Autoportal India

Two weeks ago the Brown Mare completed her 10th service. Total cost Rs. 226,000 including taxes. Next week she will complete 8 years with an average of 940 kms a month. Normally by now she would have crossed 100,000 kms but for the slowdown imposed by the various lockdowns.

This time my two big expenditures were 3 shock absorbers of ~Rs. 87,000 including labour & taxes and the exhaust gas recovery valve costing ~Rs 76,000 including labour & taxes. Two of these 3 shockers were changed 3 years ago so I’m a wee bit scratchy that they needed changing again. But after some argument let it go. Other than these the costs were the routine servicing, wheel balancing, polishing, fluid changes and minor part replacements. I like to go for the maximum work rather than the minimum work possible. This I believe rightly or wrongly, helps keep the car in the best possible mechanical trim as well as looking and driving its best. It also means I spend somewhat more on upkeep than some others might.

Total cost of maintenance, spares & upgrades so far is Rs. 903,000/- over 90,000 odd kms or R.s 10.03 per kms. This does not include the Rs 48,000 invested on the polestar upgrade to add more zest and smoothness to the driving experience. In terms of time this works out to a little over Rs 9200 a month. The big items in here are – all four brakes twice, tyres once, battery twice, drivers side ORVM, transmission oil, polestar upgrade, replacement of the alternator, replacement of 3 shock absorbers and a new exhaust gas recovery valve. For a car at this price point I believe this is reasonable and probably a lot less than a German luxury vehicle.