[superutp]

Originally Posted by AbhishekB86

You bugger you, I was expecting you to read this. But guess what if I was getting 13kmpl per ltr with 2k courtesy Delhi winters I am constantly getting 15.8-16.2/kmpl these days

Also considering the K&N and the wheel upgrade is still pending keep yourself free in the first half of march. Will need your expert opinions when *we* get it done on my car. 175 seems legit doesn't it? I have to drive the car almost 40 kms a day and would not want the mileage to suffer drastically by going for 195's.

16kmpl?? Well, the only thing I can say is that you need to do a refreshers course in maths inorder to be able to accurately post FE figure

Otherwise thats great! I still get the same 11ish and have pretty much got used to it now.

BTW, regarding upgrading tyres. Do note that inorder to get 185s it is advisable to upgrade ur rims to alloys of wider width. The current rim width is 4.5J and as per the tyre bible 175 is the last size that should be used on it.

[samarth.bhatia]

I second that. Very weird tyre & rim size from GM, I gotta say.
Upgrading to between 5.0j and 6.0j does do good, and is absolutely essential over 175 mm width.

Sam

[InfinteLoop]

I got a beat diesel 3 weeks back. The A/C stopped working after a 1 week. Now the trident service center does not seem to have the A/C machine to refill the a/c gas. Not sure that the A/C leak has been identified. They said that the replaced the valve on top.

[Mortis]

My Beat is due for thr 4th 20000km service. What do they usually do and what is recommended to get done at this interval ?

[superutp]

Apologies in advance for the long post.

Went in for my 15k service after 14 months of ownership at Kropex Bangalore.

Service cost: Rs. 3703/- (Ill add the breakup later)

Before Service:

Engine, Gearshifts, Braking- Absolutely no issues, didnt feel any deterioration in them since the last service. Silky smooth (just how a stock Beat would feel). Havent felt any loss in the braking department since the start.

Suspension: Thud/Clunk/Shudder from the front right and vibrations on steering while driving on broken roads(specific types) .Normal, smooth roads- no issues at all.

Ride & Handling: No issues except for the suspension noise. Wheel alignment and balancing off. Direct Result of my 10k service done by Trident where they messed it up.

Rattles & Niggles:
Vibration from the right side window (couldnt figure of either front or back) which happened on only specific type of roads/bumps. Sort of a mystery on when it happens
Resonance sort of rattle from the tail gate at certain speeds/low RPMs. Quite prominent.
Suspension noise- same as what I mentioned above.
Thud from the Tailgate/Rear/God knows whr- An issue highlighted by other Tbhpians also. I thought mine had gone sorted by hammering the Hatch lock during my 5k service but it has resurfaced. Got used to it now.


What they were supposed to do in service:

Change Engine oil, oil filter, clean AC filter, clean brake pads

Mentioned all the noises, took a test drive with a service guy.
Murphy's law strikes and the suspension thud/clunk/shudder is minimal to a point where he says thats its the normal sound of suspension over bad roads. Repeated over bad roads with me driving and insisted its there. Not sure if he understood.
Window noise absent (thanks Murphy again)
Tail gate rattle there. He notes it down

I insist to my Service advisor and this service guy that they check the suspension thoroughly for worn out bushes, link rods, struts and anything else. He assures me he will.

After service:

Engine, gearshift, braking: No change. There were no complaints or scope of improvement to start with. Brakes feel harder though.

Suspension: The same problem is there. I really doubt I am imagining it. They said they checked everything, tightened everything (lol), rotated calipers. And test drove the car thrice.

Ride & handling: for some reason the wheel alignment feels less off than before. Need to sort it out though.

Rattles & Niggles: The sad part is all three things are still there. however,the tailgate rattle has reduced. I did hear the window noise and the suspension feels around the same.
Of course, the boot thud is still there as well.

So what did the service guys do? I have no idea. Nothing feels improved except for the cleanliness outside/inside.

On top of it- one of my precious massive DRLs (right) at the front is missing The service advisor says his service guy went for a test drive (over bad roads) and came back with it missing . Apparently the left one also fell off but he stuck it back using double sided tape (he proudly said that as if that would give me comfort). Cut off the other one too

Blasted him for this reason. Couldnt do anything about it. It was 630pm when I reached there (was there till 715) and office commitments forced me to hurry things up. However, I managed to get some compensation from it but nothing compares with the sadness I feel owing to the defacing of my Black Beat with those shiny large DRLs which were attached around 14000kms back :(

Anyway, this service didnt really solve any of my problems. Not happy with Kropex. Only consolidation was that my SA wasn't like a 'chaloo' type but instead owned up to the loss of my DRL.

I only realised that none of the sounds were fixed after I drove back home so another trip there is pending. Ill come to know the exact extent to which the issues remain the same by driving more tomorrow.

So back to square one I guess, minus my DRLs at front

[AbhishekB86]

Originally Posted by superutp

Apologies in advance for the long post.

Went in for my 15k service after 14 months of ownership at Kropex Bangalore.

That's a hefty price to pay for coming back with missing parts. Anyway here's some input.

The slight window rattle was there in my car too. Now fixed. How? The guy opened up the door plastic panel from the inside and tightened things up. The noise is no longer there.

Wheel alignment at an A.S.S. is not worth it. I once test drove twice and wasted 1.5 hours convincing the SA that the wheel alignment and rotation wasn't up to the mark. Made him do it again. It is better (and cheaper) to get the alignment done from a computerized shop instead.

Chevy charges almost double and does a shoddy job. Some of your vibrations are due to the wheel alignment. I suggest go for the alignment first (not at the A.S.S) and then check on the rattling. You will see a significant difference.

I've always felt that you're a little too soft and forgiving when it comes to dealing with these folks who mess up your vehicle. Have to be firm with labor or they think they can get away with anything. I would have asked for a compensation or waiver off my bill if I had gone through any loss. They once nicked my car and I made him paint it and apart from that do the alignment FOC.

A.S.S should be fine for changing oils and the technical stuff. For small things like wheel alignment and balancing (balancing is important and so is rotation) stick to the outside.

Cheers!

[Soumyajit9]

Originally Posted by superutp

Apologies in advance for the long post.

Went in for my 15k service after 14 months of ownership at Kropex Bangalore.
Service cost: Rs. 3703/- (Ill add the breakup later)

So back to square one I guess, minus my DRLs at front

So finally its done ! Bill amount is fine (I guess, I gave a similar quote too).
Losing DRLs', well painful, but you should have acted tough mate. Its' a situation where they can waive off some amount (owing loss to customer). But again they can also fight back saying they are not responsible to loss to any after market fitments. So you could have tried atleast !!

Regarding quality of service, its definitely shoddy. One thing I have observed that they are very polite and customer centric, but the job done is pathetic.

You would receive a feedback call sometime next week. Give them a piece of your anger. Ask them for a FOC Re-Check done. Take the Beatie to their service center, pull up the SA and speak to him to getting a re-check done on the noise issues.

One thing - The rattling noise from the rear of the vehicle could be the number plate. In my case, the number plate and the rear seat belt (which was hitting the spare wheel) were causing the rattling in the rear of the car. They put up some thick black tapes and screwed the plate back, they put back the seat belts into the rear seat - noise gone.

[AbhishekB86]

Originally Posted by Soumyajit9

You would receive a feedback call sometime next week. Give them a piece of your anger. Ask them for a FOC Re-Check done. Take the Beatie to their service center, pull up the SA and speak to him to getting a re-check done on the noise issues.

One thing - The rattling noise from the rear of the vehicle could be the number plate. In my case, the number plate and the rear seat belt (which was hitting the spare wheel) were causing the rattling in the rear of the car. They put up some thick black tapes and screwed the plate back, they put back the seat belts into the rear seat - noise gone.

Totally agree with Soumyajit. I used to ask the lady if I could rate in minus

You should raise it up when they call you for feedback.

Had a similar 'rattling' from the rear experience, I had put the tool box in my boot without fitting it between the spare wheel and hence the 'rattling'.

[superutp]

Originally Posted by AbhishekB86

That's a hefty price to pay for coming back with missing parts. Anyway here's some input.

I've always felt that you're a little too soft and forgiving when it comes to dealing with these folks who mess up your vehicle. Have to be firm with labor or they think they can get away with anything. I would have asked for a compensation or waiver off my bill if I had gone through any loss. They once nicked my car and I made him paint it and apart from that do the alignment FOC.

A.S.S should be fine for changing oils and the technical stuff. For small things like wheel alignment and balancing (balancing is important and so is rotation) stick to the outside.

Cheers!

Originally Posted by Soumyajit9

So finally its done ! Bill amount is fine (I guess, I gave a similar quote too).
Losing DRLs', well painful, but you should have acted tough mate. Its' a situation where they can waive off some amount (owing loss to customer). But again they can also fight back saying they are not responsible to loss to any after market fitments. So you could have tried atleast !!

Regarding quality of service, its definitely shoddy. One thing I have observed that they are very polite and customer centric, but the job done is pathetic.

You would receive a feedback call sometime next week. Give them a piece of your anger. Ask them for a FOC Re-Check done. Take the Beatie to their service center, pull up the SA and speak to him to getting a re-check done on the noise issues.

One thing - The rattling noise from the rear of the vehicle could be the number plate. In my case, the number plate and the rear seat belt (which was hitting the spare wheel) were causing the rattling in the rear of the car. They put up some thick black tapes and screwed the plate back, they put back the seat belts into the rear seat - noise gone.

Originally Posted by AbhishekB86

Totally agree with Soumyajit. I used to ask the lady if I could rate in minus

You should raise it up when they call you for feedback.

Had a similar 'rattling' from the rear experience, I had put the tool box in my boot without fitting it between the spare wheel and hence the 'rattling'.

Well to clear something out, I wouldn't let the SA get away without any sort of compensation and managed to get a 600 buck reduction on the bill.

Abhi: Regarding the window rattle, I remembered you mentioning it a few pages back on this thread which is why I mentioned the problem to my SA and told him what to do about it. As it turns out he didnt solve it (though he said he did open the door panels and tightened things up)

I have sworn never to allow WA/WB in any Chevy Service Centres.

Souymajit: the rear thud was thoroughly checked out during my 10k service. My hatch lock was hammered and it turned out that the stock rear spoiler was lose and it was solved then. But it has again reappeared.

To be fair to Kropex, they cannot do anything by themselves so they need the car owner to be there and eat their head so that problems can be solved. This is what didnt happen at my 15k service since I had other commitments and needed by car for another purpose during the weekend.

As you guys have suggested, I need to give a minus feedback to the feedback call I get and ask them for a recheck.

And one more thing: my Beat is open for a Test Drive for any BHPian. This is to confirm my suspension woes as an authentic concern rather than an imaginary one.

[ani_meher]

Originally Posted by AbhishekB86

A.S.S should be fine for changing oils and the technical stuff. For small things like wheel alignment and balancing (balancing is important and so is rotation) stick to the outside.
Cheers!

Why is outside recommended for WA / WB? I found it was costlier outside, and required extra visit. The SC could do it for equal / lesser cost and in the same time when the vehicle is given to service.

I am talking about Pune SC.

[Soumyajit9]

Originally Posted by ani_meher

Why is outside recommended for WA / WB? I found it was costlier outside, and required extra visit. The SC could do it for equal / lesser cost and in the same time when the vehicle is given to service.

I am talking about Pune SC.

I think we generally recommend getting these "extra" work done outside, for sheer better quality of workmanship.

Anything within the Chevrolet range (Engine, Paintjob, Insurance Claims, etc) is good at SC. Tyres, Washing/Cleaning/Detailing are things which are better outside. The Tyre shop guy would have a better machine and better experienced people who have dealt with tyres for long years.

A Chevy SC would have to finish their quota of work by the end of the day. Their job is to deliver vehicles on time. Any of these extra work is a money mincing thing for them. Quality is not guaranteed for these extra work.

[superutp]

Originally Posted by ani_meher

Why is outside recommended for WA / WB? I found it was costlier outside, and required extra visit. The SC could do it for equal / lesser cost and in the same time when the vehicle is given to service.

I am talking about Pune SC.

Well its entirely based on your city and the service centre.

Here in bangalore, as per my experience and knowledge both the Service Centres (Kropex & Trident) have messed up WA/WB for me as well as another TBhpian. So it makes more sense to go to a better outside shop which will most probably be more reliable even though it requires another visit and may be marginally more expensive.

[AbhishekB86]

Originally Posted by ani_meher

Why is outside recommended for WA / WB? I found it was costlier outside, and required extra visit. The SC could do it for equal / lesser cost and in the same time when the vehicle is given to service.

I am talking about Pune SC.

Maybe you're the lucky one?

I get my WA/WB done outside purely because not only is it cheaper but the quality of work is better. I do not have to chase the SC executives to prove that the work done isn't up to the mark. In fact since I've been getting it done outside there has rarely been a situation where after a test drive I would have to ask them to do it again. Maybe the skilled workers eventually open up their own shops and do not stick with car service centers.

[Mortis]

Hey does anyone know the contact details for samarth bhatia ? I have been trying to get in touch with him via PM but I guess he doesnt visit the forum often.

I want to get a FFE for my Beat and would like to ask him about the positioning of the downstream O2 sensor, whether there are any error codes given, check engine light stays on, etc.

Actually Id really appreciate any of you guys advice if possible

[sameerg001]

Originally Posted by Mortis

Hey does anyone know the contact details for samarth bhatia ? I have been trying to get in touch with him via PM but I guess he doesnt visit the forum often.

I want to get a FFE for my Beat and would like to ask him about the positioning of the downstream O2 sensor, whether there are any error codes given, check engine light stays on, etc.

Actually Id really appreciate any of you guys advice if possible

Even though he got his FFE done quite a few months back, his engine check still stays on, Don't remember why, He told me the same though.

Well, I will tell him to check his PM