[Highh5]

Originally Posted by RM Motorsports

Chevrolet is having a service camp from 8-12 Nov. You can get your car checked / serviced during this time and get some kind of benefit.

Good to see that they are at least taking care of service aspect after ceasing their sales operations.

[myavu]

So my Beaty went through her 15th Service on 11th November 2017 at 62645 KMs on ODO. OMG! 7.5 years passed by.

Initially planned for the service on 25th, but then received the Service Camp mail on 7th and hence preponed it to 11th.

Car was not showing any particular issues. Brake pads were almost finished. So planned to change it along with Engine oil and Throttle Body cleaning.

Once the wheel came off there was enough twist waiting in the story. Very mild leak on the front right strut, brake rotor worn out visibly by more than 3 mm. Initially I thought shall change it later sometimes by Jan & Feb. They repeatedly asked me to change it due to 25% discount in parts and labour. I said no and the car was taken to washing bay. Then suddenly lots of questions and answers start flowing through my head. Utterly confused. Called better half for a suggestion and she convinced me that GM may not come with this kind of offers regularly. So informed SA Somnath and Service Manager immediately. They confirm the parts availability and car was taken back from washing (almost done). The same service engineer Pradeep was assigned again and said parts changed successfully. Car was again washed and returned to me by 3:30 pm (entry at 9:15 am).

Total damage to the pocket Rs 11,615/- (after 25% discount) I am OK with part's price and labour. But this GST @28% .

For the first time in last 7.5 years I was there with the car from morning to evening monitoring the progress (they don't normally entertain that).

Attaching the invoice and few pics .













Cheers!

Vinu

[myavu]

Another battery casualty at ODO 63022 KMs. Lasted 3 years & 4 months.

Car was at office parking. Called Exide Batmobile Team. The technician came and checked the battery and informed that one of the Cell is down. He jump started the car and I drive back home smoothly. Very next day the same story, no self-start.

Bought a new battery from Exide Store on Saturday and fixed it myself on Sunday. I got the best deal from the store in CP. Amount quoted by Exide on pro rata basis (20% on MRP) was on higher side.

New Battery - Exide Mileage MRED - MIDIN 50

Warranty 48 Months (Up to 24 months free replacement + After 24 months pro rata basis)

MRP = Rs. 6118/- After Discount Rs. 5500/-

Rebate on old battery = Rs. 800/-

Total damage to the pocket = Rs. 4700/-

Cheers!

Vinu

[myavu]

Originally Posted by Mortis

Hi any update on those figures?

Extremely sorry for the delay. I haven't used my Beat much till last Sunday.

Yesterday night before starting from the office I clicked the screenshots. Please go through it and if anything special or detailed required please let me know.

Ambient temperature @ 11º C

At cold start















After 5 KMs into the drive













* Electric load while taking screenshots - Park lamps along with tail lamps.

Hope this helps.

Cheers!

Vinu

[Mortis]

Thanks a lot Vinu ! My readings are slightly higher than this

[Mortis]

but My Beat suffered a Coolant system failure on the night of the 1st. Did a 20km round trip. On the forward journey I heard a bit of occasional rattling and movement from the engine bay. Thought it might be a rat or kitten so stopped and checked but it all looked normal so I continued. Car was running fine.
On the return journey less than 1km from home, I stopped for a bit while waiting for my friend to get a cab. As soon as I started moving there was a loss of power and lots of rattling and knocking. Since it was a bit of a shady area, late at night and my wife was with me, I continued towards home since it was close and the car was still functional and also did not want to leave it there overnight. Lots of knocking and ratting with very less power at the low end, even had to cross one small flyover. Car died a few times but I managed to make it home and just barely parked the car (Badly !!). Did a check of the engine bay and it was very hot but again no sign of anything major. I assumed that maybe one spark plug could have broken which caused the rattling and power loss.
Called my FNG the next day and on describing the symptoms he immediately said its some failure of the cooling system and sure enough coolant was empty. He said he will take it to check, most likely a pipe hard torn and also the coolant reservoir which he had McGuyvered a few times was to be replaced. Later on inspection he discovered that the nipple on the elbow connected to the main feed from the water pump had corroded completely and disintegrated. That too its located right at the back behind the engine so lots of stuff had to be removed to gain access.
Unfortunately only that elbow isnt available separately, its connected to a pulley and also comes with a whole new water pump and piping.

All in all its a total bill of RS 6500 for the elbow+water pump, coolant reservoir (without cap, I had a new one spare), coolant flush, new coolant and labour.

[Nav-i-gator]

Problems again!

The whole clutch assembly was replaced some 8 months ago. The car was working pretty fine with smooth gear changes. Suddenly evening before yesterday, the clutch wire snapped. Called Qutub auto, which was the nearest known garage name (and also a maruti authorized SC), and my beat was towed to the garage and spent her night there. Next day, I got a call that the car is up and ready. Went there and was told that the wire was OK, it just got loose and so they had placed it again. Sigh of relief. THe clutch was hard to press though. Asked the service guy, who said it will loosen after some driving. So moved on.

Yesterday, while I was driving back from office, the gear shift started to jam. It was not slotting smoothly. As I kept moving through the traffic, the gear shift became increasingly hard to do. And bang in front of my society gate, it jammed completely. The gear stick just wont budge and slot into any gear.

I switched the engine off, slotted into the first gear and went the entire distance of 2 KM to the garage in first gear itself. the garage guys kept saying that they didn't touch anything other than just fastening the clutch wire again. Their prognosis - Clutch assembly would need to be changed. They somehow tightened the wire as much as possible, and gears are slotting fine now. Though the C pedal is about a foot off the base with very little play at just the end for take-off.

I'm confused as well as frustrated now. Before the wire snapped, the gears were smoothly operating, no hard-slotting that is usually attached to clutch plate wear-off. How can suddenly the clutch assembly go wrong? Or am I missing something? Can there be any other issue? 8 months for a clutch wear off is too low, considering the first clutch change was needed only after the car had run >78000 KM. and it is now at 88000 KM.

Suggestions and advice needed, so that I can visit the Chevy ASS tomorrow better informed.

[KA18]

I guess it’s not too late to post updates about my Chevy Beat now.


I had put up my car for sale and had not found buyers for my expected price and maintenance.


So thought of keeping it as long as I can, (unless I give in to the used car market or get a suitable buyer)


After I received the mail about the service camp by Chevrolet, I fixed an appointment for the Sunday, 12th November at Vibrant Chevrolet, Shimoga.

The email:


Drove over to Shimoga to reach the ASC by 09:30AM. Barring a receptionist, there were nobody else. I whiled away the time looking at the many accident vehicles including non-GM cars.


Later the Service Advisor, Mr.Vijay arrived and prepared the Job card. I did not have any complaints except routine service.


I asked him if I could watch my car inside the service area, and he said they do not allow it citing safety reasons.


Turned out that I was the only customer there and managed to monitor the service from the Service area itself. (I did not interfere in their job)


They covered the steering wheel, seat and foot well (sort of) with disposable plastic covers meant for the purpose.



The old oil was drained and replaced. Spark plugs, Oil and Air filters were replaced.

The wheels were removed and the brake pads cleaned. All the fluids were topped up.


The SA checked service records and said that my car had pending warranty replacements (After 07 years of Ownership)!!!


Earlier whenever I asked during the routine services, they used to reply that all warranty campaigns were attended to.


Well coming to the warranty part, they replaced the fuel lines. (Earlier fuel lines had incidents of fuel leakage, it appears. I never faced any issue or it had not come to my observation)




They replaced the RKE (Remote Keyless Entry) Fuse with lower rated ones. Some of the RKEs had some issue with the fuse not blowing in case of a short, it seems.


More details http://www.chevrolet.co.in/owners-area/recall.html


If this the level of service that GM can continue to provide to its existing customers, it is highly laudable.

I even received a service reminder mail a couple of days ago!


Enclosed is the details for the charges. This particular ASC never gives a proper invoice always citing some reason like power failure, system down and promise to send the invoice through post/mail, which they do not inspite of reminders. Hence I insisted on paying through card, which they accepted.




They had put a windshield cleaner additive, which they claimed was mandatory. I did not believe them, but I was getting too hungry to care and was eager to leave and hence settled the bill. The total was Rs.3667 which was reasonable in my opinion.

My car had done just 28,000 KMs, and the service was done for 30,000 KMs schedule.

They also gave a small complimentary anti-skid mat.


Overall, I had a satisfactory experience.


In the meantime, my search for a buyer for my car at my expected price continued. I had posted on OLX, Facebook, TBHP Classifieds and on Whatsapp to those I knew personally.


OLX gave the highest response, but most of them were low-balling or time passers. The ridiculous offers are not worth mentioning.


Some potential buyers came to inspect the car. Everyone who saw the car were impressed with the immaculate condition but could not afford my asking price.


Then a couple of decent young chaps, introduced by a mutual friend turned up and fell in love with the machine, the same way I did around 7 years ago…


The deal was done. I threw in the new insurance and also the RC transfer costs and handed everything over to them on an auspicious day.


Some shots:




The parting shot:



In my overall ownership experience, I have not spent too much on the maintenance. The first 03 years were taken care of by the CPCO package (I did not spend a single rupee). The next 04 years were regular maintenance like OIL & Filter changes, One rubber door beading on the front LHS side as it used to jam. Major mechanical damage was to one of the engine mount breaking off (reason unknown) which was duly replaced.

The tyres were stock JK Vectra and had become hard. One of the tyre went burst going over a pot hole and I was not overspeeding too.

I replaced it with a Bridgestone and used as the spare wheel.

A JK tyre on our earlier Omni had met the same fate going over a sharp pebble on the road.

No more JK tyre for me. I had enough and value my life more.

After biding a farewell to the faithful Chevy, our stables are ready for our new beast, the TATA Nexon!!

[dailydriver]

Originally Posted by KA18

After biding a farewell to the faithful Chevy, our stables are ready for our new beast, the TATA Nexon!!

Barring a few minor battle scars on the lower side of the front bumper, the car looks immaculate - specially for one that is seven years old. Still, you have done the right thing by letting it go; the empty workshop in Shimoga being a sign of the times to come.

Chevrolet was always a hit or miss case, specially in smaller cities. In 2010, when I was enquiring about the ease of service, I was told by the SA that a Service Centre would shortly be opened somewhere on the Mudigere road. That shortly never actually came. The sales outlet in Chikkamagaluru remained a one man army till the very end.

PS: I have somehow never spotted your car in town. Given its colour and rarity, this shouldn't have been the case. Hope the Nexon would be more conspicuous .

[ani_meher]

I received an SMS about a service camp in Pune:

"Chevrolet Service Camp from 16th to 20th March 2018
Parts & Labor discount, free car health check up, free car top wash & other exciting offers
Visit SHREE SAMARTH CHEVROLET, Tel.9112247666 /444."

Hope Pune people will get good service from this service center.

[KA18]

Thanks for your comments and feedback, dailydriver.
Apologies for the late replies.

Originally Posted by dailydriver

Barring a few minor battle scars on the lower side of the front bumper, the car looks immaculate - specially for one that is seven years old.

Battle scars..

True, low kerbs and bad roads are indeed battles.

Thank you for the compliments.The immaculate looks are due to the gyaan by gurus in our TBHP forum. I've spent considerable time detailing the car.

Originally Posted by dailydriver

Still, you have done the right thing by letting it go; the empty workshop in Shimoga being a sign of the times to come.

Well, it was on a Sunday and they did not have much customers. They were also servicing other makes of cars and they said that Chevrolet allows it. I think the dealerships were in the know long back.

The workshop was quite far away from the city as well, in the Industrial area.

You are right, whatever may the car's condition, considering the state of things. it was wise to let it go. Sad to see good cars let down by bad marketing.

Originally Posted by dailydriver

Chevrolet was always a hit or miss case, specially in smaller cities. In 2010, when I was enquiring about the ease of service, I was told by the SA that a Service Centre would shortly be opened somewhere on the Mudigere road. That shortly never actually came. The sales outlet in Chikkamagaluru remained a one man army till the very end.

This was the exact reason why they failed to capture any significant volumes. I brought my Chevy in 2010, the same time that you had enquired. I was promised a service centre to be opened shortly, which never happened and we were relying on their monthly service camps. That's the reason some warranty campaigns were never done.

As you mentioned, the sales outlet was handled by one person, Subhash Acharya. He quit the job just before they closed the outlet and he passed away too..quite a decent chap. Always helpful.

Dealership changed from Frontline Automobiles to Vibrant Motors, but both put a lackluster performance in terms of sales and support.

Originally Posted by dailydriver

PS: I have somehow never spotted your car in town. Given its colour and rarity, this shouldn't have been the case. Hope the Nexon would be more conspicuous .

It's a surprise that you have not spotted my car. Many of my friends used to identify my location seeing my car. I couldn't escape anywhere..
And I used it mostly on weekends, maybe that's one of the reasons.

All my previous cars were different colors. Hence this time, I went in for White. The Nexon would be less conspicuous!!

[RM Motorsports]

Thermostat Elbow switch has failed on my Beat. So the A/C and cooling fan is stopped working. Brand new costs Rs 5000 which is just too much compared to other car manufacturers. i.e Rs 600 for Maruti, Rs 800 for Hyundai.

I intend to sell the car soon so don't want to spend a lot.

Can someone help me find a used one in working condition? I would be very thankful !!
I am attaching pictures of the same.

[KA18]

GM continues to make stable progress in terms of exports. It was able to produce 20,563 units for exports in Q1 FY19 – which means an average of ~6,850 units / month. This is much higher than what GM used to sell in Indian domestic market!


General Motors, which had exited the Indian market last year has overtaken Ford with the compact hatchback Beat. Chevrolet Beat now stands as the No.1 exported model from India with 20,543 units shipped in Q1 FY19, and is marginally up from Ford’s Ecosport which has been the Top Exported model since a pretty long time.

GM is currently the fifth largest car exporter from India, contributing to 11% of the country’s exports. Beat is very successful in markets like Mexico and accounts for 62% of the Latin American country’s ‘A’ segment. Apart from fully built car exports, General Motors ships about 30 containers per week of components from India. Last FY, General Motors exported about 25,000 engines from India as well.

Source: http://www.autopunditz.com

[vkrmchauhan]

I have a November 2011 Petrol Beat. Its been running like a gem since I brought it home. Unfortunately I had to travel a lot for the last 18 months and it was consigned to the parking standing still and barely doing 400 Kms in the last 1.5 years.


I took it to Kropex Chevrolet, marathahalli, Bangalore for a full service as I would be using it for my regular home-work commute again.


There were some usual things to be fixed/replaced - engine oil, brake oil, coolant, wipers etc.


But what annoyed me was that they backed my car into a wall or something. Big dent on the boot and the bumper clearly shows signs of repair.



The worst thing is they charged me for all these repairs they had to do for their mistake.


I was in a hurry to leave the centre and did not go through the bill with them while collecting the car. Only once I reached home did I notice the misaligned bumper, dented hatch.


On top of all this, they couldnt replace a bulb on the right headlight (i only found that out later in the evening)


I do blame myself for not paying attention during collection, but this centre usually does decent job. But now I am looking for alternative service centres were I can be sure my vehicle will not be backed into pillars and walls.

[myavu]

Another year has passed. This time Beaty didn't went for her usual half-yearly service. This was planned at beginning of the year that next service will be taken care only at 1 year or 10000 KMs whichever is earlier.

Beat is now 8.5 years old and ODO stands at 70009 Kms (7364 KMs from previous service)

Customer Executive called for the service reminder and I booked the same for today (09th November 2018).

Reached the service station (due to sealing drive the current facility of Metro Vasant Kunj is so cramped) at 9:30 am and to my surprise the entire workshop was empty. Work on my car started immediately and got the car back at 11.00 am

Job Card includes, Paid Service, Engine Oil/Filter change, Air Filter change, Throttle Body Cleaning, All Belts checking, etc.

Found that Elbow pipe connecting Air Filter and Throttle Body had a crack hence changed that too.

Total damage to pocket after 20% discount on Labour and 7% on Parts is Rs. 4103/-

Since they don't have a washing facility they have a tie-up with near by car washing centre. They refunded me Rs. 250/- as cash for availing the service.

NB: There is a minuscule leak at Water pump elbow pipe joint and they gave a rough estimate of Rs. 21000/- to replace Water Pump, Elbow and Thermostat. This is not an immediate work required as of now.

Please find the invoice attached below.



Cheers!

Vinu