[headers]

Originally Posted by DHABHAR.BEHRAM

if you keep the vehicle stock - "Nothing will happen to the car - EVER - you will only add fuel in it and drive". That's all!

If driven ON ROAD - CORRECT, mild sandy roads - PARTIALLY Correct, Tough offroad trails & Competitions - INCORRECT

W.r.t Speeds -
Under 80 kph - Correct, 80-120 kph - Partially correct, 120+ kph - Hold on to dear life and say "C O R R E E C C TTTTTT" actually incorrect.

The THAR sells today as there is no competition at this price point !!

[manveet]

Originally Posted by headers

If driven ON ROAD - CORRECT, mild sandy roads - PARTIALLY Correct, Tough offroad trails & Competitions - INCORRECT

W.r.t Speeds -
Under 80 kph - Correct, 80-120 kph - Partially correct, 120+ kph - Hold on to dear life and say "C O R R E E C C TTTTTT" actually incorrect.

Since my handbrake just stopped functioning one fine day last week, I had my trusted mechanic have a look at over the weekend who promptly traced down the cause to a broken handbrake cable. It's true that I have modified my Thar to a certain extent, but am quite sure I have not fiddled with anything that would impact the hand-brake cable.

Which brings us to the subject at hand, a Mahindra (esp. the Thar) is something you cannot just fill and forget.

To be honest, I pretty much expected these kind of issues arising on account of Mahindra manufacturing, but what I am yet to discover is their customer service orientation i.e. will they cover this FOC under warranty or not? My odometer reading is about 6700 kms in 8 months of ownership.

[headers]

Originally Posted by manveet

Since my handbrake just stopped functioning one fine day last week, I had my trusted mechanic have a look at over the weekend who promptly traced down the cause to a broken handbrake cable. It's true that I have modified my Thar to a certain extent, but am quite sure I have not fiddled with anything that would impact the hand-brake cable.

Which brings us to the subject at hand, a Mahindra (esp. the Thar) is something you cannot just fill and forget.

To be honest, I pretty much expected these kind of issues arising on account of Mahindra manufacturing, but what I am yet to discover is their customer service orientation i.e. will they cover this FOC under warranty or not? My odometer reading is about 6700 kms in 8 months of ownership.

Mahindra should / will cover this FOC - please chase your dealer. BTW, Mahindra manufacturing is world class, its just that the translation of WCM does not percolate down the chain

[desertfox]

Originally Posted by DHABHAR.BEHRAM

Dear gthang - I have worked with the Japanese. I know how the Japanese work, it is a delight to work with them. I know the nuances which makes Japanese quality what it is. I have also seen the Japanese tear their hair out when they deal with "these fellows"!

The Japanese work with complete CLARITY. "These fellows" are exactly the opposite, something is suddenly asked in "meetings", somebody says "yes Sir" and if he feels like it, he tries to get others to do "something", ensuring that confusion reigns supreme and complete information is never given out. Why? I wish I knew, I guess I will never know!

The Japanese work with complete absence of what is known as DENIAL MODE. Again, for "these fellows", denial mode in simple terms goes like this - "Sir, vehicle X tires are wearing". "What nonsense, vehicle X does not have tires at all, how can they wear?" "But Sir, those black black things which go round and round, there are 4 Sir"! "Useless fellow, those are not tires". . I am not kidding. I have gone through such humour many times!

I took an extreme example of denial mode, but this mindset must change. If it does not change, then you are absolutely correct, "these fellows" are headed for trouble big time! With the kind of game changers coming in, it seems to be only a matter of time!

Amidst all this created confusionism, I still made the vehicle, at least accept that! Come on now gthang, I admit that I was nuts to do it, I guess I still am because I am writing this, but I am not that bad yaar! .

Best regards,

Behram Dhabhar

PS - by the way, it is possible to achieve the sentence - "nothing happens to the car - EVER - the customer only adds fuel and drives". My personal cars work this way! You need to know what to do and then actually do it! There is only one way to do a perfect job and that is the only correct way.

I do have first hand experience in working with the Japanese. During my career I have worked with Mitsubishi corporation, but lets discuss the more relevent to off roading event, when i worked with a team of Japanese engineers to make the tyres TOYO OP/DH Open COuntry as an original fitment for Landcruisers, Prados and other Toyota vehicles for the middle east .

I can only say, what i saw was - the finest research to greatest detail possible.
Repeated tests, measures, improvements and more tests.
Great collation of experimental data
attention to the small detail in all aspects that might be foreseen to encounter
Get the best from all current models and create the ultimate.

I am very produc to say that the end result was an excellent product for a Dueler tyre most suitable for Highway Drive and Desert off road trips.

Such planning, such detail, goal setting, parameters study, goal setting, experiments, improvements, proto tests, production trial tests what a way to work!

[lucifer1881]

Originally Posted by manveet

...but what I am yet to discover is their customer service orientation i.e. will they cover this FOC under warranty or not? My odometer reading is about 6700 kms in 8 months of ownership.

I don't understand why they should cover this under warranty. It is clearly stated that any kind of modifications may void warranty. All car owners know this at the point of sale. It is not a hidden term or in fine print. If you have modified your car then you are doing this at your own risk. The manufacturer is not liable to entertain your warranty claims. Whether the modification you made affects the said component or not is moot.

That said, my experience with Mahindra Service has always been superlative. Post warranty also, a lot of things they have done for free for sake of goodwill. I am sure if you have a good rapport with your service advisor, he will change the handbrake cable for free.

[vivekjayasheel]

Lucifer, how do Manveet's mods affect the life-span of a handbrake cable?

[lucifer1881]

Originally Posted by vivekjayasheel

Lucifer, how do Manveet's mods affect the life-span of a handbrake cable?

Please read this in my post:

Originally Posted by lucifer1881

...Whether the modification you made affects the said component or not is moot...

[HarshD]

Originally Posted by lucifer1881

Please read this in my post:

Hi,
How does it not matter ?
For example, Let us say a owner modified his headlamps to 100 watts.
He had a gear box failure within the warranty period.
Why will this modification of headlights void his warranty with respect to the gearbox ?
Maybe if something went wrong with the guy's electricals then the argument could be plausible but again will be subject of a debate.
Please clarify.
Regards,
Harsh.

[desertfox]

Well true but more often than not it is a general practice among Authorized service centres in India, any modifications done to the vehicle and they will take it as an excuse to nullify warranty claims.

[manveet]

Originally Posted by desertfox

Well true but more often than not it is a general practice among Authorized service centres in India, any modifications done to the vehicle and they will take it as an excuse to nullify warranty claims.

Yes, this is correct. AFAIK, the any-modification-done-warranty-void-rule is applicable across the board to essentially protect their interest. But generally speaking, most companies are fair in exercising warranty claims so a headlamp change will not void gearbox warranty. This is specially significant in the case of the Mahindra Thar, which is almost always modified by the owner, though the extent may vary.

Unless the manufacturer just doesn't like to honor warranty as a practice and that attitude has percolated down the dealership, in which case they will simply point out your modification to avoid covering it under warranty

Which is precisely why I said I still need to figure out Mahindra's customer orientation.

Originally Posted by lucifer1881

I don't understand why they should cover this under warranty. It is clearly stated that any kind of modifications may void warranty. All car owners know this at the point of sale. It is not a hidden term or in fine print. If you have modified your car then you are doing this at your own risk. The manufacturer is not liable to entertain your warranty claims. Whether the modification you made affects the said component or not is moot.

That said, my experience with Mahindra Service has always been superlative. Post warranty also, a lot of things they have done for free for sake of goodwill. I am sure if you have a good rapport with your service advisor, he will change the handbrake cable for free.

Well, you just answered your first paragraph with your second paragraph i.e. goodwill. Hindustan mein gaadi or company'ian dono goodwill sey hi chalti hai.

Afterall, don't we all agree that the only reason the Thar is selling is because of the Jeep goodwill.

[navpreet318]

Every manufacturer in india does this. be it honda or Audi or Mercedes. So why excessive bashing of Mahindra?

[Blue Thunder]

Sorry for the OT post...

Originally Posted by Samurai

... But I couldn't find any low quality item in Japan...

I guess it is a culture thing.

Long, long ago, much before the birth of the www and internet, I remember reading an article about Japanese quality. There was some mention about the best quality products being reserved for the local markets and only the second-best being allowed to be exported to other countries.They wanted only the best quality products for their own people.

When I read this, I experienced both positive and negative feelings : happy, that there was a nation which valued it's own people in a better way; but very sad, that the case was just the opposite in my own Country (here, even today, we ensure that export-quality is always much better quality than the ones meant for local consumption).

Also, of the many brands owned by the Matsushita Electric Industrial company Ltd., the "National" brand was supposed to be the premier brand representing the best quality, and always sold in the local markets, as compared to its other brands like Panasonic and Quasar.

[desertfox]

No the post about Warranty claims being nullified and void is not at all Mahindra bashing, a number of other vehicle makers are doing it too.

[navin_v8]

Hi All,

Read somewhere on this forum about Mahindra Thar's wiper not functioning properly inspite of changing the wiper blades, wiper arm, etc. Most of us on this thread are raving about the Mahindra Thar's engine I agree that the engine is the most important component of a vehicle but what about other ancillary components that make up the rest of the vehicle, it seems everyone is just concerned with the engine and nothing else. That reminds me of Mahindra Jingle Nothing Else Will Do. In case of Thar only the Engine is good Nothing Else.

When we talk about Japanese work ethics, culture, and attention to detail with precision engineering it shows that in Japan the infamous CHALTA HAI attitude doesn't work. That is why potential buyers always seek the Made in Japan badge. I don't mean to downplay our domestic manufacturers but they can atleast learn to achieve atleast 85% of what the Japanese do. Again the infamous Chalta Hai attitude has caught me unawares when I say 85% of Japan Quality bhi chalta hai.

[anda60213]

Originally Posted by DHABHAR.BEHRAM

I can tell you one thing - if you keep the vehicle stock - "Nothing will happen to the car - EVER - you will only add fuel in it and drive". That's all!

cc: Vinod - OK? HaHaHa! This is just too good! Pinch me, I hope I am not dreaming!

Nice Joke. I see you have maintained a lovely sense of humor.

Originally Posted by DHABHAR.BEHRAM

PS - by the way, it is possible to achieve the sentence - "nothing happens to the car - EVER - the customer only adds fuel and drives". My personal cars work this way! You need to know what to do and then actually do it! There is only one way to do a perfect job and that is the only correct way.

Originally Posted by desertfox

Why there is nothing left to say ?
What about CV joints and tie rods breaking ?
Low breaking power ?
..

Who is going to answer all this ?

Desertfox - I guess this must be the part that people learn to live with when they get into the "jeep" lifestyle. From all that I have read on this forum, to me it seems that people have come to expect these issues are part & parcel of having to own a jeep. When the buyers get accustomed to and start accepting things the way they are - then the company surely will not have any motivation to change that in any way - would it?