[vnambiar]

1 - cracks on the openable panels as well as the main structure
-i have on the main structure, not on panels. they develop if left on sunlight for long. my front half was exposed and cracks develop.

2- water leaking at the joints where the body and the hardtop meet. This is despite applying birla3m sealant thrice. It holds for 3 months tops and during heavy downpour it leaks
-joints leak, for me its from fastening points, frequent sealing seems only solution. the HT is susceptible to rattling.

3 - vibration from the top especially during cold weather
-did not face this from HT, but i guess the vibrations are pretty high.

4 - water leaking through the knobs used to fasten the openable panels as cracks of the outer surface is letting water percolate into the cavity between the outer and inner panel.
-not for me

5 - water dripping via the rear hatch door between the rubber needing and glass
-yes, is an issue, change rubber beading to thinner version will help.

Had spoken to Prabhu, need to take it to Hyderabad to get this rectified, so its there in to-do list. he mentioned that there has been major changes that addressed these issues, i am 1+ on HT.

[vj_k2001]

Hi Nambiar,

I have tried the slimmer needing s on the rear door and it just leads to more water coming through as the bleeding barely puts any pressure on the glass. I spoke to Prabhu about the problems and yes he did mention that the newer pieces have no issues at all, does that mean that the HT's sold prior will have issues and if yes we're we as customers informed about it. I was given a quote of 40,000 to replace my hardtop with the new one. I don't know if the new one does address these issues as Ashwin's HT is from the newer stables and has all the issues I have mentioned. Like Manu said its the same top in the youtube video.i do not know what the solution is but it's definitely not going to be regular trips to Hyderabad for me..I would rather buy a product without the frills and fancies that last atleast 4 to 5 years. I do not expect this HT to last for eternity but all these issues in year 1 is demotivating and I do feel cheated..

[Rajith]

Guys,

I was waiting for monsoon the to come before investing on HYD HT to check the reliability.Now answer is clear.Thanks.

Asking 40k to replace a defective is piece is just ridiculous.

[SPIKE ARRESTOR]

Vijay, Rajith, take my advice, invest 1 lakh rupees and make a HT mold of your own and then start selling. The only grouse is, FRP is a work of art (unlike sheet metal parts), and if you get it done from someone with no prior experience in FRP, it may bite you real hard.

I hope the manufacturers will do something, was expecting better reviews considering it is a Hyderabadi workmanship.

Spike

PS- I am not kidding about the mold cost.

[r_nairtvm]

Originally Posted by SPIKE ARRESTOR

The only grouse is, FRP is a work of art (unlike sheet metal parts), and if you get it done from someone with no prior experience in FRP, it may bite you real hard.

Spike

I fully agree with Spike. I don't know if you guys remember or have seen it even, the first generation Roplas bodies had the same kind of issues and it took them several year to get to acceptable standards.

So may be Hyderabad HT will get there at some point of time

Working with fiber glass requires a lot of infrastructure.

Best Regards & Drive/Ride Safe

Ram

[powertrain]

Exactly 11 months ago vjk2001 had posted the review on his HHT. So the HHT could not withstand less than a year of use!!!
Personally I thought that Prabhu took all the care to make this HT. I even recommended the HHT to my friend in Bangy. Guess I will have to tell him to wait & watch.
BTW, can Prabhu/Fazal Sir confirm,if this problem is for a certain batch or common?
I believe as a goodwill gesture, Prabhu should rectify vjk2001 HT FOC or at least give a massive discount. 40K's is simply unacceptable.

Regards,
Varun

[Rajith]

Originally Posted by SPIKE ARRESTOR

Vijay, Rajith, take my advice, invest 1 lakh rupees and make a HT mold of your own and then start selling. The only grouse is, FRP is a work of art (unlike sheet metal parts), and if you get it done from someone with no prior experience in FRP, it may bite you real hard.

I hope the manufacturers will do something, was expecting better reviews considering it is a Hyderabadi workmanship.

Spike

PS- I am not kidding about the mold cost.

Tini and Rogan is on the verge of launching a good design HT with affordable tag.

I think as Mr Fazal knows Mr Prabhu in person and better about this HT , he will/should be able address our issues and help in sorting out. We all know this HT thru Mr Fazal only.

[Ravveendrra]

Hi,

Seeing this thread I asked Prabhu about it and he tells me he has been trying to post here using his ID newmarshyd but was unable to do so for some reason. He requested me to post his response. I am therefore posting what he had to say:

"Vijay (vj_k2001) had taken delivery of the first ever piece (a prototype) as he wanted to be the first to have a hard top. This was in spite of me dissuading him saying that it needed more development. Seeing his keen interest, the hardtop was sold to Vijay at a discounted price. When he pointed out some defects in the piece, the same was replaced free of cost with another piece.

Based on the feedback on the first lot of pieces including Vijay’s piece, several improvements were made in the design and several areas of concern were addressed including improvement on the hatch and beading design, rear door lip and beading design etc. The compounds used in the manufacture were tweaked to enhance performance and life of the product. Vijay called me when the newer and improved version was launched and asked if he could upgrade to the newer version. I offered an upgrade at a huge discount.

Vijay called after the rains started and said the hard top had started leaking. I suggested a few remedial measures like checking the drain holes and making sure that they were clear and ensuring that the beadings were seated properly. I immediately and without hesitation offered him a complete check and offered yet another replacement if the defects could not be rectified. I also mentioned that it is best that he bring the vehicle with the hard top to Hyderabad so that not just me but all workers could study it and analyse the problems in order to improve the product even further. I still stand by my promise of a free replacement.

I must point out here that both of Vijay’s pieces were from the first lot of hard tops. Since Vijay took his hard tops, a lot of development work went into the product and new variants were introduced like the one without openable hatches and the high roof version. Every aspect of the manufacturing process has been worked on and now the manufacturing process is much improved and is being handled by FRP professionals who have been manufacturing FRP parts for the automobile sector for over a decade now. Even minor things like the groutings and mountings for the nuts have been enhanced.

I take this opportunity to request all customers to contact me if they are having any problems with their hard tops. I would like to address each and every problem to the fullest satisfaction of the customers. I have spent a lot of time, money and effort on developing this hard top in order to give a good product to off-roaders with Jeeps, this was at the cost of my regular business, I therefore will not be satisfied till I give the best possible product to the Jeeping community."

Now, please don't shoot me as I am only the messenger

[vj_k2001]

Hi Prabhu, the point I made is exactly what you have stated. You did offer a huge discount which was 50% of the original price. 40,000 considering all the support and feedback I have given, the multiple trips made to hyderabad and the ideas I provided is expensive. The other bit Prabhu is your offer to study and improve the product. Why would you need to do so when you had better compunds, all I asked for is a replacement as the compound used in this piece was not the best so as much as you tried to repair it the solution was a replacement. I thankyou for the offer of the discount but 40,000 more considering I spent a fortune travelling to hyderabad, staying in hotels for days when you promised delivery and returning dissapointed only to travel back the next week and doing this week on week. So is it too much to expect considering the top actually costed me a lot more money than one would pay for a new one today and the fact that my vehicle was it you for 3 months. I have supported the R&D in every possible way only to be asked to shell out 40,000 more when you know I have a defective piece.....

Prabhu I will make another point here as well. I told you about all these issues 6 months ago when the top was 5 months old. I did not bring it up on this forum or any forum beacuse that would hit your reputation and you kept telling me that the newer versions did not have the problem. I vouched for this product to numerous people... Not once did you offer a checkup, not once did you offer to help, not once did you offer sympathy. I still kept quiet because of our friendship. I did not ask you to replace my speakers that got all soaked, nor my reverse sensor console or seek help each time I had to remove all the mats, dry them and put them back or everytime I had to take a taxi to work becuase it was raining, but when I called you desperate with the problem as I just couldnt drive the vehicle when it rained without getting soaked you asked me to cough up 40,000 and drive down to hyderabad. Thanks a ton Prabhu appreciate it !!

[SPIKE ARRESTOR]

Seeing this thread I asked Prabhu about it and he tells me he has been trying to post here using his ID newmarshyd but was unable to do so for some reason. He requested me to post his response.

Slightly OT- mods please help Prabhu with his ID, he is not able to communicate directly with his customers and needs to convey his message through other people (friends). Will be helpful to members here. I don't know why he is facing problems with his ID, please help if possible.

Spike

[Samurai]

Originally Posted by SPIKE ARRESTOR

Slightly OT- mods please help Prabhu with his ID, he is not able to communicate directly with his customers and needs to convey his message through other people (friends). Will be helpful to members here.

If Prabhu want to communicate directly with customers, he should use the email or phone.

I checked on the handle newmarshyd, it is an rejected ID from 2009. Prabhu will have to apply freshly with a new handle if the administrator has to consider it.

[vj_k2001]

Question - Just going by paragraph 3 of prabhu's post, if I was promised a free replacement post a checkup by Prabhu then why in the name of God do I still have the defective piece considering this was brought to prabhu's notice 6 months ago. I have driven to his garage more than 10 times, one more wouldn't kill...

Answer - Prabhu told me that the piece I have is beyond repair and the only solution would be to put a new one which was improved at the cost of 40000 which was a 50 % discount. Like I said, I was never offered anything as a solution or alternative apart from incurring additional cost...

[SPIKE ARRESTOR]

Originally Posted by vj_k2001

So is it too much to expect considering the top actually costed me a lot more money than one would pay for a new one today and the fact that my vehicle was it you for 3 months. I have supported the R&D in every possible way only to be asked to shell out 40,000 more when you know I have a defective piece.....

My question - I can understand you giving your Thar to someone for "R&D" if he does not have one. Why in this case when the manufacturer already has one? Sounds intriguing to me or is there something different with your Thar?

Originally Posted by Samurai

I

I checked on the handle newmarshyd, it is an rejected ID from 2009. f Prabhu want to communicate directly with customers, he should use the email or phone.

Thanks. Agree.

Spike

PS- Considering the kind of Thar threads running on the forum these days, I won't be surprised if someone comes up with a new one "Why I won't buy the Hyderabad Hard Top (HHT) " soon .

[vj_k2001]

[quote=SPIKE ARRESTOR;3161349]My question - I can understand you giving your Thar to someone for "R&D" if he does not have one. Why in this case when the manufacturer already has one? Sounds intriguing to me or is there something different with your Thar ?

Hi Spike,

Long time.. How have you been... The answer to your question, Prabhu does not own a Thar of his own and there is something different about my Thar now, it lets you have the full experience of not just the sun and the wind but also the rain.

[SPIKE ARRESTOR]

Originally Posted by vj_k2001

Long time.. How have you been... The answer to your question, Prabhu does not own a Thar of his own and there is something different about my Thar now, it lets you have the full experience of not just the sun and the wind but also the rain.

Hi Vijay, as always Prima !

Good to see you still remember me . He does not own a Thar is a surprise news to me, I always thought that Orange Thar belonged to him.

Anyways, I hope your problems get solved soon.

Spike