HM Ambassador Diesel (2005) Ownership Review


Thread Starter #61
harishankar

harishankar

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One reason I love my amby is because it's basically a simple car at heart. The whole vehicle can be taken care of by the local mechanic and its electrical component is simple. No auto door lock, central locking etc. or other systems which add some drain to the battery when the car is idle. Simple components mean maintenance cost is reduced by that much. So, I am getting an average of around 12.5-13.5 kmpl in city driving which is quite good. Only I need to keep an eye on the state of the door panels etc. for signs of rusting.
 
#62
350Z

350Z

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Glad to read an update and to know that good old Ambassador is doing well.
harishankar said:
A small incident: Recently a Japanese client of my friend saw my Amby and was very excited. He said he didn't see too many Ambys in India these days and I was very pleased at the recognition. I guess Ambys are fewer and fewer on city roads, but I love the vehicle.
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There are a lot of tourists in Delhi who enjoy driving / renting an Ambassador. Sometime back, I happen to spot a brand new Ambassador in Green (A rare sight) which tempted me to own one too. :smile:

Drive Safe,
350Z
 
Thread Starter #63
harishankar

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350Z said:
Glad to read an update and to know that good old Ambassador is doing well.

There are a lot of tourists in Delhi who enjoy driving / renting an Ambassador. Sometime back, I happen to spot a brand new Ambassador in Green (A rare sight) which tempted me to own one too. :smile:

Drive Safe,
350Z
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I'm also glad to know that there is still interest in this grand old beauty. Many people seem to have an irrational hatred for this car. Luckily it's still a practical vehicle to drive around in Indian roads. Whenever I have to negotiate broken, damaged roads with a lot of potholes, I am glad of this car which has a higher ground clearance than most newer cars.

Today, I took it out for a temple visit. Engine got a bit hot because the temperatures are touching 40-41 celcius. But the A/c held up well even in the heat of the mid-morning.
 
#64
Dipanjan_Ghosh

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Mr. Harishankar thats a great review and i appreciate your love for the beauty i.e. the ambassador. I have an 2000cc ISZ turbo diesel amby too. I am facing overheating issues with ac switched on even for a 15 min ride and also the car is hesitant to pull when the ac is running. Do u also experience the same problem ?
 
Thread Starter #65
harishankar

harishankar

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Dipanjan_Ghosh said:
Mr. Harishankar thats a great review and i appreciate your love for the beauty i.e. the ambassador. I have an 2000cc ISZ turbo diesel amby too. I am facing overheating issues with ac switched on even for a 15 min ride and also the car is hesitant to pull when the ac is running. Do u also experience the same problem ?
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sorry for the late reply. Have been busy with real life and haven't had time to log into the forum.

Yes, I've had some problems with overheating, but more recently, I've had problems with power steering (oil leak) and suspension also as well as a grinding noise with the differential (?).

I've decided to bite the bullet and send the vehicle to Sancheti motors. I've given the vehicle for full service and repairs at Sancheti yesterday and explained all problems to them. Hopefully this will fix the issues I've been facing of late for a while. The mechanics employed at Sancheti seem to be a knowledgeable lot. Even the mechanic who drove the car for testing seemed to know what was wrong with it within a few minutes of driving.

The overheat problem is a known one in older Ambys, but most of the mechanics/drivers seem to regard it as normal. But I only hope this service they take a look at the cooling system/circulation and fan(s) as i asked them to.
 
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Thread Starter #71
harishankar

harishankar

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Update report: I've now had the suspension completely done, the wheel bearing noise was fixed, and the steering box has been replaced. What a difference. The vehicle looks like it's got wings now - so smooth in performance. I cannot believe it is the same Amby. If people maintained Amby as it is supposed to be maintained, it's a car that simply purrs on the road with its powerful 2000 DSL engine.

Glad I took it to Sancheti motors and got it done up. It's a vehicle well worth maintaining in proper condition. Was a bit expensive but still I feel it was money well spent in the end.
 
Thread Starter #74
harishankar

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Nothing much to update, except that I've changed the tyres (wheel-balanced and aligned). It runs well now, but I'm thinking of spare parts, moving forward. Since the production has now been stopped, I am wondering whether the spare parts market will dry up after a while. Have to consider it seriously, though I am most sad if I have to sell my Amby.
 
#75
S

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Spare parts wont dry up per se, but it'd be a good idea to stock on the essentials. How many kilometers on the odo now? What about state of the body - Madras climate + HM metal = rust magnet.

Please update with some pics.
 
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