Nightmare Service at TAFE

[shailu]

Car:Fiat Palio
Model:2002
Fuel: Petrol
Engine:1.2 liter
Registration No: Tn 37 X 9367
Kms Done: 33,000
Sold By: T.V.S


This is how my nightmare started

Date:29.08.07

· Left my car for periodical service at M/s TAFE Access Limited (Tata Dealer) since M/s T.V.S was no more a dealer for FIAT .This was my first periodical service with Tafe.

Date:06.09.07

· Tafe delivered the car back to me after service


Date:24.09.07

• I opened the bonnet just to check everything was Ok and noticed that the coolant was below MIN level and also noticed that the coolant tank cap was changed which was a surprise since I did not tell them to change
• Called up the Service advisor one Vijaya kumar and asked him why Coolant level was low for which there was no reply. He requested me to bring the car back to Tafe
• Asked him why he has changed the coolant tank cap and got a reply from him stating that it was not working properly when he checked( I did not have any problem with the coolant tank cap when I left it for service)
• Drove back the car to TAFE and on the way noticed that the temperature was shooting up to the red mark
• Vijaya kumar checks my car and fill it up with coolant when the temperature was almost in the red and no sooner he tops the tank I noticed lot of fumes from the bonnet.
• Again Vijaya kumar takes my car inside the workshop and after a few minutes comes back with the reply that the radiator has a block and it has to flushed and cleaned
• I again asked him why they have changed my coolant tank cap and get the same reply that it was not working
• Had no other go but to leave my car in TAFE with frustration

Date:26.09.07

· Took deleviry of my car after paying Rs 523 towards Radiator flushing and cleaning charges
· While driving back home again to my surprise noticed that the temperature was shooting up to the red
· Again called Vijaya kumar and told what was happening and got a reply that the gasket has to be changed which they did not check when my car was there for two days
· Got irritated to the core and after losing faith in TAFE called up a friend of mine one Mr.Sajeev who runs his own Garage in the name of M/s Autozone
· Explained him what has happned to my car and agree to meet him the next day


Date:27.09.07

· Left my car in autozone and requested Sajeev to set thing correct


Date:09.10.07


· Got a cal from M/s Autozone and was shocked to hear the reasons


· Reason 1: Tafe have replaced diesel palio coolant cap which is entirely a different part to my petrol car and that is why the coolant was coming out of the tank which resulted in temperature shooting up which triggered the entire issue

· Reason 2: since they topped up the coolant tank when the temperature was in red I had to replace my head gas kit, Crankshaft sensor and of course the coolant tank cap for no fault of us



Date : 10.10.07

· Took delivery of my car from M/s AutoZone and went to Tafe called up the service advisor and the works manager and pointed out the mistake what they have done
· To my shock the service advisor(vijaya kumar) puts the blame on the technician who did the work.
· Finally after along argument Tafe has promised to come back to me before this evening

Night mare continues…Guys will keep you posted on this..



The moral behind this bad experience is that TAFE( Tractors And Farm Equipments) are not the right persons to handle a FIAT

[quicksilver]

Sorry to hear that Shailu. I have gone through similar experiences with TAFE when I had given my Indica for service there. Trust them to screw up a normally functioning car and then come up with excuses.

I am so fed up with the service, I have vowed NEVER to buy a TATA vehicle again, though I believe as a product these are second to none in terms of VFM. I guess we will have to add FIAT to that list now.

What use will it be if they release cars like the Grande Punto, Linea etc if their A.S.S is going to screw up like this? I will stick to my Honda till then.

[finneyp]

That was a horrible service by TAFE!

Shailu, please escalate this to Fiat India, please send a detailed mail to: service@fiat.com and mangesh.kodalkar@fiat.com.

Am sure Fiat will give them a dressing down for their pathetic service!

[shailu]

finneyP, thanks a lot for the mail id's have sent a mail and let me see how they respond.

will keep you updated ..

[pawan_pullarwar]

Originally Posted by shailu

finneyP, thanks a lot for the mail id's have sent a mail and let me see how they respond.

will keep you updated ..

Shailu, let us know if you get any reply from Fiat. I own Palio and can not expect such thing when Fiat wants to come back.

[2theMax]

Sorry about your car shailu.

Ahem ..TAFE is making TVS look better , where is autozone in cbe ? , is this the place in RS puram who were into maruti authorised service ?

[esteem_lover]

What else can you expect from a tractor manufacturer ? Sad indeed. Hope you manage to get a full refund of all these 'extra' charges you have paid for radiator, coolant etc.

[anandrs]

Sorry about your car Shailu. Tafe in Bangalore has the skoda dealership and there are enough posts on tbhp that will convince you of their bad quality. I personally had a talk with some of the people at the dealership in Bangalore and they lie very easily.

[shailu]

Finally good news..

M/s Tafe has agreed to pay back the money(10,600) what i had to spent in autozone for Head gasket,sensor etc...Tafe and tata motors have also promised to stand guarantee for my engine for the next 2 lacks kms and just in case something goes wrong in the engine they said the job will be done free of cost in the future.

Thank you guys for the support you have given me...

Thank you all once again

[shailu]

FinneyP: Thanks a lot for the email contacts...it really worked

[quicksilver]

Congrats Shailu. You have taken the dealer to task and in record time. I am sure they must have got an earful from higher up.

Again, it helps if you know the right people. I hope you'd never have to use that 2,00,000 KMs warranty now, but that will atleast give you peace of mind with your engine now.

Kudos to TATA/FIAT for the quick action.

[finneyp]

Congrats Shailu!

Good to know that TAFE was taken to task by Fiat-Tata!

[satyamenon]

Sorry to hear about your troubles with TAFE (not surprised though).

But it's good to hear that you've got a gaurantee from them. Hope it's in writing.

[Technocrat]

Shailu sorry to hear about your bad experience but on the other hand I am really happy to know the way TATA\Fiat has responded. Congrats