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Old 30th September 2020, 17:27   #1
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Hondu: Restoring my 3rd-gen '09 Honda City

Greetings dear members!

This is going to be a long post (also happens to be my first ever thread on TBhp!!) with it's fair share of twists and turns - with what was initially meant to be as a new car ownership for the Kia Seltos HTK+ finally turning into a complete restoration and revamping of my 2009 Honda City iVtec lovingly named "Hondu".


Just a brief introduction, I am a 25 year old musician by profession and have been obsessed with cars since I was a little kid. My passion for cars and general interest in automotive engineering led me to the discovery of Team Bhp about a decade ago. The first thread I ever read was the official review of the 1st generation Toyota Fortuner and that got me hooked on to Team Bhp. I used to spend countless hours just going through the forum and swimming in the endless sea of knowledge available here.

Years passed and I used to lurk around the shadows of TBhp as a visitor but I never had the courage to apply for a membership, as I was afraid of my request being rejected. But it took a pandemic (and the loss of my job as a cruise ship musician) to finally take the plunge and apply for a membership and I made it through!

Anyway, now that you all have a brief idea about my history and how I became a part of this community, its time to introduce you to

"Hondu", our 11 year old Honda City iVtec (Gen 3, Type 5)!




Hondu: Restoring my 3rd-gen '09 Honda City-img_8256.jpg
Hondu: Restoring my 3rd-gen '09 Honda City-img_8254.jpg
Hondu: Restoring my 3rd-gen '09 Honda City-img_8251.jpg
Hondu: Restoring my 3rd-gen '09 Honda City-img_8228.jpg


"Hondu" hides it's age well and has only been driven 37.5k kms in these 11 years as we've always had other cars at home and my father preferred to use it as a car meant for outings and special events more than a daily driver. That is the reason why it's in absolutely top condition even after all these years.


We have always been extremely particular about getting our cars serviced on time and keep them in top condition mechanically, and Hondu has got the usual set of upgrades (fatter tyres, complete new set of lights) and had all wear-n-tear parts replaced periodically.

Hondu has also had it's share of nicks over the years and I've got both her bumpers repainted at some point. Living in the capital region, its impossible to avoid small scratches and hits and I try not to let it spoil my ownership experience too much. But out of all such events, one that was particularly disturbing and left me quite shaken was when I was driving on NH8 highway (on my way to soundcheck for a show) and I was rear ended by a, Innova cabbie who fell asleep behind the wheel (in the right lane, at a speed of 100km/h+, with 7 passengers on board) and damaged the whole rear end of Hondu all the way up till the rear quarter panel.

What followed was a period full of frustration for me and my family, right from dealing with the authorities (Delhi police was extremely unhelpful in working out my case) even though the cab driver was driving without a license. It didn't help matters at the cab operator was an ex- Haryana policeman and used all his sources to get away without paying a single rupee as compensation.

Then bad luck struck as once again as the dealer we had been getting our cars serviced from (the now infamous Delight Honda, Mohan Estate Mathura Road - now Axon Honda) delayed the repair of our car for 3 months and did an extremely shoddy job of repairing the car (the consequences of which I started facing a year later) I only got to know how bad the situation really was when I'd had enough of their nonsense (they used to keep citing different reasons for delays) and landed up at the dealership. What I saw over came gave me a complete shock!! The dealership had shut down, employees hadn't been paid salaries for months and they were rioting treating to not return customer cars until they had been paid and were vandalising the property. Apparently, the owner of the dealership had been doing a GST fraud and had fled away just shutting down all his businesses.

Anyway, after a lot of escalations and spending countless hours on the phone we got our car back in a shoddy looking state - unfinished weld marks, no seam sealant used on any of the new panels, horrible denting job + inferior paint quality. We were so fed up that we decided to just pay the balance about (we had cashless comprehensive insurance) and bring the car back home.

After the mental trauma and frustration, we almost thought of selling the car but something in me didn't want to let go of it. So Hondu was driven very less between the period 2019 - 2020 and I used to use the other cars at home for my work. I then got called by my employer around mid 2019 and left for Mumbai where I spent the next 8 months sailing with my cruise company (we used to sail out of mumbai) and Hondu was just used for weekend grocery trips and the occasional car wash + fuel fill up trips.

Then around March 2020, Covid-19 happened and I had to be repatriated back home from my ship as the whole cruising industry had come to a halt. I was back home and started spending time with Hondu, driving it more regularly. I bought a new set of original Honda headlights + a new battery for Hondu as the old one had started acting up after the lockdown.

It was during a routine fuel fill + pressure wash session when i noticed that there was some rust formation + water collection on the recently repaired trunk floor.

Hondu: Restoring my 3rd-gen '09 Honda City-unnamed.jpg
Hondu: Restoring my 3rd-gen '09 Honda City-unnamed4.jpg


This really frustrated me and I had almost given up on the car and sent Hondu away to be parked safely in our office basement parking with the intention of fixing the leakage as soon as monsoon ended and decided to sell it off after that (and go for a Kia Seltos HTK+). Most of July was spent searching up reviews of the Seltos and negotiating with dealers to get the best deal with the exchange of my Hondu. I had also put an advertisement of Hondu in the TBhp classifieds hoping to find a like-minded enthusiast who would appreciate it but Alas! neither individuals nor dealers gave me a quote which was to my satisfaction (I was hoping to get around 3L) and somehow I just kept waiting on for some good offers on the Seltos or for the right buyer to show up.

July passed and so did August and I wasn't any closer to finalising my decision of getting the Seltos. Soon monsoon ended and the skies started clearing up in Delhi and I decided to bring Hondu back home from the office to have the leakage issue fixed before we sold it off. However, my father then gave me a shocker and said that we have to shelf the plan of buying a new car due to multiple personal and financial reasons (we have always bought our cars cash down and don't believe in finance) and I did not argue with him because I could see logic behind his reasoning (bad time for the economy, recession, depreciating asset, reduced running due to covid, etc.).
My father then made me an offer - spend anything under 1L rupees and bring Hondu to perfect condition then keep it for 4 more years. I was sold on this decision because I knew that the car had a lot of life left having being driven just 37.5k kms in 11 years + being serviced religiously at the correct intervals.

Hence started the journey of Hondu's restoration -

Hondu Reloaded



The workshop chosen for this purpose was

Global Automotives India :

https://goo.gl/maps/UVUhxQFSpqViA9tk6

I was extremely careful in choosing the right workshop after my horrible experience with Honda during the accident repair and spent many days and researching and visiting garages across NCR and finally came across this garage when I was browsing through YouTube and watched videos of some of the repair work done over there though

Nakul Khanna

(who has now become like a good friend) : https://www.youtube.com/c/nklkhanna/videos

Looking at their quality of work instilled some confidence in me and I reached out to Nakul (he's extremely helpful and a gem of a person). He helped get in touch with the workshop and addressed all of my concerns with their workshop owner Mr. Sanjeev and manager - Mr. Manoj. He and Nakul were extremely patient and understanding with my concerns and gave the car a full inspection + test drive to see if there any mechanical concerns along with the leakage issue. The only thing they informed needed changing was a set of link rods (which I knew were worn out) and it only cost me Rs.1250!

On to the leak repair, the quote I got was reasonable for the amount of work involved and I also mentioned that I was looking to get the whole car repainted along with the trunk + underbody repair + rust removal + weld + paint. Mr. Manoj gave me a quote of Rs. 40,000/- and I gave him the go ahead wholeheartedly.

The first issue to be sorted out was the trunk leak which included a full welding job + fixing the shoddy job done earlier. This was followed by a full strip down of the car and denting of all the small nicks and hits the car had licked up over the years.

Hondu: Restoring my 3rd-gen '09 Honda City-img_9535.jpg
Hondu: Restoring my 3rd-gen '09 Honda City-img_9543.jpg
Hondu: Restoring my 3rd-gen '09 Honda City-img_9541.jpg
Hondu: Restoring my 3rd-gen '09 Honda City-img_9540.jpg


This was followed by an application of body filler on all the denting spots.

Hondu: Restoring my 3rd-gen '09 Honda City-img_9551.jpg
Hondu: Restoring my 3rd-gen '09 Honda City-img_9549.jpg
Hondu: Restoring my 3rd-gen '09 Honda City-img_9553.jpg

Next step was to sand off the body filler and putty application(grey).

Hondu: Restoring my 3rd-gen '09 Honda City-d5b7c44ddbc646f8afa4a5f05410b136.jpg
Hondu: Restoring my 3rd-gen '09 Honda City-a03b55bf832840b68489ce1e6b9158ea.jpg

Then came putty sanding after which all the spots were sprayed with primer to check for even uneven surfaces, which were then fixed by applying check-putty (mustard colour).

Hondu: Restoring my 3rd-gen '09 Honda City-f10eff15f2fd49b8b50fb27432791157.jpg

The body was given ample time to dry up between each of these stages and the whole process of body correction took over a week. Once the painter (Mr. Umar, an expert having worked with Toyota for 20 years before joining this workshop) was satisfied with the body work - he then went ahead and removed the doors for painting the body and doors separately.

I was very particular about my requirements - I needed the car to be repainted in every single nook and cranny, even places where the eye doesn't usually go (under the engine cover, inside door frames, under the running board, inside the door hinges, even the complete windshield cowl area - since it's a known problem area on Honda Citys, always ends up catching rust).

I wasn't present during the painting process (as I'm asthmatic and paints trigger my condition) and went a day after the paint process was done to examine the car. I'll let the photos speak about the quality of work and attention to detail given while painting :

Hondu: Restoring my 3rd-gen '09 Honda City-8685f96a255240dda11df2f120c0ff4f.jpg
Hondu: Restoring my 3rd-gen '09 Honda City-6c7bf3cb3eda4e74ac6fbb16067aea33.jpg

Paint process going on - I received these pictures over WhatsApp. I do not mind the lack of a paint booth as I have seen their quality of work before (check Nakul's youtube channel to see the repair work done during the Mercedes Benz S-Class and Hyundai Creta rebuilds).

These are the pictures I clicked when I went to the workshop after a gap of a day :

Hondu: Restoring my 3rd-gen '09 Honda City-img_9604.jpg
Hondu: Restoring my 3rd-gen '09 Honda City-img_9606.jpg
Hondu: Restoring my 3rd-gen '09 Honda City-img_9608.jpg
Hondu: Restoring my 3rd-gen '09 Honda City-img_9609.jpg
Hondu: Restoring my 3rd-gen '09 Honda City-img_9610.jpg
Hondu: Restoring my 3rd-gen '09 Honda City-img_9611.jpg
Hondu: Restoring my 3rd-gen '09 Honda City-img_9613.jpg

As you can see, not a single corner was left during painting and I was quite happy to see the results. I can only imagine how good the car will look once the paint has been sanded and polished

Today (30th September 2020) marks the 10th day since I dropped my car off at Global Automotives and I have received an update from Nakul that the doors and bumpers are being painted. He will be sending me some pictures and I'll be sharing them here soon.

I am really attached to "Hondu" and I'm relieved to have found a trustable place that understands the kind of sentimental value I have with this car. I'm excited to see how the work turns out and can't wait to have Hondu back at home so I can start the next phase of restoration -

Interior overhaul and alloys wheels!



I hope you enjoyed reading this long post and connected with some of my thoughts and emotions. We as automotive enthusiasts are a special bunch and cars for us are more than just a means of transport. I also hope that some of the information I have shared over here will come in use to others. I'll be going to the workshop soon and will update this post over the next few days.

Stay tuned for more!
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Old 2nd October 2020, 12:57   #2
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re: Hondu: Restoring my 3rd-gen '09 Honda City

Great to see the interest you are taking in re-doing the car instead of selling. It takes much more to keep an old car going than to simply replace. I echo your sentiments about this generation City. I have a 2011 SMT model which I'm very attached too as well - the acceleration and ergonomics in particular. Recently I've been thinking of changing the music system and damping the doors, etc. but can't make up my mind between good old Pioneer and "Chinese" androids.

Looking forward to see what you do with the rest of your budget in the alloys and interior department - maybe l shall take some ideas from it
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Hondu: Restoring my 3rd-gen '09 Honda City-img_20200106_100917.jpg  


Last edited by rayjaycleoful : 2nd October 2020 at 13:03.
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Old 2nd October 2020, 17:37   #3
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re: Hondu: Restoring my 3rd-gen '09 Honda City

Quote:
Originally Posted by rayjaycleoful View Post
Great to see the interest you are taking in re-doing the car instead of selling. It takes much more to keep an old car going than to simply replace. I echo your sentiments about this generation City. I have a 2011 SMT model which I'm very attached too as well - the acceleration and ergonomics in particular.
It is indeed a gem of a car and the design looks fresh and current even after all these years! I also believe that this generation of Hondas were well engineered and built to last.

About the restoration, it's coming up really well and we're almost done with the repaint. I'll be posting an update tonight. I have also finalised on a set of alloy wheels from Incubus (will be procuring them from Mr. Jitesh of BK Tyres - if all goes according to plan)

About the head unit, my personal pick would be a Pioneer or Sony over the chinese Android variety - I would prefer quality and reliability over gimmicks and features any day
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Old 2nd October 2020, 19:01   #4
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re: Hondu: Restoring my 3rd-gen '09 Honda City

Update on 2/10/2020 :

Today marks exactly 2 weeks since I dropped off Hondu at Global Automotives India. Just received an update from Nakul that most of the repair + paint work has been completed and the car is now in it's final fitment stage. Here are some of the pictures he sent me today :

Hondu: Restoring my 3rd-gen '09 Honda City-87884f3505854c088030588b42b478e6.jpg

As you can see, most of the front section fitting has been completed - with the exception of the roof rubber beading, wipers and the windshield cowl. We are still waiting for a child part for the wiper motor (Rod Unit B) and will be installing the wiper assembly plus the cowl as soon as we receive it.

Hondu: Restoring my 3rd-gen '09 Honda City-39f6258319384f4680eaf546dc91e942.jpg

The side fitment has been completed as well with the door beading, window beading and door panels all being put back into place.

Hondu: Restoring my 3rd-gen '09 Honda City-6d147f18eb1c4b5997d6c3b5949a7911.jpg

We have not yet done the rear end as the trunk underbody + cross member was just cleaned, sanded and painted with compound paint (for rust protection). There was slight rust formation in this area as well as it had been completely ignored by the Delight Honda bodyshop during the accident repair (this was actually the main point of impact and it frustrates me to see how careless Honda's own workshop was with the repair job)

Hondu: Restoring my 3rd-gen '09 Honda City-5c9b62fff9b3467fb412ea48b0bf37b9.jpg

Anyway, this issue has now been tackled and Mr. Umar (painter) has gone through the whole underbody with a fine comb and given it a healthy coating of rust protection paint.

Hondu: Restoring my 3rd-gen '09 Honda City-76ad09cfe8c54e7c8a6905da252249d9.jpg

We'll be waiting for a day to let the paint dry properly before starting the rear section refitting. We also got the condenser and radiator hosed and cleaned with with a mix of diluted cleaning chemical and water as it had become clogged and noisy after being driven through a water logged lane (due to an unavoidable situation and with no way but to drive through headlight-level muddy water). I believe the noise has now reduced considerably. Will check it when I go to pick up the car.

Here are some close-up shots to show the paint + refit :

Hondu: Restoring my 3rd-gen '09 Honda City-caa800de32ef440ea6a9bf3d86d10cb6.jpg
Hondu: Restoring my 3rd-gen '09 Honda City-0310a1a0b80a4c6b92fe2079ffd45a29.jpg

I am happy to say that the all the work done so far has been performed to my satisfaction and the workshop people have an eye for detail and are receptive towards any points told to them. This is the right kind of work attitude and it goes a long way in building customer satisfaction and trust (which is unfortunately lacking at most workshops these days).

Also, a small error from my previous post - Mr. Umar (the paint specialist) has actually been working since the age of 20 (he's almost touching his mid 30s now) and has been with VW, Hyundai and Tata.


Stay tuned for the next section : Rear section fitting + Interior and Exterior cleaning followed by paint rubbing + polishing and final wash before delivery!
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Old 6th October 2020, 23:14   #5
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Re: My "Hondu" gets a new lease of life! ('09 Honda City Restoration )

Update on 5/10/2020 :

Hello dear members,
So on Sunday (4th October), got a call from Nakul and Mr. Manoj that all the work has been completed and I can come to pick up Hondu the next day. I got a little delayed because of some personal work and could only reach the garage post lunch time.
This is what I saw when the garage and it was like a sight for sore eyes!

Hondu: Restoring my 3rd-gen '09 Honda City-img_9715.jpg

Hondu was looking just like the way it did on the delivery platform over 11 years ago (in July 2009). The car was being given a nice coat of wax and was gleaming in all its glory :

Hondu: Restoring my 3rd-gen '09 Honda City-img_9717.jpg
Hondu: Restoring my 3rd-gen '09 Honda City-img_9719.jpg

Nakul was meticulous and made the staff at Global Automotives go over every little detail during the final preparation. Here's a look at the interiors (btw, these are my original interior after 11 years!) :

Hondu: Restoring my 3rd-gen '09 Honda City-img_9724.jpg

The badges were applied once all the detailing work was completed. Here is Nakul applying the badges himself (even he's a bit OCD like me). He wanted to make sure that the placements were just right :

Hondu: Restoring my 3rd-gen '09 Honda City-img_9727.jpg

This is how Hondu looked once everything was done :

Hondu: Restoring my 3rd-gen '09 Honda City-img_9722.jpg
Hondu: Restoring my 3rd-gen '09 Honda City-img_9723.jpg
Hondu: Restoring my 3rd-gen '09 Honda City-img_9729.jpg

To be honest, it felt like taking delivery of a new car. Even the workshop team had gathered around the car for the send-off. I was really happy and emotional, and I brought along a box of sweets to be distributed amongst all of them as a token of my appreciation.

And finally, here is a picture of yours truly with Hondu, Nakul and Mr. Sanjeev, the owner of the workshop (we took off our masks only for the picture) :

Hondu: Restoring my 3rd-gen '09 Honda City-img_9735.jpg

Dealing with GAI has been a good experience and I have to thank Nakul for going out of his way and treating my car just like his own, with a lot of love and care (it probably helped matters that he owns the exact same model Honda city as me - same year same colour and same trim and his car been tastefully modified with performance enhancements). He really went above and beyond what was needed at every single step of the rebuild and that is what made me trust him and the team at Global Automotives India with my car.

The full job cost me approximately Rs. 41,000/- which I think is quite reasonable and justified for the quality of work done and the level detail gone into it.
All in all, I am satisfied and would surely recommend Nakul and the team at GAI.


Next Update - Mods and accessories (and a swanky new set of wheels from BK Tyres)

To be continued..
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Old 7th October 2020, 13:52   #6
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Re: Restoration of my '09 Honda City "Hondu"

Update on Tuesday, 6th October



Today was the day I started accessorising and modifying Hondu! I had ordered some items from Amazon during Hondu's time at the garage and it was now time to install them.

1. Magnetic Sun Shades (Front window half, rear full and rear windshield full) : https://www.amazon.in/gp/product/B07...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

These are from a company called Kingsway. I've been using these shades in my other cars and have been quite happy with their fit and performance. These have a cotton-mesh design and are effective in cutting out sun rays without compromising on visibility.

This is how it looks on Hondu :

Hondu: Restoring my 3rd-gen '09 Honda City-img_9747.jpg
Hondu: Restoring my 3rd-gen '09 Honda City-img_9746.jpg


2. Autofact Car Cover : https://www.amazon.in/gp/product/B07...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Good quality cover with provisions for the side-view mirrors and roof antenna. It's got durable triple-stitching and a fully elastic bottom along with an underbody clip to hold the cover tight :

Hondu: Restoring my 3rd-gen '09 Honda City-img_9777.jpg

3. Dashboard Mat : https://www.amazon.in/gp/product/B07...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

This was more of an aesthetic thing because my dashboard had some leftover glue residue from previously installed divinity idols. My dad had once mistakingly applied Elfy to stick the idols after the original double sided tape had dried out and it had left a little mark on the dashboard (which was really triggering my OCD) so I just got it covered up with this mat

Hondu: Restoring my 3rd-gen '09 Honda City-img_9776.jpg

I had originally ordered a "Mugen Power" mat but ended up receiving a "Ralli Art". I wasn't too bothered and didn't want to go through the hassle of returning it so just stuck with it (don't miss the most important accessory in my car - the TBhp sticker!!)

4. Jopasu Duster : https://www.amazon.in/gp/product/B00...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

This is an essential for my cars. Previous one had been in use since the past 2 years so got a new one.

5. Microfiber Cloth : https://www.amazon.in/gp/product/B07...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

We have been using these microfibres for washing our cars. Ordered a new pack of 5.


Upgrading to alloy wheels at BK Tyres, Lajpat :



Next up were Alloy wheels. The alloys had to be stock size, i.e. 15", 100x4 PCD and between 6.0-6.5J since this was basically just a feel-good upgrade.

After a bit of research and asking around, I decided to get in touch with Mr. Jitesh of BK Tyres and messaged him on Instagram. He was prompt in replying to my queries and gave me fair estimates for some of the designs I'd liked.

Location : https://g.page/bk-tyres?share

Hondu at BK Tyres, Lajpat Nagar :
Hondu: Restoring my 3rd-gen '09 Honda City-img_9742.jpg

Reached BK Tyres at around noon and met up with both Mr. Atul and Mr. Jitesh and I instantly liked their courteous and professional attitude. Jitesh then took me to the wheels section and we quickly finalised on a design of my liking :

Hondu: Restoring my 3rd-gen '09 Honda City-img_9743.jpg
Hondu: Restoring my 3rd-gen '09 Honda City-img_9744.jpg

These alloys are from the brand "Flying Wheels" and are made in Indonesia (mentioned inside the wheel)

Mr. Jitesh offered me a decent price and a little discount (for being a Bhpian I guess!!). We then went ahead and did a dry fit on the car to see how it looked with the wheels on :

Hondu: Restoring my 3rd-gen '09 Honda City-img_9745.jpg

^That's Mr. Jitesh holding the wheel on the left.

Hondu: Restoring my 3rd-gen '09 Honda City-img_9750.jpg
Hondu: Restoring my 3rd-gen '09 Honda City-img_9751.jpg

After being satisfied with my selection, he went ahead and got the alloys installed on my tyres. Didn't have to go for a new set as I had recently upgraded to a set of 195/60 R15 sized Yokohama Earth 1s with barely 2-2.5k Kms running.

This is how the wheels looked immediately after being installed :

Hondu: Restoring my 3rd-gen '09 Honda City-img_9757.jpg

And after polishing and cleaning :

Hondu: Restoring my 3rd-gen '09 Honda City-img_9759.jpg
Hondu: Restoring my 3rd-gen '09 Honda City-img_9760.jpg

Total cost came to Rs.17,500/- which included installation, Wheel Balancing and print out of custom Honda labelled Hub Caps.

Overall, it was a really good experience dealing with BK Tyres. Mr. Jitesh was a thorough gentleman and helped me get a good deal on the alloys. He's also a proper auto-enthusiast and follows the forum actively!

And to wrap up this section - presenting some shots of Hondu with it's swanky new set of wheels


Hondu: Restoring my 3rd-gen '09 Honda City-img_9774.jpg
Hondu: Restoring my 3rd-gen '09 Honda City-img_9765.jpg
Hondu: Restoring my 3rd-gen '09 Honda City-img_9763.jpg


Next up - interiors

Got in touch with Eminent Automotive, Rani Bagh for the interiors. I've decided to do a full interior change (steering, gear boot, door pads, seats and arm rests) and will be going over to Eminent on Thursday, 7th October to get the work done.

Updates coming soon!
Attached Thumbnails
Hondu: Restoring my 3rd-gen '09 Honda City-img_9764.jpg  

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Old 7th October 2020, 14:51   #7
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Re: Hondu: Restoring my 3rd-gen '09 Honda City

I've been considering doing a rework+upgrade to my 2010 City after getting disappointing resale figures end of last year when I was considering a switch. The car is similarly run less like yours, has minor scratches all over, and can definitely do 5 more years and maybe even more. The Honda evaluator himself suggested to retain the car because it's good, and that he can't increase the value because of it's age.

Thanks for your thread, it has given me the confidence. Will need to search for good rework providers here.
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Old 7th October 2020, 16:22   #8
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Re: Hondu: Restoring my 3rd-gen '09 Honda City

Quote:
Originally Posted by echo77 View Post
I've been considering doing a rework+upgrade to my 2010 City after getting disappointing resale figures end of last year when I was considering a switch. The car is similarly run less like yours, has minor scratches all over, and can definitely do 5 more years and maybe even more. The Honda evaluator himself suggested to retain the car because it's good, and that he can't increase the value because of it's age.

Thanks for your thread, it has given me the confidence. Will need to search for good rework providers here.
Hi Echo77, you should definitely hold on to your '10 City since it's low mileage and has a lot of life left. These machines are reliable, fast and can easily guarantee 15+ years of ownership. Investing a little money to bring your car back into top shape (both cosmetically and mechanically) is a great idea. It'll be a lot more economical than buying a new car and will provide you with the same level of utility.

Also, restoring and modding your car is a lot of fun and you end up learning so many new things about your machine. I would also love to see your car and would love to discuss things you can do to it. Do share some pictures if you can.

With regards to the rework, you can try Bromotive (Pune) and Autorounders (Mumbai) a call if you're okay with making the trip to Maharastra. I have seen their work on youtube and was very impressed with their quality and attention to detail.

Bromotive - https://www.youtube.com/c/Brotomotiv
Autorounders - https://www.youtube.com/c/Autorounders/videos

Hope this helps!
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Old 7th October 2020, 16:39   #9
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Re: Hondu: Restoring my 3rd-gen '09 Honda City

I'll probably get on with it after the pandemic eases off...

Thanks for the pointers!
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Old 8th October 2020, 12:25   #10
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Re: Hondu: Restoring my 3rd-gen '09 Honda City

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Originally Posted by kunalsingh View Post
Greetings dear members!
Your thread brought a BIG smile to me this morning. Rated 5 stars

I have always loved 3rd gen City and got one home last month. It's a pre-used 2012 model and couldn't agree more with your observation, this car does age gracefully.
Going through Tbhp ownership threads has been on my to-do since a couple of weeks, just haven't been getting time. However saw this on the newsletter today and could not stop myself from reading it at one go. Excellent write-up.

Also, I have been looking for a good workshop and will try out GAI. Great going with your car restoration. Subscribing for future updates, keep them coming!

Here's a side view of mine the day I got it home.

Hondu: Restoring my 3rd-gen '09 Honda City-img_9168.jpg
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Old 8th October 2020, 13:10   #11
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Re: Hondu: Restoring my 3rd-gen '09 Honda City

Lovely thread! The Honda has come out looking classy! I feel white, silver looked best on this generation City.

The cosmetic modifications were the only ones needed?

I also own one, through the pre-owned market, bought in June this year. I have a question, mine is just about to touch 20K but is 8 years old, so when I take her to servicing, do I follow the 20K KMs schedule or according to the number of years?

Attaching a photo!

Hondu: Restoring my 3rd-gen '09 Honda City-img_20200611_151526.jpg
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Old 8th October 2020, 13:10   #12
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Re: Hondu: Restoring my 3rd-gen '09 Honda City

Hi kunalsingh, that's quite a nice read. Great restoration process. Those alloys look super cool on your ride.

I belong to the same category. I love to restore my vehicles when they show age, give them a mid life upgrade to make it look and feel brand new all over again.

The advantage of restoring and building cars than buying new ones is getting first hand experience of cars, more knowledge about their mechanicals, they way the work, procedure of denting and painting, which part to source from where, etc. This process will also make the enthusiast in us very happy.

You got your car completely repainted, got new wheels, accessories and interiors which give you a brand new car feeling and will hold up good for next 4 years and you can even sell it off to buyers from neighboring states after 4 years for a decent price. We have many things in common, similar age, interests and asthma I do DIY works on my cars and I wear an N95 mask whenever I'm working on my car or in the workshops, but yes the fumes of spray paint triggers asthma immediately, so it is better not to risk it.

Your car looks brand new, enjoy your ride.
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Old 8th October 2020, 14:11   #13
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Re: Hondu: Restoring my 3rd-gen '09 Honda City

Absolutely a delight to see a 3rd gen Honda City come back to life! Have to admit I am a Honda fanboy!

I have driven mine for roughly around 190000 km and can vouch for it’s stellar reliability! Honda lost the plot after this generation with the later models not being upto the mark.

The only grouse I have is the steering rack which gives up after a couple of thousand kms. Factor that in for maintenance costs later on. Also the low ground clearance can be a hindrance but the engine more than makes up for this

With the memories attached to mine, I find it really hard to find a car to replace it with.

An absolute keeper and I wish you loads and loads of memorable kms with the City.

Thanks again for reigniting the interest in what could arguably be the last good car Honda came up with!
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Old 8th October 2020, 17:03   #14
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Re: Hondu: Restoring my 3rd-gen '09 Honda City

You have done a great job of restoring it to its former glory. I particularly love the looks of this generation of this city. My Dad’s close friend also had this Gen of the city in bronze colour and he clocked over 150,000 kms before selling it in 2016. Wish you many fuss free kms with your city.
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Old 8th October 2020, 17:04   #15
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Re: Hondu: Restoring my 3rd-gen '09 Honda City

Awesome read! Its nice to see someone showing so much love for their car. Do keep updating the thread.
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