[SDP]

Originally Posted by SDP

....
Had verified the location of the service center last week itself. The location is inside a industrial compound. The heavy truck-traffic and the rains have ensured that there are no road lefts inside the compound - just huge craters filled with mud and dirty-water. Would upload a pic later today.
...

Here are a couple of pics showing the road in front of the service-center. Please note - this is an internal road inside an industrial complex compound.





All this mud and dirty water meant that the freshly cleaned XUV (especially the tyres and alloys) remained clean for about 10 seconds after getting out of the service center.

------------------------------------------------------------
Misc observations at the service center

1. There was huge stock of headlamps piled up at the service center. Looks like fast moving item. During my 6 hours at the service center, headlamps on 3 XUVs were changed.

2. A single headlamp unit (NOT a pair) showed a price of ~12,000 Rs on the box. Seemed steep.

3. There was an internal notice pasted on the shop-floor detailing about how to test the vehicle after alignment. Seems like a issue often reported and re-reported (bad-fixes).

4. There are 2 RMs and 2 more are getting trained. The RMs spent most of their time at their desk and not on the shop-floor supervising the work. May be supervision is not part of their job responsibilities.

5. Couple of amazing drivers on the staff. The skill with which they were maneuvering the vehicles in and out of the repair bays was noticeable.

6. While working on the vehicle which is raised on the fork-lift, many mechanics were using the removed alloy wheels (and tyres) to gain height. Not cool!

7. Many XUVs that I saw were owned by the politico class. So one should be ready to rub shoulders with their drivers in the customer lounge.

8. Didn't see a paint-booth anywhere. Looks like the body-shop is elsewhere and may not be exclusive to XUV customers.

[Wind]

Originally Posted by SDP

2nd and 3rd impressions:

16. The ride at city-speeds on Mumbai roads is not very pleasant. Need to get the tyre-pressure checked to start with. You need to really slow down even for normal sized speed-breakers.

Did you check the tyre pressure? I switched over to Nitrogen today and in the short ride I had after the refill the ride felt more comfortable. I am not sure whether it is due to Nitrogen or due to the correct tyre pressure in my tyres now.

-- Wind

[rohitbagai]

Our RMs are non technical staff. They are just like us but from "their side". They are our advocates and it's like if they don't pass the work done then the job is not complete officially and the mechanics have to do the job in a better way again.
In my case my RM is more concerned about my car than me. There are times that he has rejected small things like washing, alignment etc on his own and sent back the car to be redone without even my intervention.
My RM has made my life easy by taking all the headache of claiming warranties and coordination between different departments even with vendors directly ( for example with JK tyres or Nippon etc) There was a case when my navigation was not working and the software guy told that he will upgrade the software and it will be resolved. My RM told him to get the screen changed as it would take less time and I will get a scratch less screen.
Last time he changed the sun shade flap (the one with vanity mirror ) foc I was amazed to see it because I forgot to tell him that the light of the vanity mirror was not working, at the time of opening the job card.
I have seen him arguing with the mechanics because he and his customer thinks that there is some problem which the mechanics fail to identify. For example a customer reported hard door operation, mechanics did their part lubricating the parts hinges etc. But still two of the doors were a but tight. So before approving the job done he went to the shop floor and checked the same and found them not up to the mark. The mechanic was forced to work again on the problem.

[princey]

1. There was huge stock of headlamps piled up at the service center. Looks like fast moving item. During my 6 hours at the service center, headlamps on 3 XUVs were changed.

Were the headlamps changed as a routine replacement or were they damaged in the 3 XUVs, so the change.
Please elaborate.

[SDP]

Originally Posted by rohitbagai

Our RMs are non technical staff. They are just like us but from "their side". They are our advocates and it's like if they don't pass the work done then the job is not complete officially and the mechanics have to do the job in a better way again.
In my case my RM is more concerned about my car than me. There are times that he has rejected small things like washing, alignment etc on his own and sent back the car to be redone without even my intervention.
....

Rohit, you are one lucky man to get such a RM!

Originally Posted by princey

1. There was huge stock of headlamps piled up at the service center. Looks like fast moving item. During my 6 hours at the service center, headlamps on 3 XUVs were changed.

Were the headlamps changed as a routine replacement or were they damaged in the 3 XUVs, so the change.
Please elaborate.

No visible damage to any of the changed pieces. So most likely they were just malfunctioning.

[rajeev k]

Yes it is better to drain and refill engine oil after the initial 1000 kms for reasons mentioned in above posts. But, one question what kind of oil is the OE fill, mineral or synthetic and what is the recommended first change as per owners manual?

[SDP]

Originally Posted by Wind

Did you check the tyre pressure? I switched over to Nitrogen today and in the short ride I had after the refill the ride felt more comfortable. I am not sure whether it is due to Nitrogen or due to the correct tyre pressure in my tyres now.

-- Wind

I did check the pressure and it is OK. Completed 500Kms yesterday and the ride has marginally improved.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Originally Posted by rajeev k

Yes it is better to drain and refill engine oil after the initial 1000 kms for reasons mentioned in above posts. But, one question what kind of oil is the OE fill, mineral or synthetic and what is the recommended first change as per owners manual?

Thanks. OE fill is a mineral oil and NOT synthetic and as per the manual the first change is at 5000 kms.

[vij4all]

A big congrats on the Duma. It does look wow and reading your initial dilemma of whether to go in for a 11L sedan or stretch the budget and buy an SUV, I couldn't help wonder how most of us are in a similar predicament.

Although 15 and odd lakhs does seem quite on the higher side to me. Is this the top end model?

[SDP]

Originally Posted by vij4all

...
Is this the top end model?

Thanks vij4all! I do get asked this question quite often and I always wonder how to answer. I typically answer "this is the top end model available". If somebody notices the choice of words and persists, I add "Mine is a W8 FWD. There is a W8 AWD model which comes with All-Wheel-Drive and costs possibly a Lakh more. But Mahindras are not taking any bookings for the model."

So, there you go!

[SDP]

A security solution for my Duma

Have been reading about security systems and solutions for a few days. I have decided to get a gear-lock and a GPS tracking based security solution.

For the gear-lock, autocop and xenos are potential candidates. Autocop definitely has a XUV5OO specific gear-lock. Remember seeing a picture by a TBHPian in the official review thread. Have not done any homework beyond shortlisting.

For the GPS solution, short-listed the following three - MapMyIndia, iTrack and Mahindra Telematics.

The Mahindra dealers sell iTrack as official GPS tracker solution for XUV5OO. Its not listed in the accessories list as apparently the market has not taken fancy of the GPS trackers yet. Came to know about iTrack through my RM, when I was at the service-center last Saturday.

Came to know about Mahindra Telematics from the thread: http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/street...ts-inside.html

The solution is not advertised by Mahindra anywhere and practically no information is available online about it. The TBHP-thread also has no concrete details about pricing/dealer-network etc. Apparently, it was a Mahindra vehicle and it was company fitted. Got a office number through a little bit of googling. Called them, after a few transfers, reached a business development guy. Got some details, more are expected.

Apparently Fleet Management sector is the primary customer for these solutions and therefore there is a lot of real-time tracking of multiple parameters and a whole bunch of different alerts & reports. A individual user would not need that amount of info and the Telematics guy suggested a simpler solution called VSS (Vehicle Security System) by which one can track a vehicle on a mobile-app or via SMS.

Would get more details in coming days and finalize.

When Mahindras have a home-grown solution, not sure why that is not being positioned for Scorp-Xylo-XUV-Verito customers. Anyways, at this point, I am tilting more towards iTrack as they are official OEM suppliers and would mean fewer troubles with the warranty.

[PGA]

Originally Posted by SDP

A security solution for my Duma

Can we know as to what made you feel the need for one. Aren't the existing features sufficient enough. I mean if the the key/remote matched with the vehicle is not in the vehicle physically, it is immobilised and cannot be started.

Also if a BHPian could comment on the possibilty of frequency reading machines (never seen one though) picking up the signals from the remote of your vehicle and cloning it.

[SDP]

Originally Posted by PGA

Can we know as to what made you feel the need for one. Aren't the existing features sufficient enough. I mean if the the key/remote matched with the vehicle is not in the vehicle physically, it is immobilised and cannot be started.
..

Multiple reasons:
1. SUVs are popular target of thieves. Especially the ones popular in politico class.

2. XUV5OO is decently successful in the market and going by the waiting list, there would be continued strong demand in the foreseeable future. Market darlings are popular targets.

3. With very similar factory-fitted security setup (immobilizer, central-locking+alarm) on the Scorpio, there are n number of cases of Scorpios getting stolen. In fact, its one of the hot favorites among the thieves. Apparently immobilizer keys are not very difficult to replicate.

4. I love my new car and would hate to see it stolen.

5. May be I am paranoid.

[F150]

What is the estimated investment for the enhanced security?
Gear lock costs approximately Rs 4-5k. Mahindra Telematics?

[scopriobharath]

Originally Posted by SDP

Multiple reasons:

5. May be I am paranoid.

SDP Bhai - I totally second you. It is better to be safe than sorry. XUV is a "wanted" vehicle and is definetly theft prone. Please invest on a GSM security system at the earliest.

Originally Posted by F150

What is the estimated investment for the enhanced security?
Gear lock costs approximately Rs 4-5k. Mahindra Telematics?

It would cost 20,000/-. GSM Kits are available in the 15K Range, with SMS based engine immobiliser and all bells and whistles. Gear locks cost 3-5K and negligible costs of having GPRS on your smartphone (98 for monthly 2GB of 2G OR 250/- for 1GB 3G) to track your vehicle in real time.

[SDP]

Originally Posted by F150

What is the estimated investment for the enhanced security?
Gear lock costs approximately Rs 4-5k. Mahindra Telematics?

Originally Posted by scopriobharath

SDP Bhai - I totally second you. It is better to be safe than sorry. XUV is a "wanted" vehicle and is definetly theft prone. Please invest on a GSM security system at the earliest.


It would cost 20,000/-. GSM Kits are available in the 15K Range, with SMS based engine immobiliser and all bells and whistles. Gear locks cost 3-5K and negligible costs of having GPRS on your smartphone (98 for monthly 2GB of 2G OR 250/- for 1GB 3G) to track your vehicle in real time.

Mechanical gear locks in 3-5K range? I had read its more like 1-1.5K. Need to recheck.

For the GPS trackers (not GSM), I have got informal quotes in the range of 11-13K. Would update when I get firm quotes and specifications.

As per my understanding, GSM trackers can't pinpoint an exact location with workable accuracy, whereas GPS trackers are accurate to the extent of +- 10 meters. Most of the GPS trackers also need a GSM SIM so as to have a SMS interface.

Let me get more details.