dtandon

The primer that you are using seems to be too diluted. It will not last long.

I'm just worried about additional damage (outside of the alternator). AFAIK - your idle RPM should be higher as the ECU should sense that the electrical load exceeds the output of the alternator.

Was your idle RPM increasing when under full electrical load (lights, fogs, defroster, blower, stereo) ?

And also then tell the entire forun the pathetic Fuel Efficiency you get after following the above advice. Are you guys kidding! Since when did 2000 rpm become high revs/ cause for low FE! 2000-2500 rpm is a bare minimum to extract any performance from a petrol engine. Or do you drive around at idle ?

There is no such thing as a pre owned diesel car that was used for just 25K km in 5 years. Look carefully and you'll probably see that its done atleast 80K km (that's when the Accent CRDI becomes a ticking time bomb).

CV joints that are going bad will not cause jerks. IMO the problem is either a mount for the AT or the AT internals.

Its not a 5 seater. This almost looks like a facelift of the existing reva. Have seen this car a couple of times on Hosur road in peak traffic (three months ago). Never go a chance to take a picture.

@sgiitk - Changing the engine mounts could be tried (should be easy on the pocket). What is the recommended AT fluid change interval - you haven't mentioned when it was changed last. I'm not familiar with the santro - does it have a separate mount for the gearbox?

Strange problem. Its probably not the CV joints or tyres though. And the A.S.S is probably no good at diagnosing AT issues. When was the last AT Fluid change ?dtandon2010-06-19 17:26:09

To the thread starter - you are not going to find a reliable diesel car in that budget. I would suggest a Maruti with LPG/CNG as a better option.

Punto has a large turning radius and bad plastic quality. Rahul has already mentioned that. Don't be lazy - test drive all the the cars. You make like the punto after all.