[sajanpt]

Originally Posted by pgsagar

I believe yours is petrol Optra. Then you need not worry. Nothing will happen if timing belt snaps, apart from stalled car. But in case of diesels, if timing belt snaps, it will wreck upper half of the engine, valves, cams. That is because diesels have high compression ratio and valves and piston heads occupy same space at different times. When piston goes down valve occupies same space and when valve moves away piston comes up. Timing belt cares of this to avoid clash. however, when timing belt snaps ( in diesels ), valves and pistons run into each other at high rpm and you can imagine the rest.

Are you cent percent sure of this ? Because all the big segment cars or at least a good majority of them are running with petrol engines & they say that if your car stalls due to a broken timing belt , do not crank the engine again as this will wreck the sensors, valves and cam. If you don't try to restart, then you are safe. As for diesel engines, I don't know.

However, I had seen with my Maruti 800 that the timing belt broke while running and without realizing it I cranked it many times. When the mechanic came he told it is the timing belt and when I asked, he said that there are no problems with these kind of small vehicles running with carburetor engines and I was wondering what the difference could be other than some sensors in the new ones !

[libranof1987]

Originally Posted by Mpower

Timing belts intervals I've seen on friends' older Camrys and Civics are 100K miles (160k kms) in the US. None of the newer engines use belts anymore.


what do you mean by tension belt?

Sorry, my bad. I meant the timing belt.

[dhanushs]

Originally Posted by pgsagar

Then you need not worry. Nothing will happen if timing belt snaps, apart from stalled car...

I seriously doubt it.

Originally Posted by pgsagar

But in case of diesels...
.... Timing belt cares of this to avoid clash. however, when timing belt snaps ( in diesels ), valves and pistons run into each other at high rpm and you can imagine the rest.

And why is it that in a Petrol Engine, even if timing belt snaps, there is no 'clash'?

[pgsagar]

Originally Posted by sajanpt

Are you cent percent sure of this ?

I saw this happen in Cielo. Timing belt snapped and car coasted to a halt. Driver even attempted to start it. Cranked a few times. It was later repaired with just timing belt replacement. That is when the mech said that same thing happening in a diesel car would play havoc.

Dahnushs, in a petrol engine same space is not shared by piston and valves unlike diesels. That's why.

[vipul_bscity]

Its not about Petrol or Diesel engines.What I know is its all related to "Interference" and "Non Interference" engine types. Most of the cars which I know has interference engine where a timing belt snap leads to Valve and piston breakages, plus some chipping of the head and the cam can also happen.

Technical gurus can put in more lights on it.

And for Corsa: Its a chain driven engine if I know it correctly. It will never snap but it gets noisy way after the recommended replacement interval.

I have heard that many new generation cars are again coming back to chains rather them belt.

I have to go for the belt replacement in another 10K KM for my Laura and in skoda it seems they sell the entire kit and the total cost quoted to me is around 19 - 20 thousands.

[rahulrajeev]

Hi Sajan, I was shocked to see the estimate the dealer has given you.
I too own one Optra 1.6 of your cars age so I can understand the pain.
If I was in your position would have gone to Geeyem Motors cochin to get a quote on the same work. I have serviced my car at both Deedi Motors and Geeyem and later one has always shown more responsibility. Keep posting updates.

[rahulgoel]

Please keep this thread alive, post the updates. I'm looking for an pre-owned Optra. So this'll help me decide whether I should buy it or not. @sajanpt Please reply what have you spend on your car after the 60K service ?

[1self]

Guys,

Please remember that the Optra 1.8 is far rarer vehicle than the 1.6. So it would be more 'premium' as it were. The cost of spares & service would be higher (though without the water pump it is still on the higher side). Since the 1.8 did'nt sell much in India, getting the parts etc is not by bulk (the company would'nt lock up so much money), hence more expensive which is directly borne by the customers. What i would suggest is getting a quote for your car from elsewhere in your city.

[dhanushs]

Originally Posted by 1self

Guys,

Please remember that the Optra 1.8 is far rarer vehicle than the 1.6. So it would be more 'premium' as it were.....

.... What i would suggest is getting a quote for your car from elsewhere in your city....

Premium meaning higher resale?. Well, IMO its the other way round. 1.8 Optras have a low resale considering their equipment and OTR pricing at that time.

[1self]

Originally Posted by dhanushs

Premium meaning higher resale?. Well, IMO its the other way round. 1.8 Optras have a low resale considering their equipment and OTR pricing at that time.

By premium i meant rarer on the streets, not higher resale. It is the other way round....rarer the car on the streets, less the resale value. Exotics excluded.

[sajanpt]

Originally Posted by rahulgoel

Please keep this thread alive, post the updates. I'm looking for an pre-owned Optra. So this'll help me decide whether I should buy it or not. @sajanpt Please reply what have you spend on your car after the 60K service ?

Well ! It turned out that all the Optra's in the forum which has covered 60K kms are the 1.6 engines and the quotes for 1.6 engines are less compared to 1.8. For eg: A 1.6 engine water pump will cost only around Rs. 8000, whereas the 1.8 engine water pump is almost Rs. 14000 (Made in Canada). In fact, when I got lost here, I contacted GM, Delhi corporate office directly and they responded in 24 hrs (can't help saying it; unlike Skoda corporate, they have always lived up to the expectation of a customer and I still am glad I did not buy a SKoda when I went for this car). They explained that the spare parts are priced evenly across all their dealers and they have stringent checks done on this. Finally, I did proceed with the work with Geeyam Motors (they know what they are doing ) and though the whole bill including labour + leather seats and interiors cleaned, came to around Rs. 48,000/- I was really impressed as I felt like I was driving a new car. No more strange worn out sounds from the bearings, clug-clug sound from the engine etc. I took a long drive covering about 1100 kms up and down a hill station in Kerala with my family and it went without any issues.

But I drove it for a week and then another problem cropped up. While I was driving, the horn suddenly has lower sound, the A/C fan speed got reduced, the check engine and battery indicators came on and I called up the dealer since they had promised a 20,000 kms warranty on the parts that were changed. But my bad luck, the alternator fried for some reason and I had two options. Disassemble and repair faulty component (not advicable) which will cost about Rs. 12K-13K or buy and replace a new one for Rs. 16K + taxes + labour and I opted for the latter one. Took 15 days for the alternator to come from the factory (as mentioned by a colleague here, the premium car parts have to be imported and not readily available) and finally now the car is running perfectly and I'm enjoying the Journey called Life again. Though I shelled out approx. Rs. 65K, I don't regret it as I am told by the dealership that I don't have to worry anything anymore until the odo ticks 120K kms. They had Optra's owned by people who had done over 200K kms and still maintaining it due to the rugged body which is almost rust proof.

I am still happy with the quality of the body, paint, engine, insides and the design and would like to continue using it. However following the general rule of the thumb since it is 7 yrs old now, I am thinking of selling it off, if I get a reasonable good price which justifies all the goodies, all new tyres, alloys, and the above jobs done on it and someone who is willing to pay an extra premium for getting a car in this top shape. BUT as for me, I am in a dilemma as I still cannot make up my mind on which new car I should go for which matches the ride quality, shape, in this segment. The Honda Civics are the only ones that I find are worth it compared to the Chevy Optra's and I am yet to make up my mind.

Will keep you updated if something else comes up other than the usual services.

[1self]

I am VERY happy for you Sajan! What matters at the end is not the cash outlay, but the eventual satisfaction! You have perfectly fine & powerful car which you can use for years to come. If you drive sedately, you will not have problems. It is a wonderful car, why would you want to sell it?

[rahulgoel]

Thanks a lot sajanpt this has helped me a lot. The cost for 60K service for an Optra 1.8 is whooping (60K kms = 60K rupees lolz :P). Also I'll like to know that spares are available in GM's S.S. inventory easily or it causes a headache to source them? What your suggestion for an used Optra buyer regarding things to look in an used optra before buying it. thanks once again.