Tell Me About Indica V2

[youpul]

Hi,

I am new to cars and i am going to buy Indica v2 (2nd hand one)

Tell me about it, if anyone have any ideas about it....

Fuel, Millage, Engine, issues etc....

Uj

[milindu]

The older model is poor on fuel (specially with city driving with A/C). Some were reporting 7. I came across a Marina (the Wagon) with 40,000km on the clock with hub racer noises and suspension repairs.

The build quality is not that great.

The newer models are actually smoother to drive that the Maruti range and feels much more refined.

But fuel and repair bills are the main concern....consider an Alto or Well maintained Starlet

[Supra_Natural]

Hi,

I am new to cars and i am going to buy Indica v2 (2nd hand one)

Tell me about it, if anyone have any ideas about it....

Fuel, Millage, Engine, issues etc....

Uj

A Friend of mine has a V2 and It really does not do well on petrol. 7-8 around colombo is the norm.... which is pretty bad for a small car..... My 406 can manage that!!! But it pulls quite well..... it has a 1.4L and it is pretty lightweight.......also the interior fittings are not THAT well made, and they can fall apart after a couple of years.....

Seriously though, whats your budget like? you may be better off with a Used Starlet or a March or something..... far less trouble overall, and they will hold their value better too.....

[Duncan]

Hi there

The Indian cars are still quite new to competeting with other established brands producing the same type of models.

I don't live in SL, so will not attempt at commenting on how the vehicle is doing in the SL market place. However, what I can say is that engine refinement, fit and finish still needs improvment and the Indians are trailing behind the Koreans.

Having said that, when making your choice what you should do is compare the condition of the TATAs that you may look at, it's reported fuel economy, cost of servicing, resale value etc to those of similar cars from established rivals. If the cost advantage is considerable then the TATA could be your choice.

Cheers

[ThilakR]

Hi,

I am new to cars and i am going to buy Indica v2 (2nd hand one)

Tell me about it, if anyone have any ideas about it....

Fuel, Millage, Engine, issues etc....

Uj

Hi,

Machan me too tried TATA Indika and Indigo before and came to know they ore not good. One of my friend using it and said his car has a water leack from the hood. He finally fixed from D*MO.

Try SUZUKI if you have a small budget. Me too finally went for a SUZUKI Aerio.

It is a nice car with almost all the options comes in most of those expensive cars. Definetely much better than an Indian Car.

Good Luck

Thilak

[Watchman]

My dad drives a indica.

I'd say the car's quite good considering its 'indian'... repairs really arent a worry... parts are pleantyful and dirt cheap at D*MO... we got a new AC switch/knob (the one you turn to increase fan speed).. Rs.76.00 only... and that little nylon bush like thing at the lower end of the gear lever 22.50 bucks only.... overall parts atre pretty pretty cheap...

the driving position and seats are pretty comfy and is VERY roomy for a car that size. plus, its quite the handy size to nip around colombo..

Though i must say the hub racers DID wear out fast and gave quite a hum.. its being replaced now..

i'm not sure about the petrol but the diesel does 'ok' (no spectacular figures) on milage... and its still diesel 30 bucks less on every liter you pump

i too think the AC compressor on this car is too big for its engine.. there is a BIG difference in pulling power with/without the AC... and i remember the petrol engine finding it hard to start on its own with the AC on..

India has a turbo-Diesel version of this.. so i'm sure with a little more forced induction the power figures can smile a bit

[The Don]

Hi Dilesh,

I have a feeling that might be because the AC units are fitted in Sri Lanka not at the factory, and thus is actually too big for the engine. I have a similar problem with my car when i bought it cos the previous owner had replace a faulty compressor a rotary type with a piston type cos he was told it would give better cooling.

believe me guys never believe anything these AC dudes say, cos my experience is all these theories are mostly rubbish, manufactuers use certain components in a car for compatibility and if replacing them must use like for like unless you are doing so with a good knowledge of what you are doing.

So i had 2 problems

1. With the AC on the car had much less pulling power

2. when topped with gas properly the AC cut off would intervene fast and cut the AC out so car would not cool

3. when in typical sri lankan style reduced gas wont cut off but not much cooling in hot weather

my solution, went to panchikawatte after much effort found a used rotary compressor, an exact match, replaced the piston type, thanks to under gassing and a supposed "too small" condensor not cooling very well, but certainly pulling loads loads better.

I say this cos i often see lots of maruti's brand new ones without numbers getting AC's fixed at various joints, so i wonder why that is. maybe they fix AC's in SL.

Can i ask how much did the diesel cost ? how is the engine doing ?

The Don

[Watchman]

Hi Dilesh,

I have a feeling that might be because the AC units are fitted in Sri Lanka not at the factory, and thus is actually too big for the engine. I have a similar problem with my car when i bought it cos the previous owner had replace a faulty compressor a rotary type with a piston type cos he was told it would give better cooling.

Can i ask how much did the diesel cost ? how is the engine doing ?

The Don

Actually the DI*O doesnt import the diesel cos it'll cost something like 3.0 mil.. and no one will want to buy a indian car for that price..

we bought a petrol indica and got a diesel engine+transmission(used) from India along with a overhaul kit. the engine was something like LKR 80,000 and the Overhaul kit LKR 16,000..didnt need to use the overhaul kit though, cos the engine was pretty good.

Fitting it into the engine bay was no issue cos both the petrol and diesel engines use the SAME block. so engine mounts etc are the same. its a 1405cc engine so doesnt pull like you'd want it to. A newer turbo charged version is available in india so w're thinking of getting a turbo in there.. Hopefully it should improve the pulling power and the power-loss due to the AC considerably.

I too have noticed a lot of NEW indian vehicles being itted with ACs in SL.. in fact the place goto for AC repairs, convert the non AC mahendra pick-ups into AC ones for the Agents. I was talking to a mechanic there and he said the agets do it cos its cheaper than getting down the AC pickup and paying duty for the AC.

[youpul]

some ppl are saying that "The older model is poor on fuel...", so what is da OLD mean, 2003 model cars or earlier than that.

How abt 2003 model car fuel efficiency?

Say 2003 indica car with less than 20,000 Km- What may be the good price?

If it is less than 1 million? is it ok?

Uj

[milindu]

Not sure about the difference in fuel consumption. All the H and J regd ones I have come across have been poor on fuel.

I have seen cars go from 800,000/- on since they are hard to sell. The newer ones are still in the range of 1.3 when I last checked (Old stock probably have not gone).

You can also look at the Suzuki Alto Recond regd versions (build quality and fuel consumption are very good) and the Perodua Kancil (Malaysian version of the Alto) which also does decent on fuel. You might

Pushing up a few 100k (if possible) to reach say a Starlet Reflect makes so much more sense less hassle and the decent fuel consumption.

Edited January 11, 2007 by milindu