Fortune Tata-Fiat: Clueless !!

[amit]

My S10's muffler has been rusted for a couple of weeks now. About 8-10 days back the car was sent to Fortune after they confirmed over the phone that they had the muffler for the S10. I asked them twice if the muffler they had was for the S10 (i.e.) the Sachin Tendulkar edition which has a chrome tip at the rear unlike the GTX and they confirmed. Till 6 pm in evening they kept telling us that the muffler was being replaced and that the vehicle would be ready in about 45 minutes. At 6.30 pm they called saying they didn't have the part in stock! So off I go to Fortune, the service advisor says he said the job was being carried out because it actually was. When I asked him the meaning of "the job is being done" he said it meant that the car was on the ramp and it was being checked to see if they had the parts in stock! I ask for the manager or customer service manager and the conversation goes like this:

Me: hello, my Palio 10...blah blah blah

CSR: Yes, we have the parts in stock but it wouldnt fit in your car because the muffler is different from other Palio's.

Me: Thats because you have the GTX muffler in stock while mine is the S10. How did you confirm you had the parts in stock? Even when the car was brought in and the service advisor made the job card, he agreed that the part was in stock.

CSR: Yes we have parts in stock but until the car is lifted up on the ramp, we can't tell if the car has a different part installed.

Me: With the S10, you don't need to put it up on the ramp! The muffler's chrome tip sticks out from the rear bumper. Just one look at it and you should have known that this car is different. The whole world knows that the S10 has a different muffler and you being the dealer don't know about your product!

CSR: Sorry, blah blah blah.

He takes me to the stores, shows the computer and says he will order the part immediately. Since I had sent the car to them with one of my colleagues, they had his number in their records. 8-10 days later he gets a call from some Tata service guy and after he tells them about the fiasco at Fortune, they promise to look into it. A day later Fortune calls and asks for the car to be sent over as they now have the part in stock. Now here comes the shocker.

The car was sent yesterday morning. The mistake my colleage did was to not take the customer copy of the job card since they said it would take about 1.5 hours to make the job card. At 5pm they say the car is ready. Till 7 pm my colleague hasn't returned. I call him and he says the part has been replaced but the side skirt has come off and the dealer claims thats how they got the car. They removed the side skirt and said they will fix it back after 2 days since they got to make the bolts for it. At 8 pm the car is back. I go down and start the car and feel the idling is different. I walk back and Iam shocked to see that the muffler is of the GTX! With the driver's side skirt off and the GTX muffler, my car seems to have lost it's charm! Today is my day off from work and the dealer is close to my office so I plan to take action tomorow.

I guess I can't do anything about the side skirt since my colleage made the mistake of not taking our copy of the job card. But I plan to ask them to take off the GTX muffler. Looks like they installed the GTX muffler to show to Tata that they solved the problem. What about customer satisfaction? Shouldn't they ask me if it's okay with me if they install the GTX muffler? Two trips to fortune and the Palio ownership expereince which was flawless till now has been ruined. It's been over a month and the S10 spec muffler are no where to be found. I wrote a email to Fiat and didn't even get an acknowledgement. Looks like they acknowledge and communicate with you only when good things are written about them! For non-avaliablity of parts, I don't blame the dealers. It's totally Fiat's fault.

Question is can I ask the idiots at Fortune to take off their muffler and give me my refund back? But the more important question is, Should I risk removing the new muffler in the hope that Fiat will send the S10 muffler over? It's been over a month that I have had this rusted muffler and both Wasan and Fortune have placed orders for the same with Fiat. Off topic, Wasan was telling me about this Palio thats waiting for an ignition coil for 2 months now!

For 4 years, I was wondering where was Fiat's ugly side. I guess it's rearing up now. Fiat, you are ruining my ownership experience. Are you listening?

A big thumbs down to Fortune and both Tata and Fiat.

[omar1310]

Hi! Please write about the part to support@tatamotors.com and supportwest@tatamotors.com

See, if you get any help!

Regards

[iraghava]

Amit - If the issue doesn't get solved, dump the stock exhaust & ask for a refund. In place of that get an after-market exhaust, if I'm not mistaken about the prices it'll be cheaper & will do the job as well, if not better.

How much did the muffler cost you from Fiat?

[mohit333]

Why not try other dealers in Mumbai like Shaman Auto? Or is it that the part isnt being dispatched from the FIAT plant itself??

[roms]

Originally Posted by mohit333

Why not try other dealers in Mumbai like Shaman Auto?

I did ask Shaman guys for S10's muffler as well. I thought these guys would be better off with these things since it was originally a Fiat ASC. No luck Amit. The guys at the stores said they could try and order it from Fiat, but I think its almost impossible to get an S10 muffler. If the service advisor is to be believed, none of the add-ons for S10 are available, except maybe the lousy 'sachin tendulkar' stickers. Which means, no chrome tipped muffler, no S10 spoiler, no side skirts and no S10 monogram( the big red sticker at the back). Hmm,I wonder if I would even be able to get it painted yellow again .Thankfully, that one thing is available, 'as of now'.
In short, I'm scared. S10 owners, keep your italian horses on the leash and try not to get the car banged up. Your beauty might never be able to look the same again!

[mohit333]

Originally Posted by roms

If the service advisor is to be believed, none of the add-ons for S10 are available, except maybe the lousy 'sachin tendulkar' stickers. Which means, no chrome tipped muffler, no S10 spoiler, no side skirts and no S10 monogram( the big red sticker at the back). Hmm,I wonder if I would even be able to get it painted yellow again .Thankfully, that one thing is available, 'as of now'.

In that case, I feel the only option you have is to go in for an after market fitment.

[FERRO]

Amit there are plenty of Fiat Spare shop in Opera house area I m pretty sure u will get S10 muffler there if u search it Good Luck !

[amit]

I sent the car back to Fortune the next day asking them to take off the GTX muffler and re-install my old one back. They tried to pursuade me not to do it saying that the muffler installed was sent by Fiat specifically for my car. I asked them to prove it. The service manager called the store manager and proudly asked him to show spare part order documents for my car. All that the document showed was the part number. There was nothing about type of car, chassis no, engine no or VIN. When I asked them if the part number was for the S10 muffler, the store manager looked foxed and said, he saw the catalogue and ordered the part. I told him based on that there was no way for Fiat to know if the car was a GTX or S10. Then the service manager says, even the S10 mufflers are GTX ones but Fiat welded the chrome tip at the end. After a few more minutes of arguing, the manager said he will chase up the issue with Fiat and ask them specifically for the S10 muffler. This was a week back! Doesn't worry me as I am using their new muffler and 2 days back when I called the manager, he said, keep using my muffler because Fiat have yet to confirm if they can send the S10 muffler over to them.

Only thing worrying me is the delay in getting the clamps for the side skirts. Tomorrow is the day when I have to call them again. If there is no muffler, and I am sure there wouldnt be any, I think I'll keep the GTX one. If there are no clamps for the side skirts, I'll ask them to return the skirts to me and give me a call when they have the parts avaliable. To be honest, I don't think Fortune should face the brunt from me. Sure their dealership is chaotic and no one knows whats happening and the Fiat service advisor is totally clueless about everything, but the managers are helpful, friendly and really want to help me out. From the little I know, I think the problem is that they have recieved little information or training from Fiat and they really don't know what to do and who to approach in Fiat if they need help. In short, it's a Fiat problem more then the dealer problem.

I sent an email about this to fiat and got a response apologising for what has happened and that the issue was forwarded to the higher ups for further action. I have also recieved two calls from Tata Motors asking if I was happy with the service provided by Fortune. I told them the whole story even telling them that I don't blame the dealer if Fiat doesn't provide spares. Both times the representative told me that they will forward my complaint to the higher authorities for immediate action. Nothing has come of the email or telephone conversations till now. To me, Tata is turning out to be as bad as Fiat.

I agree with Romil on the S10 specific spares problem. The problem for us, who bought a limited edition car is that Fiat has made sure the car is limited edition in everything!

[mohit333]

I guess you will have to stay with the GTX muffler. Coz I called up my service advisor @ SHAMAN and he said its not possible to get a S10 chrome tipped muffler. So all that contacting FIAT and waiting for reply stuff is invain. As you rightly said, its highly unlikely that you would get a positive reply from Fortune tomorrow.

And as roms and amit rightly pointed out, S10 is getting LIMITED in every sense of the word

[doctorkats]

@amit:
could you please post the part number(s) of the S10 muffler and side clamps?
will try to pull a few strings.

[sans33]

Fiat's service is pathetic everywhere.So far I have tried three dealers in Delhi,but its same everywhere.Last time I visited Samyak Motors,they cracked and dislodged one of my S10's side skirt.When I complained,they started to abuse mechanic in front of me and asked poor man to pay from his pocket.Later they told me that S10's skirts are not available and at the most, they can repair and paint it,if I leave the car for a day.

[amit]

@amit:
could you please post the part number(s) of the S10 muffler and side clamps?
will try to pull a few strings.

Believe it or not, the S10 muffler doesn't have a separate part number or at least thats what Fortune tells me. According to them the S10 muffler is the same as GTX except that it has the chrome tip welded/soldered onto it. Don't know whose right.

Anyway, to the UPDATE: The right side skirt is back on the car. When the car was being attended to, Fortune recieved 3 new mufflers, one of which was for my car. When the package was opened, it was a GTX one again.

Fortune tells me to take up the issue with Fiat since the problem of supplies is from their end. The dealer says they are frustrated with Fiat as they emailed them thrice about the requirement for a S10 muffler and the company keeps despatching GTX ones. The dealer actually asks me to help them out as Fiat may respond if the customer emails them with a complaint. I have already sent a email to Fiat from their website when this issue started and never got any response. Luckily, I had the email of a Mr. Virani (Brand executive - Fiat) and he responded back by emailing that the issue has been passed on to the releavant authority who will take immediate action. That was one month back. I also have recieved 3 calls from Tata Motors asking me about my expereince at Fortune. Like a parrot, I have repeated the story to them and everytime the guy/girl at the other end tells me they will have the issue solved in 3 working days.

I have decided to keep the GTX muffler for now. I also got back my old muffler and plan to take off the chrome tip and get the job done from outside.

I am getting more and more convinced that the problem is more of Fiat then Fortune. Most of the service centers don't know the differences between GTX and S10. I don't blame them. When Fiat doesn't know about the S10, how will they train their dealers?

PS: I think the title of this thread should change to Fortune and Fiat: Clueless!

[major]

Amit

Did you find any difference in power or any thing else while driving with this new GTX muffler, compared to the stock S10 muffler...

[AlokSriva]

Originally Posted by major

Amit

Did you find any difference in power or any thing else while driving with this new GTX muffler, compared to the stock S10 muffler...

A muffler is a muffler is a muffler
Nowadays we have mufflers more for aesthetics than anything else.
And in any case, per my limited knowledge, the difference would not be noticably significant enough between the stock and the new one - unless one goes in for a muffler which has whistles and bells for itself

[amit]

Originally Posted by major

Amit

Did you find any difference in power or any thing else while driving with this new GTX muffler, compared to the stock S10 muffler...

There is no difference in power or performance. The S10 muffler was more for aesthetic reasons then performance.