[PraNeel]

Life is so uncertain and sometimes it forces one to change his thoughts and decision process. This ownership report is because of a totally unexpected incident. When I moved to Bengaluru for a new job, I was pretty clear that I will take up an accommodation near to office to save some of my daily time being spent in slow moving traffic / jams. I somehow managed to get an accommodation around 4 kms from my office. Initially I tried my office cab but gave up after a month due to several issues. I got my bike transported and was happy using it for going office.

One fine day a dog decided to come in front of my bike and I landed on road. People came running picked me up and my bike. I got up and observed my elbow was scratched badly, jeans torn around knee. I was wearing a full face helmet so there were no injuries to head. But when I turned around I saw a truck behind me (it was at some distance though). Till this time I was totally against using a car due to the small width of road and the short distance to my office, however this incident forced me to change my thinking. What if the truck was not able to stop in time, what if I had suffered more injuries and all such thoughts crossed my mind. Further when my parents knew about this incident they started pressurizing me to look for a car.

We have a Wagon R VXI and Beat Diesel LS at my hometown. I wanted my next ride to be a SUV and had thought to buy one when the finance and time was right. After this incident I started looking for a car and postponed the decision to buy a SUV later. Till date we have never bought a pre-worshipped car. However after going though team-bhp I made up my mind to try this option. My priorities were:

1. Should be a single owner car, so that I become the second owner. This will help in re-sale.
2. Should have low mileage (Less than 20k kms).
3. No accidents.
4. Full service history available.
5. ABS and airbags an added bonus.

My budget was 4 lacs and I started my hunt for a pre-worshipped car. I started off with Maruti true value showroom of Pratham Motors on Outer Ring Road. They were offering an Alto K10 VXI (pre-facelift) for 3.5 lacs. The car was bone stock and had zero accessories, not even seat covers. Plus they were asking 5k for transfer of ownership. Thanks to team-bhp I knew this was a scam. The SA offered best price of 3.4 lacs + 5k for ownership transfer. I said thanks and left, though he did take down my details and promised to call if they get another car.

I also tried Trident Hyundai and they were offering a Black Beat Petrol base model for 3.1 lacs. The car’s insurance was expired and they were asking for 3.5 k for ownership transfer. One thing I noticed that most of the pre-owned cars present in their showroom had their insurance expired.
I was also searching online and kept on calling sellers. Sometimes the price quoted was high and sometimes the owners changed their minds. There were instances where I spoke to the owner and fixed the meeting, but the owners sold the car before I reached their place. I didn’t lose hope and kept my focus on finding the right car.

After a month I came across an ad for Wagon R VXI (O) model on Quikr. The car met all my requirements listed above. In addition the car had certain extras as well. I called the owner and he turned out to be a nice chap. We struck up a conversation and we agreed to meet next morning. Next morning we met and I checked the car, it looked nice and owner was very honest and straightforward guy. We went for a short test-drive and he told me upfront that except a front bumper re-paint there have been no accidents. Without any hesitation he also told me that we wanted money urgently and he will buy another car later. I offered him a price and he said he will think about it and get back.

True to this word he called that evening and he wanted a slightly higher price. I thought of not losing out on this deal for a small amount and said yes. He also told me that he will help me out in the ownership transfer process and I need not pay any money to agents. Only difficulty that remained was he had a loan on the car and he needed to clear that and get a NOC from the bank. He was so nice that without even taking any advance from me he arranged the funds and cleared the loan. He even bought a vehicle ownership transfer file that is used in RTO for me.

We decided to exchange money and car keys on 26 June 2015. I went along with my landlord’s father to the owner’s house. I transferred the money online, completed the document formalities, shook hands and brought the car home. Did a small Pooja at home as temples had closed by then.

Car Details:
Maruti Suzuki Wagon R VXI (O) with a driver side airbag and ABS.
December 2013 registered
175xx kms run

The car had the following accessories fitted
1. Art leather seat covers.
2. Reverse Camera with display in rear view mirror cum video player fitted over the factory rear view mirror.
3. Additional full floor PVC matting.
4. Wider 165/65 R14 tyres instead of factory fitted 155/65 R14 tyres.
The owner had exchanged them from Maruti showroom on the day of
delivery itself.
5. MGA rain visors on all 4 doors.
6. MGA front and rear bumper protector strips.
7. MGA car cover.
8. MGA floor mats.

Delivery Day Pics:







I took the car next day to Pratham Motors and got the oil and oil filter changed. Maruti service is no longer cheap and they wanted 1100 bucks for oil change and general checkup. I said no and told the SA to just change the oil and give the car back. SA then went to manager and told that they will charge 650 for checkup, oil change and fluid top-up. I gave the go ahead and also told him to clean the ac filter. The ac filter was not installed and it was also not in stock.



I got the ac filter installed at a later date. No labour was charged as they had noted that it was not in stock in the previous visit.



Engine Performance

The K10 3 cylinder engine is a reasonably good engine from Maruti. It is used in other family cars like Alto, Celerio as well. The engine has poor low end torque and this is felt in bumper to bumper traffic and on inclines. I have learnt to avoid slipping the clutch, however it leads to more re-starts. My usage is mostly in the city. I try to commute at non-peak hours. In bumper to bumper traffic the car has to be kept mostly in first gear.

However once past 2000 rpm the engine responds nicely. On the highway this engine can keep up with traffic easily and at 100 kph the engine is not strained. Progress after 120 kph is slow and it is best to drive in the range of 100 - 120 kph on highways.

Braking, Ride and Handling

Driving position due to tall boy design is higher and it gives a good view of the road ahead. The ride quality is OK and the suspension is absorbent at low speeds. However if one goes over undulations at 40-60 kph the suspension makes a loud noise. While going over rough patches the interior plastic trims make noise. I have pointed this out several times to service folks however their fixes are temporary in nature. The car handles well in a straight line. I have done several highway drives in Wagon R at good highway speeds and there are no uneasy or nervous feelings while driving. However no attempt should be made to take turns at high speeds. The tall boy design coupled with high center of gravity forces you to reduce your speed at turns.

Braking is good and coupled with ABS it gives confidence while driving in city and rainy conditions. This is the first ABS equipped vehicle that I have owned. There have been several instances where ABS kicks in while driving in the city (roads with dust and small stones, slippery roads during rains). At first I was surprised but then got used to it. However I am skeptical that brake pads are going to cross 30k. Due to endless speed bumps and potholes the brake usage is excessive.

Mileage

I usually get between 12-13.5 kmpl in city with 30% ac usage. Worst city mileage that I have got till date is 11.5 kmpl. Best mileage that I have got till now is 17.5 kmpl (80% highway, 20% city).

Service

The car was bought and serviced at Pratham Motors. I have continued with them as they are very close to my office. They also have an outlet near my house. They also have a mobile app through which one can book service, add reminders for insurance etc.

What I like

• It is an extremely practical and VFM car in it's segment.
• Decent equipment list. All 4 power windows, electric ORVMs, day and night IRVM, stereo with USB and FM/AM, keyless entry, split rear seats, storage under front passenger seat, rear wash wipe with defogger, rear fog lamp.
• ABS + Driver side airbag.
• K10 engine is nice to drive above 2000 rpm.
• Maruti Service.
• 2014 refresh has made the front design more pleasing than the previous one.

What I don't like

• Poor low end torque.
• No bluetooth. Even Nano comes with one.
• Old school flap type handles.
• No bottle holder in door pockets.
• Not as fuel efficient as it's siblings with K10 engine.
• Rattling plastic trims.

Thanks for reading.

[CarguyNish]

Congratulations & Happy Motoring PraNeel,

The WagonR is an excellent City Run-About. My Previous car was the same & I replaced it with a Tata Tiago.

Wish you a Trouble Free Ownership Experience.

[PraNeel]

The ownership transfer process

As mentioned in the previous post the previous owner had a loan from bank and he had cleared it before parting the car. Though some time was required by bank to issue a NOC which would be required to remove the hypothecation from RC. Once again I would like to mention the previous owner's courtesy. The day we exchanged money and car he asked me to hold back a small amount till he gets hypothecation removed from RTO. Once he got the NOC from bank, he came to my house collected the RC and other documents from me and went to RTO to get the bank hypothecation removed. I was not well that day so couldn't accompany him.

I had requested him to apply for ownership transfer as well if possible and I had given him the RTO file and the required documents. However I didn’t have a permanent residence address / document from Karnataka, so it was not possible to apply for the ownership transfer process simultaneously.

This induced a delay in ownership transfer process, as now the RC would come to the previous owner's address after cancellation of hypothecation and then I would have to start the ownership transfer process. RTO took one month to remove the hypothecation and send back the RC to previous owner.

Once I got hold of the RC I went to Kormangala BDA complex and got a notarized affidavit from one of the shop. The affidavit stated that I don’t have any Karnataka address proof / document and for the purpose of car registration this is my current address (supported by rental agreement).

Thanks to the excellent team-bhp thread I was aware of the document process and I submitted my file to Electronic City RTO office on 14 August 2015 along with a self-addressed and stamped envelope. A provisional receipt was issued and it stated that I would get my RC by 16 September 2015.

The process is very simple if you have the document file ready. Go to the RTO reception. Please ignore the long line reaching till the outer gate of RTO as it is for driving license applicants. The person sitting on the reception will direct you to a room (sorry I forgot the room number however it is on the ground floor diagonally opposite the reception). There an officer will check your file and write the amount to be deposited. Once amount is deposited on the cash counter, the file has to be submitted on the reception along with the receipt for the fee paid. Once again the file is checked and a provisional receipt is issued. That's it and if everything goes fine the RC will reach your address within a month (which didnt happen for me).

The Fee Receipt


The Provisional Receipt



I didnot get the RC in September. So I went to RTO and met the same officer who had decided the ownership transfer fee. He told the RTO inspector hadn't authorized the transfer process. There was no reason given for this, however the officer accompanied me along with my file to the RTO inspector office and explained the situation to the inspector. He asked in a stern tone why this process hadn't been done till now? He immediately gave his electronic thumb impression to authorize the ownership transfer and directed to complete the process ASAP. I was assured that a call would be given to me once the new RC card is ready.

However as expected I received no call. I again went to RTO office and this time the office who had to give the RC card had gone for some official work. Upon enquiring if someone else could give me the RC card, I received a firm NO. I went to RTO inspector office and appraised him of my situation. Luckily that day there was no line for aspiring DL applicants so he accompanied me to the officer’s desk and asked his colleagues why are they not issuing the RC to me? The same person who had said a big NO to me took out a key opened the drawer and started looking for my RC . I thanked the RTO inspector, acknowledged receiving the RC by signing on the provisional receipt (which the officer took back) and went home.

I don't know if I was unlucky or I had to make two extra trips as I didn't pay any bribe, but I was very happy that I got this process done without any agents and bribe. So people who live in Bengaluru please don't fall for this scam of paying 3-5k for ownership transfer fee. As you can see the whole process can be done in less than 500 Rupees.

[PraNeel]

In my ownership process till now I have faced two very unusual issues and it took a lot of test drives, persuasion to resolve these issues. I don’t know if these can be attributed to the build quality or the pathetic roads and endless speed breakers of Bengaluru.

Issue 1

Whenever the car used to go over a pothole or expansion join over a fly over there used to be a metallic vibration from the driver side. I had raised this issue when I had taken the car first time to service center. Here I must mention the SA simply abused my car on a very rough patch around service center and just attributed the noise to seats etc. I know there is no way to argue with him and I will have to raise this issue later.
As expected the noise was still there and I raised the issue in the feedback mail. This is where Maruti service trumps. I got a call within minutes of sending the mail and I was told a person will come to my office next day to investigate the issue. The person who came next day opened the panels near steering wheel, taped the rear number plate etc. to locate the source. However the noise persisted. He told me to take the car to service center. I took the car next day to service center, and an SA along with a mechanic were assigned for this issue. The SA was not able to hear the noise while he was driving. So I took over the wheel and after some distance I was able to demonstrate the issue. We stopped the car and the mechanic inspected the foot well area, while he instructed the SA to hit the steering wheel with his fist lightly. The sound was coming from two loose steering rack bolts. Thanking my stars I dropped the car at service center. The car was returned back same day with the issue resolved. Bill was 301 rupees for replacing a front bumper plastic holder, which was also noticed during test drive. There was no charge for the main issue.

Bill



After this issue I also faced theft of all 4 wheel covers from my office parking. I had gone to my hometown for two weeks and when I returned found all 4 wheel covers stolen. I informed my office security about the issue, but I knew nothing could be done about it. I went to service center which is near to my office and bought four wheel covers along with zip ties.

Bill



Issue 2

I started facing this issue in later half of 2016. There used to be a metal to metal rubbing noise that used to come after the vehicle had run for 5-6 kms. The noise was very much audible in surroundings like office parking, night time when there was no traffic. I suspected brake noise and thought a service will take care of this issue.
As per team-bhp thread Maruti service is no longer cheap. One also needs to be informed and firm to avoid unnecessary charges.

SA: Sir Engine oil and oil filter needs to be changed. It was changed a year ago.
Me: Since the last oil change car has covered less than 4k so I will continue till 6-7k. (Castrol 5w-30 semi-synthetic oil)
SA: Ok. It is recommended to change the oil filter and then top up engine oil.
Me: Not required. I have never heard of this before.
SA: Do you want AC cleaning, interior cleaning etc?
Me: Please look around interiors are clean and AC is working fine.
SA: Any complaints?
Me: Interior plastic panels rattle and there is a metal to metal rubbing noise after the vehicle has run for 5-6 kms especially after going over a rough patch of road.

While signing the job card I told him not to charge for front brake cleaning and caliper pin greasing. He insisted these are chargeable, so I gave him the registration number of the Wagon R that we have in my hometown. I told him to check the service records to see if there has been a charge for these jobs. I told him I will not pay for any extra jobs except the ones I have agreed to. I also came to know that Maruti has increased the service costs for all vehicles. The diesel ones now cost upward of 2k for 20k and 40k services. I don’t know if this is applicable for South India or it is another scam.
Even after all this and without oil change the bill was 3648 rupees.

Bill




I got the car back same day however the noise persisted. There is a Pratham Motors outlet near to my home and I thought it will be easier to diagnose and resolve the issue here. However I was very much wrong. The service manager after test-driving didn’t hear the noise and gave the car back after blowing air on front suspension and lubrication. This didn’t solve the issue and I again went back after some days. I also recorded a video and showed it to senior service manager. He again told the service manager from the previous visit to accompany me and resolve the issue. Same story, the gentleman didn’t hear the noise and told me to take the car to the outlet near my office for resolving the issue. However due to senior service manager’s insistence they removed the front tyres, cleaned the front brakes, tightened all the underbody nuts and bolts. The issue still persisted.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OyvQ...ature=youtu.be

Fed up I wrote a polite email to Pratham motors with Bangalore service territory manager in cc regarding this issue. I got an email and phone call from Pratham Motors for their service team visiting my office regarding observation and resolution of this issue.

Next morning the Assistant Works Manager along with a mechanic came to my office. We all went for a test drive inside office compound over numerous speed breakers and around the office on roads that can be best termed as mini off road track.

The mechanic tried to find the source of noise while the car was stationary but was not successful. I told him that noise only comes when the vehicle is moving. We then again went back to office parking and there the noise was clearly audible. The mechanic opened the bonnet and he listened for noise while I reversed back and forth. He suspected the noise was coming from the point where the exhaust pipe joins the exhaust manifold. They took the car to workshop.

I received a call in the afternoon that the required part was not in stock and they have removed and refitted the metal ring that sits between the exhaust manifold and exhaust pipe. The Assistant manager took a test-drive before coming to my office, we again took a test-drive in the office compound and the noise was not heard.

He took my signature on the job card and mentioned that the vehicle is being delivered temporarily and is under observation. If issue persists they will change the metal ring described above. I thanked him profusely.

[PraNeel]

Small yet significant additions to my car


Tantra Fluke – Car Bluetooth Kit

I was on a lookout for a car Bluetooth kit and went for this one after hearing a big No from Maruti for their MGA Bluetooth kit. IMO this is the best plug and play option available in the market today. Link

Pros:

1. No charging required. Turns ON with ACC on and switches OFF when the key is taken out.
2. Superb voice clarity during calls. Has in-built noise cancellation.
3. Uses your car audio system for sound output.
4. Simple and intuitive to use with dedicated buttons.

Cons:

1. A car charger should have been included at this price. [They send you a free (absolutely pathetic) mobile holder via courier once you write a review on flipkart and share the link with them.]
2. If car is re-started, one has to double tap the call button to re-connect the device to phone.
3. Music volume has to be raised that is played over Bluetooth in comparison to one played through USB / FM

Flip Key

I had a very tough time to get this done, due to incompetent key cutting chaps. This also led to two broken flip key shells however the key cutting was at fault rather than anything else. Finally got it right third time. I bought the flip key shell from a guy called Rohit Gupta based in Gurgaon. He is a very nice chap and I will recommend him wholeheartedly. His number is +919811597766. I initially bought the first shell through ebay, but later bought from him directly. He sells one shell for less than 800 rupees and price further drops if more shells are bought directly from him.






Car Duster

Bought this from ebay.in. It serves the purpose and is very handy in cleaning the car from dust. It is washable too. Link




Leather Steering & Handbrake grip

Once the rubbish steering cover from Maruti started peeling off, I decided to get a leather one from Devraj at JC Road. Thanks to the team-bhp thread it was a straightforward decision. The quality and fit and finish is awesome. Total price paid for both is 1100 rupees which is fantastic IMO.





Steering Close-up





Handbrake






Android Head Unit

After getting inspired from many bhpian threads I went ahead and upgraded my head unit to an Android head unit. (Link) I will write in detail about it in a separate post.

[noopster]

Thread moved from Assembly Line to initial ownerships section. Thanks for sharing!