[sumeethaldankar]

I goto ASC for brake overhaul etc .reason those guys have the proper ramp etc which makes ovberhauling the brakes easier.

For everything else i prefer a local shop.However one of the reason i could go to a ASC is if the car has to left overnight such as at the time i had got the suspension overhauled for my 800.ASC have safe parking spots and you don't have to worry about having left your car parked on the road if it were to be given to a local shop,

[gpa]

I have had good experiences at both A.S.S as well as independents service stations. I used to take my old carb M800 to an independent for a service and repair jobs as well as it was a far cheaper alternative than a MASS.

But with the advent of MPFI engines and cars being loaded with complicated electronics, it is safest to go to a A.S.S as you can always fall back on them if something is not up to the mark.

[raj_5004]

i always give my car to the A.S.C only. they are trained to do the work in the particular car & have the necessary tools to do so.
i understand that most service centres do a shoddy job & results are unsatisfactory most of the times & also at the same time, many independent garages do a great job, but God forbid, should something go wrong in my car during servicing, if its at the A.S.C, i can blame them for everything & get the car rectified free of cost. but if its at any unauthorised garage, the service centre will wash their hands off even for other defects (if any) citing the poor workmanship of the 'outside' garage as the reason. what next? warranty gets void. car is damaged. and you are faced with a gigantic repair bill for all the parts that needs & DOES NOT need replacement!

so, its the A.S.C for me.

[Fortuner71]

Has anyone tried Motor Smiths - Bosch authorised service center in Bangalore . Its near Ragigudda , Jayanagar 9th Block?

[vijaythacker]

the usual scenario scene is that till warranty cover time, cars go mostly to *** at dealers workshop and once thats done and you are on your own expenses, one switches over to independent service centres.
I did with my indica as i am more satisfied with my independent SC's then going to TASS as they never were able to give me satisfactory results on my car as private ones did,even with trying all dealers and TASS across city, dont know why.

[IndrojitSircar]

I would say if you find a good Garage you should give the car their.With having my own Garage i would say there are many imported cars that come to us than they go to the service station because the authorised ones charge them a bomb for just oil change service body repair etc.I would state a incident here where a 1999 Mercedes Benz C200 was sent by the owner to a service centre and there was an oil leak from the gear box and he was told to change the complete gear box.After that he came to us and we imported the oil seal which needed to be changed and it solved the problem.The mercedes dealer wanted 1,60,000+tax for it where as we charged him a nominal fee of Rs 25000.So there are many aspects to it.You need to find a good garage witha lot of experience and satisfaction.


Mods-just gave an example to back my thoughts.

[Ravveendrra]

I definitely would prefere a good independent over an A.s.s any day.

Cheers,

@ Mods - IMHO this thread needs a poll. I request you to do the needful.

Thanks.

[beejay]

I give my cars to the ASC. It also depends on the nature of work to be carried out.

This thread needs a poll. There you go even Ravendra thinks the same.

[IndrojitSircar]

Yes this urely does please mods could we have a poll with three options.

[vijaythacker]

Originally Posted by DriverR

From my experience with my Indica, I find that independent garages are more effective and cheaper at resolving problems. I had a persistant engine problem which the showroom ASC could not resolve properly for over 4 months. Finally, a local 1 room garage down near my house solved the problem. Since then I have been giving to independent garages.

In anycase, my waranty is over........

exactly, thats what happened with mine indica as well and when i was tired going around TASS who were least bothered to find out the problems, instead kept me coming to them over and over, i finally wentdown to a private service centre who not only resolved my problem in the car but also does my regular services from 2 years without any issues, oil change, filters all done in front of me, brands as per i want, and issues looked out with perfection rather then hurrying up to take over another car.SO as i said earlier, after warranty, its private SC for me.

[MileCruncher]

With my Uno I used to give it to A.S.S while I was in Delhi and Chennai which was mainly service because of lack of proper indepedent garage. A/C was always done by an independent garage. Now in Hyd from the time I found a FIAT specialist, give it to him.

I guess it depends on the age of the car of the car as well. In the initial years till warranty gets over, give it to A.S.S and then may be move to independent.

[raghav.carfreak]

Note to mods: I'm not sure if this topic already exists but i searched and i couldn't find a relevant comparison, Please shift to appropriate section or merge with existing topic if requried
The Situation: My mom's 10year old OHC, 95k on the odo. Few niggles here and there that are expected out of a 10year old car irrespective of the make. My dad is looking to sell it but isn't doing so because it's running fine and my mom's usage is hardly 700-800kms a month, no reason to change it as it's driver driven, comfortable and doesn't require too much maintaince
Few issues cropped up:
1) Rear silencer assembly got cut, Holes in the exhaust,was making the FFE sound we die for without actually getting it done. Obviously wasn't ok with the folks, AC gas needed to be refilled, The window beeding gave up, regular servicing was due.
Dad wasn't keen on going to the Honda A.S.S specially after our civic's MUL light keeps cropping up(oxygen sensor) even after getting it replaced at a cost of 15k.
Driver found out at a local mechanic's shop, he came up with a quotation of 9k change, break up was 3.5k for the muffler, 1200 for engine oil(5lts goes into the OHC?) 1500-2000 labour charges to fix the beeding, and the remaining for the AC. I didn't trust this quotation/mechanic too much.
Rewind a year:
My hyundai getz 40k service at the A.S.S(I agree its a major service, it cost upto 8-9k)
so for the 50k service, which i did about 6-8months ago, I tried out Bosch Service centre located on the outer ring road on banashankari which is right outside my college(convinient for drop and pick up)
They changed the engine oil, cleaned the car properly, regular servicing-windshield wiper fluid etc, total bill 1500/-
It's been about 6months, ive covered 6k kms, no issues so far, touchwood.
So in this backdrop, I suggested that instead of giving the OHC to the mechanic that the driver got a quotation from, why not try the Bosch, atleast peace of mind and reliability of parts would be there, besides the regular service I'd gone for a couple of small issues like a blown fuse and to fix a leaking exhaust on the getz(i'd tried a few experiments on my car, thanks to team-BHP!) so in this process built up a small rapport of sorts with a mechanic there and the guy who runs the place
Got the muffler and the engine oil(mineral-3.42lts as opposed to 5) replaced for about 4300/- odd.(they don't do AC gas recharging, and the beeding work) I havn't driven the car yet, but from what my driver told me, it's running fine
sorry for the long post, but now comes the real question.
we have 4cars in the house, OHC, Civic, The getz, and an octavia, I'm not saying this place is a whole lot cheaper than A.S.S or more expensive than the roadside mechanic, but instead of going to the A.S.S for all these issues/general service, since i have 4cars of different makes to be serviced in a year, Doesn't it make sense to send all of them to one trusted place?
Pros:
Reliable service,
assured of genuine parts
Cheaper than A.S.S
Since the cars are out of warranty, There's nothing special that A.S.S can do and they cant? and also if i modify my car in any which way, (filters, FFE, thanks to team BHP) they're probably in a better position to handle it as compared to an A.S.S(i might be wrong here)
and the fact that i'm sending multiple cars to him assures me of even better service(note i say service, not better cost) When i say that i mean, if they carried out a service and there's something i'm not happy about, he would see it to it that it gets sorted out right?
And as many people complain of Tata-Fiat/Skoda A.S.S being awful, why can't they go to places like these? They aren't putting fake parts into your car right? It's all about the trust, which i believe increases over time,if you have to be cheated, that can be done at an A.S.S as well(we've seen enough instances on this forum alone)
This is just my point of view
I would like to know the pro's and con's of going to a multibrand service centre vs a A.S.S
Cheers!

[blorebuddy]

Want to try out independent mechanic after my Warranty is over.
Recommendations are welcome from TBHPians for service centers in Bangalore for Swift VDi

[raghav.carfreak]

I would recommend Bosch Service Centre on the outer ring road in banashankari, IMHO they do a good job! and reasonably priced too

[battada]

Originally Posted by blorebuddy

Want to try out independent mechanic after my Warranty is over.
Recommendations are welcome from TBHPians for service centers in Bangalore for Swift VDi

I would recommend carnation (initiative by Jagadish Kattar). They have a real good workshop and large garage. I get my NHC serviced there regularly at almost half the price of the authorised folks. BTW, this is an all India initiative and they have 2 such workshops in Bangalore