[ravi_23]

@bullit, condor, sierrakamat

Thanks a lot for all your valuable inputs, it has help me a lot in deciding the fate of the purple sierra and me. I have decided to move on from this purple sierra and will hunting for other sierras (though some part of my mind still keeps thinking about it )


Today i graduated from a newbie to a "bhpian" feels good, as I no longer have to wait for my posts to get approved and also I can send PMs


Today sent private messages to few sierra owners from bangalore asking them to help me get another lead.

[condor]

@Ravi, heard of one White 2001 model Turbo, 3 owners so far. Third owner has got the engine & g/b worked on recently. Said to be in fair condition. Currently quoting about 1.4 - 1.5L, but can negotiate a bit. Vehicle is in Belgaum dist, and was originally a KA 17 register.

Would you be intrested ? Current owner is known to my cousin.

[ravi_23]

@Condor

That is a really nice news. Number of owners is not an issue as long as the vehicle is in good condition, since I will keep the vehicle with myself.

Main thing is that the vehicle is in belgaum, so it will be difficult for me to go and check the vehicle there. Does the owner come to bangalore, say once in a while? So that I can see the vehicle and its condition.


Else second option is you can ask your cousin to get some pictures of inside and out of the vehicle, so that we all can have a look and get some idea about the vehicle. Also if your cousin can see the vehicle and check its vital components in free time, that would be really helpful. Upon his green signal I can come down to belgaum for a final check up and fix the deal.


Price as you said, can be negotiated as per the vehicle's condition.


Regarding the registration, I guess transferring the KA17 vehicle to bangalore(jayanagar KA05 rto) will be same as say transferring a KA01 to jayanagar rto. If not then please throw some light on it

[condor]

@Ravi, have asked for the pics, so let us wait for that. Owner does not come to BLR, and the reason for sale is low usage. The engine work was also recently done.

I have asked my cousin to try for the pics & will ask him to check it again. If things look fine, then you can make a trip over & take it up from there.

Reg regn num, the KA-17 number will remain. Just that it will be transferred from current RTO to your home area RTO. We can take that up later.

[ravi_23]

@Condor

Thanks a lot, I really appreciate your effort


Please tell your cousin to throughly check the vehicle including rust and any accidental damage, as only upon his words I will come down there. Also please do tell him to see the kms run.

Once more thing, "engine and gb work" means:

1) Overhauling the engine and gb, also reboring and freshly assembling the same.

or

2) Changing all the vital fluids and tuning the engine and gb.

I am confused between the above two.

@Condor, Bullit, Sierrakamat

I am a complete novice regarding the engine and its work, so please bear with me and help me choose a good Sierra

[Bullitt]

@ ravi:

I think its probably option #1 you mentioned, but condor may be able to throw more light on that once his cousin has inspected the vehicle thoroughly and talked to the seller.

Don't worry, condor is a hardcore diesel-head; going by his Sumo ownership thread, I would say you are in very safe hands.

- Bullitt

[ravi_23]

Met a friend of mine today and he has a Sierra Non Turbo back at home, according to him the sierras have a problem of pick up in climbing sharp turns in hills. Is that really true? I have seen tons of sumos climbing hair pin turns effortlessly in the ghats, so I feel that the sierra should also be able to climb up the sharp turns.


Experts please comment, as I will be travelling to many hilly areas with my sierra.

Thanks

[sierrakamat]

the sierra non turbo does have issues climbing up ghats "effortlessly" but that problem disappears when you switch on the" nitrous " that is actually switch off the ac.
of the 5 sierras that i owned over a span of 15 years only one was turbo and believe me there were no problems of any nature climbing any thing i do the mumbai goa runs every 3 months only YOU will have to apply your skill a little more in being in the right gear at the right time.
infact with your budget it would make more sense for you to go in for a well maintained non turbo vehicle which should come for under 60 k leaving you with a sizeable amount of money towards maintainence.

[ravi_23]

@sierrakamat

Thanks for the information regarding the climbing capability of sierra. I suppose the turbo sierra will obviously be able to climb up sharp ghats as compared to the non turbo, because of the additional bhp. So that is a relief. Also as you mentioned, proper shifting of gears is the key


I will go for a turbo version only because of its obvious benefits. Regarding my budget, I guess I should be able to manage to manage a decent turbo with this budget. And I will restore it completely with small baby steps at a time.


@Condor

Awaiting eagerly for updates regarding the sierra, and to see its pictures.



Today got a call from a dealer(used car showroom opposite to forum) regarding a turbo sierra. So went down to see the vehicle. It is a 98 model turbo. Maroon colour, 3 owners, 1.5L kms run, all the window beadings are almost gone, seats and interiors are even worse and has rust all over the body. To top it up, price was 1.5Lakhs negotiable. Didn't even start the vehicle and told to look for better vehicles in future and quote realistic prices.

[siddvi]

@Ravi
Atleast with the turbo, the pick up in the hills is not a problem. Its got the juice. I recently did a 1500KM round trip(5 adults+ loaded luggage) to Kukke, Dharmastala, Horandu, Udupi, Gokarna, etc and didn't notice any pickup lacking in the ghats/hills even with the AC running.

Originally Posted by ravi_23

Met a friend of mine today and he has a Sierra Non Turbo back at home, according to him the sierras have a problem of pick up in climbing sharp turns in hills. Is that really true? I have seen tons of sumos climbing hair pin turns effortlessly in the ghats, so I feel that the sierra should also be able to climb up the sharp turns.


Experts please comment, as I will be travelling to many hilly areas with my sierra.

Thanks

[Saptarshi B]

And I join team-bhp after a couple of months! Good to know the discussions are still on.

ravi 23; I have seen this purple sierra. I met the fellow at the workshop where Sierra Kamat has helped me and Bullit get our Sierras reworked. This is 1-2 months ago when my Sierra was in the workshop. He stopped on the road looking at a Sierra at the workshop. I had a look at his vehicle and yes it is very different from the pics that have been posted. The condition of his vehicle does not warrant a price tag of 1.5 lacs ! Anyway good to know that you have decided to look at other vehicles.

As always Doc Kamat can provide the best information.

Doc Kamat; My Sierra is back at the workshop. There was some pending work for the Sierra and I should be getting it back today. Given the rains, Its just in time to park my Bullet in the garage and start my office drive on the Sierra.

Bullit how is your Sierra behaving ? Any more trips to Bombay scheduled ? Where Has kaustubh disappeared with his 4x4 Sierra !?

[Bullitt]

Hey Saptarshi, Glad to have you back after a long hiatus! Hows the rejuvenated Sierra doing man? You never posted complete pics of the car once the work was completed.

The purple Sierra you are referring to is different from the one Ravi saw; you are referring to this Mumbai car:

http://classifieds.team-bhp.com/buy-...a/Sierra.html/

Ravi has seen a different, but similar coloured Sierra Turbo in Bangalore.

I had been offered this Mumbai car by it's second owner (based in Kandivali) for 85K before I bought the one I have now; believe me, it was just a "chalti ka naam gaadi". The engine has back-compression, it's got rust all over, it's leaking water everywhere inside the cabin, and the owner had attempted to seal the leaks with white M-Seal . The passenger side door had a fist-sized dent in it. The body line was also el-finito. Guddu the mechanic had evaluated the car and rejected it outright.

I think the vehicle subsequently got sold and changed hands. The new owner seems to have given some cosmetic "laali-powder" treatment to the car, including dent removal (you can clearly make out the different-shade repainted passenger door with the missing black patti) and cheap plastic wheel caps. Now he is trying to fob it off at twice the price to some unsuspecting Sierra fan, probably after realizing that the engine needs re-work.

My Sierra is doing well; I have a problem with leaking side-glasses, which I intend to get fixed soon. I also need to resurrect the A/C blower and it's directional mechanism, as windshield fogging becomes a very serious issue in the rains, visibility drops to near zero. The only way out is to drive with windows down, which is not practical in the rain.

I've been planning a Mumbai trips for months, but the stars don't seem to favor such a thing right now, and I'm stuck in Pune. I guess now it has to be after the rainy season; no point in challenging the famous Mumbai monsoon.

@ condor: The Power Steering noise stopped after I topped up the reservoir with some Castrol PS oil (it was empty as expected). I bought a 0.5 lts bottle from the neighborhood spares shop. The only thing is, I filled in a little more than necessary (I still had that 400ml figure in mind). I put in about 200 ml and measured using the dipstick, but it was still over the "H" mark. Will this cause any problems?

Also, the gasket under the reservoir cover has deformed and become egg-shaped, will replace it soon.

I have also noticed a few new oil stains under the car, a few inches away from the front right wheel. My guess is it's the newly filled PS oil, gotta check.

Do post pictures of the Belgaum car when you get them.

- Bullitt

[sierrakamat]

bullit your power steering set up has definately sprung a leak it may be in the pump gaskets do show your mech about this as merely topping up is not the solution ,in case the pump needs to be replaced you know where to come.
saptarshi long time no see havent seen your finished product nor have you posted her pictures please do so .
as for the purple sierra the less said the better.

[ravi_23]

Awaiting the white sierra's pictures

[ravi_23]

Today found one 2002 model Sierra Turbo. Its a Goa reg vehicle. Number of owners is 2, and the second owner has got NOC bt has not paid karnataka road tax. Forgot to ask the number of kms run.


I guess road tax for this vehicle would be around 40k, here is my calculation. Correct me if I am wrong.


Price of sierra turbo in bangalore at that time = 7,20,000 approx
Years left for LTT, considering its a 9 year old car = 6
% for road tax for cars above 5 lakhs = 14


that is, 720000*6*0.14/15 = 40 approx




I have attached the pictures of the car. From my initial observation the vehicle looks okay. The vehicle is repainted I guess, as I don't think turbo sierras came in this colour. It has few patches of rust. Interiors look okay. Tyres are completely worn out, can make out from the front view of the car. So will need immediate replacement(20-22k).


So, gurus please guide as to what should be a fair price for this vehicle if I decide to go for it, although I am a bit skeptical about buying a vehicle from another state.


@Condor
Awaiting for the belgaum sierra's pictures eagerly.