Maruti Baleno 50,000 km ownership report | Jack of all trades, master of some | EDIT: Sold!

puneetakhouri · 30th November 2021, 15:17

Door Fabric Replacement
So a couple of months back I saw the left front door fabric giving up which was stuck with glue back then, but recently I saw my driver side door panel also giving up

Maruti Baleno 50,000 km ownership report | Jack of all trades, master of some | EDIT: Sold!-torn_door_fabric.jpeg

I thought that this is it and I will get it replaced with art leather and get rid of this problem once and for all. Talked to a local accessory guy in Goregaon west who had replaced my seat covers and he had side fabrics in similar design as my seat covers. So I went there to get the replacement done and the guys immediately went ahead and started removing all the door panels. He was also recommending getting the damping done @ 2500 per door with some tar like material from Krossfire. But given that I had recently seen the post by Shashi and the way he dampened his car, I thought I will hold on to this for the time being.

Maruti Baleno 50,000 km ownership report | Jack of all trades, master of some | EDIT: Sold!-removed_door_panels.jpg

Door panels removed

Maruti Baleno 50,000 km ownership report | Jack of all trades, master of some | EDIT: Sold!-plastic_damping.jpg

Note the cheap plastic damping provided with the vehicle. Don't see any benefit of this apart from waterproofing.

Maruti Baleno 50,000 km ownership report | Jack of all trades, master of some | EDIT: Sold!-gluing_door_plastic.jpg

The guys tore out the old door fabric. The driver side door's cloth lining on which the fabric is put was also in a bad shape so they pulled out the liner from the driver side door. For the remaining doors, the liner was reused.

Maruti Baleno 50,000 km ownership report | Jack of all trades, master of some | EDIT: Sold!-gluing_fabric.jpg

Gluing the new material.

Maruti Baleno 50,000 km ownership report | Jack of all trades, master of some | EDIT: Sold!-final_finish.jpg

Final finish, overall looks nice.

Maruti Baleno 50,000 km ownership report | Jack of all trades, master of some | EDIT: Sold!-final_matches_seat.jpg

Why the cross stitching someone asked. Well it matches my seat cover doesn't it

Cost It costed me 2100/- including labour and everything. I think it is a bit on the higher side but I personally find it wasteful to burn a couple of litres of fuel just looking for another shop which gives another 200-300 discount.

Final Comments We all praise the reliability that a Maruti provides, but the number of issues that the new crop of Maruti vehicles are having is very very surprising. Just scroll up on my thread and you can see the huge list of issues that I have faced and this makes me wonder that apart from the engine, what else is reliable in a Maruti anymore. As consumers in India it is so disappointing to see that we can either have a reliable car or a safe car but not both together. And this is such a basic ask and requirement.

puneetakhouri · 30th January 2022, 10:34

Annual Service
Anybody from Mumbai and who has got his Maruti vehicle serviced from Shivam Autozone would know how big a pain they are when it comes to cold calling. While their work has always been good but they are too pestering. All the policy sellers, loan providers are kids when it comes to cold calling menace that Shivam is.

They had been literally pestering me since October to get my car service even when the service was due in January '22. Also in this last year also the coverage has hardly been 5000kms.

I was scheduled to go for the 70k kms / annual pms and anyone who knows the Maruti service schedule knows that Maruti recommends oil change every 10k kms and other fluid changes every 20k kms. So this service was only oil change as I had already gotten the other fluids changed during last pms in January '21.
Adding to it the sheer frustration caused by cold calling by Shivam, I decided to get everything changed outside locally.

Went to the nearby MGP store, bought the 0w20 synthetic oil by Ecstar and the oil filter and went to the local shop who charged 200/- and changed the oil.

Maruti Baleno 50,000 km ownership report | Jack of all trades, master of some | EDIT: Sold!-20220115_174528.jpg

Ecstar MGO 0w20 synthetic oil.

Maruti Baleno 50,000 km ownership report | Jack of all trades, master of some | EDIT: Sold!-20220115_174532_hdr.jpg

Priced at 1500/-

Maruti Baleno 50,000 km ownership report | Jack of all trades, master of some | EDIT: Sold!-20220115_174508_hdr.jpg

Adding oil the old fashioned way using a cut bottle as funnel.

As expected Shivam guys called again the next day asking me to come for service. I could feel the disappointment in the voice when I said I got it done outside.
Note- While I know that this outside service would create a gap in my car's service record, but I would go for the next service with the dealer anyways so I am not bothered much. Also during the test drives of various vehicles that I undertook last year and got my car evaluated, none of the evaluators ask for service records.

puneetakhouri · 18th February 2024, 15:15

Sold
Sorry for the thread being dead for a long time. But I sold the car to my friend last year February for 4 lacs. The car is still in my circle and I keep driving it frequently.
The reason for selling was the build quality and because of my extensive highway trips with family wanted something sturdy and went for a used Safari Storme which is an adventure of its own.

I really miss the fuss free ownership of the Baleno and the memories we had together.
Attaching pics of the old and new vehicles together.

30th November 2021, 15:17	#61
puneetakhouri BHPian Join Date: May 2016 Location: MH03/JH01 Posts: 241 Thanked: 825 Times	re: Maruti Baleno 50,000 km ownership report \| Jack of all trades, master of some \| EDIT: Sold! Door Fabric Replacement So a couple of months back I saw the left front door fabric giving up which was stuck with glue back then, but recently I saw my driver side door panel also giving up I thought that this is it and I will get it replaced with art leather and get rid of this problem once and for all. Talked to a local accessory guy in Goregaon west who had replaced my seat covers and he had side fabrics in similar design as my seat covers. So I went there to get the replacement done and the guys immediately went ahead and started removing all the door panels. He was also recommending getting the damping done @ 2500 per door with some tar like material from Krossfire. But given that I had recently seen the post by Shashi and the way he dampened his car, I thought I will hold on to this for the time being. Door panels removed Note the cheap plastic damping provided with the vehicle. Don't see any benefit of this apart from waterproofing. The guys tore out the old door fabric. The driver side door's cloth lining on which the fabric is put was also in a bad shape so they pulled out the liner from the driver side door. For the remaining doors, the liner was reused. Gluing the new material. Final finish, overall looks nice. Why the cross stitching someone asked. Well it matches my seat cover doesn't it Cost It costed me 2100/- including labour and everything. I think it is a bit on the higher side but I personally find it wasteful to burn a couple of litres of fuel just looking for another shop which gives another 200-300 discount. Final Comments We all praise the reliability that a Maruti provides, but the number of issues that the new crop of Maruti vehicles are having is very very surprising. Just scroll up on my thread and you can see the huge list of issues that I have faced and this makes me wonder that apart from the engine, what else is reliable in a Maruti anymore. As consumers in India it is so disappointing to see that we can either have a reliable car or a safe car but not both together. And this is such a basic ask and requirement.
	(7) Thanks

30th January 2022, 10:34	#62
puneetakhouri BHPian Join Date: May 2016 Location: MH03/JH01 Posts: 241 Thanked: 825 Times	re: Maruti Baleno 50,000 km ownership report \| Jack of all trades, master of some \| EDIT: Sold! Annual Service Anybody from Mumbai and who has got his Maruti vehicle serviced from Shivam Autozone would know how big a pain they are when it comes to cold calling. While their work has always been good but they are too pestering. All the policy sellers, loan providers are kids when it comes to cold calling menace that Shivam is. They had been literally pestering me since October to get my car service even when the service was due in January '22. Also in this last year also the coverage has hardly been 5000kms. I was scheduled to go for the 70k kms / annual pms and anyone who knows the Maruti service schedule knows that Maruti recommends oil change every 10k kms and other fluid changes every 20k kms. So this service was only oil change as I had already gotten the other fluids changed during last pms in January '21. Adding to it the sheer frustration caused by cold calling by Shivam, I decided to get everything changed outside locally. Went to the nearby MGP store, bought the 0w20 synthetic oil by Ecstar and the oil filter and went to the local shop who charged 200/- and changed the oil. Ecstar MGO 0w20 synthetic oil. Priced at 1500/- Adding oil the old fashioned way using a cut bottle as funnel. As expected Shivam guys called again the next day asking me to come for service. I could feel the disappointment in the voice when I said I got it done outside. Note- While I know that this outside service would create a gap in my car's service record, but I would go for the next service with the dealer anyways so I am not bothered much. Also during the test drives of various vehicles that I undertook last year and got my car evaluated, none of the evaluators ask for service records.
	(4) Thanks

18th February 2024, 15:15	#63
puneetakhouri BHPian Join Date: May 2016 Location: MH03/JH01 Posts: 241 Thanked: 825 Times	re: Maruti Baleno 50,000 km ownership report \| Jack of all trades, master of some \| EDIT: Sold! Sold Sorry for the thread being dead for a long time. But I sold the car to my friend last year February for 4 lacs. The car is still in my circle and I keep driving it frequently. The reason for selling was the build quality and because of my extensive highway trips with family wanted something sturdy and went for a used Safari Storme which is an adventure of its own. I really miss the fuss free ownership of the Baleno and the memories we had together. Attaching pics of the old and new vehicles together.
	(1) Thanks