I was on the lookout for a second hand car and found Ikon 1.6 Zxi at a second hand dealer shop in Cochin. One test drive in the car convinced me that this was the car to buy.
The car had done around 40000 km and was pretty well maintained. I had purchased the top end model of the car then for rs 200000/- The car was a delight to drive. It had very sprightly acceleration, superb handling, extremely comfortable rear seats, in short was a true drivers car.
The car would zip effortlessly both in highway and city. All you need is a slight nudge at the accelerator pedal and would spring to life. I have driven many other cars ( same price range) , none of them would even come close to the instant acceleration it provided. The steering gives great feedback and feels as if you are drivng a rally car.
But alas all this comes in an extremely poor overall package. The car ran smoolthly till 70000 km when everything started breaking down (when I say everything, I mean it). The spare parts of the car is extremely over priced. You wouldnt believe but I have spend close to 2.5 laks in the past two years for the repair alone. Have a look at the price list of some of the parts .
Front and Rear Muffler combined 11000/-Ac coondenser Assbly 10000/-Power Steering pump - somewhere close to 25000/-These are prices of some of the random parts anong hundrerds which were replaced and I could recollect now.The engine used to frequently overheat which was rectified after 5 visit to the dealership and a bill of almost 60000/- .
The attitude of the service personnel in Kailrali ford is anything but confident inspiring. The technical staff is non competant and management unresponsive. Just to site an example the car was given to the service centre two weeks back for engine oil leakage problem, the car was returned the same day saying they had repacked the valve cover( Bill 3000/).
Back home and the oil started dripping again and back went the car again to the service centre , this time they said the valve packing needs replacement and car returned a few days later will a bill of 4000/- . To my horror I found car had the same problem as soon as I checked it after reachin home. Clearly fed up I asked them to take back the vehicle..this time they changed the engine sump seal and the problem has hence dissaperaed. This is just few of the innumerable problems I face with the car and the dealer.
Used Car Price 2004 - 200000/-Money spend on the car till date - maintenance - 250000/- Km’s run - 80000. Present resale value - 70-80 k Final Words : Great engine and good body joined together by extremely sub standard and unreliable mechanical parts. So much better used car around..Avoid it under any cost.