[Revention]

I am planning to try Wheelswisdom tomorrow for used car evaluation.
But yes, there is slight conflict when it comes to servicing. One may want to go with extended warranty for the car and that means going to ASS. But Wheelswisdom seems to have completely stopped ASS. So its tricky call for regular servicing

[NowNew7]

Any idea if Wheels Wisdom also undertakes body work? Didn't see it called out on the website anywhere...

With my current vehicle dropping out of extended warranty, and my excellent experience with them for my previous vehicle (pre-pandemic), I definitely intend to go with them for future service requirements.

[naadopaasaka]

Originally Posted by Revention

One may want to go with extended warranty for the car and that means going to ASS. But Wheelswisdom seems to have completely stopped ASS.

Wheels Wisdom has resumed ASS for some brands and models. Please go to their website. We have two cars (XUV300 and Elevate) at home within warranty both of which have been entrusted to them.

Originally Posted by NowNew7

Any idea if Wheels Wisdom also undertakes body work?

Yes, they do. At least they have done for me. Details here. (Mahindra XUV300 TurboSport | Ownership Review)

[5252rpm]

Wheels Wisdom seemed to have shut down its operations. I have had a great experience doing used car inspections with them, suited to an enthusiast's taste. I think about service as well, I was reading great reviews from ones who would like to pay attention to detail. Sad to see the wind-up.

https://www.wheelswisdom.com/not-acc...-new-bookings/

[vinodh_eee]

Originally Posted by 5252rpm

Wheels Wisdom seemed to have shut down its operations. I have had a great experience doing used car inspections with them, suited to an enthusiast's taste. I think about service as well, I was reading great reviews from ones who would like to pay attention to detail. Sad to see the wind-up.

https://www.wheelswisdom.com/not-acc...-new-bookings/

They have indeed shut operations. I contacted them, needing an emergency repair and that's when they informed that they have shut down.
As usual, they took time to address my issue and suggest options.
I have been using them ever since I purchased a pre-owned Laura in 2016.
The one thing that I really valued was they always explained what was wrong, what all could cause the issue and how they are going to rule out one possible cause after another methodically.
Last year, the car had a peculiar problem - it wouldn't start about 10 mins after turing-off. I would start properly if the turn off time is less than 10 mins or more than 45 mins. I thought the fuel pump has packed up and was mentally getting ready for the cost. They spent 3 days and root caused it to the fuel pump relay for under 3,000.

It is sad to see them go. I have to think twice before buying a older German car now.

[sandeep.menon]

Hi folks, this is Sandeep Menon, Founder at Wheels Wisdom. Team-BHP members have loved Wheels Wisdom since our early days. While they were obviously tough customers because they knew their cars well, they were also an extremely understanding and mature customer base that we were proud to have.

I think the forum will appreciate hearing directly from me on why I took a call to wind up operations when the going was so good. Wheels Wisdom became net profitable in Q3 of last year. That was the milestone I had been chasing since the last 9 years. Of building an Ethical and Profitable car servicing startup. With that goal achieved and out of the way, I now had to decide what I wanted to do next. Scale pan India? I decided against it, and chose to wind up and move on instead. Even though we became profitable and more funding was available, should we want it.

There are three primary reasons for this:

1. Low margins business: While we achieved our goal of becoming a net profitable company without ever compromising on Ethics and Customer Experience, the profit margins were very thin. With prices of vehicle component replacements commoditised, there is no way a company can charge higher for replacement of a spare part, even if the company delivered a consistently better customer experience. A clutch assembly is expected to cost the same, no matter how terribly or beautifully it is installed. We managed to beat this problem by requiring customers to pay a membership fee to avail our service. We had a brand that could command that value. Even with that, looking at projected profit margins from a potential pan India expansion, the returns did not look good enough for me to put in another decade of my life into this business. I still can, but I'm choosing not to.

2. Low tech business: While car manufacturing and design is high tech, service centers and car servicing in general remain a low tech business. After 9 years in the car servicing space, I was missing my previous professional bastion, information security, badly. I want to get back to something more high tech, and therefore exit car servicing.

3. Why not sell rather than wind up? As of this moment, I haven't been able to find a single company that can scale what we've built. Most companies in this space have already shut down, or are on that path. I spoke to most remaining players in the multi brand car servicing space. No one (I spoke to) has the appetite to buy a reputed brand like Wheels Wisdom, because they do not find our attention to detail either executable or scalable. It is incredibly tough to execute what we executed for even a year, leave alone for 9 long years. If there was someone who could actually scale what we've built, it was Wheels Wisdom. Because you not only need the capability, but also the conviction that your model is the right model. But then, I no longer have interest in this space. While my customers are delighted with our service, I am no longer delighted being in this business. I believe it should work both ways .

Someone once told me, you can take Sandeep out of the car, but you cannot take the car out of Sandeep. I think this is true for most of us on this forum. Cars were my first love, and chances are you will find me grinning behind some steering wheel in some part of the world on most weekends.

What next? I'm super excited to jump back into information security, and make a dent in that universe!

So long,

Sandeep

[Rajeevraj]

Originally Posted by sandeep.menon

Hi folks, this is Sandeep Menon, Founder at Wheels Wisdom. Team-BHP members have loved Wheels Wisdom since our early days. While they were obviously tough customers because they knew their cars well, they were also an extremely understanding and mature customer base that we were proud to have.

What next? I'm super excited to jump back into information security, and make a dent in that universe!

So long,

Sandeep

Thank you for the update. Sad to see you shut down although understand the reasoning. Had been a customer for several years since the time you launched. When I wrote this thread on the forum, I generally expected to start seeing some negative feedback over a period of time. It was a pleasant surprise to see pretty much every single feedback from the members here continue to be positive, which like you mentioned is pretty hard to achieve. Your sustained commitment to quality and customer satisfaction is much appreciated.

Wish you all the best.

[Hulk]

Originally Posted by sandeep.menon

Hi folks, this is Sandeep Menon, Founder at Wheels Wisdom. Team-BHP members have loved Wheels Wisdom since our early days.

.....

So long,

Sandeep

Extremely disheartened to see Wheels Wisdom shutting down. I've been a customer since 3 years now, and have been extremely happy. I own a Fiat Punto and I've had zero service hassles because of Wheels Wisdom. I wish you had continued

Good luck for your next innings!

[akg7091]

Sad to see them shut down. Something like this is desperately needed in the NCR region. I was actually hoping / waiting since a few years for them to launch in Delhi but alas !

[Joli]

I badly wanted you to scale up and expand to places like Mumbai, Pune, Delhi-NCR and so on. Attention to detail is needed during a vehicle service and customers should feel that the service centre is trustworthy even if they (customers) are not present during the servicing.

WheelsWisdom was exactly that for many customers. Knowledgeable staff, good turnaround time and proper work ethics defined WW.

All the best for your next innings!

[InControl]

So long Sandeep! I will definitely miss you guys. I was a long time customer of wheels wisdom and will be ever thankful to your team Vipin, Prashant, Aneez and others.

Kudos on this stint and looking forward to see many more different color feather(s) added to your hat.

[jusgetgoing]

Originally Posted by sandeep.menon

So long,
Sandeep

All the best Sandeep. I will miss Wheels Wisdom, your attention to detail and doing what is best for the customer. For the first time, I had peace of mind after giving my car for service. I guess I will have to go back to a Maruti Authorized Service Centre now.

[shashank.nk]

I just got my car serviced 15 days ago and as usual Vipin and team did a great job. A lot of small things which MASS ignored over the years was inspected and set right by the team in the previous two services and my car runs as good as new now. So, quite disappointing to read that you've decided to shutdown. Will miss the attention to detail and thorough diagnosis you guys did before suggesting replacement/repair.

All the best with your new venture!

[busydrive]

Sad to see you shutdown the venture but I understand and respect your decision. It's a tough call. Essentially when you have broken over.
I will miss the services though. It has been a fantastic experience working with your team.
Maybe time to setup one multibrand shop and not remain in the tie up business. Your team has enough experience to beat any authorised or multi branch shop in Bangalore.

[sudeepg]

Originally Posted by sandeep.menon

3. Why not sell rather than wind up? As of this moment, I haven't been able to find a single company that can scale what we've built.

Dear Sandeep,

Isn't there anyone within your existing team whom might be able to run the show while you shadow them occasionally? That way you can work on your information security while also having a small presence in the very business you setup and spent considerable time into.