[alexkrish]

Congrats on completing 1k kms. The car seems well maintained and well taken care of.

This is one awesome car and am proud to have had it as my first car too. I drove it for more than five years after which I upgraded to a Polo. I had to sell it off as i moved to Hyderbad from Chennai. One thing that i liked about this car is the Gear box which is very smooth. The 50-50 fold-able seats are very useful. My whole family (especially the older people) like its height-factor very much.

Congrats and Wishing you more happy miles with your Wagon-R!

[Rajesh K R]

Hello T-Bhpians ( Bangalore) Help needed :

I have a wagon-r vxi ( model Nov-2007) which has run about 24k kms. I am happy with the vehicle and only thing which is bothering me is the gear shifting.

The gears are very hard and it is difficult for me to engage 1st gear from 2nd, 4th to 5th and also reverse.

I am getting the vehicle serviced at Girimaji Enterprises, Banashankari, Bangalore, since last 3 years and now i feel this gear shifting issue is not being addressed at all and the stock reply i am getting from them is ' Wagon-R gears are harder than that of Alto & M-800)

Can the Bangalore guys who are using Wagon-R suggest / recommend to me a good service station / mechanic ?

Thanks in advance !!!

[bharathreddyt]

Hey Parag, I'm planning to buy a used Waggie (let me get used to the name!) and I feel much like you w.r.t the roomier feel in this car compared to any in the class. I chose WagonR over the Santros somehow. I hope to find a WagonR Duo in hyderabad. Thanks for the review.

[paragsachania]

Apart from my daily commute to work and back, my usual drives to Pune, Aurangabad, Mumbai and Belur continued over the last few months.

With all these daily errands and some long trips, my faithful Wagon-R has clocked 162000 beyond as on today.

Having done Bangalore-Rajkot in March 2011 in the ANHC, I was keen on taking my WagonR for another trip to Gujarat in October spanning 5000 kms.

The tallboy had done 147,000kms when I visited MASS in September last year with a detailed checklist as below on what needs to be taken care before I embarked upon this journey.

Since the car was reaching a milestone of 150k, it was necessary to ensure that the checklist took care to inspect almost every part of the vehicle.



During a service, I always make it a point to stay along with my car till it gets delivered back to me. I have been following this trend since the day I have visited the service center. This has immensely helped me understand various aspects about the car.

Finally, after an exhaustive day, the following things were replaced as part of the service.


A mechanical component essentially must get replaced as a result of normal wear and tear. The service advisor as well as the mechanics attending my car complimented me on the long life of certain parts which was replaced for the first time (Drive Shafts, Brake Cylinders, Wheel bearings etc and not all of them as pairs). You take care of your car periodically with attention and any car can return the favor by serving you for lakhs of kilometers.

Here are a few pictures taken 2 weeks before to complement the long ownership update. The pictures were captured using my friend's HTC phone and hence the quality might not be to great expectations.

The bumpers have scratches at many places owing to city commute of 70kms on weekdays. I Intend to get them replaced and repainted soon.

The Odometer reading 2 weeks before


I refit the OEM grille after experimenting on a DIY with a mesh grill for a few months.


Another one which captured the right side of my tallboy

The yellow sticker on the RHS headlamp was for my Gujarat drive in Oct-Nov 2011.

The boxy (very practical for me) looking rear.


Another one that also showcases the side from the rear.


I also ordered Arm rest via eBay and fixed that on the center cup-holder console and the color somehow matches my seats quite well. This handrest is greatly helping me over all the long drives undertaken after its fitment.

The snap taken to showcase the installed handrest as a DIY.


Tires
These are my third set of rubber with the OE JKs replaced at 45000 and the Bridgestone S322 which lasted till 1,19,000 and the third one were Michelin XM1+ which are still good to go till at least 1,75,000KMS.



Overall, it has been one memorable, long lasting and a very reliable journey with my workhorse and I can never relate myself with long highway drives if I ignore mentioning about my Wagon-R which has served me all these years without a glitch (apart from a couple of drives in the ANHC).

Critics and experts have always rated this as a pure city car but for me it has always been a companion on all my highway drives mostly spanning more than 1000 kms in a single day. I still remember when we drove to Pune in the ANHC with my parents last year and they had a hard time getting out during our breakfast stop at Ranebennur and it was their first long journey in the ANHC while all the earlier occasions they never had to complain in the Tallboy. I assume the taller sitting position of the tallboy never bothered my parents due to which we could easily do Bangalore-Surat in a single day last year.

How long will I continue this relationship?

There is not a single reason why I should get rid of such a lovey companion. This is one car which stays close to my heart and will always be a part of my parking lot for years to come.

A collage of various pictures of my ever faithful tallboy.

[Catalyst_delhi]

I love this model of the Wagon R. I used to have this. Boy what a car and what reliability!

[motomaverick]

Awesome milage on the car, one thing i didnt understand is that why are you replacing the bumper rather than just paint it, as I dont see any dents but the usual paint scratch.

[paragsachania]

Originally Posted by motomaverick

Awesome milage on the car, one thing i didnt understand is that why are you replacing the bumper rather than just paint it, as I dont see any dents but the usual paint scratch.

Thanks Moto, but the reason I want to replace the bumpers is :

Front - The Plastic Clamps underneath the bumper have cracked owing to a collision to the wall while parking by wifey.

Rear - If you carefully look below the LHS tail lamp on the bumper, you can spot a crack. This was when the rod like crashguard of a Fiero had gone between the left rear tire and the wheel well and tore the bumper. As of now, I have just pasted the cracked part with Feviquick and its just hanging there.

[motomaverick]

Originally Posted by paragsachania

Thanks Moto, but the reason I want to replace the bumpers is :

Front - The Plastic Clamps underneath the bumper have cracked owing to a collision to the wall while parking by wifey.

Rear - If you carefully look below the LHS tail lamp on the bumper, you can spot a crack. This was when the rod like crashguard of a Fiero had gone between the left rear tire and the wheel well and tore the bumper. As of now, I have just pasted the cracked part with Feviquick and its just hanging there.

Ah ok, got that, it was not so much evident on the pictures and I can understand when you say the clamps have cracked as my previous Zen bumper was also fixed the same way and the clamps was broken when it bumped a autorickshaw. This would be easily close to 8k with painting i guess for both bumpers as the factory ones are always black.

[paragsachania]

Originally Posted by motomaverick

Ah ok, got that, it was not so much evident on the pictures and I can understand when you say the clamps have cracked as my previous Zen bumper was also fixed the same way and the clamps was broken when it bumped a autorickshaw. This would be easily close to 8k with painting i guess for both bumpers as the factory ones are always black.

True. I once wanted to replace just the rear as it had a big dent at the same spot where the crack is. But folks in Pune did a great job by heat treatment and pulled out the dent quite well.

I am planning to buy the bumpers myself from ESSAR (MGP) and then take them to Hassan where I have a friend who runs a MASS to get it painted at his paintshop. I am hoping it should work out a little cheaper for me at least in terms of labor as I don't think I will claim it via insurance which I haven't since the past 6 years of ownership.

[Rajat]

Hi, I myself am using my B-I-L's 2006 (50K Kms) Wagon-R for the last 1 year. The whole experience has been nice so far.

What I like about the car:

• Responsive Engine; never runs out of steam. You just need to slot in the right gear at the right time and there's ample power available at hand
• In Cabin space is absolutely great right from the front seat to the boot
• Driving position is perfect.
• Reclining rear seats and cuppy holes all around add to the practicality
• Precise gear shift (Though many people have a different opinion about this)
• Maruti Suzuki badge assurance that there is not much that can go wrong

What I would have liked if made better:

• Stiffer suspension and bigger & wider; The car bounces a lot on undulated with the second row occupied. Also, high speed cornering has a bit under steer to it
• Better EPS. The steering becomes very vague at speeds above 80kmph
• Height adjustable seats
• Better in-cabin and outside rear view mirror. The OEM mirrors provide a very restricting view. Though I have replaced the ORVMs with the Type III prism shaped mirrors, couldn't find a suitable replacement solution for the in-cabin mirror

The bitter bits:

• Ever since I have acquired this car, it is plagued with a noisy front suspension. Both Sturts, Gear mount , Shocker Sheath and left bone-joint have been replaced and the mechanic kept the car for 4 days and charged 5k, the noise has just been partially reduced. Went to MASS where they gave a quote of 18-20 K!!!!! I walked out as fast as could, sat in my car and promised myself never to go to MASS ever again!!

As far as my satisfaction with the car is concerned, I was slated to buy a new car and this car was like just a stop gap for a couple of months. Its been a year now and I still haven't parted with it. I guess that says it all.

[Chitta Pradhan]

Congratulations on doing 162k on your Wagon-R. I have a very sweet experience of 6 yrs. & 43k of ownership of the 2005 model LXI Wagon-R. I let it go in 2011 & upgraded to Verna Fluidic. I still miss my Wagon-R. Very easy to drive, comfy on long drive & city, Small & practical package from Maruti. On Kolkata City, I used to get FE of around 12.5 kmpl with 100% AC. On highway with 100% AC, the FE was 16-17 kmpl @ 80-100kmph, 13.5 kmpl @ 120-130 kmph. Did not break down once during my association with the car. Upto 90/100 kmph, the engine was very refined & beyond 110-120 kmph the coarseness was very evident.

Thanks

[selfdrive]

Congrats on the milestone and wish you many a safe mile ahead together!

I had a Wagon R duo for about a year but had to let her go as I was not around for a few years. I still miss the convenience of driving position offered by the Wagon R in the city. In a way the Nano does that too, but its way bumpier

Nevertheless, glad to see a well maintained car and hope to see further milestones: 200K, 300K,..
I am sure at some point Maruti will ask you to feature in their advertisements too, if they havent already

[aroop]

Hey Parag,

I must congratulate you for maintaining the vehicle so well. I am inspired with your DIY procedures, hence have the following questions for my 2007 Waggie Vxi which has done some 43k.

- How to open the engine bay to replace the spark plugs? Any special tool required?
- You have well compensated for the lack of provision to fit the rear speakers. Are these boxes removable? I want to ensure I don't run out of space during long drives.
- I want to replace the OEM horn as it tends to struggle these days. Do you suggest bosch? Can I do a DIY?

Thanks for your inputs.
Aroop

[paragsachania]

Originally Posted by selfdrive

Congrats on the milestone and wish you many a safe mile ahead together!
I am sure at some point Maruti will ask you to feature in their advertisements too, if they havent already

Thanks Selfdrive, I am sure it will be only a matter of few months when she hits the 200k mark as she is on 174,xxx kms as of today. I further would like to update my LTO once the Odo reads 1.75L this weekend. Not sure about Maruti but my Service advisors do praise the drive worthiness of this stock engine even today that I am usually happy to listen to.

In fact, you know about my GQ Drive past month where this car performed fantastically at its age under extreme weather and continuous driving conditions lasting 31 hours some times and with full blast of the AC!! I don't think I will ever ask anything more out of this car and no questions on its reliability aspects even as of today.

My mantra has been preventive maintenance and its worked well so far.

Originally Posted by aroop

Hey Parag,
I must congratulate you for maintaining the vehicle so well. I am inspired with your DIY procedures, hence have the following questions for my 2007 Waggie Vxi which has done some 43k.

Thanks Aroop, I am glad if I can help you in any manner on the DIYs I have listed in earlier posts.

- How to open the engine bay to replace the spark plugs? Any special tool required?

1. Open the Bonnet
2. Disconnect the negative terminal of the battery
3. Loosen the bolts (4 Nos) on the Ignitor coils and pull them one by one
4. Remove the Air Filter assembly
5. Remove the spark plugs one by one
6. Clean and refit/replace the spark plugs and fix the Ignitor coil and Air filter assembly back
7. Connect the negative terminal back + Tighten the nut
8. Start the car and let it idle for 8-10 minutes and continue to drive as usual.

Note: I will upload the DIY pics of the whole task over this weekend along with the tools used.

- You have well compensated for the lack of provision to fit the rear speakers. Are these boxes removable? I want to ensure I don't run out of space during long drives.

Yes, they are removable. They are simply resting in the boot and I take them off depending on how much luggage I have. Later on, I have added boxes underneath the front seats for 6.5" speakers and hence the absence of the rear boxes doesn't matter much for me over long drives.

- I want to replace the OEM horn as it tends to struggle these days. Do you suggest bosch? Can I do a DIY?

Thanks for your inputs.
Aroop

Why not simply ask the ASC to fit additional OEM Horn along with the existing one with a relay? I am using this paired set-up since 4 years without problems and on highways, the intensity is more than enough.

Hope this helps.

[selfdrive]

Originally Posted by paragsachania

In fact, you know about my GQ Drive past month where this car performed fantastically at its age under extreme weather and continuous driving conditions lasting 31 hours some times and with full blast of the AC!! I don't think I will ever ask anything more out of this car and no questions on its reliability aspects even as of today.

My mantra has been preventive maintenance and its worked well so far.

Thanks Aroop, I am glad if I can help you in any manner on the DIYs I have listed in earlier posts.

Have you put up the details for your GQ drive and the front handrest DIY? Would appreciate the links if its not on this LTO, and some more posts if you havent detailed these already!