[devsoftech]

Originally Posted by libranof1987

And as Mallya rightly pointerd out, if someone purchases genuine parts from outside and gets them fitted from a really shoddy mechanic which in turn makes the whole job a whole mess, who would be responsible? The company would wash their hands off saying the mechanic messed up.

MGA spares have absolutely no warranty. Its written in BOLD at spares dealership. Its all chemistry between customer and dealer/service engineer.
Also slow moving CBU parts are not readily available in maruti warehouse. they take good amount of time. search for grand vitara owners dilllema in t-bhp awaiting SGA (not MGA) from abroad.
If your brakes fade prematurely after first factory brakes - I'm awaiting testimony of those maruti customers.
However, maruti does give warranty on mo-life engines (these are refurbished engines warranted for 12 months - using MGA spares and new cylinder block - rebuilt at a MASS).

[Cuatro]

Originally Posted by GTO

As a car owner, I have the fullest right to decide who is worthy of working on my car.

I totally agree with GTO. If one has total confidence in one's Mechanic to deal with minor issues in the car, S/He should go ahead with it. There could be a number of reasons for this decision by the car owner. They could be:
- Cost
- Convenience of immediate access to the Mechanic
- Lesser time required to get it fixed etc

I did this on a couple of occasions for my Maruti Esteem VX. I remember the time when I had replaced the brake pads. My favourite Maruti Service was about 7 Kms away whereas my mechanic and spare dealers were just around the corner from where I lived. I chose to buy TVS brake pads from the spare part shop and went to my Mechanic to get it fixed. All this was done under 1 hour and I could source a genuine spare for a reasonable price.

I am also aware of the fact that not all jobs can be done this way. However, I assess the complexity of the job and then decide whom to approach to get it done.

[mxx]

The manufacturers might also be doing this to prevent shortage of parts in its own A.S.S. Specially in the past few years there has been very good growth in sales, auto parts/components shortages at the same time.
Maruti has an upper hand with the components/parts manufacturers due to its extremely high volumes, and it does not suffer parts shortages as much as the new volume players.

[sgiitk]

Originally Posted by Maverick79

And when they replace, they try to replace the whole assembly instead of repairing a small part of it, some times.This simply adds the cost of spares.
The labour costs for repairing them would be cheaper compared to the part replacement costs, in some instances. Eg. The Alternator, Starter motor, RPS, Stg column, etc.

Following Western practice the manufacturers did not support the replacement of 'daughter parts' in the part. In the West it was Ok since cost of labour is very high. Now I hear that some manufacturers have learnt the lesson and are supporting repairs of what were earlier considered full replacements.

[honeybee]

Originally Posted by GTO

As a car owner, I have the fullest right to decide who is worthy of working on my car. I believe this is the law in many developed markets. In the States, you can even get your oil changes done outside, during warranty period, and not suffer any loss of coverage.

I think while you have the right to decide who works on your car, if you want to keep your warranty valid, you also have to ensure that whoever works on your car follows the same procedures and materials as recommended by the manufacturer. So for e.g. if you got your engine oil changed from an independent mechanic, as long as the mechanic follows the oil change procedure laid down by the manufacturer and uses the same specification material (engine oil, oil filter, torque wrench?) as stipulated by the manufacturer, your warranty cover will remain in force, even in India.

The only hitch here is you will never have access to many of the procedures for changing / fixing parts. Typically these will go into the workshop manual and you will never have access to these. The owner's manual covers petty stuff like changing a flat. Simple procedures like changing the headlight bulbs or changing the engine oil or replacing a headlamp assembly will never be documented in the owner's manual. This forces you to approach the authorized workshop in case of any and every thing, to retain your warranty.

Thankfully all my vehicles have been bought used and out of warranty. So I have one worry less.

[rajeshsundaram]

Originally Posted by Maverick79

+1 Sir,
Also, these A.S.Service centres are notorious for 'Replacing' the parts instead of 'repairing' them. And when they replace, they try to replace the whole assembly instead of repairing a small part of it, some times.This simply adds the cost of spares.
The labour costs for repairing them would be cheaper compared to the part replacement costs, in some instances. Eg. The Alternator, Starter motor, RPS, Stg column, etc.
People with lesser knowledge about such assemblies are many times taken for a ride.

True. My Alto seem to create some "todak todak" sound in the front suspension assembly, which is felt through the steering when driving on un-even roads. Looks like the caliper pin is the main culprit here. My trusted MASS mechanic at Erode said that I need not worry much about it, but would do the correction when I visit Erode the next time. He said that he will work on the internal parts, probably changing one or two spares in the assembly.

One day I just wanted to check up about this, with ABT Maruti Guindy. To my surprise they suggested me to change the whole steering assembly in the engine bay. The SA told me that though this is a caliper pin problem, they do not work on individual parts, instead they will go for whole replacement. On spot, I called my MASS mechanic in Erode and made the ABT SA talk to my mech. The ABT SA was asking my mech about why he is suggesting individual part replacement, instead of replacing the whole assembly?

I was like After they finished talking, my mech told me to bring the car to Erode. He added that mechs are for repairing and not for replacing.

While the ABT SA's argument mentioning "that to-avoid future problems, we do not fix the caliper pin alone, but the whole assembly itself to ensure safety", is okay in the general, the possibility of fixing that issue with minimal parts change sounds better. I always find such big dealership's service bay full of cars. Mech do not have enough time to troubleshoot issues. So they prefer to replace parts, which is quicker and profitable.

My car is in Erode now, and the issue will be attended after the upcoming family functions on Sep 4.

[RGK]

Wonderful thread. I used to buy spares from MASS and give to my mechanic. Normally he would dismantle the problematic spare and ask me to get the particular child part only (if doable).
As said by many, this will save cost and time. We also understand the problem and the rectification done.

Originally Posted by rajeshsundaram

He added that mechs are for repairing and not for replacing.

Absolutely. But this concept is almost obsolete now. Which mechanic fixes a problem in a spare. Just they order for replacement. Hence the only thing todays mechs do is just diagnose and replace the particular spare.

If diagnosis goes for a toss, then it becomes trial and error method.

Luckily, I had one Maruti mech who was wonderful. He used to dismantle and replace the child part. One good example which comes to my mind was the alternator bearing replacement, while famous SC's advised to go for a new alternator.

Kudos to Maruti..

[honeybee]

Here's another take: I showed the Ikon I have recently bought to my friendly neighbourhood mechanic and he cautioned me, 'these powerful highway cruisers are built such a way that if any component fails you will have to replace the whole assembly. So even if it's the bush which has failed you will end up replacing the whole assembly around it.'

It got me wondering as to the logic of it. Is it only the intention to make money? Does Ford follow the same policy even in the US? If so, it would simply be continuing the same policy here, and the rationale behind it wouldn't be money making.

Then what could it be? The car I have is ten years old. The steering ball joints are gone. The parts supplier warned me, 'With the steering ball joint you will also have to replace the tie rods!'. Which means more money. Which also means that the parts very closely depending on the steering ball joint assembly will be replaced at the same time the assembly is replaced.

When replacing shock absorbers, we do follow the philosophy of changing both front or both rear ones together, even if one of them could run for another few thousand kilometres. When the same logic is applied to other components, can the motive only be making money? The guys at Ford must have analyzed the pros and cons of both the approaches, and I doubt if making money by selling whole assemblies would be the driving factor.

If an independent mechanic 'repaired' a part of the faulty assembly and later on the vehicle developed other problems because of this repair (maybe out of the conflict between the old and new part, or the entire assembly with the repaired part), it is only the mechanic who would lose one customer. If this happened with a big manufacturer, it would be the whole brand at stake. After all it is true that the roadside mechanic does not provide any warranty or guarantee of the work done, while the manufacturer usually provides a warranty.

Please note I am only commenting on the child parts/sub parts vs whole assembly approach here.

[Crazy4.Cars]

Hi All,

Does anyone know where can i find a Maruti Authorised Spare Part Dealerships here in bangalore? I recently heard maruti doesnt sell spare parts anymore at the autorised dealerships.

[devsoftech]

Originally Posted by Crazy4.Cars

Hi All,

Does anyone know where can i find a Maruti Authorised Spare Part Dealerships here in bangalore? I recently heard maruti doesnt sell spare parts anymore at the autorised dealerships.

ESSAR AUTO
1. Near Lalbagh/City market - Opp. Urvashi Theatre (12.955917, 77.584199 - Google Maps)

2. Near Bommanahalli (road leading to HSR layout).
(12.910708, 77.627012 - Google Maps)

[Crazy4.Cars]

Originally Posted by devsoftech

ESSAR AUTO
1. Near Lalbagh/City market - Opp. Urvashi Theatre (12.955917, 77.584199 - Google Maps)

2. Near Bommanahalli (road leading to HSR layout).
(12.910708, 77.627012 - Google Maps)

great thanks for the information, are the parts cheaper in Essar when compared to buying them at Maruti Directly while getting the service done?

Any other Authorised spare part dealer in and around bangalore west folks?

[techn0l0gist]

Originally Posted by Crazy4.Cars

great thanks for the information, are the parts cheaper in Essar when compared to buying them at Maruti Directly while getting the service done?

They would cost you the same, except that the dealer would get some margin on the parts as the prices to service centres are lower than those to end customers!

On the topic of essar, the guys at the counter act a little dumb sometimes and refuse to sell you service manuals and try to sound as if your an idiot and there is no such thing as a service manual (quite on the contrary!). Also some of their employees have this arrogant "we know it all attitude"(at least this was the case a year ago when i used to frequently buy parts from them - happened when I was trying to buy a bunch of service manuals from them! Ended up buying the service manuals from the MGP distributor in Goa in the end - who was really co-operative even though he was new in the business !

Also sometimes you end up waiting half an hour or longer to get your parts (the dude with whom you place an order disappears upstairs only to appear like 30 minutes later - I've walked out frustrated a couple of times without picking up what i ordered because of this!)

[Mallya_2010]

Originally Posted by honeybee

If an independent mechanic 'repaired' a part of the faulty assembly and later on the vehicle developed other problems because of this repair (maybe out of the conflict between the old and new part, or the entire assembly with the repaired part), it is only the mechanic who would lose one customer. If this happened with a big manufacturer, it would be the whole brand at stake. After all it is true that the roadside mechanic does not provide any warranty or guarantee of the work done, while the manufacturer usually provides a warranty.

Please note I am only commenting on the child parts/sub parts vs whole assembly approach here.

Agreed completely.The car makers definitely factor in all this while making these reccomendations and they reccomend the best(or safest for them).The same logic obviously applies in all fields.The customer is of course free to try out any mechanic or spare part supplier but at his own risk.

[rubicon]

Originally Posted by moralfibre

Why just through retail outlets, manufacturers should come up with online stores for parts as well. Replacing an air filter can be done at home by anyone. It wouldn't be too difficult to implement with all the technology available.

Just unbelievable! -- Maruti

There is dedicated Maruti website for MGP and its got "Place an Order Online" as well as "Locate MGP exclusive Outlets".

[greenhorn]

A related thread
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...le-spares.html
I was picking up parts for my indica (bought three new rims), and was talking to the guy who was sitting at the counter. The shop was owned by the same folks as a major TASC in the city.
Given the fact that manufacturers are under pressure to keep spares prices low, the margins for spares are also very low. the said that if any part remains in stock for more than two months, he makes a loss due to holding costs. Maruti and Tata to some extent can afford this because they have sufficient volumes to manage low margins. The other players, I guess still dont have the scale needed to do so. Even if they did offer their parts to retailers, nobody would buy them because there would be more profitable stuff to sell.
The only way you can manage, eventually is if you also have an ASC, and you can tack on labour and service costs, else it just doesn't make sense.