[bikerzindia]

This kind of scam is very common.

Happened to me with My Scorpio.

I do not know if the below call was from the company Mahindra or dealer Sireesh Auto

Service Executive: Sir its been 6 months since you serviced your Scorpio

Me: Yes I know. The service interval is 12 months or 10,000 kms & I have done just about 6,000 kms and its been about 6 months.

SE: No sir the it is 6 months or 5,000 kms. I have the manual in front of me.

Me: I too have the manual in front of me & for my Scorpio it says 12 months or 10,000 kms.

SE: Are you sure sir?

Me: I am very sure.

SE: Sir but....

Me: Thank you Madam I shall service my Scorpio as per my manual & you can service yours as per your manual.

SE: Ok Sir. Have a good day.

Me: Thanks you have a great day!!


Just last week I went to the service station after taking appointment to Sireesh Auto Magadi Road & the Service adviser Mr. Sudarshan asked me to leave the vehicle and come back the next day. I told him as I wanted to stay and get it serviced, I had taken the appointment and there is no way I shall leave my Scorpio & go. He then showed me dozens of vehicles and told me it may take hours and also the washing can not be done. I said that was not my problem and since I reached the ASC by the time I had taken appointment, my work was to be done as soon as a slot was open. He finally agreed. He was quite a rude guy and I have lodged my complaint with Mahindra in this regard. He was speaking as if he was doing a favour on me by servicing my Scorpio.

Some scams they try and do.

1)I was told the brake pads need to be changed. The life of the pads were not over even by half. According to my visual measurements, the pads had at least 5-6 mm of life left.
2) I was told all the filters need to be changed every 10,000 kms. But the manual says something else. I had got it changed earlier at 10,000 as well as 20,000 kms like a fool just because the service adviser told me. Fuel filter change is 30,000 kms & Air Filter is 40,000 kms according to below manual.

Below is a snapshot of the manual from Mahindra website.

3) I was even asked to change the air filter which was changed 10,000 kms ago, I just refused and told them do what the manual says do not do anything more or anything less.

I just realized that maintaining an automobile is actually cheap but since we are fleeced like this, we feel it is expensive. Had I left my car there, my bill would have been inflated easily beyond 10,000 INR. Since I stood there and got it done, my bill was 4,515 INR. By spending half a day at the SVC I saved almost INR 5,000. The happier feeling was saving on the waste of these items which would be otherwise thrown away (mostly) causing unnecessary pollution & wastage of useful items.

[motorguy]

I have also experienced this scam from Popular Hyundai, Kottayam. I have a late model Eon which needs service only once a year (or 10,000 km). Despite the Popular Hyundai guys highlighting this when I purchased the car, the service guys call once every 3 - 4 months and claim service is due.

I just tell them the manual specifies once a year and tell them not to pull a fast one on me. Once they hear that, they say "sorry ,sir" and get off the phone as fast as they can - haven't heard excuses of a "new circular" and similar "surprises". To date, these calls, however, have become less so either the scam isn't working for them or owners have got more aware.

In short, I think owning a car does not simply mean driving it and forgetting about everything else. Read the manual thoroughly and understand the vehicle completely so you will not be a victim of scams like these.

To be fair, I service my Bangalore cars at Trident, Adugodi and not one person has called me with this kind of scam.

[scorpian]

My experience was kind off weird, I own a sx4 and at 90k wanted to do preventive maintenance of changing timing chain etc, I had pre-ordered the required parts as I wanted to do a complete replacement. After opening they told me they can't change the cam sprocket as there are chances in cam shaft breaking due to torque required to open. Sadly my cam sprocket was worn out and it would be pointless to replace chain with a worn sprocket. I had to then call a mechanic in Mumbai and ask him the procedure while I sat in goa with the head mechanic. After that the head mechanic was confident and told me they never replace cam sprocket but with this new idea given by Mumbai guy he opened mine very easily and was happy to have learnt something new.
If I wasn't present they would have replaced all parts except cam sprocket and what a waste it would have been.
Sadly they ruined the rubber vacuum pipes and taped them with insulation tape. I had to tie them down with zip ties and I plan to replace all of them soon.
With mass and critical repairs its best to take leave from office and sit with them or else you are bound to be left with improper repairs.

[raj4466]

Originally Posted by motorguy

I have also experienced this scam from Popular Hyundai, Kottayam. I have a late model Eon which needs service only once a year (or 10,000 km). Despite the Popular Hyundai guys highlighting this when I purchased the car, the service guys call once every 3 - 4 months and claim service is due.

Sorry to bump an old thread.
Popular Hyundai Kottayam just won't let you go. I have been getting these reminder calls every 6 months; even though the Hyundai Verna I own has a service interval of 10k kms or 1 year whichever is earlier.

They have gone quiet after I told them I was going to report it to the brand.

Popular Maruti calls and just ask for your odometer readings and will just remind you the dates and KM's at which you have to get your car serviced.

[Captain Slow]

Originally Posted by bikerzindia

This kind of scam is very common.

All the dealers are the same! RE also does this! Saar Bike service is due saar! Even tho my owners manual says once a year - every 3 months I get a call for ""SERVICE""

[AZT]

Looks like Tata is the only brand mandating a service every 6 months.

[Captain Slow]

Originally Posted by AZT

Looks like Tata is the only brand mandating a service every 6 months.

Honda & Mitsubishi too.

[shankar.balan]

I follow the time rule rather than the distance covered regulation for my vehicles’ servicing. Invariably I service the vehicles ahead of schedule.

But I have never had the workshops or dealers call me unnecessarily to get my vehicles serviced. Probably because when I do go to do the servicing I hang around and watch things and participate and ask questions and all that. So I guess they know that I am interested in my car’s well being but I also know a thing or two myself.

[BlackBeard]

Originally Posted by motorguy

I just tell them the manual specifies once a year and tell them not to pull a fast one on me. Once they hear that, they say "sorry ,sir" and get off the phone as fast as they can - haven't heard excuses of a "new circular" and similar "surprises". To date, these calls, however, have become less so either the scam isn't working for them or owners have got more aware.

In short, I think owning a car does not simply mean driving it and forgetting about everything else. Read the manual thoroughly and understand the vehicle completely so you will not be a victim of scams like these.

I had the same experience with Maruti Suzuki-Dewars garage early this year, they kept pestering me with calls for service booking, I got fed up and booked a service but I had to cancel it due to other commitments. I again started receiving calls, this time I checked the owners manual & it stated 1 year or 10K kms. When I confronted them with these facts they claimed that as some discounts were being offered best that I made best use of it. I politely declined and told them will service it as per schedule. They still kept calling me from different numbers & finally I blocked them all.

Originally Posted by Captain Slow

Honda & Mitsubishi too.

Toyota service interval, at least for the fortuner is 6 monthly.

[Stolidus500]

Originally Posted by BlackBeard

Toyota service interval, at least for the fortuner is 6 monthly.

For older models sure but atleast since BS6 norms, it's 1 year and 10,000 km for all Toyotas.

[FourWheelDrift]

Hi everyone on this thread :

Just to give you a perspective on how things are in the US.

I own a Honda Civic and a Hyundai Elantra in the US. I get both serviced at the respective authorized dealer. The experiences at both dealerships' service departments are illustrative.

The Civic has an algorithm which tells you on the driver information system which service needs to happen at every occasion by showing a code well before a 1000 miles remain for the service (to give the user enough time to plan and take an appointment). There is no fixed time interval nor mileage interval mentioned in the owner's manual. The code can be looked up in the manual or online to see what needs to be changed during that service, if one is so inclined. The dealership doesn't call in between services to ask you to come in. They happily complete the required service whenever the appointment is taken, and don't attempt to add on "value-added services" not recommended in the owner's manual. For my usage, the algorithm seems to require service every 6-7,000 miles.

The Elantra has a fixed 6,000 miles or 1 year cadence of service. Whatever service is required at each interval is clearly mentioned in the owner's manual. When taking an appointment for each service from the dealer, one is asked what is required to be done and is noted while responding with the likely invoice amount and the time it would take to complete the service. However, things change when one enters the service department on the appointed date. The advisor, without acknowledging what was asked for at the time of appointment taking, shows a document mentioning the "recommended items" for each service interval. The document does NOT have any Hyundai branding (and funnily not even the dealer's branding), and calls out many more items than what is mentioned in the owner's manual. When one insists that the service advisor stick only to what is mentioned in the owner's manual, there are many reasons given to follow his / her advice and pressure tactics to convince you of their point of view. After being politely declined, the advisor makes sure to mention that their records will reflect that recommended services were denied. This obviously leaves a bad taste in the mouth.

So, in sum, I believe that some car manufacturers tend to allow (or rather look the other way) when their dealers attempt to make additional revenue from gullible consumers.

[ajmat]

Honda dealers used to try the every 3 month stunt with me. Luckily with the Elevate and my mothers Exter, it is the app, not the dealer who dictates the service interval.