[ravigop]

i had a very embarrassing moment by recommending carnation (ORR bangalore) to one of my friends. He had a Maruti 800 in which the battery suddenly went down over the weekend. He was planning to call M. A. S. S dealer but i recommended him to checkout carnation instead (for which i repented later). They promptly came to his residence jump started and drove the car to their workshop. The same day they delivered the car stating that its a battery problem and they changed the battery to AMRON which costed him 3k. For a day the car drove fine and in the evening it refused to start. On calling carnation again they drove the vehicle back to service centre and checked it up. They took more than a day to diagnose that the car had burnt out alternator rectifier regulator component. Now they replaced this and gave delivery again with a bill for 600Rs. Now again the car drove well for 1 day and later in the day again it refused to start. Now what ... ???? again the same carnation guy shows up, drives the vehicle back and starts his "diagnosing procedure".

We waited for a day and went to carnation to hear his diagnosis. Guess what ????? the SA (Service Adviser) told us that since the battery is new it needs to charge full before it can be used first time and now they have charged it to its full capacity and it can used fine now. I didn't believe this story at all first place however we agreed and left the place. Happy that they didn't charge us anything this time.

Now what ???? I jumped in to check what would the actual drain problem be ? Back in office parking lot using my DMM i tested the battey & charging voltage from alternator it was all fine .. checked the battery on full load it cranked the starter motor fine so no issues there. Then i decided to test the idle current draw. Connected the DMM in 20 A DC current mode in series with the battery and i was surprised to see on no load condition it was drawing 2.5 A. Pulled every fuse in the fuse box to check which circuit was causing this and finally zero'd in on headlight wiring relay. This is the relay in the aftermarket headlight wiring which got stuckup and the circuit is shorted with a finite load. Removed the relay in the wire harness and threw it away.

Now my friend wanted me to go back and complain to carnation higher ups. I told him only one sentence "just stay away from carnation". Even if you wanted to repair your flat Tyre go for a neighborhood mechanic but not carnation.

[bejoy]

Originally Posted by ravigop

Connected the DMM in 20 A DC current mode in series with the battery and i was surprised to see on no load condition it was drawing 2.5 A. Pulled every fuse in the fuse box to check which circuit was causing this and finally zero'd in on headlight wiring relay.

So the original battery was good afterall. You should ask your friend to get the old battery back. Carnation (ORR bangalore) is a bunch of novices who does't have common sense to find the root cause of any problem. Happened to my friend. His Fiat Palio MJD had low oil warning light turned on and went to Carnation. They found the oil was pretty low and they recommended engine flushing and put synthetic oil and charged a hefty sum. Within two weeks his engine got seized Towed to KHT motors and found that the sump had taken a hit somewhere and it was leaking. The oil pump had failed and caused severe engine damage. So instead of finding the cause of low oil level, those morons put synthetic oil! These guys are luring lot of customers by giving away free wash coupons at super markets. And many would invariably fall into the trap of ill diagnosis.

[ravigop]

Originally Posted by bejoy

So the original battery was good afterall. You should ask your friend to get the old battery back. Carnation (ORR bangalore) is a bunch of novices who does't have common sense to find the root cause of any problem. Happened to my friend. His Fiat Palio MJD had low oil warning light turned on and went to Carnation. They found the oil was pretty low and they recommended engine flushing and put synthetic oil and charged a .

yes very true, basically their problem analysis is not so great. There are just suitable for pitstop service, like topping up fluids, tightening lug nuts and water wash etc. On the same day i even saw one customer complaining that while rotating wheels they wrongly fitted uni directional BS Tyre in wrong direction.

[Rajith]

Thank god million times for showing me this thread and saving me from thrashing some idiots.

I got Rs 1250/- worth wash and other goodies coupons of Car nation, when i renewed my insurance with Bajaj allianz last week.I was planning to take my new scorpio or Thar to make use of the coupons.Now after going thru this thread fully, i thrown these coupons to the bin.

[sasi405]

CARNATION: Udyog Vihar, Gurgaon

I decided to get my 2006 Chevrolet Aveo serviced from Carnation due to the brand name and the image of the company, especially since it is headed by Mr Jagdish Khattar. However, I regret to report that the following problems were faced by me in the service. I also regret to say that I will never recommend Carnation to any of my 1800+ friends on our facebook group as also members at Team-Bhp. Kindly note the problems:
1. Car was delayed in delivery by a full 24 hours, due to the issue of wrong part (rear wheel cylinder), for which the part had to be re-issued again.
2. The estimate that was given to me by the service engineer was approx Rs. 11,000.00, which, I anyway found to be more expensive compared to the market. This included engine flush, change of oil to synthetic oil, oil filter, front shock absorber mountings (top), front left brake caliper pin, rear brake wheel cylinders other than the routine stuff like service, wash etc. Inspite of the high price, I decided to go ahead with it in the hope that a good job would be done.
3. To my surprise, the final bill quoted is a whopping Rs.17,000.00 which is way above the estimate. Even a roadside mechanic knows how much a part may cost and can give an estimate within reasonable tolerances, which, sorry to say, a service engineer at a reputed workshop like Carnation could not give.
4. When asked if there was a parts list with costs from where he got the original estimates, I found that a so called 'professional' organization with multi-brand repairs did not even have a parts list or price list. This is appalling. This means that the service engineer was simply quoting anything he felt like.
5. I find my experience with Carnation utterly unprofessional with incompetent engineers giving estimates. My experience with Carnation amounts to extortion and cheating.

I sincerely urge anyone wanting to use Carnation to think twice before giving your car. As someone has mentioned earlier on in the thread, they don't have any clue about the car itself. I have written on Jagdish Khattar's FB page also.

After I got my car back and driving it for 2 days, I have realised that some of the problems have persisted, despite their so called 'repair'.
1. Engine check light used to come on due to some loose connection / faulty sensor. Problem is still not rectified completely.
2. When I checked the car underbody, it has not been washed! Has anyone seen a car service where they don't wash the underbody? Ridiculous!
3. The handbrake was not engaging properly, which was diagnosed by their own mechanic. Problem remains as it is!

Verdict: Don't even go close to any carnation service centre. Even if you don't want to, they will pull your car in, charge you exorbitantly and you will get the same car back with just a body wash, which even your guy at home can do.

[motomaverick]

I had gone their when they had opened initially as Prelaunch and were offering free wash, seeing the wash quality i never went back

[ravigop]

I got to know that Mr. Premiji (Wipro Chairman) is the financial investor in Carnation. Know wonder why they charge so much from customers :-)

[speedsatya]

A friend gave his second generation Honda City Gxi for some denting and painting work . Also he wanted his LHS ORVM to be replaced .

They took 5 days for a job that any other workshop wouldnt have taken more than 2 days in total . They couldnt source the mirror as well , so that wasnt done .

In the end , they returned the car with a deep scratch on it . Initially they refused to take responsibility for this , but later on waived 1000 INR from the total bill . My friend now realises his mistake of not giving the car at the regular Honda dealership .

He has specifically asked me to post this here , so that others are aware of this experience .

My advice : Stay away from these workshops . OEM dealerships might be slightly more expensive,but they are the best .

[nirmaljusdoit]

Originally Posted by speedsatya

A friend gave his second generation Honda City Gxi for some denting and painting work . Also he wanted his LHS ORVM to be replaced .
My advice : Stay away from these workshops . OEM dealerships might be slightly more expensive,but they are the best .

If its only the body shop work that is needed to be done, Sai Colorium in JP Nagar does a much better than the Honda dealership.I got my Honda city done up by them & the finish is great, without blowing a crater in my pocket

I really cant understand why the experience is so bad, almost everyone i have spoken to has nothing good to say about carnation.

Coming from someone with the experience of Jagdish Khattar, this is shocking !

[mayankjha1806]

Originally Posted by speedsatya

A friend gave his second generation Honda City Gxi for some denting and painting work

Was this Carnation Outer Ring Road?

This was earlier much better as i used to regularly get my car serviced and repaired at this center. Since last one year the best of SA's have left and the attention and customer focus has deteriorated.

I no longer go there but its sad to see some good business idea and initiative faltering due to stupid execution.

[libis22]

Guys, I have also had bad experience from Carnation Cochin and I sent a message to Mr Jagadish Khattar's Facebook page. 2 hours after, I got a message "Thanks for informing me" and 4 hours later, Group lead from Carnation Cochin area called me and asked about the issue. He had promised me that he will take it forward. I added link to this thread in my message too
Let's see what happens

[motorguy]

Originally Posted by Indicruz

I tried my luck to post this thread on Mr. Jagdish Khattar's facebook 'fan' page. As expected, admins deleted it with in seconds!

I guess Mr. Khattar does not want to address all the negative feedback coming to him. I posted a comment on the pathetic quality of Carnation. Today I see the comment not showing up - hence his admins may have deleted in as well.

Sad, sad situation, coming from a man I used to admire.

[ravigop]

Originally Posted by motorguy

I guess Mr. Khattar does not want to address all the negative feedback coming to him. I posted a comment on the pathetic quality of Carnation. Today I see the comment not showing up - hence his admins may have deleted in as well.

Sad, sad situation, coming from a man I used to admire.

Yes, i heard that they are going to close their repair shop & just keep washing, detailing & accessories unit open.

Although im not a business analyst but believe this business model will not work out well in India. Over here we don't have good network of OEM, OES spares available and most of the manufacturers wanted to restrict their OEM's and OES supplies in open market so that the dealer workshop can make good business & survive. One exception to this is Maruti. This is the reason carnation takes sometimes upto several weeks to source ORVM, drive shaft etc for brands like Honda & fiat.

[Sebring]

Their Bannerghatta workshop is pathetic. My father made a big mistake leaving his car there for minor paint touch up. Not only is the charge so high, even after claiming insurance, the car also has paint drip marks now. Basic care wasn't taken. Now he needs to get all this off and have it done all over again. Was shocked to see the finish.



Although im not a business analyst but believe this business model will not work out well in India. Over here we don't have good network of OEM, OES spares available and most of the manufacturers wanted to restrict their OEM's and OES supplies in open market so that the dealer workshop can make good business & survive. One exception to this is Maruti. This is the reason carnation takes sometimes upto several weeks to source ORVM, drive shaft etc for brands like Honda & fiat.[/quote]

[rohanjf]

I recently gave my Palio MJD for service at Carnation on Outer Ring Road, Kadubeesanahalli, Bangalore. I decided to give it here because some of the service staff from KHT have joined Carnation.

When I gave the car for service, the service advisor told me that they don't keep stock of spares. If any spares are required, they will let me know when to come again. I was fine with that. I had my car's parking brake light coming on during hard acceleration, so I needed brake pads at least. Still, I could wait a few days.

I got the car back the same evening. It cost me 2788 Rs with oil change and some small time labours. I was happy that this is about 1500 Rs lesser than what an A.S.S. would charge.

Next morning I noticed, moisture within the right side headlight assembly. I tried reaching them, but no response to my calls or SMS. They never called back to ask me to bring the car again for brake pad replacement.

Disappointed, I ordered the spares online. I took them along with the car to a small garage near my house (Popular Motors near Kodathi gate, run by a former employee of Pratham Motors). That guy opened the bonnet out of curiosity, and then called me to ask what is in the coolant. To my horror, coolant tank was BLACK. I have driven my car for over 1L KMs, and the coolant has always been green. What the hell is this black thing? I opened and saw that the black thing was some kind of oil, floating on top of water. As far as I know, coolant mixes with water like tea and milk.

Then I asked the local mechanic to fix it. He removed the coolant tank, drained all the liquid, cleaned the tank with diesel, washed it and put it back. He put some coolant worth 235 Rs and water.

It cost me 550 Rs for this coolant tank work plus the labour on brake pads. I will never give my car to Carnation again!