Instead of going to an authorised service centre, this time I took my car to a Bosch service centre.
BHPian amvj recently shared this with other enthusiasts.
I just serviced my Baleno (1.2L petrol manual) at 49915 KM (~50,000KM service) and want to give some updates. The car is now 4yrs and 4 months old.
This time, I skipped the Maruti Service center and went to Bosch service center in Sarjapur. I usually spend around Rs 8K – 10K per service at Maruti (not NEXA) service center. I find Maruti service centers charge around 50% of the service amount as labour charge which is quite high. For a change, I want to service the car through these garages.
This is the odometer reading after I completed the service and returned home.
Despite what people think about Maruti cars and spares, getting some of the spares are not that easy. Getting 0W20 oil is not easy, for example, even this is not available in MGP stores. I checked two MGP stores, one in TN and one in KA and in both places they are not keeping this in stock. It is not possible to get it from service center as well for obvious reasons. I am able to procure one from Boodmo.
Cabin AC filter change: This one I did. It is a bit fiddly but able to do it. The roads are in bad shape near my home and AC filter gets dirty rather quickly. I also noticed small bits of plastic in the filter which the service guy pointed out that it is because of rats. I just ordered 3M rat spray.
Brakes are honestly rubbish on the car. It is pretty evident that Maruti spent a lot of time making the car light for fuel efficiency and features while completely ignoring safety which includes the thin sheet metal. I was looking for good brakes, I changed the stock brake pads to another set of stock pads during the 30K KM service and done some brake bleeding too, still, it was rubbish. While searching on Google, I came across EBC brake pads on this website.
I am not sure whether these are genuine brake pads or some fake Chinese stuff. These EBC Brake pads are twice as expensive compared to stock brake pads but I want to give them a try.
List of items I ordered and received for 50K service (some of them may not be needed for 50K service):
At Bosch service center, Sarjapur, Bangalore.
Engine oil, coolant, and brake fluid changed
Stock vs. EBC brake pads. The stock pads still have sufficient meat in them since I changed only at 30K service. I will bed the new brake pads for a few hundred km and then I will give my opinion on the EBC pads.
Spark plugs are in good nick but I still changed them.
Engine air filter. It is much dirtier than it appears to be in the photo.
Items ordered through Boodmo:
- Cabin AC filter
- Engine oil 0W20
- TVS Girling brake caliper grease
Items ordered through local MGP store:
- Engine oil filter
- Brake oil
- Coolant
- Engine drain plug
- Engine drain plug washer
- Spark plug
- Transmission oil plugs (will be using for future transmission oil change)
Items ordered through Motospunk:
- EBC brake pads
Bosch service center, Sarjapur, Bangalore
Initially, the service advisor was a bit against changing the brake pads to EBC brake pads. He mentioned that many owners complain that EBC causes a lot of screeching noise (they also sell Bosch brake pads maybe that is why) etc. I am not sure about his claim. I hope the caliper grease on the back of the pad will resolve the screeching noise. I will run for a few 100KM and will see.
Some of the service guys don’t want me to stand near the car during the service. They want me to sit in the “customer lounge”. I did not oblige and I was near the car throughout the service, around 2.30hrs.
Overall, not bad and the service is comparable to Maruti service centers.
The service charge is Rs 2700 which is good, but I have not gone for water wash or interior cleaning.
XL6 with a Team-bhp sticker. A Bhpian?
What do I think about the car
This is not an exciting car. This is more of a household appliance rather than an exciting automobile. Does the job and that is it. There is no steering feel, poor brakes, thin metal body that gets dents quite easily and the list goes on.
This is what comes to my mind.
Instead of going into too many details, I would strongly recommend anyone looking for a Maruti car or Korean car to look for NCAP ratings and get a safer car. It is okay to deal with a rogue guy in the service center once a year rather than driving unsafe cars and getting killed in an accident.
Keyword: Maruti Suzuki Baleno: 4 years & 50,000 km update