Team-BHP > Team-BHP Reviews > Test-Drives & Initial Ownership Reports


Reply
  Search this Thread
581,478 views
Old 3rd February 2013, 22:22   #181
BHPian
 
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: hyderabad
Posts: 59
Thanked: 22 Times
re: The Red Rocket - Fiat Grande Punto Sport. *UPDATE* Debadged & Rebadged to Abarth

What do you do to keep your car gleaming all the time ? Man, that's the glossiest punto around . Is it only 3m detailing products ? This beats the red color that I feel looks best on a polo (I'm told that shade of red is patented by VW. Not very sure though). This one easily gives VW a run for it's money.
kaka46 is offline   (1) Thanks
Old 4th February 2013, 00:49   #182
Senior - BHPian
 
shashank.nk's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: Bangalore
Posts: 1,695
Thanked: 1,044 Times
re: The Red Rocket - Fiat Grande Punto Sport. *UPDATE* Debadged & Rebadged to Abarth

Quote:
Originally Posted by KarthikK View Post
Taking into account feedback here and outside, I have got rid of the ugly OEM mudflaps, and instead installed the Contoured splash guards from the Absolute edition accessory set. These are shorter and look much better on the Punto's body. They are made of hard plastic unlike the rubber material of the previous flaps.
Your car looks brilliant with these mud flaps. Fiat should have given these as stock fitments.

Quote:
Tip to avoid unwanted shunts in traffic and keep motorists away - detail your car to such an extent that other road users get scared to even come close to your car .
Haha! I like the logic, hasn't worked on my car till now though :(
I must say, you're Punto is probably the most pampered and best maintained one on the forum. The body panels shine like they are mirrors!

Quote:
Recipe for this type of finish on your car's surface?
- Stop washing your car frequently. If you have a local cleaner boy, fire him
- Use only a duster for daily dust removal. No more 'old cloth'. Only microfibre cloth allowed.
- Get your car washed/detailed only at 3M car care centres.
- Last but not the least, use 3M's TechWax 2.0 wax polish for detailing. I have not seen such astounding surface results with other polish products in all my car ownership history. The picture above is a proof of TechWax 2.0's capability.
Or you could do it all yourself like I do
shashank.nk is offline   (2) Thanks
Old 4th February 2013, 22:29   #183
Team-BHP Support
 
Sheel's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Purnea (Bihar)
Posts: 9,551
Thanked: 14,349 Times
re: The Red Rocket - Fiat Grande Punto Sport. *UPDATE* Debadged & Rebadged to Abarth

Let me say, the mud-flaps appear neat and your Car appears so clean always.
Quote:
Originally Posted by KarthikK View Post
Recipe for this type of finish on your car's surface?
- Stop washing your car frequently. If you have a local cleaner boy, fire him
- Use only a duster for daily dust removal. No more 'old cloth'. Only microfibre cloth allowed.
Not washing frequently? Whenever I take the Car out, I have to wash it. The environment is too dusty (you can see its always hazy, hence I NEVER roll down the windows). Haven't tried the dusters (Rs. 200 wala) for exteriors.

If you don't wash frequently, you achieve the results by using duster & mf cloth?

Quote:
- Get your car washed/detailed only at 3M car care centres.
- Last but not the least, use 3M's TechWax 2.0 wax polish for detailing. I have not seen such astounding surface results with other polish products in all my car ownership history. The picture above is a proof of TechWax 2.0's capability.
None of that luxury is available here & neither the products. Still, I try to keep it clean & waxed with the help of Amway (I think that is the best available, or is it Formula 1?)
Sheel is offline   (1) Thanks
Old 4th February 2013, 22:45   #184
BHPian
 
Arkesh's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: Bhubaneswar
Posts: 141
Thanked: 62 Times

I too make it a point to never wipe the body with dry cloth. It is the main culprit for circular marks.
I wash my car once a week using motomax car wash. I polish using amway silicon glaze and for lights i use scratchout. It really clears up the head and tail lamps making it sparkling clean.
Arkesh is offline   (1) Thanks
Old 5th February 2013, 10:28   #185
Team-BHP Support
 
KarthikK's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Bangalore
Posts: 2,508
Thanked: 10,245 Times
re: The Red Rocket - Fiat Grande Punto Sport. *UPDATE* Debadged & Rebadged to Abarth

Quote:
Originally Posted by fiat_tarun View Post
Lovely pictures Karthik. The car looks great !

How much do these mud flaps cost ? They seriously do transform the look of the car.
Thanks fiat_tarun. These costed me 899/- for the set of 4 mud flaps, procured from and fitted at Prerana motors showroom.

Quote:
Originally Posted by naut View Post
Karthik,

Awesome effort there (both towards the car & to keep us all posted). Thanks for sharing. I am tempted to see the fiat siblings in person. They look wicked! By the way I stay quite to close to east end road (Near Madhavan park), lets see if we can arrange a small Jayanagar meet up someday?

Naut
Thanks a lot naut. Glad to know a BHPian staying so closeby (~2km) to my place. We can definitely meet up some weekend

Quote:
Originally Posted by kaka46 View Post
What do you do to keep your car gleaming all the time ? Man, that's the glossiest punto around . Is it only 3m detailing products ? This beats the red color that I feel looks best on a polo (I'm told that shade of red is patented by VW. Not very sure though). This one easily gives VW a run for it's money.
Thanks for the wishes kaka46. Yes, I tend to use only 3M detailing products. I used to get Sonax earlier, which is also equally good, but now since I visit the 3M store often, I pickup my products from there.

Quote:
Originally Posted by shashank.nk View Post
Your car looks brilliant with these mud flaps. Fiat should have given these as stock fitments.
Completely agree there. Not sure why OEM guys cringe for some 800 bucks of additional expense when they sell cars worth 8-9L *clueless*

Quote:
Haha! I like the logic, hasn't worked on my car till now though :(
I must say, you're Punto is probably the most pampered and best maintained one on the forum. The body panels shine like they are mirrors!
Or you could do it all yourself like I do
Of course, luck also is involved in the spotless record, hehe. Lets see how long my luck lasts in the horrible ORR traffic.

I keep following your posts on the detailing part too, picked up a lot of pointers from your posts. Multiple thanks for the informative posts.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Sheel View Post
Not washing frequently? Whenever I take the Car out, I have to wash it. The environment is too dusty (you can see its always hazy, hence I NEVER roll down the windows). Haven't tried the dusters (Rs. 200 wala) for exteriors.
I'm using the Jopasu duster for the dry season, since this time of the year there is just dry dust and no rainwater / slush stains. I suggest you try it - it doesn't put swirl marks on the car, and just takes 2 minutes of time to dust the surface before you take out the car for usage. I picked it up from here :
http://www.ebay.in/itm/Jopasu-Car-Du...item1c2590be9c

I tend to go for the 3M foam wash once in 2-3 weeks (costs ~300 bucks) which removes other stubborn stains. The paint sealant + TechWax 2.0 coating ensures water stains don't form on the surface.
Quote:
If you don't wash frequently, you achieve the results by using duster & mf cloth?
Duster for dry dust removal (it isn't supposed to be used on wet surface) works 90% of the days during this non-rainy time, and Microfibre cloth if and when I am forced to wash the car. I avoid washing the car as much as possible, and when the car gets really dirty (in 2-3 weeks of usage), I head to 3M for the 300 bucks comprehensive wash.

Quote:
None of that luxury is available here & neither the products. Still, I try to keep it clean & waxed with the help of Amway (I think that is the best available, or is it Formula 1?)
I have heard a lot about Amway's car products, but never tried. How would you rate them compared to Formula 1 / Sonax ?? The TechWax 2.0 has produced probably the best results for me so far.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Arkesh View Post
I too make it a point to never wipe the body with dry cloth. It is the main culprit for circular marks.
+1. That will just rub the dust particles on the paint surface and cause swirls / scratches.

Duster for dry dust always works best.

Quote:
I wash my car once a week using motomax car wash. I polish using amway silicon glaze and for lights i use scratchout. It really clears up the head and tail lamps making it sparkling clean.
Could you elaborate on the scratchout part? Any pictures of this that you could share with us? It would help me

Last edited by KarthikK : 5th February 2013 at 10:33.
KarthikK is offline   (2) Thanks
Old 5th February 2013, 13:51   #186
BHPian
 
Arkesh's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: Bhubaneswar
Posts: 141
Thanked: 62 Times

Quote:
Originally Posted by KarthikK View Post
Could you elaborate on the scratchout part? Any pictures of this that you could share with us? It would help me
The product is formula one scratch out. It helps to restore optical clarity of headlight lens and removes yellowing. I have been using it once 2 months in our punto Aug 2009 model. All the lamps still look sparkling new. I ll add pictures of the product as well as the process shortly. Punto is already due for it.
Arkesh is offline   (1) Thanks
Old 5th February 2013, 16:58   #187
BHPian
 
Arkesh's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: Bhubaneswar
Posts: 141
Thanked: 62 Times

You can see the condition of right headlight here. This picture was taken about a week back. I had last polished it with scratchout about a month back.

Name:  ForumRunner_20130205_165555.png
Views: 3631
Size:  486.4 KB
Arkesh is offline   (1) Thanks
Old 5th February 2013, 23:55   #188
BHPian
 
icyspikey's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2012
Location: Chennai
Posts: 105
Thanked: 148 Times
re: The Red Rocket - Fiat Grande Punto Sport. *UPDATE* Debadged & Rebadged to Abarth

WOW ! One of the best Initial Ownership reports ive ever read . Painstaking Detailing . Cheers
icyspikey is offline   (1) Thanks
Old 7th February 2013, 18:37   #189
BHPian
 
KkVaidya's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Ahmedabad
Posts: 931
Thanked: 758 Times
re: The Red Rocket - Fiat Grande Punto Sport. *UPDATE* Debadged & Rebadged to Abarth

Quote:
Originally Posted by kaka46 View Post
What do you do to keep your car gleaming all the time ? Man, that's the glossiest punto around . Is it only 3m detailing products ? This beats the red color that I feel looks best on a polo (I'm told that shade of red is patented by VW. Not very sure though). This one easily gives VW a run for it's money.
The 'Flash Red' as VW calls it is not patented. I think Hyundai had the same shade (Verna Type-1 & I10) which is now discontinued.
The Fabia still has it.
KkVaidya is offline   (1) Thanks
Old 9th February 2013, 22:54   #190
Team-BHP Support
 
KarthikK's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Bangalore
Posts: 2,508
Thanked: 10,245 Times
re: The Red Rocket - Fiat Grande Punto Sport. *UPDATE* Debadged & Rebadged to Abarth

Here is the first service update at 5000 km, as promised : The odometer now stands at 4998 km after returning from the service centre. That is ~5000 km in 98 days of ownership, an average of 50 km per day. It is set to increase during the next few months since my commute has increased to ~70 km per day now.
The Red Rocket - Fiat Grande Punto Sport. *UPDATE* Interiors now in Karlsson Leather-dsc_0079.jpg

I was approaching the 5k mark on the odo, so I had booked for my first service for today morning at Prerana motors, Kudlu gate, my usual place. Fantastic service as always by Surendra, and all my niggles and issues that had developed over these 5000 km, have been ironed out to perfection by the killer combo of Surendra. I collected my vehicle at 6 PM. Surendra requested me to take a test drive and personally saw to it that each item that I had complained about (during the morning) was ticked off in the niggles list, one by one after I approved the fix(es) that they had done. Excellent attention to detail, and outstanding service overall.

The only item that I requested them to replace was the engine oil. But for this, the first service bill would have come to 3 digits.

As with the T-Jet ownership log, I'm attaching the snapshot of my first service work log and associated expenses for your reference :
The Red Rocket - Fiat Grande Punto Sport. *UPDATE* Interiors now in Karlsson Leather-punto_serv.jpg


Long live Prerana motors, and long live the killer combo of Surendra + Satish (and team) who tackle every Fiat issue with ease at Prerana servicing. Fiat definitely needs service centres like this if they are to erase that bad image that they currently have. Good luck to them under Vecto motors (their Fiat / Abarth / Jeep division which is slated for launch around March), and with these proficient nutheads handling the servicing, I wouldn't think twice about putting my money on an Abarth Punto EsseEsse in a couple of years.

An image that I managed to click of 3 Red Punto emotions side by side at Prerana, with the 'Abarth'ed Punto belonging to yours truly
The Red Rocket - Fiat Grande Punto Sport. *UPDATE* Interiors now in Karlsson Leather-dsc_0078.jpg

An update on the black grill modification : I am not going to paint the chrome grill which is now present, since it will spoil the OEM part. I have instead placed an order at Prerana motors for the black Punto grill which comes on the lower end Active variant. They will get it sometime this week for me, after which I will do a DIY grill replacement at home (direct screw-job on the front bumper) and update this thread about the red + black theme completion on the car's exteriors. Thanks for reading.

Last edited by KarthikK : 9th February 2013 at 23:20.
KarthikK is offline   (10) Thanks
Old 11th February 2013, 09:37   #191
Senior - BHPian
 
Vik0728's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Bangalore
Posts: 2,061
Thanked: 3,281 Times
re: The Red Rocket - Fiat Grande Punto Sport. *UPDATE* Debadged & Rebadged to Abarth

Quote:
Originally Posted by KarthikK View Post

An image that I managed to click of 3 Red Punto emotions side by side at Prerana, with the 'Abarth'ed Punto belonging to yours truly

.
I would never ever do this again KarthikK if I were you !!

I mean common, how many owners would want to put their "Ferrari Red" Punto beside your's, only to feel dis-heartened by your "Fabulous Abarth Red" !!! As always with your posts, just brilliant.

How do you manage to find time to detail both your cars so well, when I can hardly manage maintaining one!!
Vik0728 is offline   (1) Thanks
Old 12th February 2013, 11:02   #192
Team-BHP Support
 
KarthikK's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Bangalore
Posts: 2,508
Thanked: 10,245 Times
Re: The Red Rocket - Fiat Grande Punto Sport. EDIT : First service completed at 5000

Quote:
Originally Posted by Vik0728 View Post
I would never ever do this again KarthikK if I were you !!

I mean common, how many owners would want to put their "Ferrari Red" Punto beside your's, only to feel dis-heartened by your "Fabulous Abarth Red" !!!
The service guys had already put it there in the outside yard after they were done with my car's work . I met 2 more Punto owners at the Prerana service that day, and they took the ebay link from me for the set of abarth vinyls. Thankfully, one was a white punto and another was electric blue. I still don't have any 'red' competition for the time being, hehe.

Quote:
How do you manage to find time to detail both your cars so well, when I can hardly manage maintaining one!!
I don't do anything at all bro, I just use a Jopasu duster for 2 minutes before taking the car out . For everything else, there is 3M car care *lol*
KarthikK is offline  
Old 13th February 2013, 08:25   #193
Team-BHP Support
 
KarthikK's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Bangalore
Posts: 2,508
Thanked: 10,245 Times
Re: The Red Rocket - Fiat Grande Punto Sport. EDIT : First service completed at 5000

An update on the DRL plans : One of my friends works with Philips, so I am in talks with him to check if he can procure Philips DRL4 / DRL8 for me from their employee store. They do get a hefty discount on Philips products, so if possible, I will get the DRL kit from him and do a DIY job by myself one of these weekends with complete set of installation steps and pictures to accompany. Everything depends on how quickly I can get hold of the DRL4/DRL8 kit.

I was trying out the look of Philips DRL4 and DRL8 on my Punto. The Philips lighting site actually allows you to upload a picture of the car and try out the look of the product after it is installed. I am still not sure how they scale the DRL to fit the car grill in this preview method, but it does give an approximation at least .

Screenshots of me trying out the DRL look on the Punto :

With DRL4
The Red Rocket - Fiat Grande Punto Sport. *UPDATE* Interiors now in Karlsson Leather-drl4.jpg


With DRL8
The Red Rocket - Fiat Grande Punto Sport. *UPDATE* Interiors now in Karlsson Leather-drl8.jpg


Me thinks the DRL8 is too big for the Punto, since the front grill on this car is more centred and not spread out to allow good spacing between the DRL strips. Cost-wise there is not much difference in the Philips store so both options are open. Any opinions?

Last edited by KarthikK : 13th February 2013 at 08:31.
KarthikK is offline  
Old 13th February 2013, 08:31   #194
Team-BHP Support
 
ampere's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Bangalore
Posts: 17,921
Thanked: 12,885 Times
Re: The Red Rocket - Fiat Grande Punto Sport. EDIT : First service completed at 5000

Quote:
Originally Posted by KarthikK View Post
Me thinks the DRL8 is too big for the Punto, since the front grill on this car is more centred and not spread out to allow good spacing between the DRL strips. Cost-wise there is not much difference in the Philips store so both options are open. Any opinions?
Karthik, only point I was thinking about is that, with a flat bumper of the Punto (read uncluttered) you may find DRL a bit over done. Do check that aesthetic aspect out. After so much of nice mods/detailing that you have done, you dont want it to take a step back with this. DRLs that look very neat, are nicely integrated along with head lamp cluster.


PS/OT : Alongwith nkrishnap, even you are in the queue to be thrown out of your house to live in your car (or rather cars) !

Last edited by ampere : 13th February 2013 at 08:36.
ampere is offline   (1) Thanks
Old 13th February 2013, 08:48   #195
Team-BHP Support
 
KarthikK's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Bangalore
Posts: 2,508
Thanked: 10,245 Times
Re: The Red Rocket - Fiat Grande Punto Sport. EDIT : First service completed at 5000

Quote:
Originally Posted by ampere View Post
Karthik, only point I was thinking about is that, with a flat bumper of the Punto (read uncluttered) you may find DRL a bit over done. Do check that aesthetic aspect out. After so much of nice mods/detailing that you have done, you dont want it to take a step back with this. DRLs that look very neat, are nicely integrated along with head lamp cluster.
Nice point that you brought up. I think this is what you are referring to:

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/s...Id_272447#tab8

The bonus part is they are smoked headlamps too! On further exploring, I even found one guy in India who has installed these and put up a video


Let me see if anyone is willing to deliver this to India. I can wait for a couple of months, save up some cash and get these since they are bolt-on replacements for the current headlamp cluster set, but 250 pounds is a lot of money for my budget now *sigh*. And another question mark is whether they are as powerful / durable as Philips DRLs?

P.S - the phliips DRLs don't protrude on the bumper actually. They fit into the grooves in the chrome grill and are integrated into it without protruding outwards at all. But definitely agree with you, integrated DRLs with headlamps look infinitely better.

Quote:
PS/OT : Alongwith nkrishnap, even you are in the queue to be thrown out of your house to live in your car (or rather cars) !
My dad actually likes these modifications too, so for the time being I'm a bit safe .

Last edited by KarthikK : 13th February 2013 at 08:52.
KarthikK is offline   (1) Thanks
Reply

Most Viewed
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search

Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Team-BHP.com
Proudly powered by E2E Networks