Just got my car back from IgNite.
Car was given for service Aug 2nd around noon.
Got it back today Aug 12th just after noon.
So, it took 9 days. That is not something I expected.
Initial plan was to give car back by Aug 6th (as per Raghav), I told him even Friday (7th) is fine for me. But, some problems and this how it ended up.
Car : Zen
Model : 2000 Oct - Carb
Odo : 92,500Kms
Color : White
Last service done at 90,000
Car has been serviced every 5000kms.
List of Problems when the car was given.- Sound from front right suspension - sounded like a worn tie rod end
- Car was a bit sluggish - Raghav said its the clutch, well no surprises here clutch was the "original" and this is the first time its been replaced. 92k kms not bad I'd say.
- Really bad Brakes - Fluid level was dropping every 1000kms, there was a leak some place and the rear right brake cylinder assembly was the suspect.
- Irritating metallic noise underneath the car, its from some place near the gearbox is fixed to the car chassis. (Earlier (about 17months back) there was a crack in metal due to corrosion/metal fatigue and was fixed) Same problem was suspected. Also there was sound from the exhaust pipes (the entire length of the pipes from the headers are rattling like mad)
- A/C cleaning, cooling was not adequate (well you'll never get good cooling in old Zen, now it was far worse)
- Central locking was locking half of the car, left front/rear door locks were temperamental and worked intermittently.
- There was something wrong with the rear right of the car (it did't feel the way its supposed to be) I was suspecting a worn right rear damper.
Optional Item : A mild sounding end can, its running automech headers and stock end can now.
Current Status :1. The entire front suspension was replaced (Struts, lower arm, joint, tie rod end)
Struts were never replaced and lower arm, tie rods 2-3 times till date at 92k Kms its to be expected and is Normal I'd say. Except for the occasional bottoming out and the sound it was pretty fine anyways.
2. Car is still sluggish - Raghav said it will take sometime and told to take it easy for 500kms or so. To add to the sluggishness he has advanced the timing which makes a pinging/knocking when you floor the accelerator, its supposed to give better mileage.
Taking it real easy now. Got to get the timing changed back to the way it was. I cannot adjust to the pinging, mileage was around 13 with A/C so don't really care with the 25km daily run I have.
3. Replaced cylinder assembly (both rear), front pads and read shoes. Brakes still does't have the bite. Raghav said it will take some time to get the feel back.
This is expected I think.
4. This was traced back to corrosion and the gearbox was hanging in the air. The area was tidied up and welded/painted.
Went for a test drive, however the sound is still there - Raghav said it might be due to the bolt that hold the engine might be loose. Anyway this time the sound was very mild so was hard to pin point.
Once we drove back and the pulled into the garage the exhaust was making lot of noise. I saw a missing bolt where headers are connected to the secondary pipes. Some things were tightened and it went away. This was not at all expected and seemed like it was not looked into at all. On my way back with the car the Initail sound (mettalic noise) its back with an un-plugged version of the original sound. Have to take back car to get this fixed. Again this is not at a expected.
5. A/C felt ok, the smell however was not ok. It was like I was running a gas station inside the car.
Will need to work on this and get the "my" car smell back.
6. When I arrived today it was still being looked into and was told this was due to a temperamental connection.
I'd save my comments on this one for later as this problem has a funny way of coming "back to life".
7. Well there was nothing wrong with the suspension/damper or whatever as per Raghav - All the bearing front and rear were replaced.
Other work done on the car :
Steering box mounting was corroded and this was taken out and once opened up bushes and some other stuff inside the thingy was replaced.
This was the main culprit that took most of the time.
Observations :- Car had a strut braces fixed. This was not fixed back and only upon reminding this was fixed. There was a bit of surface corrosion on the strut mounts, requested to apply some paint. No paint is kept at the garage - Not the reply I expected. (I'm not saying they should keep all the colors of paint black or white paint is more than enough)
- The metallic sound and the exhaust sound should have been looked into and fixed. There was a bolt missing in the header to secondary pipe connection - This was not at all expected, simple logic is if it was looked into the missing bolt would have have been fixed.
- There was an exposed wire in the engine bay, that was traced to the wire for the Horn. It was fixed immediately.
- 9 Days turn around time, this is simply too high.
The above problems except for the time taken are minor, but I feel ideally it should not have happened at all. Not all people are keen in having a look under the hood (this is how I found about the rust, missing bolt and the exposed wire)
Its too early to judge or comment on the work that is done and how well its done. I've driven the car for around 12kms after service, the metallic sound coming back within that is really unexpected.
IgNite is "NOT" the local garage where you can get work done at relatively low cost. Charges are at par with Authorized service centers in my view.
Raghav is a very polite and pleasing guy who is more than happy to answer the queries you have. He explains the facts and suggests the recommended plan of action. If its really not possible he'd say so and is not the kind of guy who is "out to get you" (like most of the Authorized service center people). He took strain in getting the steering box fixed by replacing the parts that has worn out, easier way out was to replace the entire thing. Which he did't do, yes replacing would have reduced the time but even if we take 3 days for the steering issue alone and that leaves 6 days its still too long a time.
He was kind enough to remind me to take the "leaf" that was given from Church on Palm Sunday. (He kept it inside his office so that it will not be damaged of misplaced.)
Also, Raghav informed wiper blades are bad and needs replacement. It was done and he did't take the money for the blades at all. He also informed Battery is reaching end of life
(no wonder manufacturing date is 11/2002

) Amaron kiiiii...!

Raghav mentioned to check A/C performance and if its not good as expected to let him know and to visit again in another 500kms or so.
Total Service Cost : a little over 25K.
I've tried to give an impartial review. If anyone thinks what I have mentioned is not so, please feel free to correct me. Suggestions/comments on the work done are also expected/welcome.
Next planned visit tomorrow 13th if not no later than Monday 17th Aug to get the "sound" sorted out.