Aging Of Indian Cars

[ISO2015]

Two days back I took test drive of Safari storme refreshed EX 4x2 from National Auto Pune. Car had done hardly 14K Kms. Shocked to see following problems from just one year old vehicle.

1. Gear stick was loose in the gates.
2. Khat sound when vehicle passes over the speed broker.
3. Clutch operation was not smooth.

Compared to this Scorpio done 28K Kms was really in good condition but another scorpio was having gear engaging problem and noise.

These test drives have shaken my trust on the Indian SUVs.

My question:

1. Are Indian SUVs age really fast compared to non Indian brands?

2. Scorpio vs Storme, which one will age faster?

Your valuable inputs are appreciated.

Mods Note: Please move this thread to appropriate section if required.

 

[bhvm]

td vehicles are often rashly driven hence the cause. however I wonder why tata is not paying attention to td vehicle upkeep as it's the First impression on customer.

about ageing, I do believe Indian vehicles are tougher or atleast on par when it comes to longetivity. try getting an x3 over the same kind of terrain as scoprio or balero.

Indian conditions are quite challenging, fuel quality is poor and temperatures are higher. all these accelerate the aging of vehicle- be it Indian or imported.

 

[srinivasadi]

From my experience, I can say that it depends on how the vehicle is maintained. It would make all the difference in how the car feels at age.

I say this, because I have a 2006 CR-V AT with 155000 km and still drives and feels tight. Of course the shocks had to replaced and I had to fix a leaky PS pump (did it myself based on a DIY i found online)

 

[ISO2015]

I wonder why tata is not paying attention to td vehicle upkeep as it's the First impression on customer.

+1
Ahmadnagar TATA dealer don't have test drive SAFARI. Pandit auto uses customer allowed vehicle for the test drive. DSK Toyota dealer uses one crysta between two showrooms for test drive.

It seems dealers don't afford to keep test drive vehicle

 

[Akash1886]

Ageing of cars depends on 2 factors in my view i.e Maintenance/Upkeep and Driving manners. The ageing can't be confined to a particular segment of cars buddy as at the end of the day all depends on mentioned two factors mainly. Test Drive vehicles aren't often taken care because in a day 50-60 test drives take place over various kilometers and every driver's attitude of driving/testing a car differs. These above two factors ultimately lead to wear and tear of the cars and after a period of time, the dealers send TD cars back to company/sell it to their employees/use it as service vans. About maintenance, be it any car, I simply believe, like we all take care of our health and body and do regular health checks and maintain cleanliness same way we should treat our cars. If we take care of our health always, we shall age gracefully so same way if we care for our cars in same way, our cars too shall age gracefully otherwise, be it a car or human body, both will have untimely deterioration and demise.

Example: I own a 10 year old Esteem, even though it has aged but with proper servicing and checks, it is still running well on all the cylinders. So, ageing of the vehicles is not that big a deal, rather, bigger deal is how many people are ready to take care of an ageing vehicle?

Regards

Akash

 

[ISO2015]

I fully agree with "Maintenance part" of the vehicle for its longevity.

I have Honda motorcycle 1991 completed more than 1.5L Kms/25yrs. Stock clutch plates are still working fine. The only part failed over 25 yrs is ignition coil. On the other hand my son's Bajaj 2009 bike is on the way to scrapyard.

I wonder whether design plays crucial roll in the longevity?

 

[bhvm]

Design part is very important.
Older designs were simple enough to be maintained at home. Most parts were iron that you can dent/Weld/Repair/Repaint. Not true about today's plastic/Alloy/carbon.

The industry is slowly moving towards "Use and throw" Policy. Just take a look and todays laptops/Phones these days. Sealed Battery. Soldered RAM. Inaccessible HDD and so on.

 

[pravin1987]

it all depends on how the vechile is driven. my safari has clocked 1.90k no rattles and nothing. i slow down and take pothholes at a lesser speed. Never run over potholes at speeds. there are rooms for improvement in our road conditions.

 

[Driveright]

When we consider aging we can age "gracefully " or we can age "prematurely". Any vehicle will have wear and tear no matter how well it is driven because all parts have a particular life and material properties vary on different parts.Hence I consider its better to age gracefully with the vehicle being driven with care and respect although the odd bump or pothole may have been missed! My 2006 m800 still turns heads because its aging gracefully and looks younger than most cars older than it ! Although its old and has been driven and maintained with utmost care there are niggles which will creep in eventually because of parts /material deterioration. Cosmetically we can do lots to hide aging paint /delay paint dullingprogress due to exposure to environment.But eventually age will show up .

 

[surajsinhaa]

When human body can't stand the rigour of time , it's but obvious that even machines will eventually age and worn out.

On a personal note I do believe that the cars made for we indians or for that matter subcontinent's are indeed tougher and much stronger compare to foreign made as while making cars for subcontinent roads the basic factor that is the road condition here has to be and infact is indeed taken into account by all the manufacturers.

A car being driven in foreign condition does require less maintenance as compared to subcontinent. We need to spend those extra time needed to nurture our cars with much more care. Our cars are required to travel through one extreme conditions to other, hence require much more maintenance.

Driving nad maintenance however do effect the longevity of our prices possession.