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Old 4th February 2005, 14:58   #46
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quite possible, a colleague of mies Honda got rear ended over a year ago. we went to the honda dealer to oversee the repair assessment. He was pointing out another Honda owned by someone in my compnay which was in for a repair. The manager pointed out a door repair done by Sundram as viewed from the inner door - it was a appalling, they had half heartedly hammered out the dents using a crude hammer and used tonnes of filler
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Old 4th February 2005, 15:16   #47
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You guys just wait. I'll show you the quality of work done on my Vtec by a local garage here. Will probably start a new thread on that, cos the work is simply brilliant.

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Old 4th February 2005, 15:54   #48
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Quote:
I'll show you the quality of work done on my Vtec by a local garage here.
WHAT!! The Vtec required WORK to be done on it!! sacrilege
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Old 4th February 2005, 16:01   #49
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Quote:
WHAT!! The Vtec required WORK to be done on it!! sacrilege
Yup it got banged by a bus. i think i'd posted a pic of it somewhere.


Here it is again. They had to paint the whole panel.


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Last edited by Shan2nu : 4th February 2005 at 16:03.
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Old 4th April 2005, 10:42   #50
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I think this topic went a little off-topic, let me bring it back.

I am almost ready to buy a new car, I just have to file my taxes this month. Then I will eligible for loans. I found out about it just after I made a statement in another thread that I won't buy the Petra unless Fiat re-establishes their website. And it goes without saying that they should also include Petra in that website. So, it is almost like a sign.

Although I resolved to buy Petra two months back in this very thread, much water has flown under the bridge since then. Fiat India website went down, and they don't give a damn. Fiat got $2B payment and they don't want to spend it outside of Italy. The Fiat CEO thinks he has already spent too much money on marketing outside of Italy . I think Fiat has been sending too many wrong signals, and I have to be blind to ignore it. Initially I was not ready to consider any Maruti offerings, thanks this forum I have started warming up to the Baleno irrespective of it's rear end.

Yes, buying a car is matter of heart for me, but not entirely. What my heart says, I want my mind to approve it, albeit grudgingly. Right now my mind says Heck No Way, says Fiat doesn't deserve my money. Since I will be moving to Mysore next year, I would need local service support. And I couldn't find Fiat mentioned anywhere in Mysore yellow pages. Even Ford and Toyota have service network in Mysore.

I will still test drive the Petra to be sure. But I will also test drive the Baleno. If I don't see much difference in fun factor and handling, I will choose Baleno. If I find Petra buch better than Baleno, I'll wait 2-3 months to see whether Fiat India will show any signs of life. I would have considered the Fusion (ABS), but it is ridiculously overpriced although it is within my budget. I don't want to look at C+ segment cars, I want a low profile car. I thought about waiting for Skoda Fabia, however based on Fabia reviews from abroad, I don't think it is a josh machine, not worth waiting for me.

If it is Baleno, then it will be the Bimal Edition Baleno that was mentioned by rahulmd sometime back.
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Old 4th April 2005, 10:48   #51
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If you are considering a Baleno vs a Petra, settle blindly for the Baleno! I can't think of one area where the Petra is better than the Baleno! A Baleno with good wheels/tyres that is.
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Old 4th April 2005, 10:49   #52
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What is a "Bimal Edition Baleno"?!! Do they add some extra accesories?
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Old 4th April 2005, 10:53   #53
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sonic
What is a "Bimal Edition Baleno"?!! Do they add some extra accesories?
Bimal, a maruti dealer in Bangalore, offers a "Bimal edition Baleno", with 185/60 R 14 tubeless tyres, K&N Filter and a WARRANTY!!!!
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Old 4th April 2005, 13:10   #54
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:WTF: a maruti dealer giving k&n.hehe.

and 185/65r14 is the right upsize .so 185./60 r14 is wrong for the baleno.


how much extra is he charging for this.

a stock replacement k&n filter will cost about 3.5k.and the alloys with good H rating tires will cost about 15-16k more.

add another 4-5k for the 3rd and 4th year extendedwarranty
so if he is charging about 23-24k more its a good deal.

Last edited by speedsatya : 4th April 2005 at 13:15.
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Old 4th April 2005, 13:34   #55
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Rtech
If you are considering a Baleno vs a Petra, settle blindly for the Baleno! I can't think of one area where the Petra is better than the Baleno! A Baleno with good wheels/tyres that is.
That is too much of a s**t that a Petra owner can take.

Petra beats Baleno soundly in ride, safety.

In performance, Baleno is just marginally better than Petra (not far better as many of us believe). Thanks to its much lighter weight (almost 150 kg less) and not because of its Japanese refined engine, as many of us believe. Baleno has good low end torque, but Petra has better high end torque and power. Petra is rock steady at high speeds, due to its weight. (Not that even 5% of car owners reach highest speed). Petra's top speed is higher than Baleno's.

As far Interior is concerned, both cars are not up there. Handling of Baleno might be better, but then it comes with shoddy tyres with lot of rolling noise.

Aah, yes! How could I forget this? The looks. I am sure, Petra's rear is not as bad as Baleno's.

Having said all this, I must add, once you bring Fiat India into picture, things change massively. (But again note that, I have not had a single bad experience with Fiat India sales or dealer yet.)
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Old 4th April 2005, 14:14   #56
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Quote:
Originally Posted by speedsatya
and 185/65r14 is the right upsize .so 185./60 r14 is wrong for the baleno.
How do you figure? The table in wheel bible link you provided eariler suggests the following upgrade.

Baleno comes with 165/80 R 13

Upgrade suggested are
185/70 R 13
175/65 R 14
195/60 R 14
205/55 R 14
205/50 R 15

I am not sure how Bimal settled for 185/60R14.
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Old 4th April 2005, 14:32   #57
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Quote:
Petra beats Baleno soundly in ride, safety.
In ride quality I'd say the Petra has the edge (If you want outstanding ride quality go for a 1.6 Adventure if you can find one now - It's even more composed than an Octavia on bad roads) but when it comes to throwing the car around corners, the baleno wins - As for safety , I suppose based on the NCAP tests , just about any car is safer than a Baleno in a frontal collision.

Interiors ? - Baleno's is merely bland and typical old Jap car style , Petra's is sub par and feels like something designed in a real hurry - It feels like something hurriedly jammed in place - even the adventure's dash isn't redeemed by the fake aluminium inserts.

Seats ? - Petra's are large and roomy , baleno's snug - they hold you tight - which i prefer.

The rear seats ....okay in both though the baleno's feel more relaxing and easier to lie back in - ingress is harder though

Looks ? - The Baleno beats the petra anyday, even with those slapped on like stickers taillights - the high side wedge gives it a muscular look - put in 14" or 15" alloys and you got a winner - If youre particular to spoilers (i hate em though), a petra looks kinda silly and fat arsed with one, the baleno looks sporty. - The only grouse I have with the baleno's looks are the chrome frames around the windows and teh chrome front grill - i would have preferred a black mesh grille (btw, does anyone have pics of baleno's with different grilles ?)

Service, Reliability - I find the Fiat to be as reliable - but as our adventure was built in better times and even then had a better build quality than the sienas/palios , i cant comment on the petra - we've had some electronic part changed (dunno what it was - i dont drive it ) - cost us 4K , and the power steeering resporvoir somehow decides to empty it's contents mysteriously on long drives - no leaks can be found . While my baleno is giving some intermittent trouble with the gearbox , if it can match my old esteem in reliability eventually , I'll be happy.

(I'd trust my 96 esteem for a long trip over our 02 adventure in terms of peace of mind)

Buying experience ? The dealers - Vivek Auto and a certain salesman by the name of Prashant Vyas are a bunch of cheats and thieves..never will i have anything to do with them - may they rot in hell. No wonder Fiat is in trouble - great practical cars but their dealers ???

Overall feel - the Baleno feels more agile, sporty and amazing on the highway and in heavy traffic with that low down torque . The Fiat also has a torquey engine but while the car doesnt fit like a glove - I dont feel comfy driving them - with th eesteem/baleno , i feel one with the car - the Fiat however makes you feel safe with it's solid heavy build.

overall , both are great cars...... but my recommendation would be on the Baleno.
or a NHC - it's actually a very decent and extremely practical car - though my friend feels it's handling and high speed braking stability are highly suspect.

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Old 4th April 2005, 16:22   #58
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Quote:
Originally Posted by zaphod
overall , both are great cars...... but my recommendation would be on the Baleno.
That was a very balanced review, coming from somebody who owns both Palio and Baleno it is really very credible.

I guess the only real concern with the Baleno is the safety in case of an accident, which is the same with any Maruti product. Maruti doesn't believe in ABS, EBD, TCS, SRS, etc. The Baleno has really long front end, a large crumple zone. Anybody has heard about or seen a Baleno after frontal collision, I'd like to know just how the occupants survived the crash, provided they survived.
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Old 4th April 2005, 16:33   #59
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Samurai
That was a very balanced review, coming from somebody who owns both Palio and Baleno it is really very credible.
Indeed, quite balanced review. Only one point to note that, he owns an Adventure (estate car) and not Petra (sedan). Correct me if I am wrong.

Overall, they are typical europian and Japanese cars If you are Jap fan, go for Baleno and if you love european cars (like I do), go for Petra.
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Old 4th April 2005, 16:45   #60
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Samurai
How do you figure?
Baleno comes with 165/80 R 13

Upgrade suggested are
185/70 R 13
175/65 R 14
195/60 R 14
205/55 R 14
205/50 R 15

I am not sure how Bimal settled for 185/60R14.


the baleno comes with 165/80r13 ,circumference=1866.73mm,OD=594.5mm

so with 185/65r14,cir.=1872.7mm,OD=596.021mm

but with 185/60r14,cir.=1814.58mm,OD=577mm


so,the 65 profile tire will gice similar speedo.odo readings as ur original tires.also the ride ht will increase by 1mm.

but with 185/60r14,the OD is not all same.so ur speeo rdgs,odo will all be differnt.also ur ride ht,will reduce by about 7mm.



calculations:


165/80r13,


tire wall,--------165x0.8=132mm
for od,

132mm/25.4=5.1968 inches(dividing by 25.4 to convert mm to inches)

multiply by 2.

so thats (5.1968x2)=10.3936inches

now add the radius of the rim .

here its r13,so its 13


so,(10.3936+13)=23.3936inches===OD in inches

multiply by 25.4 to convert to mm,


so thats 23.3936x25.4=594.2mm which is same as above.
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