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View Poll Results: what can be done to fiat?
can give them another chance 35 23.81%
should be ousted from indian automobile industry henceforth 11 7.48%
should put a stay to streamline A.S.S before launching other variants 101 68.71%
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Old 21st November 2009, 17:00   #16
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Unfair to criticize Fiat / tata.
Its their new outing after they have restructured thier operations in europe.
The fact is they are providing value by selling latest quality build cars to Indian customers compared to korean and others.
So they had to cut initialy to gain foothold.
Indian customers are more price consious and thats success for Suzuki. Fiat is trying to emulate them , they will learn from their mistakes.
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Old 21st November 2009, 17:09   #17
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Most of the times its the underconfident service center owners who dont want to block their money by stocking lesser used parts. Its worth to switch the such Service centers.
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Old 21st November 2009, 17:11   #18
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Quote:
Originally Posted by YVES View Post
Fiat is trying to emulate them , they will learn from their mistakes.
A company with over 100 years of history still learning basics of business? Quite a long learning curve

One simple strategy Fiat could implement- Make spares easily available over the counter. There are many competent private garages which would do the job.
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Old 21st November 2009, 17:33   #19
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I never understood the sales/support strategy of Fiat from its Uno days. Despite the fact that everyone compelled me not to buy Fiat, I bought one for me (new look Siena petrol) and was very happy with it - as a product. But, after seeing the pathetic situation I was made to undergo during each service center visit, I sold it off. Infact, the service centers that I visited (Green tracks, Manipal Motors & Prerana) did more bad than good to my car on every occasion.

After selling my car, I sent a long email to Mangesh during Feb 2008 explaining the goof-ups made by the Tata service centers (with adequate proof) and asked for an explanation for the time/money spent to fix the service center induced issues during my Siena ownership. Mangesh did call me promptly and I clearly told him that I am not going to buy another Fiat unless Fiat has exclusive service centers. Even today, I am persuading as many people as possible from buying a Fiat since I know the level of service you will get in Tata service centers for Fiat cars. Fiat cars are never bad and their service level has never been good either. It is nearly impossible to change the attitude of Tata service centers - be it mechanics, service advisers or managers.

So, atleast people who expect a near perfect ownership experience should try to avoid a Fiat product. If you are that kind and end up buying one like myself, then you are sure to get haunted by their after sales service issues. If possible, every prospective Fiat customer should stop buying a Fiat car and instead should demand the Fiat India management an exclusive service center for them to purchase a Fiat!

Last edited by ece2k2 : 21st November 2009 at 17:43.
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Old 21st November 2009, 17:41   #20
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Quote:
Originally Posted by YVES View Post
Unfair to criticize Fiat / tata.
Its their new outing after they have restructured their operations in Europe.
The fact is they are providing value by selling latest quality build cars to Indian customers compared to korean and others.
So they had to cut initialy to gain foothold.
Indian customers are more price consious and thats success for Suzuki. Fiat is trying to emulate them , they will learn from their mistakes.
The edge in build quality is now lost. GP and Linea, both are not having good interiors. Have a look at GP's interior plastic and you will know. Again the edge in safety is not very much as others are in the same ballpark. They have an edge in ride and handling combination and this is without doubt. But others are delivering better value than what Fiat could offer. Manza, Dzire are what one can call value. Manza specially has changed the value market. Cedia is one can call value. Optra magnum diesel is what we can call value.

About price concious market, its generally true, but not true for Suzuki. Hyundai I10 and i20 are selling well where as vista and GP are not selling well. This was about small car market. Now in sedans, Linea is selling way lower than G3HC which is surely overpriced.

Fiat has opted for an easier way out which is not good for Fiat customers. Any explanation is not sufficient to justify Fiat's lack of independent network IMHO.

Quote:
Originally Posted by .anshuman View Post
Most of the times its the underconfident service center owners who dont want to block their money by stocking lesser used parts. Its worth to switch the such Service centers.
Who is suffering at the end of the day ? And its not that Linea ( atleast ) is selling in low numbers. Linea is infact doing reasonable numbers.
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Old 21st November 2009, 18:14   #21
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Another yummy thread for team-bhp! I can imagine all those Fiat flaming coming up in this topic of spares.

Quote:
Originally Posted by KITE RUNNER View Post
I think the customer need to be blamed for buying FIAT cars, even after hearing about all these nightmares.
Oh yes. Those are brainless people who buy Fiat cars even after hearing about all those horrible A.S.S. stories.


I had to replace few important parts in my retro Palio during the recent services.

1) Clutch MC
2) Clutch SC
3) Front suspension struts
4) Head Gasket

These were readily available in the service center. (Both TVS & Kulathunkal)

Some months back, I replaced the Headlamp, I had to place an order and wait for a week or so, but finally it came.

My friend's Petra had an accident recently, a Wipro bus banged his car from the side, and the front door was smashed. The spare door was available at Green Tracks, Bangalore.

I had to replace the RH ORVM one year back, and it was also available in Green Tracks, Blr.

Well, these are my experiences and I'd say it is not bad, though not excellent. May be I'll also start worrying about spares if some hard to procure part fails in my Palio.

Quote:
Originally Posted by aaggoswami View Post
The edge in build quality is now lost. GP and Linea, both are not having good interiors. Have a look at GP's interior plastic and you will know.
I agree. But you sound like saying "Build quality = Plastics quality". It goes a long way from mere plastic quality.


Quote:
Originally Posted by .anshuman View Post
Most of the times its the underconfident service center owners who dont want to block their money by stocking lesser used parts. Its worth to switch the such Service centers.
I tend to agree with this. TATA-Fiat service guys aren't sure of stocking a lot of spare parts.

PS:- Crank sensor failed in my Palio on a Sunday and I called Fiat-First, got it replaced the same day evening. (Read my post in Fiat-First thread - http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...ml#post1584188)

Last edited by clevermax : 21st November 2009 at 18:31.
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Old 21st November 2009, 18:17   #22
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OT. Where is this Green Tracks in Bangalore?
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Old 21st November 2009, 18:24   #23
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Quote:
Originally Posted by beejay View Post
OT. Where is this Green Tracks in Bangalore?
It was near Silk Board fly-over junction when I left Bangalore one year back.
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Old 21st November 2009, 18:41   #24
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Quote:
Originally Posted by clevermax View Post
I agree. But you sound like saying "Build quality = Plastics quality". It goes a long way from mere plastic quality.
There was a time when I used to mention similar words that build quality is a general term and for me the definitions are :
1) Chassis stiffness, suspension
2) Interior fit and finish.

Now in both 1 and 2, Fiat cars are not having a huge edge the way they had in Palio and Siena days. When Siena came, it was quite easy to say that it was quite safer as compared to other rivals like Accent and Esteem, though how much safe cannot be easily determined by us.

Currently, cars like Swift, Ritz, I10, I20, Jazz, Fabia are very close to Fiat GP and Linea as far as 1 and 2 mentioned above are concerned. Finally competition has caught with Fiat in both the paramenters and as far as interior fit and finish goes, its Fiat that has lost the edge.

So no significant advantage in most of the areas + not so good i.e questionable A. S & S. means GP and Linea are not best value propositions. Here again I am looking at the cars as a complete package where in apart from car itself I consider service centers, spare parts and their availability, etc.
So IMHO, as a complete package, Fiat cars are not good real VFM packages when we compare it with others.
The only edge they have is ride and handling, but this again not a very significant advantage, but enough to differentiate.
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Old 21st November 2009, 19:22   #25
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It somehow befuddles me on the amount of members who wait to pounce and start FIAT bashing at every given instance. And the irony of the whole thing is that more than half the people who indulge in this FIAT bashing have never had a FIAT product in their life time. I wonder why we don't see the similar number of threads on TATA / M&M whose build quality is definitely one grade lower than FIAT.

@geeash: As already notified your problem seems to be more with the service center than the company. I do agree at Concorde is one of the worst TATA dealers even though they are a TATA - Jardine JV and actually that is one of the major reason for the arrogant behaviour of the staff May be this should help.
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...dit-india.html

I would suggest finding another service center.
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Old 21st November 2009, 19:30   #26
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Quote:
Originally Posted by aaggoswami View Post
There was a time when I used to mention similar words that build quality is a general term and for me the definitions are :
1) Chassis stiffness, suspension
2) Interior fit and finish.
Dear aaggoswami, if everybody came up with their own definitions for words, then discussions are pointless!

What does this Chassis Stiffness mean? Does it mean it is really really strong? And how do you measure this? Simply by riding on bad roads or tracks? How does a Stiff Chassis equate to additional safety? What about the crumple zone? Can you distinguish a car with a relatively weaker chassis and a hard suspension setup and a car with relatively stronger chassis with a soft suspension setup?

How come the exterior is not a parameter for build quality? Is the insulation used for sound damping also ignored? What about the underbody? Isn't the engine a part of the car?

What about all the other components that make up a car?

Last edited by sushanthr77 : 21st November 2009 at 19:34.
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Old 21st November 2009, 19:39   #27
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Quote:
Originally Posted by aaggoswami View Post
1) Chassis stiffness, suspension
2) Interior fit and finish.

Now in both 1 and 2, Fiat cars are not having a huge edge the way they had in Palio and Siena days. When Siena came, it was quite easy to say that it was quite safer as compared to other rivals like Accent and Esteem, though how much safe cannot be easily determined by us.

Currently, cars like Swift, Ritz, I10, I20, Jazz, Fabia are very close to Fiat GP and Linea as far as 1 and 2 mentioned above are concerned. Finally competition has caught with Fiat in both the paramenters and as far as interior fit and finish goes, its Fiat that has lost the edge.
First, please get the definition of Build quality right!
Here is a definition from Whatcar.com
Quote:
Build quality - The standard of a car's construction. Generally, well built cars look and feel very solid and use high-grade materials throughout. Build quality can also be judged from the neatness and close fit of body panels and the regularity of the gaps between them. The tighter and more regular, the better.
Source: Car Glossary - Build quality - What Car?
So please don't keep saying Plastic quality is Build quality, it just one of the parameters!

And from the list of cars you've quoted, only i20, Jazz & Fabia is comparable to the Build quality of Linea / GP.
Also, all three are priced more than G Punto.
Quote:
So IMHO, as a complete package, Fiat cars are not good real VFM packages when we compare it with others.
Maybe for you, but not for everyone!
For me, Fiat cars still offer a complete package, the service may not good enough, but I get more for the bucks and I enjoy driving their cars!
And, that is the most important factor for me!

Last edited by finneyp : 21st November 2009 at 19:45.
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Old 21st November 2009, 19:48   #28
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Can we have something like the Bank or Insurance Ombudsman? How nice it will be! FIAT should definetly concentrate on improving conditions at the Dealers and Service Centres. More than anything else, it's the attitude that needs to be changed.

Though I pay through my nose (read it as paying 17K for replacing Ikon's radiator, thermo sensor something etc), I have waited only once for a spare part for a day which was to come from Bosch. But eventually they sourced it from another dealer IIRC.
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Old 21st November 2009, 19:55   #29
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Quote:
Originally Posted by geeash View Post




They have put deisel engine oil in my petrol car
!!
Hey Ashwin, Thats Bad! Now, was it during a top-up? and what happened next? Did they change the oil?
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Old 21st November 2009, 20:07   #30
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@ MileCruncher, I have a GP that I bought in Sept. 2009, My Dad owned an UNO which he recently replaced with Optra, my brother owned a Palio and replaced it with ANHC, the reason I bought a GP was I love FIAT cars, IMHO they are the best cars (as in Value for money) in the market right now, but the only reason Palio failed and GP & Linea will fail is because of A.S.S., agreed build quality is an issue, but then thats there in almost all the manufacturers in India. Agreed to the view, FIAT recently came out from the red globally, but then if they can not service the cars they make, its going to be tough to convince people to buy those. IMHO Mr. Kapoor instead on creating events line FIAT DIESEL INDIA Drive should rather spend on getting the A.S.S. network fixed, where service centers have parts and can get new parts in few days and not months.
My Father and My brother decided against going for another FIAT because of the A.S.S. I got for my GP. Some lunatic bus driver banged my car on the third day of my ownership and it took me almost 2 months to get the brand new car fixed; and I am very sure there will be many more buyers who though liked the FIAT cars choose against buying them because of these very logic. Lets face it the most critical challenge that FIAT has right now is to get the A.S.S. in line with other players in the market. without which I am pretty sure FIAT will wind off from India in 2 years at the most.
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