[abhi3284]

Thank you rajshenoy and kmadhok for your inputs.

I have booked a Ritz VDI and here are the booking details of my new Car :

Make : Maruti Suzuki
Model : Ritz VDI [without ABS, as not available in stock]
Color : Silky Silver with Red Interiors [Preferred Grey Interior Car not available in stock]
Discounts : Rs. 22,000 Cash Discount, 3000 Corporate Discount & 15000 Exchange Bonus
Freebies : Absolutely Nothing. Not even Mud Flaps or Floor Mats
OTR Price : 6,67,990 - 40000 discount = 6,27,990.
Expected Delivery Date : Probably in December Last Week
Dealer : Chowgule Industries, Pune

As expected for a new car buyer, I had some questions regarding my new car purchase :

1) Am planning to go for 0% Dep. Insurance. Is it recommended to take from Dealer or Outside ? I also have 45% NCB which i can transfer to my new insurance. Which are the good insurance providers with no hassles ? I am looking at TATA AIG as one of the Options.

2) I have read extensively on T-Bhp that Teflon Coating is a waste and not recommended. I want my Car to have the Shiny Glossy Effect. 3M has something called as UV Paint Protection. Is that similar to Teflon Coating or Wax Polish ? What can i opt for ? I might not got for Underbody Coating now. Probably after 2-3 Years.

3) I am planning to upgrade my Tires to 185/70 R14 after taking delivery from Showroom. Am considering MRF ZLO, Yoko A.Drive or Michelin XM2, in order of increasing price. Which is more VFM and how much is the buy back price i can expect for the existing tyres, which mostly should be either JK Vectra or Bridgestone S248.

4) Do parking Sensors take care of the Bumper Corners as well while turning or is it on for Front and Back ? Reason being the Parking Space in my Building is very tight and i fear scraping the Pillars while removing / parking my Car.

5) I have heard that the Stock Headlights are not good. Do i upgrade to Philips Extreme vision or upgrade to 100/90 W with Relay ? Any Warranty Issues with that ?

Will post further queries later, if i have any.
Thank you.

[ghodlur]

Originally Posted by abhi3284

1) Am planning to go for 0% Dep. Insurance. Is it recommended to take from Dealer or Outside ? I also have 45% NCB which i can transfer to my new insurance. Which are the good insurance providers with no hassles ? I am looking at TATA AIG as one of the Options.

2) I have read extensively on T-Bhp that Teflon Coating is a waste and not recommended. I want my Car to have the Shiny Glossy Effect. 3M has something called as UV Paint Protection. Is that similar to Teflon Coating or Wax Polish ? What can i opt for ? I might not got for Underbody Coating now. Probably after 2-3 Years.

4) Do parking Sensors take care of the Bumper Corners as well while turning or is it on for Front and Back ? Reason being the Parking Space in my Building is very tight and i fear scraping the Pillars while removing / parking my Car.

Congratulation on booking the car, the Ritz is a great VFM buy.
Have tried answering a few.
1) IMO you should opt for zero dep as it is a new car and buy it from outside. You also have substantial NCB which will reduce your Insurance premium for the first year. Do a comparison of the premiums first before buying not only for price but also for the services. Apart from Tata AIG, you can try Future Generali, Royal Sundaram, Bajaj Allianz who offer zero dep.
2) Again IMO you should opt for under body anti rust coating over teflon coating. Get the car detailed once every 6 months, the shine should remain.
3) By Parking sensors, I guess you are referring to rear parking sensors which provide only audible indication of any obstructions. If you want to see the rear view, then you should go for a rear camera. I have seen Ritz with rear parking sensors mounted on the extreme corners of the rear bumpers, should cover the area.

Request you to take these discussion to Ritz threads.

[Contrapunto]

I hope someone does an official TD of the new Ritz AT. With the AT market heating up (Brio AT is supposedly doing v-e-r-y well), it may be an interesting compare with Brio AT and i10 AT.

[SlowRider]

Here's a question. Has anybody spotted a 2012 petrol Ritz on the road? I booked one in mid-December. The dealer said it'd be a month, but there has been no word from them since.
I find it rather strange, cuz there are enough diesel Ritzes wearing the 2012 makeover on the road. It's understandable that petrol cars aren't in demand. But the only car I've ever seen is was the demo car and the dealer said it had broken down. I hope they're not holding the cars to fix some teething problems.

[Crazy4.Cars]

Hi Guys,

Anyone facing the issue of KHAT KHAT noise from the front suspension of the ritz?? I have been facing this issue for a long time now, everytime the car goes for service, the issue is resolved for 300 or 400 km's and re pops up again.

Everytime the car crosses a speed breaker or goes over a pot hole, there is a weird KHAT KHAT loud noise :(

I am planning to write an email to maruti today because the warranty on my car will expire in the next 6 months time.

Any comments or help that anyone can offer on here??

Cheers

[SPARKled]

Originally Posted by Crazy4.Cars

Hi Guys,

Anyone facing the issue of KHAT KHAT noise from the front suspension of the ritz?? I have been facing this issue for a long time now, everytime the car goes for service, the issue is resolved for 300 or 400 km's and re pops up again.

Everytime the car crosses a speed breaker or goes over a pot hole, there is a weird KHAT KHAT loud noise :(

I am planning to write an email to maruti today because the warranty on my car will expire in the next 6 months time.

Any comments or help that anyone can offer on here??

Cheers

I am living with this noise for the past 2 years. There is no real permanent solution. It is due to the short travel suspension components designed for the car. IMHO not a problem really other than just slow down your car to crawling speeds over bumps. But do let me know what Maruti has to say about this.

[Crazy4.Cars]

Originally Posted by SPARKled

I am living with this noise for the past 2 years. There is no real permanent solution. It is due to the short travel suspension components designed for the car. IMHO not a problem really other than just slow down your car to crawling speeds over bumps. But do let me know what Maruti has to say about this.

Thanks, now this is really a serious problem.

We have not paid 6lakhs plus to face this issue for the next 5 years

The problem with my car now is that, even if i slow down to 3 or 4km/hr speed, the khat khat noise comes a little.

I will escalate this matter to Maruti.

[swiftnfurious]

Originally Posted by Crazy4.Cars

...I will escalate this matter to Maruti.

It's always good to let them know of such problems.

1. We can hope they will work on it for future upgrade
2. If they have some solution & will do it for customers who raise it, then we stand to gain. We never know until we try it.

[BoneCollector]

Why not share the email here so that all of us can mail about this problem to MSIL?We have 3 Ritz VXis in our family,not really facing this issue on 2 of them.

[Crazy4.Cars]

I have been getting my car serviced from a MASS dealer who is close by to my residence, however i had purchased the car from another MASS dealer who is about 25km from my home.

I spoke to the MASS dealer today from whom i purchased my car saying i am writing an email because the MASS dealer near my home who has serviced my car 5 times from day one has not been able to solve the problem.

Now this dealer from whom i have purchased the car has politely requested me to handover the car to him for a day and he will check what ever part needs to be replaced under warranty. I told him on his face, what ever job needs to be carried out needs to be done in front of my eyes, I am not free during weekdays, so you guys require to make sometime during saturday or sunday early mornings would be fine with me.

The MASS dealer from whom i purchased my car is BIMAL. Now today evening they have agreed to do a full check up of the suspension and joints between 5 to 7PM. He told me he will charge a nominal fee of about 250 for this check up and assurred me if any part is possible to replace under maruti warranty policy i will surely do it for you.

I am thinking of going ahead and getting this done, any thoughts let me know guys.

Cheers

[avinash_m]

Originally Posted by Crazy4.Cars

Hi Guys,

Anyone facing the issue of KHAT KHAT noise from the front suspension of the ritz?? I have been facing this issue for a long time now, everytime the car goes for service, the issue is resolved for 300 or 400 km's and re pops up again.

Everytime the car crosses a speed breaker or goes over a pot hole, there is a weird KHAT KHAT loud noise :(

I am planning to write an email to maruti today because the warranty on my car will expire in the next 6 months time.

Any comments or help that anyone can offer on here??

Cheers

I'd a similar issue at about the 20K point on mine. When pointed out, the MASS took out both the front strut assemblies and replaced the strut-mount bushes in addition to the tierod on the LHS. Not sure if that's the word for it but it's the rod which is visible if you peek into the wheel well on a full steering lock; the rod connects to the lower arm via a ball/bush joint. Mind you, I was charged for the bushes (which looked OK to me) since that undergoes 'normal' wear and tear, but not the rod. After that, I haven't had the issue except the caliper which anyways starts rattling around every 10K completed.

Cheers!

[Crazy4.Cars]

Originally Posted by avinash_m

I'd a similar issue at about the 20K point on mine. When pointed out, the MASS took out both the front strut assemblies and replaced the strut-mount bushes in addition to the tierod on the LHS. Not sure if that's the word for it but it's the rod which is visible if you peek into the wheel well on a full steering lock; the rod connects to the lower arm via a ball/bush joint. Mind you, I was charged for the bushes (which looked OK to me) since that undergoes 'normal' wear and tear, but not the rod. After that, I haven't had the issue except the caliper which anyways starts rattling around every 10K completed.

Cheers!

Thanks Avinash.

How much did the bushes cost?

The visible rod that your talking about is the engine craddle i think. My car's engine craddle bolts have been removed and tighten 4 times. The noise dis appears for 300 to 400 km's and re appears again

[avinash_m]

Originally Posted by Crazy4.Cars

Thanks Avinash.

How much did the bushes cost?

The visible rod that your talking about is the engine craddle i think. My car's engine craddle bolts have been removed and tighten 4 times. The noise dis appears for 300 to 400 km's and re appears again

Can't recall the exact cost for those items, but that service was the most expensive one till date. About 7K for the total service inclusive of brake pads (pair), strut bushes and regular consumables. I'll check the bills and revert.

[niket.dhirai]

Originally Posted by Crazy4.Cars

Thanks, now this is really a serious problem.

We have not paid 6lakhs plus to face this issue for the next 5 years

The problem with my car now is that, even if i slow down to 3 or 4km/hr speed, the khat khat noise comes a little.

I will escalate this matter to Maruti.

My ritz has been drive for almost 33000 kms and I have just started to hear the khat khat in the front left suspension, same as yours. The sound is not at all large and my family hardly notices it. If you switch off your blower and at slow speed it might be audible in my case. I had gone to the service centre and he fidgeted with a rod around the axle and suspension connectors , but couldn t locate any loose or worn out part. he asked me to get the car in the week where he ll take his time and check it out. The moment I got out of the service centre , the sound ceased. It was not there , maybe accidental tinkering helped it. Now after some 800 kms , the sound is again coming and will be taking it to the service centre this week.
It will be nothing serious in my opinion, some rubber bush will have to be replaced. My ride is pretty rough on potholed roads. I m pretty happy btw it handles itself.

[Crazy4.Cars]

Good news guys !!

I had been to Bimal (MASS) newly opened service outlet near my home this evening.

They drove the car for 3km's on bad road, they were exteremly professional in their approach. They did a lot of check up's as promised over the phone.

They allowed me to stand in front of the car in the workshop.

The team of 4 mechanics lifted the car up, did all possible check ups, opened many bolts etc. checked for play in every rod possible.

The service manager walks in at 7PM not understanding why a team of 4 guys and 1 service advisor are spending so much time on the car.

He checks the struts of the car, he checks for all the bushes. he instructs the team to open the entire struts and coil springs assembly and ALAS here is the dam problem in front of our eyes..

THE COIL SPRING AROUND THE STRUT HAS A METAL RING BUSH IN THE END FACING THE GROUND!!! The coil spring was touching the metal ring bush, and thus the khat khat noise, because the metal coil spring is touching the metal ring bush because of the heavy engine weight. The entire metal bush was slowly getting the marks of the coil spring hitting it.

The put a thick rubber coating hose on the last 2 rounds of the coil spring and placed it on the metal bush as per Maruti's procedure. They had a CASE Study to resolve this issue from Maruti.

They re assembled the entire 2 strut and coil spring assembly. Entire wiper blade assembly and tyre back in their place. They gave the key in my hands with confidence and said, its done sir.

I have driven the car for 40 km post that now, zero noise whats so ever. I have climbed speed breakers at speed of 20km/hr and still zero noise. The car feels perfect now.

Service manager told me, check the car for a 1000km/s and give me a call, I bet the sound will never come back and there will be no handling impact on your car because of the rubber packing on the coil spring.

Finally i asked him the reason, why my car was the unlucky one to face this issue. The answer is, RITZ has more front end weight when compared to the Swift, Outside india Ritz has different larger coil spring set up, in india MSIL has used the swift coil spring set up. Now since the RITZ is heavier than Swift on the front side, the coil spring gets more pressure when we jump the speed breakers, especially the diesel Ritz is much heavier than diesel Swift.

So that was his 2cents that he told me.

Cheers
(I hope this resolves the problem for many bhpains facing the khat khat noise from the Ritz, please do not change struts or coil springs or rubber bushes or suspension. Get the above issue checked first, it could solve the problem from its root)