[Harbir]

(mods, please move if this is not the appropriate forum).


My Pajero SFX, bought 4 months ago has just gone in for its 2nd service at 10,000km, and I am just appalled at the whole mitsubishi service experience, to the extent that I have decided to do all the services on my vehicle myself from here on out (I am mechanically inclined and used to repairing and servicing cars myself).

The car's 1000km turned in to a fiasco. First on the inner door handles, there are plastic tabs that hide the screws. THe vehicle was delivered with the tabs missing on the rear left door. I didn't notice it at delivery time. At the first service I pointed them out and was told they were not in stock and would have to be ordered, but they didn't do it. But worse, they presented me a 1000 rupee bill for correcting the steering wheel alignment that was off right from new. When I asked them why I was being charged for correcting what should have been ok from the start, they tried to tell me that since the service schedule doesn't list wheel alignment at 1000km, I have to pay for it, never mind that it shouldn't have been a problem to begin with. When I objected, their service manager got unpleasant and I left after a fight, only to find that they had made the alignment even worse. I was too furious too remember the door handle tabs and too furious to go back to them.

Come 10,000km service, I went to a different dealer in a different city. This time I was told that I would have to pay for the door tabs because they are not responsible for things that fall off the vehicle. In the meantime the power antenna had become defective and failed to retract fully. Because it failed to retract, it had brushed against low low hanging branches and become slightly bent. The dealer told me that Mitsubishi would not replace it under warranty because the warranty processing employees at mitsubishi will say that its been damaged through negligence. but I can pay 6000 rupees to have the antenna replaced at my cost! And if the problem is with the motor mechanism not retracting properly, its Rs20,000 for the assembly! I told them to leave it.

While the guy was filling in the data, I told him that I saw that the 10,000 km service included wheel alignment. And he acted as if they don't normally do that and started asking me if the vehicle needs it. I was appalled! If the service schedule says it has to be done at 10,000km, it should be done! If I hadn't mentioned anything, it was clear that they wouldn't have done it. And that left me wondering whether they'll do any of the things that are listed in the service schedule.

And then the guy gives me the estimate for the "free service". Rs 10,000! i ask what the hell is included in it, and I find all sorts of additions from fuel additives to oil additives to vehicle polishing and interior "drycleaning". When I objected, he tells me "you asked for it". I had asked for them to clean the vehicle, presumably just a spray wash and a vaccum of the interior. I eventually had him remove everything and got the estimate down to 3200 for the oil, filter and brake fluid top up. Why the hell the brake fluid ought to be topped up at 10,000km unless there is leak, I don't understand. I've never heard of such a thing since the brake system is sealed, except at the fluid reservoir which is not leaking.

And then they called and said the vehicle is ready and the bill is 4000. Who knows what they've added on for 800 bucks.

I get the impression that not only does HM-Mitsubishi not care about customer satisfaction, the dealers are looking to take as much money from the customers on service as they can, while providing as little service as they can get away with, to the extent of not even doing the things that they are supposed to as per the service schedule.

SO what the heck should I go to Mitsubishi dealers for in the future?

I have decided that I will do all the future services myself. The only concern I have is whether I will be able to procure Mitsubishi parts as I need them, and how it will affect the resale of the vehicle for the service booklet to not have dealer stamps for the services. I will keep all the bills and keep a log of everything I do in each service, but I wonder if that will make up for an empty service booklet.

At any rate, I now have ZERO faith in Mitsubhishi dealers and in Hindustan Motors, and I will advise everyone I know to not buy a Mitsubishi.

There is no reason for anyone to expose themselves to dealers who are trying to make up revenues on service that they are failing to make on the sale of cars due to low sales of Mitsubishis.

I was deeply impressed with the Cedia and thought that it was stupid to buy any other sedan under 13 lacs (if you were ok with petrol) and have been recommending this car to anyone who will listen but based on the attitudes of Mitsubhishi dealers, and the obvious lack of interest in customer satisfaction on HM's part, I will no longer recommend Mitsubishis. Quite the reverse in fact.

[avisidhu]

Originally Posted by Harbir

I was deeply impressed with the Cedia and thought that it was stupid to buy any other sedan under 13 lacs (if you were ok with petrol) and have been recommending this car to anyone who will listen but based on the attitudes of Mitsubhishi dealers, and the obvious lack of interest in customer satisfaction on HM's part, I will no longer recommend Mitsubishis. Quite the reverse in fact.

I remember that thread vividly, and the spirited debate that occured as well

As you can see now, this is the reason why even enthusiasts stay away from Mitsubishi/Fiat/Skoda, even though the products offered are brilliant and their vehicles quite driver oriented. If peace of mind is not guaranteed and on top it you might have parents/spouse who pester you about your choice of vehicle day in and day out due to such experiences, then one loses the stomach to bet his hard earned money on such vehicles, and then pray nothing goes wrong.

[maheshramaling]

Originally Posted by Harbir

(mods, please move if this is not the appropriate forum).

I have decided that I will do all the future services myself. The only concern I have is whether I will be able to procure Mitsubishi parts as I need them, and how it will affect the resale of the vehicle for the service booklet to not have dealer stamps for the services. I will keep all the bills and keep a log of everything I do in each service, but I wonder if that will make up for an empty service booklet.

At any rate, I now have ZERO faith in Mitsubhishi dealers and in Hindustan Motors, and I will advise everyone I know to not buy a Mitsubishi.

There is no reason for anyone to expose themselves to dealers who are trying to make up revenues on service that they are failing to make on the sale of cars due to low sales of Mitsubishis.

but based on the attitudes of Mitsubhishi dealers, and the obvious lack of interest in customer satisfaction on HM's part, I will no longer recommend Mitsubishis. Quite the reverse in fact.

I also have SFX which is around 7 months old and done close to 10K.

I agree that, HM has spoiled Mitsubishi brand completely both on Sales and Service. I have so far had to deal with them only once for my early service (did first 10K service at 5K kms itself - due to low FE) and was not bad.

Responding to your query; After warranty period; If it is usual oil/ filter change - you can do it yourself - but works where you need better tools - it would be wise to go to a proper service center.

So - my recommendation would be to use with HM Service Center until warranty is over and stay put in the service center while service/ repair is happening. This way you can monitor what they are doing and they will be careful too that owner is watching them!

Post warranty - pls. identify any good service center which is reliable and get it serviced/ repaired regularly. That would possibly solve procurement of parts as well.

[RS_DEL]

Originally Posted by Harbir

(mods, please move if this is not the appropriate forum).


My Pajero SFX, bought 4 months ago has just gone in for its 2nd service at 10,000km, and I am just appalled at the whole mitsubishi service experience, to the extent that I have decided to do all the services on my Quite the reverse in fact.

The expereince you had was with the Delhi A.S.S.?

I am asking this as I was talking with a friend a couple of days back and he was veering towards the Mistubishi Montero. His take was that the Montero was tremendous value for money vis-a-vis a Landcruiser Prado and the interest on his savings on the purchase price would offset any extra expense he may have to incur on the maintenance side.

Your experience on the contrary seems to say any such VFM notions are illusory as the service experience will vitiate the entire ownership experience.

[dkaile]

Companies like HM are giving bad name to a trusted brand like Mitsubishi in India. Pajero was supposedly a take it anywhere vehicle but such experiences leaves a bad taste in the mouth of prospective owners. So much for Japanese reliability which goes down the drain once their Indian agents mess things up so badly.

[motorguy]

It is very sad that Mitsubishi has neglected the Indian market. Had they been more proactive, they would probably have become as widespread as Maruti and Hyundai because after all, their cars are good and are respected elsewhere in the world. During my childhood days, when my family was in the Philippines, practically every second car was a Mitsubishi (Colt or Lancer). While build quality was not as good as the Toyotas during that time (1960s-70s), their cars looked good (I myself had a Misubishi Colt and personally liked the Lancer) and service centers were widespread and reasonably efficient.
While I have always loved the Pajero (had the chance recently to do a long trip in Sydney on a 2012 Pajero), the deteriorating partnership between Mitsubishi and Hindustan Motors will alone will keep me away from buying any Mitsubishi in India- more so high priced vehicles like the Pajero - why invite headaches at the end of the day? I remember when there were a lot of Lancers in India - they were good cars and had a premium on them. But because of the bad service and even worse treatment of customers, dealerships have dwindled and of course you hardly see any Mitsubishi vehicles anymore in India except what's leftover from the past years. I had a good friend who worked as a sales person in a Mitsubishi dealership (unfortunately lost track of her) in Bangalore (the largest one) - she got so frustrated with the bad treatment and cheating of customers (from sales to servicing which included pilferage of good parts from customer cars) that she left and developed her own network of trustworthy mechanics for customers that she valued. Incidentally she moved to Skoda (Tafe Access) and found that the same nonsense was happening there - did the same thing and referred trustworthy mechanics to her Skoda customers (dont we know Skoda horror stories so well at TBhp...) . So this probably gives you an idea of how bad the reputation of the brand has become in India.

[Harbir]

Originally Posted by maheshramaling

Responding to your query; After warranty period; If it is usual oil/ filter change - you can do it yourself - but works where you need better tools - it would be wise to go to a proper service center.

I have a fairly elaborate tool set and plenty of experience wrenching on cars so I can handle pretty much everything that is listed in the service schedules out to 100,000km.

If and when it comes to something like the air conditioning system, which requires very specialized tools, thats when I'll go to a service center.

Originally Posted by RS_DEL

The expereince you had was with the Delhi A.S.S.?

I am asking this as I was talking with a friend a couple of days back and he was veering towards the Mistubishi Montero. His take was that the Montero was tremendous value for money vis-a-vis a Landcruiser Prado and the interest on his savings on the purchase price would offset any extra expense he may have to incur on the maintenance side.

Your experience on the contrary seems to say any such VFM notions are illusory as the service experience will vitiate the entire ownership experience.

I find it hard to comment on that. A price difference of 20 lacs is pretty huge and I can't say that the Prado is worth anything remotely that much more than the Montero. And you can buy a lot of pampering for a montero before you make any dent on the 20 lacs you save.

The Prado is just not worth, in my view, what Toyota is charging for it, especially considering that its got the Fortuner's 4 cylinder while others in that price range are carrying powerful V6 engines.

Does that make the Montero a worthwhile purchase? I would advise people to buy an Audi Q5 instead.

[jinojohnt]

Actually the situation is the same with many car brands and dealers. If you are allowed near the car during free servicing, keep note of what they actually do in servicing, and verify with your user manual. You would be shocked, to say the least.
Some dealers block customers from being near the car during service, citing 'policy' reasons. No points for guessing what the actual reason is. I have personally seen free services (by authorised service centers) that involve just washing and delivering the car.

[GTO]

Hi Harbir,

HM-Mitsubishi Representatives have read your thread and want to contact you to work toward a resolution. Please PM me your contact details (full name, phone number & email address) for the same.

Also, do update this thread once you establish contact with them.

[iliketurtles]

Great to hear that HM-Mitsubishi wants to reach out to Harbir, but for every Harbir that gets heard because of Team-BHP, there must be several more Mitsubishi owners that are treated similarly. It boggles the mind that a product as good a Mitsubishi's isn't even on most people's consideration list, simply because of the A.S.S.

Good luck with your little talk Harbir. Makes the blood boil to see a 20L customer treated like this, and I'd make sure my displeasure is conveyed vividly not just for myself, but for many more that might have the same fate. Even a 2L customer doesn't deserve poor treatment, let alone pricier ones. Do let us know how it goes.

[SunChaser]

This is not an one of incident! Its the same story at every Mitsubishi dealer. As you mentioned that they charged you for the cleaning and vacuuming job story, its just the same in Pune. The same story given to me "you asked for it" Also there are various additives that are added at every service. I have asked them so many times about why do they add it! All they say is "Mitsubishi rule"
I have been complaining about interior rattle to them over so may services, but it still continues to exist. Those door pop outs for the screws, lost at every service. Then beg or fight for them. Small things like covering the seats during service, never happens. Come back for the car after its done with service, wait there for one more hour to get the car cleaned up!! When you take delivery of the car from service, you expect it to be as new, all put together.
I can write up an essay over my experience with Mitsubishi service, but its no use. I second all that Harbir has put up in his post!!

[Traveler]

Originally Posted by Harbir

(mods, please move if this is not the appropriate forum).


My Pajero SFX, bought 4 months ago has just gone in for its 2nd service at 10,000km, and I am just appalled at the whole mitsubishi service experience, to the extent that I have decided to do all the services on my vehicle myself from here on out (I am mechanically inclined and used to repairing and servicing cars myself)..........

.

Harbir,

I share your frustration with Mitsubishi too. I had given up on them promptly after the first 3 free services and I service my Pajero on my own as well.

I have recently completed 70K kilometers and have servicing the vehicle on my own.

Apart from regular oil and oil filters, I have also done the fan belts, diesel fuel filters, front wheel bearings, entire clutch and brake oil replacement, disc pads replacement front and rear etc.

I will be glad to share notes on how to do all this stuff and share information about where to source the parts from etc.

While reading about your post, I noticed that your vehicle has a missing plastic cover on the rear left arm rest. I have the exact problem too. Recently I noticed that it was missing. Did you find a replacement for it. Would you kindly share from where and for how much.

[Hiteshs77]

Originally Posted by Traveler

Harbir,

I share your frustration with Mitsubishi too. I had given up on them promptly after the first 3 free services and I service my Pajero on my own as well.

I have recently completed 70K kilometers and have servicing the vehicle on my own.

Apart from regular oil and oil filters, I have also done the fan belts, diesel fuel filters, front wheel bearings, entire clutch and brake oil replacement, disc pads replacement front and rear etc.

I will be glad to share notes on how to do all this stuff and share information about where to source the parts from etc.

While reading about your post, I noticed that your vehicle has a missing plastic cover on the rear left arm rest. I have the exact problem too. Recently I noticed that it was missing. Did you find a replacement for it. Would you kindly share from where and for how much.

Ouch!! It gives me shivers and I hope it gives sleepless nights to the folks at Mitsubishi.

Such nice products and the owners do not have recourse to a service centre. What a waste of opportunity for Mitsubishi.

[ajit_72]

I recently purchased a Pajero Sport Anniversary Edition from Asian Motors, Moti Nagar, Delhi. I decided to buy the car as it ticks almost all the requirements that I had which were 4x4, 7 seater, uncommon etc. Also I got a cash discount of Rs.1.25 lakhs on the price of 23.5 Lakhs.

However, the buying experience left a very sour taste. The dealer had promised that they will deliver the car at my home but at last minute I was asked to pick up the car from the showroom. Since I had to rush back to office, I signed all the papers without even checking and took the delivery. Later I found that the First Aid kit was missing. I don't even know what other things were supposed to be there as the dealer never went through the check list with me.

The sales person was the only contact I had and owner of the dealership although present in the showroom did not even bother to say Hi. And now I know why. It was because he wanted to cheat me and hence could not make eye contact with me.

I was offered a 1.25 lakhs discount on the car because of which I decided to but it from Asian rather than Excel. I wanted to to buy a Zero Depreciation Insurance Cover which also included Consumables, Tyres and Keys. I had got a quote of Rs.52000 from the market for the same. The sales person Aasif Siddique called Arshad Jamal (President of Asian Motors) from my office in front of me and he promised that they will match the market price. Based on that promise, I issued a cheque of Rs.52000 which they promptly encashed.

At the time of delivery, I was shocked to see that the policy issued to me was a basic zero depreciation policy without any additional cover. On inquiring, I was told that the endorsement for the additional covers will come in a day or two. I kept following up for 6 days but nothing happened. I finally wrote to Hindustan Motors and they assigned Vikrant Bhatia as the person to handle the complaint.

To my complete shock and dismay, Mr. Vikrant Bhatia told me that the policy offered to me was under the free insurance scheme and hence they could not change that. What is surprising is that he told me that the payment of 52000 that I made was towards the On Road price of the car which was a White Lie as the Invoice value of 2.25 lakhs after deducting the 1.25 lakhs discount has been paid in full and I have the tax invoice to prove the same.

I obviously intend to drag them to the Consumer Court for this breach of trust and clear case of fraud but want everyone to beware of Asian Motors and especially Arshad Jamal who is the President of Asian Motors, Moti Nagar, Delhi.