Team-BHP - My brand-new Tata Safari has been fully disassembled

Teambhpian moderator should update following point with a disclaimer in the PDI checklist thread:

"None of the above points should be tried by buyers who set their heart on buying a Tata cars, as disappointment will be guaranteed."

I was a big fan of Tata cars and was at one point was thinking of booking a Tiago. But decided to stay away as one of my close friend along with his wife and 2 infant daughter got stuck on the remote hills in Konkan region with his Tigor.

No words can describe this painful experience. I am recommending Tata and Mahindra to many of of friends who are from non automotive background. I cant even imagine someone going through a experience like this based on my recommendation. This would be a major facepalm moment. Only a new car would be acceptable solution and still it would not erase the frustration and pain this fiasco has caused.
Never gonna suggest Tata to anyone, safety is important, but reliability should be a bigger priority.

Oh my God..! This is totally unacceptable!
Please fight for your rights and don't accept anything less than a complete refund or a brand new replacement car.
Who in their right senses would dis-assemble a brand new car like that just to find out a minor electrical niggle?
Can they ever put all those plastic trims back together, with the perfect factory tightness, free of rattles and flexing? No chance!

I think that some over-enthusiastic technician found this as an opportunity to learn the complete interior trim dis-assembly on your car, citing this lame excuse of electrical mal-function, so that he can work on future Safaris with confidence.

I have lost all hope now that Tata will ever make any attempts to improve its shoddy Quality Control and their Service Center worksmanship.
They are digging their own grave (Or to be more precise, they have already dug it more than half-way), but the saddest part is that they are least bothered about it.

Such incidents that come to light periodically through this forum, only help to strengthen my decision that never will I buy a Tata car in my life, nor will I ever allow any of my loved ones to buy it.

Thanks everyone for the overwhelming support. I read all the comments and I am finding it difficult to reply to all the queries. I will summarize everything and put a new comment again. Here is a quick summary.

I was contacted by the Tata Motors customer care manager and also by a legal front person after seeing this post. I will explain in detail all the interactions separate comment. But to cut it short, there is no assurance from any one. They are even finding it hard to even consider the issue for a car replacement. They are trying to leave me with the only option of taking the repaired defective car as if there is no option with them to even raise a complaint for a car replacement.

All my pleas are lost to corporate bureaucracy. I kept going in circles, General Manager, Service Manager, Customer care manager and regional customer care manager, none even considering the issue as a replacement of a defective car. There is no transparency and none seemed to be raising the issue to a higher authority in Tata Motors.

Everywhere I was firm that I am not going to accept a defective car even if they have repaired it as it will never be same as a factory fit car and a reliable car for that matter. I have asked for a brand new car without any defects or refund my money. And that if there is no way forward I will approach the Consumer Court of Law.

At present I am trying to push this to higher authorities in Tata Motors and hoping to get a positive outcome.

Quote:

Thanks for sharing, sln! Moving your post out to a new thread. A new thread means 100X the views & 100X the visibility in search engines, including Google. Your post is also on homepage today. .

Hope your issues are resolved to your satisfaction soon.

Thanks for making this a new thread and posting it on home page. It greatly helps my cause.

After seeing the pictures, this is the 2nd worst thing that can happen to an owner after buying a new car. 1st being the car getting in a mishap. Dear @sln, Just don't lose hope.

1) I'm not sure about a replacement although you deserve that (without going legal that's utterly impossible). If going legal, prepare mentally for a battle that will go on for some time.

2) Just take a walk around the car. Surely you will see new scratches that weren't present during delivery. These people would have messed up. Check that also.

3) Are these guys not even saying anything for courtesy like, "Please accept the repair. We will make sure the fit and finish are perfect and will provide you extended warranty without questions asked, blah blah.." ??

Quote:

Originally Posted by sln (Post 5718671)

I was contacted by the tata motors customer care manager and also by a legal front person after seeing this post. I will explain in detail all the interactions separate comment. But to cut it short, there is no assurance from any one. They are even finding it hard to even consider the issue for a car replacement. They are trying to leave me with the only option of taking the repaired defective car as if there is no option with them to even raise a complaint for a car replacement.

sln, whatever their written policy says does not change the fact that they are trying to make you pay new car money - and no mean amount - for what is for all practical purposes a refurbished product.

While you should continue to take it up with Tata, remember that making this a spectacle will also create bad publicity that will force them to do the right thing or have their reputation scarred forever. You have the support of the majority on this forum and surely elsewhere too. All the best.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sln (Post 5718671)

I was contacted by the Tata Motors customer care manager and also by a legal front person after seeing this post. I will explain in detail all the interactions separate comment. But to cut it short, there is no assurance from any one. They are even finding it hard to even consider the issue for a car replacement. They are trying to leave me with the only option of taking the repaired defective car as if there is no option with them to even raise a complaint for a car replacement.

What did the legal front person have to do in this?

If I were a Tata Motors' executive responsible for customer service and experience, my first reaction to this would be a replacement to earn back the goodwill. An apology to start with would have been a better approach than covering your posterior for legal troubles. Tata motors isn't a brand that many on this forum aspire to own. A company that resonates well to an "emotionally connected but monetarily rejected" brand.

You have one chance to own up a mistake and make it right, if you lose that opportunity, you lose a customer and his / her references for life. This incident will most likely be that moment for many others here.

Quote:

Originally Posted by moralfibre (Post 5718691)

You have one chance to own up a mistake and make it right, if you lose that opportunity, you lose a customer and his / her references for life. This incident will most likely be that moment for many others here.

They knew very well, this will end up in forming a department for replacing the cars. Tata vehicles are plagued by issues from the factory itself and service guys have no clue on what to do in most of the cases. Tata has to allocate some funds from their PR to QC, which will works in long term. Sold of my Harrier within 3 years with a big hit to my wallet but chose mental peace over money. My brother-in-law is fighting his own battle with Tata over Nexon.

I still wonder how on earth people has the courage to put their hard earned 30+ lakhs on a Tata automobile. Why you can not buy something like Innova or even a Hilux for the same price or even 5 lakhs more which you will get it back when you sell it anyway? Or even Volkswagen/Skoda (in my opinion, used to be one of the worst brand when it comes to Customer Service and Quality issues) is still a better bet even though I would not touch it even with 50% discount. Tata has a Fiat, Aisin, Bosch parts put together and as simple as that. Tata owners, pardon me on this blatant abuse but I am furious here and I feel for this guy who is at cross roads haplessly.

Past is past.

TBHP seniors and people with contacts in TATA top hierarchy, PLEASE PLEASE help him in whatever capacity possible. My humble opinion is to file a Consumer Court case and fight until you get your money's worth. It is worth fighting. This is simply unacceptable and I really feel sorry and sincerely pray you should gather strength and courage to fight this legal war. We are here with you. Please publicize his ordeal via Social Media and tag as many as possible especially in Tata.