[Ashtoncastelino]

T’was the year 2020 the pandemic, my 2nd Semester examinations (Bachelors of Computer Applications) had just started and abrubtly stopped due to the virus was at my native when the lockdown started. Government had announced that there are specific timings to get essentials and all of us initially found it difficult to adjust to the restrictions. Me and my uncle were the ones to go and get the essentials for the family members. I always had the craze for vehicles, be it a two-wheeler or a four-wheeler.

During the Pandemic, I noticed a lot of people on OLX and Facebook Marketplace selling vehicles due to financial issues. I was always keen on getting a Yamaha RX100, yes, I’m a sucker for old vehicles. The average price for a well maintained RX100 was about ₹45,000-60,000. I managed to spot a 1986 RX which looked to be in great condition. Spoke to the owner and he said he had maintained it supremely well and was ready to let it go at ₹42,000. I told my parents about this and Mom was convinced, dad was worried about spare parts and Fuel consumption.

Now here comes the best part, my parents ask my sister who is about 2 years younger than me about getting the RX100 and what she thinks of it. Obviously, she straight away says NO. She explained that getting another two-wheeler is not necessary when we already have a Scooter (Activa 2005), getting a car is a better option instead she mentioned. So, the search for a car began!

I found a 1996 white Zen with about 1.09Lakh on the odo. It was the carb model obviously since MPFi rolled out post 2000’s for the Zen. Me and uncle went to get a drive of it and initial impressions were good. Car felt peppy and had no Power Steering.






This was the first time I was driving a Zen. Checked body for rust spots and considering the vehicle’s age, there were very less. The engine had that same old common oil leak from the distributor in all Zen’s, other than that the engine bay looked good. Now coming to the price, the owner was adamant and ready to let it go at ₹55000. I quoted at ₹50,000. We both matched our prices in the middle and verbally settled it at ₹52,000. I hadn’t done the payment and told him I’ll come within the week with the payment and pick up the car.

Now final decision had to be done after discussing it with my parents. Parents gave the green signal and so did sister, but was not happy seeing photos of the car. So, I was set to pick-up the car and pay the owner the next day. I kept checking Team-BHP for the reviews and mods to be done on the Zen. The next day , it rained cats and dogs in the morning and I couldn’t go to pick up the car, called the owner and informed him I’ll come in the evening to pickup the car. He asks for advance, but since the amount was ₹52000, I assured him that I’ll come in the evening to pick it up. About 2 hours later I get a call from him saying the car has been SOLD! Didn’t want to talk much so I just hung up the call and genuinely felt sad about what happened.

Finding the Swift

Back in 2019, I had paid a visit to my Dad’s friend place with my uncle and he mentioned he was selling his brothers 2006 Swift VXi which had run 64000km’s. I had taken a photo of it just to run the plates and check vahaan history. He mentioned he was selling it at a price of ₹2.8Lakhs and if my uncle were to buy, he would let it go at ₹2.5Lakhs.



I was persuading my uncle to get that swift because I loved its looks and color. My uncle has a 2010 WagonR F10D, he said the swift lacks the storage space and its low slung for him. I had to agree with him so it ended there.

Now coming to 2020 June, I had suddenly remembered about this Swift after the Zen incident happened. So, the next day me and my sister went to get essentials and slowly passed by my dad’s Friend’s place to see if the swift is still there or not. I was overwhelmed to see it there, Not knowing if the owners still want to sell the swift or not, I went and spoke to them and asked about the car, The minute they told the car is still for sale I was at all ears. While I was conversing with them, my sister checked out the car all around, Bodyline and everything was perfect. I clicked few photos of the car to show my parents. The car had run about only 800km’s since I first saw it in 2019.






Now coming to the price point, they quoted a price and I didn’t even bargain because OLX and marketplace were selling mediocre condition swifts which I ran away after seeing the prices above 2.4Lakhs and moreover they were high run with dented bodylines. Best part was Sister approved and told parents that if we are getting a car, this is the perfect one. So, dad spoke with his friend and the deal was settled.
Within that week , I got called to pick up the car and the car was washed thoroughly and kept ready.



Odometer on the day of delivery.



Recent photo with the previous owners of the Swift.



So, there it was, An Azure Grey 2006 Swift VXi with 64888km as my family’s first car. First thing I did after delivery was obviously a full tank and headed home. Sister again did a thorough inspection of the car as she has OCD of keeping everything clean and arranged. Now I wanted to know the history of the car, so I paid a visit to my MASS and asked for the service history since the previous owner used to only take it to MASS for any repairs / Service. I got all the service records from 2006 till 2019 on the Maruti app on my phone and the in-depth service record (Parts changed, Labour charges) was available only with MASS. The last time it was serviced was on 2019 January in MASS according to the Maruti App.

Observations of the Swift.

Likes

• Reliable G13BB MPFi engine and its power till redline
• Very light clutch
• Short gear throws with tall gearing
• Great AC cooling
• Refinement of the engine
• Stiff suspension gives you confidence when cornering hard at high speeds.
• Handling and feedback from steering
• Overall looks of the car, has a Timeless design

Dislikes

• Low end torque is not great and requires downshifts for it get going on inclines.
• Fuel efficiency ( Hovers around 12kmpl in city)
• Rear seat space, It gets cramped due to the less leg room.
• Very small bootspace, Basically NIL in this decade.
• Stiff Suspension is tiresome in the city.
• Lack of ABS
• Missing features in VXi such as electromagnetic tailgate opener, Rear wiper with washer and Defogger.
• No Manual Day/Night IRVM in the type 1 Swift VXi/LXi
• RATTLES !! (Fixed later)

Driving experience of the Swift
The car feels lethargic initially because of its poor low end torque but once it crosses 1200RPM there's no drama, it feels punchy. The gears are slick to shift through and the clutch weight is perfect. The brake bite is good but could have been improved further. The steering weighs up very light for the city, and weighs perfectly for speeds on the highway. I absolutely love the steering feel and handling of the Swift. The engine revs at 2100rpm at 80kmph on top gear. The throttle body is cable operated and I seem to like the cable operated accelerator rather than electronically controlled. Since the car is tall geared, its ABSOLUTELY FUN to redline it, the grunt is amazing and pulls strong till redline. First gear tops out at 60Kmph at 6700RPM redline, second gear tops at 100Kmph and so on. The power is distributed well across the rev band.

The ORVM's are not electrically adjusted and are manually adjusted from the cabin. A separate front Fog light switch is given near the headlight levelling switch unlike new cars which have it on the headlight stalk itself. The headlight stalk has a switch for the rear fog light which can be switched on when the headlight is turned to full position. No sort of tilt adjustable steering and no steering mounted audio controls are given, heck even the ZXi Type 1 (2005-2007) never got them. The seat is not height adjustable since its the VXi only ZXi got them, but even then the stock seat height in the VXi is perfect for my height (I'm 5'11). The previous owners have gotten the seat covered in faux leather with a good contrast colour.

Coming to the Fuel efficiency Point of view, The G13BB motor was never meant for fuel efficiency. It returns a fuel efficiency around 12-14 KM/L in the city and 17-21KM/L in the highway with my driving style. I do drive sedately with a very light right foot and have a habit of revv matching while downshifts.

Photos taken within the first week of ownership






Fixing the 12V Socket wires
Now since I was new to cars at that time, I was curious to know how it all worked and wanted to learn how to diagnose if and when I face any issues. The first thing I wanted to fix was the 12V socket which was not getting power. Checked the fuses and it all looked good. So, one day with the help of my grandfather I opened up the center console trim and was shocked to see wires eaten by Rats. Previous owner did mention due to their low usage, it was rat attacked but it was fixed in MASS for any issues regarding the same. I guess MASS forgot to have a look at this.





Me and my grandfather fixed it cleanly by depinning and soldering new wires and the socket got the power upon ignition. T'was job well done and assembled everything back perfectly.

Start of Modifications and Accessories

The First month of getting the car, I slowly procured the accessories that I felt were necessary

• Door visors -Got these from my local accessories shop
• 12V Mobile Fast Charger- Sourced from amazon and came with a Type-c Cable. It was made by Amkette.
• Pair of Horns - I got these installed from my local auto electrician and replaced OEM horn which was squeaking.
• Armrest - I found this very useful during long drives in my neighbours Dzire, hence felt the need for it. Sourced it from Amazon during sale.

Those were the only accessories added on to the car in 2020, I had been out of the country and returned in Jan 2021. Even when I was out of I was preparing and listing what all needs to be changed at the 70k service.

[Ashtoncastelino]

January 2021


70,000 Service and New Tyres

I had just returned back to India, and planned to service the car. Now since I had no FNG’s at that time so I just went by my uncle’s recommendation to get it done at his FNG where he services the WagonR. I had previous interacted with him and he seemed like a trustworthy mechanic, more on that later. So I called him up and told him I’ll be coming to get the car serviced next day morning and he obliged. Told me to be at his place at 9 and I did. Since he works alone , I asked if I could be there in person whilst he was servicing the car.



He first disconnected the battery and then started to remove the air filter and changed the spark plugs. The old ones were not in good shape. New NGK ones were plonked in.
We moved onto changing the brake pads and while we got to it, mechanic noticed leaky front strut and informed me.



He recommended to change it since I also planned to get new tyres right after the service. With a weak suspension, the tyres will wear out faster and unevenly and I didn’t want that to happen so obliged to get the struts changed.



I also noticed brake fluid slightly leaking from the proportioning valve and he recommended to replace that.

The work was started around 9am and it was completed by 6pm and I went to get the new tyres installed and alignment done. Took it directly to Jae’s wheel masters Udupi and they did a fantastic job and gave the latest manufactured tyres of Yokohoma Earth 1 165/80 R14. They were at 3800 per tyre, so total damage to the wallet was ₹15200 for the tyres.



Now after the tyre change , I returned back to the Garage and asked him to prepare the bill.





He had overcharged a lot for parts, but at this point I didn't want to create a scene and so I paid it (16000) and promised myself to bring parts by myself next time if I ever get the car serviced by him. The car felt more punchier after driving it for 20 odd kms after servicing. I was happy with how it responded.

So all the parts changed at the 70,000km service were

• Engine Oil
• Oil Filter
• Spark Plugs
• Wiper Blades
• Front Brake Pads
• Brake Oil Topped-Up
• Both Front Struts
• Both Front Strut Mountings
• High Tension Wires
• Rear right wheel bearing
• Proportionating Valve

Head Unit Upgrade and adding Steering wheel controls

The Swift had just a single-din Pioneer Music system which supported CD, Aux and Radio, it was too basic for me. I wanted to change the Head unit and I had got this itch at the right time, I saw DBHPian Paragsachanias thread on installing Steering wheel audio controls on his Ertiga and planned to do the same. I had gone through his thread thoroughly and understood how everything works.

I ordered the Clockspring and the Steering wheel from MGP and it arrived in 10 days. Flipkart had a great sale going on at the same time and managed to order Blaupunkt New York 750 which supports android auto and apple Carplay too.



Planned to install it myself at home, so I started removing the old head Unit to see the wiring and disconnected the old Head unit and did the wiring for the New HU. Plugged it in and it worked beautifully. It was a straight forward swap.

Now since there are no physical buttons, the presence of audio control buttons were much needed. So it was time to it , I managed to get a Second generation Swift Hornpad frame from scrapyard so the project was a Go.







Followed all the instructions as per Parag Sir's thread and it was working perfectly. I was super happy. No wires were cut and it was a plug and play mod.


Gear Selector cable bush

During my DIY’s on the car I took a good look at the engine bay for any oil leaks or any rat bitten wires just to be on the safe side. I noticed some binding wires near the gear selector cable. I slowly removed the rusted binding wire to get a good look on why was it done that way by the previous owner.



Upon removing, I noticed there is a bush missing from the cable which is makes the gear selector cable fit tightly on the Shift lever.



Quick search on Ori-Parts and Boodmo proved no luck when searching for that specific bush as a child part. The whole gear selector cable had to be replaced which costs ₹2280 currently. I called up my MASS and enquired if a bush was available, They mentioned they have it in stock and I can collect the same.



Part Number: 28313M86J00
Price: Rs. 22.

Since the gear shifting was smooth and not notchy with engine off, it was clear that the gear cables were in top shape, so the idea of replacing the cable was striked out. Ran to MASS immediately and picked up the bush which costed just ₹22 and went home and fixed it. It was a perfect fit.

[Aditya]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[nevin007]

Wonderful find and good updates with head unit and steering wheel. I too had a Swift vxi 2006 model. Bought it used at 53k kms and used it till 93k for 2.5 years. That GB13 engine is a gem of engine, very happy to rev and more powerful then the current 1.2.

[aveoman19]

Great Choice! Might I suggest getting 15 inch OEM Alloy wheels of the European Swift? I know it may be hard to source but it will give a nice and unique stance to your beautiful Swift. The G13B Engine is a gem. Take good care of her

[Ashtoncastelino]

Originally Posted by aveoman19

Great Choice! Might I suggest getting 15 inch OEM Alloy wheels of the European Swift? I know it may be hard to source but it will give a nice and unique stance to your beautiful Swift. The G13B Engine is a gem. Take good care of her

Thanks a ton ! I couldn't agree with you more about the alloys. I absolutely love it. Sadly they aren't available in India so plan had to be dropped though in the middle i got the idea of getting the 15" of the SX4 but unfortunately that too had to be dropped due to compatibility issues. At last managed to get the OEM Alloys as a set of 5 for a great price. The post of the alloys will be mentioned in the upcoming posts. And Yes, the Swift is getting always pampered from my side everyday.

Regards
Ashton Castelino

[CafeRacer16]

Great thread Ashtoncastelino, 1st gen Swift is truly the best amongst all its iterations & hats off to Maruti as well that you can still get parts easily for a 1.5 decade old model.

Incidentally the wheel cover design on your car is exactly the same as I got in my Kushaq, looks like Skoda just did a straight badge swapping job & that too with such an old design.

[TheHelix0202]

A blacked out roof and some blacked out projector headlamps would look killer. Maybe some stiffer springs too, if you're so inclined.

P.S: are you based out of Bangalore?

[LOL_FWD]

Originally Posted by Ashtoncastelino

January 2021


70,000 Service and New Tyres

Congrats on your new acquisition, bud.

My first car too was the same and it served me really well through my college years. Although very thirsty, the car is a hoot to drive. Only downside I felt was the puny 165 OE tyres. I went a bit overboard with 15 inch rims and 195 profile tyres. It improved the handling and looks by a lot but the comfort took a bit of a toll. The best tyre spec IMO for this model is the 185 with stock rims which used to come on the ZXi variants.

Happy motoring!

[adi58]

I sold my 5 year old swift VXI for 2.5L back in 2013 and here I see 16yr old car selling at similar price. How does this work?

[amvj]

Originally Posted by adi58

I sold my 5 year old swift VXI for 2.5L back in 2013 and here I see 16yr old car selling at similar price. How does this work?

Second hand car prices are crazy at the moment. Just check Spinny and other platforms.

[Ashtoncastelino]

February 2021

Headlight Bulb Upgrade to 90W/100W

Had to drive to Kannur Airport to pick up my dad and this was the first long drive with the swift, I had taken my dear friend too along with me for company as parents were not comfortable with me driving alone. We left around 2PM and reached Kannur Airport around 8PM. T'was a great drive which I thoroughly enjoyed.

On the way back we stopped for dinner and I let my friend drive the way back to Manipal. He immediately found it difficult with the 55/60w Bulbs and told I need to upgrade them ASAP as night drives were very difficult. The windshield moreover had Hardwater Stains/Residue which made night driving very difficult with oncoming cars on high beam.

The very next day when we reached back to Manipal, I did a thorough research if it is safe to upgrade to 90/100W bulbs on the swift. Having read few threads were the reflectors got burnt after upgrading the bulbs scared me a bit, But my uncle's 2011 Swift was running on 90/100W with no issues at all since years. My uncle's WagonR was running 90/100W setup with Philips Bulbs and Philips Headlight relay, but one day when I driving the relay just gave up and the fuses melted. I really dont know what happened or what caused it but I expected better life from Philips Headlight relay but I was let down.

Browsed Amazon and other websites for a day and finally decided to get Headlight relay which was of made by Vaishnu Auto Lighting Solutions. It had great feedback and customer Support. IIRC I paid about ₹944 and ordered Osram Rallye 62204 90/100W Bulbs for ₹300. After placing the order on amazon I was contacted by Vaishnu customer care, to notify them if I face any issues during installation or needed help. The Headlight relay kit was made with great material, Ceramic H4 Connectors and all the wires were of Finolex make.

Dad and me installed it ourselves and did a test at night to see its output . We compared it with my uncles WagonR which was running 55/60W lights and the Light output was improvement over the previous setup. Anyways I am keeping a close watch on the reflectors to see if any issue crops, so far all good. We noticed an immediate improvement and ease in night drives.

[Ashtoncastelino]

Originally Posted by TheHelix0202

A blacked out roof and some blacked out projector headlamps would look killer. Maybe some stiffer springs too, if you're so inclined.

P.S: are you based out of Bangalore?

Thankyou TheHelix0202, Currently have gotten used to the suspension. Blacked out headlights with projectors might be on the cards but it will definitely be as a DIY. Research has already been started. About the blacked roof, I'm not so keen on it as I personally don't like it.

No buddy, the car was originally registered in Bangalore by previous owner hence KA51 but I am from Udupi (KA20).

Originally Posted by LOL_FWD

Only downside I felt was the puny 165 OE tyres. I went a bit overboard with 15 inch rims and 195 profile tyres. It improved the handling and looks by a lot but the comfort took a bit of a toll. The best tyre spec IMO for this model is the 185 with stock rims which used to come on the ZXi variants.

Thankyou LOL_FWD, I absolutely agree with you with the ZXi Alloys, I managed to source them a month back and the post is coming up regarding the same. I will definitely slap the 185s once my current 165s wear out.

I see your KA-19 Regd Swift, are you currently still based in Mangalore?

[Bismaya]

Originally Posted by adi58

I sold my 5 year old swift VXI for 2.5L back in 2013 and here I see 16yr old car selling at similar price. How does this work?

I was thinking the same as well. My dad's friend has a LXi 1st gen Swift which he is selling due to the 15 year old rule in Delhi and offered me a good price. And it's definitely not as much as this. Even less than half of what OP paid for.

Makes me wonder if the resale value of the first gen is much higher than a much newer Swift with the VVT Petrol motor.

[Ashtoncastelino]

Originally Posted by adi58

I sold my 5 year old swift VXI for 2.5L back in 2013 and here I see 16yr old car selling at similar price. How does this work?

Originally Posted by Bismaya

I was thinking the same as well. My dad's friend has a LXi 1st gen Swift which he is selling due to the 15 year old rule in Delhi and offered me a good price. And it's definitely not as much as this. Even less than half of what OP paid for.

The market here in Karnataka for second hand cars has really shot up by a lot since the Covid time. Whilst I definitely did not pay the figures that were hovering in Marketplace and OLX, I paid 1.75L in 2020 and picked the car up as the condition was great

You cannot always expect every state to have the same rates as Delhi in the second hand market.