Alto 2003-June, (LPG-2006, June); 45000Kms Hello T-BHP'ians, This is my story of the first car in my family.
It was around May-03 when I decided on the Alto LX.
One thing I followed strictly from day1; drive per the manual for first 10K kms at least. I never crossed 60 till 5K. I did not bother for a ICE till first 3 months. I did not have the cash for it. Then I got a Pioneer cassette player with 2 rears 6*9 coaxial on the 5th door. I was satisfied with it.
In the first year did a few long drives with a hired driver (mom's idea) for my help. Drivers just think of the car as public transport. Each one used to drive differently; I used to keep shouting, "Shift to 5th, shift to 5th".
List of Mis (deeds) through Drivers -
1) driver was going towards west on a sunny evening, I was right behind him in the rear, I saw a herd of sheep crossing the highway a few hundred meters ahead of us, I kept shouting “sheep, sheep” and he was straining his eyes and asking where, where. Then a BANG, I turned back and saw a white furred animal flying high and landing with a thud, next thing I said was “go to 3rd, go to 3rd” and I ordered him to rip off. Alto got a small dent above right headlight, still drive with it.
2) Another driver, midnight, Drove over a 1 feet * 2-3 Inches dia firewood lying on the road, blind driver did not see it. Idiot, underbody got a tiny dent, luckily all fuel lines and cat’ survived it.
3) Worst one, driver with mom and dad, (I was in office), ran over a TVS excel in a busy intersection. Luckily rider jumped and escaped, Running board below driver side got major damage. Dad paid 2000 to the rider; I ended up paying 3000 for the dent work.
That evening saw a Kurukshetra in my home. Since that day, no one has ever touched my car (except the ones my mechanic’s test drive it after service)
Initial 2 years saw nearly 20K kms with all the service done on TIME. One thing about Maruti; everything is cheap and nothing breaks or fails to work. I hardly changed/replaced anything beyond what the manual recommends. I was using regular petrol all the time and averaged between 17-20 FE; very nice car on that front. Major mods till that time period included changing to 90/100 headlights with cutouts and highway roots horns and a reverse horn, and seat covers. That’s it, nothing else.
Then my work needed a better transport and sometime in late 2005 saw many cars in my town modded with LPG kits. I began my research and discussions with many people near and far and finally decided I will end up spending the 20K needed for the open ended Lovato Kit. It was June 2006, after a trip to Ooty, decided fuel bills were reaching sky high and its time I take the LPG plunge. I got it installed at around 25K kms on the ODO.
2007 was the time I actually spent the MOST of my money on my car. Around 30K I got the entire clutch kit replaced, cost me nearly 4000Rs. Then got the front 2 lower arms also replaced (2000Rs), 4 wheels brake shoe set (2K may be). Many services done in 2007, ‘3’ I guess. I hate the 5000km service cycle in Alto. The LPG Kit was great except it ate off the entire boot space. I got the big 45 Liter tank taking up all the boot space. So 2007 gave me major discomfort on my long drives with mum and dad. The entire time mum ended up with the luggage as her co passenger.
I averaged a good 15K km during late 06 and whole 2007, thanks to the LPG savings. Around 40K on the ODO I got all the fluids in the car replaced for the 1st time, spent around 6000Rs for that service. But frankly, until the TATA NANO hits the road, nothing can come cheaper to the ownership cost of an Alto or 800 series from Maruti.
After 45000 Kms on the ODO, I have not experienced a SINGLE puncture till date; I have followed all the rotation cycles correctly. Though the last 10K kms; the car has seen many abuses after I began to drive fast and apply heavy braking. I also get the balancing and alignment done at 3 months intervals. 700Rs Odd is definitely worth in an aging car.
After Jan 2008 began a Avid reader of tBHP and slowly understood the basics of a good ICE and on March 1st 2008, got my Alto ICE’ed up with Pioneer 3050 HU, JBL 937 6*9 coaxial in the rear, JBL 427 in the front, and a Sony ZR602 AMP and Scosche wiring all around.
Also I wanted to experiment with the Mandovi motors Turbo fan, and I am very impressed with the change in power and FE. I think I will retain it until I face some issues.
Tires slowly started to fade; I still a good 1MM of thread. Oh, and the battery; still working great, original Exide battery that came with the car.
This is my experience with the Alto.
PS
After 5 years, I am feeling the need for a bigger car with better leg room. I am slowly looking at the Indigo CS way. Not sure when I will take the plunge. Cant afford any other sedan currently. |