Fiat Palio Service

[carboy]

Fiat Palio had a bad rep for After sales service. Is this improved after
the Tata tieup? Is it easy to find a Fiat Service Center in Pune? How good
is their customer service? And are parts & maintenance reasonably priced?

If anyone has any experience with this - I would like their inputs. This
is the only deal breaker as far a Palio goes.

[gshankar]

Hi..
To put your mind at rest - Rarely would you come across any authorized service center - that actually does a brilliant job on your car. Not unless you stood there - and actually made them do what you want them to. I have a palio NV - bought last April. I recently got it serviced the third time - and I am very very happy with what I got back. Of course - I had to spend around 6 hours at the center. But that pain is worth it, if you love your car! Vivek Auto - where I got the car serviced - is definitely good. But that said, you have to take care that they do the job right. A service guy there also said that at times, they do hanky panky just to get rid of a job card.

[moralfibre]

Originally Posted by carboy

Is this improved after the Tata tieup? Is it easy to find a Fiat Service Center in Pune? How good
is their customer service? And are parts & maintenance reasonably priced?
If anyone has any experience with this - I would like their inputs. This
is the only deal breaker as far a Palio goes.

I have experienced a Tata dealership for Fiat service.

Service Center: B.U. Bhandari
Location: Wakad

They are good with service equipments and expertise but I am yet to put them on a scale for a honesty and labour cost. But I cannot do this scale for any service. The only solution I find deem fit for this is to stand by my car when it is being serviced and make friends with the mechanics. I am 23 years of age and can find time and interest to do this, not only for my car but for my brothers Getz and my cousins Santro too.
If it is a regular service go for it. They are the best you can get in Pune for now.

[etchemkay]

As far as workshops/service centers for Palio in Pune go, B.U.Bhandari at Wakad is the way to go if you agree with most folks in Palio communities like PUG.

[san_pandey]

As far as I know.. in Hyd Tata guys do a fabulous job. I bought palio 1.6 6 mths back. these guys remind me 'when my service is due'. After servicing also their customer relations guy calls up in a weeks time to checkup whether the work done was good/quality/were u overcharged/were ur car given free polishing etc etc.

[rishibravo]

Originally Posted by gshankar

Hi..
To put your mind at rest - Rarely would you come across any authorized service center - that actually does a brilliant job on your car. Not unless you stood there - and actually made them do what you want them to. I have a palio NV - bought last April. I recently got it serviced the third time - and I am very very happy with what I got back. Of course - I had to spend around 6 hours at the center. But that pain is worth it, if you love your car! Vivek Auto - where I got the car serviced - is definitely good. But that said, you have to take care that they do the job right. A service guy there also said that at times, they do hanky panky just to get rid of a card.

I take an off from work and do exactly the same thing . I have had 2 services for my july 06 Palio NV at Vivek Automobiles. Till now my experience with them has been good. The work culture inside the workshop floor had improved after the tieup with TATA and so has customer support. This might vary in defferent FIAT dealerships though

[carboy]

Thank you for all the replies.

One more question. Are there problems with availability of spares or the
cost of spares for Palios? Has this situation improved after Tata took over?

[moralfibre]

Originally Posted by carboy

Thank you for all the replies.

One more question. Are there problems with availability of spares or the
cost of spares for Palios? Has this situation improved after Tata took over?

There aren't problems for availability of regular spares that are required to do basic service jobs on your car. Only issue is sourcing parts which are not too obvious to falter. Cost of spares are cheap and reasonable. Cost of labour is high.

[roms]

Pune's Fiat service was never bad.Like others have mentioned,go to B.U bhandari at wakad for service.There is this guy called Sameer Ajgaonkar at B.U. bhandari.This guy is brilliant and he is a bundle of knowledge.The Pune guys will vouch for that.He is also a member at Palio users group and Fiat Club India.So if you plan to buy a Fiat, get in touch with this guy for service.
And yes, spares should not be a problem in Pune atleast.The parts are reasonably priced as well.

P.S- @ moralfibre, Congrats on getting the 'senior bhpian ' tag.Just noticed that.

[moralfibre]

Originally Posted by roms

There is this guy called Sameer Ajgaonkar at B.U. bhandari.This guy is brilliant and he is a bundle of knowledge.

He is here - TURBOSAM

[Wimwian]

A few people have reported step-motherly treatment towards Fiat owners by Tata salespeople on this forum... any idea why exactly? Do they get paid less commission for selling Fiat's or is it simply because they are on the payroll of the Tatas...

[roms]

Oh boy, So TURBOSAM is Sameer Ajgaonkar. Car boy, here's your man.

[amit]

are parts & maintenance reasonably priced?

When I bought my S10 in 2003, I used to pay Rs. 84 for oil filter, Rs. 82 for fuel filter and Rs. 222 for air filter. Also, note that in 2003 there was no VAT, education surcharge, service tax and what not. Those are of course fast running spares.

My last service done on March 17, 2007, I paid Rs. 78.67 for oil filter, Rs. 76.57 for fuel filter and Rs. 207.68 for air filter.

Palio 1.6 front suspension mountings cost Rs. 592.66, coil springs tube cost Rs. 19 each as on October 18, 2006. All figures from service bills of Shaman. Palio horn costs Rs. 382 at Anuroop as on October 5, 2006.

Are there problems with availability of spares or the
cost of spares for Palios?

I have never faced problems with avaliablity of spares. But yes, recently the wheel bolts of my car had come loose because the threading had gone. Both my rear tyres had lost one bolt each! Shaman and Fortune didn't have any in stock. Ultimately, I had to ask a tyre shop in Chembur to source new bolts from Opera house which was probably good for me as I am sure I got them cheaper then at any authorised service center.