[sridharj]

Originally Posted by rameshnanda

Yes Sridhar. Make sure that you get the order number from them.

2 years back, when my friend's Dezire met with an accident, it took almost 4 months for Maruthi to give the car back to him after lot of escalations. He even threatened them to file a suit in consumer forum. Why I am telling this is that this situation happens with almost all manufacturers in India. It's the efficiency of the dealers that will make lot of difference.

I am confident that you will get your car back in couple of weeks. Just followup with them.

Just got a call from VST that they have placed an order for the external parts and the parts will be received on Monday. If any other parts needed they said they will order and get them with a week. Lets see how it goes from here.

Thanks,
Sridhar

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Guys,

Does the 2012 Punto come with rear wash & wipe? I mean - couldn't locate the rear washer anywhere near that wiper arrangement.

I have booked my first service (5000 kms service) for tomorrow, with Concorde Motors, ECR - 40 days after taking delivery.

Only oil change and other fluids top up should be there in the plan, right? Anything special to do/ watch out for?

[fiat_tarun]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

Guys,

Does the 2012 Punto come with rear wash & wipe? I mean - couldn't locate the rear washer anywhere near that wiper arrangement.

The nozzle for the rear wash is a part of the tailgate mounted brake light. It is also in red and is a little hard to spot.

[.sushilkumar]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

Guys,

Does the 2012 Punto come with rear wash & wipe? I mean - couldn't locate the rear washer anywhere near that wiper arrangement.

I have booked my first service (5000 kms service) for tomorrow, with Concorde Motors, ECR - 40 days after taking delivery.

Only oil change and other fluids top up should be there in the plan, right? Anything special to do/ watch out for?

As for as i know , there is no oil change in first service. Top up can be done if required . Kindly report any niggles here or there if any or they will go by the rule book for first service.

No idea on rear washer as i have a 2011 punto .

[PremjitS]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

Guys,

Does the 2012 Punto come with rear wash & wipe? I mean - couldn't locate the rear washer anywhere near that wiper arrangement.

I have booked my first service (5000 kms service) for tomorrow, with Concorde Motors, ECR - 40 days after taking delivery.

Only oil change and other fluids top up should be there in the plan, right? Anything special to do/ watch out for?

Indeed it does

The washer is the little red bumper on the rear middle stop light on the. It's on the left side of the stop light.

[scofield]

Guys, I have a silly question .
After driving my punto for 25K odd KMs and now getting pretty acclamatised with the car's run , when ever i sit in any other car (this side of 10 lacs barring linea) I feel that travelling even at a speed of 120 KMPH is very noticeable and you can feel that the car is moving swiftly.
However on punto - 120 KMPH is just like it makes my feel i am driving at 80 odd. Am i having some slow motion sickness or is the odo reading faulty.
I often ask my companions about the feel at 120 KMPH and even they feel the same.
Also, as i drive with a lot of loud music I dont hear the air sound and adding to it is the slow motion feel i get when i drive the car - i just clock speeds nearing 180 odd and then i realise it.

Would like to know if the fellow FIATians also feel the same.

[rameshnanda]

Originally Posted by scofield

Would like to know if the fellow FIATians also feel the same.

Yes. It is. That is how the Fiats are built. You should feel swiftness in other cars. That is how those cars are built .

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

Guys,

Does the 2012 Punto come with rear wash & wipe? I mean - couldn't locate the rear washer anywhere near that wiper arrangement.

I have booked my first service (5000 kms service) for tomorrow, with Concorde Motors, ECR - 40 days after taking delivery.

Only oil change and other fluids top up should be there in the plan, right? Anything special to do/ watch out for?

Fiat does not recommend Oil Change for the first service. If you want to do it, you can ask for it. They will do top-up free of cost. Other items covered in First Service are, standard checkup, Wheel Alignment, Car wash. You should get the bill for Rs. 0.

[sandeepmdas]

My Punto EP is back from the third service (30K KMS) from Kulathunkal Motors, Trivandrum. There were only two complaints:
- the rear left wheel was squealing "eeek" when brakes.
- the handbrake had absolutely no "brake" effect.
The wheel alignment was part of the package but the wheel balancing was paid job(Rs 300). The other major expenses were:
Engine Oil 2290
Oil filter 362
Fuel filter 1679
Air filter 265

The total bill came for Rs 5716 incl taxes.
Overall it was a very good service experience; everything was done very well and the car was returned promptly, as promised.

So, thirty thousand kilometers gone and guys, I have nothing else to report.

Originally Posted by scofield

... is the odo reading faulty.
Would like to know if the fellow FIATians also feel the same.

I too thought the same; in fact I put my GPS navigator on board and compared the speedo with that of the GPS device. IIRC the GPS was showing 77.xx when the speedo touched 80 KMPH.

[nishantgandhi]

Originally Posted by scofield

Guys, I have a silly question .
After driving my punto for 25K odd KMs and now getting pretty acclamatised with the car's run , when ever i sit in any other car (this side of 10 lacs barring linea) I feel that travelling even at a speed of 120 KMPH is very noticeable and you can feel that the car is moving swiftly.
However on punto - 120 KMPH is just like it makes my feel i am driving at 80 odd. Am i having some slow motion sickness or is the odo reading faulty.
I often ask my companions about the feel at 120 KMPH and even they feel the same.
Also, as i drive with a lot of loud music I dont hear the air sound and adding to it is the slow motion feel i get when i drive the car - i just clock speeds nearing 180 odd and then i realise it.

Would like to know if the fellow FIATians also feel the same.

The odo is not at all faulty. What you are experiencing is the USP of Fiat. It is rock steady at high speeds and with zero body roll, hydraulic power steering and excellent handling, the driver/occupants do not feel the speed unless they look at the odo. Unfortunately, all other cars make you realize and get you scared in the process.

It is a regular occurance with me too. My T-Jet effortlessly climbs to 100+ on Bandra Worli Sea Link and I realize it only when the 6+ kms drive comes to an abrupt end. In my Getz, I could feel the high speeds being given away by body roll and steering behaviour.

Originally Posted by rameshnanda

Fiat does not recommend Oil Change for the first service. If you want to do it, you can ask for it. They will do top-up free of cost. Other items covered in First Service are, standard checkup, Wheel Alignment, Car wash. You should get the bill for Rs. 0.

While Fiat does not recommend it, I would strongly suggest that you get oil changed during first service. During the run in period, factory filled oil gets contaminated with metal shavings from the pistons setting in. It is always a good practice to increase the longevity of the engine by changing oil regularly.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by .sushilkumar

As for as i know , there is no oil change in first service. Top up can be done if required . Kindly report any niggles here or there if any or they will go by the rule book for first service.
No idea on rear washer as i have a 2011 punto .

Originally Posted by rameshnanda

Fiat does not recommend Oil Change for the first service. If you want to do it, you can ask for it. They will do top-up free of cost. Other items covered in First Service are, standard checkup, Wheel Alignment, Car wash. You should get the bill for Rs. 0.

Thanks guys.

Completed first service yesterday. And it went as expected. Concorde Motors, ECR. BAD experience - Almost like a 'welcome to tata. This is how we will treat you'.

1. Had booked an appointment. Reached there at 9am. Got an SE assigned around 9.20. Since my house was a good distance away - I asked them multiple times how much time would first service take. I got the reply as 6pm, since they have lot of FIAT cars to be serviced. If you have a lot of cars - why give an appointment to someone else? Its not like I asked for thursday in particular to get my car serviced!

2. They were pushing for 3M Anti-rust coating, and I gave in - with a promise of delivery by 6pm itself (No extra time than needed for service).

3. I spent the next 1 1/2 hours walking to the bus-stop, taking a share auto, taking a bus and walking another 1 1/2 kms to get to my house. Reached @ 11am, and got a call @ 11.25am that car is ready - and only exterior wash is pending. I guess they were planning to push for exterior polishing/ Anti-rust earlier itself - and thats why the 6pm target was given. Totally I had to spent around 2 hours 45 hours in travel! (Due to traffic and walking needed). If this time was given earlier, I would have waited in the lounge itself!

4. All paper work was done. SE went to get my car. 15 mins later, I saw him running around the compound looking for the car. Turns out - someone accidently parked it inside the yard, and almost 10 vehicles were parked directly behind it. (One by one - they had to be reversed to get my car out!)

5. While giving it for service - I forgot to take the USB from inside the car (Its inside the glovebox and concealed from view). Yes, got stolen. I have nothing concrete to show that it was inside the car. And to be fair to the SE - he had asked me to remove every external removable item from the car.

6. Had HUGE www(dot)concorde(dot)com stickers at the back! They said - its some TATA policy. Had to make a scene to get it removed immediatly.

7. Only issue reported - rattle from front left door. NOT fixed.

Overall - bad day. Only good thing - the SE was a down to earth guy, and appeared to be trying hard to make up for the rest of it.

PS - Oops - and yes - That pen drive was gifted by my then girlfriend, now wife. Weekend ruined as well.

Originally Posted by scofield

Guys, I have a silly question.
After driving my punto for 25K odd KMs and now getting pretty acclamatised with the car's run , when ever i sit in any other car (this side of 10 lacs barring linea) I feel that travelling even at a speed of 120 KMPH is very noticeable and you can feel that the car is moving swiftly.
However on punto - 120 KMPH is just like it makes my feel i am driving at 80 odd. Am i having some slow motion sickness or is the odo reading faulty.
I often ask my companions about the feel at 120 KMPH and even they feel the same.
Also, as i drive with a lot of loud music I dont hear the air sound and adding to it is the slow motion feel i get when i drive the car - i just clock speeds nearing 180 odd and then i realise it.

Would like to know if the fellow FIATians also feel the same.

The stability is just too good to be true - at speeds of 120 - 140 kmph! And I'm just into 1 month of ownership - already a fan of its high speed abilities.

[SankalpDesai]

Originally Posted by scofield

Guys, I have a silly question .
After driving my punto for 25K odd KMs and now getting pretty acclamatised with the car's run , when ever i sit in any other car (this side of 10 lacs barring linea) I feel that travelling even at a speed of 120 KMPH is very noticeable and you can feel that the car is moving swiftly.
However on punto - 120 KMPH is just like it makes my feel i am driving at 80 odd. Am i having some slow motion sickness or is the odo reading faulty.
I often ask my companions about the feel at 120 KMPH and even they feel the same.
Also, as i drive with a lot of loud music I dont hear the air sound and adding to it is the slow motion feel i get when i drive the car - i just clock speeds nearing 180 odd and then i realise it.

Would like to know if the fellow FIATians also feel the same.

Yes, the odometer is faulty! Naah, just kidding.

This is my only grouse with the car. It just doesn't let you feel the speed. Even at 140 kmph you feel like you are doing 80 and then you keep pushing it. 160 kmph. 170 kmph. 180 kmph. That's when the engine gives up and says, 'Enough. I'm not a 1.6l and this is my limit. So, back off you speed sucker.'

How I wish the gearbox was better mated to the enigne, so as to extract more juice out of it!

[avira_tk]

Originally Posted by sandeepmdas

My Punto EP is back from the third service (30K KMS) from Kulathunkal Motors, Trivandrum.

How are the brakes holding up on your car? My car's pads were changed at 15K service which I thought was a rip off. Did the ASC tell you anything about their condition?

My car is at 26.5K now and 30K service is around the corner.

[rameshnanda]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

Thanks guys.

Completed first service yesterday. And it went as expected. Concorde Motors, ECR. BAD experience - Almost like a 'welcome to tata. This is how we will treat you'.

Sorry to hear this CrAzY dRiVeR. I alway recommend my Friends who own Fiat to get the service done from TAFE. I don't recommend Concorde at all. In Chennai, I can list the effectiveness of the service centres as given below.

- TAFE, Greams Road
- VST, Mount Road
- Concorde, Ambattur
- Concorde, ECR

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

The stability is just too good to be true - at speeds of 120 - 140 kmph! And I'm just into 1 month of ownership - already a fan of its high speed abilities.

Great. This is what will make us smile at the end of the day and forget about the shoddy work by the Tata Guys.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by rameshnanda

Sorry to hear this CrAzY dRiVeR. I alway recommend my Friends who own Fiat to get the service done from TAFE. I don't recommend Concorde at all. In Chennai, I can list the effectiveness of the service centres as given below.

- TAFE, Greams Road
- VST, Mount Road
- Concorde, Ambattur
- Concorde, ECR

Great. This is what will make us smile at the end of the day and forget about the shoddy work by the Tata Guys.

Was thinking about going to Ignite, for issues faced in between services. Will it affect warranty if I adhere to regular service at TATA, and do a mid-term check with Ignite? How would they know?

Guys, one question I forgot to ask? How audible is your music system outside the car? Mine is clearly audible outside even at volume 12 (stock system). When call comes, ring can be heard very very loud outside. Its like the whole car is a giant phone, ringing. Shocked since sound insulation from outside to inside is too good, why not other way round!

[sandeepmdas]

Originally Posted by avira_tk

How are the brakes holding up on your car?
My car is at 26.5K now and 30K service is around the corner.

The left front one was replaced when the car was on 18K+ (IIRC). It was creating a huge whoosh noise and the pad was replaced at my request. No problem with other pads. The brake wear is directly related to the driving style as per my understanding.

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

Guys... How audible is your music system outside the car? ... When call comes, ring can be heard very very loud outside. Its like the whole car is a giant phone, ringing. Shocked since sound insulation from outside to inside is too good, why not other way round!

The ringer/phone volume can be turn down using the player's menu settings. It's default is 16 I think .

EDIT: after reading your feedback about the Concorde service, and considering the "Location" of your profile, IMO the next time, you should consider giving it in Kulathunkal perhaps.