Q.Journey from a Mass Market Car to an Enthusiast's Car

Excellent choice going for Amaron brand, It will serve you well for years. I also switched to Amaron PRO last year since Amaron makes battery only in Pro range 55B24LS for my Rio. With atock battery the difference in crank speed could be felt with lights, stereo and sub on at night. Now though works like a charm. Costed 5300(mrp 6700) with exchange, but worth every penny.

This is an update to my existing ownership thread of my Fizzy. Last week was busy with some minor repairs that need to be done. First in the list was the ageing battery that needed replacement as per Ford India in my recent mechanical job of timing & drive belt assembly replacement. Here is the link below: [url]https://www.zigwheels.com/forum/posts/15701-2012-figo-tdci-squeaking-noise[/url] Till last week my battery stands at 3 years 9 Months Motorkraft Make 43 AH. The ford advisors offered me a buy back deal in which my ageing old battery will be taken back & a new one would be installed for approx. 4000 in which 1 year warranty will be provided & the same battery with 5 year warranty would cost approx. 5000 with 3 year warranty. This sounded somewhat fishy i was already aware of amaron pro battery running a discount offers, so rejected the offer & returned home. Next fine day, quickly jumped over to my familiar battery shop in Mayur vihar -2 by the name of Trehan enterprises. My all inverter & batteries of my earlier cars was replaced by him only, so i had somewhat friendly behaviour with Mr. Gurpreet Singh. I asked for a amaron Battery & voila i was presented with Amaron Flo 545171036 battery which not only costed me 3500 with buy back but was also 45ah battery which offered more juice while cranking, more resereved power, no draining issue in the stock factory size compared to factory installed 43ah battery. This is not the end amaron had 24+24 months warranty in which for the first 2 year battery would be replaced upon any failure & for the next 2 years a nominal amount of depreciation would be charged from customer & a new battery will be given. After installing the battery the car fires up almost instantly & i am a happy customer again. Forgot to mention that also opted for AC service which i pressume should be done at every 3 years. The AC cabin filter was thouroughly cleaned though i advised to replace but since it was not in stock & hence had to opt for cleaning. AC gas was topped up to optimum level & the cooling system is now again bone chiller. Have to switch off every 20 mins. :) [IMG]https://www.zigwheels.com/forum/filedata/fetch?filedataid=7999&type=medium[/IMG] Pic Source: Battery Deal

[URL="https://www.zigwheels.com/forum/profile/135"]JOY MRC[/URL] The name is you see in the picture is 2 year old. The car has a new windsheild now which I had described earlier in the post was damaged due to a minor accident. So as the windsheild goes the name goes as well.

The car is definitly cheaper than I20 in terms of initial purchase & maintenance. Since I20 was not much with me i was only able to have 1 paid service @20,000 kms. It was a routine service with no complaints & the cost for the same service turned out to be 6500 Approx. Seeing the billing cost. Ford is definitely cheaper to maintain. My cost hover around 4000 bucks & let me remind that's for a Diesel car. Since ford uses 5W-30 Semi synthetic oil which turns to be 1200 INR. Diesel filter costs 1200 bucks & oil filter is something 467 INR. Ford offers Happy pocket service @2100 for Figo in which Car was, Oil filter, Sump plug gasket & engine oil is replaced. What i have heard in the news Maruti has officially switched to synthetic oils & that would alone cost 3500 alone. So the final service cost would come @ 5000 Approx. which is definitely cheaper. Since u have a peace of mind with ford for having superb build quality on their cars (New figo in a Exception) & happy pocket service. It is definitely a better proposition/ alternate to Maruti & hyundai's.

[URL="https://www.zigwheels.com/forum/profile/155"]Ronny[/URL], I was not running Stage 3 map, but just a re-flashed ECU, courtesy of RD. I managed to run it for so many kilometres as my vehicle would go for a check-up at evry 7-8k kms. I stopped going to the authorised service station in Noida after the 90k mark as I d ther service and switched to a reliable garage that I had known for a while. The name of the garage is Auto Wings and is located in Sector 31, Noida. Also, for the Autocross, I was running stock map only as I wanted to enter the stock category as well. The sheer handling balance of the car makes it immensely involving and fun to drive and that is the reason for me winning the two categories :P Suspension wear is totally dependant on how you drive the car. If you are particularly careful on bumps and all, you can manage to make it run for as long as a 1 lakh kms! I had my dampers and springs changed at about 90k kms.

[URL="https://www.zigwheels.com/forum/profile/155"]Ronny[/URL] That's an Interesting and detailed ownership log Ronny,Kudos.I Like the way you customised the car.Makes it look apart from the crowd.Hope you do many more happy miles on your car.Regards... P.S - I see the RONNY stickers on your better half ;)

[URL="https://www.zigwheels.com/forum/profile/42"]CorsaVeloce[/URL] A question out of curiosity. If u were the slowest in the pack how did u won Autocross award with your Figo. :) :) Jokes apart. You are already having stage 3 mod on your car & still it has gone 1.44 Lakhs kms without any fuss. Now that's much more love given than mine. How do u upkeep your car. Any specific preventive measures or something. I plan to change my drive belt as i am having some squeaking noise in the cold morning start. Thanks for your suggestion would surely keep a check on engine & tranny mounts in this visit. How long did your stock suspension went? I am suspecting that mine would last till 60K Kms.

[URL="https://www.zigwheels.com/forum/profile/155"]Ronny[/URL], thats an amazing thread of your Figo. Kudos. While reading your say on your car, I was reminded of my love affair with my Figo. For me it was a hand me down from my mother and I loved every bit of the car as much! In fact, I even took it to one of the Buddh International track days. Though I was one of the slowest cars in the pack, I had great fun driving it. I got my car when it had already crossed the 30k kms mark and had it all the way up till 1,44,000 kms. It was a pleasure owning it and parting with it wasn't easy. Make sure you keep take good care of Fizzy and trust me, it will be good to you for a long time to come. Just a word of advice - get the engine and transmission mounts checked once you cross the 50k mark. They tend to become loose, which results in increase in vibrations of the car.

[URL="https://www.zigwheels.com/forum/profile/6"]Roshun[/URL] Thanks for the kind words sir. It feels like something special when I am with my car. Servicing a Ford is definitly cheaper than maintaining an i20. Both of them have the same service intervals of 1 year / 10,000 Kms, use mineral oil & yet Ford is easier on the pocket. Happy pocket ford service plays a major role in this wherein Ford promises a regular service @ INR 2100 only. Brake pad & rotor replacement for Fizzy cost me 6500 with labour. My routine service cost me 3500 approx. & the other alternate cost 4900 approx. The difference is due to the filters replacement at only alternate service. 60,000 Kms service would cost 6000 approx. as there would be some major works to be performed. For I20 i was able to perform only 1 paid service @ 20,000 Kms & that costed me 6500. Not to mention cost for Fizzy is for a Diesel vehicle whereas i20 was Petrol fuelled. Clutch overhaul for 1.2L Kappa engine cost approx. 7000 INR & the Power window switch cost approx. 550 INR which may be on the higher side. Not sure about this. I would post some detailed service records of fizzy Soon so keep subscribed

Wow, [USER="155"]Ronny[/USER] that is an exhaustive and detailed ownership account of your Ford Figo, a.k.a Fizzy. Looks like you really love your car. There have been a number of debates on the servicing cost of Ford cars, which is the one thing that keep many from buying Fords. What has been your experience with service costs, compared to the Hyundai i20 you had earlier? How would you compare it with Maruti cars, like the Swift?

This thread could get boring because of low images content & this is my first long thread on ZigWheels. So excuse any mistakes. This is a story of a child who just got into his adolescence stage & was yet to taste automotive blood. Till my schooling age, for me & my family a car was just few seats on four wheels. It doesn't matter for us how costly the car is or how cheap it is, a car is a car. But like every teenager I was always fond of reading some car advertisements & admiring the beauties in everyday newspapers & magazines. I used to count & drool over smart looking & flashy cars on the way to my school. Just beside my school there was a car garage, from which occasionally the sound of loud exhausts somehow crept into our class window. Out of curiosity on my way back home, I used to stop at this garage just to have a look at the car from which I heard the roar. Enough talking about my life let's get back to the topic. So the first car ownership started with a Hip Hop Black Alto F8D on 31 Dec 2008 (Yes 2008 as I said, it did not matter to us much) which was used by us & fathers corporates to ferry some cash & visitors. At that time I wasn't much bothered, and did not care about cars & hence I don't have any pics of the car, not even a single one. Due to multiple use it clocked 48000 kms in a span of just 2 years 9 months & became a daily workhorse. Keeping in mind our office was just 9 Kms away from the house, so 48000 seemed a lot to us & thought we would not fetch much resale if driven more. As heard over the Internet & from some relatives, a car should be sold at that point of time when it starts to demand much more. So the hunt for a replacement started. By that time I had gathered quite a bit of knowledge of the automotive industry & which car is good for us. Being the tiniest member of the family I was afraid that family would not even listen to my suggestions, but to my surprise, father just gave me a chance to have my voice in the pack & again surprised me by buying the car I had suggested. It was an uber cool Hyundai i20 Sportz Coral white. The pleasing interior of Coral [URL="https://www.zigwheels.com/forum/filedata/fetch?id=15778&d=1470929578"][ATTACH=CONFIG]n15778[/ATTACH][/URL] The extrerior. Sorry for bad image editing [URL="https://www.zigwheels.com/forum/filedata/fetch?id=15779&d=1470929583"][ATTACH=CONFIG]n15779[/ATTACH][/URL] The car was truly a luxury for us by offering quite a high list of features, acres of space in the segment. The quality & Hyundai brand name meant reliability, and it was economical. The car served us well & shining like a star in the family. I named her Coral just because it had that coral white paint. Since then I have gained quite a bit of knowledge in & out of cars, hot sellers, pros & cons of the technicalities etc. So it was obvious that I tried driving some enthusiast cars like the Polo, Fabia, Ford Ikon, Fiat Palio & last but not the least my friend's latest acquisition a Ford Figo 2011. After tasting the rich dynamics of these beauties, I was finding some shortcomings in the car itself. Soft suspension, disconnected feel of the car, not enough confidence on highways, so the thought was already in my mind to look for a new machine or not. Coral was serving happily and had clocked a mere 22000 kms in 1 year 10 months of ownership. I was not desperately searching for a replacement, but accidentally I got a call from one of my friends saying that he was in a hunt to get a car for his wife. I offered my car for a Test Drive for starters. After driving it, he suddenly drooled over my Coral, expressing positive views of buying one in the coming weeks. Since I got confirmation regarding his buying decision, I immediately subscribed to OLX & my part of homework began: THE HUNT. Tasting rich blood (Dynamics) I insisted on not buying mass market cars like Swift, Dzire or something. My mind was set on the Fiat Punto 90 HP. I found a seller on OLX selling his 2-year-old Wine colored Punto 90HP & upon calling the owner about his Punto, he replied that he had sold it off just 2 days previously. My mind just got awwrgh.:( I was crying, thinking why I did not start my search 2 days ago. Surprisingly, an ad came from a gentlemen, who was selling his 8-month-old Ford Figo TDCI. Seeing an only 8-month-old car on sale, it seemed there was something fishy. Immediately I called up the owner & confirmed the availability. He assured me about the genuineness of the car & it not being accidental. On the same day, I visited him in person & test drove the car. O gosh! I was already connected with the car somehow by getting the posture spot on. The first thing that caught my attention was the low ODOmeter reading of just shy of 10,000 kms mark, to which the owner replied that he wishes to change the car to Ecosport TDCI & that is the only reason for sale. The car was thoroughly driven over rough patches of roads, empty stretches & some traffic (that's obvious in Delhi). The car was eager to push itself strongly in the midrange. The motor was smooth, but noisy in high revs. There’s no point of redlining because the power fades away in the top-end (that's a typical diesel car trait). 69 BHP @ 4000, 160NM @ 2000 RPM figures on paper might seem to be dull, but the oil burner had enough punch to call it a peppy and strong city performing engine. It was my first diesel. There was some lag, but manageable until 2000 RPM mark after which the torque pull was immense and it picked up pace quickly. The car seemed to be a perfect city running car with enough of a package for highway runabouts. The clutch was light by diesel car standards. I was already getting a push back action upon acceleration so to me there wasn't a need for more power. After the initial impression, the car was secured by paying a booking amount & then I ended my day by verifying the car history with Harpreet Ford, Moti Nagar where the car had its 1st free service. Now the question is [B]Why did I choose Figo as a pre-owned car, while I had many other options in the same price range?[/B] 1) Hatchback practicality with decent boot space. Wanted a car which can squeeze into tight spots 2) The TDCi engine was a delight and I fell in love with it from the word go due to ease of driving & punchiness. 3) This was one department where the Ford Figo galloped way ahead of competition. Dynamics & no turbo lag at all. The gear ratios and steering feel are spot on. Felt like a go kart. 4) Decent economy in both mileage & maintenance. The competition just ran out of steam when it came to VFM. Fuel efficiency 16-17+ kmpl 5) Chiller of an AC. A larger 153 CC compressor helped in chilling bones 5) The car had no rattles from any side. Probably because of low odometer reading. Plastics were a bit on harder side, but that also meant none of the plastic panels were filmsy and would rather last long without breaking. 6) Although flashy, the previous owner had installed broader chrome alloy wheels, which required wider rubber as well.:) [B]What I wanted in a Pre-worshipped Car[/B] 1) Reliability. Needs to be a daily drive for the next 4-5 years @ 12000 kms per year. Will keep for around 5 years maybe. Only time will tell. Relatively cheap to maintain for the segment 2) Spacious as possible within the budget and have a boot for some heavy duty grocery shopping. 3) Decent resale value (in case I need to sell midway) Having said that, I will get to the main topic: 3 Year kms of the Figo experience. Many of us have already read the views, pros, cons & dynamics of the car & hence I am writing expressing only my view so far. [B]The car is 2 Years & 11 months old. On 28 August she will mark her 3 anniversary. Current ODO stands @48000 Kms.[/B] Few Magic numbers on the journey [URL="https://www.zigwheels.com/forum/filedata/fetch?id=15780&d=1470933907"][ATTACH=CONFIG]n15780[/ATTACH][/URL] [URL="https://www.zigwheels.com/forum/filedata/fetch?id=15781&d=1470933910"][ATTACH=CONFIG]n15781[/ATTACH][/URL] Real world mileage figures: All calculations are done by DTE to DTE meter reading. @79Kms DTE reading car goes in reserve mode. Most of the figures are in City with 70% AC usage & 95% usage in summers. I am addicted to Ford's AC. [B]City [/B]- Best 18 kmpl; Worst - 12 kmpl [B]Highway- [/B]18+ with 100% AC & all 5 people on board. [B]What I liked about the car till now[/B] 1) Build quality Sturdily built. I wasn't expecting the car to be built like a tank nor was I expecting it to be flimsy. However, I was pleasantly surprised with the build quality. Had quite a few occasions when my brother banged up the bumper while parking, but none of the times clips became loose. Bumper felt flexible yet sturdy to take quite some abuse. 2) After Sales service Though not of excellent standards to write home about, it has been okay on general terms. I have dealt with different service centres for my servicings - Harpreet Ford Sahibabad, Gautam Buddh Ford Noida & FNG Garage World of Service (WOS) Noida. WOS was the better of the lot. I should say thanks to [USER="6"]Roshun[/USER] for organizing a great ZigDrive event & the mastermind @WOS [USER="2114"]anupam00[/USER]. So, in terms of experience I should say average or neutral service in GB Ford & pathetic service & behaviour of staff at Harpreet Ford, Sahibabad. (More on this later). You can review my WOS Experience on this thread: [URL="https://www.zigwheels.com/forum/posts/10583-experience-with-world-of-service-noida-63"]https://www.zigwheels.com/forum/post...rvice-noida-63[/URL] 3) Cost of Maintenance Other than standard scheduled servicing charges, nil relevant. The most things I have replaced in the car are the Mud Flaps. The plastic mud flaps are a complete misfit in the package. First of all, the car is low slung with next to low ground clearance and then you fit it with plastic mud flaps, which more often than not keep scraping along any credible hump it traverses. “Ford... What were you thinking???” The entire world seems to think that Ford cars are expensive to maintain. Ford may have started on the wrong foot with respect to the Escort, Mondeo, but that was almost two decades ago. The Figo, on the other hand, is very economical when it comes to service and spares, unfortunately the perception is otherwise. The link to the thread has been disclosed comparing the next-gen Figo cost & the Pre facelift figo: [URL="https://www.zigwheels.com/forum/posts/10580-myth-about-ford-figo-maintenance-demystified"]https://www.zigwheels.com/forum/post...ce-demystified[/URL] 4) What I expect to have as an Improvement a) Leave the car under sun and you can welcome yourself into an oven when you return. The large windscreen area lets in a lot of solar energy. But the chiller AC cools it down in no time. I would have liked heat prevention glasses like what honda offers now, but Ford has a powerful AC to compensate that windshield. b) Stock headlights just wouldn't suffice for my driving. It doesn't give you the confidence to drive through into deep dark roads. May be a better reflector design could do some magic. c) To me the rear doors of my car seem to be lighter than the front ones. Should be of similar quality (may be). [B]Practicality[/B] I would give 8/10 for the Figo for practicality. It is good, in fact very good, for a family of four. Even for a family with 4 adults and a kid it would serve well. Elderly would like to have a little more leg room at rear. Having some more essential features, would have given it higher scores. However, what makes it still good is its VFM proposition. Well, I would say Figo is a practical choice to most of the age groups, but some would give it a miss. [B]Problems Faced[/B] 1) Broken mud flaps at least 4 sets till now & still driving without flaps 2) Windows do not roll down completely. Only 60%. A design flaw:( 3) Squeaking noise occasionally but never serious. 4) Noise. Engine is really noisy from outside. But I knew this. NVH levels are very poor 5) Rear seat backrest height. Wish it had headrests. 6) Amber backlight for the instrument cluster. Just don't like it. Period. I was familiar with white & bright display of hyundai, which is even visible on a bright sunny day light. That is not the case with Figo. 7) Bonnet opening lever on the passenger side 8) For unknown reasons brake pads had to be replaced twice till 36K Kms. What I have installed so far as accessories: 1) Custom Seat covers - Red with Black Leatheritte [URL="https://www.zigwheels.com/forum/filedata/fetch?id=15782&d=1470935543"][ATTACH=CONFIG]n15782[/ATTACH][/URL] [URL="https://www.zigwheels.com/forum/filedata/fetch?id=15783&d=1470935543"][ATTACH=CONFIG]n15783[/ATTACH][/URL] [URL="https://www.zigwheels.com/forum/filedata/fetch?id=15785&d=1470935543"][ATTACH=CONFIG]n15785[/ATTACH][/URL] [URL="https://www.zigwheels.com/forum/filedata/fetch?id=15784&d=1470935543"][ATTACH=CONFIG]n15784[/ATTACH][/URL] 2) As I have already said above 4 sets of mudflaps. 3) 90/100W Philips bulbs with Relay 4) Unbranded Car amplifier with Cervin vega 8AWG kit. [URL="https://www.zigwheels.com/forum/filedata/fetch?id=15787&d=1470935936"][ATTACH=CONFIG]n15787[/ATTACH][/URL] [URL="https://www.zigwheels.com/forum/filedata/fetch?id=15788&d=1470935937"][ATTACH=CONFIG]n15788[/ATTACH][/URL] 5) Scosche RCA cables 6) Blaupunkt GTT1100 10" Bass tube. Not available in India now. [URL="https://www.zigwheels.com/forum/filedata/fetch?id=15786&d=1470935910"][ATTACH=CONFIG]n15786[/ATTACH][/URL] 7) JBL 6.5" Component Speakers CS650 & Sony Coaxials in the rear having RMS 50W. [URL="https://www.zigwheels.com/forum/filedata/fetch?id=15789&d=1470936000"][ATTACH=CONFIG]n15789[/ATTACH][/URL] 8) Sony AS-35U Single DIN deckless stereo (Initially), Stock Swift stereo (Nippon make), Now using Harmaan Touchscreen media player as a Source unit [IMG]https://www.zigwheels.com/forum/filedata/fetch?filedataid=7190&type=medium[/IMG] [URL="https://www.zigwheels.com/forum/filedata/fetch?id=15791&d=1470936033"][ATTACH=CONFIG]n15791[/ATTACH][/URL] [URL="https://www.zigwheels.com/forum/filedata/fetch?id=15790&d=1470936023"][ATTACH=CONFIG]n15790[/ATTACH][/URL] 9) FootMats 10) Side beadings, Door visors & Bumper protector. [URL="https://www.zigwheels.com/forum/filedata/fetch?id=15792&d=1470936361"][ATTACH=CONFIG]n15792[/ATTACH][/URL] [URL="https://www.zigwheels.com/forum/filedata/fetch?id=15793&d=1470936362"][ATTACH=CONFIG]n15793[/ATTACH][/URL] Points to note: 1) Car was having heavy shuddering while applying braking @18000 kms. As the car was in warranty tried Harpreet Ford, Sahibabad. None of the work performed, no solution from their side. No clue. Tried installing new rotors & brake pads, but still no solution was found despite charging me. Hence tried a FNG station & did a good alignment balancing & voila the problem was out. [URL="https://www.zigwheels.com/forum/filedata/fetch?id=15794&d=1470936577"][ATTACH=CONFIG]n15794[/ATTACH][/URL] [URL="https://www.zigwheels.com/forum/filedata/fetch?id=15795&d=1470936579"][ATTACH=CONFIG]n15795[/ATTACH][/URL] 2) Was using Hankook 195/60 R14 Optimo MEO 2 rubber from the day one. Absolutely fantastic tyre. No complaints, no road noise, good braking even in wet & on the top of it made a better handler even better. Only had one incident. The driver side tyre had gone kaput at a speed of 80kmph on Gurgaon, Expressway. Seemed to be a physical damage. [URL="https://www.zigwheels.com/forum/filedata/fetch?id=15796&d=1470936764"][ATTACH=CONFIG]n15796[/ATTACH][/URL] 3) During heavy rains last year one of the petrol pump guy filled water with diesel (Most probably unknowingly) & water had seeped into fuel lines but didn't enter engine. ECU stopped the crank immediately. Full reimbursement was done by the petrol pump officials. Though no major damage was done, but still they accepted their mistake & agreed to pay.:) 4) In January last year, the car was being driven by my brother. A few morons racing intensely on busy public roads, banged into my car. Police case was done, but they were never found.:mad: [URL="https://www.zigwheels.com/forum/filedata/fetch?id=15797&d=1470937137"][ATTACH=CONFIG]n15797[/ATTACH][/URL] [URL="https://www.zigwheels.com/forum/filedata/fetch?id=15798&d=1470937137"][ATTACH=CONFIG]n15798[/ATTACH][/URL] 5) EGR cleaning @ 44000 kms @WOS FNG [URL="https://www.zigwheels.com/forum/filedata/fetch?id=15799&d=1463929687"][ATTACH=CONFIG]n15799[/ATTACH][/URL] [URL="https://www.zigwheels.com/forum/filedata/fetch?id=15800&d=1463929687"][ATTACH=CONFIG]n15800[/ATTACH][/URL] [URL="https://www.zigwheels.com/forum/filedata/fetch?id=15801&d=1463929687"][ATTACH=CONFIG]n15801[/ATTACH][/URL] [URL="https://www.zigwheels.com/forum/filedata/fetch?id=15802&d=1463929688"][ATTACH=CONFIG]n15802[/ATTACH][/URL] After all these issues car stands @ 2 Year 11 months now. On 28 August the car will complete 3 years in a relationship with me and I must say that even if I would like to sell her off (chances are very low), it would be replaced by another Figo. That's the bond I have developed with Fizzy. The car has truly grown on me and I enjoy every part of the drive I do daily. It is my daily runner to mine and my dad's office, plus few occasional Delhi border runs. The car still shines like a star when driving. Oh, I forgot to mention her name is not Ford Figo, but I call her FIZZY: My better half Thanks for reading this boring post. Regards.