[Jaggu]

Full lock of steering and then move/drive the car holding the lock, then only drive shaft sound will surface (if its weak).

You might want to do this in an open space without any traffic.

[bblost]

Raul.

Congrats on your purchase.

You must update your other thread:
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...ification.html

[raul]

Originally Posted by Jaggu

Full lock of steering and then move/drive the car holding the lock, then only drive shaft sound will surface (if its weak).

You might want to do this in an open space without any traffic.

Nop, haven't tried that. What I have done is full lock in stationary and of course full lock in the normal course of driving like doing narrow u-turns and the like, no noise on those.

Thanks bblost, will update that thread.

[iraghava]

Raul, like I suggested get it evaluated by an independent. I don't you have any drive shaft issues if she's not making any sounds.

[raul]

Hey Ishan, I am working on that, unfortuntately Linkway are holding the car for the last 2 days because a particular transmission spare part - some sort of transmission seal - that is critical according to them is currently not available. Hopefully I will get the vehicle tomorrow and get it resolved by an independent asap.

[veriCAR]

Originally Posted by raul

My thoughts on vericar service, I am not really a fussy person but I think for 1299 Vericar need to be more through than currently. I am satisfied with their report on the suspension, engine and body so thats ok but there are a number of other issues I would have liked the to catch like the loose windscreen assembly and windscreen condition so the buyer is aware of the issue and the costs involved on changing this, these can become good bargaining planks. However Jayesh is very helpful and will go out of this way to ensure you are satisfied.

Thanks, we're trying to deliver as much value as is possible. Unfortunately, we inspect under a demanding set of constraints, and a couple of things go undetected. Our primary objective is to ensure that these are not major expenses/issues/problems, that are potential showstoppers.

That said, would like to apologize for the slips. We're constantly learning, refining our system, and this has been a great learning experience for us.

Originally Posted by raul

Major Update: I am toast, had given the car to Linkway for serving and the estimate is a outrageous 30k. So my elaborate idea of saving money is not really going to come true. Here is the download, service 6.8k, front left axle assembly leak - Rs 500, Back Brake light - 350, Transmission leak - 500 and a few other things I can't remember adding to 9k. Now the major stuff: front right axle assembly - 9k plus labour and taxes, radiator - according to Honda is worn out and will not do 4 hours of continous driving - engine temp gauge is a tad below half, that's 7k plus taxes, rear left door opens in 2 phases and has some resistance - 3k plus labour, taking the total to some 30k.

During our trial, we did not find any evidence suggesting any issues with the axle assembly and the cooling system. The doors being slightly firm was communicated (please confirm this). We recommend getting a second opinion on these issues.

Originally Posted by raul

So on the whole I am not so happy with my second hand car decision now, mainly due to the unanticipated expenses and effort I have to put to get it right now, for Vericar I have mixed feeling I do feel they need to become much more through to justify the Rs 1299 checkup. Most of the issues Linkway identified could have made me take an informed decision and be ready for the expenses, or bargain the dealer down .

The only redeeming thing is Linkway reckon the engine, suspension, brakes and general condition of the car is excellent. The expenses expecially the radiator, the axle assembly the door problem and the other minor indicator lights and wiper and nozzle issue, however do add up to a bundle.

Not to justify any lapses on our part, but Linkway does not face the some of the constraints that we do (limited trials, can't lift the car, can't open up a lot of things, etc).

As regards the major issues, I would like to send down my team and take a second look at the car. We would like to see if there is anything that we could have detected, but went unnoticed. Look forward to hearing from you on that.

Thanks,

Jayesh
veriCAR.

[revhappy]

@Raul Congrats on your car!!!

Sorry to hear about the expenses.
Buying a used car is always a gamble.
Instead of hiring vericar you should have gone to someone like Maruti True value. Hyundai also have a preowned car division. Toyota too have it I think. Not sure of Honda.These guys give one year warranty and hence they will give you genuine cars.

Whereas with guys like Vericar, you dont have accountability.You are just paying them a fee to get their expert advise, but then they are human and can miss a few things and if that happens they dont lose anything its the buyer's liability

Cheers,
Nitin

[veriCAR]

Originally Posted by revhappy

@Raul Congrats on your car!!!

Sorry to hear about the expenses.
Buying a used car is always a gamble.
Instead of hiring vericar you should have gone to someone like Maruti True value. Hyundai also have a preowned car division. Toyota too have it I think. Not sure of Honda.These guys give one year warranty and hence they will give you genuine cars.

Here's an exhaustive list.
Maruti - True Value
Hyundai - Hyundai Advantage
Mahindra - First Choice
Honda - Auto Terrace
Toyota - U Trust
Ford - Ford Assure
Tata - Tata Motors Assured

Almost every single dealer gives a 6 month to 1 year warranty, but these warranties are applicable only on the engine and transmission.

Originally Posted by revhappy

Whereas with guys like Vericar, you dont have accountability.You are just paying them a fee to get their expert advise, but then they are human and can miss a few things and if that happens they dont lose anything its the buyer's liability

Cheers,
Nitin

Just in case you haven't understood what we do correctly, veriCAR is an independent, professional organization offering a professional service. With respect to organized used-car dealerships as well as company-authorized service centres, you will appreciate the fact that there is an incentive for them to cheat the buyer/customer. After all, that allows them to make (more) money that they otherwise wouldn't. That is not true in case of veriCAR, where a sense of unbiasedness is woven into our business model itself (please read more about this on our website).

Our findings from the inspection procedure are delivered to the buyer in the form of a written report. This report is on our company's name, and is signed off by the Field Expert. We stand by what we write, and are open (exposed) to any litigation that may arrive out of the same. If there is any other (better) way of being accountable, I would be curious to know more.

Suggest you please clarify things or understand the context completely before making a blanket statement as loose as the one you just made.

Thanks,

Jayesh
veriCAR.

[raul]

Another Major Update: I went to Linkway today to understand the radiator and axis assembly issue. The car was up on the ramp so the service advisor showed me the axis assembly issue. On the right hand side near the axis rod are some sort of rubber bushings, one of these has got pierced/punctured. So I asked them why we need to replace the whole axis assembly for Rs 9000 plus taxes and labour for one rubber pierce and he told me that that's the way the part comes from Honda.

They told me the radiator is leaking but could no point out exactly where the leak was but pointed me to a particular metal effect at the bottom of the radiator that signifies a leak. Now I am not an expert and can't understand this effect but they have stressed it is urgent and needs to be addressed. I am taking the car to an independent mechanic to get these 2 issues relooked at.

The service advisor who was handling my car was unfortunately hospitalized and Linkway is one disorganized place, too much work and too few hands. No one knows where the car is and if the work has been done, no one picks the phone, after landing there physically it took me over over an hour to find someone responsible who could take me to the car. Inspite of lying with them for 5 days they still had't addressed the transmission leak issue, they did that and the car cleaning after I landed. The only positive ting is they had originally estimated 6800 for servicing and around 2.5 k for various small parts like seals, but the final bill including parts was 6900.

In the meantime Jayesh from Vericar has been in touch with me and offered to come with me to Linkway to understand the issues.`Right from the time I contacted Vericar they have been very attentive and engaged, I never got the feeling that its about the money, they are sincerely interested in ensuring I am happy with the purchase and after looking at the issues first hand I think it would be unfair to blame Vericar for the issues. The axis assembly he confirmed he had checked and it wasn't pierced so it's possible that this happened on my trip to Pune. Any ideas how this can be resolved?

For the radiator I am not sure about till we get a second opinion, but the drive to Pune is 3-4 hrs and I pushed the car and the engine temp was stable at just below half. Jayesh had also looked at a number of ohc's and reports the temp is around the same. When I spoke to Iraghava he confirmed its should be around the quarter mark.

In the meantime its been positive engaging with Vericar, the fundamentals of the car are sound, suspension, engine and body/chassis, and Vericar have gone out of the way to ensure I am happy. There are a few minor rough edges and I would want him to check things like the windscreen and a few other things more thoroughly but overall for my money I think he delivered. I will give a more thorough review on that in the other thread.

[raul]

The front right axle issue in technical terms is called torn cv boots, apparently the axle has to be taken apart for these rubber boot to be installed, the second rubber ring as shown in the attached pic has got pierced, has anyone faced this issue yet? And will the solution be expensive?

[tanwaramit]

Hi Raul, is the problem sorted out ? Have you shown car to independent garages ? What are they saying ?

[neeld]

Originally Posted by raul

Hi,

After considering the brand new ANHC which I absolutely loved and was a week away from getting, then cursorily an i20 I have finally got myself an 2003 silver 1.5 EXI OHC. The reason for this dramatic drop in ambitions is I am scheduled for a long term US trip early next year and am temporarily in Bbay till then and needed a car to commute to work.

As per the pictures, it looks you have got an excellent machine. Its very difficult to find the OHC in such a good condition. This was one of the best car Honda launched in India. Take good care of it and it will reward you later.

[raul]

Oops, should have clarified when I posted the pic, that is not my car, just some pic from the net to illustrate the issue. The car has been with Mr Shanbag at Dadar for the past few days, more than required since I had to head Pune over the weekend so I left it with him. A big thanks to GTO who recommended him to me.

He is a thorough gentleman and a pleasure to interact with, and I am glad I met him. He has confirmed a leak in the radiator however its very very small and has recommened we monitor it closely for a month before taking a call. The axle boot/cv boot is torn and Linkaway quoted Rs 9000 plus labour to replace the whole axle assembly, which seems to be a bit overdone just for the rubber assembly tear.

Mr Shanbag has replaced the cv boot, which is not trivial and requires a lot of labour work to take the whole thing apart, check the cv joints, fix the new cv boot etc. There was a squeaky sound from the left front suepension, some dashboard jitter here and these have been taken care of. The suspension squeak though now gone may need to be opened up and checked. His overall view is apart from the radiator, the left front suspension and windscreen they are few major issues.

Total damage is Rs 2100 and the car feels significantly better than when I picked it up from Linkway. Suspension is tigher, ther are is noise and the engine character has changed a bit. It has a low tight growl now and is eager to move, so overall I am happy and the cost is extremely reasonable. Now I regret going to Linkway and squandering nearly 7k for service and a few smallish parts like seals and such. I am sure it would have been done een better and at a fraction of the cost here. So henceforth its Sunil Shanbag for me. He is easy to trust and very experienced and that is about all one can ask for.

So cost of car Rs 290000, cost of transfer Rs 3500, cost of Vericar - Rs 2999, cost of Linkway service - Rs 6990, cost of getting axle boot and few other issues done from Mr Shanbag - Rs 2100, taking he total to 307000. I had actually hoped to buy the OHC for around 260k and spend 30-40k on the deck
and upsized alloys and tyres however that is indefinitely postponed thanks to tax season and funds shortage.

Still pending is comprehensive insurance which should cost around 6.5k so all in all the total expenses so far is about 30k more than I planned but the upside is the car is a good shape. A couple of interior pics.

[narayan]

Raul - nothing like spending a few thousands and learning it the hard way like you did.

just think of the potential savings by going to this gentleman and be happy

i had a similar experience when i bought my 1.5EXI when i took the car straight to the showroom after purchase to fix some knick knacks which i later realised i could do at a fraction of that cost outside. but then, it helped in future when i did not take the car to the showroom for anything other than the routine 5k service

[tanwaramit]

Good to hear issues sorted out. The car interiors look nice. Please take snapshots from a better camera

Though you learnt it the hard way, but it was soon enough without much damages done.

Enjoy your drive and keep posting your ownership experience.