[benbsb29]

I've had my experiences with both Cauvery as well as Lathangi Ford (after Cauvery shut down in between) but none so bad, since i usually linger around the car.

Originally Posted by shalini_g

I am also in the same boat. Have a 8 yr old Ikon whihc I took to Lathangi Ford (Bannarghata road) for service. I am never satisfied with their service. Most of the time , I need to take the car again to service center once I get it from them.
Even if you give the car at 8.30AM, they will return the car after 6PM and will be in a hurry to pack you off.

I also agree to the fact mentioned above about handing in the car for service at Lathangi at 8:30 AM and getting it back at 5:30 PM after much haggling. Of all the time in between, i had observed that the car was just worked on for about 2 hours at the maximum. To add insult to injury, after the work was completed, it took them 35 minutes to generate the bill!! I had enough and since my Ikon was out of warranty found a FNG to get the car attended to, and have been doing so ever since.

[shalini_g]

Originally Posted by benbsb29

I've had my experiences with both Cauvery as well as Lathangi Ford (after Cauvery shut down in between) but none so bad, since i usually linger around the car.



I also agree to the fact mentioned above about handing in the car for service at Lathangi at 8:30 AM and getting it back at 5:30 PM after much haggling. Of all the time in between, i had observed that the car was just worked on for about 2 hours at the maximum. To add insult to injury, after the work was completed, it took them 35 minutes to generate the bill!! I had enough and since my Ikon was out of warranty found a FNG to get the car attended to, and have been doing so ever since.

Can you pls share where you are giving your Ikon for service. I am really fed up with the so called Ford service centers.

[asit.kulkarni93]

Well if you all have such a big problem with the OE workshops. Why don't you all find a good mechanic in your Area? You can show him the car in advance and ask him to give you the analysis of all the parts to be changed. You can get those parts from your authorised dealer. And ask him to change. In all this you can supervise his work which you can't in majority of the service centres. A car out of warranty + so much of cheating = frustaion and a new thread on tbhp
About Bad experience with a dealer. My dad had started this practise when we had the Alto back in '03 and still does the same with our car
In Bahrain.I follow the same For my bike now! The labour won't cost you a bomb unlike in OE workshops!

[benbsb29]

Originally Posted by shalini_g

Can you pls share where you are giving your Ikon for service. I am really fed up with the so called Ford service centers.

This is where my Ikon goes in for service now :

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/bangal...bangalore.html

[pjbiju]

Originally Posted by vikram_cl55

...
My uncle owns a ford fiesta TDCi, the first model. 2 years ago the AC broke down and the obvious remedy he thought would be to get it repaired through cauvery, the dealer he bought the car from. As you all know, they took the car like always and inspected it. Exactly 30 mins later he said, 'there's a problem with the compressor and has to be replaced'.
...
He found the exact problem of the AC to be the evaporator and replaced it quite fast. The cost came up to 5000 I believe.
...

Was the issue with AC that it starts throwing warm air after 10 minutes of starting the car? This was the issue that cropped up in a friend's Ford Ikon. Like in your case, the service center told him that the evaporator coil needs to be replaced. And he got that replaced. However the problem did not go away. So the car was taken back to the service center and they fixed it. It was only later that he learned from another workshop (owned by a former Ford service center employee) that ACs are problematic in Ford cars. And the issue is usually with the solenoid valve that shuts the cold air from coming into the cabin and cost of the solenoid valve is a small percentage of the evaporator coil.

[motorguy]

Originally Posted by gr8guzzler

I think the main issue is parts availability of different brands and local reach. The whole of Mumbai has just one Carnation outlet. That does not work well.

@gr8guzzler - There is a thread on the forum that shows Carnation's incompetence. They may be fine for denting/painting and just basic service (change oil and wash). However, as seen by some posts on this forum, they are unable to source parts in most instances and their diagnosis skills are zero, and end up experiementing with your car - and of course eventually damaging your car even more. If it is a choice between Carnation (multi-brand) and the dealer, depending on the repair I would go to the dealer but of course keep my eyes wide open for cheating and fraud.

[jeeva]

Originally Posted by Kaumad

My simple question - why on earth do you go to authorised OEM workshops in the first place? - especially for vehicles which are out of warranty!
Why dont you find a good competent independent workshop / garage which can do a top-class job for maybe a fraction of the amount being quoted by the OEM workshop?

Does it mean, there are no competent independent workshops around your place? - highly unlikely since I see many thread-starters are from metros! I am very sure there are a couple good ones if not more, in your city. Sure, they might not be close to home but hey, wouldnt you be wiling to travel that extra distance if you knew the job done would be good and you wouldnt have to worry about being conned?!

Just trying to understand the rationale behind the complaints. I simply dont get the complaining, especially when there are alternatives.

Well, if you are not aware, genuine Ford replacements parts (mostly Motorcraft) are not available in the open market, except for maybe some cosmetic parts like the headlights (Lumax, Depo), rubber parts (mostly delhi-kashmere gate make) and basic suspension parts (again delhi make/chinese), bearings/brake parts and the likes. One must also understand that the quality of these parts except for perhaps, established brands like TVS/Lumax/SKF/Luk-Rane are questionable. All of the other parts are available only through Ford ASCs. I don't see any of these American nor European nor German brands keen to sell spares in the open market nor even have counter sales at their respective ASCs like Mahindra, Maruti or Tata does.

Rane makes power steering units for most cars sold here. But then Ford doesn't allow them to sell the product through their sales/distribution channels, which would be much much cheaper than for what ford sells it. FYI, The R&P assembly of the Ikon is very identical to that of the Indica's.

[vikram_cl55]

Originally Posted by pjbiju

Was the issue with AC that it starts throwing warm air after 10 minutes of starting the car? This was the issue that cropped up in a friend's Ford Ikon. Like in your case, the service center told him that the evaporator coil needs to be replaced. And he got that replaced. However the problem did not go away. So the car was taken back to the service center and they fixed it. It was only later that he learned from another workshop (owned by a former Ford service center employee) that ACs are problematic in Ford cars. And the issue is usually with the solenoid valve that shuts the cold air from coming into the cabin and cost of the solenoid valve is a small percentage of the evaporator coil.

When we had it checked at bosch, he filled gas and the AC worked for an hour or so, then stopped again. The system in place is, the compressor only switches on when the critical gas pressure is achieved, otherwise it just doesn't switch on (mainly because the gas also contains a mixture of compressor oil). Then recently (before the evaporator replacement was done), a local AC guy recommended by bosch (Jai Maruthi Motors, Hessaragatta main road) filled the AC line with air and noticed leakage at the evaporator. This then led us to Metro ford for replacement. We went back to the OE, because both Bosch and the local AC guy said they couldn't buy the part outside and most likely parts outside are 99% fake. So we took the so called 'BEST' option. Also, before taking it anywhere, I personally checked all fuses, relays, solenoids, ultimately we found voltage coming upto the compressor clutch, but wasn't getting engaged (Thanks to low pressure from leaks at the evaporator).
By the way: we stood next to the car during the whole replacement process.

Originally Posted by Kaumad

Everytime I read a post / thread on incompetency of authorised OE workshops, I feel like asking this question but for some reason, refrain from doing so. Not this time.

I have always wanted to understand one thing. We have innumerable posts on being conned by OEM workshops or being quoted ridiculous prices for parts swap even before diagnosing the problem correctly. End result - car owners complaining and whining about OEM workshops taking people for a ride.

My simple question - why on earth do you go to authorised OEM workshops in the first place? - especially for vehicles which are out of warranty!
Why dont you find a good competent independent workshop / garage which can do a top-class job for maybe a fraction of the amount being quoted by the OEM workshop?

Does it mean, there are no competent independent workshops around your place? - highly unlikely since I see many thread-starters are from metros! I am very sure there are a couple good ones if not more, in your city. Sure, they might not be close to home but hey, wouldnt you be wiling to travel that extra distance if you knew the job done would be good and you wouldnt have to worry about being conned?!

Just trying to understand the rationale behind the complaints. I simply dont get the complaining, especially when there are alternatives.

There are many reasons I suppose why a large majority would go back to the OE.
1. The mindset is 'THE OE must be brainy, after all he's from the company, only GOD can know more than him'
2. The suit & tie the ford managers wear and the chill of the Waiting Lounge AC.
3. Poor research, not many people know it's ultimately engineering, not rocket science.

I understand these are silly points, but I came to know about this racket only through TeamBHP, how else would I know. When a dealer says, bring it back here for the rest of the car's life or it'll break down in the middle of the highway, naturally someone who is unaware, will get scared and bring it there only.
Also, we switched between two OEs of ford only because the evaporator sold outside has a reputation for being fake, like I said, the AC mech and bosch both said they'd be fake and asked me go back to the OE.

I even remember a friend telling me (a not so proud owner of 3 IKONs), they change entire assemblies because they leave no room for anything further spoiling within that component. MY question to him was, what are the repairing then?, they're doing nothing. An average sized component has 3 to 4 bolts + maximum of 60 minutes of labour, to do what?, replace the part. They're almost like a middle man, they just/almost give you the part.

[JayPrashanth]

Originally Posted by Equus

There is so much scope for independent service shops that provide VFM service. I am amazed that nobody (not even Jagadish Khattar) was able to tap this and delight customers. What makes this so hard?

Originally Posted by motorguy

@gr8guzzler - There is a thread on the forum that shows Carnation's incompetence. They may be fine for denting/painting and just basic service (change oil and wash). However, as seen by some posts on this forum, they are unable to source parts in most instances and their diagnosis skills are zero, and end up experiementing with your car - and of course eventually damaging your car even more. If it is a choice between Carnation (multi-brand) and the dealer, depending on the repair I would go to the dealer but of course keep my eyes wide open for cheating and fraud.

This makes it so hard-> http://articles.economictimes.indiat...-auto-industry

Mr Khattar is battling a big auto lobby and if he wins, we all win.

Originally Posted by vikram_cl55

I even remember a friend telling me (a not so proud owner of 3 IKONs), they change entire assemblies because they leave no room for anything further spoiling within that component. MY question to him was, what are the repairing then?, they're doing nothing. An average sized component has 3 to 4 bolts + maximum of 60 minutes of labour, to do what?, replace the part. They're almost like a middle man, they just/almost give you the part.

For scheduled maintenance on Fords, the Quick Lane service at Yeshwantpur, Bangalore is a decent option. Go in early, watch your car get serviced. This center is also useful to folks who know their parts, as they can judge for themselves whether a replacement is actually needed.

Cheers,

Jay

[vikram_cl55]

Originally Posted by JayPrashanth

For scheduled maintenance on Fords, the Quick Lane service at Yeshwantpur, Bangalore is a decent option. Go in early, watch your car get serviced. This center is also useful to folks who know their parts, as they can judge for themselves whether a replacement is actually needed.

Cheers,

Jay

We went there when the power steering pump nut failed. He asked/recommended that the pump be replaced. This was before I tightened the nut to stop it from leaking.

[condor]

Originally Posted by JayPrashanth

Mr Khattar is battling a big auto lobby and if he wins, we all win.

Jay, does this mean that the incompetence of the Car-nation centres, as reported by THBP-ians, is the handiwork of this auto-lobby ?

[abishek2222]

Originally Posted by condor

Jay, does this mean that the incompetence?..

Ultimately it's the lowest level on the ladder the mechanic who is doing the job. These people usually are from the neighbourhood garages and have probably been trained but the same lackadaisical attitude will remain with them where some people just conveniently don't bother fixing all nuts back when removed and fixed back. No matter how good the service advisor is these thing will keep happening.

[JayPrashanth]

Originally Posted by vikram_cl55

We went there when the power steering pump nut failed. He asked/recommended that the pump be replaced. This was before I tightened the nut to stop it from leaking.

Yes, if you know your parts/service procedure, you can perhaps get the QuickLane guys to repair if required. Of course, they'll ask you to directly replace parts if a lay person approaches but at least you have the luxury of maintaining a watch when parts get replaced and in the process, you save time too.

Originally Posted by condor

Jay, does this mean that the incompetence of the Car-nation centres, as reported by THBP-ians, is the handiwork of this auto-lobby ?

I was only referring to the availability of parts. If Mr Khattar wins the case against the auto makers, spares will be freely available across the counter/in the open market. Once that happens, FNGs will get a boost. On the whole, the stranglehold of the A.S.S will be broken and car owners will have more choice. Carnation being incompetent is a different issue altogether. I don't have any experience dealing with them. So, no comments on that.

Cheers,

Jay

[condor]

Jay, that's clearer

But the initiative apart, there is enough that JK & Carnation could have done even now, but they seem to have lost the way. Tata, Maruti & M&M spares are available even now. Many other spares should also be there in the market. This covers more than half the market.

What stops Carnation from giving good service even now ? Is availability of spares from Ford, Renault/Nissan, VW/Skoda, and some from Hyundai a show-stopper ?

[motorguy]

Originally Posted by asit.kulkarni93

Well if you all have such a big problem with the OE workshops. Why don't you all find a good mechanic in your Area? You can show him the car in advance and ask him to give you the analysis of all the parts to be changed. You can get those parts from your authorised dealer. And ask him to change. In all this you can supervise his work which you can't in majority of the service centres. A car out of warranty + so much of cheating = frustaion and a new thread on tbhp
About Bad experience with a dealer. My dad had started this practise when we had the Alto back in '03 and still does the same with our car
In Bahrain.I follow the same For my bike now! The labour won't cost you a bomb unlike in OE workshops!

The problem is getting parts. Most manufacturers (except perhaps Maruti) will not sell you parts unless you get the car repaired at the service dealership. So, even if one finds a good mechanic, what is the point of going to him if you can't get the parts for your mechanic? This of course, is not the case of a Maruti since one can get parts anywhere.