[DirtyDan]

Azad 4X4, you have a shop in Mohali near Chandigarh. Looks like I won't be doing business with you folks afterall...this right here is the reason.

I was treated pretty well by Bimbra, Gurugram (Gurgaon), for a fiberglass hardtop for my Thar. I would go back, for sure.

[AdiSinghV12]

I would begin by sympathising with the buyer for the ordeal he faced but from my personal experience with Azad 4x4 I have found them to be one of the most helpful of the lot with direct involvement of the owner and while it’s already discussed and not trying to defend the seller the logistics company has surely spoilt the party here. When I had the F30, a brand new M Sport bumper was received damaged from a vendor in Jaipur who completely decided off to take any kind of responsibility. I really wish your issue gets sorted soon and you have a lot of happy miles ahead

[india008]

Its good to see its all being sorted out.

But there are some anomalies that i cant digest.



In this chat the seller is saying, if you pay the advance today itself,they will block the canopy and handover to the paint department.

There itself he was lying. If he was having the canopy in stock, then why did it took 22 days to do the painting.

So we can assume that, he was not having a new canopy in stock and since he failed to get a fresh one, he got some used canopy and packed and shipped it.

Next point



Here the seller is seen saying "As a routing,such canopies are wrapped with plastic sheets (bubble wrap may be) and then cardboard sheets and further packed in wooden crate"

If that be the case,then how come those scratches happen,if it was inside bubble wrap and cardboard sheet.??

That makes him lying two times. Its better not to trust this guy.

Hope our friend get a new canopy as agreed by the seller.I suggest to get back the initial packing and transportation charges back for such shady work and can use the money for this travel to Delhi.

lets hope for the best outcome.

[CDM]

Let me start by stating that I have no connection with Azad except for being a reasonably satisfied customer of theirs.

I went to Azad four years back for a canopy for my Vcross after seeing one of their vehicles in a mall. I chose Azad because anyone who has lived in Delhi would be familiar with their name as bus body builders for DTC buses.

Azad was expensive but had decent stuff and I selected a Carryboy canopy (that model was only available with Azad at that time). Inu's brother (Amit, I believe) recommend a contrast colour paint job which I felt was a very good suggestion.

I placed the order and they opened a crated canopy in my presence. This crate seemed to have been packed by the manufacturer and the canopy was absolutely snug and secure in it.

I went on the appointed day for fitment and to my shock the freshly painted canopy had scratches and scrapes on it, most likely the result of careless storage and handling by Azad. I was livid but to their credit Amit and Inu made no excuses and agreed to repaint the entire canopy (not just the scratches) once again.

I had to go again for fitment and anyone who knows their workshop understands that it is in the back of beyond and takes up the whole day even for a small work. This time the canopy was in pristine condition and is still looking good on my Vcross.

Should I have had to go again or the canopy required repainting - most certainly not, but mistakes do happen and I was happy with the way they handled the situation.

I did go back to them for various other stuff and I am satisfied with the work. They did sell me something else that I did not need but they are businessmen and I was gullible.

Here is my take on Azad - they are no worse than any other player in this field that I have experienced. Maybe canopies and other stuff which require painting should be shipped in unpainted / raw condition in its original crate and painted locally as there is no way anyone can repack in the same manner as the manufacturer does.

Finally, I am glad that this has been sorted out - nothing pains more than paying for something and not being satisfied.

CDM

[moralfibre]

Navroze shares a happy update that the canopy has been fixed at Azad 4x4 and he is satisfied with the job undertaken:

[saisree]

Glad to see that the issue has been resolved and the canopy looks good too. All’s well that ends well.

@mods, guess it’s time to change the title to reflect the current state.

[gkveda]

I am glad that issue is resolved but get irritated when they say "delete comments" after issue is resolved.

We all know that the social media comments have played important role in getting the issue resolved. What is the point in deleting them after issue resolution? If required, the OP can update the comments saying issue got resolved. But deleting them is like kicking off the ladder that helped in climbing

Deleting the comments should be discouraged in all respects after issue resolution

[bejoy]

Glad to know that the issue is resolved.

Again, I see the issue being attributed to transport. The root cause of damage is inadequate packing, period! That fully finished canopy was packed tight, with poor choice of protection material causing the rubbing to the cage. Hope this incident will give enough thoughts to do better packaging next time.

[Red Liner]

Originally Posted by Red Liner

I just posted a #fail review on their google page. Suggest all interested members do this. I even posted a link to this page to warn future customers. Navroze's review can also be seen there.

These guys need to be taught a serious lesson in ethics! Bomb them!

Went back and changed my feedback to 5 stars because i couldn't delete my review for whatever reason.

Unfortunately unless we consumers band together, sellers will absolutely run over us. There is no way these guys would have helped Navs unless he went all out on public forums and got people behind him.

[Jaggu]

Good seems like some negotiated deal and as long as it worked!

At least now folks can stay away from such crooks in the future. The moral of the story.. do not jump into such purchases, do your own research, and when spending in lakhs it may be worth the additional thousands to take a flight and do an in-person check of the product and the vendor. And never ever pay the big sum in advance.

[logout]

Does the canopy come from Thailand with just primer and then painted here by the dealer?

[svsantosh]

FIBREWERX (WideBody Fenders- Google for it)
Working on a METAL AFM Canopy involves most of the steps for fiber panels, important to understand that it is NOT a direct fit.

I have limited work knowledge & hand on experience at a Dubai offroad store. We used to deal in Fiberwerx wide body fiberglass kits for almost all American trucks - F150/Raptor/GMC/Chevy/Toyotas.

1) The product comes in a wooden pallet, covered in bubble wrap, you can choose sea or air cargo, depends on your budget. Since these are very large items air cargo will cost a lot.

2) Product only came in primed form on outside. The inners were in fiber glass finish. No paint.

3) ONLY a trained and highly skilled Tinker is allowed to 'chop/hacksaw' the original body parts off. If you cut off too much, bye bye to the whole project.

4) It is a body building job - not the human body - but a automobile/coach building kind of skill. The artisan has to envision the product inside his head first, has to touch and feel the original car maker finish and then blend the fiberglass structure to achieve perfect harmony.

5) The fiberglass items which comes from Fiberwerx are, say, only 50% of the finished product. It needs to be clampled on to the body, aligned, cut, trimmed, drilled, putty'd, primed, painted, polished, refit, if needed repeat many steps again.

6) This job cannot be completed without reapplication of epoxy fiberglass kit, epoxy putty, fiberglass putty, and epoxy primer and paint.

My observations & takeaway from this episode/OP.

1) The "Overseas" Manufacturer should not send the finished product painted. The paint will get damaged surely, and one cannot spend more on packing costs, which will increase the freight costs.

2) I highly doubt the master installer has taken hands on training from the manufacturer. Not that it is needed, but the proof of lack of knowledge is seen in the canopy is protruding far out of the body.

3) Point.2 can be a reason why the swing-up glass door is not functioning properly.

4) The store/Azad4x4 has limited knowledge how to deal with this product or may I risk to state - the overall AFM car industry. One cannot deliver the car with a million scratches and say 'sorry yaar'. Fit - 2/10, Finish 1/10, Internal Quality control 0/10. I am appalled as a car owner that a store can take a car, fit a product on the car and not check the finished product to his own satisfaction and deliver it.

I have encountered such problems not only in the AFM car industry but also in Mechanical engineering Manufacturing Industry and IT/ITES industry. As Long as the product/service/idea is within your doors you have complete control over the situation. You can excuse yourself for want of more time, lack of manpower, production delay, machine breakdown, operator injury, vessel stuck inside Suez Canal, Aircraft on Ground, any crap that one can conjure up - But the moment you hand over the product out of the door it is assumed you checked it to your best satisfaction and you deem it fit to be used/consumed/driven/etc etc. Here lies the crux of the issue of the OP/Azad. Car was delivered in a unacceptable manner, and Azad has no business to be in this business. Imagine if they install a 2" lift kit, and on the offroad trail or on the Agra Freeway a few bolts come loose and the car rolls over - who is going to accept a 'Sorry yaar' story!

PS
Some images from the below website for readers to understand how difficult a fiberglass, or any aftermarket panel/Metal canopy installation job involves. It is not for the untrained or unskilled.

https://www.motortrend.com/how-to/16...b-516e84702441

[logout]

But what choice does one have in India? Azad is the only one who seems to be doing it for quiet some time and if they don't have the expertise then probably we should forget about getting a canopy/fender as a customer.

Without a decent canopy the vehicle can't be used to its full potential and without experts all the money, time and effort spent on getting it fixed is going to be wasted. So it is a catch-22 for us.

[DirtyDan]

"But what choice does one have in India? Azad is the only one who seems to be doing it for quiet some time and if they don't have the expertise then probably we should forget about getting a canopy/fender as a customer.

Without a decent canopy the vehicle can't be used to its full potential and without experts all the money, time and effort spent on getting it fixed is going to be wasted. So it is a catch-22 for us."...Logout

There are some VERY clever sheet metal guys, coach builders, that do good work. But, of course, that kind of work takes time. Find the right guy, communicate EXACTLY what you want, be patient...enjoy the finished product (That last part is mandetory.).

Bimbra has done good work for me on a fiberglass top for my 2018 Thar.
I also had a sheet metal guy do GREAT work on my 2013 Thar 3/4 cap. It can be done.

[condor]

Originally Posted by DirtyDan

I also had a sheet metal guy do GREAT work on my 2013 Thar 3/4 cap. .

OT: What use is a 3/4 canopy - in the sense, what's the 1/4 useful for ? There's hardly any space left in that 1/4. Have seen many a Gypsy like that, but not able to understand this