[abhisheksircar]

My 4th service at Mohan Motors (M.A.S.S.), Kolkata

I took my car to Mohan Motors for 4th Servicing. Was advised a service costing 4.2K which included decarb also for a car which has done only 17K kms. On asking if really required at 17K I was given a strong affirmation. I accepted every point of service expecting to receive a well tuned car and not an excuse, “This is not working since you said no to xyz.”

After 6hrs or servicing I went to take the delivery of my car. I was given to test my car in a stretch where I cannot even cross 10km/hr for the first 1.5km and then not beyond 40km/hr in the rest of the stretch.

Things that went wrong :

1. The pickup went completely wrong and the car was giving an uneven power delivery.
2. The car was giving a wobbling sound from the tyre when I hit anything beyond 70km/hr. I could feel the vibrations at the pedals.
3. The ICE setting were completely changed, be it radio stations, color scheme or equalizers. There were few radio stations kept for mercy.
4. Few interior fittings were very loosely fit. These were definitely opened but not fit back properly.
5. There is a squeeking noise which comes when I ride in very slow speed with the AC on to be more specific. Sounds like a belt timing problem. In idle state the engine on sounds like a well tuned diesel engine and not a petrol engine. The mech at Mohan said that he understood the problem and will fix it. Not fixed till date.

Issue Resolution :

1. I went to another M.A.S.S. named Autokraft in Kolkata. They drove it for 5 mins and understood the problem in power delivery. Opened the hood and saw the ‘map-sensor’, as they termed it, clinging on to the board. They cleaned all the 4 spark plugs. It did not look that the plugs were cleaned in the previous servicing also. Problem resolved and I was more than happy. This work was done for free as they quoted it to be a minor issue.
2. Took the car to a tyre shop called “Indo Radial Club” near Science City who did a wheel alignment and all. Wobbling sound gone, no vibration at pedals now. I had specifically asked the people in Mohan to rotate my wheels with the one in the boot and was confirmed that it was done. In the wheel balancing center I took out a fresh wheel from the boot. The rotation was not done in Mohan as was told.
3. Sat with the car for almost 30 mins to get back the ICE to what it was, well almost cause I could not get the finesse as was tuned by one of the Kolkata Tbhpian (ShuvC).
4. The fittings which were loose were fixed. No rattling sound now.
5. The squeeking sound problem is still there and will look into it soon.

Escalation Done :

1. Escalated the matter to Service manager who in turn called the service assistant to come to a conclusion that it is difficult to keep a watch into all cars with so many cars around. I was also offered a 5% discount which amounted to about 270INR. I thanked them for their mercy and asked them for not reducing a single penny which they happily agreed to. They came to the office where I work in to check the car and after the “guided tour” by me all they had to say “We just came to check the problems so that this does not happen with another customer.”
2. Mailed to Maruti who in turn informed Mohan only to get it fixed although I had specifically asked them not to send me back to Mohan. I was then informed of an independent check up by Maruti regional service team which has not happened till now. [10 days past the first mail] Tracking number: HT20081208_0000000263. I had called them up and they said I would be getting a call which is yet to happen.

Next is what ??

[planet_rocker]

Mohan was good - or so i heard.

ICE setting went for a toss - because they might have re-set the ECU.

if alignment was an issue - there would have been tyre wear.

if balancing was an issue - the steering would have been wobly. how did the pedal vibrate??

i thought one needs to change spark plugs at every 10,000 kms??

[abhisheksircar]

Originally Posted by planet_rocker

ICE setting went for a toss - because they might have re-set the ECU.

Should'nt the 'reset', reset the whole console and not bits and parts of it ?

Originally Posted by planet_rocker

if alignment was an issue - there would have been tyre wear.

It was indeed a bump on one of the wheels which is now replaced while rotating the wheels. Unfortunately this was not noticed by Mohan motors guys although being mentioned about it. As a matter of fact was wrongly told that wheel rotation was done with the one in the boot which was not the case.

Originally Posted by planet_rocker

if balancing was an issue - the steering would have been wobly. how did the pedal vibrate??

Not sure about this one but I could feel a continuous grind on the pedal before the work done at Indo Radial Club but after the work it was all smooth.

Originally Posted by planet_rocker

i thought one needs to change spark plugs at every 10,000 kms??

The first change at 10K km would have been done at the 3rd servicing which was done at .... oops ... at Mohan motors only. Heck .. let me check it.

[planet_rocker]

1. were the wheel nuts tightened at Mohan?

2. did the cabin clock get reset? wierd - but all ICE setting should have been reset to default.

3. may be one/two of the plugs wasn't/weren't fixed properly which when shown at autokraft was/were fixed.

4. take the car to shuvc and he will help you out with the ice settings.

5. rotating wheels helps uniform wear in all tyres. may be the tyre gurus can help.

Mohan did a good job when shuvc's car was flood affected - nikunj_cal also gets his swift vdi done at mohan. may be you should talk to them about Mohan's reputation.

Jalan distributors' is one of the oldest in kolkata - we were happy with their service - another option is Auto Hitec @ southern avenue.

[akroy]

Originally Posted by planet_rocker

i thought one needs to change spark plugs at every 10,000 kms??

Spark Plugs are changed in every 20K kms.

Abhi

[abhisheksircar]

Yep .. just checked the service booklet. Spark plug change is at the 4th servicing.

The time was fine in the car, does that also get reset ? if Yes, then it is definitely not an ECU reset unless they set it up again after the reset.

I read from a t-bhpian itself and decided to go to Mohan's for servicing which is almost 13kms away from my place just to get a proper servicing but unfortunately they took my car a little too casually :(

Anyway, I am trying autokraft now as they are close to my place although I heard they charge a bit more. Moreover they are just few kms away from my place. I am considering Jalan also at this moment. All confused as I was when I came to Kolkata a year back.

[Sudipto-S-Team]

At Machino (where I go) they don't accept cars for servicing with the front panel of your stereo on. So there is no question of anyone fingering the stereo. Did Mohan take the car with the stereo on board? That's really surprising. Machino is candid enough to admit that it can get stolen from their custody !!!
The other issues don't surprise me really. In an unsupervised scenario anything and nothing can happen simultaneously. Therefore my solution to this whole problem was to strike a personal friendship with the service guy and I hang around personally when they are doing critical/important changes. I do understand that not everyone has the time.
Also, I think experienced management plays an important role in building up good work culture in an organisation. Mohan's and all are all newcomers in this field.
Casually fitted parts is a problem with virtually every large garage in Kolkata.

[abhisheksircar]

removing the Panel is the best thing to do but unfortunately with my system there is no option of removing the front panel :(

It's a very casual attitude over here which worries me a lot. Not only M.A.S.S but also the regional Maruti Suzuki service team who was assigned a case by the head office very quickly and was asked to look into it. I am still waiting for a response. I had called them up and they tracked the case and promised a call back few days back, I am yet to get the call from Maruti. Wierd but true.

[shuvc]

@abhishek - That surely is a bad experience. Humko ekbar bola nahi jane kay pehle? What's the name of the service advisor you were dealing with?

ICE settings were probably reset since they disconnect the battery. Happens to my setup too. They may have set the clock after connecting the battery.

Since 2006, my experience with them has been good. But, 'good' is a relative term !

I've also faced some of the issues that you have faced. Something fixed loosely, they fixed fog lamps and the headlight stopped working (wrong grounding), belt/bumper squeaks, changing engine oil when I asked them not to, rotating tyres without my go ahead etc. etc. I'm under no illusions here - there have and will be many ocassions where they (will) fail to get things done correctly the first time.

However, one thing that I do is, being patient with them, going back to them again and again and pestering them good naturedly, so much so that now they know I'm finicky. I have never escalated any issue to the service manager and have resolved things with the service advisor.

What do I get in return? Well, while they still keep goofing up a bit here and there, there are also many instances, where they do that extra bit to honour the relationship. I know they will try to help me if I need it. The intent is there 100%, if not the capability/efficiency. And that somehow gives me comfort.

@Sudipto, they also insist removal of the faceplate, but I've kept my car many times with the ICE in place. Sometimes even with some bags in boot. (It's painful carrying all the stuff back to office from Mohan and then back again in the evening). This was purely on trust.

Btw, since theirs is a dealer workshop, does the MASS tag apply to them?

[abhisheksircar]

You are right Shuvc .. talking to them and getting things done would have been a better option. I lost my cool with 2 things they spoke,

1. Sir, we cannot keep a watch on all the cars that is here since there are so many cars around.
2. Reduce 270INR in their bill (as a compensation)

Anyway, I have already screwed up the relation in this workshop. Time to move to another workshop. Next time I will take a pressure ball with me before goofing up with these service men My only problem is that I hardly get time to go to them again and again to get things fixed at expect them to fix everything at the first go itself. Setting up this expectation was a mistake.

[BlackPearl]

I have been going to Jalan Distributors in Beleghata for the last three years and have an excellent relationship with them. On many occasions the mechanics have things on request and never chargd a penny. The service manager Mr. Mondal is a very learned guy and knows how to deal with cars and finicky owners :-)
We had a maruti 800 and used to go to Machino Techno and was never happy with them but there were not many opions at that time.
@Abhishek, most of the workshops are same unless you can strike a rapport with a good mechanic or service manager. So as Shuvc has mentioned, please be patient with the next one that you go to and try to strike a good relationship with them.

[abhisheksircar]

I would love to take my car to a workshop owned by a set of passionate service men who love the cars given to them and enjoy the satisfaction of getting the best out of the car with their trained skills.

I wish !!

I totally understand this will not happen and the rapport thing will work. Good luck to me. My wish still stands strong