The Grey Skid – Chevy Beat TCDi LS (December 2012)

[deville_56]

Replacement killer arrived.

Pre-worshiped Polo 1.2 MPI Highline. 54k on odo. OEM body kits. GTI grilles. HID headlights and fog lamps. Upsized rims and tyres. Neatly kept. Surprisingly drives well. I was skeptical about the performance of 1.2 L engine on a heavier car.

Usage is terribly low nowadays for Beat, may be 100-200 km every month, sometimes not even cranked in a month. Wiser option to get a petrol. After spending a fortune on it, double-minded about the reliability and long-term ownership. So have to dispose it off sooner or later, of course with a heavy heart. And it's up for sale.

 

[VISHNUCARCRAZY]

Which headlamps (bulbs) are in Polo?

 

[deville_56]

Which headlamps (bulbs) are in Polo?

Some HID.

 

[deville_56]

October-November 2019: Double Trouble

Bought the replacement Polo with the idea of disposing of the Beat. Now both sitting idle with along with a Honda Dio since the whole family is out of town and hardly comes home. Only Polo was used when they are in town and Beat was driven only by a hired driver that too rarely. Since they weren't returning for some extended time, I was asked to check the cars. The beat was sitting in rain and sun for 3 months while Polo had shaded parking. Beat started with some heavy cranking, but in a single go. Polo battery was dead, needed push start. Last time the driver said steering was getting hard. Found the power steering was completely dead. Opened the bonnet and there was a lot of rat ****. So zeroed to rat bite. Plus the service soon light on. It used to turn ON intermittently since the fuel pump repair.

@varunkumar2910 helped to manoeuvre the car since it had no power assist and I had a hard time with back pain.

It was smelling rat pee inside the car, so check thoroughly and shocked to see shredded sponge.

More search revealed more sponge.

Bluetooth mic wire also eaten up.

A pillar cover as well. Route for ingress and egress.

And to my shock, the spare wheel was missing. The rat couldn't eat that up. After calling up the drivers, one said he ran on flat spare wheel and it got torn and threw it away

The front bumper was new and newly painted and it was deeply scratched as well. Drove it straight to our usual Chevy FNG to get the steering sorted out and check for more rat attack. Steering motor was gone, but not due to rate bite. It used to come alive during start, then shows some resistance and then dies with malfunction indicator on the speedometer. The replacement was around ₹ 7000.00. He got it repaired with new brush kit at one-hird the cost.

There was RTC bus like smoke till I floored the car heavily en route to the mechanic. So suspected the PCV filter needed replacement. Asked him to replace that as well and paint the bumper. Gave the car a thorough inside out wash as well.

Parts:

PCV Oil Separator - ₹ 700.00
Steering Motor Brush + Brush Set Holder - ₹ 2,100.00

Steering Motor Overhaul - ₹ 400.00
PCV Filter Replacement - ₹ 500.00
Front Bumper Painting - ₹ 1,500.00

Total damage - ₹ 5275.00

Replacing the filter didn't solve the service light. Heavy smoke is gone, but diesel fumes are still there till the car is warmed up a bit. Started developing sensitivity to diesel fumes. He assured again and again the service light won't be an issue. Indeed seen in many ownerships the light staying ON since early age and even ASC unable to sort out and no error on scan.

Painting quality turned out to be good, but there was colour mismatch since the rest of the body wasn't polished and is pretty faded.

The only intention is to dispose of the car somehow. Mechanic offered to find someone to buy the car and as promised one guy came to check the car, but quoted very low. Still in search for a buyer.

(Polo battery was changed. Now showing ABS error. Needs servicing soon).

 

[Nairrk]

How come the rat entered inside the car?

 

[bhvm]

deville_56
Those cars are in a sorry state. The Rats make quick work of things when you dont pay attention every day. Probably more issues will slowly come up due to shorted wiring. About Diesel fumes, Check-
1. Injector leaks
2. Fuel line leaks
3. Holes in silencer.

Let me keep you warned that Diesel exhaust has Nitrous oxides in them as well as carbon Monoxide. Pretty toxic stuff.

 

[VISHNUCARCRAZY]

I am proud of my driver bro here , he takes care of the ride just like I do , and he is well versed with technical know how of the ride too .
By the way where had you painted the bumper bro ?

 

[deville_56]

How come the rat entered inside the car?

Only the rat knows

deville_56
Those cars are in a sorry state. The Rats make quick work of things when you dont pay attention every day. Probably more issues will slowly come up due to shorted wiring. About Diesel fumes, Check-
1. Injector leaks
2. Fuel line leaks
3. Holes in silencer.

Let me keep you warned that Diesel exhaust has Nitrous oxides in them as well as carbon Monoxide. Pretty toxic stuff.

Still looking for someone who would wholeheartedly look into that matter (rat bites).

Fumes only occur during cold starts. Once it warms up it is reduced very much, but I can sense them very much, others don't. Already allergic to aerosols

I am proud of my driver bro here , he takes care of the ride just like I do , and he is well versed with technical know how of the ride too .
By the way where had you painted the bumper bro ?

Premier Automobiles, Malayinkeezhu.

 

[VISHNUCARCRAZY]

Do post the snap of paint job bro .

 

[deville_56]

November 2019: The Story of Betrayal

Found new parking space under the natural canopy.

Decided to do something on lazy noon.
(@VISHNUCARCRAZY bumper paint job)

Let it be MAP sensor cleaning (since last time I (may have) screwed it with WD40). Started with disconnecting the battery.

Removed the connector and screws and removed the sensor.

Sourced some surgical spirit from nearby medical shop.

Soaked and rinsed and dried.

Opened filter box cover to clean the inlet and check the fit and then got the biggest shock in the recent times

2016 make OEM filter. This was supposedly replaced by my trusted FNG guy (billed at least). Car was last worked at Chevy dealership in 2017 and replaced all filters then. FNG guy always billed for cheaper replacement filters, so no chances of him using old stock OE filters.

Bought Sofima brand air filter from Govind Auto, aftermarket filter brand of UFI Filters. Pricing is similar to OE. There were cheaper alternatives like Purolator.
UFI Sofima S3613A2 - ₹ 420.00 (MRP ₹ 481.00)

Customary before/after picture. Condition of the old filter would have given a purist owner heart attack for sure.

Installed new one and slept peacefully.

Now suspicious of all the work done by him.

 

[deville_56]

December 2019: New Set of Wipers.

1 month short of 3 years with a pair of Bosch Clear Advantage. They were still working like charm, except, it was louder than the engine itself and very much unbearable. As usual, Minda Frameless, comes at the price of Chinese ones.

Driver side 22" and passenger gets 16"

MRP ₹ 230.00 and ₹ 178.00 respectively, got for ₹ 213.49 and ₹ 165.23, from Manikantan Autobazaar.

Old vs new.

The difference in clips.

Hits roadblock. Arm was too thick to accomodate the clip.

Or rather clip hole was small for the arm to fit in.

Took the nipper and made a small cut

Voila it fits.

Topped up the tank with the VW windscreen washer concentrate.

 

[deville_56]

December 2019:

Bolt again becomes a daily runner.

Thew away the remaining mudflaps. An avid mudflap hater

Hits 66'666 km.

Black smoke and service light remains the concerns to be addressed. Otherwise running like a charm. As a next step, bought my favourite snake oil, STP Diesel Fuel Treatment. Worked well with i20 and Polo in the past. ₹ 400.00. Got from Car Park, Trivandrum. Amazon prices are cheaper.

Saw Little Trees while there, tempted and bought one. ₹ 150.00. Absolute waste of money, didn't even last 2 days.
(Got one free with one of the first editions of TopGear India magazine, it is still somewhere in my collection).

Insurance Renewed.

HDFC Ergo Comprehensive Policy
Premium - ₹ 4,148.00
(IDV ₹ 19557.00)

(In the interim, bought a used tyre for the spare wheel, paid ₹ 1,000.00 for a decent one. Read, the intention is to sell the car).

 

[deville_56]

December 31, 2019 - D-Day

The car is sold!!! ()

 

[deville_56]

January 1, 2020 - New Year - My Grey Skid
Beat finds the new owner and I bought my first car

But why?

In the background, I was looking for a used car for myself with a very limited budget of an average income family man. All I could find were vintage Maruti's awaiting second CF tests, Altos, jelly bean Zens, original breadbox Wagon Rs. Like everyone, was worried about the future of pre BS4 cars, like heavy green tax and rebuilding the car again and again for fitness. The only thing that fitted in my budget were Nanos, but again asking prices were more than their true market worth. So the search was on the way, but no hurry since the Beat and the replacement Polo were always at my disposal.

The Beat was stuck with us due to the low balling prices. A couple of people came and checked the car. All of them quoted five-digit figures, some even down to half a lakh. One thing I noticed was everyone including mechanics were happy about the sound of the engine, so the car ain't bad. Anyone with a decent price and the car will be sold. That was the situation. Then, one day, my wifey asked then why can't we buy the Skid. That bug bit my brain.

Started homeworking aka counting Beats on road. There was an average of 1 Beat every 50-100 Altos on road (Most were either Grey or Red). Surprisingly about half of them were petrol and even shocking for me was almost a similar number of Sparks. That was reassuring.

Then some chronologic calculation. Chevrolet closed shop in 2018 (Announced late 2017) with the promise of support for 10 years, so till 2028, there won't be much of an issue finding spares/support. Skid is 2012 December end registered (so kind of 2013). Registration valid till 2027 end. No hope of renewing after that since the automotive scene won't be the same then. Inquired a few shops and most of the parts (at least compatible) were available with them. Chevy dealer also had decent stock.

@Auto_Psycho 's Ultimate Guide For Maintaining Chevrolet Beat Diesel boosted the bug. Though the thread was up for some time, I joined the Beat Facebook group and again stumbled upon his posts and felt very reassured (but the reason I joined that group was actually to find a buyer for the car). There I saw a couple of Beats with more than a lakh kilometres on odo. By coincidence, while discussing with my colleague, he said his cousin's car crossed 2 lakhs, which is always on road, even now running length and breadth of the country. It had engine rebuilt and turbo changed at around 50k km.

Concerns - The amount of money spent on the car. Expensive to maintain. My take on this was:
1. Lack of localization, many parts were still imported.
2. Exploiting attitude of Chevy dealer + lack of child parts = Costly replacements. Example replaced the entire AC control unit for a 15 rupee switch.
3. Lack of knowledge of generic issues with Chevrolet cars by even reputed mechanics/garages. Still many don't know about the existence of PCV filter.
4. Lastly rouge garages charging high.
5. Since it wasn't my own car, I didn't get too much involved in the care (just left at workshops, paid and took back).

With @Auto_Psycho 's posts, I felt I can take care of the car myself.

Sentimental Attachment - I chose the car, I chose the colour, I did the PDI, I took the delivery. (Always thankful to them for giving me the liberty). Post-delivery, I did all the installations at my home. Whenever they were out of town, the car was with me. My first outing with my wife was in this car. My honeymoon was in this car. Took me all the way to Kodai and back without any trouble. Except the first free service (which happened in Bangalore) and last oil change (done by the driver), each and every workshop visits and services done by myself and documented, so the inside-out and full history (including the accidents) known to me.

The Decisions - After lots of additions and subtractions, made mind to go for the car. Checked Olx and Facebook market place and understood the reasonable market price for the car.

New Year's eve called the aunt and made my offer. New Year morning, they agreed. By words, the car in mine . Paperwork and rest will be done when they are in town in February.

(One thing I found in the background was dealers piling up cheap BS4 cars for exploiting the post-April 2020 market. Found a dealer with 15+ Nano GenX and someone specifically buying Beats).

 

[Auto_Psycho]

Congratulations @deville_56 for your Beat!
Make sure you do the routine services on time, if you do so, she will give you more trouble free miles!
Remember, do not forget to replace your PCV filter every 25-30K Kms. Because clogged PCV filter is one of the main reason behind premature turbocharger failure.