[asa]

Hi folks

Till yesterday i was all excited about setting up ICE for my brand new Ritz, and sharing my experience with folks at bhp,little did i know
i would end up pouring my heart out over such a bad experience i had yesterday.

I went to Evo in cambridge layout bangalore which did seem pretty decent outfit , guy running the show seemed pleasant and i tell him about
him being all over bhp forums. In my budget of Rs 15K I settle for Kenwood 6043 and Hertz 165 components for the front,

I left the car for fitment come back couple of hours later and to my dismay find all kind of big/small loose pieces lying on car dashbaord,my heart sank ,
fitment guy promptly removed them on my asking, luckily no scratches, but my luck soon ran out numerous scratches,dents on both side front power window controls, clear artifacts of someone showing crude muscle power !

In a matter of hours car interior has been reduced to a third hand trash period.I am still in shock and tell sathya what is all this,
he tells this has never happened before and offers to paint the control area from a "professional outfit", could not but feel the irony of his statement. He also offered to bear the cost of replacement parts from maruti if needed

I Paid Rs 14850 for the job, totally dazed and left the place:
Kenwood 6043(No manual for some reason): Rs 8800
Front Hertz 165 components: Rs5500
Fitment: Rs 550


Please , Please be very careful while dealing with this outfit, especially
new car owners, I don't know if mine is a isolated case or not, I don't care i just don't want anybody to experience what i am undergoing right now and feel so helpless.

Today morning in light I saw the real extend of the hideousness, I straight went to paratham motors, hoping they might fix it with a new exterior , waited for an hour till the accesories guy checked if anything could be done, he told me there is no accessory for the outer shell, still i pressed him to find out and get back to me in a day or two

[navin]

The funny part is the parts scratched have no need to be touched if you are installing a simple HU+ 4 speaker system.

From your post it seems that Sathya is willing to fix this damage. Do let us know the progress.

[karankapoor]

Naveen the plastic part scratched are the front door panel and looks like they were scratched when they removed to fit the components.

There is no stuff available in the market which can hide this thing nothin can be done except you change the door panels.

[Gilead]

It looks to me like the door panel was crudely thrown on the ground when it was removed to fit the components. The installer should have been more careful. In hindsight, you could have stayed right there to 'supervise'. Why don't you replace the panel and ask Evo to foot the bill? The owner was decent enough to make that offer.

[prince85]

A very sad experience indeed but i am sure satya will do something about it!

From the pics, it looks like the car in question is a Ritz LXI/LDi coz the power window switches looks like a dealer install and not stock fitment, am i right?

The power windows unit that you have got is a genuine MGA accessory and the exact same unit (box + power window switches + window winder) is also installed in other MSIL cars like the Alto, Wagon-R and even the base version of the Swift in variants which do not come with stock P/Ws.

Now i had a Wagon-R Lxi and i too had installed these MGA power windows at the dealership and coincidently i got the same sort of scratches on the power window console box when i went in for an after-market remote locking install. The moron removed the door pad and dumped it on a very uneven and rough patch of ground and the p/w box got scratched just the way yours is.

The next day i went to the dealership and asked for the console box to be changed with the same MGA variety which he promptly did for 350 bucks. Soo chill, it can be very easily fixed. The p/w box is not one piece with the door pad. soo if the rest of the door pad is good.....then just a change of the p/w box is all you need. the p/w switches look okay and they wont need a change!

But please make sure you change the box with a new MGA one from Maruti itself.

Cheers

[planet_rocker]

it seems there are no screws that keeps the door handles / power window switch cluster - one needs to use a screw driver / similar tool to pull out the switches / panel out of the cluster - a thicker screw driver may be the culprit

the edges scratched as it was kept on a rough ground for taking out the OE speakers (if any) - the installer could have been careful.

but we all know sathya (& EVO) for a long time on the forum and most of the members (Customers) are happy. Since he has agreed to look into the matter - he deserves a chance.

You could have stayed at Evo through the work and uploaded pics / review of your scratch free ICE install!

[ariendj]

the scratches are from careless handling of the panel especially placing them on the ground and also lack of proffesionalism in opening up the panels...cant it be smoothened out and polished!!
i think you can check out the DIY threads

[Ponmayilal]

Cheer up, my friend, that is not the end of the world. More so since EVO has given word that they will bear the cost of all that you do to undo the damage. So get those damn things replaced with new units and present the bills to Sathya.

And then, enjoy the Sound of Music - The rain in Spain stays mainly on the plains.

Now I go on to present my rantings on how to get after-markets done.

I wouldn't put them under 1. 2. 3. with bullets before and make them look like a drill. I shall rather prefer my hands to do the biddings as the mind dictates, blending my experience (though limited) going along.

Please do visit the installer a day or two before and talk to him about the products to be installed, the installation process he follows, the technicians' competence to do a blemishless job and whatever else that comes to your mind.

Please do inform him politely that inasmuch as he ( the installer ) is a specialist and you cannot dictate to the technicians ( most technicians don't like to be told by the customer what they should do ), it will be his responsibility to supervise and get it done to your satisfaction and also that you will prefer the sealed boxes to be opened in your presence.

Fix up a mutually convenient time when the job will be done and keep yourself free wholetime for monitoring the installation. That they are being watched keeps the technicians under leash.

Take a friend or two alongwith you to the installer. More often, two, three or even more technicians work on different parts of the car simultaneously and a single individual cannot monitor all their actions. Also the customer is so awed, excited and fearsome that he becomes a mute spectator and tends to overlook even the obvious. Not so your friends who are cooler, tension-free and hence in a better frame of mind.

When the sealed boxes are opened, examine the contents, leave the main unit and any fasteners to the handler and take possession of everything else, mainly the manual and the installation guide.

And finally do not leave the empty boxes with the installer. Collect them religiously and put them into your car. You may discard them later if you do not want to preserve them. The installer cannot pass on used/serviced units in such boxes and pass it on as new to any unsuspecting customer.

Personally, I enjoy reading every bit of what is printed on them at my leisure and check the importer's and manufacturer's name, country of origin, date of import, their website address, Customer Service contact no. etcetera etcetera.

In my case, the ICE installation was done by Sachin's Auto Shop, Koramangala, Bangalore. The link about it (my pre-BHP days) here .

My friend who was watching the installation had observed two things.

After the HU was fixed in place, the technician took out the remote, inserted the battery and then tried it. His facial expression changed. He simply put the remote off and moved on.

Now its time for a demo. My friend casually asked him to give a demo with the remote. The technician was caught on the wrong foot. The remote did not work. After a pause, he knew what. Reversed the battery and it was fine. Why didn't he do it in the first instance? He thought he was right, the remote was defective, better to keep quiet and let the customer take it up with the installer, if he finds it out.

Next my friend asks him "Where is the small allen-key that came in the small box with the Steering Wheel Remote?" The technician goes in, brings it and hands it over. I profusely thank my friend.

Now you know what your friends can do that you did not do.

The other aftermarket install was the reverse parking sensors. Red Soul was chosen since it is Bangalore based entity, had their own installers doing it day-in and day-out and any service/replacement required is just a few miles away.

I have given out the details of the installtion in my post dated 10 Nov 2009 here.

And an exciting end to this story:

The Red Soul technicians threw out the box into the garage. My father who had been monitoring the installation picked it up and threw it into the car.The technician instantly apologised for not having done it himself.

[asa]

Hi,
Thanks for all your posts. You folks are right in hindsight there are many things i should and should not have done, I took this way too casually and paying the price.

Over years I have had 3 ICE setups done, one in khan market delhi(that all alpine setup was heavenly) and 2 in Noida and in all cases i was present through out, although I never had to intervene for anything and had trouble free operations for years from day one.


Ponmayilal reading you post i think i was too naive to the point of being an idiot, again my defenses were perhaps lulled by the positive experience people at bhp have had there.

just for example the head unit box looked it had at been opened before and i asked the installer and sathya for another unit and he said its a fast moving item and they don't have another one and i said fine go ahead(May 09 on the box perhaps should have made me put my foot down and come back later but i did not ) Next day morning i realized there is no manual present,the unit box with therma-cole is still lying in the backseat. Now after playing a CD for about half an hour at low-medium volume, i pulled it out and it was hot(not warm) to the touch, 3 cds that i have played, around track 8/9 stopped, "next track" did not work, i had to turn off and turn on the unit to get it to play again. All these CDs are original with >5 years and they do have decent scratches on the surface, but play fine on my home DVD player.

Any kenwood 6043 users could you please do the above experiment and provide feedback on does the CD get really hot, i have never felt a CD or DVD so warm/hot to touch , not even in delhi summer.

Prince85 you are correct it is indeed Lxi, i got the PW done at pratham motors, place from where i bought the car. It is reassuring that there is a MGA accessory for the cover, i shall probably checkup with them tomorrow about it. I will be so happy if that "eye sore" is fixed.

Around noon i took the car to evo to show the state of the car, inquire about the manual, the front door panels have not been properly fixed , there is a clear gap where the door opening lever is there, through which i peep and see the innards.
Thanks again for all your posts, I already feel so much better, as Ponmayilal put it , its not end of the world !, shall keep you all posted

[navin]

Originally Posted by Gilead

It looks to me like the door panel was crudely thrown on the ground when it was removed to fit the components.

Originally Posted by ariendj

the scratches are from careless handling of the panel especially placing them on the ground

Originally Posted by asa

Around noon i took the car to evo to show the state of the car, inquire about the manual, the front door panels have not been properly fixed , there is a clear gap where the door opening lever is there, through which i peep and see the innards.

Asa, what is the progress? Is the car with you or with Evo?

[wildon]

All i can say is Carelessness. The Installer should have taken care of this at the first place as most of the customers comes here for setting up ICE.

[mjothi]

Sad to see your experience. It really hurts to see a brand new car like this.

Do update us the progress.

[Nikhilb2008]

Yes. It probably shouldnt have happened. But sometimes, mistakes happen. As a customer, the owner has no face to talk to you, but on the other hand, he isnt superman. He cant keep running around supervising ALL his employees.

While mistakes are common, what is uncommon is the owner/manager taking responsibility, apologising and offering to foot the bill.

I think this is where Satya's true character is shown.

Having said all this, let me repeat my statement above. The customer is king. In this case you are KING and you can feel the pain and hurt of seeing your brand new car in a slightly bruised shape.

Just put it down to bad luck and take up Satya's offer and get the parts changed. Luckily it seems easy to undo the damage.

[abhibh]

Sad to know about your experience. As Nikhil said you should take Satya's offer. You should be glad Satya came forward and admitted to it. If you were here then you would have to live with those scratched panels.

BTW while you are it post a few pics of your equipment too.

[Ravveendrra]

Originally Posted by Nikhilb2008

Yes. It probably shouldnt have happened. But sometimes, mistakes happen. As a customer, the owner has no face to talk to you, but on the other hand, he isnt superman. He cant keep running around supervising ALL his employees.

While mistakes are common, what is uncommon is the owner/manager taking responsibility, apologising and offering to foot the bill.

I think this is where Satya's true character is shown.

Having said all this, let me repeat my statement above. The customer is king. In this case you are KING and you can feel the pain and hurt of seeing your brand new car in a slightly bruised shape.

Just put it down to bad luck and take up Satya's offer and get the parts changed. Luckily it seems easy to undo the damage.

I agree and particularly the part which I have taken the liberty to highlight in bold.

Cheers,