[Mountain.Goat]

Originally Posted by MihirC

hey mountain goat. Its been a long time, no update. How is the car doing now. How many kms have you covered now?

About 8000 Km. No complaints till about a week ago. Suddenly, after a rainy day, the suspension started squeaking. 2nd Service should be due now. Been too busy to take her to the sevice station. This week-end for sure.

Average in Mumbai's bumper to bumper traffic is still about 13 Km/Lit. No highway rides lately. Been too busy.

Still happy with the car though.

[MihirC]

Originally Posted by Mountain.Goat

About 8000 Km. No complaints till about a week ago. Suddenly, after a rainy day, the suspension started squeaking. 2nd Service should be due now. Been too busy to take her to the sevice station. This week-end for sure.

Average in Mumbai's bumper to bumper traffic is still about 13 Km/Lit. No highway rides lately. Been too busy.

Still happy with the car though.

Thats a really good average Mountain Goat, Any small experiences with faulty electricals yet? Touch wood mate , you are doing good with the Vista.

Hey do post the servicing costs and the overall experience as well. Where do you get it serviced from in Mumbai?

[theexperthand]

Nice to see another happy Vista owner. Wish you many more miles of happy driving.

About 8000 Km. No complaints till about a week ago. Suddenly, after a rainy day, the suspension started squeaking. 2nd Service should be due now.

Interesting.
For my TDi, the 2nd service is at 5K, and 3rd Service is at 10K.

[Mountain.Goat]

Originally Posted by theexperthand

Nice to see another happy Vista owner. Wish you many more miles of happy driving.

Interesting.
For my TDi, the 2nd service is at 5K, and 3rd Service is at 10K.

Got the second servicing done at 8500 Km from Richard Garage at Military Road, Marol, Andheri (E). I Had gone to them for the first service as they were close to my office. I've changed my job now and moved to another location, but went back to Richard Garage because they are good. Finding a servicing station with a personal touch is rare - specially in a city like Mumbai. They continue to impress me with their prompt and courteous service.

They detected a fault in the lower ball joint and replaced the lower ball joint assembly and stabilizer link assembly under warranty.

Also insisted on oil change though they pointed out to me that the company does not recommend an oil change at 8500 Km. as i intend to do a long trip in November. My funda was - as long as it won't be harmful for the engine, i would want an early oil change. Don't know when i'll find time to take the car for the next servicing.

The servicing and oil + oil filters change + tax cost me Rs. 2014/-. The QJD engine takes 4.5 litres of oil ?? Maybe someone here could confirm.

Some minor issues i've faced by now;

1. The a/c vent mounted car air freshner leaked on to the sterio console and the paint peeled off - looks grotesque. Had it touched up, but still looks bad.

2. The CD player malfunctions and makes squeaking sounds even when a new Cd is played. I suppose that isn't covered under a warranty. So i stopped using the CD player and use only the radio. The bluetooth phone connectivity is a good feature, specially when you drive for 3 hours in traffic every day.

Planning to change the ICE soon. Any good suggestions?

[nukeblitz]

I thought oil capacity was 5.5l for tdi and 3.7 for quadrajet. It's in the manual. Will look at it tomorrow. Mine's a tdi but same manual for both. Oh, oil change is NEVER a bad thing, unless ofcourse, you are switching to an inferior quality oil or someth like that.

Everyone seems to have funny suspension sounds with their vista's. I hav no idea why.

The body roll is cuz of the ridiculously soft suspension. Soft suspension gives you better damping over smaller bumps n potholes..very comfortable within city limits but it leads to bottoming out over large bumps, sagging with heavy loads, and ofcourse, the body roll. I dunno if it's possible to tighten the suspension but it's always a tradeoff - unless ofcourse you go ahead and put it an adaptive suspension. Then again, i just know my theory - not the practicals. So, i dunno how feasible it is.

Funnily enough, vista is stable is straight lines - i would think the soft suspension would unsettle it more over rough patches. Anyway, i got used to the body roll and heavy understeer characteristics and am able to compensate/take corners slower instinctively. I'm sure you will too.

I have the same problem with car freshness leaking. It's got to do with the non-vertical ac vents. The ambipur pack specifically says not to install it in a non-vertical position. :-P maybe there's a different type of carfreshner or maybe if you have to, you can use the top part of the freshner in another car/ pour some out before using it.

On a slightly offtopic note, what do you think of the power steering? It's true that it's a little vague at higher speeds but i do appreciate the feel the hydraulic unit provides.

More when i remember. Hope this helps.

[Mountain.Goat]

Originally Posted by nukeblitz

I thought oil capacity was 5.5l for tdi and 3.7 for quadrajet. It's in the manual. Will look at it tomorrow. Mine's a tdi but same manual for both. Oh, oil change is NEVER a bad thing, unless ofcourse, you are switching to an inferior quality oil or someth like that.

Everyone seems to have funny suspension sounds with their vista's. I hav no idea why.

The body roll is cuz of the ridiculously soft suspension. Soft suspension gives you better damping over smaller bumps n potholes..very comfortable within city limits but it leads to bottoming out over large bumps, sagging with heavy loads, and ofcourse, the body roll. I dunno if it's possible to tighten the suspension but it's always a tradeoff - unless ofcourse you go ahead and put it an adaptive suspension. Then again, i just know my theory - not the practicals. So, i dunno how feasible it is.

Funnily enough, vista is stable is straight lines - i would think the soft suspension would unsettle it more over rough patches. Anyway, i got used to the body roll and heavy understeer characteristics and am able to compensate/take corners slower instinctively. I'm sure you will too.

I have the same problem with car freshness leaking. It's got to do with the non-vertical ac vents. The ambipur pack specifically says not to install it in a non-vertical position. :-P maybe there's a different type of carfreshner or maybe if you have to, you can use the top part of the freshner in another car/ pour some out before using it.

On a slightly offtopic note, what do you think of the power steering? It's true that it's a little vague at higher speeds but i do appreciate the feel the hydraulic unit provides.

More when i remember. Hope this helps.

Thanks Nukeblitz. Good to catch up with a fellow Hyderabadi (moved out 3 years back - but still a Hyderabadi at heart). I'm planning to drive down to good ol Hyderabad this weekend.

Another thing was about the tyre pressure. I prefer 30 PSI - gives a good ride. Should it be higher on a long run?

I'm happy about the power steering - didn't face any problem at higher speeds - . Can't compare though - my previous car was a Maruti 800.

[Reinhard]

Hey there, great to read your experiences. Nice pics as well. I wonder how I hadn't come across this post earlier .

As for the "Chee-Taxi!", I absolutely agree with you. My thought on that is other way round. Why don't we see Swifts and other hatchbacks as Taxis? Simple, the overall cost of ownership! A taxi guy wants a car that will run however and wherever he wants to. It has to be reliable and comfortable. A robust platform is whats needed for that harsh long run! Why do we have Premier Padminis and HM Ambassadors as Taxis? Because they were tough and big. Still we had VIPs running in the same Ambys right? Why suddenly Indica is a taxi and nobody wants it? We Indians generally pay more attention to "what will people say??" than what we want to say ourself!

Cheers and happy miles to you!

[Mountain.Goat]

About 11,650 Km now. The Car is still going strong. Looking for a place to repair the CD Player in and around Goregaon (E) or Elphinstone/Dadar (where i work). Does anybody here know a good audio technician?

FE is still 13 Km + even in the bumper to bumper traffic. A/C is still going strong. But there is a dusty smell which comes out when i switch on the blower/AC. What's that?

[VeluM]

Originally Posted by Mountain.Goat

FE is still 13 Km + even in the bumper to bumper traffic. A/C is still going strong. But there is a dusty smell which comes out when i switch on the blower/AC. What's that?

Probably dust combined with fungus/mould build up in the AC system. Might have to get the ducting cleaned. Happens in dusty, humid places IIRC.

[Mountain.Goat]

Fourth servicing @ 20,000 Kilometres (in 14 Months). Car still going strong. 13.5 - 14.7 Kmpl in bumper to bumper. Can't complain. No isssues yet. But the CD player conked out long back. Can't find the time to get it repaired. Is there any way to modify / upgrade to Aux input or USB drive? Can somebody help with this?

[Mountain.Goat]

29000 Km. still going strong. Travelled backseat in a D'zire the other day. Bloody cramped ! Glad i bought a Vista. Still @14.5 Kmpl (Mumbai city - bumper to bumper ) and @ 18.5 Highway (average speed @ 90-100 Kmph). Spacious, comfortable and reliable. Thank you TATA.

[advaitlele]

Originally Posted by Mountain.Goat

29000 Km. still going strong. Travelled backseat in a D'zire the other day. Bloody cramped ! Glad i bought a Vista. Still @14.5 Kmpl (Mumbai city - bumper to bumper ) and @ 18.5 Highway (average speed @ 90-100 Kmph). Spacious, comfortable and reliable. Thank you TATA.

That's some seriously good average MG.

I have been happily driving Indica Xeta (petrol) for 5+ years. Will complete 6 this Aug. No issues at all till now except for change of tires, and regular servicing bill thrice a year (or 5k KMs) comes roughly 1800 Rs. That's not much.

The reason I selected Indica is space, and comfort. And I completely agree with Reinhard here. People buy Taxis for the anywhere servicing. I have never faced any issues with Tata A.S.S. or Tata car *touchwood*.

Wish you many more smiles per miles.

[Mountain.Goat]

Originally Posted by advaitlele

That's some seriously good average MG.

I have been happily driving Indica Xeta (petrol) for 5+ years. Will complete 6 this Aug. No issues at all till now except for change of tires, and regular servicing bill thrice a year (or 5k KMs) comes roughly 1800 Rs. That's not much.

The reason I selected Indica is space, and comfort. And I completely agree with Reinhard here. People buy Taxis for the anywhere servicing. I have never faced any issues with Tata A.S.S. or Tata car *touchwood*.

Wish you many more smiles per miles.

Thanks Advait.

Only once, recently, she gave me @16 (City + Highway Mixed). Was a little concerned, but next filling....14.75 (all city). The slightly bad performance must have been due to under-inflated tyres.

The clutch has always been on the harder side. Bad for my left foot.

Note from the Team-BHP Support Team: Please use the "edit" button if posting within 30 minutes of the first post, instead of creating another back-to-back post.

Also use "Multi Quote" option for quoting Multiple posts.