[rock18]

I am writing such a long report for the first time, so please bear with me if you find it bad,boring,silly,irrelevant,junk or whatever....
For people who are in hurry,Please go straight to "5.Expect the unexpected", For others you are most welcome to read the entire (His)story.

1.Why i needed a car?
My 1st car was an used Maruti 800 from true value, kept it for 1year and sold it off.Then bought a new indica xeta in 2007 and it has just done just 20k kms in the last 3.5years. Car is quite good. i drive it very sedately and getting a mileage of around 14kmpl in city.

Before buying xeta, i got a chance to test drive a 2000 baleno and was immediately impressed with its drivability and torque. My parents were against me buying an used car again.so went for the new car.
Over all these years,used to read a lot of posts about OHC VTEC,Palio GTX,Baleno,Fiesta 1.6,etc.
Whenever i read the ownership reports about these cars,i have some sort of adrenaline rush going through and wanted to buy one of these for myself very badly.

Then GTO's thread http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/buying...es-less-3.html came and i decided that its time, i buy one of the cars in the list.

2.Approval from home minister and the waiting period:
My wife used to ask me "why another car when we already have a car which itself is lying unused?"
Still now not able to explain her..
All i said is, i wanted to buy a car that provides unlimited adrenaline rush and driving pleasure.
I don't know whether she understood that or not but she agreed as she cannot bear her husband talking about cars 24X7 and also browsing T-BHP all the time.

We started saving money..In the meanwhile, Bought a Frontech racing wheel along with NFS SHIFT PC game as Reviewers said "its the closest driving experience you can ever have with world's fastest cars".From Baleno,OHC,GTX,i shifted to Zonda,Veyron,Shelby,Porsche.Excellent game i should say.

3.The Hunt
After saving some vitamin M,i started my hunt for a well maintained Baleno.Saw an ad in sulekha classifieds
"2006 black baleno with expensive music system,BMW alloys and also fancy number" Got excited.fixed appointment next morning itself.Car was looking quite attractive with those BMW alloys but lots of scratches.Took a test drive and was shocked.Car clutch plate was gone and also brakes were almost non-existent.the Promised expensive music system was not working.A badly maintained car. Owner was not willing to give it for less than 3lakhs.so dropped it.

Then test drove few more baleno's but the magic i had with that 2000 year baleno was missing.True value guy called me saying that they got one 2006 silver baleno which has done just 11000kms.I took a long test drive but still that magic was missing.Since the old baleno magic was missing, i dropped baleno from the most desireable car to one of the desirable cars. Started looking for OHC VTEC.found a few 2001 VTECs but all were having tampered odometers and priced close to 3lakhs.In the meanwhile, i got a chance to test drove OHC 1.3 and Ikon 1.6.
i was very much impressed with the ikon's pickup and also felt OHC 1.3 had much better driveability in the city compared to VTEC.

4.Closest to buying one:
I found one 72k done 2003 OHC automatic with a dealer.I took a test drive and was floored with its pickup and ease of driving,thought of booking it immediately.Price quoted was 3lakhs but dealer said deal can be finished at 2.75L final. i just checked carwale pricing in the internet.it was showing somewhere close to 2.2lakhs.so i said i am ready to pay advance provided they close the deal for 2.6lakhs.dealer was playing a trick on me saying that they already have a deal for 2.7L.Then i left home to think about it.Called up sundaram motors and found that the car has crossed 1lakh mark 6months back itself.i asked fellow bhpians suggestion and they said its not worth more than 2.4lakhs.
I confronted the dealer with this wrong odometer thing and quoted my price as 2.4L.He said he is ready to give it for 2.6L.Since i liked the car very much,i booked an appointment with sundaram motors for inspecting the vehicle next day.I thought if the car is in good condition,i can close the deal for 2.5L.Next morning when i went there,to my horror that car got sold for 2.7L.i came home disappointed having missed out on a wonderful car.
Missed one good 2006 Fiesta 1.6 as well because of the pricing bargain.

Lesson learnt: If you keep on sticking to carwale prices all the time,You can never buy a very good car.

After this,i was running through all the car dealer shops in chennai like a mindless chicken.Very confused with so many options i had from Palio GTX to Cedia..

After a lot of thought,i decided to search for Fiesta 1.6 as it was going for around 3.5lakhs.During my search found 2 GETZ CRDI's. oh my god! what a pick up.they quoted 4lakhs for 2007 getz and 4.6l for 2008 getz.Power and mileage...well it can't get better than this.Thought of finishing the deal for 3.75L after an appoinment with Hyundai service centre...Booked an appoinment on monday and Was dreaming about long trips in GETZ CRDI

5.Expect the unexpected:
On sunday morning,i was going through classifieds section in Hindu and found this:
"2002 Fiat palio S10,run 13k kms,showroom condition" I called up the owner immediately.He said 2lakhs and i said what the #@#@#? and
disconnected the call.
Since S10 is pretty rare to find car.i thought i would just take a look at the beauty and also if possible drive it.
Called up the owner again and fixed appointment immediately. Checked carwale pricing it showed 1lakh for a well maintained car.

Reached the place and my 1st reaction was "WOW..its almost brand new".
Not a believer of Love at first sight theory but this is really it.
i could not believe its a 2002 model.All the stickers are in place.Even the engine bay looked brand new.Immediately checked all the tyres and it was showing 2002 and then checked the spare wheel and could not see any rust in it.I was totally floored and was like ,I could not hide my grin.
Did a small test drive in a crowded place and owner did not let me rip the car.
Since he noticed me falling for the car,he was not interested in negotiating.i told the market price,ready cash,immediate cash funda...but nothing worked.Something told me that if i miss this car now,i will regret very badly as i will not be able to find another S10 anytime soon as its very very rare.Only 500 cars ever produced.Since i desperately wanted it i gave him 10000rs as advance.
Owner told me that he will return the advance only if the car is found faulty but no negotiations on the price.So i agreed for a price of 1.95L.Saving grace being, He will do the re-registration work himself and also insurance was paid just a month ago.so i got almost a year to spare.
IDV value for the vehicle stood at 2.4L and last paid premium was somewhere close to 8.5k.

Having paid the advance,i asked for one week time to pay the amount.owner agreed.
I posted a new thread here to check fellow bhpians thoughts on the car.
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/hatchb...w-2-minds.html
Since majority gave thumbsup for this car.I went ahead and bought it.

Ownership experience:
My reviews are purely from a layman perspective as i don't have much experience driving other cars.
For more comphrensive and accurate S10 reviews.Please go through Amit's S10 ownership report.
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/long-t...2-000-kms.html

I have driven only 400kms so far.car feels and drives like brand new.I am really happy with it.All my friends and colleagues are showering praises for buying such a good looking car and some of these people never even know that a car like palio existed before.In my office parking lot, i have seen lot of people drooling over my car.I feel so proud to own this beauty.

This is one rare combination of beauty and the beast.

Exteriors:
This is purely an "admiration guaranteed"material.Canary yellow makes it more appealing.I am afraid to take this car outside except for my occasional office usage as i fear that somebody might scratch it or remove the stickers. Believe me morons like this exist in real life.They like scratching and removing stickers or the badges of good looking cars.
Unlike others,I feel the Signatures of sachin tendulkar makes this car even more special to me.Yes i am a die-hard sachin fan.

Interior:
Dashboard design is quite good.Since its black i think it won't age that quickly.
This car is all stock.Stock seats,stock S10 cassette player.I liked the tweeter position under the side view mirror adjuster.car is quite spacious.

Engine:
I touched speeds upto 135kmhr without much effort and loved the exhaust sound.Calculated mileage only once so not sure if its accurate.i got around 200kms for 17litres of Speed petrol.
Itching to do some high speed run to places like yelagiri or pondicherry.
Since i have a 7 months old baby..no such plans are possible as of now.

Niggles:
Horn stopped working from the day 1.I took it to Electra automotive,OMR for a preventive service and spent 4800rs.
1.Roots mini vibrasonic dual horn-675rs+tax
2.Front grill replacement-980rs+tax(mesh was missing so replaced the complete grill.Now it looks more aggressive)
3.All wiper blades changed- 700rs
4.Coolant.
5.Labor charges and general checkup and service-1000rs

All approximate costs..

Since oil is good.supervisor advised me not to change it.He suggested me to use the tyres for 5-10k kms and then change it.
I will post about electra's experience later.

So far so good..(touchwood)


Now see the pictures:

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[hillram]

Congratulations on this spectacular acquisition.
S10s are very rare to find and your car is as good as a new showroom car.Have a great drive !!!

[aKrain]

Holy Cow!! That's a good deal for such a fabulous car. ANd what condition, man. Great find I would say. Congratulations

[Jeep]

Lovely! A car that is as good as new! Congratulations!

BTW are you still running on the 8 yr old tyres?

I know that it is hard to change good looking tyres, however try to get some value out of those and go for new ones!

[Schoudhury]

WOW, that's really a very well maintained S10.
Congrats man.

Take care of the beauty and yes, if possible post some pics of the interiors and also the engine bay.

Cheers

[Klub Class]

Rock18, I must say that you have got a great deal here. And yes, congratulations on your new acquisition.

I'm quite surprised to see black grills on Fiat Palio S10. At the same time, I can see canary yellow grill in the last picture!! Did you change the grill after buying the car?

Do keep us updated with your experience. And please upload more pictures.

Drive safe and have fun.

Amith

[download2live]

Thats a seriously good looking car you got there mate.
S10 in that condition are rare.

[extreme_torque]

Oh man! I envy you! I would have bought this car in a heart beat! Congratulations!

[JVH]

This morning I'll bet you will be the envy of T-BHP :-)

Great buy! I can't believe the previous owner has used it for just 13K kms in 8 years.

It will be good if you can have a check up of all the rubber parts. Since you have already checked the tyres, now check the belts. Due to lack of usage they tend to harden which is not desirable.

Man! I still envy you. All the best with the 100 horses

[beejay]

That's one looker you have. Man, perfectly well maintained. Great buy. Some pictures of the engine bay, please.

[EARTHed]

Whatta Fiat you got there!! Do you have the guts to take such a neat S10 on the chaotic city roads? Man.. I would rather drive her only during weekends!

[rock18]

Thank you @hillram,@aKrain,@download2live,@extreme_torque,@b eejay,

Originally Posted by Jeep

BTW are you still running on the 8 yr old tyres? I know that it is hard to change good looking tyres, however try to get some value out of those and go for new ones!

Thanks. That is what i was planning to do untill the electra supervisor told me "why you want to waste money when this tyre can easily last another 10k kms?"More suggestions from bhpians would be welcome.

Originally Posted by Schoudhury

Take care of the beauty and yes, if possible post some pics of the interiors and also the engine bay.

Thanks.yeah will post the interior and engine bay pics soon. Since i have used it for a few months,it does not look that new now.

Originally Posted by Klub Class

Rock18, I must say that you have got a great deal here. And yes, congratulations on your new acquisition.I'm quite surprised to see black grills on Fiat Palio S10. At the same time, I can see canary yellow grill in the last picture!! Did you change the grill after buying the car? Do keep us updated with your experience. And please upload more pictures. Drive safe and have fun.Amith

Thanks Amith.yes i did change the grill.front grill mesh was missing when i bought it.Electra automotive said its not possible to source just the mesh so have to change the entire grill for 975rs.Since the black one looked better than the yellow one.I opted to change it. Yellow grill=cute,Black grill=sporty.

Originally Posted by JVH

This morning I'll bet you will be the envy of T-BHP :-)Great buy! I can't believe the previous owner has used it for just 13K kms in 8 years. It will be good if you can have a check up of all the rubber parts. Since you have already checked the tyres, now check the belts. Due to lack of usage they tend to harden which is not desirable. Man! I still envy you. All the best with the 100 horses

Thanks man. I asked the supervisor to check those things.He said everything is fine..Not sure about his expertise though.

Originally Posted by EARTHed

Whatta Fiat you got there!! Do you have the guts to take such a neat S10 on the chaotic city roads? Man.. I would rather drive her only during weekends!

Dude..seriosuly i am scared of taking this car outside.Thankfully i got my Xeta for rough use and my 2 faithful companions Suzuki Fiero and Pulsar 200.

[Recompose]

Does this car look stunning or what? Wow

This S10 looks 10/10.Congratulations.Eagerly waiting for interior pictures.

[Soccerfan]

Really envy you sir. Thats a mean dream machine. Enjoy it and avoid taking on to busy streets and parking in non-secure places.

[roadie_swift]

Congratulations, man... This is one rare car for sure. I wonder how you found one in the first place, and that too in such mint condition! Am sure you'll preserve it well, after all, it has been named after one of the Rare Jewels of India - S10.