[RSR]

Congratulations on crossing the 1 lac km mark with your neatly maintained black beauty!

We have the successor to the Santro with the same engine, i10 1.1 iRDE.

The long stroke, 3 valves/cylinder, 4-pot 1086 cc Epsilon/eRLX/iRDE/iRDE 2 engine is a gem (if you're not a frequent expressway user). The torque-on-tap at lower revs is simply perfect for city drives and the occasional highway trip. It does run out of breath & gets noisy at higher revs near the redline, and so it's not an expressway scorcher.

We normally sell off our cars around the 7 year mark as they start to have serious issues by then because of our type of usage - multiple repeated short distance drives everyday in slow traffic with the A/C on 100% of the time (and only the occasional long distance drive).

However, the i10 has been with us for 11.33 years now and we have absolutely no intention of selling it - because it has just been so reliable & well-put together!

It has been (ab)used roughly by multiple drivers in severe conditions, has been submerged in dirty, overflowing sewage canal water upto the top of the bonnet during the Dec. 2015 flood in Chennai, taken over a rocky trail & suffered hits to the underbody & engine, even driven around with so little engine oil remaining that the engine began to alarmingly heat up - yet it has never let us down, never left us stranded anywhere, never gave up on us (touchwood!) anytime.

Which is something that just could not be said of the other cars we've had. Despite being much younger, they left us stranded on at least one occassion apiece and they had begun to rattle & squeak irritatingly. While the i10 feels as tight and well put together as it was on day one (with only a faint rattle from the hatch over bad roads - only because it has been slammed shut very hard several times by stupid people without mechanical empathy).

In fact, so impressive has the i10 1.1 been, that after about 5 years of owning it, we went and bought another Hyundai, an i20 1.2 (facelift). We've never had more than 1 car at the same time from the same manufacturer before, and what's worse, I used to be an absolutely rabid hater of Hyundai till about 2007.

That's why I have a hearty laugh whenever I come across hilariously silly comments proclaiming that Hyundais are only "bling" & "gizmos", have "long term reliability issues" and so on. Clearly, such comments are made by those who don't have a deep enough understanding/knowledge/experience about cars.

[swarnava.ch]

Congrats on reaching 100,000 kms on the mighty Santro. Brings back a lot of amazing memories. My friend had this initially and we shared many a long rides on the car together. Well it was considered once upon a time the smartest choice for city cars and to be honest a cornerstone for Hyundai in India.

[rageshgr]

Congrats !
It’s a peppy little car for the money. Great pics ! My Santro AT did 1.3 lacs in 3.74 years between 2007 and 2011. And it was not breaking a sweat at all. Very reliable. In spite of all the strain it had been through

[Neversaygbye]

Originally Posted by boniver

...
UPDATE: There's a reason I decided to sit up and complete this thread ASAP after letting it lie on the assembly line for half a year. I got my Santro home exactly a year ago (on 23rd November, 2018), so I wanted to go on a road trip with her today. We decided to go to a place called Shantiniketan in WB where someone in the family owns a farmhouse.
...

Thank you for a wonderful ownership review cum travelogue! Many congratulations on hitting the 100k mark and to be honest, this is one of the most impeccably maintained Santros I have ever seen! Can give many new cars a run for their money, and it is really laudable the way you have taken care of it. The original Santro was really a great vehicle. I remember that we had a huge debate on whether to go for it or the Matiz when we were buying our first new car way back in 1998 (dad had a pre-owned Fiat 1100D earlier). Eventually the Matiz won because we liked its smaller form factor and it was cheaper too.

It so happens that I am also from the northern part of the city (Dumdum) and the WB24C number also brought back memories of both our earlier Barrackpore RTO registered cars - one was an Indica V2 and the other the Daewoo Matiz mentioned earlier. We replaced both in the last 9 years but still have fond memories of both.

I can also relate to your accident because of the tram tracks - had many a narrow escape myself when I used to ride my bike all around town. Nowadays I use the bike only for short trips. You were really lucky that you escaped with just minor injuries.

Just one question since you mentioned that you got denting and rust repair work done including repair work for a hole in the body. My Vista also needs similar treatment on one of the panels plus touch up in many other places - can you suggest a good place and also give an idea of the cost involved? That would be really helpful!

Thanks in advance and wish you many more happy miles of motoring in your Santro!

Note to mods: shortened the quote to make the post more readable on mobiles. Hope that's fine.

[boniver]

Originally Posted by WhiteSierra

Congrats on reaching 1 lakh milestone, beautiful pictures with your pet and car.

Originally Posted by Storm2.0

Congratulations sir! Wishing you many more kilometres in this "sunshine car".

Originally Posted by VTEC_Powaaaa

Congratulations on reaching the 1L kms milestone!

Originally Posted by RSR

Congratulations on crossing the 1 lac km mark with your neatly maintained black beauty!

Originally Posted by swarnava.ch

Congrats on reaching 100,000 kms on the mighty Santro.

Originally Posted by rageshgr

Congrats !
It’s a peppy little car for the money. Great pics !

Thank you so much, guys!

Originally Posted by maheshm619

That is a well maintained car. Please share the expenses incurred for maintenance.

Thank you!

I can't seem to find the bill right away, but I remember the following items:
1. Monroe Struts (Front) (Part M2N3G9201): Rs. 1760*2
2. Monroe Shocks (Rear) (Part M2N3G1053): Rs. 749*2
3. OEM Lower Arms (Parts 5450105002 and 5450205002): Rs. 1100*2
4. OEM Steering Rack (Part 5651005010): Rs. 3000 after exchanging my older rack
5. Rear left wheel bearing (Can't remember the part number): Rs. 990

Apart from this, there were various bushes, link rods etc. I paid a total of Rs. 13,100 for the parts and Rs. 2000 for labour at my FNG.

Originally Posted by DudeWithaFiat

Congratulations on hitting the 1,00,000 mark I have traveled in it with him couple of times and I remember the AC was quite chilling.

Thank you so much! In my case, the AC is a real chiller only after sunset. During the day it does take some time and effort to cool the entire cabin down. I think my car being black also compounds the issue.

Since you intent to keep the car for long? Ever thought of sprucing her up with power windows, central locking, TPMS etc.

While I'd love the added convenience, I'm of the opinion that more electricals=more things that can go wrong, especially in such an old car. TPMS and a dashcam are the only things that I might get done in the future.

Originally Posted by Neversaygbye

Thank you for a wonderful ownership review cum travelogue! Many congratulations on hitting the 100k mark and to be honest, this is one of the most impeccably maintained Santros I have ever seen! Can give many new cars a run for their money, and it is really laudable the way you have taken care of it.

Thank you so much!

It so happens that I am also from the northern part of the city (Dumdum).

My best friend from college lives in Dumdum too, and we spend half our time at each other's houses. Absolutely hate the traffic discipline there though. Hope to meet you soon!

Just one question since you mentioned that you got denting and rust repair work done including repair work for a hole in the body. My Vista also needs similar treatment on one of the panels plus touch up in many other places - can you suggest a good place and also give an idea of the cost involved? That would be really helpful!

I got it done from a body shop near my house, but I'm not sure if it'd be worth it for you to come this far for it since such garages are all over the city. I got the following done from him:
1. Denting
2. Rust Repair (Fixing rust spots and a couple of rust holes)
3. Fixing the bumpers (both were out of alignment and had multiple brackets broken)
4. Accident repair which included hammering the hood back into shape and pulling out the front (had gone into a Tiago when he braked suddenly on the Sealdah flyover, the Tiago was absolutely fine while my car ended up with a crumpled hood). Refer to the picture at the end of the post.
5. Various minor work all around the car such as fixing the broken parcel tray with a metal plate, fixing a new RR door handle etc.

For the entire job, I paid only Rs. 2500.

I got the hood repainted from another garage beside it, and I paid Rs. 1000 for it (that's how much they charge per panel). They don't have a paint booth, and although my previous experience with them was largely unsatisfactory, it seems to be fine this time.

What she looked like when I dropped her off:

[Neversaygbye]

Originally Posted by boniver

My best friend from college lives in Dumdum too, and we spend half our time at each other's houses. Absolutely hate the traffic discipline there though. Hope to meet you soon!

I agree. There is zero traffic discipline in Dumdum and the entire Dumdum road stretch is a nightmare to drive on. Driving on it is one of the reasons why my car needs body work in the first place! Hope to meet you one of these days!

For the entire job, I paid only Rs. 2500.

That plus 1000 for the paint job is extremely reasonable for the work you have mentioned. Paint finish seems to be top class too! Let me see if I can find a good dent repair FNG in my locality. Thanks for giving me an idea of the cost.

[Sreesh1009]

Hey Boniver,
I own a 2005 Santro Xing myself. Really enjoy the car and it's the car I'm learning to drive in.
This car is timeless and irreplaceable. Going to part ways with this car soon though (recently turned 15 and multiple repairs).
Do keep this thread updated.
Attaching two pictures of mine, if you don't mind.

[boniver]

The Santro continues to chug on reliably without throwing even a hint of a tantrum. After the last update, we took it on a trip to Shantiniketan to celebrate New Year's eve. The car was loaded to the brim with luggage and people (5 people+1 dog) and performed brilliantly. In February, I left for my college in Bangalore and my dad drove the car occasionally. During that period, it picked up a lot of scratches, most of which were caused due to my dad miscalculating the space in our garage.

The second wave struck in April, and by mid-April, I was back home again. Just before the lockdown, I drove to Digha with my dog, and we had a short stay at the beach town. We interacted with no one, just stayed in our hotel room and enjoyed the view of the sea. Didn't even go down to the beach because it was unusually crowded.

During the lockdown, the only few times my car left the garage was when my parents and I had our respective vaccination appointments. Got the insurance renewed in June for Rs. 4180. By July, the situation had improved and I had to leave for Bangalore again. Before leaving, I decided to perform the car's annual service.
List of things changed in the car:

• Engine Oil+Filter

• Air filter

• Brake pads

• Tapped cover gasket

Apart from this, the throttle body was cleaned and the wheels aligned since the car was pulling slightly to the right at speed.
Odo reading at the time of service: 1,02,345 kms
Total cost: Rs. 2817

Nothing more to update, so onto some pictures:

New pads vs old


Condition of the engine at 1.02L kms


Odo reading at the time of service














At a Team-BHP meet (Impromptu Calcutta / Uluberia Breakfast meet tomorrow (4th July 2021)) at Azad Hind Dhaba, Uluberia


L-R: Neversaygbye, turboNath, ABHI_1512, shourya_lahiri, and yours truly

The Santro is in its 18th year now. It continues to serve me and my family faithfully, and will be with us irrespective of whatever draconian law is passed by the government in future.

[e46]

Hello Boniver!

How is your Santro chugging?

I came across a well maintained '12 Santro Xing with 38K on the odo (WB). Is 1.9 L a good price for this car or should I try to make it less?

Hoping to get a response.

[boniver]

Originally Posted by e46

How is your Santro chugging?

Love your username, that's one of two cars which I have posters of above my desk!
The Santro's running along just fine, I've now shifted to Bangalore and my dad takes the car out occassionally.

I came across a well maintained '12 Santro Xing with 38K on the odo (WB). Is 1.9 L a good price for this car or should I try to make it less?

That's a very high price. Just to put things in perspective, I had rejected a well maintained 2012 Santro Xing with 30k kms on the odo back in 2018 because I thought the price was too high. The dealer was demanding 1.75L for it. Please negotiate further.

[Motorhead07]

The clutch pedal on the car feels spongy (extremely loose) initially (before the biting point) and then hardens up quite harshly. The car has been driven 1.1 Lakh Kilometres yet. Also the pedal makes a weird springy noise whenever pressed or depressed. What should I get checked up? I feel the clutch plate and the cylinders are just fine and it's just an issue with the pedal's spring, I not a one-hundred percent sure though.

[boniver]

Been a long time since I posted an update here, so here goes.

In April, I was in Kerala when one morning I received a call from my sister asking me to check my phone. My heart sank as the pictures got downloaded: she had crashed the car. I asked my dad (thankfully he was there too) to ask put on the spare wheel and park the car in the garage. I'd be visiting home in June and would take care of it then. The pictures are below:







This is the sight that greeted me when I returned home in June:


Took it to my local denter the next day:


Same bumper fixed, all for Rs. 500!



I wasn't comfortable getting just one tire replaced, so I got 4 new tires for the car in July. JK Ultima NXTs, since the car doesn't get driven anyway, and I was again moving to Gurgaon leaving the car behind in Calcutta.



I came back from Gurgaon a couple of weeks ago, and noticed that the car had been driven just 30 kms in the past 2 months. I then noticed that the AC wasn't cooling as effectively as it used to, but figured I'd get to it once the Durga Pujas were over. On the last day of the Pujas, the AC stopped cooling completely. Fixed an appointment with Daga Autolek and took the car there the next day, where the compressor was diagnosed to have died with black oil found in the system. Quote for replacing the entire AC system was Rs. 25-30k.

Posted an ad for the car on Facebook Marketplace that day, and got quite a few calls (most of them lowballing even though I had set an extremely low price). Fixed a deal with one of the callers (individual buyer) over the phone and planned to meet the next day. My sister was leaving for Bangalore so dropped her at the airport, drove the car to the new owner's house, and left it there. Here's the last photo I took of the car:



At the time of selling the car, it had:

• A new battery
• New suspension on all 4 corners
• New steering rack
• Fresh tyres (run not even 200kms)
• Insurance valid for a year
• Road tax valid upto 2030
• Registration valid up to 2024

However, the AC wasn't working, and that alone is a dealbreaker for me no matter how good the rest of the car is.

This happened 4 days ago, and I'd been looking for a replacement since then. Finally found and liked a car last night and will be taking delivery tonight, post detailing.

Would request the mods to please close this thread.