[greenhorn]

I Imagine every member of Team Bhp loves their car(s). And I'm no different. My car gets the best engine oil every 5k, I myself check the levels every 1~2k, change the required parts, and take care of my car to the best of my abilities.

Now I have an indica.Though not the object of desire for most , and an object of contempt for many (especially the white kind !). It still is MY car, and I treat it with respect. People say indicas feel like junk, fall apart after 80,000k, have poor pickup, vibrate like a truck... the list is endless. I've never found reasons why.

Now in my parking lot, In my immediate vicinity, there are a couple of indigos , an indica DLS turbo, an OHC, an NHC, a Palio, an old Zen,a palio, an innova V and a couple of swifts and some santros/wagon R's. I've been observing these cars for some time now, since I use the parking lot as my personal batcave at work . the NHC/Santros/Wagon R's suffer from a few scratches now and then, which are rectified quickly. the cars seem to be well cared for, and look clean in general. The palio seems to be driven by a lady, and is always in good shape, so are the swifts. The innova V and the OHC are the pick of the lot, and look mint, especially the OHC which look like it was driven out of the showroom yesterday. It has to be seen to be believed. I have not seen a better looking car, ever. even the zens/altos/m800's are in good shape.

which brings us to the topic at hand.Among other things, all three tata vehicles are never idled before turning off or on(which they should). In general, I've never observed these cars being subjected to the care and attention the other cars get. I'm writing this because of a rather disturbing (at least to me) event. I was in my car listening to my ICE , when the owner of the indigo came up. started the car without waiting for the heater light to go off ( proper procedure is to wait for the light to go off , as any diesel car owner will know, and in case of the indica/indigo, and a bit more time too). I heard the starter motor struggling for a while, almost thought it wouldnt be able to start this time, but eventually it managed to start. The guy floored the pedal, and roared out of the lot ( the engine ought to be run in idle/slow speeds for a minute after starting). I see the swift D and innova owners doing the same, but all three indica/indigo owners dont. All these indica/indigos always have some problem which is not fixed for a long time ( broken fogs/ORVM's/dents etc)

Ideally I would have stopped them and told/emailed them the TIUG links for proper care , but these are senior management folks in my company, way above me, so I stay out of their way. I imagine if cabbies abuse their indicas, it is only their nature. But these are highly educated people. One of these people also show up in a cedia sometimes which is very well taken care of.

And hence my question. Why is it that the indica/indigo attracts this particular demographic of car abusers? Or is there something about the car which make people abuse it? People complain about the car's limited life and lack of refinement. but given my observation, I doubt any Turbodiesel could survive the punishment meted out to these cars.

[akshay4587]

I somehow agree with this

I stay in a cantonment and there are a quite a lot of ill designed speed breakers(very high and narrow)-Most cars with load bottom out on these- I call them suspension breakers

Other day i was crawling over one and there comes an Indica turbo and went over that breaker with a loud thud,it wasnt a taxi either.another few rounds over these like this and the suspension would surely go for a toss.

[Hashim]

I have also seen Indica's with scratches, dent all over. Yesterday only I saw a shiny new indica with big dent (dent was deep enough to cause door misalignment) on rear left door. I have also seen cabbie indica with suspension in so bad shape that front tyres touching fenter lining, belt making screetching sound, lights broken etc etc. TATA should request customers to take little more care of their cars.

[HappyWheels]

ROFL! At first I was thinking you are talking about cabbies, and what the big deal was about... but this....

[anupminda]

I feel TATA should take this as a compliment to the build quality of the INDICA. If other cars were subject to this kind of treartment, most of the car's life would be spent in the garage. I guess INDICA owners are very confident of the build quality of their cars so they treat their cars the way they do. Three CHEERS to TATA.

[headers]

Originally Posted by akshay4587

another few rounds over these like this and the suspension would surely go for a toss.

Not really.. the indica / indigo shine because of their ability to withstand ABUSE..

Thats also why they ARE BUILT TO A COST and always have NIGGLING issues.

I too have abused my 02 Indica DLX carrying cement, bricks etc while on a construction activity. The indica took everything with a smile.

While I graduated to an Accent CRDi, It sat down, when I just had to transport some copper cables for HT transmission.

Tata cars in general have robust engineering and always keep running. And the best TATA vehicles to buy are the ones without PS, AC etc..

Cheers

[amit]

Originally Posted by greenhorn

the owner of the indigo came up. started the car without waiting for the heater light to go off. I heard the starter motor struggling for a while, almost thought it wouldnt be able to start this time, but eventually it managed to start. The guy floored the pedal, and roared out of the lot ( the engine ought to be run in idle/slow speeds for a minute after starting).

Maybe the guy had a fight with his wife that day .

BUT, this is a interesting and valid topic. I have seen this too. Maybe the niggling problems irritate the owners and they lose interest in the car.

[Anthym]

Does the name Tata conjure up images of a truck and the abuse that usually comes with it. Or is that the mentality when you are using an Indian brand.

[amit_mechengg]

may be while driving a indica or indigo you feel its a robust car and then you think it doesnt need much attention. but while driving marutis the car always reminds you that its delicate and needs care.
open the indica or a palio bonnet with one hand and see how heavy the sheet metal is.
some indica users get so much bugged up with niggling issues that they stop caring about the car. my cousin has 3 indicas. mostly used for tourist purpose. one is kept mint, other with the engine check light on since the day it has come out of showroom and another done 60k plus and abused heavily by the driver with all kinds of funny suspension and rattling noises coming from everywhere. wheel bearings have been changed once. but the engine is still strong.

[snaronikar]

In general, Tatas are known for their "hatta-katta" cars and tata vehicles do come with "sab chalta hai" attitude. The availability and cost of spares and service is also a big advantage for public not to take care of vehicles. Hence no care is required to be taken (my opinion). Other cars needs to be pampered a lot for the optimal performance. So, you should be happy that you own a "hatta-katta" car.

[garvit2002]

i have to agree on this .....this is the common practice of people not to take care of their tata cars....personally i have two cars in my family .indigo marina and indica dls ....the marina has completed 1.2 lac kms and is still in very good shape and i take the credit for the proper maintenance . i have seen other vehicles around my place too but all the people just dont take care of their cars.

[travelwriter]

Originally Posted by greenhorn

.....vehicles are never idled before turning off or on(which they should). ...punishment meted out to these cars.

I feel it is the general tendency of people to spend lesser time on care and maintainance of vehicles. That is why "maintainance free" is a selling point in bikes as well as cars.

I have a quetion here. Why should the car run on idle before putting it on gear? Is it required for all vehicles or only for diesel? I have an Alto and the temp needle comes to the centre only after a couple of minutes of driving. Is that an issue?

[frankmehta]

can i drop in a point? i feel the coarse nature of the agricultural engine of the indi makes the driver slightly more callous than he would be, say driving a hyundai i10 or even a hyundai santro. the unrefined nature of the engine, coupled with the vibrations of the gear stick and lack of outright power on tap(except for the newer turbo engines) psychologically cause the driver to be more frustrated and results in a rough driving style, akin to the kind of car he drives.
mind you, im not against tata vehicles. but they just dont measure up to the other manufacturers when it comes to driver pleasure. greenhorn, don't throw anything at me man :-P

[iraghava]

I suppose that's because for them buying an Indica is not about buying a car but buying a tool. They see a relatively cheap car which is cheap to run and it is treated like any other appliance. They don't see it as mistreatment, for them it's how it is supposed to be used. If you probably ask one of these guys why they do so and what will happen if something goes usually wrong, the most common answer would be, no problem I'll get a new one.

[mayjay]

The tata vehicles have a rough and tough image in the minds of most. This is promoted to some extent by tata itself (Commercials showing poor overweight tata indicas and safaris flying over the camera, god knows being in what state after landing).
Personally, i was once considering buying the indigo cs purely for the reason that it was a cheap sedan, which i wouldn't feel guilty about throwing all over the place (on the road). The fact that the tata vehicles are quite ugly looking (CS rear not withstanding) also should have something to do with this - you just don't feel a sense of pride when you are in it. Ofcourse this is all very shallow, but hey we are a bunch of guys with a hobby that helps to destroy the planet bit by bit, so why complain?