[honeybee]

I checked out the MRP on one of the shocks today: 2250/- Four shocks should therefore be around 9k. The kit would probably take it up to 10k. The shocks are without springs. The original springs will be mounted on them. So the only things being replaced are the shocks and the kits. The springs or the lower arm assembly or the joints are all fine.

Labour quoted for the suspension work was Rs. 1200/-, so the total would be under 12k.

I am having some problem with my own thread (the last page doesn't open), so I am posting this info here as well.

[dhanushs]

Originally Posted by honeybee

I checked out the MRP on one of the shocks today: 2250/- Four shocks should therefore be around 9k. The kit would probably take it up to 10k. The shocks are without springs. The original springs will be mounted on them. So the only things being replaced are the shocks and the kits. The springs or the lower arm assembly or the joints are all fine.

Labour quoted for the suspension work was Rs. 1200/-, so the total would be under 12k.

Honeybee, these price quotes are are actually expensive than OE parts. OE shocks cost 1700 each. Also, a complete front shock and spring remove and install cost me just 200 bucks.

Lets just hope he does a good job.

EDIT: Even I cant access your thread. May be you can report it to a mod?

[honeybee]

Which brand are the OE shocks? I have heard Monroe are a good brand.

Mind you, I may not necessarily have to pay the MRP

I am sure the mech will do a good job, and regarding the price, there really isn't much choice too. Besides the mech handles most of the work on both my cars, so he is likely to pay back in kind. Btw, when did you get the shocks changed?

I am waiting for one of the mods to reply to my post in the Suggestions thread. If that doesn't happen today I shall report the thread to a mod to look into the problem.

[benbsb29]

I'd mentioned about how the Ikon gave up when wifey was using it. As i had predicted, it was the battery which was dying, at close to 5 years of owing the car.

I took it to Lathangi Ford (as the Ford OEM battery is cheaper ) and asked them to replace the battery. They first checked the cranking voltage, which was only about 8V and then proceeded to replace the battery. They spent about 20 mins just sourcing the battery from their store!

The battery was replaced and it came to about 2800 bucks, with about 300 bucks as labour plus taxes.

They weren't willing to offer anything for the old battery, so i took it with me and gave it to Sejal Motors who offered me 400 bucks for it in return.

That aside, the car seems to be in good health and is being used by wifey once in a while for her office commutes.

[honeybee]

Wow, so there's something you get cheaper as OEM than aftermarket, and that too a battery! I need to remember that.

[benbsb29]

The Farewell

Every legend needs a proper farewell. So here is the one dedicated to Mike – shortened christening for MyIkon.



Earlier this month, after a life spanning 13 years, Mike was laid to rest. On a more technical level, was sold to scrap in Kerala.



It can be argued that there was still life in him, but various niggles popping up, as well as the fact that it was a KA registered vehicle meant that trying to trade it in was a difficult prospect. Add to the mix the fact that the car is registered in my wife’s name, and she isn’t around in KL to sign the documents etc, and the equation adds up. The dismal resale helped make the decision that it was easier to scrap it, rather than invest in the effort to sell/trade it.



What this car has given us cannot be confined to a few words. It was our first car after we get married, took us places some would dread taking a sedan, and when our daughter was born, it was around to bring her home. I still remember the trip we made from KL to Bangalore, when our daughter was barely 2 months old, where our daughter slept comfortably while the Ikon did the 600 odd kms at some good speeds. Such was the stability it had on the highways where it masked speeds and made you always feel in control.



The Ikon was how I discovered Team-BHP, made friends to last a lifetime and a community that I count on. It was the start of many beautiful events in our life and travels that we cherish. We visited many places in South India, it clambered up any place we threw at it, almost negating the need for a SUV. We took it wave bashing at the beach, climbing loose rock to access some relative’s place atop a hill and so on. It kept going.

Looking back, one would be presented with the obvious question, “Would you do it again?” The answer would still be a Yes.

Sure, the resale would have helped avoid its current fate, parts not failing would help bolster its reliability image, and many more things that could be better. However, the decision to get the Ikon was made knowing that it would be a long termer, and to that extent it has served its purpose in style.

The ignition coil was notorious for failing, which was an infamous Ikon trait. The AC condenser valve was another pain point, which I fixed(??) by bypassing the heater. This meant the heater could never be used, which kinda worked for us being in the southern regions. The good part was that all these were common problems with documented solutions, so there was never a downtime in trouble shooting or getting a resolution.

I scanned through this thread to find some memories that defined the legacy of Mike, and the impact it had on our lives. Thank you, and sayonara!

At Muzhapilangad beach in Kannur





At Coorg



Day 1 - Taking delivery



Nandi Hills





At Ooty



On some random drive

[Jaggu]

Sweet ode to mike!

Now that I read it, even ours was queit a bag full of memories, though I had it only for 7 years. iKON had character; Honda had an amazing engine with that VTec but I was not convinced, then came the bad boy Josh machine with 1.6 engine �� and rest was history.

So what replaces Mike?

[GTO]

The end of an " icon" .

Such a sweet farewell, Benny! The car was lucky to have you as an owner. Can't resist saying this = wish you'd bought a 1.6 though.

Originally Posted by benbsb29

while the Ikon did the 600 odd kms at some good speeds. Such was the stability it had on the highways where it masked speeds and made you always feel in control.

You can say that again! Quite the handler of its time. In fact, the Ikon gave Ford its fun-to-drive image in India. On the other hand, the brakes were .

[dhanushs]

oh boy! Its literally the end of this thread. Yours and Parwarth's are two iKon's I had a connection with.

The most fun I have had in a car was the iKon. Mainly because, 10 years back, the entire scene was very different. Even by today's standards, the iKon was one of the best handlers. It even gobbled up the potholes really well. Sadly my car is also sold.

Here's to moving on..

[benbsb29]

Originally Posted by Jaggu

Sweet ode to mike!

Now that I read it, even ours was queit a bag full of memories, though I had it only for 7 years. iKON had character; Honda had an amazing engine with that VTec but I was not convinced, then came the bad boy Josh machine with 1.6 engine �� and rest was history.

So what replaces Mike?

Thanks Jaggu. I completely agree with the 'having character' part of the Ikon. I bought this car for 5.5 lakhs, Bangalore prices including the extended warranty. For that price, it was a lot of car, not to forget the josh aspect, despite the 1.3L engine.

From one Ford to the next. The replacement is an Ecosport Titanium+ TDCi, which came home a day ago. FIL who has been using the Ikon for the past few years was so impressed with the Ford handling and sturdiness that no other car impressed him as much as the Ecosport did, when looking for the upgrade.

Originally Posted by GTO

The end of an " icon" .

Such a sweet farewell, Benny! The car was lucky to have you as an owner. Can't resist saying this = wish you'd bought a 1.6 though.

You can say that again! Quite the handler of its time. In fact, the Ikon gave Ford its fun-to-drive image in India. On the other hand, the brakes were .

Thanks Rush. Realised how much it meant to us when at the same time i posted this tribute here, wifey was posting something similar on her Instagram account. It was uncanny!

The 1.6 came with the dismal FE tag, so at that point the 1.3 seemed like a decent trade off. Also to be considered that i was not a Team-BHP member at that time, and also the fact that the 1.6 would be beyond my budget at that point.

Originally Posted by dhanushs

oh boy! Its literally the end of this thread. Yours and Parwarth's are two iKon's I had a connection with.

The most fun I have had in a car was the iKon. Mainly because, 10 years back, the entire scene was very different. Even by today's standards, the iKon was one of the best handlers. It even gobbled up the potholes really well. Sadly my car is also sold.

Here's to moving on..

I agree. This thread has not been updated since 2011, which is the year i got the Scorpio, although the Ikon continued to exist with us as the second car being used by my wife.

Potholes, surface changes, twistes.. the Ikon took it all in its stride. IMHO, with the Fiesta, Ford went in for a slightly more comfortable package, but the Ikon was just raw handling.

Between, didnt know you sold your Ikon. I have benefitted a lot from your DIY threads on it.

[kiku007]

You have held on to the Ford Ikon much longer than Ford India cared for that nameplate.

The 1.3L ROCAM engine had 73BHP I think. So much more fun than the 120 or so horses in our Aspire 1.5L petrol. The Ikon made me smile and cry at the same time. Things will fail so quite often that I have a rule not to hold on to a Ford after it's out of warranty.

Good to know that the replacement is from the Ford family. I'm sure your family will like the Ecosport.

Sadly the Ikon and cars of similar nature are increasingly becoming a thing of the past.

[V.Narayan]

bensb29, touching post. Gorgeous colour of the car. And BTW mate you don't look a day older today than you did in 2007!!! 29 forever

[benbsb29]

Originally Posted by kiku007

You have held on to the Ford Ikon much longer than Ford India cared for that nameplate.

The 1.3L ROCAM engine had 73BHP I think. So much more fun than the 120 or so horses in our Aspire 1.5L petrol. The Ikon made me smile and cry at the same time. Things will fail so quite often that I have a rule not to hold on to a Ford after it's out of warranty.

Good to know that the replacement is from the Ford family. I'm sure your family will like the Ecosport.

As far as my Ikon ownership experience goes, the parts most problem prone are the ignition coil and ac valve. Although i didnt face it myself, wifey had the alternator too fail once when she was driving. While it was clearly not perfect, i guess it would be fair to say the joys outweighed the negatives. With localisation, costs of spares too came down over the years which was some solace.

Originally Posted by kiku007

Sadly the Ikon and cars of similar nature are increasingly becoming a thing of the past.

That's so true. These days most cars seem to drive like each other, it's almost hard to tell the difference.

Originally Posted by V.Narayan

bensb29, touching post. Gorgeous colour of the car. And BTW mate you don't look a day older today than you did in 2007!!! 29 forever

Thanks Narayan. We went in planning to buy the silver shade, and seeing this color called Jewel Violet, we instantly decided this is what we wanted.

As for the looks part.. photos dont tell the whole story!

[WhiteKnight]

Your car had the unique violet colour, very easy to spot in traffic. I remember we exchanging the very first team-bhp stickers, which were basic red colour cut outs.

Funny, you were checking out my Esteem that day and made a statement, that Ikon is indeed more spacious !

It is unbelievable you maintained it so far, that too in Kerala.

[benbsb29]

Originally Posted by WhiteKnight

Your car had the unique violet colour, very easy to spot in traffic. I remember we exchanging the very first team-bhp stickers, which were basic red colour cut outs.

Funny, you were checking out my Esteem that day and made a statement, that Ikon is indeed more spacious !

It is unbelievable you maintained it so far, that too in Kerala.

Hey mate, good to hear from you, after ages! I agree about the color of my Ikon, which stood out from afar. It was instantly recognizable too, and had a chance to meet a few Team-BHPians that way, on the roads.

I vividly remember that time we met as well, including the sticker exchange. Do you still have the Esteem?