[Irish]

I am opening this thread to inform all the FIAT owners in Delhi NCR about the bad practices being followed by the Oberoi Fiat, Noida and in the same time looking for suggestions from experts. I will also be focusing on the customer support offered by FIAT INDIA.


Background
My FIAT Grande Punto (April 2012 model) met with an accident on NH1 between Sonepat and Delhi on 2nd October 2013. It was being driven by my father, who suffered fractures but thanks to the build quality of Punto that it saved him and still recovering from the injuries. The car was handed over to the Oberoi Motors (TATA Workshop - Sector 1, Noida) on the same day (2nd October 2013) at around 1700 hrs. Since they perform the denting painting work at TATA's workshop, so it was delivered to Sector 1 TATA workshop. The damage was severe on the left side of the bonnet and the section till battery was destroyed. I was given a time estimate of 1 month for the car to be fully repaired and delivered.


Workshop Experience
I was not aware of the horrible time which was waiting for me in the coming days. Initially the insurance approval took more than 10-12 days but the body shop manager confirmed to deliver it before Diwali (3rd Nov.) but his mechanics were not capable enough to inspect the damage first and then order ALL the required parts in one go. They were ordering parts one after the another and on top of it the parts are delivered from Pune, which take their own sweet time. FIAT dealers do not store parts except for the FASTEST moving parts. They are dependent on Pune even for small rubbers, sealing etc. which is very frustrating for FIAT owners.

Anyhow they kept on missing deadlines one after the another, committed by themselves only. It has been more than 2 months, since the car was handed over to them but it is still far from the completion. The latest issue is: They didn't notice that the ECU was also damaged in the collision and when they started the engine they noticed the same. They applied for insurance approval and started waiting. They ordered it upon my request because there is no use of waiting for insurance approval of such an important item. It took its own sweet time to reach and after 15 days of ECU ordering, the current status, according to workshop manager and body shop manager: they have sent the ECU to some Gurgaon vendor for remapping. Don't know if they have really received it or not? During this time I kept on insisting to do the denting painting work at least but they didn't listen. The car is in the workshop, in the same condition as it was there 12 days back. A scratch was noticed by me, which happens to be there during their handling of the vehicle. No touch up job is done for that as well. I took my father (with a fracture in collar bone) to the workshop last week, as he was also shocked to know the progress. The way they are making progress may take another 1 -2 months to deliver my car. Otherwise the denting painting work could have been finished during the ECU order and arrival duration.


Feedback - Oberoi Motors Workshop (Noida)
I am really fed up with the kind of attitude these people have in TATA or FIAT and the way they are progressing with my car. I was visiting their workshop every week during the first month and then on alternate days, just to check the progress made on my car. The FIAT manager (Mr. Rajgopalan) is so busy that he can't even take calls and when contacted via sms, makes excuses. Body shop manager (Mr. Kamal) always have one or the other useless excuse for not performing the work. He always say that the car will be painted today but no reply on previous day's painting commitment. Mr. Amit is leading the TATA workshop, who is not aware of anything which is being done in his workshop. Today when I visited the workshop, the lady at reception, refused to provide me any contact numbers to escalate this issue, not even the contact number of the owner of the workshop.


Feedback - FIAT INDIA
I tried to file my complaint on FIAT website (https://www.fiat-india.com/customer-support/‎) but it is also useless, as it gives an error after filling all the data and submitting it. A frustrated customer like me gets more frustrated with such actions. Being from the software development field, I fail to understand as to why the VIN number is being made mandatory field to provide on the customer support page? I hope that this strategy is to minimize the number of complaints registered on the website because not every user will have the VIN number always available with him / her. I was also unable to search even a contact number (to register my complaint) on the FIAT website. Then I sent a mail to "service.india@fiat.com", upon which I have got an acknowledgement just now. I am not sure if any prompt action will be taken by them.


Queries / Suggestion required
Now I need suggestions from the experts on how to proceed further with this issue? I have got following queries / options:


1. Ask the FIAT India to transfer my car to another better and competent workshop so that the work can be accomplished. As I don't trust the way they are working on my car. There will be problems even after they deliver it even after 2 more months. Will the insurance provide allow me to proceed like this? i.e. 60% of work form workshop A and rest of the 40% of work at workshop B.

2. Follow the above option and also approach consumer court and ask for the compensation for the harassment, delay and wastage of time caused by the dealer while repairing the car. To prove my point, I have got the snapshots of the progress made on my car.

3. No stand by vehicle is being provided even after so much delay.

4. Anybody can provide me any contact number of FIAT management team looking in to complaints?

5. Any suggestions to come out of this nightmare are welcome.

Last year, when I heard the news that FIAT is going to build their own exclusive showrooms and workshops then I was more than happy but now I think that they CAN NOT handle the customers with the kind of strategy and the staff they currently have in India.

I used to love this Italian beauty a lot but after this horrible experience with FIAT workshop and customer support, I think I made a mistake by choosing a FIAT!


Cheers!
Irish

[saket77]

Case of good product backed by a bad service = Customer dissatisfaction.

FIAT India should realize that many people, despite knowing that their products are good are still shying away from them because of the bad service report card. These companies must understand that their success in India will depend largely on the service aspect & not on the product alone. Why they cannot see that competitor's products are selling like hot cakes despite being inferior only because of the ease of serviceability.

Keep us updated about the issue and wish you good luck & fast recovery to your father.

Regards,
Saket

[ghodlur]

Originally Posted by Irish

1. Ask the FIAT India to transfer my car to another better and competent workshop so that the work can be accomplished. As I don't trust the way they are working on my car. There will be problems even after they deliver it even after 2 more months. Will the insurance provide allow me to proceed like this? i.e. 60% of work form workshop A and rest of the 40% of work at workshop B.

2. Follow the above option and also approach consumer court and ask for the compensation for the harassment, delay and wastage of time caused by the dealer while repairing the car. To prove my point, I have got the snapshots of the progress made on my car.

3. No stand by vehicle is being provided even after so much delay.

4. Anybody can provide me any contact number of FIAT management team looking in to complaints?

5. Any suggestions to come out of this nightmare are welcome.

I think I made a mistake by choosing a FIAT!

@Irish,

Sad to know about your experience with the Fiat workshop. To answer your questions:
1. IMO this wouldnt be possible since the work has already started in Workshop A and the claim process begun. The Workshop B might not have the same Insurer tie up. Also Insurer will have no say in this, it will Fiat India's decision to come up with possible solution to this problem.
2. Your first target should be completion of repairs, knowing the legal system in out country the result of such legal procedures is time consuming.
3. Was this a part of the add on purchased with the Insurance policy? If so, then you need to take it up with the Insurer, Fiat or workshop will not accomdate this requirement.
4. To Start with use this
Mangesh Kodalkar - Customer Services, Fiat Group Automobiles India Pvt Ltd, +91 2138 672764, +91 9923 75 2425 mangesh.kodalkar@fiat.com
5. Pursue with the workshop and Fiat on war footing basis. Write to Fiat on the FB page about the bad experience.

Lastly please dont blame Fiat for their dealer's negligence. Fiat on the whole is a good brand and there would be some black sheeps in the network. They are building their network slowly but surely. Let them know of your issues and find out a way to get them resolved. This post should not be a deterent to people who are interested in buying Fiat products.

[sourabhzen]

Originally Posted by ghodlur

Fiat on the whole is a good brand and there would be some black sheeps in the network. They are building their network slowly but surely. Let them know of your issues and find out a way to get them resolved. This post should not be a deterent to people who are interested in buying Fiat products.

Few black sheeps in a herd of thousands is acceptable. But the same can not be said about Fiat India where the number of sheeps to be taken care of is negligible. I am saying so because one of my friend in Gurgaon got his first service after break up with Tata and he was quite depressed at the end of the day!

[gemithomas]

The real taste of FIAT!! Its sad. The only thing you can do if you want to enjoy one of the best cars in india at the price point, is to stay calm and be persistent in following up. Its quite difficult. But its the only choice we have.

Mangesh is quite helpful but i'm not sure how much he can help without proper support on the ground.

[sukrit7]

Irish, Oberoi is one of the best service centres in NCR, however they're great at mechanical jobs only. I too have had difficulties with their body shop. As others have suggested, try writing to Mangesh. Have you been able to meet either Ishender or Sanjay? They're both available at Oberoi and are pretty helpful usually.

[Irish]

Originally Posted by ghodlur

@Irish,

Lastly please dont blame Fiat for their dealer's negligence. Fiat on the whole is a good brand and there would be some black sheeps in the network. They are building their network slowly but surely. Let them know of your issues and find out a way to get them resolved. This post should not be a deterent to people who are interested in buying Fiat products.

Thanks ghodlur for the suggestions and Mr. Mangesh's number.

Just to clarify that I am personally not against the FIAT. I bought this product because I was impressed with it and was loving it till I had to undergo this experience. The buying decision came straight form the heart and this experience is also straight from heart.

Why should we not blame FIAT for:
1. Errors on complaint registration page and site is not very user friendly.
2. No alternatives can be found easily to register a complaint.
3. FIAT dealers not procuring adequate number of parts.
4. No surprise checks over their dealers.

I would still agree on the quality of FIAT cars, which are of a higher class and would love to drive one any day.

The situation which I am facing currently, has forced me to open up a thread here and provide the feedback and look for suggestions. Once the car is delivered with no post delivery hic-ups, who knows, I may again start liking it the way I used to before buying it.

Originally Posted by sukrit7

Irish, Oberoi is one of the best service centres in NCR, however they're great at mechanical jobs only. I too have had difficulties with their body shop. As others have suggested, try writing to Mangesh. Have you been able to meet either Ishender or Sanjay? They're both available at Oberoi and are pretty helpful usually.

Thanks Sukrit. I knew about the Oberoi through one of your threads also. I will be talking to Mangesh and never got a chance to meet Ishender or Sanjay. By the way, I am facing this experience at sector 1 workshop.


Cheers!
Irish

[Pedaltothefloor]

Originally Posted by Irish

I used to love this Italian beauty a lot but after this horrible experience with FIAT workshop and customer support, I think I made a mistake by choosing a FIAT!

Please drop a mail to mangesh.kodalkar@fiat.com
He has never disappointed me in the 1.5 years of ownership of my Punto.

[Irish]

The 1.5 years old Italian beauty was very hard to recognize, hard to see it in such conditions. Here are the pics (5th Dec - 10 AM) of my car, which is currently being under the "R&D Process" at the workshop:

In order to check the ECU, here is the way the work was being performed at the workshop:


Don't really understand as to why so many wires were cut in order to check the ECU functioning:


Don't know why the rear seat was removed. I think it was to check for the fuel tank indicator? Here is the rear seat area:


The boot door was told also to be dented painted but it was untouched for more than a week after repairing the bumper. They were waiting for the ECU. Don't really know the dependency of denting painting work upon the ECU.


I spoke to Mr. Magnesh on Saturday and he assured me of speedy work progress. Today, I got a mail from Mr. Gopalan (Oberoi FIAT Workshop Manager) which says that the denting painting work is over and the car be inspected:

Dear Mr.Sharma,

We regret for the inconvenience caused due to delay in getting your car after the accidental repair.

your comments in the BHP forum has also been seen at our end.

At no part of time we are shying away from the customers and may be your telephone calls might have not got answered at times. We have give number of promised dates for the delivery of your car , we could not able to honor the same and we feel extremely sorry.

Now also the car is under investigation as we are facing some kind of problem in the dash board wiring , as we have changed the engine wiring as the damage was observed externally. but the problem could not be resolved hence the dashboard wiring is being checked. At present the car is sector 63 workshop and we are trying our best at these times to see that the fault in the wiring is located and same is resolved . Otherwise all the body and paint shop work has been completed as per your instructions.

kindly bear with us and we will do our best to deliver the car at the earliest, and we are not giving any date for the delivery and will inform you the day to day activity as our aim is to delivery the car at the earliest.

If possible you can inspect your car at sector 63 workshop.

It is once again requested from our end to be considerate our request for your co operation.

Regards,

Gopalan,
Oberoi FIAT,
Noida.

It seems that "a new problem" is under progress, as marked in bold above.

When the electrician was performing the work of fixing the existing ECU, I noticed that he was cutting the wires under the dashboard and testing the connections. When this issue was raised with body shop manager, he told me that they don't cut wires and they are just checking the circuit from under the dashboard. Don't know but I had the intuition of major problems because of the way, the work was being performed. Such kind of work can create problems in future even after the delivery of the car.

Now after reading the above mail from Mr. Gopalan, I feel that either the car will not be back in to it's original glory or the bills will be highly inflated (currently it's between 2-3 lacs).

I really don't know what to do with my car.

Cheers!
Irish

[lapis_lazuli]

Originally Posted by Irish

Now after reading the above mail from Mr. Gopalan, I feel that either the car will not be back in to it's original glory or the bills will be highly inflated (currently it's between 2-3 lacs).

I really don't know what to do with my car.

Cheers!
Irish

Hi Irish, I was in the workshop yesterday, and I can now relate the car. From the 3 hours I had spent there, what I could gather was Mr.Gopalan was quite concerned about the car and there was his electrician working on your car, most of the time, trying to locate a short in some wiring harness. The ECU fuse was blowing repeatedly on trying to crank!

He was also concerned that this case has found its way to TBHP and he was commenting that he has to do whatever it takes to get your car right, soon!

I have been interacting with him for the last 2 years, and I can only say, he normally tries his best to mobilize all his resources; which, unfortunately, are not too many at his disposal!

It is true that for certain minor issues or niggles, you may need to visit the workshop repeatedly to get it solved finally, but, my personal experience has not been bad. They are fairly accommodating! There have been times when they have fixed issues without even opening a job card, but, do make it a point to speak to Mr.Gopalan face to face. You might also want to involve Ishender, in the discussions. He has specific trainings to service these cars.

My car, has been reduced to 3/4th its length after an accident in mid November, (a thread is coming up). I was at the steering wheel and it was 1030AM!

My car is with them as well, for the last 22 days: but honestly, I have had no problems dealing with them so far, touch wood. My engine block has a crack, and they went an extra mile to get it approved for a replacement and not a repair, as was being suggested by insurance. Sure it adds to their profit, but at my convenience too. The approval took 2 weeks, then they ordered: I hear the parts have arrived....

Work on my car is yet to start, or probably has started from today, and I hope yours is really at the verge of delivery! Hope floats: these are no ordinary cars pal!

[Irish]

Originally Posted by lapis_lazuli

He was also concerned that this case has found its way to TBHP and he was commenting that he has to do whatever it takes to get your car right, soon!

I have been interacting with him for the last 2 years, and I can only say, he normally tries his best to mobilize all his resources; which, unfortunately, are not too many at his disposal!

My car, has been reduced to 3/4th its length after an accident in mid November, (a thread is coming up). I was at the steering wheel and it was 1030AM!

My car is with them as well, for the last 22 days: but honestly, I have had no problems dealing with them so far, touch wood. My engine block has a crack, and they went an extra mile to get it approved for a replacement and not a repair, as was being suggested by insurance. Sure it adds to their profit, but at my convenience too. The approval took 2 weeks, then they ordered: I hear the parts have arrived....

I have no personal grudges against anyone out there. All I am worried about my car's delivery with top notch service.

I visited the workshop on Friday and the car was being sent to Body shop. Met Mr. Gopalan for first time and he seemed to be worried about the delay in the delivery of my car. The circuit problem was rectified and now the bonnet, bumper and related parts needed to be installed. Mr. Gopalan has assured me to provide the best of his support in case of post delivery niggles (if any).

Now I am again waiting for the car to be delivered to me.

The major problem with this workshop seems to be body shop, which is being shared with the TATA workshop (sector 2).

And sorry to know about the accident of your car. Hope that no serious injuries, to any of the occupants of the tank, during the crash?

Cheers!
Irish

[Irish]

Here are my visits to the workshop:

Friday (13th Dec - 1100 hrs): The electrical circuit fault was recitified and the car was being sent to body shop for denting painting work. Mr. Gopalan assured me that the car will be delivered to me either on saturday (14th Dec) or Sunday (15th Dec). To which I confirmed the dates of the Sunday i.e. 15th Dec. I was mroe than happy and went to office after thanking him.

No calls over the weekend


Tuesday (17 Dec):
Got a SMS from Mr. Gopalan that they are waiting for the Delivery Order and the car can be as soon as the DO is obtained. Talked to him over the phone and he assured me that they are negotiating with the insurance company over the bills / parts. Otherwise the car is ready.



Wednesday (18 Dec):
Visited their sector 63 workshop yesterday but the car was in Sector 1 workshop (body shop). Since Mr. Gopalan told me that denting painting work is over so I thought that the car must be in their sector 63 workshop. One of the service advisor told me that it's currently under painting work at their sector 1 workshop.
Had a word with Mr. Gopalan over the phone as he was in the body shop and he assured me that the denting painting work is now over and they are just cleaning the car. I asked about if they have fixed other small problems (gap in fuel lid) but he assured me that it will be done today

Since I did not have time to visit their sector 1 workshop, I came to my office.


Thursday (19 Dec):
Visited their sector 1 workshop today and the car was in the same dirt as it used to be. No dry cleaning work was performed. Small problems (like fuel lid) were as it is. Paint marks were still not removed from Rear glass, tyres and other areas. Electrician was busy in covering the wires on the LHS door panel. Overall not much progress as it was told to me.


Overall Feedback (Last One Week)
In this way, another week has gone now. They were waiting for the PO to be cleared but in the same time the work is being carried out at the snail's pace or it seems like body shop manager is not happy with this thread on Team-BHP. He may be intentionally delaying the work because Mr. Gopalan is not there to keep an eye over the progress in Body Shop. Also there is no chasing done by FIAT (Pune office) to check the progress of the complaint made by me.


Overall, I am feeling highly frustrated with working style and their commitments over the car delivery dates.

I think I have also lost my charm of owning an Italian Beauty!


PS: Don't know what comes next after posting this update on Team-BHP.


GOD BLESS FIAT AND ME!

Irish

[humans]

I was thinking of taking my damaged Punto to Oberoi, as it was nearest to the accident location, but after reading your travails, I think it is better to go to Kashyap motors, where O.P Sharma Ji is better in service or may be to Tuli Motors, Wazirpur as that is near my house and I will be able to see the progress in person.

This is what happened on Thursday night at Vaishali in front of Bikanerwala road when a full speed truck crossed at red light. As of now the car is in Link Road Police Station in front of Vaishali Metro Station. With the force the car landed at 20ft away on the other side of the road after breaking the road divider railings.

[drmohitg]

Man what is wrong with these guys? I really want to salute your patience for being even able to deal with them. Just reading your posts has really left me fuming with anger. Is there any customer relation concept in Fiat? If there workshops are so incompetent then why not just send all cars to there manufacturing facility. God I have no words to express my anguish. Moreover who gives these morons the right to turn your car's interiors into a rugby field? Can the interiors ever be cleaned and returned to there original state after being exposed to so much careless torture? I doubt if any amount of 3M top products can also manage to do that.

And the biggest downer of all this is that I am cent percent sure that you will be making a whole lot of trips to the workshop even after they manage to deliver your car now, whenever that is. This is absolutely no way to handle a car and such treatment and carelessness ensures that there are recurring niggles that will keep cropping up. Sorry I don't understand why people still bother to go ahead with Fiat products no matter how good they are to drive! Fiat you are fast climbing up my personal "hall of shame" list. Even Skoda probably would manage to do a job better.

Sorry for the rant but its really frustrating to see a car and its owner go through such a ordeal.

[lapis_lazuli]

Originally Posted by Irish

And sorry to know about the accident of your car. Hope that no serious injuries, to any of the occupants of the tank, during the crash?

Cheers!
Irish

Nope Irish....no serious injuries at all! My wife and son, escaped untouched. My mom had a small bruise on her forehead, I had passed out for a few seconds which I think is due to the lower part of the steering wheel banging against my solar plexus. The windscreen too, was unharmed.

Originally Posted by Irish

Here are my visits to the workshop....

Overall, I am feeling highly frustrated with working style and their commitments over the car delivery dates.

I think I have also lost my charm of owning an Italian Beauty!


PS: Don't know what comes next after posting this update on Team-BHP.


GOD BLESS FIAT AND ME!

Irish

Quite understandable. Probably due to the mechanicals and body shop work being done at two seperate locations! I am just keeping my fingers crossed. Honestly, I give a call to Mr.Gopalan, every third day. I did not even visit the workshop. Normally, I trust people and service providers till they start to exploit me or take advantage of my trust: then I take them on a road trip to hell, playing Chris Rea's "Road to hell" at full volume!

Originally Posted by humans

As of now the car is in Link Road Police Station in front of Vaishali Metro Station. With the force the car landed at 20ft away on the other side of the road after breaking the road divider railings.

Eeeew! I hope everyone is safe. Please, get your car out of the PS as soon as possible. Was the truck driver apprehended? Could you get a formal report filed?

It seems the Q4 of 2013 is the "Quarter of Misfortunes" for a segment of FIAT owners. How many accident cases involving Lineas and Puntos are being shared now on TBHP? I seriously need a "Happy new year" come 2014. Wish me...er..us, folks!