DriveBlog

Hell Benz on revenge

Quick! Grab a pen and a sheet of paper and write down in 5 seconds, 3 words or phrases that you associate immediately with the words 'Mercedes Benz India'.

Done? OK, if your list doesn't contain any of the following,

cheated, trauma, pathetic, unreliable, plagued with problems, harassed, nightmare, disappointed customer, repairs worth over Rs. 3 lakhs, 164 days OFF the road, falling apart, engine failure, clutch failure, air conditioning failure, software failure, NO extended warranties, dangerously instable braking, 2.85 kms to the litre and hold your breath, German piece of crap.

then it's probably been a while since you had a taste of some reality pie. Call yourself 10 nasty names in the next 5 seconds and then go and read this. (Registration may be required to view / contribute content)

Feeling used...

It doesn't matter whether you're buying that hand-me-down from a dealer or from a previous owner - a thorough once-over of the automobile is pretty much mandatory. That is pretty much a known fact. What isn't is what exactly in the used car you should be giving the once-over to - so here's a guide to help you do that.

Strike One!

Much like new parents can breathe easy once the new baby has had its first fall and scraped a shin or banged a knee, I'm guessing new car owners are a less harried lot once their shiny new car gets itself a shiny new scratch! =)

My Getz now has herself two little dimples on her flank, just over the left rear tyre, thanks to some overzealous reversing - both on my part as well as another driver's. It'd been a walking-on-bubble-wrap couple of weeks before that, as I tried to avoid the inevitable. But now that the damage has been done, I'm feeling a helluva lot lighter.

In the words of a certain green-skinned, large-grinned, yellow-suited gentleman: "Ssssssssssomebaady stop me!"

PS: The car's fine. I got the scratches touched up at the body shop the next day. But for the more do-it-yourself kind of folks among y'all, here's something.

Lots on their plate

Starting January 2005, all the 80 million vehicles in India will sport new, high-security licence plates. Embedded on these plates will be a 9-digit-code-on-a-chip that when used with a tracking device will help the police pinpoint the exact location of your car in the eventuality that it gets stolen or lost (believe me, the latter can happen).

Changing a 160 million licence plates, I bet, is something the local RTOs must be looking forward to. =)

All-weather cars

Given the extreme nature of Indian weather conditions, rust and over-exposure to the sun are undoubtedly two of the most common and biggest damage-doers to a car's body, though the damage they do isn't necessarily unavoidable.

Frighteningly Fiat

I can't begin to imagine the unadulterated angst that this guy would have gone through after his Palio D ELX caught fire one early August morning. To make things worse, his Fiat service centre dragged him through close to 3 months of excuses, red tape and fine print and then slapped one whopper of a bill on him. Needless to say, he's come out of the whole thing completely 'shattered' and looking for help. Tch, tch, Fiat...

Well, if this Indica story is anything to go by, there does seem to be some light at the end of the tunnel for him.

Going flat out

Tyre trouble, did I hear you say? Here's a simple, no-nonsense DIY guide to replacing a flat tyre.

Wa Shing Ka!

This is definitely something that car owners in Chennai could do with. Aimed at solving the problem of an economy that combines booming auto sales with severe water shortage, the Chinese have introduced a car wash system that uses only 300 ml of water per car!

And if you're wondering what the post title's about, check this out.

Who cares? VCARE!

Fiat India has launched a customer-focused service program called VCARE. You can call 1600-22-21-22 toll free from any landline in the country for access to detailed information on every Fiat model, analyses and recommendations, contact details of the nearest dealership and the like.

There's also a 24-hour breakdown assistance number at 9622-22-21-22 that you can dial from your landline or handphone.

Another reason to Ikon?

The blue oval has launched a nation-wide Total Maintenance Plan for Ford Ikon owners.