Bought My First Car - Maruti 800 AC

[ss80]

Hi all,
after a lot of test drives, negotiations, struggles....finally I bought a sweet 16yr old Maruti 800!

































Pre-purchase story:

Only car interested to buy: Maruti 800 (ss80 if possible)
Cars test driven: ss80 (2Nos), SB 308 (Type 1 maruti 800) - 2nos
Total car no:of dealers (my hunting ground): 8
Total no:of individual sellers (whom I met): 4 gentlemen

Liked: Only this car

First Hurdle: No good deals for ss80
Hope the above info shortens the reading time. I tried my level best to find a ss80 for a good price (20/25K if in bad condition & upto 40K if in average condition) & failed in it.

Second hurdle: Can choose only dealer as I had to buy the car using credit card

Finally made a purchase from a dealer at R.T.Nagar in Bangalore.


Positives about this car:

• Good exteriors (doesnt feel like a 16 yr old car)
• Insurance renewed by the dealer (just 2days back)
• All four new tyres (MRF on front & Apollo for rear wheels) put by previous owner
• Original steering, headlamp, grill & mirrors
• Brand new carpet & floor mats (they came with the car)
• Music system with UBS & AUX options (only, no cd option) - with 4speakers (can manage with this ICE till I gather enough money for a brand new one)
• 50:50split seat for rear seats

Issues in this car:

• All door pads to be changed (bought new ones just yesterday from J.C.Road)
• Fuse box needs new fuses, once in a while one or two fuses go loose & ICE/ indicators stop functioning
• Some fault in wiring, I guess near the steering lock/ key hole (wires messed up behind the dash board)
• Battery is almost drained (Vehicle switched off/ starts jerking heavily if the engine is on & I try these things - headlamp+music+cabin light+horn+indicators)
• Bonnet has a slight indication of a mild dash (will post pics of it soon)
• Speedometer light almost dead
• Since yesterday the air directioning rolling switch does not work (dint know the name of that thing next to the meters - so created my own one)
• Rattles - I hope this can be fixed
• Front window glass not rolling completely (risky issues)
• Windshield wipers not returning to original positions
• Drivers seat & its backrest are welded, I cannot choose the reclining angle
• Brakes are scary! I gave it to three of my close & knwon people with good driving experience and all of them got a shock! Hard rock kind of pedals, literally they stand on it to stop the car, however within 3 - 4dasy I got adjusted to them
• NO TACHOMETER (I need to look for one & get it fixed)

Planning to basic repairs, mild modifications & use it for a year before selling it. Here are a few pictures of the same, sorry could not find time to wax & take it to a neat road for photoshoot. Will post better pics soon

 

[Prads]

Well too bad you could not find a good ss80 as you had posted some query before if i remember right,your car brings back alot of memories to me we had a similar 800 white colour in 2003 for a few months i think it was a 95/96 model ,i took it for a drive one day & found out the radiator leaked ,so i had to annoyingly stop at a handpump borewell & fill it up,sold it a week after that,i remember that car had its ac belt removed for better mileage by the previous owner & there were tiny cracks on the floor through which dust would enter,just check the radiator & the cabin floor on your car.

 

[AppU]

Congrats for your M-800,


Your car looks like well maintained.. the issues you mentioned are very less for 16yrs old car.

Hope you will rectify it soon..

 

[Varun560061]

Congrats for your new purchase..

The issues you have mentioned can be rectified.. not any big issues..
Get under body washed. For wiper issues just get the relay changed.

Brakes.. I am scared by reading what you have written, better get it done on priority..

50:50 split seats good one.. was this option available in m800 (which variant)

I guess its not the issue with the battery, its with the alternator.

For the blower mode change, just get the cable changed..

Rattles is what you get free from Maruti when you buy from them !!!

Instrument cluster/ Speed o meter lamp, it is usually dim in type 1 800..

Is the A/C working ??

 

[Surfer]

Congrats buddy, get the basic things tested properly like breaks, suspension, battery. Wish you happy miles ahead

 

[autosafari]

Fix the brake first.
Then Electricals.

Tachometer is not required
Rattles in a Maruti cannot be fixed.
As mentioned by Varun, its free so let it be there.

 

[Sam Dinkar]

ss80: Much as I wished I would have got to see a SS80 with you, here's my congrats on the M800 nevertheless. The car seems to be in good shape and the 800 cc engine is a real toughie - even though it has done 1.01 lakh kms, you can expect it to last for quite some more time. You seem to be reasonably knowledgeable about the car's mechanicals but still take my 2 cents - please get all fluids and filters replaced with new genuine ones, irrespective of when the previous owner changed them.

All the best and keep this thread posted.

 

[ss80]

ss80: Much as I wished I would have got to see a SS80 with you, here's my congrats on the M800 nevertheless. The car seems to be in good shape and the 800 cc engine is a real toughie - even though it has done 1.01 lakh kms, you can expect it to last for quite some more time. You seem to be reasonably knowledgeable about the car's mechanicals but still take my 2 cents - please get all fluids and filters replaced with new genuine ones, irrespective of when the previous owner changed them.

All the best and keep this thread posted.

Thanks a lot, I am really happy & lucky to be here in this awesome forum. I fully agree to your advice and will get all the fluids replaced. The air filter is a brand new one - "Purolator" I think. I checked it this morning, seems to be new and hardly used.

Fix the brake first.
Then Electricals.

Tachometer is not required
Rattles in a Maruti cannot be fixed.
As mentioned by Varun, its free so let it be there.

Brakes are my main worries as of now, There is a mild hissing noise when I brake slowly on a long slope kind of roads. May be the disc pads are gone. Will check them soon

Congrats buddy, get the basic things tested properly like breaks, suspension, battery. Wish you happy miles ahead

Well too bad you could not find a good ss80 as you had posted some query before if i remember right,your car brings back alot of memories to me we had a similar 800 white colour in 2003 for a few months i think it was a 95/96 model ,i took it for a drive one day & found out the radiator leaked ,so i had to annoyingly stop at a handpump borewell & fill it up,sold it a week after that,i remember that car had its ac belt removed for better mileage by the previous owner & there were tiny cracks on the floor through which dust would enter,just check the radiator & the cabin floor on your car.

Sure will check that, carpets & floor mats hide a lot of things now a days in used cars.

Congrats for your M-800,


Your car looks like well maintained.. the issues you mentioned are very less for 16yrs old car.

Hope you will rectify it soon..

Waiting for some more cash inflow, will start rectification soon. Just purchased the door pads (7 pieces - 4doors + 2 luggage area + 1 dikki door) and spray paint for the wheel rims. Will try to finish this task by Sunday or so.

Congrats for your new purchase..

The issues you have mentioned can be rectified.. not any big issues..
Get under body washed. For wiper issues just get the relay changed.

Brakes.. I am scared by reading what you have written, better get it done on priority..

50:50 split seats good one.. was this option available in m800 (which variant)

I guess its not the issue with the battery, its with the alternator.

For the blower mode change, just get the cable changed..

Rattles is what you get free from Maruti when you buy from them !!!

Instrument cluster/ Speed o meter lamp, it is usually dim in type 1 800..

Is the A/C working ??

Can anyone please post a picture of any wiper relay, just to get an idea how it looks, so that It can be a DIY for me.

The split seats are factory default, I have started noticing this in many 800's especially with the same grill as in mine. They seem to the same. Hmmm, not sure about the variant. The sticker on the dikki door says "800 AC".

Yes the AC is working fine, but the problem is if I use the AC for a long time with blower in full speed. There is some leakage (not sure if its water/ coolant) in the foot well area of the front passenger seat. Need to get that thing fixed too.

I tried to clean the rails of the driver seat & saw the condition of the same and am a bit worried. Posting a few pictures of the same. Is it safe to continue with this drivers seat? If No, any idea how much does a drivers seat cost?




Just removed the plastic storage thing that came with the car. Everytime I saw that thing I felt that this is "The cheapest plastic on earth".


Started cleaning the cabin light, is the bulb in the speedometer similar to this bulb?


The leakage I was talking about (when AC is on) is coming from the left black box I guess.


Started cleaning the rails of the driver seat & also the condition of the foam etc will be clear in the next pictures below.




The area looks like this (please see below) once the seat is removed, which other cars seat will fix in this space? I need your help guys, may be other seats offer better lumbar support & recliner adjustment.



My posts are pretty long, I hope no one gets bored.

 

[Varun560061]

Wiper relay will be placed next to the wiper motor (inside bonnet)

Remove the console box clamps as it may hurt you..

The water from the left side is the A/C drain pipe, not to worry .
Just pull the rubber hose and let it out from the cabin..
Here the black box is the A\C condenser and the blower unit.
How much time does it take to cool the cabin ?

The 800 ac sticker on your car is not the original one which came with your model car. Any ways its looking good.

Me too tried to fix alto's seats, but it can't be done. Needs lots of mods..

Post the pic's after changing the door pads..

 

[ss80]

Thanks for the information. Now slowly I have started to learn about parts of the car & its function. Will certainly do something about that clamp. ICE stopped working so replaced a blown fuse & now its working.

Is the condition of the foam & bottom of seat alright? I have never seen any other cars foam, so am a bit worried. The AC works fine, cabin temperature drop takes about 3 - 4mins, with 2people in the car. I thought the leakage was some big issue with AC, now feeling better. In the beginning every small issue scares, but then First Used car experience is a kind of learning.

I have started to replace the door pads & will post pictures soon. Not finding enough time in replacing all of them at once. Done with the Hatch & Front left door.

 

[Varun560061]

Ya the foam condition is ok.. not to worry..

Then your A/C is doing its job perfectly.. What about the pickup with A/c on ??
What about those speakers on the front door pads ? are you cutting the door pad and putting them again ?
If yes please change the place..

 

[Varun560061]

Here is the pic for your reference.. Wiper relay..

 

[Markiv]

Congrats ss80. You have bought THE Indian Icon. Pride of India. This is one car all Indians are most proud of, most satisfied with, consider the best money can buy.

 

[lxi.]

Congrats on the 800 buddy! Nice pictures.

 

[mastersquall]

congratulations
please check AC drainage pipe i think its block