[sabnavis]

Apologies for the delay in writing..... 1: - The car has a full service history barring the last 15, 000 kilometers, It is incured till the end of the year, all wheels have been replaced about 4 months ago, there is new batterry and all electronics are working well. 2: - The test drive (so called) was on the smoothest roads of Delhi (Vasanth Kunj) and there were no holes for me to test it on, but the vehicle was firm and held its own, 4: - I am some one who has never been in an accident or driven beyond 80KMPH so high speed stability is not something which matters, I manage to eek out the last mile out of fuel, 5: - I had a wonderfull time with my palio i was hoping the linea would extend the good time, where it falters is the or was faltering was in the pull, I read in some of the reviews that the engnie gives its best at 5000 + RPM, I have never crossed 3000 so reaching 5000 is a bit scary. I am not an old person but I have seen some very bad things happen to my friends when they reach speeds beyond 80.

There are a few scratches on the outside but none that a good polish and paint cannot fix, no noise inside the cabin at all and the AC is a bone chiller, it helps that Delhi is getting colder, true test will be in the summer when i am told it touches 48 degress with regularity.

68K is worry some, I have told that the car is good for atleast 100K more and when looking at the second hand diesel market there are only high milers... ooh and spoke to the owner assures he drove all of them himself, Has a factory in Jaipur. It is still good to go..

Thanks for the many responses...

[vijaycool]

I dont know why people slog on Fiat especially when they make great and superior cars. Just for the sake what's wrong with Fiat, I purposely driven 2005 Wagon R, 2006 Esteem, Baleno against my 2002 GTX (rusted apron)and one has no reason to shift to maruti if he has experienced the fiat magic. Even 2000 fiat siena (no rust)1.2 is much powerful and very silent cabin than wagon R(floor board rusted, doors, Apron rusted). I have seen several 'M' badge cars at the workshop smoking around 70~80K mark. The exception could be 'F' heart in the 'M' chassis.
If you like the car go for it. Fiat car's communicate to the driver a lot. Perhaps thats the reason the owners spend much on car to keep her in top shape (read expensive maintenance). I have seen lot many other cars so poorly maintained and rattles every where, but yet to see a Fiat car with a bad engine. So please go with your heart say.

Good luck.

[GTO]

Originally Posted by Samridh

68,000 is a quite a number on the ODO. As I see it, as a thumb rule, each cars life is 5years/100,000 kms (unless we are looking at a really well-maintained vehicle).

I agree with your first point, as I personally prefer to cap my used buys @ 50,000 kms.

However, I completely disagree on the second point. Many of us have used modern cars till 2.0 lakh kms. And happily so. Even with average levels of maintenance, and regular oil changes, any of the current generation cars will keep rolling well after 1.5 lakh kms. The only question is : How reliably they do so, and that entirely depends on the preventive maintenance that the vehicle has seen.

Personally, if I were to consider a car with over 50,000 kms on the odo, it would have to be Japanese or Korean.

[Speed Pujari]

Originally Posted by sabnavis

Apologies for the delay in writing..... 1: - The car has a full service history barring the last 15, 000 kilometers, It is incured till the end of the year, all wheels have been replaced about 4 months ago, there is new batterry and all electronics are working well. 2: - The test drive (so called) was on the smoothest roads of Delhi (Vasanth Kunj) and there were no holes for me to test it on, but the vehicle was firm and held its own, 4: - I am some one who has never been in an accident or driven beyond 80KMPH so high speed stability is not something which matters, I manage to eek out the last mile out of fuel, 5: - I had a wonderfull time with my palio i was hoping the linea would extend the good time, where it falters is the or was faltering was in the pull, I read in some of the reviews that the engnie gives its best at 5000 + RPM, I have never crossed 3000 so reaching 5000 is a bit scary. I am not an old person but I have seen some very bad things happen to my friends when they reach speeds beyond 80.

There are a few scratches on the outside but none that a good polish and paint cannot fix, no noise inside the cabin at all and the AC is a bone chiller, it helps that Delhi is getting colder, true test will be in the summer when i am told it touches 48 degress with regularity.

68K is worry some, I have told that the car is good for atleast 100K more and when looking at the second hand diesel market there are only high milers... ooh and spoke to the owner assures he drove all of them himself, Has a factory in Jaipur. It is still good to go..

Thanks for the many responses...

sabnavis, let me make you aware of one very important fact- build quality of Palio is way better than Linea. I know bcoz I own both of them right now.
Driving Palio is league ahead of Linea. Also, having witnessed the sturdiness of Palio, initially you may dislike the leanness of Linea.
Though you may find Linea league ahead of other cars in competition also.

Anyways, it is your decision. You know well how it is to own a Fiat. And once driven Fiat it will hard for you to change brands. none will satisfy you (I am one victim).

As far as service is concerned I am personally happy, it is evolving in positive direction.
But I feel that labor cost is quite on the higher side (thats Tata). I saw this yesterday when I took my father-in-law's Indigo to KHT to get the gear king pin replaced. They quoted 3000 bucks for replacing the pin.
Roadside mech charged 250 bucks for same.

[vijaycool]

Originally Posted by Speed Pujari

once driven Fiat it will hard for you to change brands. none will satisfy you (I am one victim).

Rightly said. I even thought of changing to a diesel car. Everytime I drive I simply can not think of other cars. Older palios are built to last so parts wont be a problem unless it involves in a crash.

Regards,
Vijay

[Samridh]

Originally Posted by GTO

I agree with your first point, as I personally prefer to cap my used buys @ 50,000 kms.

However, I completely disagree on the second point. Many of us have used modern cars till 2.0 lakh kms. And happily so. Even with average levels of maintenance, and regular oil changes, any of the current generation cars will keep rolling well after 1.5 lakh kms. The only question is : How reliably they do so, and that entirely depends on the preventive maintenance that the vehicle has seen.

Personally, if I were to consider a car with over 50,000 kms on the odo, it would have to be Japanese or Korean.

I agree with you. Period.

Before my accident my own car was well past the 100,000 number (to be precise 137,000) and it was going fine!! Just that when I am investing in a pre-used vehicle these high numbers on the ODO tend to scare me.

[Cheiron]

Originally Posted by sabnavis

Apologies for the delay in writing..... 1: - The car has a full service history barring the last 15, 000 kilometers, It is insured till the end of the year, all wheels have been replaced about 4 months ago, there is new battery and all electronics are working well. ...

... 68K is worry some, I have told that the car is good for atleast 100K more and when looking at the second hand diesel market there are only high milers... ooh and spoke to the owner assures he drove all of them himself, Has a factory in Jaipur. It is still good to go..

Fiats are built well, the older Palio a bit better than the current Punto/Linea - but still very good. Since you have the maintenance history for most of the 68K, it would be ok. The think to be careful about it is if in the last 15K or so it has been involved in an accident. Then buying it becomes more risky as not all defects become apparent immediately (and hence may not have been fixed). Also, follow your gut instinct if you have met the owner.

[rameshnanda]

Originally Posted by sabnavis

I read in some of the reviews that the engnie gives its best at 5000 + RPM, I have never crossed 3000 so reaching 5000 is a bit scary. I am not an old person but I have seen some very bad things happen to my friends when they reach speeds beyond 80.

Where did you read this review ? Let me explain you how Linea behaves. Turbo Kicks in the Linea at around 1500 RPM and the vehicles pulls very easily after that. At 2000 RPM you would be doing 80 KMPH. You will touch 100 KMPH at 2500 RPM. If you ask me, the vehicles is at its best after 2000 RPM.

[vigsom]

Originally Posted by GTO

Personally, if I were to consider a car with over 50,000 kms on the odo, it would have to be Japanese or Korean.

I second that with the only difference that I go only Japanese ; kms no bar

Jap(and Korean) cars are simple and reliable ; rarely does one see a failure even in 10 years

[Naturalist]

Linea is a car build to last long. It definitely depends on the engine basically and the condition of the car. Check it out with a good car mechanic and take their opinion. Do test it once in rough roads with some speed breakers and see how you feel. Look for any rattles and go with what your heart says.

[karthik_rao]

Just to give you my first-hand experience with Linea. I think it is a top value-for-money car. So if this one second-hand is running well, no reason not to get her at the right price.

I have a Linea Diesel Emotion PK that I bought in May 2010. I went in with all the usual concerns about After-Sales-Service. I also went in expecting superb balance between ride and handling.

I had some big hiccups along the way - AC Compressor failure in June 2010 (see my threas titled Linea - Consternation Guaranteed on teamBHP). I had some service issues and parts issues. However, I have been getting attentive and free service for any little niggles that I have found (2 times in the last 19 months, when I had some very minor suspension noises and hard door handle).

The car, though has been doing its job in a stellar manner. Rides great, even on our lunar landscape roads. Handles like a dream, I can throw her around any ghat with total confidence. Mileage has always been to expectations, though I am not a steady driver. I give in to my motorcyclist impulses once a week or thereabouts. Like someone said in this thread, above 200 RPM, you can act like a college kid on a mobike. I still get around 13 KPL on a very short commute, and easily do 19-20 on highway. One graphic illustration is the number of refills per month. Has gone down from 2 per month to 1 or lower now, as against my Estilo (ugh, I hated that car, rattles and squeaks everyday, and decided never to buy MSIL again).
Other non-critical bits like ICE and MID - work just great without a single problem. My replaced AC has been working just fine. Routine services have been routine - no surprises.

After about 18 months with this car, I find that it has not deteriorated in any way, except the minor scratches that come with City Life. I find it is reliable, economical fuel wise and maintenance costs wise, built very well, and has much lesser niggles compared to the other brands I have owned (Maruti and Hyundai). The Service Quality could be better, but then you hardly need to go to the workshop. And not like I did not have similar Service issues with Maruti, which is supposed to be the gold standard.

[shivag]

Well, 100% positives on the build and handling characteristics of these FIAT cars. Not only admiration, also Love is guaranteed! Yes thats how these cars connect with the drivers along with the abuse they get.
But here is the word of caution, rather out of my experience. I used to be a proud FIAT fan boy until I lost trust on FIAT. My first car was UNO petrol, I don't have to write anything further, it was an awesome, spacious car with great Brakes but along with it came frequent break downs, something or the other with just not more than 25k plus kms on the odo. It would be an alternator failure or just the car wouldn't start in the morning for some reason (around 2003 I was naive). It was a pre-owned car buy from a business man (color plus showroom owner in Chennai), with all due respect to the first owner I assume he had maintained well going by his reputation. The TVS service centre would give me long bills and I ended up paying 15 K on my first service after buying the car incl Clutch plate replacement. The reliability was in question to the extent that I started going with a thick rope in the boot just incase I may end up needing one for towing and it did happened to me. With a heavy heart I gave away the car.

Love is blind indeed; In 2006 I again went for a used Fiat Petra diesel this time. It was done around 38k on the odo but never did I knew it was plagued with a Fuel Pump issue. All was well initially later it turned out be a nightmare. The spares wasn't available easily for that FIAT shut its door on me saying no services offered for Uno, Siena, Petra and Old Palios barring Style models. This was esp after the tie up with TATAs. I was completely disappointed and was running pillar to post to get this wonderful car back on road, well every time it would take 2 months at least.

The other workshops/garage with their tall claims (Few like Carnation bluntly say No to pre palio models) gave me high hopes only to discover that they are just after money and really don't know the real causes of the problems. Later I realized there are almost none in this part of Chennai who actually love cars and take time and care for rectifying the issues. FYI The car is still in my garage idle begging for attention which I always wanted to give but could not trace the apt doctor who would take control of the situation.

In 2010 I went with used Suzuki SX4 (2008) with 24750 kms on odo, till date it is running with almost nil issues (touch wood). Complete peace of mind. Forget about the quality of service at least Maruti don't shut their doors even to M800's.

I know it is a along post but thought the background would give you an insight which I lacked when I was going with my used buys. To sum up here is my opinion;

1. Fiat cars are always excellent handling machines and connect well with the driver. It is tough to switch to other brands once you have driven a FIAT.
2. They always fetch very low resale value.
3. Service is a question mark. I personally have shut the door to FIAT after they went against all ethics and said no to all the owners who had invested money in their UNO, Siena, Petra and Palio etc. At least in Chennai this is the case.
4. Any car after 50 K will start giving some problem or the other unless until preventive maintenance is carried out. In your case last 15 K service details are missing.
5. The MJD engines have stirred a welcome revolution in India and very reliable I am sure, but still not sure about the other parts of the FIAT cars which failed in my previous two cars. And how far FIAT will support.
6. FIAT cars are always advance in technology with poorly trained support staff. Where as Korean/Jap cars do come with modern technology but some how felt that they keep things simple and iron out all issues you report. For example, It is so difficult to remove the Headlights of my Petra which is otherwise easy for other brands.
7. Recently my friend's Punto diesel was serviced by TATA's, I went along to see if things have improved. To my surprise the bill came up to 14k i.e. around 15k plus incl Taxes for 32 K regular service with no major replacement.

Last but not least my opinion is based on my personal experience with FIAT and no offence intended to FIAT car owners.

Think with cool head and no emotions please while taking a decision!!!

[shashank.nk]

Sabnavis, are you sure you want to go the used car way ? I notice your Palio is 8 years old, so if i'm not wrong you like to keep your cars for a long time.

If you intend to do so with the Linea, then it makes sense to buy a new hatchback(Ritz D, Beat D,Figo D) in your budget than buy a used car.

If not, as far as you're sure of the car's history i think you should go ahead and get it. Being a Fiat owner, i'm sure your aware of what its like to own a Fiat.

All the best with your decision

Originally Posted by shivag

Maruti don't shut their doors even to M800's.

+1 to that, our 23 year old M800 just went to the service station for a gear pin failure, we had to wait for a just one day to get the spare and the car was back on-road in 2 days time! No wonder people blindly buy Maruti's! Heck, 23 years after i bought a car, i don't have to worry about spares or service.

[sdp1975]

Originally Posted by shivag

Complete peace of mind. Forget about the quality of service at least Maruti don't shut their doors even to M800's.

To my surprise the bill came up to 14k i.e. around 15k plus incl Taxes for 32 K regular service with no major replacement.

Maruti ( or any other manufacturer) would never close it's doors to the M-800 that sold in lacs. They earn a good amount from A.S.S and spare parts even now. On the other hand , for cars like the Baleno that did not sell that well, spares are hard to find and expensive.

Please post the details of the bill if possible, my 30K service came to Rs 5K - 15K appears to be on the higher side.

[Turbokick]

Originally Posted by GTO

Personally, if I were to consider a car with over 50,000 kms on the odo, it would have to be Japanese or Korean.

Hello GTO,
I would like to ask you about the type of fuel you are refering to when you said you would like to stick to Japanses or Korean.
I guess it is petrol and not diesel ?