[jatinpatel]

Not necessary used cars should have rattles, am gonna soon have a 11yr old car which doesnt have a single rattle in it and also my civic is rattle free.

Its just that when a car starts rattling one should sit calm hear the rattles pin-point it and attend it.

[gomzi]

Originally Posted by sumeethaldankar

I think they keep the same brand.You can call or visit them and find out the price which should be same as per other seller.

Edit: 4500 for all fours was the price in April 2011.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/techni...ml#post2301225

I think Automech are resellers/fitters for the auto runners. Atleast that's my understanding on it.

[frankmehta]

Haven't updated here in days. Got three things done in the last 2 weeks:
1. Had the rear shocks changed to original Honda shocks (made in Japan) at Oberai Suspension. Also, he saw the car sag and put in a 1.5 inch aluminum spacer on the springs. The car's been a dream to drive since this upgrade, and the suspension doesn't thud or bottom out even with 3 people at the back on bad roads. Problem solved.

2. Had the throttle body cleaned yesterday (just as a routine job) since I hadn't done that since we got the car and the CNG workshop recommends a throttle body cleaning job every 10k km. I have only done 4k since we fitted CNG but I wanted to do it for peace of mind.

3. Had the rear brake pads changed and skimmed the rear discs too. The pads had worn out and braking at high speeds was deteriorating. The car stops well now.

The last average on CNG: 109 km required 216 rupees of CNG.

Other problems experienced:
-- The front suspension now feels hard (due to the new rear setup)
-- Engine mounts seem to have a diminished gap but I am yet to feel vibrations. Only startup yields a thud sound (as of now)
-- To change the rear shocks, the entire amp rack at the back was removed. Will now install the amps and all the wiring after CNG endorsement at RTO which entails checking of the tank in the rear. The plank and the amps are lying at home for the time being.

[F150]

Frank,

Do they have these sequential CNG kits for the Accord too ?

I too want a CIVIC or Accord ofcourse pre-owned.

[frankmehta]

Yes, they do. In fact you can fit a CNG kit on the V6 accord too (they have different no. and type of injectors available)
As far as I know, cars above 2000 cc will not get RTO approval officially and one needs to get a PEN RTO passing done to drive the car legally (this is not something I am sure about)

[sumeethaldankar]

[quote=frankmehta;2976087]Haven't updated here in days. Got three things done in the last 2 weeks:
1. Had the rear shocks changed to original Honda shocks (made in Japan) at Oberai Suspension. Also, he saw the car sag and put in a 1.5 inch aluminum spacer on the springs. The car's been a dream to drive since this upgrade, and the suspension doesn't thud or bottom out even with 3 people at the back on bad roads. Problem solved.quote]

Can you share the costs of the shocks?

thanks

[frankmehta]

I spent 7750 on the shocks, 1500 on aluminum spacers and 1500 for labour.
Front shocks I am mostly changing after another 5k. That and maybe the engine mounts and the automatic transmission fluid change will be done in Honda itself the next time I feel like giving the car for servicing there.

[TaureanBull]

I think you must have spent upwards of 1 Lac on modifications/installations. All these are also adding to the original cost of the vehicles.

Do you think you are done yet or any other task still pending? I had used few used vehicles but what used to irritate was regular recurring costs. Some small part,filter/assembly requiring repair/replacement. Not to speak of the regular workshop visits.

[frankmehta]

Every time you buy a used car, there are a few things that must be done to your satisfaction.

If you take a perspective of things, the onroad price for the Honda Civic AT is 17.25 lacs in Mumbai. When you are getting the same car for 1/4th of the cost (4.45 lacs), a lakh of rupees here or there in bringing it up to it's original shape is nothing. It will still cost 1/3rd of the cost of a brand new car. Which is undefeatable in terms of value and the added economy offered by CNG is just too difficult to ignore.

Also, there were a few things in the car that didn't require immediate replacement or repair (like the ICE, tyres, headlights, CNG fitting) which I still did because I felt like I needed the upgrade.
The next expenses (still not calculated) are the battery, which might require attention soon, engine mounts, front shocks, belts (probably), atf-z1 transmission fluid, etc are part and parcel of what one would do when a car becomes 5 years or 50k km old. That's another 25k.

I had a budget of 7 lacs to buy a new diesel car, and I ended up exhausting only 4.45 + 60k (CNG) + 20k (insurance) + 20k (tyres) + 10k (suspension) + 25k (ICE install) + 25k (above mentioned miscellaneous expenses) which still amounts to Rs. 585k and still leaves me with 1.15 lakh of rupees in terms of savings.
Despite of that, I get a MUCH bigger car (vis-a-vis a brand new Diesel Figo, which was the previous choice) with the added benefit of it being an automatic (which can still be driven in Petrol mode for the same thrills) and a lot of added features (auto climate control, rear discs, excessive rear seat space etc) The money saved in the differential between diesel and CNG is another bonus. The nail in the coffin is the depreciation, which would be a lot higher in the new car.

All said and done, I own a car that drives, feels and looks like a brand new car (with all the maintenance I have done) but costs nothing to run, doesn't depreciate and costs a fraction of what I would end up paying if I go buy a new one today.

[anandpadhye]

Absolutely.

I bought a used Tucson for less than half the price of a brand new. Vehicles (and especially SUV's) are surely overpriced in India for what they offer. Buying used is always a better deal financially. though it needs some patience, technical awareness and maturity to face the comments of friends and family :-)

And doing experiments like CNG kitting, performance box, etc are psychologically easier to embark on - on a used vehicle :-)

Cheers!

[sarathlal]

Originally Posted by F150

Frank,

Do they have these sequential CNG kits for the Accord too ?

I too want a CIVIC or Accord ofcourse pre-owned.

Wow, great. Yes, start the search, be patient and start and hit hard once you find a good one. Little bit of effort will indeed fetch a good buy.

[frankmehta]

The last two days have been an absolute revelation. I am back on the road now after a long diwali vacation and have started driving her over longer distances again. The last week, she drove very well. BUT, two days ago, I had the throttle body cleaned. MY GOD! The throttle pedal has become SO responsive!! I was always of the opinion that if you need to depress the pedal 20% in Petrol, you need to depress about 40% to get the same performance on Gas. But I was wrong! The car is now driving like a super smooth dream!! Literally flying off red lights and reaching illegal speeds very quickly. Acceleration is leagues better and the gearbox goes into kickdown mode less often than it used to, and accelerates well in the same gear. I am HIGHLY impressed.

One sad trade-off though. I got the throttle body cleaned outside of Honda, so the IAF sensor needs to be reset using the Idle Learning Procedure as listed in the Honda Workshop Service Manual. The reason for this is that the RPM is now slightly higher than normal (on Petrol too) and on revving once, the needle returns to 850 RPM, after which there is a slight hover to 1100 RPM and then back to 850. This happens just once, but that's only when the car is idling. I don't rev while idling so this doesn't bother me much, but the reset still needs to be done.

Anyway, last week I drove around in a highly packed vacation frenzy of a city and got an abysmal average of 90 km to Rs. 325 of CNG which is well over Rs. 3.5 rupees to a km. Still low by Petrol standards. Very low. But sacrilege on gas. LOL

[frankmehta]

Idling RPM is bothering me. Hence I have taken an appointment with Arya Honda tomorrow to reset the ECU and perform the IDLE learning procedure.
Also, might ask them to flush and change the transmission fluid.
Any other things that I need to get done exclusively at HASS?? I don't go there regularly..

[StrangeWizard]

when you are running on cng, does the petrol gauge show the amount of petrol or is it disabled?
also did you sort out that small dent? where?

[frankmehta]

Originally Posted by StrangeWizard

when you are running on cng, does the petrol gauge show the amount of petrol or is it disabled?
also did you sort out that small dent? where?

Yes, the Petrol gauge shows without any interruptions and at all times.
I have an appointment on Wednesday to paint my dickey and scratched power window shrouds. It should be sorted by Thursday. Will post pictures here. I am giving it to my local paint shop. He does a stellar job and I have been going to him since my Esteem days.