[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by arun_josie

The route taken during this drive was Bangalore - Pune - Pawna - Mulshi - Tahmini Ghat - Mangaon Mahad Varandha Ghat - Wai - Satara - Kolhapur - Bangalore.

Beautiful pics. The light green grass covered mountains are so inviting! Noted this route for covering on the bike someday, hopefully soon.

PS - Going to question Sankalp why he was driving and not riding.

[audioholic]

Nice report Arun. It was a wonderful time and drive and this has been the best road trip I have ever made till now. Great route, great company and what a view. The interior roads were very interesting and it was a fun time coordinating with everyone since the routes were not exactly what google suggested and then the network coverage was choppy. Thankfully we were equipped with wireless radio in all cars which was a boon to avoid route misses and kept the convoy in one group. It also helped in the stretch after Varandha ghat where the road was slushy and very narrow. All cars managed to cross the stretch though it was a challenge for low slung cars.

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

PS - Going to question Sankalp why he was driving and not riding.

I will probably cry loud if my bike ever went through so much of slush and mud, and also feel that a few stretches are definitely not bike friendly and neither safe. Hence, I will limit my bike to good and dry roads. Also, I dont prefer riding for such a distance in a short span of time. But with a relaxed schedule, yes this is a beautiful ride to do.

[arun_josie]

Originally Posted by audioholic

The interior roads were very interesting and it was a fun time coordinating with everyone since the routes were not exactly what google suggested and then the network coverage was choppy. Thankfully we were equipped with wireless radio in all cars which was a boon to avoid route misses and kept the convoy in one group. It also helped in the stretch after Varandha ghat where the road was slushy and very narrow. All cars managed to cross the stretch though it was a challenge for low slung cars.

Yes, mobile network coverage was bad. But then sometimes this makes the drive/trip even more interesting. And you along with parag played the perfect role of a coordinator. Apart from being helpful, the wireless radio was fun too.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by arun_josie

Update on the Remote Key Issue:

Not directly related, but noticed this replacement outer shell on Amazon - at a low price. Might help with the cosmetic aspect of the key -

https://www.amazon.in/dp/B01BVGQFY6/..._52NyBbEDD43B4

[arun_josie]

Osram Fog Breaker H1 12V 55W Yellow lights:

I always felt that the stock fog bulbs were not that effective. So, decided to try the Osram Fog Breaker H1 12V 55W Yellow lights. Little expensive (Rs. 1400/-) but I thought it would be worth trying it as it doesn't require any extra wiring/relay. Its a direct fit.

Here is my view after using it for two weeks including the recent Monsoon drive. The intensity of the light throw is way ahead of the stock bulbs. So, its very effective during a foggy day/early morning hours. Also, during the recent convoy drive, other drivers in front updated me that this light is very much visible on their ORVMs during early morning hours or when it was cloudy, this was not the case with the stock bulbs.

Only concern is the life of these bulbs, fingers crossed.

Here are few pics

Stock Bulbs


Osram Fog Breaker






Attachment 1787287

Originally Posted by arun_josie

Another awesome Monsoon drive with friends to MH and it was super fun. This is in fact my 4th drive with this gang and all these drives have been to explore the green carpet on the Western Ghats of MH.

Here is the travelogue of this drive
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travel...harashtra.html

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

Not directly related, but noticed this replacement outer shell on Amazon - at a low price. Might help with the cosmetic aspect of the key -

https://www.amazon.in/dp/B01BVGQFY6/..._52NyBbEDD43B4

Thank you. Sure, if required I will get this one.

[Carrera555]

Originally Posted by bharatbits

I think there's nothing to worry since everything else is normal. In my case it took almost 3 days after which the CEL vanished.

Originally Posted by car-dent

Thanks. I hope it goes off soon. today is the second day for me and it is still on.

I have got this multiple times in my Punto. The first time it happened I was scared to death & rushed to the service center. It's just when the car passes through water lodging sometimes the injector sensors catches up moisture & the CEL is due to the same. Over the time the moisture drys off & the light will be gone.

Yes, you can relax if the car is behaving normally, but if you find any instability in engine idling, its advisable to get the Vehicle checked. Hope it helps.

[VWAllstar]

What a satiating thread to read. Read each and every post of the thread. Many of us don't reach such a high number with two cars collectively in such a less number of years.

But looking at the miserable after sales service and attitude of such a revered brand among Indians, is it a wise and smart choice to go for a fiat car now in 2018? Mumbai has just one dealer and whose attitude towards Fiat isn't very convincing from the initial conversations. Looking for an ownership till 2025 so looking for diesel hatch and not linea. Awaiting your reply, you are the best judge by a far margin when it comes to FIAT.

[arun_josie]

Solo early-morning drive to Shettihali Rosary Church ruins:

Recently I came across news that Shettihali Rosary Church ruins is submerged in water now. So, I decided to make a quick early morning trip. Yesterday, I started little before 4:00AM and reached the location by 6:30AM. It took 2H:40M to reach. The highway till Hassan was bliss minus the few speed breakers. However the Hassan - Shettihali stretch is not in a great shape.

At the location,it was dark and drizzling as well. There was a biker-couple who also drove from Bangalore to see this submerged church. Since it was water-water-everywhere, there was not much place to roam. Even turning the car was a bit tricky.

During the return drive, I stopped at A2B for a quick breakfast.

Total Distance: 435.4 Kms
FE: 19.2
Avg Speed: 75 Kmph
Duration: 5H:47M

Current ODO: 1,69,384 Kms

Overall, it was a nice drive.

Here are few pics,

Submerged Church








Trip Detail


This is how it was during our last visit 3 years back.(http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travelogues/169661-morning-drive-shettihalli-rosary-church-ruins-twist-plot.html)

Originally Posted by VWAllstar

What a satiating thread to read. Read each and every post of the thread. Many of us don't reach such a high number with two cars collectively in such a less number of years.

But looking at the miserable after sales service and attitude of such a revered brand among Indians, is it a wise and smart choice to go for a fiat car now in 2018? Mumbai has just one dealer and whose attitude towards Fiat isn't very convincing from the initial conversations. Looking for an ownership till 2025 so looking for diesel hatch and not linea. Awaiting your reply, you are the best judge by a far margin when it comes to FIAT.

Thanks a lot for your very kind words

Looking at the current state of Fiat, I will prefer to stay out. If you are still interested, then look for a well maintained used Punto in the 3-4 year old range. Again provided you have a decent service center in your area(either FASS or FNG).

Well there are many other senior experts too here.

[VWAllstar]

Originally Posted by arun_josie

Looking at the current state of Fiat, I will prefer to stay out. If you are still interested, then look for a well maintained used Punto in the 3-4 year old range. Again provided you have a decent service center in your area(either FASS or FNG).

Thank you so much. A friend is hooked on to the UC Abarth (thanks to me for getting it into his head) But there is so much of ambiguity with Fiat. Jeep isn't going anywhere for a decade so logically they would continue with Fiat as well. After speaking to the sales guy, he said we make UC but it is make to order. Will take a month for delivery. 2018 manufactured at 10.69 lakhs on road Mumbai. Probably another discussion they may get it to 10.00 (optimistic). Mumbai has two reliable Fiat and also it can be serviced at Jeep.
But how about the upkeep? The wear and tear parts are expensive? The engine is from Abarth, so how reliable it is for an ownership of 5-7 years. Resale we really don't care looking at the happiness it would give over a period of time.

[bharatbits]

Originally Posted by VWAllstar

But how about the upkeep? The wear and tear parts are expensive? The engine is from Abarth, so how reliable it is for an ownership of 5-7 years. Resale we really don't care looking at the happiness it would give over a period of time.

Fiat is still a smart choice in 2018. With the Compass becoming a hit, Fiat is here to stay for a while. Vroom Pointe Fiat ASS in Navi Mumbai is good from what i heard and they have been quite helpful regarding a small issue i had with the alignment. Given the long service intervals of 15k kms you can get the car serviced anywhere. My 5000 km service was in Butta Hyd, 15000 kms was in Sky Moto Pune. 30000 kms in a couple of months could be in Mumbai Vroom. My 15k service was under Rs 5k. Expect the next too around the same figure. If you maintain it well i don't think the car needs anything but the scheduled maintenance till atleast a lakh kms. Wear tear parts of the Fiat i found them to be quite cheap compared to competing brands.

The only con i see is the perception of Fiat in the common masses which affects the resale value. With the miniscule numbers on the road Fiat's stand out. I am not comparing the brands but i must say BMWs and Benz s are such a common sight in Mumbai that car enthusiasts must be tired of turning their heads seeing one. Fiat is a much rarer sighting.

[VWAllstar]

Originally Posted by bharatbits

Fiat is still a smart choice in 2018. With the Compass becoming a hit, Fiat is here to stay for a while. Vroom Pointe Fiat ASS in Navi Mumbai is good from what i heard and they have been quite helpful regarding a small issue i had with the alignment. Given the long service intervals of 15k kms you can get the car serviced anywhere. My 5000 km service was in Butta Hyd, 15000 kms was in Sky Moto Pune. 30000 kms in a couple of months could be in Mumbai Vroom. My 15k service was under Rs 5k. Expect the next too around the same figure. If you maintain it well i don't think the car needs anything but the scheduled maintenance till atleast a lakh kms. Wear tear parts of the Fiat i found them to be quite cheap compared to competing brands.

The only con i see is the perception of Fiat in the common masses which affects the resale value. With the miniscule numbers on the road Fiat's stand out. I am not comparing the brands but i must say BMWs and Benz s are such a common sight in Mumbai that car enthusiasts must be tired of turning their heads seeing one. Fiat is a much rarer sighting.

Yes. And the design helps to keep the head turned for few more seconds than any other brand.

It is a hit or miss. But the dealers are a pain in the wrong side. Most of them just neglect the father of their growing child -Compass.

Logically yes don't see Fiat going anywhere for few more years. Have heard about the Vroom, so let's see how my experience of buying (if I do) and worshipping it goes.

[arun_josie]

1,70,000 Kms Service Update:

Last week I took my car to FASS to attend a sound coming from front left suspension. But with some discounts going on, I decided to do the Oil/Filter replacement service as well. Now, the SA said that if I am ok, we can do the all fluids replacement service which is due in another 2K Kms(previously done at 1,12,000 Kms).

So, finally ended up doing the major service(60K Duration).

Noise from the front left suspension:

Noise from the front left suspension(while on uneven surface) was resolved after replacing the elastic pad. Here is the pic of the old one showing the wear and tear. This costed Rs.1644/-

During the check-up they found a crack on the gear box mount(C mount). So, I asked them to replace this as well. This costed Rs.1436/-

The clip on the right side indicator was broken. So, got this replaced. This costed Rs.220/-

After this all the fluids/filters were replaced.

Engine Oil/Filter
AC Filter
Air Filter
Transmission Oil
Brake Fluid
Coolant
Steering Oil
Rear brakes were cleaned.

Humming sound from steering:

Since two weeks prior to this service, there was mild humming sound coming while taking sharp "U" turns, especially in my office parking. This sound was coming only when I steer completely to the right or left. And only I was able to pick this sound, even the service guys couldn't. But thankfully, this sound disappeared after the steering oil replacement :-)

Overall, they finished all the jobs in 3 hours time and damages to pocket was 14,912/-

After the service, I took the car to NICE road for a quick test drive and engine felt super smooth. It rained too and made the quick drive even better.

And later the ODO crossed the 1,70,000 Kms mark

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by arun_josie

It rained too and made the quick drive even better

You need rain repellant coating for that windshield. Proklear Nano Water repellant coating was cheap, effective and a simple DIY - but seems to be out of the stock in Amazon.

Originally Posted by arun_josie

And later the ODO crossed the 1,70,000 Kms mark

Congrats!

[blackwasp]

Originally Posted by arun_josie

1,70,000 Kms Service Update:

This reminds me, I need to update my thread... Lots to add since a while now. Great to see the car doing so good. I think a big part of this is due to your good attention to detail and preventive maintenance.

This weekend was fun for me as well. Finally stretched Abarth's legs on a nice trip to Nashik. Also crossed the 45k mark somewhere on the way (no where close to yours but hey, one can always try to catchup) .

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by blackwasp

One can always try to catchup

Forget it. Believe me, I tried!

The moment you feel good about catching up with a long trip - Arun would have completed two supermarket runs across three states and back.