods in the near future, will do them as and when:
Gloss Black roof paint
16" OE VAG wheels/ similar in gloss black
OE Sharkfin antenna
Newest gen Vento rear bumper only

Here are some very recent shots








Similarly, for our pre-owned
2008 Fabia 1.4TDI,
we got the following done at the 1.25Lac kms mark.
This is my dads car and he loves driving it everywhere!

OE Front+ rear bumpers
New grille and inserts
New headlights, tail lights
Redone Roof liner
New seat covers/trim
TRW Dampers
Brembo Brakes
Euro Air Intake Guide


This is how it looks now:





My experience of owning slightly old cars and modding small bits has been a highly rewarding one. Im sure a lot of guys here will have similar stories, so waiting to read on them.

Here you go. Having seen the car in person, I can tell you its even better than the pictures. Overlander drove from Navi Mumbai all the way to Kerala just for this. :D

I also have the same model. First, I make sure my tyre pressure isn't too high. I like to keep it 29 all around even though Honda recommends 32/30.

Second, I upgraded my dampers at 80,000 km to Teins and they were not only more comfortable over bad roads, they also were better at high speeds and cornering. In fact, it drove more like a D1 segment car than a C2 segment car and almost :) prevented me from buying another car.

I feel that a suspension upgrade can have one of the biggest impacts to how a car feels like to drive. Especially if your car doesn't have a good suspension to begin with.

---

My middle class upbringing allow me to throw away anything that still works. So whenever my car parts reach their end of life, I gleefully upgrade them :D

Here are the list of upgrades I did on my 2010 Honda City:

1. Tyres from the rubbish stock 175/65 R15 Goodyears to 195/60 R15 Yokohoma Earth 1
2. Suspension upgrade to Teins
3. ICE upgrade - Android & Bluetooth HU, Amplifier, Components in the front, Coaxials in the back and a subwoofer
4. Racing stripe stickers (removed later on)

In addition of external detailing and seat covers, I would recommend replacing the door panels and plastic. They usually get faded and scratched over a prolonged usage especially around door handles and glovebox. Any amount of detailing isn't enough to get the fresh look of a new car interior.

All the door pads and panels are easily available using the part number and replacing them is also not very complex. This will completely change the interior look and feel. I am planning to do so with my Fiat Linea once this lockdown is over.

Time and again I too get a itch of upgrading a few things on my 6 year old ecosport. However, thinking of reliability and peace of mind pull myself away from disturbing the company settings.

I wish to upgrade the headlights to projects and either an android based touch touchscreen system or one with Android auto. Both of these require fiddling with the wiring and it gives me shivers.

Other than this, I wish to upgrade steel rims to alloys on my Nano. Again, thinking of its market value, don't see any good reason to invest any money in it any further.

So, till the time I do not upgrade my rides, it just about maintaining status quo!

I am actually very well placed here since my i10 just crossed 7 years of ownership two weeks back.

I was actually looking forward to getting an i20/Nexon, but better sense prevailed and I'm now looking at giving my i10 another 6-7 years till EVs become mainstream.

I plan to get an ECU remap to give it some extra torque, especially at low end. Any suggestions, preferably in Chandigarh, would be welcome. If the torque goes from 114 to 130-140, it would be a big boost.

I'm also considering getting it's silencer (deep sound) replaced and a paint job (cleaner droplets damaged the paint) under insurance.

An Android player is third on my list. Hope so it'll be done by the end of this year

I'll agree with the suspension overhaul. Get it overhauled, and you'll feel that you're driving a new car. Literally improves the things.
If you're driving a diesel, get the EGR cleaned. This is something that many people skip but is very important. Mine got cleaned for the first time at 120k kms and that day I was driving with a wide grin! 😁