[DeKay]

Originally Posted by wooka

WAIT. Let experience stack up.

Maybe I'm expecting too much, but in my eyes, for ₹33L+, the only thing that should be stacking up is flawless ownership experiences, not service centre visits.

No one forced Mahindra to launch these products now, they chose to. No one asked them to bring half-baked cars to market before they were ready, they did that all on their own. And yet, when customers expect a properly finished product, somehow that’s too much to ask? Did we force them to launch these cars in March?

@Mahindra: I know you're reading - If you want to go global, you need to stop treating your home market like a beta-testing ground. Indian buyers aren’t guinea pigs, we’re paying customers. Why should buyers, especially in your home market be the ones discovering design flaws and waiting around for "better part revisions"?

[wooka]

Originally Posted by DeKay

Maybe I'm expecting too much, but in my eyes, for ₹33L+, the only thing that should be stacking up is flawless ownership experiences, not service centre visits.

Despite a stinker to them last month that I am simply fed up and am moving on from the thar, there was the callous indifference. They even refused to cancel my extended warranty. What if I total a car, must I live with the extended warranty? And they're very quick to sell it to you =)

Again their products will mature. Regular cars are 2 years removed from what I speak of. Where do you see it being with the EVs? Well, at least you don't have DPF and DEF problems on these things

[aantony]

Originally Posted by Sanwal Chandra

Hi
Anyone here from the first lot buyers who did not receive their vehicle/ or received after mahindras approval? Could you plase update on how you got it? I have tried everything but it seems Mahindra wont budge. What was whole process and how you got the vehicle approved?

Despite reaching out to multiple people at different levels, I’ve come to realize that nothing really moves forward. it feels like shouting into a void. It’s as if Mahindra has completely overlooked its first-lot customers.

The CRM handling my case casually mentioned last week:

"Sir, no matter what you do—jump to the sky or dig into the ground—it won’t change anything. The backend team works at its own pace since there are too many cars in the pipeline."

This was frustrating enough, but my conversation with him yesterday was even more disappointing. In the end, he simply said that there’s no definite timeline; one day, I’ll just get a call for delivery when it’s ready. Until then he asked not to check for updates

On a positive note, Mahindra has acknowledged recent complaints and system glitches, leading to stricter PDI and S/W checks for upcoming deliveries. While that’s somewhat reassuring, I can’t help but worry about my allocated car, which has been sitting in the yard since mid Feb. It has gone through multiple updates and has been handled by several technicians; honestly, this has taken away a lot of the "new car" excitement for me.

[car_guy1998]

Originally Posted by Sanwal Chandra

Hi
Anyone here from the first lot buyers who did not receive their vehicle/ or received after mahindras approval? Could you plase update on how you got it? I have tried everything but it seems Mahindra wont budge. What was whole process and how you got the vehicle approved?

One of my cousins got their XEV 9e delivered this week in Desert Mist shade in Hyderabad. I hope they didn't face the delivery issues.

This is their second EV vehicle BTW (they bought a Nexon EV 45 as well in Feb) and they initially booked ZS EV but had to cancel it due to personal reasons.

Will ask for the feedback from the owner and post it in this thread soon.

[Sanwal Chandra]

Originally Posted by PMSreenivas

Any update on your side?...

No updates yet. No one knows what automated system they have. The car is simply waiting for a software check. According to SA it can take 3 hours per car or 6 hours per car. But mahindra is acting like a bully, even the dealership has no say. There is no greivance redressal here.

[PMSreenivas]

Originally Posted by Sanwal Chandra

No updates yet. No one knows what automated system they have. The car is simply waiting for a software check. According to SA it can take 3 hours per car or 6 hours per car. But mahindra is acting like a bully, even the dealership has no say. There is no greivance redressal here.

Spoke to my SA again an hour back. Apparently they have 16 cars waiting for this final approval from mahindra. Mahindra has to unblock the VIN number for these guys to perform the delivery but it isn't being done. He was emotional saying all the customers are showing frustration on him because of non-deliveries and he is helpless. He is facing pressure from both customers and higher ups but he is unable to do anything.

[carjack3090]

Originally Posted by PMSreenivas

Spoke to my SA again an hour back. Apparently they have 16 cars waiting for this final approval from mahindra. Mahindra has to unblock the VIN number for these guys to perform the delivery but it isn't being done. He was emotional saying all the customers are showing frustration on him because of non-deliveries and he is helpless. He is facing pressure from both customers and higher ups but he is unable to do anything.

Sad, but it looks like Mahindra has taken QC seriously for this car. Despite them being proactive there are niggling issues. Shows how software is so hard to handle

[JETA1]

Quick update on Secure 360 for iOS users

Received official response from Mahindra
Go to my vehicle
Exterior
Security
Toggle secure 360 off and on

After this it is working for me on iOS.

[Smartfella]

Originally Posted by Smartfella

I'm having a similar issue with the automatic boot closure. It doesn't close properly from the right side and pushes back slightly on pressing of key fob button or from the auto boot open close button on boot lid. Due to this it shows "boot door open" sign on the me4u app and on DID too.

Took it to the service center today. They said their MRV (Mahindra Research Valley) team will look into the issue. They kept updating and uploading the software for a few hours but to no avail. Had to eventually leave the car back at the service center as they said the superiors from the MRV team will pay a visit. They have still not been able to figure out whether it's a software or mechanical issue.

Hopefully I get a resolution soon, else it's really disappointing to know that you have invested 33 lakhs in a car brand which cannot even get it's boot to operate properly

Also not very happy with the dealership experience (PPS Pune). Firstly they forced the insurance onto me (a good difference of more than 10k vis a vis the competitor quote I provided them). They then forced the charger too under the pretext that it had been billed to them by Mahindra with the car. Next the delivery on Gudi Padwa was a total mess as it never gave the premium experience of buying a 30+ lakh car and held at its dusty stockyard. The car too was in a mess with no proper cleaning of the exterior or interior. And now I notice that they have caused huge scratches on the front bumper while affixing the number plate.

Understand that EV experience maybe new for them, but definitely not new to provide a car in a healthy and clean state.

[Turbanator]

Originally Posted by DeKay

the only thing that should be stacking up is flawless ownership experiences, not service centre visits.

No one forced Mahindra to launch these products now, they chose to.

Originally Posted by Smartfella

Took it to the service center today.
Hopefully I get a resolution soon, else it's really disappointing to know that you have invested 33 lakhs in a car brand which cannot even get it's boot to operate properly.

Caveat - I haven't driven or seen one, but if I may ask buyers or potential buyers, why will someone pay this kind of money to Mahindra on a product line where they had Zilch experience, so early?

Why do we have to find a fault with Mahindra? They have done as other manufacturers have done or would do. No one forced anyone to buy such an expensive Mahindra EV? To pay 30 Lac and expect Toyota reliability is too much. Frankly, the VFM quotient is too large to digest, and I have doubts if Mahindra is even making any money here at this time.

I have a hunch; going forward, it's going to be much worse before they improve. Too many features/ loadings, perhaps right suppliers also, and even with no ill intent to save or cut costs, it's not easy to assemble everything to perfection. If I have the best quality of ingredients, that does not imply I will make a good dish. Something similar is going on here. Too many software-dependent features or otherwise, too complicated mechanisms.

My suggestion to prospective buyers will be to hold on for a while. And the ones who have bought already, be reasonable in your expectations. Don't take your car for small things. It may create even more problems as dealer staff will not be experienced on these machines. If anything is not working as it should be, see if you can defer for a few weeks. Mahindra as a company will find a solution, and the dealers will get acquainted with hacks or otherwise. Patience will be key for the owners. So, unless your vehicle is completely struck, it’s better to live with some deficenices for some time.

[wooka]

TLDR; summary!
Why would anyone stick their necks out with such a purchase?
I haven't a precise answer but it's broadly ill-advised.
Can't think of one mod here who hasn't said - wait.

I'll quote my mod here, obtusely, since he has hit two very valid perspectives squarely on the head in just this single line.

Originally Posted by Turbanator

<snip> Why will someone pay this kind of money to Mahindra on a product line where they had Zilch experience, so early?

1. They advertised a well-tested product. We, as consumers, will buy what's sold. Whether it is modified paneer in a McDonald's burger, or a half-baked Mahindra service promise, this is us stereotypical consumers in India - uninformed, emotional purchasing where finance is now available with fewer checks than ever. We have no functional recall platform/ durability/ satisfaction platforms. Official recalls are not recorded anywhere. Many Mahindra faults are only serviced on 'consumer complaint' even if there is an orange recall against the VIN. Been there, done that.

2. FOMO. They will drive the fear of missing out high. Given the recent steep drops in the value of the rupee, one can only believe that a car that has mostly imported components is bound to go up in price. In a world where there are 1-2 Lakh discounts on the XUV 700, and with prices going up this month due to 'input costs' being impacted due to currency trading rates, the BEVs are surely to be hit, right?. Subsidies (road tax and otherwise) across the country are also unclear on how long they'll be around. So people want to get in while they see value, and also some just like to be there first.

Originally Posted by Turbanator

Why do we have to find a fault with Mahindra? They have done as other manufacturers have done or would do.

Even Hyundai, whom I have bashed forever in every social circle, and those memes about Cretas flashing dippers on empty highways are as true as they say, sell unstable bodyshells and have diagnostic charges for parts under warranty, still have produced a fairly efficient Creta EV with fantastic customer experience esp if one were to compare against the BEVs. One can argue that the Cybertruck has a slippery accelerator pedal that can get stuck, but does it give everyone a get-out-of-jail card?

Originally Posted by Turbanator

My suggestion to prospective buyers will be to hold on for a while. And the ones who have bought already, be reasonable in your expectations. Don't take your car for small things. It may create even more problems as dealer staff will not be experienced on these machines. If anything is not working as it should be, see if you can defer for a few weeks.

I agree with you, as echoed in a post I put out yesterday about skipping non-critical repairs right now. It will radically change your experience of owning a beta car I still consider my Scorpio-N to be a beta car two years on. Unfortunately, some beta versions never go beyond 'RC-release candidate' which is still replete with bugs. Thus, had to trash my new Thar.

Originally Posted by Turbanator

Mahindra as a company will find a solution, and the dealers will get acquainted with hacks or otherwise. Patience will be key for the owners.

Hacks or otherwise is giving much slack to someone selling a car/ promise. Cars in India are not as disposable as they are on general leases overseas. 30 big ones is a high ceiling for a lot of families. One can build a 2200 sq ft house with that much money.

Consider:
1. Zero transparency on bookings/ deliveries/ stock availability.
2. Halted deliveries for people who have already taken car loans and disbursed them.
3. Multiple (unofficial) recalls.
4. Failed OTA and offline updates bricking some cars.
5. Mechanical things - yes, the mechs can figure things out. Anything remotely electronic - they are clueless. Given the BEVs, COTEKs aren't doing much - they're shrugging things off to tech resources from MnM. Some travel onsite, others work 5 days a week, remotely. There are no TARs generated on Saturday, which is when us salaried car owners can generally step away from their daily duties.
6. Accessories (some billed, others not) unavailable at launch.
7. Tons of updates that should come later. No V2L? Great, I have to tug along an Ecoflow inverter now. I wonder why the rest of the market comes better equipped.

The EV market will mature yet over the next 12-16 months and we live in an energy-starved country. Much work is needed here. The pace at which things are evolving in the EV space should deter one from a potential misstep with a product that has been a whole lot of broken promises if the last month is anything to go on.

Come back in a year with a proven track record and with better press - you can have my money. Meanwhile, I'll let my 30 lakhs cook in stable investments and it'll counteract any potential price rises. Meanwhile, pack 1 and 2 should also become freely available.

It doesn't look like they've hit their sales targets (else the April hikes should have hit the BEVs as well), and the EV market is rather limited to people in the cities who have decided to double down and explore unchartered territory.

Reference for abbreviations:
V2L - Vehicle to load (DC -> AC 6/16A sockets)
BEV - Born EV
OTA - Over the air
TAR - Some sort of a technical investigative report
VIN - Vehicle identification number

[masterkjn]

Originally Posted by Smartfella

I'm having a similar issue with the automatic boot closure. It doesn't close properly from the right side and pushes back slightly on pressing of key fob button or from the auto boot open close button on boot lid. Due to this it shows "boot door open" sign on the me4u app and on DID too.

I agree with some other posters here that do not take your car in for service right now unless it is a critical issue. Most likely it will get misdiagnosed and they will create further issues. I had a door closing issue - it was taking a lot of force to close - after reading a post here i just took a screwdriver and realigned the "hook" a little bit and now its working fine. I assume its a similar issue on the boot where the hooks need to be realigned. I also had an issue where ORVM buttons stopped working for a few days after a ceramic coating work but after a few restarts they are working again.
Prospective buyers reading this forum might get demotivated for a purchase since people with issues in the car are the most vocal but i can tell you i am very happy with my purchase. Most if not all features are working fine. Even Auto parking which i did not expect to work is working great. The car feels amazing. Yes this car will have some minor niggles just because it has so many features and the OS of the car feels like a full fledged OS when compared to a barebones Toyota or Maruti which might not even have 20% of the features in this car.

[aantony]

Originally Posted by wooka

[b]

1. They advertised a well-tested product. We, as consumers, will buy what's sold. Whether it is modified paneer in a McDonald's burger, or a half-baked Mahindra service promise, this is us stereotypical consumers in India

Absolutely agree with the sentiments shared here, and I appreciate the well-rounded perspectives, especially from Turbanator and Wooka who have articulated clearly.

On my own experience as one of the pre booked customers. Though Mahindra does make occasional attempts to reach out and "connect" with those of us who are facing issues, the unfortunate reality is that these conversations often end without any meaningful resolution. The responses to escalations have been lethargic at best, and it’s frustrating to feel overlooked despite being an early adopter who showed faith in an unproven product.

To be very clear, I went into this purchase with eyes open, understanding that early adopters may face a few niggles. But what's happening now is far beyond that. We didn’t sign up for repeated delays, radio silence, failed updates, and cluelessness of what is really cooking behind. Mahindra should have planned delay deliveries if the product wasn’t ready. If they had taken time for proper QC, development, and internal training would have gone a long way in protecting the brand and building customer trust.

The car is fundamentally good; it has potential; but the rollout has been mishandled and approaching towards a disaster. Early adopters deserve better, not just in terms of fixes, but in communication, support, and accountability.

At this point, I'm seriously considering legal action, because things are clearly spiraling beyond just minor early issues. Myself from that first batch of buyers who was given the cold shoulder after raising genuine concerns. If this is Mahindra's idea of premium EV customer experience, it’s a stark warning to future buyers.

[PMSreenivas]

Originally Posted by Turbanator

Caveat - I haven't driven or seen one, but if I may ask buyers or potential buyers, why will someone pay this kind of money to Mahindra on a product line where they had Zilch experience, so early?

There are multiple reasons for people going ahead for these buy now.

I for one was looking at buying my first car since 5 months. I am in need of a car as soon as possible because of my needs and I'm looking for something i would be using for 10-15 years. I cannot wait 1-2 years waiting for Mahindra to iron out issues without buying a car. I was taking test drives of multiple options that are available right now in the market and then mahindra released BE6 and XEV 9E. I had done multiple test drives of these EVs and I instantly loved them. Though the test vehicles had some glitches they were working pretty well and we got assurances from SAs and Mahindra that the issues will be sorted in production vehicles. Test drives started in January and Production vehicles are out in March. They had time to fix those small niggles or so we expected. I was ready to take a car with software issues as well since I'm an early adopter. As long as the basic functions like Charging, Driving, AC and other things that we need on everyday basis are working fine i would have been happy since Mahindra advertised that they would be pushing updates OTA and would roll the fixes as soon as possible. I was confident they will be fixed slowly but surely since Mahindra is betting on them a lot.

My state currently has 0 tax on EVs right now and i don't know when they will be removing it and start putting taxes. I couldn't afford to pay lakhs of taxes by playing the waiting game.

People who got their vehicles, even though the vehicles are having issues they are able to drive for long distances without any issues and each and everyone of them are damn happy with the car performances and their purchases. Glitches are there and the people are just asking others if they are facing them or no and if yes, how to fix them - A pretty normal conversation in forums.

The biggest blame right now that people are putting on Mahindra in this forum is - Delivery of vehicles.
People paid lakhs of rupees to showrooms once they are informed by the dealers that the vehicles have arrived and are allocated. We have disbursed the loans and paid the down payments. EMIs are getting started too. But the cars are not being delivered because Mahindra is not giving an approval. The cars are just sitting in stockyards and showrooms. If they don't want to deliver these cars, they could have given us a later date. We would have disbursed our loans later once we get the cars. We were ready to wait but Mahindra sent the cars to dealers and stopped them there once the payments are done. Which car manufacturer does this? There should have been some transparency. No one knows what's happening. Dealers are helpless, customers are helpless. No information is being shared to customers on why the delay is happening. If its being done for customers well being, then fine. But some communication should be made. You cannot leave people unattended like this.

[aantony]

Originally Posted by PMSreenivas

The biggest blame right now that people are putting on Mahindra in this forum is - Delivery of vehicles.

Quick update : Got a call from Mahindra a few minutes back.

Mahindra finally decided to take action after two weeks, and their grand solution? Another two-week wait! Billing the new vehicle today, but delivery in 8-10 days as the car will be dispatched from factory. Patience level: Legendary