[garry.brant]

So guys here is something about my palio 1.9 D.

As i switched my job from IBM to DELL , i got a hike in my package and the company had something called own your conveyence plan(they give you 3000 bucks a month). i had two options pay 250 and get a cab pinkup and drop to my home or have my own conveyence and get 3000 bucks from the company so i decided to take the 3000 and started looking for my own car , as i didnt have much money i started to look for a used car and that too i was looking for a diesel car so that i can save some money from those 3000 bucks as well.

So all i had in my mind is FIAT Palio as i had read so much about that , never wanted to buy any TATA cars like indica(known sound problems), so i started to look for a diesel palio on the internet , and found one on carwale.com, it was in delhi and i was staying in gurgaon, the car was 2004 and was owned by a executive in some oil comapny HP i guess so i called him and asked few things , as it was my first car its obvious that i didnt know much about cars and i had recently learnt how to drive, i called him and told him a little about myself and he gave me his address in delhi. 5 days went and i didnt call him neither i went to delhi, i was still not very confident that how would i arrange so much of money around 2 lakhs what i had in my mind, so what do i do called my parents and told them about what i was thinking, my father was a little negative however he agreed and told me that he can give me the money if i pay him 10000 bucks everymonth untill 2 lakhs is done and i agreed.

So after 2 weeks of calling that guy in delhi i called him again and told him and that i would be coming on sunday to see the car and he agreed, so it was saturday and next day 8 am i was in his parking space , I saw the car and fell in love (love at first sight) the color was midnight black and it had the silver wheelcovers and was looking awesome , the paint was a little old however the car overall was realy good and was worth buying it was a 2004 model however the owner was asking for 2,40,000 which was not in my budget , the tires were not tubeless and were damaged , i took a test drive for 3 kms and the first thing i noticed that i couldnt put the car in reverse gear and then the guy told me about the reverse gear lock and i just loved the feature, it was awesome i was very happy as that was the first time i drove a palio D, i was proud of myself because i made the decision to buy a palio, I was very impressed by the drive and i told him that i would buy the car if he can decrease the asking money a bit i was looking around 2 laksh or 2,10,000 at the max, he denied the offer and was stuck at 2.25 , i had no other choice but to refuse the offer.

I GOT LUCKY , while surfing on the net after a week from the test drive i saw another palio D1.9 available for sale in Dwarka and i took an auto the very next day to dwarka and reached the owner in the morning for the test drive , i saw the car and there were few scratches on the front and back bumper a few key scratches on the bonet, otherwise the car was in a good condition, the car was owned by a property dealer and was maintained well except the exteriors, it was all dirty , i asked for the test drive and the owner was pretty amazed that i knew about the reverse gear lock, this test test drive was amazing as the first one , i drove it around dwarka roads were good so the suspension couldnt be realy checked but there was a pothole in the raod and there was a sound from the suspension dhookkkk, and the owner started explaining that you have to be carefull while driving in potholes and i was saying that suspesion shouldnt have made any sound , so we spoke after the test drive and the owner was asking 1.95 and eventualy he agreed at 1.8 and i went home, spoke to my parents and the next day the money was transferred to my account and i went to buy the car with my uncle Sgt. Rathi who is a driver with defence services from 20 years , so we went and Mr.Rathi started his investigation with the engine and he checked the oil pump and some other stuff that i dont know about, he took the car the car for test drive and there was the first killer.

He broke the reverse gear and guys i hope you can understand my emotions and feelings, i had to drive the car from dwarka to guraon in just 4 gears and i went to ORIX the only FIAT service center in gurgaon and it was 4 in the evening and i was realy afraid that whether i would get the parts or not , but i got the parts and my car was ready with the new support(thats what was broken) in just one hour and after that my car was up and running again in all 5 gears and i just the loved the feel and couldnt stop myselft from driving and driving.

OK GUYS will write more soon

[abhinav.gupta88]

Hmm. Interesting.
Waiting for more of it.

[akshay4587]

How on earth did he manage to break that?
Congrats for the car
Post some pics


OT-I work for Dell too and I dont think you get travel Allowance anymore now.

[nishant_kingpin]

Well congratulations on making a great purchase choice. Hope to see the smile on your face put down in words and pics for BHPians to rejoice another FIAT within the family.

Congrats again buddy!!

[garry.brant]

So, after that first visit to ORIX one thing i knew for sure is that i wont have to worry about the service or parts for my car.
After that visit i was realy happy and i started to go office on my palio , i was pretty satisfied with the car, the only deficiency was that the owner didnt give me the stereo or any speakers and i am kind of a sound freak, so i want to the nearest dealer andn got myselft a pioneer 3950 head unit, pioneer 400 watt speakers for the rear and sony xplod for the front doors and a bass tube with xplod 1200 watts subwoofer, i had just got the bonus and i spent it all on my love, except the sound thing i also got the new black seat covers for the car and it was all ready for a long drive and the first drive i took it to was From Gurgaon to Jalandhar(Punjab), approx 400 kms, it was me and my dad going to get it registered to Punab number as i was from punjab.
we started at 10 in the night from gurgaon and believe me the time it took, was just to cross delhi , the ride was a little bumpy but as we reached the highway NH1 , my GOD i just realised what a powerfull car it is , the pickup, the top speed everything was just WOW, but i didnt like the HORN as it was not loud enough to get the Truckers out of my way, NO CAR and i mean NO CAR could overtake me , there were just few of them who even tried to like a safari and within five minutes it was behind me and five more minutes i couldnt even see that. My investment in the sound system was paying off as well as the sound quality and bass was as amazing as the car was, it was just unbelievable i was feeling the king on the road, started at 10pm we reached home at around 4 in the morning, belive me i dont have words to explain the feel , you guys have to drive the car to believe it.
see you soon

[garry.brant]

He did not know anything about the lock on reverse gear so, he thought its just another car, and there you go , he broke it.

[Path_Finder]

Congrats man! On your new car and your new job!
I also wonder how he managed to break the gear? – anyhow good that you managed to get it fixed soon.
Post some pics of your ride.

[Sam Kapasi]

What is this special Palio reverse gear lock? Even I don't know and I had a Palio.

Are you talking about the lift-and-shift? That's not a unique feature anymore is it?

[bonobashi]

Originally Posted by garry.brant

...and it was all ready for a long drive and the first drive i took it to was From Gurgaon to Jalandhar(Punjab), approx 400 kms, it was me and my dad going to get it registered to Punab number as i was from punjab.
we started at 10 in the night from gurgaon and believe me the time it took, was just to cross delhi , the ride was a little bumpy but as we reached the highway NH1 , my GOD i just realised what a powerfull car it is , the pickup, the top speed everything was just WOW, but i didnt like the HORN as it was not loud enough to get the Truckers out of my way, NO CAR and i mean NO CAR could overtake me , there were just few of them who even tried to like a safari and within five minutes it was behind me and five more minutes i couldnt even see that. <snip>
as amazing as the car was, it was just unbelievable i was feeling the king on the road, started at 10pm we reached home at around 4 in the morning, belive me i dont have words to explain the feel , you guys have to drive the car to believe it.
see you soon

Welcome to the wonderful world of driving in a Palio.

While I haven't personally driven a Palio Diesel, I've been blissfully happy in a Palio Petrol, the smaller one, the 1.2, as well as in a Palio Adventure. They've given me hours of enjoyment on the roads, and have never let me down, although I took hair-raising risks (in terms of mechanical readiness for the highway). On one occasion, in a real emergency situation, I had to drive from Ludhiana to Delhi and back again the same evening without a functioning third gear - a friend had taken the car out the previous evening and damaged it seriously without informing me!

My sincere suggestion is that you get to learn the car thoroughly first, especially its gear ratios, before doing any further serious highway driving. I can imagine that nothing can overtake a 1.9 Diesel, but you mayn't necessarily want to be driving on the edge all the time. As you must have noticed already, besides the power, the best part of driving a Palio is the comfort: you can go very long distances without feeling tired, compared to other cars. It's a very comfortable car; it's worth enjoying the view as you go along, at a less-than-maximal pace.

It's also incredible on ghat roads or hill roads, if you remember its abominable turning radius. Driving a Palio on a hill track with limited opposite traffic must rate among the most fun you can have with your clothes on. Plan hill trips and you won't regret it. Again, it isn't the speed that will stay in your memory; it'll be the road-grip and the driveability. So slow down and enjoy your drive ;-)

There are little things you can do to improve the experience, mainly in terms of tires, but this mayn't be the right moment to start thinking about tinkering with the car. Give it some time; enjoy it as it is without worrying about what else can be done to it. Until you know very well what it can do as it is, there's no point in thinking about improvement; why think about fixing what ain't broke?

That was too long, and entirely unintended. My reaction can be summed up briefly as: go out and learn the car and its characteristics thoroughly well, and have fun.

All the best.

[swale84]

Originally Posted by Sam Kapasi

What is this special Palio reverse gear lock? Even I don't know and I had a Palio.

Are you talking about the lift-and-shift? That's not a unique feature anymore is it?

Well Sam, it may not have the novelty factor anymore, but it still isn't a very common feature. I think the Palio is the only Car in that price bracket to have such a feature.

It is a god feature though in my opinion

[HappyWheels]

These gear locks where (i believe) first available in India with the Seirra, where the knob had to be pressed down to slot into reverse. Similarly it was there in Sumo also, where the reverse gear was where rest of the world had first gear, so again, you had to push the gear knob down and slot it.

The gear lock in Palio is a small circular clip like thing, just below the gear knob, that needs to be pulled up when slotting into reverse.

[abhinav.gupta88]

Just like a skoda octavia , or a verna and similar.

[fidaford]

the same gear feature is also available in an chevy aveo
by the way a good review and seems that you are completely having a love-hate relationship with your car
please post some pics of the car.

[Latheesh]

congrats man! how about some pictures?

[Bass&Trouble]

Congrats on the car!

Originally Posted by garry.brant

He broke the reverse gear and guys i hope you can understand my emotions and feelings, i had to drive the car from dwarka to guraon in just 4 gears

Why just 4 gears? Wouldn't it go into 5th?

Originally Posted by HappyWheels

These gear locks where (i believe) first available in India with the Seirra, where the knob had to be pressed down to slot into reverse. Similarly it was there in Sumo also, where the reverse gear was where rest of the world had first gear, so again, you had to push the gear knob down and slot it.

In the Sierra, one has to lift up the knob to put into reverse, not push down (atleast in the oldest ones, not sure about the Turbo etc). I think likewise with the Estate too. In the Sumo it is pushed down. I think even the Cielo had a small ring like the Palio for reverse gear.