[VIVEKPPAI]

Hi,
I own a Apr 2008 Alto LXi which has clocked 33900 Kms. Have been dying to try out the carnation that has opened up next to R K Studios in Chembur. I have finally managed to find time to book an appointment with them. Went online to find out the phone number and was happy to see that one can book a service online. The web form asked for some basic details (but the car registration number was not captured!!!). I submitted the form online at 11:30 AM. I received a call back from them at 2:30 Pm the same day. Not a bad response time at all. The service engineer allotted to me called me and understood my requirement - The suspension needed to be overhauled. He went on to explain that apart from my complaint, they would do a through inspection and would let me know in detail what else needs to be done. To be honest, I was impressed by the way in which I was spoken to. Well, my appointment is for Saturday afternoon and am hoping that my experience is good. I am planning to get the following things done:

1. Suspension overhaul
2. Fixing of loose clamp on the back bumper
3. Rattling from the glove compartment latch
4. Wheel rotation & balancing
5. Creaking sound from the back left door.

Watch this space for more information on my experience with carnation

Cheers

[Axe77]

look forward to the review of their service.

[vtecker]

Seems to be a good place. This is the same place & staff of former Ichibaan Honda.

I had my ZX VTEC suspension replacement done there.

Only issue is with the time taken (to get the spares) about 3 working days.

[GTO]

Originally Posted by VIVEKPPAI

I have finally managed to find time to book an appointment with them. Went online to find out the phone number and was happy to see that one can book a service online.

Sweet! It's good to see service stations catch up with tech. Internet booking is a win-win for the customer (convenience) and the dealership (savings in manpower). I eagerly look forward to your review of Carnation in Mumbai. There's been a mixed response to the brand from other cities.

Originally Posted by vtecker

This is the same place & staff of former Ichibaan Honda.

Ichibaan Honda is the lousiest dealer ever. Carnation couldn't have made a worse choice. I've had first-hand experience with their rogue tactics, while the internet / my family / friends circle have lots of negative stories to tell. Guess only time (and more reviews of Carnation Chembur) will throw more light.

[ported_head]

I think Ichibaan have switched loyalties to Nissan now.So maybe only the space is ex-Ichibaan.

[VIVEKPPAI]

Hi Guys,
Here goes my initial review

• To start with, had to postpone my appointment due to some unforseen turn of events. The engineer was accomadating and asked me to come over as soon as I was free.
• Reached the service station at 1:00 PM. Was greeted by a customer service representative at the reception. She was expecting me and immediately directed me to the service engineer.
• The service engineeer too knew the problems in my ride and asked me if I wanted any other issues to be looked at.
• I blurted out the list of items to be checked and he diligently noted all of it in the job card.
• I asked him to provide me with an estimate. Since it was lunch time, he politely informed me that the same will be conveyed to me by phone by 3:00 PM.
• As promised, i got a call from my service engineer. I was told that the front shock absorber kit had to be changed - this would make my purse lighter by Rs 4000. Along with this a component of the steering wheel - I was told that this too was part of the suspension assembly. This would cost me Rs 1000. The bush of the suspension was cracked and hence needed replacement - Rs 800. He also explained that a conponent that connects to the wheel also needs to be changed - Rs 1800. All in all, I will have to shell out about Rs. 8200.

With my limited knowledge of price of these parts, I asked him to go ahead with the service. I hope I am not being overcharged!

I have been told that my ride will be ready by 5:00 PM tomorrow.

Will post my feedback on the quality of service tomorrow.

PS: I received an SMS from carnation thanking me for choosing them

Well...initial feedback... GOOD Hope they live up to my expectations!

[VIVEKPPAI]

Hi Guys.
Continuing with my review -
I gave a call to Carnation at 3:00 PM to check if my ride was ready. I was told that the servicing was done. However, the car was yet to be washed and polished. I was told that it would take about an hour or so and that I will get a call once it is ready. Since I did not receive a call till 4:30, I called them again and was told that the car was ready.

• Reached the service station by 5:00 PM. The car was in the parking bay and the first thing I noticed is the excellent quality of wash and polish given to my ride.
• I was handed over the invoice and the service engineer explained point-by-point all the work that was done. The total came up to Rs 6332 (which was less than the estimate of Rs 8200 given - i guess this is a strategy). The detailed invoice is given below

• I asked for a test drive to ensure that all my issues have been looked into. They happily obliged and sent a service engineer along with me.
• My observations during the test drive -
  • The work on the suspension was good - the car was smooth on bumpy roads
  • There were no rattling sounds comming
  • The car was smoother than earlier
• When we reached back, I noticed that 2 items from list of actionable's were not done - Removal of stickers from the windscreen and fixing of the back bumper - a bush was missing and hence leading to a knocking sound.
• The service engineer immediately put people on the job and both these were completed to my satisfaction by the time i finished paying

FINAL VERDICT

Ease of setting up appointment 10/10
Customer service 10/10
Quality of work 10/10
Delivery on promised time 8/10
Pricing I leave this to the senior-BHPians
Overall satisfaction 9/10
Will I recommend this to others - Yes
[IMG]file:///C:/DOCUME%7E1/vivek.pai/LOCALS%7E1/Temp/moz-screenshot.png[/IMG]

[GTO]

Ease of setting up appointment 10/10
Customer service 10/10
Quality of work 10/10
Delivery on promised time 8/10
Pricing I leave this to the senior-BHPians
Overall satisfaction 9/10
Will I recommend this to others - Yes

Nice rating, Vivek. Am glad that Carnation treated you well. Would be interesting to hear from other Alto owners on how the spare part prices compare to a M.A.S.S.

[yzfrj]

Originally Posted by VIVEKPPAI

I was told that the front shock absorber kit had to be changed

Its been mentioned elsewhere in the thread the car is 2008 with 33900 on the odo. Is't that a little too early to "replace" the suspension ?

Other funny thing if you ask me is the kilometer/service ratio.
Ideally it should be 20k, 25k, 30, 35.

FYI : stock suspension in my Zen was changed @ 9 yrs and 90k odd kilometers.
To be honest it was due for replacements somewhere close to 80k I just pushed on as much as I could.

[VIVEKPPAI]

Hi yzfrj,

Originally Posted by yzfrj

Its been mentioned elsewhere in the thread the car is 2008 with 33900 on the odo. Is't that a little too early to "replace" the suspension ?

Other funny thing if you ask me is the kilometer/service ratio.
Ideally it should be 20k, 25k, 30, 35.

I have finished my 20K, 25K and 30K services. During my 30K service at MASS, I was told to go for an overhaul of the suspension! Well... I was postponing it as much as possible. Took it to carnation since the ride was becoming very uncomfortable.

By the way, even I felt it was too early to "Replace" suspensions! Any how, am happy with the new ones - at least the drive is very smooth now.

[VIVEKPPAI]

Hi Guys,

Forgot to mention Carnation's way of attracting new customers. When I finished paying up, I was handed over 4 coupons. The deal is that I can handover the coupons to anyone who wants to use carnation's services. When each coupon is presented at carnation, the holder gets free wheel alignment and wheel balancing on a paid service. The person who gave the reference gets a Rs 200 credit against the vehicle regn number. If all 4 coupons are presented, the person who gave the refernce gets Rs 1000 credit! Neat!
Good way to generate new leads...
Well.. I just gave my first coupon to a friend of mine. Lets see if I can get 3 more people

[Live To Jive]

Originally Posted by VIVEKPPAI

Well.. I just gave my first coupon to a friend of mine. Lets see if I can get 3 more people

Use the Giveaway thread. There are a lot of BHPians who would be interested.

[aargee]

On my first visit, they said the advantages of visiting Carnation over M.A.S.S was that Carnation provides 10% discount on all MG (Maruti Genuines) & less labour charges.

The second time when I visited them (several months back), I wanted new tyres for WagonR Vxi. One person said that they can take the old tyres & another person was arguing that they don't buy used tyres & I was feeling like

Whatever it is, what I liked the best was Mr.Khattar's email ID in the feedback form .

From this review, yes I think, I'll give them a try once for a service & see how it goes. What I'm more particular is that not only the said problems should be fixed but also the untold issues; most importantly, each service should not yield to another new issue

[carboy]

Originally Posted by yzfrj

Other funny thing if you ask me is the kilometer/service ratio.
Ideally it should be 20k, 25k, 30, 35.

Why does one need to service at 5K intervals. My maruti handbook recommends it at 10K intervals.

Other than that, does anyone have any recent experience with Carnation in Chembur, Bombay? Is it cheaper than or more experience than Maruti Authorized dealers? I read a post in mouthshut which said that for a Toyota, it ended up being more expensive than the dealer?
CARNATION AUTO - NOIDA, CARNATION AUTO - NOIDA Review, CARNATION AUTO - NOIDA Car Dealer, Price, Chembur [Mumbai] - MouthShut.com

In general, I am looking for a good service center in either Mulund or Chembur for a Swift - it can be an authorized or non-authorized like Carnation. Basically I am looking for a reliable shop which won't ask me to change my clutch, suspension & everything else he can think of.

[honeybee]

Originally Posted by VIVEKPPAI

• I was handed over the invoice and the service engineer explained point-by-point all the work that was done. The total came up to Rs 6332 (which was less than the estimate of Rs 8200 given - i guess this is a strategy). The detailed invoice is given below

Not necessarily a strategy. The SA might tell you a figure that's on the higher side, just so you don't end up with nasty surprises later on. There are chances once they open up the respective parts/areas for closer inspection or repair work, they may discover some other things which may need replacement. It's better to quote a higher figure and be able to complete the job for a lesser charge than otherwise.

The charges for the suspension work seem reasonable. I had paid similar charges for getting all four shocks on my M800 changed. I got it done from outside as all the MASS were flooded with flooded vehicles that time.

And a front suspension change at just 33K seems odd. Mine lasted till 60K, it being a pre-owned car and I did a lot of driving during rains on the notorious Mumbai roads, including JVLR (which then had potholes huge enough to scrape - or actually bump against - the BEST buses. I have trodden into countless potholes in the rains and dark. So unless you were trying to be a rally driver on potholed roads, it's difficult to understand how the front suspension would give up after just about half its expected life.