"THE" Job Experience at a Tata/Fiat Dealership

Nikhilb2008 · 24th February 2009, 17:02

Tomthump --- Amazing posts. The best I have seen in this thread.

It's an honour to have you on the forum. I think we see a D-BHPian in the making

.

tomthump · 26th February 2009, 14:27

Sorry BacKSeAt..er I meant 150K. Anyway the deal did not go through. A friend of mine works with a Maruti dealer, so he and his friend who is a TrueValue appraiser came with me to inspect the vehicle. They suggested 90 to 1 lakh as a maximum price, but as I was rather keen I agreed on 150K, because the seller was refusing to budge from that figure.

So two days later me and my above friends drove over a second time with the money. But on close inspection just before we paid the money and signed the deal, it was discovered that the chassis number was missing. So after searching inside the hood, under the hood, inside the vehicle and at all kind of places on the chasiss, we left telling them to call after they've searched out the number.

I got a call the same evening, saying there was an engine number, but no chassis number, so I declined to buy.

Anyway my Fiat Palio Sport 1.6 is back at home. It was delivered last Thursday 19th Feb at 8.00 P.M to my shop by the dealer's driver (I think it was a service advisor).

Wasn't that nice of them?

They picked up my car, they delivered it back, and they've said the complaint has been corrected. I have yet to go on a long drive to check if the problem exists.

But there was indeed a serious effort by the dealer to correct the problem I think.

Because they have put more fresh grease stains on my fabric. They have also torn a few edges on the dashboard upholstery. They were also good enough to rub away the recent scratches I accumulated on various aprts of the body.

On their part, they have splattered numerous tiny tiny drops of white paint all over the body. But since that is not too apparent, and only visible on the window glasses,etc if you look very carefully, I don't really mind.

I think they have taken out my a/c rattle, and given me a head rest rattle instead. The front passenger seat headrest now has interesting rattle on occasions.

My steering rattle has gone too. But I have not looked under the bonnet yet. I will keep it for next weekend. Why spoil a good week?

If there are no other immediate complaints, I hope to share the name of my car dealer with you folks.

Thank you Nikhil. That is a very generous compliment.

tomthump · 26th February 2009, 17:37

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nikhilb2008

I think we see a D-BHPian in the making

.

Please excuse my asking, but what is a D-BHPian?

ms001 · 26th February 2009, 20:37

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/announ...-benefits.html

distinguished BHpian

harry10 · 26th February 2009, 20:58

@tomthump- Nice and positive comments i have seen after long. Will keep few of your words in mind and keep updating. And ya welcome to T-bhp.
Cheers!

tomthump · 26th February 2009, 23:53

I was a little unhappy about losing that a/c fan rattle. But as they went to a lot of pain, including tearing up a bit of the dash upholstery, I did not want to hold it against them. I thought I would really miss that nice nuisance.

I thought wrong. They went and made it louder. I was better off missing it I think.

I am now trying not to think about how I will miss my car stalling at 130KMPH

Strangely the headrest rattle disappeared yesterday.

There must be some new age physics involved in automobile repairs nowadays I guess. Older noises know when to move away to make way for newer noises.

Under the circumstances, I am rather jittery about looking under the hood.

So I think I'll leave it for a long long later while.

This was just to tell you that the dealer name will have to be temporarily postponed. Sorry, but we need to be honest when we give a good word about somebody.

Ravveendrra · 27th February 2009, 00:30

Lovely posts @ tomthump, nice work there on the posts. Sanity and humour, these are what set your posts apart.

Keep up the good work and, think about starting a new thread about your experiences with your car and the dealer. Your earlier posts here can either be moved or you can post links to them in the new thread.

Cheers,

HappyWheels · 27th February 2009, 04:20

TomThump,

Great post(s). Made a very good read and the points that you mention are hard to argue against.

Quote:

Originally Posted by tomthump

...My rattle was corrected, it was due to a loose nut on the steering end, they said, and because I don't know which nut, and which nut loosened it, and why that nut loosened that nut in the first place, I am glad the nut has been tightened, because I was going nuts about that loose nut...

The best statement made about a nut that I have read for a long time! ROFL!

Quote:

Originally Posted by tomthump

...Last time, I got it back with permanent grease stains on my fabric seats, and a few dabs on the plastics too. I wonder where they will place the decorations this time.
...
I expect the fuel pump replacement to an important kind of work, so the more serious the job, the greater the new fault ought to be.

But honestly, I expected all this, though not all this much...
...

Exp[ecially in a Fiat. Buy it only if you want it and fully knowing you will get a lot of imperfections for the fanatstic performace. But after buying it don't gripe, because that is how it is!!

( xN)

tomthump · 2nd March 2009, 20:26

I don't know if my posts are off topic.

If so, please do tell.

I do these just so that if there are any other me's around looking at a Fiat, they get some honest information.

I took my Fiat on a 200KM drive today. The stall did not happen, but somehow I get the feeling it is lurking behind some circuit. There were a few instances at gear changes where the revv was a tiny bit hesitant. That could be because I poured Extra premium. ( I may be wrong on this, but somehow I've felt the engine run smoother on regular unleaded, compared to the premium stuff).

The A/c noise has decided to be a permanent fixture.

The engine performance seemed lackluster for the first time after I bought the car. I am not saying it is bad or anything like that.

You get a feel of a car and how it responds, after you have driven it a bit.
I taken mine above 9000 Kms now, and throttle did not seem as responsive for the quick spurts. as it used to.

Makes me a little bit suspicious as to the honesty of the repair done. It could a minor snag, or it could be that the refitment is not proper, or in the pessismistic view, they may not have actually replaced the pump.

Me being ignorant about all things under the hood, I will not make a definite allegation. Rather I will for the time being, fall back to my usual way of waiting and watching.

I am sure the dealer or the manufacturer will respond at all times, I may have to pay next time though, I don't know.

One thing I really like about the car is the way it handles sharp and deep curves. Multiple curves are fun to tackle if you don't have a five year old in the back seat.

Ravveendrra · 2nd March 2009, 22:16

That must hurt @ tomthump. New car and drop in performance.

Try reverting back to the old fuel. You can also ask the clowns at the service centre if they have re-set or checked the ECU. If they have not - maybe they should.

Wish you all the luck.

Cheers,

tomthump · 3rd March 2009, 17:23

Thank you HappyWheels, and Ravvee for your generous appreciation.

I will do as you suggested, Ravvee, when I take it in for my third service.

If it acts up (acts down?) before that, I mean to take it earlier.

ms001 · 3rd March 2009, 17:58

Quote:

Originally Posted by tomthump

I don't know if my posts are off topic.

If so, please do tell.

I do these just so that if there are any other me's around looking at a Fiat, they get some honest information.

yes your post may be off topic here, you are better off starting an ownership report / service experience or something like that.
This thread was an account from a person working for a FIAT dealership.

So i suggest you do the need full.

tomthump · 3rd March 2009, 20:20

Thank you MS001.

I guess I'll stop posting here for a while.

See ya'll later.

bottle · 3rd March 2009, 20:26

Quote:

Originally Posted by tomthump

I don't know if my posts are off topic.

If so, please do tell.

I do these just so that if there are any other me's around looking at a Fiat, they get some honest information.

I took my Fiat on a 200KM drive today. The stall did not happen, but somehow I get the feeling it is lurking behind some circuit. There were a few instances at gear changes where the revv was a tiny bit hesitant. That could be because I poured Extra premium. ( I may be wrong on this, but somehow I've felt the engine run smoother on regular unleaded, compared to the premium stuff)..

Yup I have noticed the same too on my palio stile. With regular fuel the engine seems to feel more peppy than compared to xtra premium but premium seemed to help low end drivability which is a big help in heavy traffic conditions.

as of now i'm on shell premium and seems to be ok overall, would recommend that you try it out

VahanPujari · 22nd March 2009, 16:10

Friends - I've been following this thread extensively in last 1-2 months. In fact, this was the most useful thread for me when I was in the midst of deciding on my new sedan. To me, there was lot of bashing on this thread with the groups clearly divided into 2 groups. Amidst all these, tomthump's posts were really refreshing with balanced views. My request to both groups are as below

To all those who've taken strong exception to the threadstarter: Friends, for whatever intentions, its a fact that this thread of the threadstarter is quite informative & has given a true story behind the dealerships which is masked behind those glaring exteriors when we go to purchase a car. Also, we can see its not the threadstarter but the dealer who has done the wrongs. And how many of us blow the whistle to the authorities when our employers do some wrongs?

To all those who "worshipped" the threadstarter for "having courage" to come out: Friends, again here what is it that prompted the threadstarter to leave the job & to come out & reveal this? is it that he was conscious of customers getting cheated? Not at all else he would have left when he saw the first customer getting cheated had he been conscious of the customers & morality. is it the 2nd customers agony in scorching sun which prompted him to leave the job? not perhaps, may be. But the likely reason seems to be that his employer left him in the lurch when traffic police caught him & employers made him pay the fine from his own pocket. Would he have left the job if the employers paid the fine & took good care of him? Has he exhibited "courage" in revealing all these? Once you leave the job with a bitter taste on employer & feeling at receiving end, does it require "courage" to reveal these? In fact, in a way isn't it that he helped himself by taking a "revenge" on the dealership by posting this explosive story? On a positive side, he helped others also to think twice before going to this dealership.

These are my views (am new here & don't know exact meaning of popular phrase - "my 2 cents" & where its generally used)

My above views/ thoughts are not addressed to any individual or any person. Just wanted to share it with 2 groups involved in bashing with extreme views.

Peace out.

24th February 2009, 17:02	#301
Nikhilb2008 Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Bangalore Posts: 5,196 Thanked: 10,138 Times	Tomthump --- Amazing posts. The best I have seen in this thread. It's an honour to have you on the forum. I think we see a D-BHPian in the making .
	() Thanks

26th February 2009, 14:27	#302
tomthump BHPian Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Punalur Posts: 57 Thanked: 15 Times	Sorry BacKSeAt..er I meant 150K. Anyway the deal did not go through. A friend of mine works with a Maruti dealer, so he and his friend who is a TrueValue appraiser came with me to inspect the vehicle. They suggested 90 to 1 lakh as a maximum price, but as I was rather keen I agreed on 150K, because the seller was refusing to budge from that figure. So two days later me and my above friends drove over a second time with the money. But on close inspection just before we paid the money and signed the deal, it was discovered that the chassis number was missing. So after searching inside the hood, under the hood, inside the vehicle and at all kind of places on the chasiss, we left telling them to call after they've searched out the number. I got a call the same evening, saying there was an engine number, but no chassis number, so I declined to buy. Anyway my Fiat Palio Sport 1.6 is back at home. It was delivered last Thursday 19th Feb at 8.00 P.M to my shop by the dealer's driver (I think it was a service advisor). Wasn't that nice of them? They picked up my car, they delivered it back, and they've said the complaint has been corrected. I have yet to go on a long drive to check if the problem exists. But there was indeed a serious effort by the dealer to correct the problem I think. Because they have put more fresh grease stains on my fabric. They have also torn a few edges on the dashboard upholstery. They were also good enough to rub away the recent scratches I accumulated on various aprts of the body. On their part, they have splattered numerous tiny tiny drops of white paint all over the body. But since that is not too apparent, and only visible on the window glasses,etc if you look very carefully, I don't really mind. I think they have taken out my a/c rattle, and given me a head rest rattle instead. The front passenger seat headrest now has interesting rattle on occasions. My steering rattle has gone too. But I have not looked under the bonnet yet. I will keep it for next weekend. Why spoil a good week? If there are no other immediate complaints, I hope to share the name of my car dealer with you folks. Thank you Nikhil. That is a very generous compliment.
	() Thanks

26th February 2009, 20:37	#304
ms001 Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: bangalore Posts: 1,003 Thanked: 162 Times	http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/announ...-benefits.html distinguished BHpian
	() Thanks

26th February 2009, 20:58	#305
harry10 Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Faridabad/Delhi Posts: 2,713 Thanked: 3,627 Times View My Garage	@tomthump- Nice and positive comments i have seen after long. Will keep few of your words in mind and keep updating. And ya welcome to T-bhp. Cheers!
	() Thanks

26th February 2009, 23:53	#306
tomthump BHPian Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Punalur Posts: 57 Thanked: 15 Times	I was a little unhappy about losing that a/c fan rattle. But as they went to a lot of pain, including tearing up a bit of the dash upholstery, I did not want to hold it against them. I thought I would really miss that nice nuisance. I thought wrong. They went and made it louder. I was better off missing it I think. I am now trying not to think about how I will miss my car stalling at 130KMPH Strangely the headrest rattle disappeared yesterday. There must be some new age physics involved in automobile repairs nowadays I guess. Older noises know when to move away to make way for newer noises. Under the circumstances, I am rather jittery about looking under the hood. So I think I'll leave it for a long long later while. This was just to tell you that the dealer name will have to be temporarily postponed. Sorry, but we need to be honest when we give a good word about somebody.
	() Thanks

27th February 2009, 00:30	#307
Ravveendrra Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Hyderabad Posts: 1,391 Thanked: 446 Times View My Garage	Lovely posts @ tomthump, nice work there on the posts. Sanity and humour, these are what set your posts apart. Keep up the good work and, think about starting a new thread about your experiences with your car and the dealer. Your earlier posts here can either be moved or you can post links to them in the new thread. Cheers,
	() Thanks

2nd March 2009, 20:26	#309
tomthump BHPian Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Punalur Posts: 57 Thanked: 15 Times	I don't know if my posts are off topic. If so, please do tell. I do these just so that if there are any other me's around looking at a Fiat, they get some honest information. I took my Fiat on a 200KM drive today. The stall did not happen, but somehow I get the feeling it is lurking behind some circuit. There were a few instances at gear changes where the revv was a tiny bit hesitant. That could be because I poured Extra premium. ( I may be wrong on this, but somehow I've felt the engine run smoother on regular unleaded, compared to the premium stuff). The A/c noise has decided to be a permanent fixture. The engine performance seemed lackluster for the first time after I bought the car. I am not saying it is bad or anything like that. You get a feel of a car and how it responds, after you have driven it a bit. I taken mine above 9000 Kms now, and throttle did not seem as responsive for the quick spurts. as it used to. Makes me a little bit suspicious as to the honesty of the repair done. It could a minor snag, or it could be that the refitment is not proper, or in the pessismistic view, they may not have actually replaced the pump. Me being ignorant about all things under the hood, I will not make a definite allegation. Rather I will for the time being, fall back to my usual way of waiting and watching. I am sure the dealer or the manufacturer will respond at all times, I may have to pay next time though, I don't know. One thing I really like about the car is the way it handles sharp and deep curves. Multiple curves are fun to tackle if you don't have a five year old in the back seat.
	() Thanks

2nd March 2009, 22:16	#310
Ravveendrra Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Hyderabad Posts: 1,391 Thanked: 446 Times View My Garage	Ouch! That must hurt @ tomthump. New car and drop in performance. Try reverting back to the old fuel. You can also ask the clowns at the service centre if they have re-set or checked the ECU. If they have not - maybe they should. Wish you all the luck. Cheers,
	() Thanks

3rd March 2009, 17:23	#311
tomthump BHPian Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Punalur Posts: 57 Thanked: 15 Times	Thank you HappyWheels, and Ravvee for your generous appreciation. I will do as you suggested, Ravvee, when I take it in for my third service. If it acts up (acts down?) before that, I mean to take it earlier.
	() Thanks

3rd March 2009, 20:20	#313
tomthump BHPian Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Punalur Posts: 57 Thanked: 15 Times	Thank you MS001. I guess I'll stop posting here for a while. See ya'll later.
	() Thanks

22nd March 2009, 16:10	#315
VahanPujari BANNED Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Mumbai Posts: 1,308 Thanked: 8 Times	Friends - I've been following this thread extensively in last 1-2 months. In fact, this was the most useful thread for me when I was in the midst of deciding on my new sedan. To me, there was lot of bashing on this thread with the groups clearly divided into 2 groups. Amidst all these, tomthump's posts were really refreshing with balanced views. My request to both groups are as below To all those who've taken strong exception to the threadstarter: Friends, for whatever intentions, its a fact that this thread of the threadstarter is quite informative & has given a true story behind the dealerships which is masked behind those glaring exteriors when we go to purchase a car. Also, we can see its not the threadstarter but the dealer who has done the wrongs. And how many of us blow the whistle to the authorities when our employers do some wrongs? To all those who "worshipped" the threadstarter for "having courage" to come out: Friends, again here what is it that prompted the threadstarter to leave the job & to come out & reveal this? is it that he was conscious of customers getting cheated? Not at all else he would have left when he saw the first customer getting cheated had he been conscious of the customers & morality. is it the 2nd customers agony in scorching sun which prompted him to leave the job? not perhaps, may be. But the likely reason seems to be that his employer left him in the lurch when traffic police caught him & employers made him pay the fine from his own pocket. Would he have left the job if the employers paid the fine & took good care of him? Has he exhibited "courage" in revealing all these? Once you leave the job with a bitter taste on employer & feeling at receiving end, does it require "courage" to reveal these? In fact, in a way isn't it that he helped himself by taking a "revenge" on the dealership by posting this explosive story? On a positive side, he helped others also to think twice before going to this dealership. These are my views (am new here & don't know exact meaning of popular phrase - "my 2 cents" & where its generally used) My above views/ thoughts are not addressed to any individual or any person. Just wanted to share it with 2 groups involved in bashing with extreme views. Peace out.
	() Thanks