Team-BHP > The Indian Car Scene


Reply
  Search this Thread
377,880 views
Old 17th February 2011, 23:25   #16
Team-BHP Support
 
Jaggu's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Bangalore
Posts: 20,207
Thanked: 15,848 Times
Re: Hyundai India, unreasonable long term maintenance and service practices!

Yes Maruti does the itemized billing and we all have discussed the same and expressed the unfair practice. So does Honda and so does Ford coz these are the brands which i have used in the recent past and can comment on.

Now question to you:

Are you sure these jobs were done for your car?? Coz as far as the bill i received today, all these were itemized for me apart from the regular service charge of 800 bucks. Am quite sure brake overhaul is beyond 800 bucks. I hope your dealer is not fooling you by saying it is done.

If you are getting alignment also for this 800 bucks from a dealership workshop you are a very lucky person, coz i really do NOT think so!

Anyways itemized billing is injustice when it comes to regular maintanence stuff like brake cleaning and alignment. I would rather prefer them charging more for such service intervals and include everything in that xxxx amount.

The point is NOT that, why is Hyundai denying repair of regular stuff which is a very common maintenance phenomenon for almost all the other manufacturer.

Update: I have sent the email to Hyundai at the common id. This is just the beginning.

Quote:
Originally Posted by pras.oct25 View Post
I saw my friends bill from maruti in Chennai for 50000km service on his diesel dzire today.
===================
Now are we going to say that maruti's are expensive to maintain?
Why is everything being generalized here based on one service center or one specific car?

Last edited by Jaggu : 17th February 2011 at 23:29.
Jaggu is offline  
Old 17th February 2011, 23:58   #17
Senior - BHPian
 
ph03n!x's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Coimbatore
Posts: 2,561
Thanked: 5,952 Times
Re: Hyundai India, unreasonable long term maintenance and service practices!

From what I have know from personal experience, and from fellow BHPians - Hyundais are pretty cheap to maintain. And I am talking about the so called high-on-maintanence Diesels. I am not going into costs and specifics, but here is what I learnt-

Your bill is only as good as the A.S.S / SA you deal with - irrespective of the brand. I have seen cheap maintenance Skodas, pocket burning Marutis / Tatas, throttle-body-cleaning-on-Diesel Hyundais.

No point in blaming the company if the SA is taking you for a ride, or if the service center is bad - we know for sure that there are few bad places for Fords, Marutis, Tatas, etc. - why single out Hyundai?

@Jaggu - I am not taking sides here. Please check with another / reliable A.S.S - or better still a good independent garage. I will happily recommend you to IgNite had you been in Chennai - I recently got the steering boot overhauled for my uncle's Santro (manual) at a fraction of the cost A.S.S quoted me (for overhaul, that too). My SA is honest enough to hint "sir, take it outside..." and leave it hanging. I take the hint.
ph03n!x is online now  
Old 18th February 2011, 00:05   #18
Team-BHP Support
 
Jaggu's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Bangalore
Posts: 20,207
Thanked: 15,848 Times
Re: Hyundai India, unreasonable long term maintenance and service practices!

^^ ph02n!x i agree but the point is, this is just not one off case. This has been happening again and again and atleast 3 people i know very closely have been taken for a ride here in BLR. Irrespective of dealership or SA.

What does this mean, Hyundai does not monitor/control/dont care?

Quote:
Originally Posted by sidindica View Post
Parts are OK, but the labour is prohibitively expensive.
I can comment only from my experience and parts are not reasonable, have you checked the price of drive shaft assembly for a Wagon R Vs Santro manual tranny?

Forget this^^ what about repairing a rack instead of replacing it, and if you read the replies this is not one off case. Which means Hyundai does not have a control or don't care what dealership is upto.

Quote:
Originally Posted by shivasuma View Post
Oh boy!, my i20 diesel is due for its first paid service at the end of this month. Hope they don't try to rip me off. I will look into the manual and see what needs to be changed/replaced at the 4th service.
Take abundant extended service cover/warranty

Quote:
Originally Posted by abhinav.s View Post
Well well... We were wondering back in 2007, why the HASS was quoting 22k for a silencer job on a 4 year old Santro. Now we know! We were able to get the work done outside for 8k!!!

Interesting to see what answers you will find
Yup my manager was quoted some 15 grand for a broken end can. Replace the whole exhaust system Vs end can. She replaced the end can for 3k IIRC. A+ quality part was used.

Quote:
Originally Posted by rjstyles69 View Post
Wonder if he is gonna come back at me someday soon.
What about the i10 auto owners, this model is selling like hot cake. They will get a shock when a rat chews up the CV boot. LOL.

Quote:
Originally Posted by akhilesh View Post
The same rack issue happened with my cousin Santro and he was also given an estimate cost of INR 18k's. He got the seal replaced outside for 400 bucks!
This is reassuring, i plan to go this way.

Quote:
Originally Posted by wildon View Post
When i got irritated with the steering noise, i asked them to replace the rack assembly, and the first answer i got is:

Hyundai only recommends to replace the Yoke spring and Pad and not the full assembly. But i'm sure when your warranty is over the tone will be;

Sir Hyundai doesn't recommend to repair it, you have to change the whole assembly.
Story given to me by the SA was different, maybe you should get the car here. We will get the whole assembly replaced

Quote:
Originally Posted by MCR View Post
Well, I would like to re-quote my post from September 2009.
===========
As he was pondering to pay and get the steering assembly replaced, I just sent him a link to Wildon and Skanchan's thread. He is happy that he saved a lot of money and heartburn.
The reason why we love TBHP.

Quote:
Originally Posted by pgsagar View Post
Hyundai A.S.S. so bad? That is news to me because on lot of forums here in tembhp, people often lauded Hyundai's A.S.S. and derided Tata's.
Not only HASS, others are also equally good. One more reason to do your research on a reliable friendly neighborhood mech!

Quote:
Originally Posted by rameshnanda View Post
Its No surprise for me.
I have previously owned a Hyundai and never had a good service experience with them. I have posted one of my experience with them in another thread.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...ml#post1807379
Don't scare me now!

Quote:
Originally Posted by AbhiJ View Post
Tell me the size of the oil seal.. I ll try to source an excellent quality one for you ..
Thanks let me try it with an independent garage, am sure part is available off the shelf here in BLR. If not i will trouble you.

Quote:
Originally Posted by .anshuman View Post
Jaggu i have had similar experience too. I'd say this common across all manufacturers, not limited just to Hyundai. Depends on the local dealer. Posting a quote from earlier post:
Yes dealership matters, but the manufacturer also puts pressure on dealer to deliver, when things are reported. Let us see if that is the case with Hyundai.
Jaggu is offline   (1) Thanks
Old 18th February 2011, 00:22   #19
Senior - BHPian
 
ph03n!x's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Coimbatore
Posts: 2,561
Thanked: 5,952 Times
Re: Hyundai India, unreasonable long term maintenance and service practices!

Quote:
Originally Posted by Jaggu View Post
^^ ph02n!x i agree but the point is, this is just not one off case. This has been happening again and again and atleast 3 people i know very closely have been taken for a ride here in BLR. Irrespective of dealership or SA.

What does this mean, Hyundai does not monitor/control/dont care?
The "throttle-body-cleaning" I mentioned was an item in my first paid service bill - though I know the SA very well. But all it took was one look at the bill and a look at him to have the bill set right.

I am not naming Hyundai / Maruti / Tata or anyone. This is common for all.
  • Most A.S.S can do routine jobs (and insurance claims) pretty well. There are some who mess that too, keep away from them.
  • Most A.S.S will take you for a ride given a chance. Be alert, take second opinion for non-routine jobs, inquire about the cost of genuine parts in the open market. Also have a good independent workshop.
  • There is only so much the manufacturer can do, as 90% of the job carried out by A.S.S is routine, and very few will have complaints on that. And even on a complaint, the manufacturer will tend to believe with what the A.S.S tells them (we would tend to believe our own team's reasoning than the one point a finger at us, right?).

Interestingly, the Santro I mentioned on the previous post had a damaged boot - and it was 7 years old. It has less than 30k on the clock, and was not serviced in the last 6 months. So-

Heads up for all Hyundaians - have the steering boots checked on your cars at regular intervals!
ph03n!x is online now  
Old 18th February 2011, 00:26   #20
Senior - BHPian
 
kb100's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Bangy Boy!
Posts: 1,555
Thanked: 21 Times
Re: Hyundai India, unreasonable long term maintenance and service practices!

I had a Hyundai Accent CRDi for over 8 years.. and have now moved to an Elantra CRDi.

I can tell you from personal experience that what Jaggu said is true(and has always been true) in my case too - even as recent as one week ago.

A biker cracked into my left passenger door and BOTH the dealerships in Bangalore said the entire door needs to be replaced including the moulding. I kept trying to show him how there was absolutely nothing wrong with the moulding and even the clips were intact - but to no avail. Total estimate 28,000/- plus all the insurance damage/loss of no claims and so on and so forth! (BTW - when it comes to painting - I have had experience with one of the dealers here and they did a horrible job!)

I took the car to Sai Colorium - they fixed everything in 4k!

Last edited by kb100 : 18th February 2011 at 00:36.
kb100 is offline  
Old 18th February 2011, 01:16   #21
BANNED
 
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Bangalore
Posts: 2,440
Thanked: 1,235 Times
Re: Hyundai India, unreasonable long term maintenance and service practices!

Quote:
Originally Posted by Jaggu View Post
Story given to me by the SA was different, maybe you should get the car here. We will get the whole assembly replaced
Yoke Pad, Spring, GEAR ASSEMBLY - STEERING,Universal Joint etc... are already been changed under warranty, and inbetween they screwed my steering wheel which was not centered.

Yes they do told different stories, but i don't know what they told to you .
On my last servicing they replaced the front struts too saying thats the reason for suspension noise.

At last my vehicle is given to me after rectifying the problems and hoping that the problems wont reappear as happened earlier times.

A google search revealed that its because of the strut/suspension problem the vehicle tend to move/drag to one side, and this is also reported in i45 in USA which resulted a Hyundai recall there.
wildon is offline  
Old 18th February 2011, 01:25   #22
Team-BHP Support
 
Jaggu's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Bangalore
Posts: 20,207
Thanked: 15,848 Times
Re: Hyundai India, unreasonable long term maintenance and service practices!

Quote:
Originally Posted by ph03n!x View Post
The "throttle-body-cleaning" I mentioned was an item in my first paid service bill - though I know the SA very well. But all it took was one look at the bill and a look at him to have the bill set right.
This is just personal equation that is playing. A good dealership will have atleast 10-20 regular paid service every day, of which just one or two will have this equation working for them. What about the rest 18? 18*~200 Rs for all these minor jobs like throttle body being cleaned = ???

Yes this is not limited to Hyundai BUT i have been using dealerships from MUL, Honda and Ford for last 20 years. I never had such an experience with any of the SA's. Doesn't mean i have had smooth sailing all through out. I have had issue's but the SA always offered me logical explanation and was ready to offer better solution or explain things convincingly. FYI this time i did not even bother to argue, all i was asking was logical questions to the SA and answers were not convincing at all.

Can anyone with a Santro auto box refer to the manual on transmission oil change interval and post here please? I will then tell you bigger joke's that was being showed on me.

Mind you am not the so called unaware customer, i know my cars well! to realize between when am being given stories or facts. Not bragging but read my ownership experiences to know more

For the time being i will give the benefit of doubt to Hyundai and blame it on an individual SA or a dealership. Let us see how Hyundai responds, that will reveal a lot.

Yes i have had excellent responses to my emails to other manufacturer's and NO without any mention of TBHP in them. Just as a regular customer.
Jaggu is offline  
Old 18th February 2011, 08:10   #23
Senior - BHPian
 
MileCruncher's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: MH01
Posts: 4,231
Thanked: 583 Times
Re: Hyundai India, unreasonable long term maintenance and service practices!

As already reiterated earlier, all brands more of less advocate the philosophy of replacing the whole assembly rather than repairing it as its a easy way to make money.

Please also note SA's have targets on parts sales so they will try to reach their targets at any cost and the innocent the customer, the better.
MileCruncher is online now  
Old 18th February 2011, 10:08   #24
BHPian
 
csateesh's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Bangalore
Posts: 551
Thanked: 168 Times
Re: Hyundai India, unreasonable long term maintenance and service practices!

Jaggu,

I completely agree with you on this.

It took me a while to build a good rapport with the SA who now understands that I will make a lot of noise for things that are done without any approval. Infact when they started to talk about engine lacquering I made such a ruckus that Hyundai Motors (HMIL) was fed up with me. I guess the sheer no. of emails they got from me. Hell broke loose that day. The HMIL personnel indicated that this is the first time that they had to call someone for such a small issue. They got it from me for making that statement but I guess without driving these folks it isn't going to be easy.

I always make it a point to have everything on record.

But as you say the common man is indeed taken for a ride. A colleague of mine was recommended engine decarb for his i10 that has completed just 13k

He was also charged for windscreen wiper fluid additive. It costed him INR 200.

Somehow they are keen on fleecing novice customers stating something or the other.

The situation is unfortunate. If you don't pull the SA up for stuff that isn't authorized you get fleeced even more.

And for folks in Bangalore the situation is pretty bad when it comes to accident repairs. The body work done by Advaith is of very poor quality. Couple of my colleagues went through this agony. The shoddy job of Advaith allows them to quote lower amount compared to Trident for Accident Repairs that results in Insurance folks pushing all users to get it done for Advaith.

Thanks for starting this thread. This will atleast help Hyundai users to deal with HASS in the right manner.

Having said all of this I haven't had too many issues after the initial issues

Now the most important question for you. Are there any good places in Bangalore where we can get our job done without having to empty our pockets for Hyundai vehicles PMS?
csateesh is offline   (1) Thanks
Old 18th February 2011, 10:22   #25
BHPian
 
pras.oct25's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Chennai
Posts: 665
Thanked: 7 Times
Re: Hyundai India, unreasonable long term maintenance and service practices!

Quote:
Originally Posted by Jaggu View Post
Yes Maruti does the itemized billing and we all have discussed the same and expressed the unfair practice. So does Honda and so does Ford coz these are the brands which i have used in the recent past and can comment on.

Now question to you:

Are you sure these jobs were done for your car?? Coz as far as the bill i received today, all these were itemized for me apart from the regular service charge of 800 bucks. Am quite sure brake overhaul is beyond 800 bucks. I hope your dealer is not fooling you by saying it is done.

If you are getting alignment also for this 800 bucks from a dealership workshop you are a very lucky person, coz i really do NOT think so!

Anyways itemized billing is injustice when it comes to regular maintanence stuff like brake cleaning and alignment. I would rather prefer them charging more for such service intervals and include everything in that xxxx amount.

The point is NOT that, why is Hyundai denying repair of regular stuff which is a very common maintenance phenomenon for almost all the other manufacturer.

Update: I have sent the email to Hyundai at the common id. This is just the beginning.
Yes sir I watched all the work being carried out on the car personally. To verify the alignment I even took it to a tire store the next day and had the alignment rechecked and the values were fine. If there are too many cars on a given day, he will tell me himself that its better I get alignment and stuff done outside so that I am satisfied with the outcome.
Let me tell you that just because I am a hyundai owner I am not a hyundai fan or an avid hyundai supporter. If anything I would be the first one to stand up and say across India and across all brands and all service centers every single customer is taken for a ride in some way or the other.
But why is this happening? Many people dont even bother reading the bill. They just want to know the amount to be paid. Many other people do not understand what is being done on the car.
With the money minded business culture that India has, can you blame a hyundai, maruti or a ford dealer from minting money from customers?
The issue sir is not going to be solved by attacking any brand name. The issue will only be solved when
1) People who own cars start to get strict with these people about their requirements and let them know that you mean business.
2) When people stop abusing their cars. I have seen miserably maintained cars at the A.S.S. The difference in attitude the Service Advisor shows towards my car and that car is light years apart. When they know that you really care about your car, then they take you seriously.

Anyway this thread will go from bashing hyundai to bashing me next so I'm out of here.
As long as my car is taken good care of by those guys then I really dont have anything more to contribute here.
pras.oct25 is offline  
Old 18th February 2011, 10:51   #26
Team-BHP Support
 
Jaggu's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Bangalore
Posts: 20,207
Thanked: 15,848 Times
Re: Hyundai India, unreasonable long term maintenance and service practices!

Quote:
Originally Posted by pras.oct25 View Post
Yes sir I watched all the work being carried out on the car personally. To verify the alignment I even took it to a tire store the next day and had the alignment rechecked and the values were fine. If there are too many cars on a given day, he will tell me himself that its better I get alignment and stuff done outside so that I am satisfied with the outcome.
============
Anyway this thread will go from bashing hyundai to bashing me next so I'm out of here.
As long as my car is taken good care of by those guys then I really dont have anything more to contribute here.
I think you are very lucky customer and have a good rapport with the SA that is helping. I was a first time customer (ok 2nd time i guess) and i never had a chance to build a rapport unfortunately. I was given a very cold shoulder approach when i was just listing out the jobs.

Secondly regarding the brand, please understand that i have given it a long thought. I was going through different threads in TBHP also to understand if it was just a one off dealership thing. To be very honest, rest of the jobs were at acceptable level in my case. I don't really have an issue with the nature of work which was done, nor i crib if i was charged separate for injector cleaning, throttle body cleaning etc. Its a business and that is the price you pay for peace of mind. After going through all the data, it struck me. As a brand Hyundai whom i held in great regards till recently, were fleecing unsuspecting customers.

Any manufacturer serious about their business will have enough checks at dealership level also. One off case will still happen, but it cannot be the standard reply thrown at all the customers. Atleast that is what the data here shows. Replies in thread are mostly from hyundai owners also right?

Let me tell you about Honda, i have had big showdown with them in the past. But each and every time they have taken additional care to follow through with explanation, when i insist they have done my specific requests and then proved me wrong also. Yes they are pretty expensive compared to Hyundai.

Same drive shaft boot issue we have with Crv, the SA called up and informed us that he tried his level best but unfortunately the boot is not available for the CBU Crv. All the other models they can offer. Price of the axle for a Crv is same as that of a Santro, so obviously when i saw 8$ OE boots in net, i called up Honda to check if they can help me fix it at their workshop. They clearly denied my request saying it was their policy not to take up unauthorized parts fitment. But instead he has accepted a request from us, to see if the part can be imported directly from Japan.

This is where the difference comes and don't tell me a company like Hyundai does not care about such details at the dealership?

Let me make it very clear, i don't have anything for or against the brand Hyundai (apart from the fact that i always felt their cars were boring lol). On the other hand i accepted that they were one of the brand which scores high in reliability factor. I am ready to correct the thread title and even move it to a dealership experience, but then i need to get a response. I don't want them to give me any special preference and i don't even expect them to call me and fix the issues.

All i demand is:

- Do they stock parts like drive shaft boot which are prone to failure for Santro AT? Atleast at the factory?

- Can they confirm from their side that, santro steering rack from rane cannot be repaired for a minor oil leak? Am ok if they can give me a proper technical explanation for this.
Jaggu is offline   (1) Thanks
Old 18th February 2011, 10:59   #27
BANNED
 
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Gurugram
Posts: 7,969
Thanked: 4,786 Times
Re: Hyundai India, unreasonable long term maintenance and service practices!

Practically every dealership/A$$ is out to make a fast buck. Straight forward things like exhausts, brake pads, drive shafts can easily be done outside at a fraction of the cost. In general where there is a straight swap of a part there should be no problem. The A$$ may not like, it, but then that is all they can say.
sgiitk is offline  
Old 18th February 2011, 11:32   #28
BHPian
 
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Bangalore
Posts: 773
Thanked: 404 Times
Re: Hyundai India, unreasonable long term maintenance and service practices!

I own a 5.5 year old Santro AT and a 3 year old Verna and have been servicing it with Trident Hyundai in Bangalore.

So at least 4 times a year I need to avail their services and both are longish owned cars. FYI I bought both these cars from Trident.

I have so far not found their service practices to be unreasonable. On the contrary. I agree their labor charges have gone up recently, but I feel that I get the service to the best of their abilities.

For instance:

1. I have had to replace the radiator twice under warranty in Verna due to engine coolant leaks. Their assessment of the problem may not have been the most intelligent, but they replaced it under warranty within the time estimated by them. Subsequently they figured out that the connecting hose pipe was leaking possibly leading to air bubbles entering the shells and breaking it when the engine temperature rose. So they changed the hose pipe for Rs 250 + taxes. At no time did I feel were they trying to palm it off as my error and refuse warranty. All our discussions were healthy and within bounds of reason.

2. I have had to replace a crankshaft in my Santro. I was initially taken aback, but I was given a detailed explanation and told that this may have been a reliability problem. They went ahead and told me that they can show the defect only after my go ahead to replace with a new one. They replaced it and showed me subsequently why the replacement had to be done, patiently answering my questions. Not that I am an auto techie but they withstood the volley of logically reasoned queries pretty well.

3. Some minor yet important things - I find their processes to be friendly. They will send you an SMS before a due service, give a patient hearing to all your problems and tell you honestly what they can / cannot do. They also have a list of spare costs and labor costs put up at the service center. They always give you an estimate before starting the job. They prepare proper entry passes noting down inventory, dents, fuel levels, among others. Their invoices are well prepared (agree labor charges are higher) and parts replaced are shown and the worn out part provided to you. They will give you a time estimate and normally stick to it.

4. They really attend to you promptly. I have made about 5 insurance claims in the past 3 years and I have found their service to be better than expected.

I also found almost all the 3 - 4 SAs I have worked with to be genuine about what they can / cannot do.

I hope my experience continues - because that's one of my biggest "driver" for choosing a car.

Cheers,

Last edited by diffsoft : 18th February 2011 at 11:35.
diffsoft is offline  
Old 18th February 2011, 11:40   #29
BHPian
 
CoolFire's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Tsr, Kerala
Posts: 386
Thanked: 574 Times
Re: Hyundai India, unreasonable long term maintenance and service practices!

I, having owned a Santro for 5 years can vouch for the fact that most Hyundai dealerships in north Kerala are experts in fleecing customers (South Kerala is better, btw). Having switched to a Ford for the last two years, I find their service better and even cheaper in most cases. Cheap Hyundai A.S.S is a myth, wholly dependant on the quality of the particular dealership and even SA.

Maruti obviously is the best because you have lot of good options to choose from and the competition among them is quite high.

Last edited by CoolFire : 18th February 2011 at 11:41.
CoolFire is offline  
Old 18th February 2011, 11:58   #30
Team-BHP Support
 
Jaggu's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Bangalore
Posts: 20,207
Thanked: 15,848 Times
Re: Hyundai India, unreasonable long term maintenance and service practices!

@diffsoft: I had the very same expectation when i walked into the garage. Which changed very soon afterwards Hope you don't mind if i ask you for the details of the branch of Trident, maybe they might be able to help resolve my situation better.

Warranty cover is generally smooth if the reasons are genuine, i have had no issues with the same with other manufacturers also. The moment you step out of warranty your trouble starts. Just curious, what was the reason for changing the crank and at how many kms was this done?

The other points 3, 4 are followed by almost all dealerships these days. Even i don't have an issue in my experience.

I think many of you are missing the point which i am trying to figure out. Its not the HASS or warranty or the itemized billing. Am questioning the approach of replacing the whole part, when minor repair can be done and the part as a whole is very expensive.

Yes one can argue about reliability if you repair, but these are parts which don't mess up the reliability. One part i mentioned is something which will improve the reliability of the system.
Jaggu is offline  
Reply

Most Viewed
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search

Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Team-BHP.com
Proudly powered by E2E Networks