[Punatic]

Back when I was a mere lurker in these parts, I had often speculated on who do Pune's Ford-owning bhpians tend to trust for their cars' servicing/repairs needs. Now that I no longer need to be Lurky McSilent, I figured I don't need to die wondering, and felt I could share my experiences with Pune's various Ford service centres to start off the discussion.

I own a 2005 Ford Fusion+ With ABS (That's the variant-name. Those were simpler days.) Interestingly, it seems to come as a surprise to many, including the servicing staff, that someone could (a) own a petrol car for 13 years; (b) drive a petrol car for as many as 1 lakh kilometres in those 13 years; and (c) said petrol car was not of Japanese make.

Now, there are several reasons why I've held on to my Fusion for this long, but I'm not sure Ford's after-sales service is one of them. I haven't faced too many grave issues necessarily, but it hasn't been "customer delight" for sure. Here's a quick overview of service-centres visited:

1. 2005-16: Planet Ford, Satara Road
2. 2016-17: Sai Sakshi Ford, Wakad
3. 2017 onwards: Dhone Ford, Warje

Of these, the Planet Ford years were pretty good till about 2014. I had bought the car from their showroom, and their service setup was quite admirable, and the staff was demonstrably competent. Then, it seems, they changed owners, and 2015-16 was a disastrous ownership period for me, all thanks to their mediocrity and, worse, slyness. So much so that I finally, for the first time, actually pondered on whether it is worth keeping the car, despite its many, many likeable attributes. And there really are so many! Even after all these years, that 1.6 litre 4-cyl Duratec is a hoot-and-a-half to drive - a suave and silent city gent below 2500 rpm and a rev-happy highway beast above that (Mrs P calls it Bruce Wayne and Batman respectively). Another favourite attrib of mine is its ample ground-clearance and compact wheelbase, resulting in zero bottom-scrapes in 13 years of driving on Pune's alleged roads and absurd speed-breakers. The car's size is of the best-of-both-worlds variety, the build quality is old-school Ford, the cabin and boot are spacious, the hydraulic power-steering is magnificent.. I really could go on and on. But around 2016, thanks to the "all new" Planet Ford, followed by the below-average Sai Sakshi Ford, coupled with the concern regarding spares for a discontinued model, for the first time I began to feel that perhaps I couldn't go on and on with our car.

Once Sai Sakshi closed down, I finally discovered Dhone Ford, and so far the experience has been, to say the least, pleasant. The chaps are trustworthy, is what I've definitely noticed. Sai Sakshi, for example, had urged me to change all the bearings once. Turned out they had messed up the handbrake during a servicing trip and gone on to misdiagnose the "heavy feel" of the car with a bearings issue (!). Probably because they somehow had Fusion bearings in store that they wanted to be rid off. The car's still on the same bearings, btw.

The Dhone folks, on the other hand, actually seem curious and delighted to get to service this old beauty. And in my experience with them so far, there has been no dearth in the usual stuff that we expect either: accountability, thoroughness, courteousness. Ford's recent million-car celebration (parts and labour discount of 10%) has been handy too. My interactions so far with their staff (Hemant and Tejas are the ones I've dealt with) has resulted in a nice peace-of-mind feeling returning, so much so that for the first time in about three years, I no longer feel like getting rid of the car. I actually found myself searching for the 15-year re-registration threads on here yesterday. How's that for a compliment? Keep it up lads!

Do the other members of this community have a similar opinion? And how have everyone's experiences with other service centres - Talera Ford (Nigadi) or this new PPS Ford, which seems to be Planet Ford's successor - been? Or any FNGs that you have tried?

[GTO]

Originally Posted by Punatic

The Dhone folks, on the other hand, actually seem curious and delighted to get to service this old beauty. And in my experience with them so far, there has been no dearth in the usual stuff that we expect either: accountability, thoroughness, courteousness. Ford's recent million-car celebration (parts and labour discount of 10%) has been handy too.

Always nice to read about positive experiences. Thanks for sharing! This will surely help other Ford owners from Pune.

I actually found myself searching for the 15-year re-registration threads on here yesterday. How's that for a compliment? Keep it up lads!

Well said! You can only own an older, discontinued model if you get the right support. If it weren't for Ferdi @ Milestone (earlier) and Sunil Shanbagh (now), my 21-year old Jeep would probably be long gone.

[Punatic]

Originally Posted by GTO

Always nice to read about positive experiences. Thanks for sharing!

Cheers GTO, and many thanks to you and the rest of the admin team for this opportunity.

You can only own an older, discontinued model if you get the right support.

So true! And now that the support is taken care of, it also feels surprisingly good to have the onus of ensuring the car's maintenance squarely back where it belongs: on me.

[Punatic]

Just an update after my recent service visits: The great work continues.

I recently had to change some parts (rear wheel bearings etc) that were proving to be too expensive (10k per wheel..). Their store manager figured out that the same components are used in the Fiesta too, and my final bill, after two bearings and four brake pads and wiper blades and regular servicing etc was 11k.

Many thanks to Hemant et al. Keep it up guys. My Fusion will enter her 15th year in September, and I think, thanks to you, I'll update this forum when it enters her 20th too!

[RemingtonSteele]

Hello,

I have feedback for 2 areas for Dhone Ford.

1) Dhone Ford Sales – Manjri, Hadapsar: Rating 5/5: Sales Representatives: Sangram Dhole & Yogesh Padale
I just purchase a Ford Endeavour 3.2 from Dhone Ford Hadapsar. I am glad I took a right decision to deal with them (and not anyother dealer as I experienced them as well over my scouting for vehicle in earlier 1 month), even though they were far away from my residence in other part of city. The Sales Team is Topnotch, Polite, Personalized, Attentive and Prompt. What I liked the most was they have phenomenal follow-up (not irritating) and you can be assured that your query will be soon replied and not lost in communication. It was really a pleasure dealing with these guys.

Sangram has good leadership skills and manages his team very well. He also has a good quality to delegate tasks to his colleagues (Yogesh) to complete the customer query so that it can be addressed efficiently and not bog down due to his engagement somewhere else. Please note he is also complemented by equally responsive and capable team (Yogesh) who deserve equally good review for handling the customers effectively.
It was a very satisfying experience dealing with them. Kudos to their promptness and politeness 👍

2) Dhone Ford Service - Warje : Rating 5/5: Service Advisor: Chaitanya Sorte
I just had first service experience ( at 2500 KM) with Dhone Ford -Warje. Again, I am glad, I took a right decision to go to Dhone Ford for Servicing, whereas the other Ford Dealer was almost next chowk where I stay. Actually, They also made it easy for me even though Dhone Ford Service was away, because they offered me free pickup/drop facility for the vehicle. Coming to the Service Quality, it was fantastic. I had a small niggle with the New Vehicle and it was flawlessly removed. I was communicated promptly and at consistent frequency by a very friendly Service Advisor – Chaitanya Sorte. Kudos to the Chaitanya and the Services Team at Dhone!

Overall, I am happy to deal with Dhone Ford with a Big Thumbs-Up! 👍

[gotiyaa]

Originally Posted by RemingtonSteele

Hello,

I have feedback for 2 areas for Dhone Ford.

1) Dhone Ford Sales – Manjri, Hadapsar: Rating 5/5: Sales Representatives: Sangram Dhole & Yogesh Padale
I just purchase a Ford Endeavour 3.2 from Dhone Ford Hadapsar. I am glad I took a right decision to deal with them (and not anyother dealer as I experienced them as well over my scouting for vehicle in earlier 1 month), even though they were far away from my residence in other part of city. The Sales Team is Topnotch, Polite, Personalized, Attentive and Prompt. What I liked the most was they have phenomenal follow-up (not irritating) and you can be assured that your query will be soon replied and not lost in communication. It was really a pleasure dealing with these guys.

Sangram has good leadership skills and manages his team very well. He also has a good quality to delegate tasks to his colleagues (Yogesh) to complete the customer query so that it can be addressed efficiently and not bog down due to his engagement somewhere else. Please note he is also complemented by equally responsive and capable team (Yogesh) who deserve equally good review for handling the customers effectively.
It was a very satisfying experience dealing with them. Kudos to their promptness and politeness 👍

2) Dhone Ford Service - Warje : Rating 5/5: Service Advisor: Chaitanya Sorte
I just had first service experience ( at 2500 KM) with Dhone Ford -Warje. Again, I am glad, I took a right decision to go to Dhone Ford for Servicing, whereas the other Ford Dealer was almost next chowk where I stay. Actually, They also made it easy for me even though Dhone Ford Service was away, because they offered me free pickup/drop facility for the vehicle. Coming to the Service Quality, it was fantastic. I had a small niggle with the New Vehicle and it was flawlessly removed. I was communicated promptly and at consistent frequency by a very friendly Service Advisor – Chaitanya Sorte. Kudos to the Chaitanya and the Services Team at Dhone!

Overall, I am happy to deal with Dhone Ford with a Big Thumbs-Up! 👍

Thanks for sharing your experience. Helps me to head straight to the right dealer. I hope the experience is still the same.

[RemingtonSteele]

Originally Posted by gotiyaa

Thanks for sharing your experience. Helps me to head straight to the right dealer. I hope the experience is still the same.

Yes, the specific Dhone branches are still good. I continue to avail their services.

Actually, one interesting thing, we bought one more Ford car from Dhone Ford (at Honda's loss). They above experience was key in that decision and that's where Honda lost.

[dpkbehera]

Originally Posted by RemingtonSteele

Yes, the specific Dhone branches are still good. I continue to avail their services.

I am looking for recommendations for Ford A.S.S in Pune. As i am based near Pune Cantonment, i see the following 2 options i.e. PPS Kondhwa and Dhone Hadapsar. Would appreciate the feedback regarding the same.