[giri1.8]

Our family has owned almost all the major famous brand so far, but wish to share about our bitter most experience of getting a Tata car!

Right from booking to promises about discounts, delivery date, all were messed up! I just wanted to cancel my booking and buy something much more stress free, but no! Just when I wanted cancel my Tigor AMT's booking the car arrived and I had to take delivery.

Whole delivery process was a mess, guy who took my money didn't turn-up for delivery! we had to wait for more than couple of hours before someone else gave the keys to the car. To make things worse, car had lot of little niggles which had to be fixed often, but thankfully the actual car was not as bad as I expected. Overall it was good within the city and the AMT box was not too bad.

So why did I sell the car?

I bought the car just for Tata motor's image being associated with safety, but there was something about Tigor which made it unsafe on the highway : its engine ! The amount of time the car needed for an overtake on a single lane highway was just way too much, this had put me in a lot of heart to the mouth situation and made me think about taking it for long drives.

There were plenty of other complains too among other owners, A.S.S usual reply was, " This is common on all Tigor".

Anyone who wises to buy a Tata car just by all the praise online about safety, just make sure to ask for a TD to know about their customer relation. There are plenty of other safe options too now a days. M&M might have the edge here!

[ARAY]

Awesome thread Samba!

Maruti 1000 ( 20,000 km )
Pro - was a looker at that time.
Con - Spare parts in a town like Asansol was an issue

Hyundai Santro Xing ( 32,000 km)
Pro - Great for city drive and occasional Highway drives. 4 cylinder is peppy!
Con - Hyundai as a brand overcharge for spares.

Bajaj Discover 110 ( 14,000 km)
Pro- Great for a daily drive when I was a student.
Con - unreliable parts, breaks often and needs replacement.

Maruti Alto k10 ( 35,000 km)
Pro - pocket rocket.
Con - Build quality and overcrowded ASS

Hero Honda Karizma ( 12,000 km)
Pro - Can take all the beating, was definitely a looker.
Con - Lack of rear disk and even ABS.

Fiat Punto ( 32,000 km)
Pro - Handling, ride quality.
Con - Spares and ASS in Hyderabad

Renault Duster AWD ( 70,000 km)
Pro - I see no con so far
Con -Scared of injector failing stories from other owners, yet to experience the wrath!

Royal Enfield Interceptor 650 ( 5000km)
Pro - well balanced, well built and put together. Great ASS support.
Con - small niggles at initial 1000km but ASS handled those very well.

[GeneralJazz]

Fantastic thread indeed! Here goes my list.

Brand:- Maruti Suzuki

Cars owned -

Current: Baleno (2006), A-Star (2012)
Sold: 800 (1995), Esteem (1997), Zen (1999), Versa (2004), Alto (2003), Wagon-R (2008)

Number of years used cars from MS - 25 years and counting

Pros & cons of the ownership-

Pros-

1) Ridiculously large number of dealerships/service centers.
2) Parts are always available
3) FNGs can easily fix most of the mechanical issues
4) Excellent customer service. During the purchase of our A-Star, there was a delay in delivery. They gave a loaner car for 4 months! (a Swift demo car)

Cons-

1) Service is expensive
2) Negative image. Owner of a tin can!
3) As a Baleno owner, I'm insulted that they used that name on a dime-a-dozen hatchback.


***************************

Brand:-Skoda

Cars owned -

Current: Rapid (2013)

Number of years used cars from Skoda - 7 years and counting

Pros & cons of the ownership-

Pros-

1) Dealership experience is a hit or miss. Thankfully, we always had a good experience, first from Vision Skoda, then Pinnacle Skoda.
2) Great brand image. Rock solid cars!

Cons-

1) Service is expensive
2) Ridiculously small number of dealerships/service centers. Nearest one is 80kms from my home
3) Looooooong waiting period for parts!


*******************************

Brand:-Hyundai

Cars owned -

Current: Elite i20 (2019)

Number of years used cars from Hyundai - 1

Pros & cons of the ownership-

Pros-

1) Fantastic dealership experience. Extremely friendly staff.
2) Plenty of dealerships nearby
3) Easy availability of spares


Cons-

So far none! Fingers crossed!

[varman742]

Car Brand - Tata Motors
Cars Owned - Indigo LS, Manza Elan QJet (Current), Nano XTA (Current)

Below are purely my own views based on my ownership experience.

Pros
- All the cars have served me well w.r.t. the ownership experience. Barring 2 incidents with my Manza (one in Goa and other one in Panchagani) I have never been stranded on road during my 1.4 Lacs KM of combined running. Similarly there been only 3-4 time that I had to cancel my travel plans due to car giving trouble at the start of the journey.
- Regular servicing has been sufficient to keep the cars running smooth. Of course, off late, Manza has been giving some issues due to wear and tear of some parts, however I think its normal during 8th year of ownership.
- Spacious and Well built cars offering the maximum value for the money spent.
- Especially Manza has brought us delight with its internal space, safety features, large boot, plush and excellent ride quality. Whenever me and my family has sat in any other sedan, we have always felt Manza's ride quality and seating comfort to be superior to others.
- TASS experience has been largely satisfying except for some initial niggles during early months of ownership (see the cons below). Especially after coming to Pune, Auto point Wakad has been really excellent with the service, trouble shooting and turn around time.
- Sales experience so far has been satisfactory for all the three cars brought.

Cons
- Initial Niggles faced requiring frequent visits to Service Center. Some of them were really basic and should have avoided at first place. That time period was somewhat frustrating, requiring TML higher authorities involvement to address minor issues.
- Surprisingly post the initial period, the service experience has been flawless.
- While the interiors of my Manza has aged well (it is as good as new), the exterior paint quality is deteriorated. I am not sure if this is in general for all Manza's or just mine. There have been some places where rust has developed.
- The performance is neutral i.e. its not the best when it comes to pickup and NVH.
- During my vehicle breakdown in Goa, I had to leave the car with the dealership and return to Pune. The work done there was not up to the mark and this resulted into another breakdown few months later when I visited Panchgani. I think the work should have been done correctly at the first place.
- General perception of TML cars within the wider community is not great and resale values are poor. At times people have ridiculed me for owning Tata cars (not that it affected me!)

In Summary there have very few frustrating experiences during the overall ownership of 12 years. Neither from TML nor from dealer side, I have faced any undesirable or rude behavior. While there have been delays in addressing some of the issues, there has never been any denial of responsibility of accountability.

I will not be hesitant to evaluate and purchase a Tata Car for my next upgrade if it meets most of my requirements.

[PrasannaDhana]

Well, here is my experience

Brand : Maruti
Number of cars : 7 - Omni, M800, Zen, Wagon R, Swift diesel, Celerio petrol, Ciaz Diesel
Number of years : 22
Number of km totally used : 4,25,000 km

Pros:

Superb A.S.S experience
Totally reliable products
Cheap service and spare costs
Easy spares availability
VFM offerings
Good resale value
Excellent fuel economy

Cons:

Durability - squeaky panels and rattles
Build quality

Brand : Tata
Number of cars : 6 - Tata Estate, Sumo DX, Sumo Grande, Safari Dicor, Sumo Gold, Safari Storme V400
Number of years : 20
Total kilometres used : 4,00,000 km

Pros :
Durability - Solid build and abuse friendly nature
Engine - Safari twins
VFM nature
Space and comfort (Sumo Grande and Safari twins)
Build quality

Cons :
Lackluster A.S.S response times and performance
Terrible reliability (Estate and Sumo DX)
Bumpy ride (Sumo twins)
Terrible resale value
Bare-bones wrt features set
Minor niggles

Brand : Mahindra
Number of cars owned : 3 - Commander, MM540, Armada
Number of years used : 6
Total km covered : 1,50,000 km

Pros :
Abuse friendly
Reliability

Cons :
Space
Ride quality

Brand : Chevrolet
Number of cars owned : 1 - Beat diesel
Number of years used : 3
Kilometres used : 90,000 km

Pros :
VFM
Good engine
Better resale than Tatas and Mahindras
Very fuel efficient
Reliability

Cons :
Average A.S.S

Brand : Renault
Number of cars owned : 1 - Kwid 1.0
Number of years owned : 3
Kilometres used : 40,000 km


Pros:
VFM
Proportionate designs
Well equipped for the price
Decent A.S.S

Cons:
Petrol engine not as accomplished as Marutis
Overall NVH

PS: the above views are based on my personal experience with the specific cars from each brand that I have owned.

[aryag1998]

Car brand - Mahindra
Cars owned - XUV500 W8 (2013)
Number of years owned - 6.5 years
Kilometers driven - ~70k kms
Pros and cons of my ownership
Pros
- Decent engine
- Fairly loaded for its time
- Great legroom in the first two rows
- Great highway fuel efficiency
- Parts are available everywhere (but that's about it)

Cons
- Poor reliability: One electronic or engine component goes wrong and its a massive expenditure just to get the car back on the road
- horrible attitude of the service center staff in mumbai
- terrible resale value
- choppy ride quality: the rear passengers complain of back pain everytime

[Achilles]

Car brand- Ford

Car owned- Ford Aspire

Number of years of ownership - 3
Kilometers covered - 40000

Pros:
1. Reasonable service & maintenance cost.
2. Friendly nature of sales and service team.
3. Ford take feedback's seriously.

Cons:
1. Poor resale value.
2. Average technical excellence of the service engineers.


Car brand- Tata Motors

Car owned- Tata Tiago

Number of years of ownership - 8 months
Kilometers covered - 8000

Pros:
1. Personal satisfaction on owning a safe, stylish and VFM car.

Cons:
1. Not so professional dealership experience.
2. Average service experience. Followups required to get things done!

[silverado]

Car : Tata Nano

Will complete 9 years in March , 48000 + kms done.

Pros : Has served me well beyond my expectation. No breakdowns, no surprises everything has worked well as expected.

Buying experience was a okish, but A.S.S has been excellent till date.
I have always stuck to same SA and same service center and it has worked well for me till now.

Cons : Service cost has doubled in past 2 years, but I will still stick to TATA A.S.S.
Poor resale for Nano, but that's a blessing in disguise since that gives me a reason to keep my beloved Nano as long as possible.

Car : Maruti Baleno New

3.5 years 27K kms.

Pros : Maruti service has been as expected, nothing spectacular. I have again tried to stick to one SA and I get the service done in my presence. Car has not given any issues till now except for fogged headlamp.

Cons : Cant think of any till date really.

[Thilak29]

Brand - Honda
Car - Brio
Years of ownership/mileage - 8/80,000
Pros -
-Supremely reliable
-Quality product
-Refinement of car
-Supportive ASC and Customer care
- Lower cost of ownership
Cons -
- Upselling at ASC
- Short stocking of parts at ASC
- Miniscule service footprint in the hinterland

Brand - Ford
Car - Figo
Years of ownership/mileage - 3.5/75,000
Pros -
- Supportive ASC and Customer care
- Quality product and driver-oriented product
- Value for money product
- Generous part availability
- Transparent pricing of parts
- Low cost of ownership
Cons -
- Miniscule service footprint in the hinterland
- Service centres in the city is full of cab(Aspire) and Self-drive cars (Ecosport/Aspire/Figo), fight for that attention and space.
- Revisions/upgrades leave current owners with heartburn, why not offer those features in the initial go!?

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

FIAT

Cars owned from that brand- Punto 1.3 Multijet 90hp
Number of years you have owned/used a car from that brand- 7 years, 10 months. till date.
The number of Kilometers covered by the cars from that brand- 1,90,000 kms.
Pros & cons of the brand-

+ Reliability. Over-engineered mechanicals last long.
+ Build quality. Age and usage don't show up!
+ Service and spares cost is reasonable.
+ Brand is still around even after decades of rumours of shutting shop.

- Sub-par service experience.
- Pathetic service network coverage, especially outside of major cities.
- Couple of electronic failures. A/c console under warranty. Blue&me failure.
- Can't believe the same car was dragged on without any major update for so many years in the market.

HYUNDAI

Cars owned from that brand- Xcent SX(o) 1.2 VTVT AT.
Number of years you have owned/used a car from that brand- 4.5 years. till date.
The number of Kilometers covered by the cars from that brand- 20,000kms.
Pros & cons of that brand-

+ Space and packaging.
+ Interior quality and features.
+ Ease of city use - Extremely refined engine and smooth TC automatic for city use, light steering and sharp brakes.
+ Good service experience + low cost of ownership.

- Mechanicals feel under-engineered. Car 'feels' delicate.
- A couple of part failures. ABS sensors being the main culprit. Not expected so early in ownership.
- Poor highway cars, as is typical Hyundai - Outdated 4 speed TC box, dull steering wheel, bouncy rear suspension. (Hyundai family trait, than just with the car).
- Excellent top-end automatic option discontinued very soon. Now automatic is mostly available only in middle variants across the Hyundai range.

MARUTI SUZUKI

Cars owned from that brand- Maruti 800 STD, WagonR 1.1 VXi
Number of years you have owned/used a car from that brand- 13 years.
The number of Kilometers covered by the cars from that brand- 1,27,000 kms.
Pros & cons of that brand-

+ Affordable and reliable.
+ Excellent service network and experience.
+ Brilliant RSA. The convenience of insurance, etc under one roof.

- Build quality and safety.
- Service cost increased a lot towards the end of the ownership periods. No longer VFM now.
- Poor quality plastics and interiors (but those days, and at those prices were ok)

[uditsharma01]

Car brand - Hyundai
Car - Santro Xing XL 2006
Number of years I have used cars from Hyundai - 14 years (Still with us)
The total number of Kilometers covered by the cars from this brand - 1,30,000 km

Pros

1. Brand value: Great brand value in the Indian market.
2. Reliability: They build cars that would last long.
3. Customer service has been on par with the best in the country. They have widely spread service centers. Only second to Maruti Suzuki.
4. Engines: All their cars have good engine specs across the whole spectrum. Some segments have the most powerful cars from the Hyundai stable.

Cons

1. Pricing: All their cars are priced a little bit on the higher side. Even the spares too.
2. Steering feel and feedback: I have driven a lot of other Hyundai cars as well. This is something they need to learn from their Japanese counterpart.
3. Design(Subjective): Their design has lost that oomph which Hyundai cars earlier used to have. They have completely lost the bold design approach. How many Hyundai cars have a bolder designs that you see on the road?

Car brand - Maruti Suzuki
Car - Alto, Ciaz
Number of years I have used cars from Maruti Suzuki - 6 years (Still with us)
The total number of Kilometers covered by the cars from this brand - 1,00,000 km (65,000 on Alto and 35,000 on Ciaz)

Pros

1. Affordability: They made the cars available for all. We can hardly debate about it.
2. Reliability: From their cars to their service, MS is extremely reliable.
3. Customer service: Without a doubt, this is the best part of owning an MS car.
Higher officials are easily reachable. They do listen to feedback. The experience at Nexa has been great so far.
4. Peace of mind: Owning an MS car is complete peace of mind. It doesn't go anything wrong with these cars easily. Even if it does, it's not that expensive to fix it. In addition to this, you can easily find MS authorized service center in your vicinity.

Cons

1. Build quality: This is something they really need to work on. Otherwise, the likes of Tatas and Mahindras will dethrone them from their perch.

2. Bias with Indian market: They have good products overseas. e.g. Swift, Jimny etc. Their overseas product have different Engine options and even the kerb weight is higher than the Indian counterparts. That's sheer injustice.

[deemash]

Brand - Maruti Suzuki

Car - Ritz VDi ABS (2011)
Years of ownership/mileage - 8/1,30,000 kms
Pros -
- The heart had the national engine, 1.3 MJD
- Tall body
- Seating height
- One single email is enough to solve all your problems
- No monopoly of dealers in Tier1 and Tier2 cities
Cons -
- Build quality is not that good
- Be it sales or service, they try to fleece the customers by promoting unwanted add-ons and work
- Always overcrowded workshops

Brand - Hyundai

Car - 2018 Creta SX(O) D
Years of ownership/mileage - 1 year 2 months /21000 kms
Pros -
- Tall stance
- Excellent seating position
- Awesome 1.6 CRDi
- Good build quality
- Good painting
- I felt the ASS is better than Maruti
- Has good social value than Maruti
Cons -
- Nothing so far

[Researcher]

Name of the car brand- Maruti Suzuki
Cars owned from that brand- 2001 Alto LXi (bought new, sold in 2018), 2008 SX4 ZXi (bought used in 2017, still with us), 2018 Baleno Alpha CVT (bought new, still with us)
Number of years you have owned/used a car from that brand- Almost 19 years (17 on Alto, little more than 2 on SX4, almost 2 on Baleno)
The number of Kilometers covered by the cars from that brand- Slightly above 1 lac kilometers (70,000+ in Alto, 27,000+ in SX4, 7,000+ in Baleno)
Below are strictly written in my opinion, apologies if I hurt anyone's sentiments and I am happy to be guided or criticized.
Pros of that brand- Good drive-train with respect to power, efficiency, reliability; neutral chassis manners (except SX4 which is slightly sportier than its contemporaries); easily available and affordable spares; easy serviceability (both authorized and FNGs); easy to buy and sell (well maybe except the SX4 )

Cons of that brand- Below average plastic quality (both interior and exterior); below average strength of sheet-metal (each model we owned compared to its contemporaries); nothing exciting or unique that owner may rave about; mostly great for point A to B commuting (slight sportier handling in SX4 being the exception)

[aargee]

Originally Posted by PrasannaDhana

Well, here is my experience...PS: the above views are based on my personal experience with the specific cars from each brand that I have owned.

I'm sure you haven't personally put down all that 1105000 Km & most of it should've been covered by someone or other in your family isn't it? Or am I wrong

[PrasannaDhana]

Originally Posted by aargee

I'm sure you haven't personally put down all that 1105000 Km & most of it should've been covered by someone or other in your family isn't it? Or am I wrong

It's shared between myself, my dad and a couple of our drivers.

I have a major share of about 5 lakh km in it.

Sumo DX, Sumo Grande, Swift, Beat and Ciaz were my primary cars. Hence 90% of their odo (ciaz 100%) were done by me. Other cars I have a share (about 40%)