Thursday, March 25, 2010

Me car's 6 year anniversary !

Thursday 25th March 2004 is when I took delivery of my Amythyst Blue Indica DLS and its been a very satisfactory experience.

I was not a member of TIUG then, so I really did not know anything about a PDI, dealer dealings and simply went, prayed to GOD and drove off. I did a rudimentary pooja and drove on 4 strategically placed lemons to ward off evil spirits probably.

I moved from a 1991 Premier Padmini Delux to a 2001 Zen Vx (loaner from my Brother In Law in the US) to the Indica. A first diesel in the family. Not in the extended family tho.

Factors that I considered in the debate over Diesel and Petrol
Pros
1. As an employee of a private firm, my job might change by choice or compultion, my company might relocate and my distance between home & office could possibly change from 7 Km round trip (then) to 20 Km one way. Currently since I am required in two locations of the firm, my daily pure office run is 17 Km.
2. Thanks to the truck lobby, diesel prices have and should remain lower than petrol.
3. I had the Indica squarely in my sights as it was the most comfortable (with the exception of Palio) then. Tata was proven in Diesel and not Petrol

Cons
1) Sluggish by a mile when compared to that small rocket of Zen Vx - I would seriously need to rework my driving style.
2) Noisy - I need to engage the 2nd gear (1st nowadays thanks to the security checks) to climb say the entrance ramp to say LeMeridian Pune. Not a nice sound when the car you are following is say a Honda Civic !
- I really did not care what the valet thought.
3) Taxi image - Again public perception and unless its started and you are standing next to it, there is no way you can distinguish between a diesel Indica and a Petrol one. I still get asked Diesel / Petrol at the bunk.

Factors I considered in Indica vs Palio - Rs, Rs and more Rs. I could get an Indigo for the price of a Palio. Also, wasn't too happy with the service given by Jay Vijay motors for Fiat / Premier.

So given the pros and cons, my budget and need for a replacement for the Zen, the DLS was a logical choice. Would have loved the DLX but that was 30K more and my accessories were going to cost about 20K too.

Have I ever reconsidered my decision? Yes. My wife pretty much doesn't like the Taxi image so what was a public perception is now a personal issue. She also has an issue with Tata's image as a truck manufacturer so while I would love to buy a Manza as a second car, I am probably going in for the SX4.
Am I happy with the decision? YES !

Some figures now.
Total distance covered: 47800 Km
Distance covered till 25th Dec 2006 - 27800 Km
Fuel used till 25th Dec 2006 - 1583 lts at a total of Rs. 52102.59/-
Average: 18 Kmpl

Distance covered from 27th July 2009 till date - 9920 Km
Fuel used from 27th July 2009 till date - 656.49 lts at a total of Rs. 25378.92/-
Average: 15.1 Kmpl

There is no data for the intermediary period as Dad did not keep the statistics while I was in the US.

One of the reasons for the 3 Kmpl drop could be that I wasn't a 100% AC user earlier and now my AC is never switched off. Also, my highway average seems to have dropped from ~19 kmpl to about 17 so that could be a contributing factor. Probably my driving style has changed after the US destroyed my driving habits.

Maintenance expenses:
Total Expenses so far: Rs 34,158/-
Giving a somewhat high value of 0.72 Rs/km
This includes:
1. One accident job which after insurance put me back about 2,000/-
2. Glow plugs being replaced twice (both at Balaji Garage, once under Pandit Auto's management so is automatically suspect)
3. Steering rack refurbishment which cost a whopping 11K
4. Front suspension bush kit replacement
5. AC Thermostat replacement
6. Two tubes changed
7. Battery replacement
8. Wiper pair replacement

I am averaging 2.4 Rs/Km for fuel so totally, I am at about 3 Rs/Km.

Current Status:
My car is battered with 6 years of Pune maddness.
1. A truck put a dent in the driver's side when Dad was driving it because it couldn't get out of a pot hole and rolled slightly back.
2. A bike couldn't / wouldn't stop in time and put a small dent in the passenger side front door
3. A bike jumping a traffic signal met with my front bumper
4. Someone swipped the Tata Badge off my rear hatch. Didn't know the "T" was in as much demand as a VW / Toyota badge :)

Longest single day running I have done so far is 9 hours of almost continuous driving for a paltry 320 Km. The longest drive has been for 450 Km from Pune to Tarkarli on the Konkan coastline.
I have enjoyed every Km that I have run in the Indica and am totally confident of its reliability / performance when I am in it. One of the best things to happen to me so far :)

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