[DieselAddikt]

This thread has been dead for over an year. Bumping it up now because I was looking for a second car to be used in the city (Bangalore) with occasional highway drives when the primary car is not available and came across a 2014 Ritz Zxi with 21K on the odo. The car looks to be in pristine condition with no scratches or visible signs of wear and tear. The asking price is 4L. What could be a good price to pay for this car ? Can any member help with this ?

[SLK]

Originally Posted by DieselAddikt

The asking price is 4L. What could be a good price to pay for this car ? Can any member help with this ?

Seems very high for a discontinued car. I would actually hunt for an Ignis in same price bracket. Ignis is a better car, it is a next gen of Ritz internationally, more rear space too.

For a 2014 Ritz, probably 2.5 lakhs seems ok due to low running.

[DieselAddikt]

Originally Posted by SLK

Seems very high for a discontinued car. I would actually hunt for an Ignis in same price bracket. Ignis is a better car, it is a next gen of Ritz internationally, more rear space too.

For a 2014 Ritz, probably 2.5 lakhs seems ok due to low running.

Thank you for the quick response brother. I had a different thought process though. I was specifically looking for older Maruti cars as I have a feeling that they were better built (may be a notion). The latest cars are just too flimsy even for city drives. I am not a fan of the Heartattack platform. That was the reason why I was looking for cars built before that. But ya, 4L seems too much for a discontinued model. I had a figure of around 3.2L to 3.5L in my mind. But then, you undercut me by a cool 1L INR. Now I am even more confused.

[SLK]

Originally Posted by DieselAddikt

Thank you for the quick response brother. I had a different thought process though. I was specifically looking for older Maruti cars as I have a feeling that they were better built (may be a notion).

For some odd reason I owned and drove a 2000 WagonR, 2009 Ritz and 2018 Ignis (all WagonRs and its successors). I don't think there's too much difference in build quality - the newer ones feel lighter but not much has changed otherwise, surely a few things have improved. Other than Ignis's steering, its all together a better car than Ritz.

[SlowRider]

Hi folks!
I've got a 2013 Ritz VDi that's done 145k km. The car is still absolutely fantastic to drive. Of late, I've faced an issue with headlight strength. Basically the output is terrible. I thought the bulbs were getting old, so got them replaced with Philips XtremeVision (55W) after reading about it on tbhp. It was only slightly better. I still couldn't spot potholes at night, and it's a nightmare to drive on roads where the sides aren't marked by reflector lines. Thinking the faded lens is to blame, I took it to a detailing shop to get it polished. Now the lens looks much cleaner, though the detailing shop guy did say that polishing is not gonna fix the remaining irregularities on the left headlight lens, as some of it is age-related degradation and surface treatment is not gonna make a difference. It again made only a tiny bit of difference. Next, I mentioned it to the SA at the next service. He said he'd 'focus' the headlamp; I didn't know such a thing was possible. After that, there again seems to be a minor improvement (could be placebo effect).

But my problem remains. The headlight output is abysmal. I also drive a Nexon and a Brezza regularly, and I'm quite satisfied with the headlights on those, so pretty sure it's not my eyesight. :-P

Any suggestions on what else I can try? Do note that I exclusively use the low beam and only use high beam on empty roads or for signalling.

I read about getting the fog lamps replaced with HID projectors, but I wanna make sure that I'm not missing anything with the stock setup before I shell out big bucks for HID projectors.

[govigov]

Originally Posted by SlowRider

Of late, I've faced an issue with headlight strength. Basically the output is terrible.

Throw a relay kit in there. The Ritz head lamp and reflector design in nice. When paired to high output bulbs, it is really fantastic. I used to have 100/130s in mine, though I would recommend 100/90s. The reason I upgraded mine, was the same as yours, I was unable to see potholes at night. I ran the high output bulbs for about 4 years before selling the car. I did not face any issues with the high output bulbs.

All this matters only if your headlight focus is correct. You can focus the headlamps yourself with just a flathead or a phillips screwdriver and a wall. It is really simple to do, lots of youtube videos on the same. Here is one:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDudMM4J-ZE

Lastly, if the detailer removed the UV coating on the headlamps, it can yellow over time. Usually, it is topped with a coat of UV spray and that prevents the yellowing. There is a chrisfix video on the same.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UEJbKLZ7RmM

[SlowRider]

Originally Posted by govigov

Throw a relay kit in there. The Ritz head lamp and reflector design in nice. When paired to high output bulbs, it is really fantastic.

Thanks govigov! I will give this a shot.

Originally Posted by govigov

You can focus the headlamps yourself with just a flathead or a phillips screwdriver and a wall. It is really simple to do, lots of Youtube videos on the same.

This is new information to me. I think I'll try this first before changing the bulbs. I have this feeling that the headlights are aimed too close to the car. Most cars will throw a light beam that will fully illuminate half the boot lid/hatch of the car in the front. My low beam undershoots this by about 3/4 of a foot. I used the electronic level adjustment to push it as far out as possible, but that wasn't quite far enough. If I can adjust the reach using this, it's worth a try.

Originally Posted by govigov

Lastly, if the detailer removed the UV coating on the headlamps, it can yellow over time. Usually, it is topped with a coat of UV spray and that prevents the yellowing. There is a chrisfix video on the same.
https://www.Youtube.com/watch?v=UEJbKLZ7RmM

I had read about this one. But the small time detailer I took the car to didn't know about this and didn't have the UV protectant.

[siddhant]

Car: Ritz ZXI 2009 (Petrol), ODO at ~93500 kms

Recently (around 2 months back), did the annual service - replaced engine oil, oil filter, air filter, fuel filter, AC filter, coolant and brake fluid.

Problem: Happens only during cold starts when the car doesn't start in one crank but the second crank almost always starts the car. If I drive for a few kms and start again, there is no issue. What are the possible reasons this could be happening?

[SlowRider]

Originally Posted by siddhant

Car: Ritz ZXI 2009 (Petrol), ODO at ~93500 kms

Recently (around 2 months back), did the annual service - replaced engine oil, oil filter, air filter, fuel filter, AC filter, coolant and brake fluid.

Problem: Happens only during cold starts when the car doesn't start in one crank but the second crank almost always starts the car. If I drive for a few kms and start again, there is no issue. What are the possible reasons this could be happening?

How old is your battery? Are you doing lots of short trips? I had this issue with a different car, where I was using the car for very short trips. So there's this big power draw when the car starts, but the vehicle isn't driven long enough to replenish the battery fully. Eventually, after a couple days of that pattern of use, starting became progressively more difficult, to the point that I needed a jumpstart. This can be especially an issue with older batteries with reduced capacity. If you live somewhere with cold winters, that can make this even worse.

[siddhant]

Originally Posted by SlowRider

How old is your battery? Are you doing lots of short trips? I had this issue with a different car, where I was using the car for very short trips. So there's this big power draw when the car starts, but the vehicle isn't driven long enough to replenish the battery fully. Eventually, after a couple days of that pattern of use, starting became progressively more difficult, to the point that I needed a jumpstart. This can be especially an issue with older batteries with reduced capacity. If you live somewhere with cold winters, that can make this even worse.

The battery is almost brand new; it was replaced in July or August so I doubt if that will be an issue. Also, the fact that the second crank starts the car tells me this wouldn't be a battery issue. Winters where I live aren't very cold either.

Funny thing is, I can't reproduce this problem in front of the mechanic because once the engine is warm or driven even a little bit, there is no issue with starting again.

There are two things on my mind - clogged spark plug or clogged fuel injectors. But, the spark plug cleaning was done last year and car has been driven lesser than usual this year due to lockdowns. Could clogged fuel injectors cause this issue?

[nTorq]

Originally Posted by siddhant

The battery is almost brand new; it was replaced in July or August so I doubt if that will be an issue. Also, the fact that the second crank starts the car tells me this wouldn't be a battery issue. Winters where I live aren't very cold either.

Funny thing is, I can't reproduce this problem in front of the mechanic because once the engine is warm or driven even a little bit, there is no issue with starting again.

There are two things on my mind - clogged spark plug or clogged fuel injectors. But, the spark plug cleaning was done last year and car has been driven lesser than usual this year due to lockdowns. Could clogged fuel injectors cause this issue?

I have the exact same problem with my VDi. The FNG guy said it is the battery, but I think it is something else. Also, the ‘spanner light’ in the console turns on sometimes. Not sure if it is related.

[nTorq]

Had taken the car to Maruti Service Center today. They inspected and found out that the glow plugs (all 4 of them) were gone, and they said that could be the reason for the delay in starting. I got it changed, which cost me around 3.4K including labour and tax. However, it appears now that the problem is with the battery as well! The glow plugs did not fully solve the issue with the delayed start, but it solved the ‘spanner light’ issue.

[siddhant]

Originally Posted by siddhant

There are two things on my mind - clogged spark plug or clogged fuel injectors. But, the spark plug cleaning was done last year and car has been driven lesser than usual this year due to lockdowns. Could clogged fuel injectors cause this issue?

I added half bottle of fuel injector cleaner to full tank of petrol and observations after 500+ kms: I haven't noticed those starting problems. I'll add the other half in another 5000 kms.