Team-BHP (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/)

-   Indian Car Dealerships (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian-car-dealerships/)

-   -   Authorised Service Centres vs 3rd party SC (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian-car-dealerships/31687-authorised-service-centres-vs-3rd-party-sc.html)

hi,
During the free service/ warranty period the choice for getting the vehicle serviced is limited to the Authorised Service Centres (ASCs) but how good would the 3rd party service centers be post the free service/ warranty period?

I have a Scorpio and have been sending it to the ASC in Blr (India Garage) even after its free service/ warranty period is over when I read about Bosch opening its service centres where they had a special section for diesel vehicles.

Have they (Bosch) opened a centre in Bangalore? Any feedback on their service levels? Any thoughts in general on the pros and cons of ASC vs 3rd party SC?

Thanks

Bosch has a few service centres in bangalore.
there is one called Aditya Bosch service centre (franchisee) on bull temple road. chamarajpet opposite to maratha hostel, bangalore.
hope this helps

If you are happy with the service quality of the ASC, and find their charges reasonable, then stick with the ASC only. The only reason to move to third party vendors is when neither of the previous two factors are met.

Where my cars go for service:

MM Classic : Milestone (Mahindra Authorised)
C220 : Auto Hangar
OHC Vtec : Linkway Honda
Indigo : Tata Motors (Worli)

Yup, I am a big fan of authorised. Sure, some people may have had problems on occasion. But that's like saying, just because one Camry was unreliable, all other Toyotas are too. The probability is in your favour with a good authorised service center. And by a substantial margin. With the right approach and precautions, authorised is the way to go. Are their charges higher? You bet. But to me, entirely worth it for the peace of the mind factor. You get what you pay for.

I do visit some after-market workshops, though mostly for smaller jobs.

As long as all the genuine parts are available in the open market & if there is a good reputed SC, i don't see any reason to stick on to the ASC.

Bosch, Castrol etc., are more hype than substance. Search the forum and you fill find my horrendous experience with Bosch where they almost burnt down my car.
I am not saying all Bosch dealers will be bad, all I am saying is that just having a big name brand does not make a SC a good SC.

If you are happy with ASC, stick to that. If you think they are overcharging and not competent, then look around. For modern engines there is very less choice in the open market. Indian SC space is not mature yet.

I agreed with GTO. I have been going ASC and I am happy with the outcome. I find that the charges are resonable ok and overall I am 100% sure that replacement parts are 100% genuine, where at any TPV, you can't be 100% sure about this.

This started last evening when i started getting a Thud noise everytime i took a left turn in the Accent.
Fearing worse I parked it in the garage,woke up in the morning and headed towards Hyundai service center.
A small test drive by a mech and the car was jacked up and left tyre was removed for diagnosis.
After sometime they came to a conclusion that car will take around two days for repairs(they didnt give an exact conclusion as what was wrong).
they were talking about shocker leak,broken engine foundation,broken suspension bushes and what not.

After some time,I asked them as to what is wrong i got an answer,"Khol ke dekhna padega,gaadi do din ke liye rakhni hogi yaha"(Will have to open and check,will take 2 days to complete the job).

Now this made me uncomfortable,and I asked them to put the wheel back,and I drove out.

Discussed with my dad and he asked me to take opinion of his mech who has been handling our Premier padmini for past 19 years.

I take the car to him,another test drive;he parks it,turns the steering completely towards the left;gets under the car with two spanners,comes out and asks me to take a drive.(He took less than 2 minutes under the car).

I drive it,and Whoa-problem resolved,there is no sound,I am a happy soul.
:)

I come back and forcibly out a 100 buck note in his pocket.

So in a Jiffy,most of the times we avoid road side mechs,but they arent that bad.

so what was wrong, and what exactly did he do?

the arm connecting the suspension to the tyre had two loose bolts.

its always a good idea to take a second opinion on any problem. All these A.S.S are becoming pro's at overcharging the customers for doing nothing besides washing the car.

Good to hear that you weren't ripped off.

That's really bad behavior from the dealership service center. Kindly name the dealership, we will add the name to the title. It will serve as warning to others.

answering to original question, yes and no.

Let me narrate my experience at one service center. My car used to make some strange sound at right hand U turn. Took it to service center on saturday afternoon. Service advisor jacked it up & realised that one of the bolt for plastic covering near front left wheel was not present and that plastic panel was touching the tyre at U turn resulting in strange sound. He arranged a person to fix it & I was out of the service center within 45 minutes.

Problem was solved quickly but leaves a small doubt as why it was left unattended while car was undergoing Oil seal replacement few days back.

In my last two years ownership, I know most of the service advisors at dealer workshop and try to get friendly with them. At times, I had to visit workshop for sorting out same problem again(Colour re-paint & Oil seal), but persons have not let me down so far.

Dealer workshop or roadside mechanic, what would matter mostly is the rapport we develop with the person(s).