[jacksons]

I paid 5000/- for remote locking to Maruti daler here in Gurgoan and I got it fitted before delivery so have no idea for time but they told me 2 hours it took.
Maruti dealers have Kit for A* and its best to get that one only and they know how to fit and they do the best job as they do it everyday.

[supremeBaleno]

Does it take 5K to fit remote locking ?

Asking because the car already has central-locking in place. Am not sure I want to spend 5K for a remote - I was thinking more in terms of 2-3K, which was the cost I have heard mentioned for remote locking.

[indusboy]

Originally Posted by supremeBaleno

Does it take 5K to fit remote locking ?

Asking because the car already has central-locking in place. Am not sure I want to spend 5K for a remote - I was thinking more in terms of 2-3K, which was the cost I have heard mentioned for remote locking.

I got my car fitted with a remote lock at dealership at the time of taking delivery. Don't remember the exact cost but it was around 2K. One disadvantage though was that they gave me only one remote, so I got another remote later on for 800. So you should be able to get a Maruti supplied remote lock with 2 remotes for under 3K.

[supremeBaleno]

2nd Free Service (6months or 5000kms) details :

Done on : 18-June-2011
Done at : Hercules Automobiles
Odo reading : 2920 kms.
Service Cost : Rs0.00 (same as 1st service)

I had done the 1st service also at Hercules and was happy with their customer-friendliness and prompt service. And since I had rated them high on the feedback-form for 1st service, the guys were even more enthusiastic/efficient this time around. Gave the car at 9:30AM, got back at 2:30AM. I think for 1st and 2nd services, they mostly just do a water-wash and some checking. The 1st oil-change will be at 3rd service.

They suggested a wheel-alignment at 3000kms - first time I am hearing of this. Do we really need to check alignment of a new car so early on ? Won't this have been done at factory before car was despatched ?

Since an AT car is rare in small towns and the issue with Samurai's i10-AT fresh in my mind (though it turned out to be an ECU issue & not mishandling by HASS), I told the service advisor to be careful with the car, it being AT. On taking delivery, he said that he had ensured none of the boys drove the car - he infact had it parked at one end of the garage with a Baleno blocking its way. I checked the odo and confirmed that it was not driven around.

Originally Posted by indusboy

I got my car fitted with a remote lock at dealership at the time of taking delivery. Don't remember the exact cost but it was around 2K. One disadvantage though was that they gave me only one remote, so I got another remote later on for 800. So you should be able to get a Maruti supplied remote lock with 2 remotes for under 3K.

2-3K sounds OK to me. And I don't mind having just 1 remote - because usually the other remote remains in storage (like with our Swift), unless you lose one. Plan to get this on my next visit. A spoiler is also on my list of accessories - let's see.

Any idea what it would cost to fit a reverse camera ? I don't want just sensors - I am looking at a system that would help see what is at the rear on a screen.

[jacksons]

Originally Posted by supremeBaleno

Does it take 5K to fit remote locking ?

Asking because the car already has central-locking in place. Am not sure I want to spend 5K for a remote - I was thinking more in terms of 2-3K, which was the cost I have heard mentioned for remote locking.

Its not only for fitting but also for the system, since I din't want to fit anything from outside like remote locking as it involves lot of wiring etc and also for the warranty matter and they were offring accessories worth 5000 as discount so, I opted for remote locking with warranty.

[supremeBaleno]

Had finally succumbed to the temptation of getting tbhp stickers - had avoided till date because I did not want my cars to be too noticeable on the road. But gave in finally.

For the "I drive safe" sticker, the A*-AT would be the only eligible car from our stable given that it is driven by my wife who is indeed a safe driver and even on the rare occasions I drive it, I drive very normally due to it being an AT.

The A*-AT wearing the "I Drive Safe" sticker in the driveway, during the recent monsoons.


The focus was on the rains (not the car), because I was working from home and a couple of Mallu colleagues were rain-sick and wanted me to send atleast some pics of the Kerala rains.

[pgsagar]

Supreme Baleno, I have booked an A Star AT. After long deliberations, many near bookings and last minute withdrawals, I finally went ahead and booked one y'day.

I had been quietly following your and Scuderia's posts regularly. You guys have really spoiled me, hahaha.... Couldn't stay away from it. I had always been a huge huge fan of A Star and Beat and of course Swift, too. But too many Swifts on the road diluted my liking. Now unless I see a customised Swift ( customised tastefully and artfully and NOT garishly ), I do not give it a second look. But Beat and A Star? It's a different story.

Several occassions I walked in to book A* but two things dampened my enthusiasm. One, a long wait. And two, petrol prices ( I am used to frugal Lancer D). But all these months I was hoping that someone somewhere will announce an AT diesel hatch launch. But no. That was not to be. Which means we won't see one for at least next 2 to 3 years. Too long a wait for me. With each passing day, my desire for A* shows no sign of abating. And every time I see a bright red one, I go weak-kneed. I follow it for a couple of blocks. So, I just decided to give in to this madness. To hell with petrol prices. I can live with it. I will see where else I can prune my budget. Now if only my parking issue gets resolved then I can keep both A* and Lancer ( I don't feel like parting with it).

Ok, I booked for a bright red one. At first I used to find it too flashy but somehow now I feel drawn to it badly. A little flash hasn't harmed anyone,. Whatsay? Oh, yes, the dealer promised delivery within 30 days. And it's Rs.5.06 lakhs on road here with Rs.5,000 worth accessories thrown in. Now I am really excited about it. Eagerly waiting for the 30th day.

[supremeBaleno]

Wow, congrats man.

I was aware that you were looking for a nifty hatch and that Beat & A-Star topped your liking when it came to looks, but with the Beat-D released, I thought you would go for it.

Is the delivery promised in 30days ? Keep following up with them about the status of the car atleast once a week, to avoid delay.

_____________________________________
BTW, I finally got some time to drop in at the service-centre to get the "Automatic" badge fitted. It was a quick job - pull off the old VXi logo, clean the glue left on the paint from the Vxi logo and then stick on the Automatic badge. That's it.

[pgsagar]

Originally Posted by supremeBaleno

Wow, congrats man.

I was aware that you were looking for a nifty hatch and that Beat & A-Star topped your liking when it came to looks, but with the Beat-D released, I thought you would go for it.

Exactly. I was on lookout for a small hatch with AT. I like both A* AND Beat. The scales almost tilted in favour of Beat. You can't ignore diesel's economy. But eventually AT won and also I think deep inside I am beginning to like A* more. May be because of exclusivity. With new diesel launch, Beat will lose the exclusivity factor pretty soon. You can guage my liking for A* form the fact that I have completely ignored even new Swift which will also come with AT.

Regarding 30 day delivery, I am constantly on their backs. And, yes, thanks!

[supremeBaleno]

Couple weeks ago (5-Aug), we did a long trip to Trivandrum and back - a total of 250-odd kms. Being a rare visitor to the capital-city with the last visit being ages ago, I had no clue about the route etc - just followed the signs where available + wifey's directions (she studied/worked in TVM) + followed city-buses going where I wanted to go (East Fort). The city looked congested - a typical workday evening.

The 120km journey took me 3 hours - bad average speed I know, but given the 2-lane road that we have for a highway (NH-47), nothing more can be expected. Also nowadays I seem to find myself driving only at 60-80kmph at Kerala.

FE check:
Had fuelled up some 10 days ago after setting the tripmeter to 0 when the digital fuel-guage started blinking. On our return from TVM, at Kollam, the last block in the guage started blinking again - tripmeter showed 468kms for the last fuel-up of ~30litres - an FE of 15kmpl, with the driving conditions being a varied mix (highway, town, city, 200kms without a/c, the rest with a/c etc).

Vandalism :
My kid loves ChicKing (actually the play-area there, than the fried chicken) and we thought we would drop in at the outlet in TVM, but could not locate it. So, as consolation, we dropped in at a Krazy Chicken outlet at Eravipuram (some 8-9kms before Kollam town).

Come out after an hour or so and the 1st thing I notice on inserting the key in the lock, is a long scratch on the passenger door. Shocked because this was not there earlier. Walk around and before I am glad that the rear hatch-door does not have a scratch, I see a similar scratch on the left side door. And smaller, but deeper markings on the bonnet. All this in just 1 hour we were parked there.

Wifey got really upset, saying, "Everytime on the road, I worry so much about some vehicle scratching the car and drive ultra carefully. Only to have some idiot scratch the car when parked."

Some recent snaps :

1) Sporting the tbhp stickers and the "Automatic" badge - the VXi is gone.


2) Aman with the car at the beach.

[sushir]

Originally Posted by supremeBaleno

Vandalism :
My kid loves ChicKing (actually the play-area there, than the fried chicken) and we thought we would drop in at the outlet in TVM, but could not locate it. So, as consolation, we dropped in at a Krazy Chicken outlet at Eravipuram (some 8-9kms before Kollam town).

Come out after an hour or so and the 1st thing I notice on inserting the key in the lock, is a long scratch on the passenger door. Shocked because this was not there earlier. Walk around and before I am glad that the rear hatch-door does not have a scratch, I see a similar scratch on the left side door. And smaller, but deeper markings on the bonnet. All this in just 1 hour we were parked there.

Wifey got really upset, saying, "Everytime on the road, I worry so much about some vehicle scratching the car and drive ultra carefully. Only to have some idiot scratch the car when parked."

Awww. Thats bad. Really some sick people out there. But OTOH this usually happens when you 'park' at a place, that has given someone a really hard time (going through or getting out). But still this is psychotic behavior on the part of whoever did it. Sometimes people do it just out of pure jealousy/animosity. Tough luck, hope the scratches aren't too deep and are gone in the next service.

[sushir]

Here are some 3 months old pictures of my red beast/beauty

[pgsagar]

Sushir, get door visors and a black cladding on doors and it will immensely improve A-Star's looks. Devoid of these two, A-Star looks bland veiwed side on. Check out my A-Star pics.

[supremeBaleno]

How time flies !!! The car completed a year on 8-Dec-2011. And got 7K on the odo, the last 2K being the contribution of SIL who had come down for a month's vacation from Australia. She had learnt driving only a year or so ago and the only practice she had driving was on their Camry_AT in AU. Ofcourse since the Indian roads/traffic are a different ballgame altogether, I suggested she take it easy and careful.

Ofcourse there is no one more confident a driver than someone who has just been through driving classes and got a license. The result is to be seen in the front bumper of the car - numerous dents and scratches. Ofcourse I am glad she did not cause any serious damage to anyone.

3rd Free Service (12months or 10000kms) details :

Done on : 30-Dec-2011
Done at : Hercules Automobiles, Praikara, Mavelikara
Odo reading : 7052 kms
Service Cost : Rs960.00 (For oil filter + 2.9L mineral oil + a satchet of windscreen fluid + tax)

I had done the 1st & 2nd service also at Hercules and was happy with their customer-friendliness and prompt service - credit to their SA Mr.Anu Lalan. Gave the car at 9:45AM, got back at 3:00PM.

As with the 1st & 2nd services, I requested him not to have their inhouse racers have a go at the car - confirmed car was not driven via Odo reading on taking delivery.

Only concern I had was that normal oil was used, while I keep hearing about K-series engines needing semi-synthetic oil (if not fully-synthetic). Ofcourse the manual does not mention anything about mineral or synthetic - it just recommends the grade of oil (5W-30).

Those who own A-Star (AT or MT), could you please confirm what type of oil was used by the MASS for your car ?

[pjbiju]

I have been waiting for a diesel hatchback with AT option. Looks like I will not see such a car any time soon. After reading through this whole thread (again) I am tempted to buy this car for our city travels. Though my wife is now quite comfortable in taking the Swift anywhere in the city, an AT would be that much more convenient. Is it time to swap the Swift for an A-Star AT?

Thanks SB for sharing your experiences here.