Every 'P' has its story... Palio to Punto..

I owned a car of a brand which is an easy target for people to bash. A brand which people said is going to shut shop in India. A brand which people say, is Doomed. Well nothing of that sort happened as of now. After all not every story has a sad end . For me one end is a new beginning. Its hard for any FIATian to shift over to another brand and that too after 5 years of happy after sales service. I am not an exception to this, so here I am back again with a new FIAT.

Apr 2005, when FIAT was hardly known to anybody, I took the risk of buying a Palio. Many of friends laughed at me but then the same bunch of people never let me drive my car in their presence and the car always witnessed fights on who should drive the car. After spending 5 years with the car, I am lucky to hand it over to another FIATian. I wish the new owner and my car a long lasting relationship.

A new beginning: Originally I zeroed down on Linea petrol but then recent development in my company made me go for diesel due to increase in running of the car. Diesel Linea was out of budget so I set my eyes on Punto MJD emotion pack. Booked the car on 3rd Mar 2010 and done the TBhp PDI on 4th Mar 2010. After some delay from the bank in the disbursement, I got the delivery of my beauty on 12th Mar 2010. The car was available in stock and so I got the car for price set before the new excise duty came into picture. So at 6.8L on road, I got the top end version of Punto MJD.

I feel its an absolute VFM car after looking at the Polo diesel pricing. It is very much good to drive it in city. I am not sure how much the interior quality has improved but the interiors certainly feel nice. Its not in the league of i20 but then even it is priced way below compared to i20, so I do not have any problems with it. The BluenMe system rocks like anything. It has increased my phone usage now . You really don't need to comment on steering feedback and handling of the car as its a typical FIAT touch on every other FIAT model. The steering in Punto feels meaty and accurate. The auto climate controls works wonder and I no more need to adjust AC frequently. I will go for a good photo shoot once I get some time. Till then following are some initial pics.

Dealer feedback:

I sold my beloved Palio on 20th Feb 2010. Then on 23rd Feb I went to BUB Pune to book a Punto as few schemes were going on. I missed on part that the schemes are valid only till 25th Feb. So in order to avail the discounts I need to do all the payments by 25th and invoice should be raised on the same day. I felt so bad because it was hard to arrange everything in couple of days. So I had no option but to wait till the new prices are out. As expected the excise duty was hiked by 2% and the overall cost of the car by 15K. The schemes were carried forward by FIAT in Mar as well.

So on 3rd March I again went to BUB and paid the booking amount of 50K. They had 3 Puntos in stock: Red, Silver and Black. I had seen couple of Black Puntos and I just fell in love with this color. I was happy to note it is readily available so then I need not wait for 2-3 weeks for delivery then. Now the biggest surprise came as the dealer salesman said, I can get it for price set before budget as it is readily available. On 4th March I did the PDI according to the check list and found everything to be good. I struggled with the BlueNMe as it was a first time experience for me apart from a mere demo while test drive. The B&M lady was not happy with my voice command. But then the salesman who accompanied me said, "sir, we are not going home until we get it work and you are happy with the PDI". So after 20 mins we succeeded in testing the BluenMe system. I told him to go ahead with this vehicle.

On 5th my bank loan was approved and the bank. On 6th I signed all the documents and the bank person (BUB agent for the bank) submitted the agreement to the bank on Monday 8th. He said the amount would be disbursed by Tuesday 9th evening. Somehow the amount was not disbursed till 11th morning. I went to the dealership and asked about the delivery, he said its difficult to deliver the vehicle on 12th as planned because unless the amount is credited to dealer's account they can not send the papers to RTO. The RTO takes one day so I saw my dream of getting the car on time shattered. Then I went to the manager's cabin and explained him the story.

According to the company policy they can not do anything. They had bank letter about the loan approval though. I requested him to look into it. In the evening I called the salesman and he said he is in RTO. Typically the RTO agent picks up the documents at 11 for the day but then the salesman himself went to RTO and submitted the documents. When I asked about the payment he said they have not received it but then the manager gave his approval just to make sure I do not miss the day. I seriously feel this was a nice gesture as it was bank's fault/delay to pay the dealer. Then in the evening I called up the bank and the lady said the payment is made in the evening on 11th and will be credited by 12th.

So finally on 12th the salesman called me and asked me to come down at 6 in the evening. It was raining heavily on that day but then I decided to go ahead with the delivery and not miss the auspicious day. I took the delivery on 12th evening. All this while "Amogh" helped like my best friend. Right from talking to the salesman to taking the delivery. A special thanks to him for all this.

The joy was short lived as I notice the speed needle was not working. The car was showing 16km when I checked it in stockyard and it was still showing me 16 when I took the delivery. I suspected it to be a cable problem. I went to the showroom the very next day. The salesman came along with me to the service center. To my surprise, the cable of the odo was not disconnected. They attached the examiner and the error displayed was "Loose connection of the speedo cable". They immediately removed and attached the cable again and it started working. I am not sure if it was purposedly done or a genuine fault. Though I feel they lacked in the PDI that they do. Their service center head said sorry couple of times and then I thought its good to forget and not let it spoil my joy.

One observation: My car was showing "H" along with the km run. Amogh and I were thinking what this "H" could be. Everybody was unaware of this. Mr Bhandari himself called up FIAT guys but they were not available. Then Amogh did an internet search and found that the odometer would reset automatically after 200km and the "H" would go or otherwise I have to press the trip reset for 10 seconds. Amogh pressed the trip for 10 sec and the "H" disappeared and the run was reset to "0" km. All new 2010 models show this "H" for first 200 km. Later on Mr Bhandari got a call from FIAT about the same explaination.

Coming up next: Driving feedback and pics
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First servicing done

I am done with the 1st free servicing. Car has clocked 2400 and its been 2.5 months since I bought the car. Following is my feedback:

1. I reached the dealership around 8:45 am. The security person guided me to the queue.

2. I was then in 5 mins attended by the service adviser. There was only one issue I am facing since last 2 weeks. A squeaking noise from right rear side.

3. I was waiting in the customer lounge and in another 1/2 hour I saw my car in the service bay. Then I went to stand by the car and the mechanic happily started telling my about the components while doing his job.

4. The engine oil was topped up (500 ml) which is chargeable (300/-). Everything else in the engine compartment looked good. The air filter then cleaned and refitted. Wheel alignment done free of cost (Thanks to Amogh).

5. After 1st service customs done, I explained the squeaking noise and its more or less area. We then took a test ride and he confirmed the same. It took us around 6-7 500m strech trips to confirm the noise as its not consistent.

6. The technician thought it could be a shock absorber problem so he replaced it with brand new from the inventory. The problem is still present. It was already 3 by then. He asked me if I can leave the car for a day as they wanted to open up the rear seats to narrow down the issue. I will be going to the service center in 2 weeks time for this.

7. Washing was a bit slow as there were around 30 cars for washing in queue. They have done a wonderful job and my car is back to the glory again.

8. The technician somehow was pissed off by the dealer mgnt. He told me everyday the mgt takes 70 cars (FIAT+TATA) for servicing and this really puts burden on them. He said issues like the one I have take longer time and so they are under tremendous pressure and everybody is unhappy.

9. Total bill is 300/-. Oil top up was charged which is okay I guess.

Overall, I give them 9/10. I wish they would have solved the sueaking noise issue but then such issues are hard to crack. The shock absorber was readily available. This reminds me, since last 3-4 years, I am visiting this dealership and I only once faced part out of stock issue (Heater cable - Palio).

I will update on the ownership report in couple of days time.

3000 km in 3 months and counting....

Well I bought Diesel since I anticipated that my office would move to the far end of the city. But as of now nothing happened and my office is still good 7 km from my house. What has increased my running is the sheer pleasure of driving my beauty . My previous car had run 22K in 5 years and by this standard I am running my current car really well. Following is a brief summary of my ownership of this beauty:

1. The MJD has got awesome drive-ability in city. You can easily roam around in 3rd gear. 1st and 2nd are pretty useless. Just get rid of them asap and settle down on 3rd gear.

2. The engine noise is audible at > 100 kmph but then the damn good handling of the car makes you push her to 3 digits on empty roads. The engine note at idle is pretty good. I use ICE to beat this engine noise at higher speed. I pushed her till 140 only once but then I realized that I am yet to finish my 3K so again settled at 90-100. She is a real gem of a highway car.

3. The handling of the car is no new story. A real gem. The tyres aid the handling and straight line stability is in its own league. Its very confidence inspiring and you never bother pushing her beyond 100. You can feel a slight body roll at cornering but then its still very much manageable.

4. Brakes are excellent. I have motion pack equipped with ABS and they are very much confidence inspiring. The bite is very precise and you can always trust the braking of this car. I have migrated from Palio which had some what spongy brakes but Punto is awesome in this dept. (BTW Palio also has a nice braking, its only the feel which sets you off)

5. The overall visibility of the car is good. The rear view is a bit cramped due to the C pillars. But then the ORVMs come handy. One thing which I hate is, Punto has a good blind spot on drivers side. The A pillar restricts you quite a bit but then once you get used to it, its not a big issue. The dashboard is very lengthy and you have to adjust your instincts on the front side.

6. Any color on Punto looks as hot as any other. I hate this because you find it very difficult to decide on your color. I was confused between red and black but then settled for black. White also has a real nice elegant look. Silver and Blue have understated yet classy looks. The color quality is really good. This is typical FIAT so no surprises in this dept.

7. Interiors: Nothing has fallen off on my Punto. Touch wood. I dont feel the plastic is cheap. The fit was the problem in 2009 Puntos but then its certainly not as bad as people put them. Quality varies from person to person but for a 7L diesel hatch I dont mind it at all. I am okay with them instead of putting 1L+ to get that premium feel.

8. Do I need to say anything on the styling of the car? Shes a looker, period.

9. Issues: Only a single issue since I bought her. Recently a weird "krrrr" sound is coming from rear right side. The A** changed the shock free of cost but the problem is not resolved. In 2 weeks time I will visit A** once again and we will narrow this down. I will update once I get the exact problem. Initial impression of the technician is: Either rear seat assembly (Any hook/bolt/connector etc) or the boot lock.

10. FE: Following are the figures till now:

13.76930661 : 90% City drive, 100% AC
16.08187135 : 60% City, 40% HW, 100% AC
14.10857909 : 70% CITY, 30% HW, 100% AC
17.59322034 : 50% City, 100% AC
16.83523654 : 40% City, 100% AC

I am very much happy and in love with the car. Will upload the pics once I visit Mahabaleshwar/Kokan this weekend.

Need some help with those last nos - is it a format/copy paste problem from XL, (or is that typical me?)

I copy pasted it from my Excel sheet which I maintain. However I did not get your point about copy-paste problem

Everything was going smooth and then suddenly....

I parked my car in my office's underground parking. Few parking slots leaks but as it is just starting of the monsoon,
no parking slot was closed. I parked my car at around 9:30 in the morning and then in the afternoon it was raining
slightly. In the evening I went downstairs and I could see a drop on the bonnet. Initially I thought, its not a big deal.
Wiped it off and went home. Yesterday morning I realized that the droplet had left a good mark on the bonnet. I tried
washing it but to no avail. The patch has become somewhat rough and it seems that the color is faded.

My Punto is black and one can easily make out this stain. The color has at this spot has gone grey from black. I guess
only solution is to use touch up spray or get it painted at the service center. Anybody with any suggestion? Following is
how it looks as of now (Simulated it in paint brush). It is not as bad as in the pic but still very much visible.

I guess the leakage must have caused it. There must be some form of chemical formed at the leakage point which
must have hurt my beauty. I have changed the slot since today but this is really heart breaking :firey