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2 years with a used Fiat Linea: Overall maintenance costs & mileage

13th November 2023, 18:11 by Ananth Iyer

I have been thoroughly enjoying myself driving and maintaining my car for the past 2 years.

BHPian _Jasim_._ recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Hello all, this is my first post as a team bhp member. A short introduction about me and my history with cars before I start with my experience. I am a car enthusiast by birth, my mother says that I would eat my food only when I was driven around in a car and my love and interest in cars have grown ever since. The first car in my family was a used 2001 Maruti Zen which we bought in 2003. Almost every person in the family including distant relatives learned driving in this car. It lasted for 1 lakh kilometers after which too many niggles arose and it was financially not worth keeping it running. Hence sold it off in 2014. Our next car was a Maruti Suzuki Swift Dzire which we bought at the start of 2017, it was the LXI Optional(o) variant which had ABS and airbags (not standard in 2017)

Attaching some pictures below

We decided to sell it off as it was not used very much (Just 3.4K kilometers in 18 months) and we didn’t see ourselves using it for the next three years as my father’s health condition didn’t allow him to drive and I didn’t have a license. Fast forward to 2021, I had turned 18 and was ready to start driving, my neighbour who was stuck abroad during the pandemic kindly lent me their trusty old 2006 Santro, so that I could start driving. I used the car for a good 6 months during which I drove around 2K kilometers. After this period, they returned and I helped them in upgrading to a new car. Now the need for a car emerged and we didn’t want to spend a lot on a car that would not run more than 3 or 4K kilometers in a year. Hence, we decided on a budget of 2 lacks.

The conditions that were proposed to me were:

Should be comfortable as me and my father get back pains easily and both of us usually avoid driving 2-wheelers
Should return a mileage of a minimum of 10KMPL.
Vehicle should not be more than 15 years old.
Good spare parts availability.
Cheap insurance and service.
We are a tall family hence a spacious car is necessary

With all the conditions in mind, I decided on the genre of car that I should look for sedan and diesel. After browsing through Facebook marketplace and OLX I narrowed down the cars that I thought were suitable for our needs

Ford fiesta 1.4 Diesel
Fiat Linea 1.3 MJT
Mahindra/Renault Verito/Logan 1.5

The Verna and SX-4 were not considered as my cousins already owned it (tough petrol versions) and we didn’t want the same car. Another reason for not choosing the petrol versions of the Verna, SX-4, and Fiesta was that they had 1.6-liter engine in them which meant that the insurance premium would be double that of the cars with engine displacement less than 1500cc. After this decision was made, we went out looking for the cars that I had shortlisted and went to various dealers and direct sellers to get an experience of the car.

The Logan was immediately rejected as my father didn’t fancy a car that was being used for commercial purposes. Next, we went on to search for the fiesta and Linea. We went through many dealers and personal sellers but no good options emerged. One day a 2014 Renault Pulse caught my eye. It was a top-end variant diesel with only 55K on the odometer. The dealer was quoting 2.8 Lacks which I thought was a good deal. I discussed this with my father but he wouldn’t budge.

Meanwhile, the first car that we owned the Maruti Zen was parked in a dealer’s yard and I was overjoyed to see the car that I spent my childhood in. It had a complete respray and looked better. But I guess it was still not in good condition as it was only quoted for 30K. One day I decided to look for a petrol Linea, though I didn’t have plans to buy it, I just wanted to try it out. Saw an ad on the Facebook marketplace for a 2010 Linea with only 30K kilometers on the odo. Called up that seller and requested a visit.

After driving the diesel Linea, the petrol version felt very underpowered and power came only after 1800 rpm (which I felt odd for an NA Engine). The gear ratio also felt odd. But the engine was quiet and my father liked it. It was comfortable and insulated. Features what you would expect for a chauffeur-driven car. We had a long discussion as it was not our original plan to buy a patrol car. Moreover, the fuel efficiency and spare parts availability of the car were questionable. After a long discussion, my father was able to convince me to go ahead with the car and assured me that he would take full responsibility if something went wrong. So, after a couple of days, we went ahead with the purchase negotiated on the price (which I ended up overpaying a bit), and bought home the car.

Attaching some pics after the purchase.

Initially, I didn’t fancy the car as it was not so good to drive due to gear ratios, but after around 600 km, I got used to the car and it was a hoot to drive. The odd gear ratios meant that the car had very good torque which meant it wouldn’t stall very easily, this combined with the power coming at around 2K ppm, felt as if I was driving a diesel car. For the first 1 year, we put around 6K kilometers. After completing a year of ownership, the car was serviced before going on a 1500 km road trip (more details about the trip in the next post). The car performed flawlessly and I would say that one advantage of an NA car is that you can drive it continuously for several hours without taking a break, which is something you have to do in turbocharged cars as oil might get into the intercooler and turbo.

The following year only 4K kilometers were put on the odo which included the 1500 km road trip. Though the car was not used very often, no corners were cut on maintenance. Every weekend I would wash the car thoroughly with car shampoo and microfiber clothes and use a tyre dresser to give her that final look. Every 3 months I would wax polish the car to maintain its shine as it was a dark colour (a separate post on how I completely maintain the exterior of the car).

Repairs done till date:

During my 2 years of ownership, I have spent around 25K on repairs which are the following
Both front and rear suspension (with Bushings)
Spare Tyre (Used)
A couple of Ignition coils
Brake pads and rotor resurfacing (DIY)
Suspension Link Rods Changed (DIY)
Installed new reverse parking sensors (DIY)
Replaced rear door Lock
Replaced Boot Struts
Rat bite which caused the AC and music system to fail.
And finally the Body Control Module and Engine Control Module (used). This was the one major repair that took up a big chunk of the repair cost, there was some problem that didn’t allow the car to start in the first crank. It would take at least 8 attempts to start the engine. The mechanic first said it might be the anti-theft system that could be faulty but couldn’t figure out the root cause and hence replaced the modules.
Seat height adjuster (DIY)
Brake oil and gear oil were changed (didn’t change the steering oil as the assembly leaks and I have to top up the fluid every now and then) again DIY.

List of things yet to do:

Get the rear tail light replaced as it is broken
After the rat bite incident. The music system’s fuse blows every time I replace the fuse and give it some power. So, I guess it's time to upgrade to a new system. I had installed Aux connectivity into the system (Which does not come from the factory though Bluetooth connectivity was available through Blue & Me)
Front left ball joint needs to be replaced (Noticed it during the brake job)
CV Boots need to be replaced
LCD odometer display (This I might not do as the display alone costs 7K which I am not willing to spend, as there are chances of it failing in a short time)
Seat covers have a bit of wear and tear but I would not be replacing them as it is sufficient.
Steering rack rebuild

One major repair that I was able to avoid, was when the engine started to consume a lot of oil (half a liter for every 150 Kilometers). When taken to a mechanic he said that the engine was on its last legs and needed a complete rebuild which would cost in excess of 50K. I was shocked after hearing this as the car had only driven 30K kilometers and was fairly maintained (keep in mind that this was only 4 months after we had purchased the car). Took several other opinions which resulted in the same resolutions. I was heartbroken and couldn’t accept that a car with such low kilometers could need an engine rebuild.

We decided to postpone this repair and add engine oil whenever required. After this, I started to do a lot of research, on the problem that I was having. And after 3 months and 9 liters of oil, I could figure out another probable cause for the problem. Usually, cars have a PCV valve that connects the engine valve cover to the intake manifold (its function is to send excess pressure from the crankcase to the intake manifold). This system, when malfunctioned could cause oil from the crank case to reach the intake manifold in excessive amounts which is then sent to the combustion chamber and burnt out through the exhaust. When I opened the bonnet and searched for such a contraption, couldn’t find any. After more research, I found that there is a different system that uses a rubber diaphragm which has the same purpose.

I was able to instantly locate this part and after removing the covering I found that there was no tear in the diaphragm. Upon further inspection, I noticed that the pipe connecting to the diaphragm and the intake manifold had a big hole which didn’t allow the diaphragm to function properly. I was relieved after noticing this. But I couldn’t get hold of the pipe. So, I took a hose from a Tata Sumo which had the same curve as that of the depleted hose. After replacing this part, the car worked excellently and there was no oil consumption. On top of that the engine felt more responsive. A repair that was initially quoted for 50K ended up just being fixed for 100 INR, can’t blame the mechanics though. It had all the symptoms of an engine that was about to die. But at the end of the day, I was glad that I could resolve such a big issue for next to nothing.

Attaching the Pics of the part

This is the part that I mentioned earlier (Oil Pressure Regulator)

This is what is inside the part. Usually, when the orange diaphragm ruptures it causes such a problem.

Running Cost of the car thus far:

Average fuel efficiency – 10KMPl Within the city and 15KMPL on the highway
Cost of service – 2.5K (DIY) Oil, Oil filter, cleaning of air and cabin filter (which I replaced during the last service 600rs for both filters).
Insurance 3.5K per annum.

I have been thoroughly enjoying myself driving and maintaining my car for the past 2 years and would love to share all the DIY projects that I have done during my ownership period in detail and also my experience on the 1500 km road trip. I hope you all enjoyed reading my post and I wish to contribute more to the forum. Here are some Random pics that I have taken during my ownership period. Thank You