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-   -   Headsup to Toyota owners : Roadside Assistance (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian-car-scene/83330-headsup-toyota-owners-roadside-assistance.html)

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Excerpts from the official communication received:

Good move from Toyota. I hope rest all manufacturers too provide such assistance to their customers. This should rather be made compulsory for the manufacturers.

This is great news! Definitely other OEMs should follow Toyota's cue and if they do, third-party road assistance companies would be forced to reduce their service charges.

But I wonder how much of this is Toyota's damage control mission post recalls.

Actually I am shocked by this announcement because it means they did not have this service until now. I was thinking all "luxury" brands in India have this assistance standard. But it is really shocking and sad that they did not. Well, it could just be my ignorance, but nevertheless, I am certainly surprised. :)

This also raises an interesting question: Which car brands still do not have roadside assistance programs in India? I hope the list is pretty short.

Thanks,
-AD

I think among brands with cars priced this side of Rs. 20 lac, till now only Fiat had 24x7 roadside assistance. I may be wrong though.

In Australia, there is a NRMA service. Its pretty good when a car breaks down, anywhere in Australia. It doesn't need to be any brand, as long as your a member, they come and help you start the car or organise road side assistance.

There is a similar service in India by the name MyTVS. It has a mention in team-bhp as well
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...programme.html

"MyTVS Emergency Services offers 24 x 7 Emergency Road side assistance for Any Car , Any Time, Any Where .

These services are provided on a PAN India basis * covering over 1100 locations with our network of over 2300 authorized Service providers and a 24 x 7 dedicated call center . "

Similar services exist in the US as well and even if you are not a member you can call thier 24X7 call centre, buy the membership over the phone and they will dispatch a service provider to the location where you are stranded. Not sure if MyTVS has this ability.

Can existing customers opt for this or is it only for new customers?

Should be available for a fee, as even new customers get it as a bundled package for only 3 years.
Also helps them to keep the business running :D

The other number for toyota road side assistance mentioned is 01242355001.
not sure if this assistance comes for toyota's existing owners even for a fee.

Hyundai offers it ...

Honda does it too ..

That's a nice move, Any idea what price are they asking for old Toyota owner ??

Update : Spoke, on their helpline - They are not offering services to old vehicles :(

Toyota should have introduced this long ago. Even now they have not provided any option for owners who have bought their cars earlier than 1-4-2010. We should be allowed to avail this facility on payment basis.

They must also provide for a mobile contact number for the help line as 99% of the customers will be calling for help from their mobiles, which I dont think can access 1800 numbers

>>> Roadside assistance of this sort will likely be planned by a manufacturer keeping certain parameters in mind, such as,

1. PR benefits- brand credibility enhancement
2. Customer 'stickiness'
3. Ability to provide such services within costs

Toyota has done well in India, from almost all its models ( Qualis, Innova, Corolla Altis and the Fortuner); however its reputation has taken a beating due to the spate of recalls arising due to its headlong pursuit of becoming the largest manufacturer of cars and its sidelining of fault related issues in the US for a long time.

The latter could have been the catalyst for this move, as India assumes centrestage for almost all auto majors ( even the PSA group:))

However, Toyota is not a luxury marque by conventional standards. I guess that is why you have used inverted commas for luxury. Lexus is its luxury brand.

Regards

I agree. All I was saying was that it seems a bit weird that for a brand that claims to be a "luxury" brand in India (whereas in the rest of the world it is just a good, reliable brand), it takes a hit on their reputation by some events to make them provide the most fundamental service such as roadside assistance.

What will be someone's reaction if they hear a news like "a famous luxury hotel has now started offering room service". What would you say? "Well, that is good, but weren't you supposed to offer that in the first place when you claim to be a luxury hotel?" My feelings are the same with this news.

Exactly! :)