[venkatrx]

Originally Posted by supremeBaleno

Venkatrx,
I agree that if the claim "Baleno spares are cheap" is a myth, it needs to be corrected.
But at the same time, just comparing the prices of 3-4 items (which are normally not replaced except in cases of serious accidents) and saying that Baleno spares are costly, is again wrong and damaging information. That is what mclaren, shuvc etc are pointing out.

I will be visiting the Maruti service centre this weekend. I will try to get the prices of as many Baleno spares as possible. Let's compare that with the other cars and then come to a decision.

Regarding your claim that the parts compared by you are the ones that "can easily get damaged in city traffic". How many of these did you actually change in your previous car ? I have been driving for 20 years and have never had to change a headlight or taillamp or bumper. We did damage a RVM which was hit by a biker. But then if you keep changing RVMs everytime they get damaged, you would have time only for that, given the way our city traffic is.

We might have cases of the vehicle behind us nudging our bumper or we nudging the vehicle in the front. But do we just go ahead and change the bumper for every hit ? Replacement would be done usually if the damage is serious, which is rare.

Supreme,
I have taken a few parts of exteriors which i have observed prone to damage. It will be definitely good if you can list other parts also with a comparision price. It would be a different debate if people start arguing which is more prone to damage and replacement, as i had mentioned let it be any part if its an SGP its really expensive, [as per the custom duty reduction shown in one post above when baleno prices came down by 8000 and NHC price came down by just 3000 shows clearly that baleno has a lot of imported parts].
so lets not try to defend maruti or honda.....lets as a group raise this issue of higher SGP in a 7 year old baleno to maruti.

b'cos at the end of the its always better to have more MGPs than SGPs.

Let's try to get the facts and then come to a decision.

Supereme, IMHO lets not spend too much of our energy to come to some decision, rather lets focus our energy to raise this issue with maruti and ask them even after 7 years, why haven't they reduced the SGA/SGP import content the baleno.

[supremeBaleno]

Originally Posted by venkatrx

I have taken a few parts of exteriors which i have observed prone to damage. It will be definitely good if you can list other parts also with a comparision price. It would be a different debate if people start arguing which is more prone to damage and replacement, as i had mentioned let it be any part if its an SGP its really expensive

The problem with your list is that it is too selective and thus does not reflect the ground realities. I do not read auto magazines, but have heard that they put out comparison of spare prices. Is there a correlation between the parts compared by them and the ones used by you ? I doubt. Comparisons should be fair and correct, is all I say.

Originally Posted by venkatrx

as per the custom duty reduction shown in one post above when baleno prices came down by 8000 and NHC price came down by just 3000 shows clearly that baleno has a lot of imported parts.

I would not read too much into the price reduction and the extent of it. The Baleno is a car that was introduced at 8L+, but is now available at less than 6L - the reduction was definitely not due to customs duty reduction.

Originally Posted by venkatrx

so lets not try to defend maruti or honda.....lets as a group raise this issue of higher SGP in a 7 year old baleno to maruti.

No one's defending any car company. For all I know, me or my relatives do not own any stake in either companies or work for them. Then why to defend them ?

Originally Posted by venkatrx

IMHO lets not spend too much of our energy to come to some decision, rather lets focus our energy to raise this issue with maruti and ask them even after 7 years, why haven't they reduced the SGA/SGP import content the baleno.

This thread was started to compare the cost of spares of 4 cars and the logical end would be to come to a decision as to how each fares on the price front. If it is a waste of energy doing that, then I do not see any point in debating this matter further.
Asking MUL to reduce SGA/SGP content is another matter altogether and I am sure MUL has their own reasons for that. I had even mentioned possible reason(s) for MUL following this strategy eg. not enough volumes to justify indigenisation etc.

[venkatrx]

Originally Posted by supremeBaleno

This thread was started to compare the cost of spares of 4 cars and the logical end would be to come to a decision as to how each fares on the price front. If it is a waste of energy doing that, then I do not see any point in debating this matter further.

Right, we have compared the spares with the prices taken right from the dealers and it has shown that baleno spares were the costliest, if others want a pick up a few more spares and debate, sure that should happen and its welcome. The energy will be wasted when we try to debate which part is more prone to damage.

Asking MUL to reduce SGA/SGP content is another matter altogether and I am sure MUL has their own reasons for that. I had even mentioned possible reason(s) for MUL following this strategy eg. not enough volumes to justify indigenisation etc.

I think this thread itself is good enough for maruti to act upon reducing the SGA/SGP, if they really need to, IMHO i dont think we need a separate thread for that. Or for that matter if Aveo-owners feel that even their spares are more expensive than another car, even they can use this thread to raise it to Chevy.

[suman]

SB, when we are trying to find out which car's spares are the cheapest, what are the spares you would like to consider for the purpose? I don't think there is anything wrong in the ones that Venkatrx has taken.......and the ones that McLaren has added on yesterday. Between the two, the list is pretty comprehensive.

I'm not sure why you are now bringing in a rider about what at what level of damage something needs replacement....to me that's too subjective and would depend on an individual. For someone who is very finicky (I know I am till the car is perhaps a couple of years old and has done 15k), perhaps a bumper or mirror change would take place far more promptly than in your case. So I think we should just look at the costs and decide which is cheaper instead of getting into subjectivity..........

[supremeBaleno]

Originally Posted by suman

SB, when we are trying to find out which car's spares are the cheapest, what are the spares you would like to consider for the purpose? I don't think there is anything wrong in the ones that Venkatrx has taken.......and the ones that McLaren has added on yesterday. Between the two, the list is pretty comprehensive.

To be frank, I don't really know which all parts need to be compared to get an idea as to which car is comparitively better. As I mentioned before, the auto mags might have a list which we can also use. Anyone who is a regular reader and has seen some comparo can give a list ... I don't have anything against the parts that venkat suggested. But then using only those few parts to reach a decision is what I find wrong.
My question is : Just because the bumper, headlamps, taillamps and RVM of a car is costlier than other cars in its segment, can we claim that it has the costliest spares ? I do not see the logic in this rationale. I mean, a car consists of much more parts than the 4 mentioned above. Don't the other parts especially the ones that go bad during routine wear and tear need to be taken into consideration ?

Originally Posted by suman

I'm not sure why you are now bringing in a rider about what at what level of damage something needs replacement....to me that's too subjective and would depend on an individual. For someone who is very finicky (I know I am till the car is perhaps a couple of years old and has done 15k), perhaps a bumper or mirror change would take place far more promptly than in your case.

Suman, it is no rider or anything. I was only countering venkat's argument that they are the most replaced parts in city driving.

Originally Posted by suman

So I think we should just look at the costs and decide which is cheaper instead of getting into subjectivity..........

True. But using just 4 spare parts and ignoring so many other parts which you would need to change during regular use and maintenance ? Sorry, not logical to me.

[venkatrx]

Originally Posted by supremeBaleno

I don't have anything against the parts that venkat suggested. But then using only those few parts to reach a decision is what I find wrong.

Supreme, If people post comparision of more parts its definitely good, infact i had even suggested earlier in this thread. Because it will give us more data points to compare. Suman has said that he will collect the price list for Fiesta, so if you suggest him a few spares which you think are important then we will have another set of data points.

[venkatrx]

Hey Suman,

Did you get some prices for Fiesta....Please post them.

[suman]

Originally Posted by venkatrx

Hey Suman,

Did you get some prices for Fiesta....Please post them.

Venkat & all others, I did manage to get some prices and what I'm doing is, I'm e-mailing them to GTO; all those who have found prices for Baleno, NHC & Aveo, please do the same, he has very kindly consented to compile and post a comprehensive list once done.

One of the issues I had with Fiesta spares prices is that a lot of stuff is yet to hit the racks with the car being a relatively new entrant (we may have the same issue with the Aveo?), more so because things like the fuel filter, air cleaner element etc are changed MUCH later in this car than, for example in the Ikon. What I've managed to get are - head lamps, tail lamps, fog lamps, front & rear bumpers, fuel filter, air cleaner element, bonnet, radiator assembly, battery, condensor, front windshield, doors, dicky, grill & fan assembly (lot of this was because a Fiesta had come in for major accidental repairs!).

Hope this helps & would request guys to provide along same lines as above.......

[pmbabu]

Venkat, all, Does the bumper price include painting cost too for any of the cars (that have expensive spares)? The reason is, for NHC atleast, the painting cost adds to the bumper price mentioned in the list. It's around 2K additional cost per bumper.

[bruce]

Friends,
I just shifted from my '98 esteem to a Baleno, Just got a 2003, very low mileage car. In fact it's only driven 12K (you got to beleive me... it's genuine mileage), all is in superb condition (the owner left to US)...but the car rocks!!
I'm privileaged to be part of the Baleno owner's group!!
Let me tell you, no matter what the spares cost (by your data it's not so costly for a 03 car) still just for pure love and fun I would still pay ;-) ...
I went through this thread every night during my negotiation stage with the owner not once I thought about retracting. I hope the same with other's and they still buy Balenos and keep the car prod alive.
The sheer thrill of driving an INRC champion car is something thats awesome.
(The INRC car may be modded a little, but the engine is still the same :-)).

Also I feel the things compared in this thread inclined towards cosmetic side of the car.

Anyways consider the arrival of another fan of Baleno brothers!!!
Mclaren, Supreme, Venkat, Naveen and other Baleno owners....cheers to you all... I shall be posting my car's pics soon.

[supremeBaleno]

Bruce, congrats on your purchase. How much did you pay for the car?
BTW, once you get around to checking the FE, please post it on venkat's thread on FE comparison.

[venkatrx]

Originally Posted by pmbabu

Venkat, all, Does the bumper price include painting cost too for any of the cars (that have expensive spares)? The reason is, for NHC atleast, the painting cost adds to the bumper price mentioned in the list. It's around 2K additional cost per bumper.

Babu, yes all the guys told that paint job is extra.

[bruce]

I was quoted 4.9 lacs, the car had minor dents on the left fender, light dent on the running board, front bumber scrathes, left tail lamp broken.
Interiors was all dust!!! :-) engine bay, engine was too dirty...
That's it just needed shampoo, vacuuming and minor dent removals. I just removed the fender dent got it repainted, did not touch the running board.
By the way the owner replaced the tail lamps for me!! ;-) (Old ones BTW)
Hey, Baleno does have big engine bay dont you think? i liked it...and so many other things like you all in Baleno...
But hey i negotiated to 4.5lacs, which i think was okay, paying for the 'unused' tag i guess.
I have just filled up the car, would be posting the FE as soon as i record.

[tabrez02]

It would be great if some one can add the spares cost for SX4 also and in the title, it would help all sx4 owners.

[JRD]

FYI ford india site has a link called "Sum of the Parts" and there are some shocking results against the ANHC. especially the Spark plugs and AC Coil