[slipstream]

Originally Posted by im_srini

And do they have any experience in prepping cars for competition use (track or rally) ?

@im_srini : Raghav has spent some time with JK Motorsport as well so he should be good for the job. The best part of it is that the guy's quite honest & transparent as posted by a lot of folks out here so if he thinks he cant handle it he'll tell you so.

[sunil8089]

Today, I talked to Raghav, seems to be a nice person. I am taking my car to Ignite, this week, which is screwed by many local fellows. I will post my experiences, after the service.

[MAS]

This happened about 3 weeks back.

Had taken my Santro for a small problem. The car switches off if it is shifted to Neutral or while changing gears (clutch depressed). This made the car jerk everytime the clutch is released.

Raghav & his team took care of the problem in a jiffy. While trying to make the fog lights work, the fuse of my music system konked off. (The fog lamps were fitted by the erst-while Tafe Access Hyundai, when I bought the car. Strange they took the connection from the point meant for the music system. This was only found out now thanks to IgNite)

While the fuse was being replaced, Raghav asked me if I would be interested in trying OWS Iridium sparks. Wow, the car transformed into a racer. I did not take off the iridiums after the test ride and this has made driving so so easy.

The next day I took the Corolla and changed to Iridium as well, apart from upgrading lights to 100/90 Osrams.

I am a satisfied customer and have always returned happy (touchwood) after visiting IgNite.

[vdiatech]

totally agree , ignite is a great pleace. I only wish they were a bit nearer to where I lived. I have very very minute quanity of oil slightly seaming out of the rocker cover. Its not a massive leak you can barely see it, I can tell by the 'look of wetness', just a tiny bit along the entire cover.

Probably Sundaram Motors did not concentrate much while replcing the gaskets and rocker cover.

I will take it to ignite shortly for this and also for some suspension work ( oil leaking from left strut )

[anekho]

hmm.. does ignite do skoda's aswell?

cheers

[bottle]

Originally Posted by anekho

hmm.. does ignite do skoda's aswell?

cheers

Its a multi brand garage and I've seen quite a mix of cars there. Best thing to do is give him a call and have a chat

[anekho]

yeah, or I might just visit some time - ignite's not far from my place!

cheers

[yzfrj]

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.

1. Sound from front right suspension - sounded like a worn tie rod end
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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)
5. A/C cleaning, cooling was not adequate (well you'll never get good cooling in old Zen, now it was far worse)
6. Central locking was locking half of the car, left front/rear door locks were temperamental and worked intermittently.
7. 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.

[vdiatech]

@yzfrj

Oh ! I understand your concern and how you feel after coughing up 25K !!! You may be right in saying an A.S.S would have charged the same or probably a bit more. I could be wrong. I am purely going by the figure !

I am sure, Raghav will go well out of the way to ensure that your car runs to your satisfaction considering the time and money spent.

Please do update us after the '500kms'. I dont think any engine work was done, so why the '500kms' . Can some one please tell me why ? I dont know much about cars

[yzfrj]

Update about the "sound" and more.

On my way back from office around 10:15pm, road was void of traffic and I was doing around 65km/hr. I was just playing around with the accelerator trying to locate the sound (as the sound came when the car shudders or hits a rough patch/ broken tarmac). As many of us would agree the steering effort reduces significantly one you cross 60km/hr. On sudded acceleration car was pulling towards right (I usually don't grip the steering hard). I though maybe I'm imagining. Slowed down and I could't really make it out, cross 60 and the accelerate it pulled right and I needed to give corrective inputs to keep going straight.

Steering was harder than usual and was expected due to the work done.
But this pulling right I was not sure and suspected something wrong with the suspension ?

sms'd Raghav around 10:30 (as I did't wan't to disturb him if he was sleeping and I knew he had a long day coming), he immediatly replied and said he will tell the guys at the shop.

Raghav had called me in the morning and he said the guys at the garage have been updated and requested to take the car there.

Unfortunately I was not able to make it by 10 as I promised and reached the shop around 2pm.

Explained to the guys the problems and he said the side pulling might be due to uneven tyre. I told its highly unlikely as alignment and balancing is done every 5000 kms. My suspect was a problematic or incorrectly fitter lower arm / ball joint.

Had a brief test drive and I think the mechanic guy got the source pinpointed. Drove back and jacked up the car.

He showed me the mount that connects the gearbox to the chassis, I had told him earlier it does't appear straight and its mounted at a slight angle (I was suspecting it was rubbing against the body). He also said its not 100% straight, however he showed me there is enough room there and it will not rub against the body and is not the likely cause. He said the steering (this I came to know later when raghav called, as the mechanic guy used a term I did't understand) is the likely culprit and this can also explain the pulling towards tht right. Raghav called in betweed he said the steering is really tight and this severely limits its ability to self-center and this is likely due to a problem with the steering rack. He said it should have been done when he did the steering box overhaul and said its somehthing he did't expect and it is his oversight.

The mechanic guy did some adjustments, now the sound has come down a bit and the steering has freed up. The pulling is still there a bit.

Raghav said he will get the part ready on monday and will call/sms and it will take around 2hrs for the replacement.

Will update once its done.

Originally Posted by vdiatech

I dont think any engine work was done, so why the '500kms' .

You are right engine is untouched and it does't have any problem at all.

I'm not really sure, he advised me to take it easy as its a new clutch.
The other thing that needs some time as per Raghav is the A/C gas.

He mentioned when the gas is topped up it will show "enough" gas has gone in, sometimes there still will be room for more gas (to reach the recommended quantity) .The pressure gauge might show incorrect info (not always), so the run-in can verify that and if the A/C feels not that better maybe this would be the reason.

I was not happy about the "free play" in the clutch and the brake pedal travel and the "bite-less" brake. Again it takes time to get the proper feel back. So I guess 500kms is enough time. My daily run is 25kms so 500km = 1 month, makes sense I think.

The other one is since the entire front suspension was taken out a verification and tightening up maybe required, this point is purely guess work and I might be wrong.

[vdiatech]

Its good that things will be fine soon. But I understand, it could be a pain to take your car often to Ignite because of the distance. Can I quickly ask you, how long you have had your zen ? I hope you are not paying up for the neglect of the previous owners ( if, any ).

You are the not the first to compare the charges of Ignite to an A.S.S . I remember someone mentioning the same on this thread.

Its good to see service reports like yours.

[yzfrj]

Originally Posted by vdiatech

Its good that things will be fine soon.how long you have had your zen ?
Its good to see service reports like yours.

Thank you, just sharing my experience.
It's not to find faults.But, to find flaws so it can be fixed and at the end of the day the feedback taken in the good sense will keep the quality high and ensure the next guy will not have to face the same problems I did.

Yes, waiting for it.

It was my dad's friend's (who barely drives) car and was not driven at all.
We got it when the car was 8 months old around 8k (driven mostly by a mutual friend who is a pretty good driver) on the odo.

We were planning to get a Zen (new) this came up as dad's friend wanted to get a Qualis and ended up buying an Omni .

It was driven by dad and me mostly. (92500kms on stock clutch )
Serviced every 5k Kms as a rule.

So, most of the components replaced now are simply due to the age and with the distance covered its normal. Before service car was ok with a few rattles and very spongy front end and the irritating noise from the right tie rod end on turns.

What I've seen here (in Chennai), they always replace everything as a set.
lower arms both right/left. Brake cylinder both right/left. This was not the case back home (Cochin) we have replaced one lower arm and one brake cylinder assembly.

There(in Cochin) Parts whenever possible are refurbished and used here (in Chennai) the motto is "just replace" + "as a set".

I don't want to jump into controversy land now.

This is what I've seen all my life ever since the Amby, Padmini days.
Maybe its the wrong way. But, we never had a breakdown so it is something that is ok I'd say.

People might think its not worth to spend money on a 9 Year old 92k kms car. Well I plan to keep it, so go figure.

[2theMax]

Good unbiased report yzfrj ! Hope you sort out your issues quickly.

Sometimes it works when you replace "as a set". I feel more confident then, anyway to each his own. did you correct the mount ? also when was the last when you did an wheel alignment ?was it part of this service ?

I still feel you are in safe hands, If you are not fussy about the delay.

[vdiatech]

Originally Posted by yzfrj

. This was not the case back home (Cochin)

I have some fond memories of cochin. I used to live in Kuamaranasan Nagar ( down the rajivgandhi indoor stadium road, kadavanthara) and few more years at Panampilly Nagar

[MAS]

@yzfrj

That is really a very frank report. Problems not sorted out + new problems in the car + attention to detail missing. These are the exact reasons why I moved from authorised dealer workshops to IgNite. Now, these seem to have come up for you at IgNite. It is really unfortunate.

This is not Raghav's style (atleast as much I have seen and experienced). I'm sure Raghav would be following this thread closely and hope that your problems are taken care of.

I feel that this oversight could be due to Raghav's preparation for the jeep meet on the river bed of Palar, which was scheduled on 13th. I'm still sure that Raghav will take care of baby very well. (The only problem being the distance from where you live to IgNite)

Good luck buddy.