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-   -   Review: 1st-gen Mahindra Thar (2011 - 2019) (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-drives-initial-ownership-reports/94711-review-1st-gen-mahindra-thar-2011-2019-a-121.html)

I have same experiance with Sahyadri Motors and Silver jubilee motors, the sales people for Thar department are not educated about their products, however if you go to Scorpio department then you will find a well dress customer representative.

Spike - let us know if Thar Crde is available - now in White as well..or is this one off special thing.

thanks spike please do escalate it to the right ears ,so that i can fulfil my dream of owing a thar ,every time i see the thar my heart skips a beat,and bythe way the two black thar,s have been delivered by goel motors mohali and my friends are now lokkin at what to do about th ac part

The black Thar could not be delivered because it could not pass through the P.D.I according to the dealer it will be sent back to Mahindra and will be replaced.

Not sure if this belongs here or in the Mods and Accessories forum - but here goes...Mods please move if required.

Now that I have booked my Thar – delivery is supposed to be 18 Aug 2011 – I am looking at a list of things I need/want to do to it in the first year. I have put down a quick list with my thoughts on each and would appreciate if other members of the forum would put down their thoughts/comments on how to go about doing some of these or even if they think it is a good/bad idea.


The list is neither in any particular order nor complete and I am sure you guys will have more suggestions to add to this list.

• Lockable hard top – being worked on and will complete only once I have my Thar delivered. That will begin the testing period of the hard top
• Power windows and door locking – dealer says not possible, but I have seen it listed in the Mahindra Customization site and have spoken to other Thar owners who have got this done outside of the dealers but will lose warranty on electricals
• A/C – still waiting to hear back from dealer – says they have been waiting months for the A/C kits. Even if the kits arrive, looks like it will be A/C only – no heater. Possible to get it done outside the dealer immediately – but will lose warranty I think on electricals
• Tyres and Rims – will change to same profile HT tyres once I leave the dealership. Will also look at alloys. Any recommendations on dealers for tyres/rims in Bangalore who give good deals?
• Music System – in the works is a speaker mounting for the Roll Cage (see pics 1 and 2). Once the Thar arrives, will take a week of work to complete the speaker enclosure and be able to mount it on the roll cage. I plan to install 4 speakers in the vehicle and a system (ideally a touch screen with USB and Ipod controls) which I will also fabricate a center console for
• Center Console – will house the music system and the gears. Will fabricate from sheet metal or FRP to install once I design it. Will have cubby holes for storage as well as (hopefully) arm rest for the driver and front seat passenger. Ideally will try to fabricate it with an opening in the armrest which will contain a table (like in aircraft) which can be used to eat/place a laptop etc.
• [FONT=Symbol]B[/FONT]etter roll cage – I have a 2 year old and we still use the car seat for her for long distances so she can sleep. I plan to see if it is possible to install seat belts into the exiting roll cage or maybe fabricate a roll cage which will allow me to install the seat belts correctly and safely for the rear
• Front and rear seats – After talking to people and seeing BlackRaven’s feedback, will look to replace the front seats as well as rear seats. For rear seats, will look at 3rd row Innova style seats or Wrangler seats (see pics 3 and 4)
• Bull bar – I really hate the bull bar offered with the Thar. Will look at other options – anyone know places in Bangalore that I can look at for bull bars. Alternative is to fabricate one (Sigh! Again) – but need to understand the safety aspects of the design
• Fog lights – Would like to add fog lights as well – any suggestions on brands/dealers?
• Side Steps – will be fabricating these to be more like the Land Rover side steps (see pics 5 and 6)
• Carrier – will try to fabricate a carrier as well which will allow for a canopy when open (see pic 7)
• Under Body Skid Plate – Not at all sure how to get this done. Materials? What all should be covered? Etc.. Any thoughts/suggestions?
• Lockable box to be placed behind the rear seats – this will be a high strength but light lockable box which will sit behind the rear seats so that I can store stuff when I have the top off as well
• Floor mats – I am working on new mats for the Thar (front and rear). It will be environmentally friendly and mud plugging friendly as well
• Seat Covers – I have already got started on making my own seat covers – will be similar to the SmittyBilt ones and should be complete by end of next month. Will have multiple pockets which will attach to the rear. But will have an extra feature which I am really looking forward to having
• Fire Extinguisher – mounted on roll cage!

Looking forward to your feedback and additional comments/suggestions. If needed/requested, I will start a thread on each item which requires some time for fabrication or more information.


The vehicle is primarily going to be a daily drive and to tak the family out on long trips with moderate offroading. Should be comfortable for 4 people for these drives and have enough space left to carry our camping equipment, kayaks and other equipment, climbing equipment etc.

Thanks for reading this long and winding list.

Manas

Manasm - First of all congratulations. I think the Thar does come in HT tyres, if you meant change to AT tyres - then check Balaji Tyres around JC road and last I inquired - they will willing to give Geolanders AT-S for about 15 K in exchange for the Bridgestones that you get with the stock Thar.

BTW which dealer are you using for getting the Thar.

@Carrot Eater - yes...thanks for the correction - I meant change to AT tyres from the stock HT tyres.

Will look up Balaji Tyres. Do they do alloys as well?

does any of the thar owners find foul/engine fumes entering into cabin. of late its worsened in my thar (despite sealing the 4x4 gear cover which had come off). i presume the exhaust is getting sucked into the cabin from rear. india garge bangalore is still trying to figure out and waiting for mahindra response before they action. any views/ideas

Let me share my experience with Jeeps, when you keep the rear (flap/hood) open, unless the front wind-shield is opened (not possible in a Thar CRDe), smoke, dust, etc is bound to be sucked in.

^^ that is absolutely correct. I drive mine with the rear flap closed and no fumes enter.

For this reason old Jeeps had their exhaust outlets to a side. You could too if you like to drive with the flap open.

Autocop fixes very well and works fine as well. Dealership can fix it and have fixed it without voiding the warranty.


You are in luck. Dealership will be able to fix it by the time you take delivery. I will talk to you on this sometime today or tomorrow.

Decide on the tyres you want to upgrade to and talk to any tyre dealer in JC road before you take delivery. tell them they need to take your new tyres. If you give it to them within 100 kms, they would just reduce about 500 to 1000 bucks per tyre.

I upgraded to Yoko Geolander and it is just awesome.


You can get better Rollcage than the OE. Fabricate your own or try Red Rooster Racing.


I have replaced my rear seats with front facing double fold Qualis 2 seater. Sea of difference for rear benchers. My wife or daughter no longer sit in the front seat. I sometimes feel like a driver :)

Better still have a look at Vijay's seats. He got two double fold Qualis single seats and it fits like a charm in the bucket.

The issue with the side fold seats in your pics would be the lack of head clearance for the rear passengers. One bounce they could go hit the roof.

Look at SwastikViji's designs in TBHP classifieds. They are good and finished well too.

Swamy,

Thanks for the response.

Will fit Autocop - bought the Thar at Sireesh Auto @ New Airport Road - will they have the Autocop there? Do you have the name of the guy who fixed it for you?

Will fit the Geolanders - did you upsize or stay the same size?

Where did you source the Qualis seats from?

Call me when you get a chance and will get details on A/C and the rest. '

Thanks,
Manas

Hi guys..My brother just bought the Thar a couple of days back and we are all super excited about it. But when I drove it for the first time yesterday,I came across a weird problem. The engine only cranks up after a few trys or u have to hold on to the cranking for a longer time than usual. Only then the engine starts. After that when at idle,there seems to be an unusual ups and downs of the rpm..the engine doesn't settle down immediately. Is this a problem or is this how the Thar's engine works. Kindly help!

Note : The service guys dint know a thing about it and said they have requested assistance from mahindra engineers. So we will have to wait till then.

Carthik, there is something wrong with your car. Cranks up after how much time (seconds)? Idle rpm changing (hunting) is not normal, which dealership did you go to? They must be skilled to handle this as this engine is pretty much the same. Meanwhile, please check if you accelerator pedal sensor is loose / connected improperly.

Spike

You can expect the car to start on one crank and idle smoothly from cold up (mine does). Like Spike said please seek service assistance to sort it out