Bad experience with the Indica Turbo- 5000 K

[RX135]

Related to current context! One of my juniors went to Konkan over last weekend. Since it was only him, his wife and infant son, they hired Indica. The car was not able to climb ghats without switching off a/c (wonder why?) and while returning it broke down forcing him to stay overnight at unknown place :(

Again, it can be a one-off case, but also indicates somewhat inconsistent quality on Tata vehicles.

[ivor]

Originally Posted by RX135

Related to current context! One of my juniors went to Konkan over last weekend. Since it was only him, his wife and infant son, they hired Indica. The car was not able to climb ghats without switching off a/c (wonder why?) and while returning it broke down forcing him to stay overnight at unknown place :( Again, it can be a one-off case, but also indicates somewhat inconsistent quality on Tata vehicles.

I think we all agree that Tata quality is inconsistent, perhaps a little more than others. I personally have come across a case where someone I know very well had to sell off his new Indigo within 3-6 months of purchase-- his engine was replaced once and his replacement engine was giving the same problems. It scared him so much, he just got rid of the car!

However, the above example of your colleague/junior seems quite different and out-of-place here. You say they hired the Indica--so it seems like a taxi. You don't mention how old it was too. Taxi owners ignore proper maintenance sometimes and I've been in Indica taxis where the AC wouldn't work on a lower gear, etc, etc, etc (and most of my memorable Indica experiences have happened on visits to Delhi in the sweltering heat!) :(

But to be fair it might be wrong to blame the car for this--a Merc if maintained terribly will also deliver poor performance and break down....

[himanshugoswami]

Originally Posted by Zappo

Himanshu... I am going to ask only one thing on this... that too with a very somber voice. Did you read my earlier post on this thread buddy? You only added another reference to my database... And I grow a little more circumspect from now on.

Zappo, I agree with u buddy. THese dealers make don corleone look like a church choir boy!

[maxbhp]

My friends Indica Turbo was having problems too regarding the pick up . I myself had test driven the car along with him . It felt pretty quick quicker than the Indigo Tdci . He made a spot booking and got a silver car delivered within 2 days. When I drove the car I was shocked to experience the change in pick up , I told him its not like the one we had test driven 2 days back . They tried their stunts but still not much of difference showed up. As some one else had pinned , I hope they become more consistent on their quality . Mahindra has really earned some respect for their scorpio for the way its build and I dont think Safari has done that till now, insipte of being a better looker and certianly more comfortable to travel than scorpio.

[DCEite]

Originally Posted by maxbhp

My friends Indica Turbo was having problems too regarding the pick up . I myself had test driven the car along with him . It felt pretty quick quicker than the Indigo Tdci . He made a spot booking and got a silver car delivered within 2 days. When I drove the car I was shocked to experience the change in pick up , I told him its not like the one we had test driven 2 days back

Maybe they delivered a Non-turbo Indica to your friend.....

[himanshugoswami]

Originally Posted by dceite

Maybe they delivered a Non-turbo Indica to your friend.....

Now that would be something, wouldn't it!

[maxbhp]

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[kiku007]

The issue is, Long Term Reliability of TATA Vehicles still remains a question - You may agree to disagree but this is the fact.
Anyone who buys a TATA car honestly doesn't expect TOYOTA levels of reliability but still when we spend Lakhs of rupees we don't expect it to fail within 5K Kms (let the issue be even a nut falling off - failure is a failure)

I don't buy this argument, "TATA is new to cars so they need time to improve" Till when?
Compare this with Mahindra's Scorpio - Also an Indian effort.Apart from the handling issues I havn't heard many people crying foul on it's quality and reliability.

So,
1. TATA cars are great VFM.
2. 90% of the TATA cars have no BIG issues.
3. If you buy one just pray that your's is not part of the remaining 10% !

Note: Personally i would suggest a TATA Car to a friend if Low Running Cost is most important. But will also suggest to sell the Car after 2 years. Of course as I said earlier my poor friend will have to gamble with Reliability.

[tabrez02]

When i had my Indica V2 in 2001, my engine head was blown, valves were bend, only after 6000Km, The quality of the product is pretty poor....very poor. I was dieing to sell it and i did. thank good ! After this i have promised myself that i will never buy a Tata make and not even any diesel for the sake.

[Steeroid]

Originally Posted by himanshugoswami

Now that would be something, wouldn't it!

You're kidding, right?

[supremeBaleno]

Originally Posted by kiku007

The issue is, Long Term Reliability of TATA Vehicles still remains a question - You may agree to disagree but this is the fact.
Anyone who buys a TATA car honestly doesn't expect TOYOTA levels of reliability but still when we spend Lakhs of rupees we don't expect it to fail within 5K Kms (let the issue be even a nut falling off - failure is a failure)

except for the 5K kms part. I mean, just a measly 5000 kms is the test of reliability for something for which you paid lakhs of rupees ? From my experience with Japanese cars, I can say that they will not fail you atleast for the first 5 years, if not more. And all you need to do is the usual service at regular intervals. With my 20 year old M800, I used to do non-stop (only short breaks for food) Kerala-Madras drives at the drop of a hat, without any issues. Contrast that with my friend who did the same on his few months old Indica and got stranded enroute.

Originally Posted by kiku007

Personally i would suggest a TATA Car to a friend if Low Running Cost is most important. But will also suggest to sell the Car after 2 years. Of course as I said earlier my poor friend will have to gamble with Reliability.

I personally would never buy a Tata car. As far as I am concerned, VFM does not mean getting lots of extra stuff in the car, for the money paid. Reliability and quality are two factors that are critical for me in a car. And if I would not buy something myself, I would not recommend it to anyone also.

[humyum]

Same here dude,i have a maruti 800 1998 model and has run 62000 km and has done numerous bombay bangalore and many trips to gujrat and rajasthan.Its the reliablity that matters..how much ever extra stuff u get in the car what makes the difference when the cars quality and reliablity itself is not worth the money u spent.I would never recommend a tata vehicle to anyone

[sumitkalindi]

About the turbo I am not sure anymore, seems too many people are facing problems. But Indica V2 I would say is a reliable car. Just that it has a temperament of its own. Yes it is not a great handler, but remember it was designed keeping in mind Indian families, where Usually Drivers and children occupy the front seats, and the owner and his wife occupies the rear seats. See it in that prospect and really it makes sense. Handling, not so sweet gear doesn't matter, isn't the driver paid to to the job?? Anyway they are used to handle Amby's and Sumo's so this is not big deal.

Reliability, let me tell you the place I live in, Any pump company owend or dealer owned Diesel is invariable adultared with Kerosene. My Indica's perform flawlessly even with this fuel. Maintainence, well a regular peek inside the bonnet gets them going.

Does this sound as reliability?? Maybe not. I keep each cars for around 5/6 years, each doing around 2lac kms without any major engine overhaul normaly, every day the cars drive for around 400/500 kms on an avarage.
In this hilly region.

So, how can I say they are unreliable. Belive me if there was any other car in this catagory matching my requirement and a bit more VFM then I would have surely gone for it.

By the way, Turbos should not be so bad after all. Have to check more on my freinds new Indica Turbo. Already done 3k within 3 weeks.

Is this My luck or the nippy air of the hills that make the Indica's perform better??

[HotChillyPepper]

As an Indica User I need to add few more comments to this:

Indica is a highly unreliable vehicle after 20K. In 30K i had to change all the tyres becuz of uneven wear and tear. Now my car is 55K done and started giving strange compliants everyday. Last week I was travelling from Kollam to Trissur and after Edapally suddently the vehicle stopped at the middle of the trafic. I crancked the engine but only a small murmur was the reply :(. Finally i had to take help of notorious Rick drivers of cochin to move the "Inida's pride" out of the track. They help me by pushing is and i could manage to start it in second gear. I drove it down to an exide showroom to check the batteries thinking that my battery is down. Surprisingly the exide service person shown me full health 4 cells on the battery and he asked me to change the carbon brush of my self-starter to a copper one. Another incedent, 3 months before my car broke down on Vytilla Jn becuse of gear selecter problem. On the move when I changed the gear found tht the gear liver lost its link to the gear box and moving to any direction i want. I had to wait for 4 hours with my family on road to get a help from TATA mobile workshop to come and repair it. I never had the confidence of overtaking another vehicle with the AC on because it will take a lot of time to gain the speed while AC is on and by the time opposing trafic will mask my path. U never enjoy driving in this vehicle for sure.

Me and my friend( he is also a Bhpian) drove his swift from Delhi to kollam in 4 days in december last year without any kind of problem. Most of the time we crossed 150Km/hr on express highways. While returning from kerala we stayed in Goa, and from there till delhi we drove it non-stop reached delhi in 36 hours. We stopped only for re-fuelling that too for 10 mins at each place. I love the way that baby respond to the driver. Tata engineers should drive it once and compare it with their cars so that they may get an idea how a car should be.

[Abhay]

Originally Posted by elf

Also, one more thing that struck me as really hillarious was when they launched the Indica V2. The damn advert copy said something to the tune of "... now with EPDM rubber profiles for the doors". Tata's really shameless!

So you havent seen the MAruti Omni "Nayi Naveli" ad then?
Front Disc brakes is its selling point.....