[petrol_head]

I spoke to Raghav and he categorically said that the customer was well aware of what was being done and he was informed of what was going on. Assuming that he was not told about the cost by Raghav in the first place he needs to be incredibly foolish to have not asked for the costing even once when he drops a vehicle off.

I have been sending my cars there since the day Ignite opened for business and not once have i been kept in the dark of what was being done. Especially the monetary aspect. Raghav specifically confirms before any replacement with the cost involved. So I find this story had to believe.Do you think any garage would undertake work amounting to a lakh without confirming? Its quite a big risk.. Isnt it? And ill take Ignite's quality of work anyday over any A.S.S. And about the bill He should prbably drive a nano if he expects aything cheaper than that for the parts replaced.

I could have a tiff with mr.x at a bar with whom i might have done business. I can put up a social media post or forum post next day saying I paid for work that i did not ask for just to please my ego with bills that dont prove anything. Just food for thought.

[fiery enzyme]

Once I gave my Baleno to Raghav due to overheating issues. Raghav went through incredible pains to diagnose the issue including even swapping the radiator from his own car to test. The problem was finally diagnosed to clogged water jackets and I was kept informed of every step along the way.

I have gotten lots of work done through him after that. Ignite has that kind of transparency you look for in a garage and don't want to lose once you find it.

I voted as highly recommended.

[Thad E Ginathom]

I noticed the poll, and voted Highly recommended.

I will be going back there as soon as the warranty has run out and I don't have to go to a dealer.

[MAS]

I know Raghav personally and professionally. He is very professional in his approach, knows his work well and always communicates clearly. Compared to any A.S.S, there is always more clarity in what is being done and how much it would cost. There is no way that Raghav would done the work blindly and discreetly.

Voted Highly Recommended.

[ph03n!x]

Originally Posted by GTO

B Gobinath shares the following via email.



Attachment 1365756

Also, a public poll has been added to this thread. Please vote if you have used their services.

I am responsible for at least 3 cars (owned by immediate family or close friends) that visit Ignite regularly, one of which is a close to 1 Lakh Hyundai Verna (2008). Never once - I repeat - NEVER ONCE was any kind of a job undertaken, even if I wanted the job to be done in the first place without communicating the expected bill amount for the job.

And it's funny that the guy who sent the mail blames Ignite of wanting to change parts and not troubleshooting - I have seen Raghav literally going over and beyond when even I have given up on some issues - those who know me and my old Getz (now sold - look up Letz Getz Started under long term review) will know how much of an effort he has put for every minor issue I go to him with.

My questions to B Gopinath will be

1. What were the issues that you reported to Ignite when you took the car in?
2. Did or did Ignite not get back with any other issue(s) apart from what you reported?
3. Did or did Ignite not tell you an estimate of how much it's going to cost you?
4. Are you alleging that Ignite did not communicate the cost before carrying out a certain work on the car?
5. How old is your car? Are you the first owner? Who was servicing it till now?
6. What is the vibration issue that you are talking about? What is vibrating, and when?

@GTO, I have Hyundai cars that collective account for 2.2 lakhs KM on the ODO (3 cars, Diesel) and 1.25 cars (a Santro). If we are to make any meaningful dialogue over that email, please add Gopinath to the forum and let him state the facts. Otherwise this is just a mud-slingling exercise - from what the poll tells till now, I think I am on the right side of that statement.

For anyone looking up Ignite in the future - remember, Ignite is not a cheap, street corner garage that will jugad your car to save a few bucks. They use genuine parts, their tools, machinery and process are equalent if not better than A.S.S, and more important, it is run by a car lover. Their bill will be on par with A.S.S, but the quality of work will be definitely several notches higher. Are they perfect? No! Any workmanship is prone to defects - but where they win is the way they handle imperfections. If there is a defect in their work, they will sure as hell own up and rectify it for you 100%.

I am in not way related to their business - I am a customer who knows the place and Raghav by being a regular customer. I do not get any benefits from them directly or indirectly for stating the fact. That's my disclaimer, in case someone has their doubts!

[madbullram]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

The shock is that 94K work, or even 50K work, would be undertaken without the customer being aware and consenting at each stage. I wouldn't expect this even from a London (you think India is bad? Hah!) garage.

This is an area which baffles me, having used Ignite from the day they started, there has never been an instance where I was never informed about any costs. Even now my Civic is there for a major service and he calls me twice to check if I want things to be changed.

I was surprised that Gopi says he was not informed about the bill. I called up Raghav to understand why he did this?

Raghav says Mr. Gopi was informed all the way about this. He had in fact visited the garage 3-4 times when the work was happening. The initial estimate given was around 60 - 70k. As they started the work they discovered various other issues and they had informed Mr. Gopi about the issues and the cost to fix or change it. Only after his consensus, the work had been carried out. All the parts replaced were returned to him. This is the version of Ignite.

In the last x years, I had referred so many friends, some were extremely happy, some were happy, and some were not satisfied, but everyone spoke high about the integrity of the Garage. They are not cheap but they are fair and honest. So I hope Gopi can clarify it.

[ex670c]

Originally Posted by GTO

B Gobinath shares the following via email.

Attachment 1365756

Also, a public poll has been added to this thread. Please vote if you have used their services.

Hi Rushabh,

Raghav (flanker.r) is a Team Bhpian since feb 2009, getting his views will add credibility to this episode.

Raghav and Ignite have always tried to work in the most cost effective manner, and keep the vehicle owners in the loop, after test driving and observing the vehicle and diagnosing the problem, they give an estimate.

Any increase or additional problems are immediately informed, and the customers are informed, before the work/parts etc start.

Why would an experienced garage want to spend 60-70K on parts on a 10 year old car, they know the risk if the customers refuses to accept the vehicle.

What could be thew possible causes for Vibration?
i) worn out engine bed
ii) worn out suspension bushing
iii) old and rough engine
iv) Worn out Drive-Shaft

Ignite is a top-notch garage in Chennai with superb tooling and equipment, they are not cheap, but cost effective, and they do not compromise on the quality of work.

Regards,

Arka

[arvi86]

I just noticed the poll and have voted "Highly Recommended". I can vouch for this because I got the front wheel bearings of my Civic replaced at Ignite a couple of months back. Throughout the process, Raghav and his team maintained thorough professionalism and kept me informed of the costs and what I would have to likely pay at the end. In fact, Raghav even told me that the lathe charges for refitting the wheel hubs would be additional and gave an estimate for that too.

P.S: One month after the bearings were replaced, I started hearing some noise from the front wheels. Suspecting it was coming from the bearings, I took the car back to Ignite and Raghav himself test-drove the car and confirmed the tires were the culprit. Again, there was top-notch professionalism in the way things were handled. I'm going back to Ignite for anything other than the periodic engine oil replacements at Honda.

[Sridhar K]

My experiences with Ignite:

1) 25K service of Getz 1.3 GLS outside warranty: Raghav did a fabulous job and the car was great post the service, much better than the experience I had from Hyundai.A.S.S. He suggested a clutch replacement for a slipping clutch (due to clutch riding from my friend who was using it when I was abroad and my shift from automatics in US to manual in India). However I did not want to change it immediately as my usage was very limited and Raghav left it to my discretion. I sold the car shortly at 29k kms.

Post the experience, quite a few of my friends shifted from A.S.Sto Ignite on my recommendation. They were happy with the quality of the work but their only grouse was about cleaning of the car, in which case the service center scored better but guess Raghav has now tied up with Tejas car spa to address this issue.

2) I had taken my next set of cars (Manza, Swift) under warranty to Raghav for diagnosis of niggles a few times and each time he diagnosed the problem but recommended me to take the vehicle to the service center to get it sorted out under warranty or live with it and not to waste money.

3) I do the 5k mineral oil changes for my Swift ZDI with Raghav while doing the 10k at the service center to keep the warranty intact. He checks with me on the oil to use (synthetic/mineral, shell/mobil) each time. For the oil, he charges me for 3.5 liters though the swift consumes 3.1 lts but he give the residual oil in the 3.5 liters can for me to use for top ups. If I select the oils in his drums (shell helix hx5 or mobil super), he charges only for actual.

4) Once, I had asked Raghav to arrange for brake pads for my Swift as I had done more than 35k and the brakes were not effective. After he confirmed that he had procured them, I went to the garage where he checked them and said the pads still have some good life in it and the issue is they surface has become smooth due to gentle braking. He then asked me to do some heavy braking frequently to get the effectiveness back rather than replacing the pads. He did not charge me anything despite spending time on my vehicle.

5) He treats me (a Swift customer who comes for a Rs 600 odd labor job) the same as a Merc/BMW customer whose vehicles come for major work.

6) Only minor point of contention was that he was charging me a few Rupees more for air filter (Rs 309 vs Rs 259), oil filter (Rs 435 vs. 390) over M.A.S.S but the labor charges were less. I don't mind a few rupees more to support an enthusiast and don't even ask him. There have been instances of some small issues over invoicing (over and under invoicing) in the past with my friends but they were corrected with apologies once it was pointed out.


I had voted *recommended* as I would *strongly recommend* Ignite only for people who can understand the value/passion of Raghav.

For a lot of people who go there expecting magic .i.e.all problems getting solved at a fraction of the cost with great courteous customer service. While speaking, Raghav is generally to the the point in comparison to smooth talking A.S.S folks. e..g he has recommended me/friends to live with a few niggles that is not worth the effort/cost. He also identifies more problems that A.S.S who generally won't even figure out anything unless you complain. e.g. clutch slipping in my Getz. Since quite a lot of people don't necessarily take the above well, I only *recommend* as they get disappointed with a *strong recommendation*, mainly on account of expectation mismatch.

[Thad E Ginathom]

He treats me (a Swift customer who comes for a Rs 600 odd labor job) the same as a Merc/BMW customer whose vehicles come for major work.

I see some very fancy cars around the Ignite premises --- along with elderly marutis, etc.

The saying is that you can't please all of the people all of the time, but this thread is showing that Ignite succeeds in pleasing most of the people most of the time.

Really, I don't know if it is appropriate to mention/repeat this, because there must be many superb mechanics who are barely literate, but Raghav does not do this business because he knows no other, or is not qualified to do anything else: he is a highly-educated guy who simply turned aside from the career path ahead to try and make a go of something he loved to do. And succeeded.

[madbullram]

Actually Thad, I think Raghav should thank Gopi. If Gopi has not put his unrealistic feedback, GTO would not have mentioned and Raghav would have got so many laurels and honest customer feedback, so Gopi has indirectly helped Raghav

He did leave his management career to pursue his passion!

[Thad E Ginathom]

I was thinking the same! Ignite has had a huge spurt of recognition and recommendation.

[Kaumad]

Just got back from Ignite. Raghav narrated the story to me. Pretty much what a couple members have written - that the customer was informed all the while about the expected costs.
I too have been taking my cars to Raghav ever since he started his workshop. Never has he carried out any work on my cars without me being informed. Mr. Gobinath's case simply seems to be the case of a customer who had no clue about a car's working and refused to come to terms with the associated expenses.

Raghav's Ignite is highly recommended. I have referred many friends to him and none of them is disappointed!!

[Prodigy07]

My son has been pestering me to add a loud exhaust in our Ertiga 1.4 Does Ignite undertake such works?

[ashphil]

I had my gypsy done up by Raghav. Though I was prepared to spend , Raghav acted as a brake advising me to show restraint and spend only on what was required. Since I reside abroad, I was e-mailed and informed about all expenditures. There were absolutely no surprises. He cares for his customers and their cars . I always leave IGNITE with the feeling that I have received the best care for my vehicle and as a customer, something that did not happen too often when I used to visit the A.S.S.
Regards,
Ashok