Team-BHP - Cheapest to maintain

Quote:

Originally Posted by suman

SB, how does the service mechanism work for a Baleno? Don't you have the concept of 'X' kms or 'Y' months whichever comes earlier?

Same concept, only that the kms / months are as below :
1st free service - 1K kms or 1 month from purchase (whichever earlier)
2nd free service - 5K kms or 6 months from purchase (whichever earlier)
3rd free service - 10K kms or 12 months from purchase (whichever earlier).

Quote:

Originally Posted by suman

Just find it strange that you are yet to go through your 3rd service though its a year old.

Well, I was always late with running up the required kms, within the specified time for each service. Did not get a chance to do a mclaren1885. :)
Anyway, I go by the kms and ignore the months part of it. So, I give it for service only when it hits the required kms, even if it is after the specified month. And my service centre here does not have any issue with it. My 3rd service was due in end-March. But I had only 7K kms on the odo. Plan to give it in May or so by which time I would have done another 3K kms atleast (a Chennai-Kerala trip is pending for sometime now, which should add 2K kms).

Quote:

Originally Posted by suman

Btw, I've gone through the 1st free service on the Fiesta, didn't have to pay anything, oil & filter change is at second service, lets see what comes out of that one

Do keep us updated about the charges on this thread, so that we can have a comparison. BTW, will they do a oil/filter change for your car during the 10K service ? Or will the next change be only at 15K kms. For the Baleno, it is every 10K kms.

Dont know about the other parts but here is what i found out for my car after the accident ..

1. Front bumper - 4650 + tax..
2. Bonnet - 3650 + tax..
3. Front Grill - 6500 + tax (damn expensive, bcoz its a SGP) ..
4. Radiator Assembly - 3300 + tax ..
5. Condensor Assembly and the fan assembly - 6000 + tax ..
6. Fog Lamps - 13500 (again a SGP) ..

I wouldnt say thats too expensive apart from the SGP parts .. When it comes to service baleno maintainance is damn cheap , the spares only those from SGP are a tad expensive when it comes to accidental repairs ..

Quote:

Originally Posted by venkatrx

Baleno would be a lot cheaper than honda-vtec to buy.

But the TCO of honda-vtec might be cheaper.

Now honda-parts will have longer life than Baleno-parts. If you just compare part v/s part for honda and baleno, baleno might be cheaper, but what really matters is how many parts will you really need to change while u keep the car. I have heard from friends who own honda city, that its absolutely no problems car. [unless you meet with accident and for some electrical/glass/plastic components where you have to shell can become a burden].

this is what i menat in the previous post....that the spares of a honda last long really long...

Quote:

Originally Posted by suman

SB, how does the service mechanism work for a Baleno? Don't you have the concept of 'X' kms or 'Y' months whichever comes earlier? What I'm saying is, for example -
1st free service - 1500 kms or 1 month from date of purchase (whichever earlier)
2nd free service - 5000 kms or 3 months from date of purchase (whichever earlier)
3rd free service - 10000 kms or 6 months from the date of purchase (whichever earlier).

That is more or less the schedule that Ford follows; just find it strange that you are yet to go through your 3rd service though its a year old.

Btw, I've gone through the 1st free service on the Fiesta, didn't have to pay anything, oil & filter change is at second service, lets see what comes out of that one

Suman, maybe i can answer that for you.
1st free service - 1000 kms or 1 month from date of purchase (whichever earlier)
2nd free service - 5000 kms or 6 months from date of purchase (whichever earlier)
3rd free service - 10000 kms or 12 months from the date of purchase (whichever earlier).

This is the service schedule as per the owners manual of my Baleno as well as the Esteem. And i feel(though not sure) that the entire range of cars from Maruti follow this schedule. Hope it helps.

Cheers

Team,
I voted for VTec since even in my opinion, Honda has a better reputation for reliability than Baleno.

On the other hand, when I purchased a Baleno, the only choice available was to purchase a Used VTec (dont think will be as reliable as a new Baleno) or to buy a 77bhp NHC -preZxi models...(Feels like an oversized m800 as far as ride and pickup is concerned..and the steering feels so disconnected to the road...no feel at all...so what if the parts will last
long.. I will die of boredom much earlier!!)

So here's my take on the thread

TCO : It is Baleno all the way..BTW..I have finished 22k/14 months in my car and have not yet spent money on repairs related to aging/breakdown...
Every service costs just Rs 500 odd plus oil replacement cost.. and the services are every 10 k kms...so dont burn much hole in your pocket..
On the other hand in the last service my advisor replaced the crankshaft assembly since he said that there was an imbalance in teh shaft (honestly dontknow since the car was performing well and I was getting close to 13kmpl). Anyways..the bill for the shaft came to 27k and it was replaced under warranty...soI paid nothing.... I have found the maruti people to be extremely cooperative(have always got a replacement car...an alto or an 800 in case my car is with them for long)

I do believe that OHC might be more reliable than the baleno but here I am talking about cars of the same vintage....and If you want the same cost..the VTec will be at least 2 years older than the Baleno...as cars grow old..plastic starts aging and you have all sorts of unwarranted trouble come up...be it any car..

Lancer...I like it for looks and how good it looks with big alloys and a nice spoiler..... pity it has that anaemic engine... and IMHO the ride Ihave seen is no great shakes either....but it definitely looks better than the other two..

Here in hyderabad..the old Fiat dealer has become a Lancer dealer (I Used to own a Uno 1.2 too earlier)...given my service experience with him..wont touch lancer with a Bargepole...but sincerely have no experience with maintenance of lancer..

Net net...even today I will purchase a Baleno over a VTec since the TCO is much lesser (as opposed to maintenance costs only ..where I have voted based on heresay)