[donzerus]

Guys,

I've had a very pathetic 2nd service experience at VST Motors, Chennai. They had my Punto MJD for 9 days from 21-Dec to 30-Dec and have done very shoddy work.

On the morning of 21-Dec, I gave my car for servicing and told him the following issues:

1. Bent Alloy wheel

One of my OEM alloy wheel had got bent and asked the SA whether it would be covered under warranty. He said he's not sure about warranty but anyway would check with Fiat by sending a mail.

2. Bodywork

Tinkering and painting work were to be done on 2 doors and the rear bumper. The estimate I got was for around Rs.10.5K.

I tell the SA that I'd like to claim insurance for this. He tells me that they don't process insurance at that service center (Mount Road) and I need to take my car to another service center in Poonamalle which is almost out of the city and around 30kms from there.

He says that the insurance surveyor doesn't visit this service center and they don't have the claim forms there. I lose my cool and insist that I want to speak to his higher ups. At that point, he goes inside, brings me the claim form (Future Generali) and also says that he'd arrange the car to be taken to the Poonamallee service center but expects me to be present there to sign the forms when the surveyor inspects the car.

Wary of these guys taking my car 60 kms up and down and also to avoid further delays due to their lengthy insurance formalities, I agree to pay for the repair from my own pocket.

IMO, this is a scam by them to force customers to pay from their pocket by making the process of claiming insurance very very hard.

3. Rust

There was a slight rust formation on the B-pillars of both the front doors. One of them was protruding from the black sticker on the B-pillar.

4. Blue&Me not working

The odometer on my car had started flashing/blinking and B&M was not working. None of the B&M controls on the steering wheel work.

5. Rubber beadings

The adhesive on most of the rubber beadings have worn off and they need to be fixed.

It's past 2:00 PM when I come out of the service center and had to take half day off from work

Between 21st and 30th, I call up the SA everyday to enquire about the warranty status and also on the progress of the issues that I had mentioned.

He keeps telling me everyday that Fiat has not yet responded to the alloy warranty thing and the work on all the other things (rust, bodywork) are all going on. When I tell him to call up Fiat in Pune to check on my warranty status, he says that mail is the only protocol with Fiat and he cannot call up Fiat on the phone !!!

On the evening before delivery, he calls and tells me that Fiat has rejected the warranty and I'd have to pay for the alloy and the alloy would take 2-4 weeks to arrive. The B&M has not been fixed due to a faulty ECU and it would arrive after 2 weeks. He says that the rest of the pending work(rust, bodywork, etc.,) have all been taken care of and I can take the delivery.

I land at VST at 10 AM in the morning and proceed to inspect the car:

1. The rust on the B-pillar sticker has not been taken care of. Reason given: The black sticker is available only with 3M and not with VST.

2. The tinkering has been done very well, but the paint work is absolutely shoddy. They have forgotten to paint some areas near the door.

3. Specks of paint are all over on all the 4 window glasses and also on the windshield. Paint is also there on the rubber beadings.

4. The bonnet and the doors have adhesive marks as a result of tapes that have been put during painting for protection.

5. The interiors of the car are very dirty and there are oil marks on the door mats.

6. Rubber beadings are loose and are in the same state as when I had given the car.

7. The following things were missing from the car:

. The OEM cigar lighter
. 1 CD and water bottle.

8. The guy hands me the bill. I see that they've charged for 4 litres of engine oil and Rs.300 for wheel alignment whereas I've read on this forum that others have been charged only for 3.3 litres and wheel alignment being done for free for 2nd service.

I demand the remaining 700 ml. He denies saying that the oil filter has consumed 700 ml of engine oil (whatever that means) !!!

9. Tyre rotation is also not done.

The SA apologizes and has the nerve to tell me to give a feedback score of 9/10 when I get the feedback call from Fiat.

The horror does not end there. I reach home and to my shock the RHS front door does not open from the inside (the door on which the tinkering was done). I had to take my car the next day to the service center again to get it fixed.

Sorry for the long post but I wanted to share my grief with you guys.

[NFS]

A new car, just in for second service and you have to face this. Do you know if there is a direct complaint number for Fiat? If so, why not ask them about the Alloy wheel warranty, and register a complaint with your experience.

Also I was surprised, why you cannot call your insurer and ask why their oversear cannot come to your preferred authorised service center? After all, you are paying the insurance premium, and not your Service advisor or ASC.

Man, I would have blasted the entire Service center and everyone there would have known me for my voice (I am trying to control my anger in such situations, pardon me!)

700 ml of oil was consumed by oil filter, was it so hungry?

Get answers from the ASC or Fiat, never let them slip out of this.

All the best, and never loose your cool (keep talking in good tone, so that you get things corrected, rather than people getting hurt.)

[Newpunter]

I think you need to send a mail directly to FIAT and let them deal with the service center guys. This is very shoddy work and you shouldn't have taken delivery of the car in that state. Don't let the matter slide and make sure all your problems are fixed. Also, you should check you warranty to see if the Alloys are covered.

[ph03n!x]

A new oil filter would not consume more than 200 - 300 ML of the oil filter. The 3.3 liter spec of the MJD is inclusive of this - and if you are not changing the oil filter, you would be using only about 3 liters. Ensure they have not overfilled the oil using the dip-stick.

[Palio_2005]

Sorry to hear about your experience and the shoddy work provided by Tata/Fiat dealers continue. Please take it up immediately with Tata/Fiat. I understand that they are very strict with the feedback.

I don't think a bent alloy would be covered under warranty unless it was a manufacturing defect.

All the best and hope your issues are sorted out.

I have a month old MJD and I am facing the beading issues as well. I wonder why Fiat can't take car of such issues

[camchennai]

VST is known for doing a shoddy job, one of my friend struggled with them for 3 years. They will provide all non-sense stories for not doing some work.

Don't spare them please write a mail to FIAT and below are the contact details of FIAT. Thanks to FastLove (mangesh.kodalkar@fiapl.com, service@fiapl.com).

[dhanushs]

IMO, this is a scam by them to force customers to pay from their pocket by making the process of claiming insurance very very hard.

As a matter of fact, A.S.S gain more tru insurance, where in they just replace all the parts, even at the slightest damage.

If you pay from your pocket, you will be wary of the money spent and hence less gains for A.S.S .

[Reisender]

@donzerus

I did my first service of my punto MJD at Concorde motors (Ambattur) and it was really good experience with them.
It may be far but rather going twice & still having issues left with, i would suggest you to go to concorde (they have service in ECR showroom as well).

Thanks,
R

[bhp_maniac]

My first question to you will be, why the rust issue has not been taken up to FIAT? At second service, this shouldn't have happened I guess. Regarding the painting job, they've not masked the areas well and thats why you had paint on windshield, windows and rubber beadings. I would've never taken the delivery in such a case. Do you have any pics to share? Do send a mail directly to FIAT regarding this and I bet they'll respond you in a faster manner.

[praz]

Originally Posted by donzerus

Guys,
...
...
The SA apologizes and has the nerve to tell me to give a feedback score of 9/10 when I get the feedback call from Fiat.

The horror does not end there. I reach home and to my shock the RHS front door does not open from the inside (the door on which the tinkering was done). I had to take my car the next day to the service center again to get it fixed.

Sorry for the long post but I wanted to share my grief with you guys.

Something similar happened during my first service. Out of the issues I had mentioned, two of them were not fixed and the car was not cleaned properly. Would you believe it if I told you that the car was cleaned by some small boy who I am sure was not even an employee there. Such is the professionalism of these service centers. In my case, the SA asked me to give him 10/10. I was not at all happy with that attitude. Even now, I feel like kicking him. Anyhow, I did not show my emotions then and kept a smiling face and did not give him a reply. A few days later, he called and asked me again. I told him how disappointed I was with his service and that the issues were not resolved properly. He again asks me what feedback I will be giving to FIAT. I told him in a very polite way that it is none of his business and he just hung up. I am yet to get a call from FIAT. Wonder whether he could be a reason for me not getting the call yet.

Originally Posted by Reisender

@donzerus

I did my first service of my punto MJD at Concorde motors (Ambattur) and it was really good experience with them.
It may be far but rather going twice & still having issues left with, i would suggest you to go to concorde (they have service in ECR showroom as well).

Thanks,
R

My experience above is from Concorde motors (Injambakkam). Good for you that you went to Ambattur. I would suggest you not to go to the Injambakkam SC. Also, the idiots there have given a small dent to my left side front door as a 1st service gift .

[Archish]

I bought a Mahindra Xylo in 2011 end. Car wise, I am happy with what I am experiencing for the money that I had paid. It is a E8, Java brown, Airbag+ABS top-end model. Sales dealers where India Garage, Mount Road. They were smart, efficient and as honest as a car dealer can be. Now, coming to the worst part, SERVICE... I dont know if VST is managed by different group, because the quality of service and customer relations is worst.

My car was trouble free till about 4000 kms mark. Around that time it started developing 3 small problems, not big issues,

1. During morning start or cold start there was a screeching noise coming in from the engine bay and would settle down after about 10 mins of running, to my knowledge this might a issue related to a brittle belt.

2. When ever the car is reversed and the steering is completely turned left or right, a 'kkkataaak' sound comes from near the front wheel.

3. The driver seat is little bit shaky.

BAD ---->
Around 4900+ kms I booked for the first service and sent the car through my driver. I had specifically told my driver to mention these 3 points and get it noted in the service/job sheet and he did it. The car was said to be ready in a day's time and when we got it back the cream coloured seat covers where full of oil and grease marks and even basic cleaning and dusting was not done, leave alone problem rectification. The problems remained, no solution. Dint have time to give the car to service station again, thought will get it rectified in the next due service (10,000 kms).


In the meanwhile made 2 or 3 long distant trips, car was performing well under the given circumstances with the problems still present.

Worse ---->
Now the car had run around 9800+ kms. This time I made sure my driver called me from the service station and I talked to the "SERVICE ADVISOR" (quotes and caps are present for sarcastic reasons). I told him all these 3 above problems + regular 10k kms service + the charging/electrical point for the rear passengers was not working. And i also mentioned to him that the 3 problems was present even when I gave the car in for the previous service and asked to him make sure that they attend to it. He assures me that it would done, no worries. The car is again said to 'ready' and my driver goes to pick it up, he is not able to check if the other 3 problems are rectified, but he checks the rear charging point and it does not work, he tells them that the problem is not cleared, they make him wait for 1 hour and give him delivery of the car. So, the next morning, I sit on a 'Shaky' drivers seat and start the car and the engine goes 'screech'... then i reverse it out of my garage and ''kkkataaak''... i was like

Fine, I think to myself, I will change the service center next time, I dont have time to give for a service anytime soon. Now, about 15 days ago, I get a call from India Garage (sales) asking me about the car and service feed back, I tell them the car is ok but the service is poor and I vent my frustration on the caller. She assures my it will promptly attended to, I tell her that I have no hope of it. Then about 10 days ago, I get a call from a person name John from VST, Velachery saying that there has been a query raised in my name and that they want to rectify it, I tell him all the drama and he requests me to bring in the car at my convenience and they will 100% attend to the problem. I say I dint have hope, he says there is a change in the management so there will be really a change. I say ok.

Worst ---->
I find time to give the car to rectify the problems last week, So I call John and I was shocked when he dint even remember talking to me, I think fine, he talks to many ppl on a day he can forget, so I brief him of the whole issue and he still has no remembrance, so i ask to check his records, then he finally relents asking me to call service booking number and book a service, I am furious now, I tell him I am not calling anyone, Its you guys who did the mistake if you want to rectify it you call me and I disconnect the call. Then I get a call from VST asking me to bring my car on 11-6-2012, that is today at around 10 am. I send the car with my driver and I get a call from my driver at 11.45 saying that no one is attending the service and he has been waiting for 1.5 hours now. I call them again and a person name Vikram takes the car for service and notes down the issues, but says that these will be attended only after the service center driver comes and drives the car and says what the problem is, So my driver waits for another half hour and the driver does not come. I ask my driver to come back as there is other works to be attended to. Now, after my driver calls I call Vikram at around 12.55 and ask if the car has been worked upon and he curtly answers that it is lunch time and only after the driver comes they will start the work. I say its not right, We have told you the problem you have to start working on it. I am furious by this time, I get the number of the service manager and brief him the situation. He says he will look into the issue and get back to me. Now, about 15 mins ago, he calls me and asks what are the issues that need to be rectified...... I am totally out of energy dealing with these people. I tell him the 3 problems and also tell him "Keep the car for yourselves if u want, but please if you are returning the car to me rectify these problems and then give it to me."

What is wrong with these people. I have never faced such problem even in TATA service. I have a Maruti Eeco and every time I get the back from the service I get a call from ABT, Chennai and from Maruti Suzuki call center asking me if I am satisfied. If one company can to it for a 4 lac car, Why cant the other company do it for a 10 lac car??

[swiftdiesel]

I would suggest you go in person than send your driver because these so called service advisors tend to give second class treatment to cars sent with a driver. Having said that, there is a huge gap between the service quality of Suzuki and its competitors. Reason enough for me to go to Suzuki again when I wanted to graduate from my Swift.