[discoverwild]

Originally Posted by Dr.Suraj

The prayer is not for the car, the prayer is for the mindset of Indian people.

As for the lemons - good point.

I find MOST of them coming only to cash in on the sheer population and herd mentality that we Indians are guilty of.

To the 'Rationalist' - who was passing religious comments - anything you said about 'secret steel' of Suzuki & whatever ...

We both share the same first name and your first quote that I have posted here was also what I thought of.

Our herd mentality goes everywhere, right from education, jobs, gadgets, housing, cars, how we spend weekends, etc. Typically apeing the neighbor/colleague or trying to be one up on him. All the time.

My colleague and I did 8500 kms in 25 days in my Vista. He has a VW Vento Petrol, but we chose the Vista purely for economics. The last day, we did 1050 kms in 12 hours, 800 kms nonstop (one fuel break). Absolutely no fatigue whatsoever in peak summer. 47-51 degrees. He was flabbergasted to say the least and mentioned, this would have been tougher if it had been in the Vento.

I just drove to Chennai and back the last two days in his Vento and my butts are still aching. The Vista Quadrajet does 0-100-140 much better than the Vento Petrol. It also feels better planted (both fully loaded, same set of tyres).

I think Rationalist's comments were purely sarcastic with 'secret steel' in quotes.

Coming back to the Zica, I find it to be beautifully crafted with more emphasis on subtle lines than over the top styling - looks to please everyone, offend no one.

It is also nice to see so many BHPians coming on strong to support Tata's genuine efforts. I surely hope this is a turnaround for the company. I don't need another car for the next few years, very happy with the Vista. I still know where my money is going to go.

[sairamboko]

Reading the comments above, I would like to share mine too. I own a 2 months old Nano. Believe me when I say this, its much better & solid than my Wagon R. Even on highways the Nano is solid. People need to shed this perception and shouldn't think or take into consideration on what others will say about my choice of car. People need to give a chance to Tata.

Zica is an exciting hatchback and I am sure it will be a great car to drive and use.

[Herbie98]

I agree that Tata needs to be given a fair chance. Its people's mentality that they disregard Indian cars without even having looked into it.

Just wanted to mention my recent experience in Tata Nano Twist - We did a 700 km round trip over the weekend (350 km one way, which has 200 kms of nice 4 & 6 lanes and rest 140 odd kms of patchy double road).

The car performed above expectations and I was fatigue free. I have driven the same roads multiple times in a swift and always felt the body to be sore after the weekend.

Special mention for Nano's handling, it was very planted in heavy rains on the return drive. Initially in the heavy rain I had my fears of small car, narrow tyres and reduced speed considerably. But later i realized that the Nano is very stable and cruised comfortably at 80-90 kmph. Braking too was more than satisfactory.

Please note that my regular ride is a Bolero, so I am used to a heavier car, still the little Nano impressed me a lot.

Tata has always had great vision, from the introduction of Sumo back in early nineties for joint families, affordable diesel car - Indica in 2000s, to the urban compact Nano. Its their marketing and their dealers which let down such good products.

And its not only that Tata has bad service, almost every manufacturer has bad dealers/ service. It depends on the parent companies responsd to customer issues. Few Japanese companies do this very well, for example Maruti or Toyota.

Hope Tata starts revamping their dealer network, this will help them for the new set of capable products that they have been making.

[jeepster]

Here is my recent experience.

I own Xenon XT 2009 done about 62000km.

Recently one of the steering center link (tie rod) END was found faulty.

When i inquired about it ,the Tata Dealer (http://www.bafnamotors.in/locations/latur) & local Authorized Parts Dealer both are saying that Xenon is a commercial model & they dont stock parts for these & will not order it.

Now the Manager is not picking up my call.

This is how their after sales service is.

rgds,
Nikhil

[coriollis]

Originally Posted by coriollis

Foreign manufacturers.... Hmm. Lets see. V.A.G? Chevy?
Tata's are not cheating at the very least.

Cheers,
AB

And I own 2 V.A.G cars, one Mahindra and a Maruti. Have owned two cars from Tata previously.
All of them have their share of fortunes/misfortunes, but cherished non the less.

Cheers,
AB

[Amazing]

Nothing Wrong I can see here ....these Comm and Passenger vehicles are 2 separate business of tata motors. So, one should go to the right place first. The dealer is right in this particular case atleast.

I found your claim/ blame baseless!

Just try going to a Mahindra Car dealer asking for a spare part / issue of a Navistar Truck and see how they help , you will know then.

[mayankk]

Originally Posted by Amazing

Nothing Wrong I can see here ....these Comm and Passenger vehicles are 2 separate business of tata motors. So, one should go to the right place first. The dealer is right in this particular case atleast.

I found your claim/ blame baseless!

Just try going to a Mahindra Car dealer asking for a spare part / issue of a Navistar Truck and see how they help , you will know then.

Do you know what a Tata Xenon XT is? DO look it up.

[Amazing]

Originally Posted by mayankk

Do you know what a Tata Xenon XT is? DO look it up.

I know its a Tata Pick up , and sold only through CV outlets. Do look up Tata mOtors website and it clearly sold under the Trucks and Buses category.

So what is your different take do share here ? I am pretty sure now, you dont know mate !

[Strangerintown]

Originally Posted by Amazing

I know its a Tata Pick up , and sold only through CV outlets. Do look up Tata mOtors website and it clearly sold under the Trucks and Buses category.

So what is your different take do share here ? I am pretty sure now, you dont know mate !

I would agree with Mayankk here. The Xenon XT may be sold under the Trucks and Buses category but is actively sold to private customers with a private number plate and 95% of Xenon XTs I have seen on the road are privately owned.

Given that, it is Tata Motors responsibility to ensure delivery of spares and services through channels that can be reached by private customers. Their internal classification is purely that - internal.

[torquecurve]

Talking about reliability -

My car - a Vista SaFIRE Aura has done about 85K kms till date without once leaving me stranded on the road. In fact it is a workhorse of a car, I have literally helped to shift my friends home items in the car. My sister has recently got into catering and uses the car (with the rear seat folded down) to get her food to the location and feeds about a 100-150 people easily!
From a service perspective - I spent no money for the first three years (courtesy Tata AMC), and spent less than 25K post that time in the past three years including changing the battery!. Everything is stock OEM stuff on the car, except the tyres (changed at 60K from the Goodyear GT3 to Falken Sincera S835), headlamp bulbs and one tail light).

Recently I had an issue with my aircon switch (the blower speed control) where it wasnt working on speed 1. During my most recent service, the SA got this changed complementary-free!)

In my close friend circle there is one Vista QDJ, Manza SaFIRE90, Nano 2011. None of them have ever left us stranded anywhere.

Originally Posted by jeepster

Here is my recent experience.

I own Xenon XT 2009 done about 62000km.

saying that Xenon is a commercial model & they dont stock parts for these & will not order it.

Now the Manager is not picking up my call.

This is how their after sales service is.

rgds,
Nikhil

I think this is how that particular dealer is. Just call the customer service number and check. I am sure the dealer in Solapur should have this in available.

Also - I feel that the tie rod ain't faulty (held up for 62K kms) but something else. JMT.

[Amazing]

I also agree to what you said , that it should be sold under Pass Veh outlets.

But since Tata Motors is selling it under CV category, for whatever reasons known to them, why we are unnecessarily blaming the dealer folks for not helping in this case for Xenon from a Pass Car outlet ? How can they get a service/ spare part for which they are not authorised to ?

From my side, I put the discussion to stop. we all know what we are talking here. This case definitely do not fall under 'poor service '.

[Strangerintown]

Originally Posted by Amazing

I also agree to what you said , that it should be sold under Pass Veh outlets.

But since Tata Motors is selling it under CV category, for whatever reasons known to them, why we are unnecessarily blaming the dealer folks for not helping in this case for Xenon from a Pass Car outlet ? How can they get a service/ spare part for which they are not authorised to ?

From my side, I put the discussion to stop. we all know what we are talking here. This case definitely do not fall under 'poor service '.

I actually looked up the website just now before responding. The Xenon pickup is under "Trucks and Buses". However, the Xenon XT, which is the one under discussion here, comes under "Utility Vehicles". That is the same category which covers the Sumo, Safari, Grande, Aria and the category that is sold by their passenger vehicle dealerships.

Hence afraid to say that the basic premise of your argument is wrong. It is evident that the dealer here is shirking on his duty towards servicing his territory and Tata should look into it. You cannot sell stuff and then turn away.

BTW, I am a proud and happy Tata Motors owner having owned four Tata vehicles (indicas, Manza and Safari) in the last 13 years. So definitely not biased against them. Just pointing out what is right and what isnt.

[mayankk]

Originally Posted by Amazing

So what is your different take do share here ? I am pretty sure now, you dont know mate !

Again.
Xenon XT. DO look it up.

[Fortuner71]

Adding to the discussion . I own a 2013 Safari strome done 65000km its a 4x4 , no issues so far and service has been excellent , even better than a honda. ( i own a honda city 2003 as well ) .

[rdhawan15]

There always seems to be a lot of activity whenever a new launch is on the anvil from Tata Motors. Surely, Tata Motors generates a lot of buzz with its new products.

Yes, Tata Motors needs to improve its service standards. I am sure they are aware of the issues and are trying to improve the overall customer experience. It will take time though.

For now, Zica seems to be a well designed car. Most people with previous experience of Tata cars would agree that they have surprised us positively with the new design language. So, should they not be given a fair chance to see if they are able to improve their customer support experience?