[mints21]

I was under the impression that a company like Maruti would never allow their dealers to cheat customers. General perception is that Maruti as a company is very sctrict when it comes to complaints. This incident has proved me wrong.

Maruti in India is a household name and is known as a most affordable brand, but with this kind of service costs and cheating they will leave Skoda behind.

If they do not act on the complaint of a this fellow bhpian, I will say "Shame on Maruti" for encouraging these cheat dealers.

[Rakkum13]

If this is what they can get away with from knowledgeable/experienced customers, imagine the plight of first time owners! I think majority if us Indians look for opportunities to serve our own ends, even if it amounts to fleecing others!

I sincerely hope this gets resolved to your satisfaction! By the way, did you report this to the management of the service station? If yes, what was their response?

[aniketi]

Originally Posted by mints21

I was under the impression that a company like Maruti would never allow their dealers to cheat customers. General perception is that Maruti as a company is very sctrict when it comes to complaints. This incident has proved me wrong.

Maruti in India is a household name and is known as a most affordable brand, but with this kind of service costs and cheating they will leave Skoda behind.

If they do not act on the complaint of a this fellow bhpian, I will say "Shame on Maruti" for encouraging these cheat dealers.

MUL will never tolerate such malpractices for sure, in fact other manufacturer as well will not allow such things. This things happen on dealer side only. If MUL is to allow such things, then why not other dealers all over India not doing it? I am getting my car serviced from Maruti dealer Chowgule in Pune and i am completely satisfied with them. Rates are reasonable and are as per market standards.

Maruti is still a trusted brand name in India and will remain there for sure.

[noopster]

I made the mistake of agreeing to things like engine decarbonization, brakes overhaul etc. during my Siwft's 40,000 km service without checking the service manual first. A lot of these so-called value-adds are just money-making schemes. In my case I shelled out nearly 7K as cost of that service, which I thought was a bit much. Yours is more than double!

Anyway, my advice is treat this as a lesson learned. Walk through each item listed on the service sheet. Ask for an estimate. Insist on them calling you for anything additional. Demand discounts. Ask for things to be covered under warranty or goodwill. They find it difficult to rip off smart customers.

I don't think you will get much of a response from MUL since presumably everything that was done was agreed to and the paperwork exists to show that.

[T1000]

Originally Posted by aniketi

MUL will never tolerate such malpractices for sure, in fact other manufacturer as well will not allow such things. This things happen on dealer side only. If MUL is to allow such things, then why not other dealers all over India not doing it? I am getting my car serviced from Maruti dealer Chowgule in Pune and i am completely satisfied with them. Rates are reasonable and are as per market standards.

Maruti is still a trusted brand name in India and will remain there for sure.

Well, i believe Manufacturers make more money by selling original spare parts than selling new cars.
The way the push genuine spare parts is through Authorized service centers.

All Maruti authorised service centers display escalation phone numbers. the phone number is directly managed by maruti employees.
Till now, i have never managed to get through this number.

[aniketi]

Originally Posted by T1000

Well, i believe Manufacturers make more money by selling original spare parts than selling new cars.
The way the push genuine spare parts is through Authorized service centers.

All Maruti authorised service centers display escalation phone numbers. the phone number is directly managed by maruti employees.
Till now, i have never managed to get through this number.

We are talking here mainly about the service costs and not the spare part costs. So i am not sure what exactly you are trying to say. Can you please elaborate?

As far as spare parts are concerned, MUL sell their spares at reasonable costs, mostly. I have experienced this for last 20 years with 4 Maruti's in our own house. I never felt they are overpriced.

[T1000]

Originally Posted by aniketi

We are talking here mainly about the service costs and not the spare part costs. So i am not sure what exactly you are trying to say. Can you please elaborate?

As far as spare parts are concerned, MUL sell their spares at reasonable costs, mostly. I have experienced this for last 20 years with 4 Maruti's in our own house. I never felt they are overpriced.

Well , the point im making is, these service centers unnecessarily service things that aren't needed.
Service includes change of spare parts.

The cost of each part is same everywhere and listed by maruti. there is no issue with the cost of a spare part.
But the question is, do you really need it at that moment?

Ex. If its a engine decarb suggested at 15000km. if you ask me its too early. If This work is done by removing the engine head, its done with change of seals, gaskets or other associated things.

[pvgeorge]

6 quantity of screen wash for a single car. I am of the understanding that the maruti screenwash is one sachet per one fill

[mints21]

Originally Posted by aniketi

MUL will never tolerate such malpractices for sure, in fact other manufacturer as well will not allow such things. This things happen on dealer side only. If MUL is to allow such things, then why not other dealers all over India not doing it? I am getting my car serviced from Maruti dealer Chowgule in Pune and i am completely satisfied with them. Rates are reasonable and are as per market standards.

Maruti is still a trusted brand name in India and will remain there for sure.

Dear aniketi, believe me this is a new trend and is spreading its tentacles very fast across all service stations. It is not only Maruti, I have myself seen such a thing at Hyundai service stations. These companies don't allow sufficient margins for dealers to run sales showroom, so they earn from service centres. You can refer a thread by GTO on the cost of setting up new showrooms.

Agreed, that the manufacturers do not allow such things but they conveniently choose to turn a blind eye. You mean to say they are not aware of the job work and the invoicing that is done by dealers when everything is online.

Anyway, my advice is treat this as a lesson learned.

Yes, you are right, I feel that if we conduct a survey, most of us have experienced such an incident. Some may have learnt a lesson, some may have been ignorant and many would have lost trust on the service done by the authorised service centres and must have moved to the near by unauthorised mechanics for getting the job done.

[AkMar]

Originally Posted by aniketi

This is more to do with service center than MUL.

Exactly. It is the service center's fault. But Maruti cannot be absolved of moral responsibility.

Originally Posted by noopster

Anyway, my advice is treat this as a lesson learned.

That was a sensible post, noopster. Yes, a lesson learnt - always be present with dad when the car is being dropped for service.

Originally Posted by mints21

Dear aniketi, believe me this is a new trend and is spreading its tentacles very fast across all service stations. It is not only Maruti, I have myself seen such a thing at Hyundai service stations. These companies don't allow sufficient margins for dealers to run sales showroom, so they earn from service centres. You can refer a thread by GTO on the cost of setting up new showrooms.

Absolutely. This must be quite wide spread.

Thanks to all others who replied for their support!

As things stand now, I haven't got any reply to the mail sent to contact@maruti.co.in through the day.

The posts on their Facebook pages (https://www.facebook.com/MarutiSuzukiWayOfLife and https://www.facebook.com/marutisuzukiswift ) have been DELETED. I had heard of Skoda doing this, but Maruti Seriously I did not expect this from Maruti. I am planning to use this form to submit the complaint now. Any better options?

[mints21]

As things stand now, I haven't got any reply to the mail sent to contact@maruti.co.in through the day.

The posts on their Facebook pages (https://www.facebook.com/MarutiSuzukiWayOfLife and https://www.facebook.com/marutisuzukiswift ) have been DELETED. I had heard of Skoda doing this, but Maruti Seriously I did not expect this from Maruti. I am planning to use this form to submit the complaint now. Any better options?

This is what I had wanted to highlight in my earlier post. Maruti is aware of what is happening at their dealers end and are deliberately allowing this to happen. They have adopted an ostrich approach.

If they can take the pain to delete your posts on facebook, they could have easily contacted you or the dealer. After all, they must have read the posts and then thought that these posts can dent their reputation. So instead of deleting, they could have set an example by replying to you on facebook and taking the dealer to task.

This step would have helped in cautioning many other dealers who get into such practices.

[gauravdgr8]

Originally Posted by mints21

This is what I had wanted to highlight in my earlier post. Maruti is aware of what is happening at their dealers end and are deliberately allowing this to happen. They have adopted an ostrich approach.

Talk about it. And we all bashed TATA for their poor service quality.

Nevertheless, Sai Service is a big group for Maruti to mess with. They have centres across Maharashtra & Andhra.

Taking them to task would risk their sales in the short term.

Hope to see your issue resolved soon.

[deep_bang]

This is not a Maruti only problem. It exists everywhere. Some are better than the others but yes, its definitely not "cheap" anymore to own a maruti!

Also, sometimes i think some people may become soft targets, for example if the car is given for a service by an elderly gentleman or a woman who they feel "do not know" much about cars and will not make a fuss. This is a sad thing because the whole point of a "company authorized service center" is about post sales customer support.
But yes, the incidents in the case of Maruti are much less than the others...

[aniketi]

Originally Posted by T1000

Well , the point im making is, these service centers unnecessarily service things that aren't needed.
Service includes change of spare parts.

Okay, point taken. But its up to you weather you want to take that service or not. They will not force you. I will say its a kind of marketing only. They will try to sell their service with bigger margins. Just say BIG NO to them. In case they do it without your permission, just refuse to pay. They have to agree on it.

Originally Posted by mints21

Dear aniketi, believe me this is a new trend and is spreading its tentacles very fast across all service stations. It is not only Maruti, I have myself seen such a thing at Hyundai service stations. These companies don't allow sufficient margins for dealers to run sales showroom, so they earn from service centres. You can refer a thread by GTO on the cost of setting up new showrooms.

If this is a trend, then we should make noise about it, we should strictly say No to it. My dealer also tried to sell such services to me, but i simply says NO every time. Also i make sure that they will call me before they do anything extra. I clearly instruct them to call me before they do anything which i haven't told. Its all about being cautious, be alert. You go anywhere in world, you will find people who will try to make some money out of you

Originally Posted by AkMar

Exactly. It is the service center's fault. But Maruti cannot be absolved of moral responsibility.

Absolutely. Its MUL's responsibility. Does anyone here has any bad experience with Maruti about this? I know for sure that Maruti is very strict about customer complaints. Also service centers too serious about Customers complaints. They surely do take care about your issue if you complaint. Just that you have to make some noise. Its more to do with Indian mentality IMHO. "Chalta Hai" attitude is to blame here.

[alpha1]

What I cannot fathom yet is that after giving the vehicle, the owner of the vehicle never checked the estimated service bill? The workshops always give the quote if you ask before commencing any work.

I mean I would always ask the service advisor before he starts doing any work to tell me how much each of the stuff costs. Fortunately I never had the vehicle in the warranty period (used car) hence I was extremely critical with the SA about what he intends to do and why, and what all is complementary/free and never took the bull spewed in the garb of "honoring the warranty".


In this case it would be extremely difficult to prove that the workshop mislead you into approving extra work outside the regular maintenance as a regular scheduled maintenance. :(