Owner asks for Mercedes after parked Nano catches fire. EDIT : One more on page 5!

lambuhere1 · 14th September 2009, 12:31

Source : Parked Nano catches fire off SG highway - dnaindia.com

A newly purchased Nano car that was parked in a housing society in Ahmedabad reportedly caught fire on Sunday morning. No one was hurt in the incident. The car, whose registration number is GJ-1KA-4648, was parked at Vaibhav Gokul bungalows behind Rajpath Club on SG Highway. Local sources said that some technical fault in the car battery had triggered the fire.

A watchman at the bungalow told DNA that smoke was seen coming out of the car in the morning. "One of the neighbours phoned some Tata Motors officials about the fire," the watchman said. "Company personnel arrived soon after and put out the fire. The car was then immediately moved from the place by the owner." Despite much effort by journalists, the identity of the car's owner could not be established.

When the mediapersons requested that they be allowed inside the bungalow to talk to the car owner, their request was denied. The owner had apparently left instructions that no media-person should be allowed to enter the bungalow premises. Meanwhile, a Tata Motors official based in Ahmedabad alleged that the Nano owner was now 'blackmailing' the company.

"When his Nano caught fire, he went to Cargo Motors, a Tata Motors dealer in Ahmedabad, and demanded Rs5 lakh in compensation," the official said. "When the dealer refused, he demanded a Fiat Linea or a Tata Safari as replacement for the Nano. Now he is asking for a Mercedes. " Ravi Suri of Cargo Motors confirmed this and said that the customer was 'blackmailing' the company and demanding a Mercedes as replacement for the Nano."We need to find out the technical reasons why the car caught fire," Suri said

Debashish Ray, head, corporate communications, Tata Motors Limited,Mumbai said, "Only after we have examined the car, shall we be able to know what the problem was and what went wrong. If we find a manufacturing defect, we will replace the car. But we haven't checked the car yet, so we can't say anything."
Incidentally, no police complaint has been lodged in this connection by either side.

Mods: If required, Kindly move it to the relevant section please !

clevermax · 14th September 2009, 12:38

The making of another Dolphin??

Quote:

Originally Posted by lambuhere1

...and demanding a Mercedes as replacement for the Nano.

The most expensive scale model of a merc can be as expensive as the nano.... makes sense.

jp2u · 14th September 2009, 12:38

Mercedes for an Nano, man that must be the deal of century if it happens.

First fire accident for Nano and it will be interesting to see how Tata acts to this

prince_pervez · 14th September 2009, 12:38

Damn! People have bearly started getting their deliveries and the niggles have started. Except that this is no niggle. This is big. Big enough to dampen spirits of prospective buyers. Talk about vibrations and rattling. I hope this is not blown up by the media too much.

Sunilb · 14th September 2009, 12:41

So the Lakhtakiya has already started showing signs of its low cost innovations!!

suren181 · 14th September 2009, 12:53

Gentlemen, before we flame Tata, don't you think that we need to first get to know the cause of the fire itself.

Emanating from near the Battery could also mean ICE added onto the car ain't it? Haven't we heard of poor installations causing this before?

NetfreakBombay · 14th September 2009, 13:04

Quote:

Originally Posted by lambuhere1

the official said. "When the dealer refused, he demanded a Fiat Linea or a Tata Safari as replacement for the Nano. Now he is asking for a Mercedes. " Ravi Suri of Cargo Motors confirmed this and said that the customer was 'blackmailing' the company and demanding a Mercedes as replacement for the Nano."We need to find out the technical reasons why the car caught fire," Suri said

Debashish Ray, head, corporate communications, Tata Motors Limited,Mumbai said, "Only after we have examined the car, shall we be able to know what the problem was and what went wrong. If we find a manufacturing defect, we will replace the car. But we haven't checked the car yet, so we can't say anything."

Something seems out of place here. We should wait for more details on this.

Gansan · 14th September 2009, 13:16

Let the facts of the case be out. Before pouring venom on TATA, let us remember the number of Hyundai / Daewoo cars that caught fire on the move in the early years. Not to speak of the cases of suffocation inside the car during rains, when the A/c was running.

esteem_lover · 14th September 2009, 13:54

Seems like a good reason to buy a Nano. At least we might get the linea if not the safari.

MutantX · 14th September 2009, 14:04

Actually, I could see a sizable number of Nanos up for sale on carwale under used car section.

I am sure this news would be enough to bring the prices of these used cars down to earth.

*If i get a Nano LX for 1.2L, I am up for the grab*

mobike008 · 14th September 2009, 14:10

Quote:

Originally Posted by esteem_lover

Seems like a good reason to buy a Nano. At least we might get the linea if not the safari.

Isn't the Linea expensive than a Safari?

. All said and done, it could be wrong ICE installation that could be the culprit. Let's see

14000rpm · 14th September 2009, 14:11

Quote:

Originally Posted by suren181

Gentlemen, before we flame Tata, don't you think that we need to first get to know the cause of the fire itself.

Emanating from near the Battery could also mean ICE added onto the car ain't it? Haven't we heard of poor installations causing this before?

Quote:

Originally Posted by NetfreakBombay

Something seems out of place here. We should wait for more details on this.

now there seems to be something missing here. the first thing that anybody would sensibly do is register a police complaint and inform the insurance guys and then do the rest of the talking.
If he is hushing it up and upping his ante, there is definitely something fishy and looks like a preplanned effort. again, lets look fwd for more legimate info to conclude the rest.

emkay456 · 14th September 2009, 14:15

Nano having its battery below the driver seat is quite a dangerous thing.

I have started doubting whether newer models of most manufacturers are being wired with cheap quality of cables to reduce costs. Two days back when I had taken my Swift for inspection of A/c found that a pair of cables , having meshed black insulation, have been damaged with the insulation having melted and become sticky. I am getting finicky of the wiring now.

Gilead · 14th September 2009, 14:18

Going by what has been written, here is my theory. The guy burnt his car himself in order to get something from Tata. The most damning evidence in favor of this is the lack of a police complaint.

sgiitk · 14th September 2009, 14:21

@Gilead: You have worded my doubts exactly. Let us see what is the real story.

14th September 2009, 12:31	#1
lambuhere1 BHPian Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: @ Driver's Seat @ Posts: 708 Thanked: 106 Times	Owner asks for Mercedes after parked Nano catches fire. EDIT : One more on page 5! Source : Parked Nano catches fire off SG highway - dnaindia.com A newly purchased Nano car that was parked in a housing society in Ahmedabad reportedly caught fire on Sunday morning. No one was hurt in the incident. The car, whose registration number is GJ-1KA-4648, was parked at Vaibhav Gokul bungalows behind Rajpath Club on SG Highway. Local sources said that some technical fault in the car battery had triggered the fire. A watchman at the bungalow told DNA that smoke was seen coming out of the car in the morning. "One of the neighbours phoned some Tata Motors officials about the fire," the watchman said. "Company personnel arrived soon after and put out the fire. The car was then immediately moved from the place by the owner." Despite much effort by journalists, the identity of the car's owner could not be established. When the mediapersons requested that they be allowed inside the bungalow to talk to the car owner, their request was denied. The owner had apparently left instructions that no media-person should be allowed to enter the bungalow premises. Meanwhile, a Tata Motors official based in Ahmedabad alleged that the Nano owner was now 'blackmailing' the company. "When his Nano caught fire, he went to Cargo Motors, a Tata Motors dealer in Ahmedabad, and demanded Rs5 lakh in compensation," the official said. "When the dealer refused, he demanded a Fiat Linea or a Tata Safari as replacement for the Nano. Now he is asking for a Mercedes. " Ravi Suri of Cargo Motors confirmed this and said that the customer was 'blackmailing' the company and demanding a Mercedes as replacement for the Nano."We need to find out the technical reasons why the car caught fire," Suri said Debashish Ray, head, corporate communications, Tata Motors Limited,Mumbai said, "Only after we have examined the car, shall we be able to know what the problem was and what went wrong. If we find a manufacturing defect, we will replace the car. But we haven't checked the car yet, so we can't say anything." Incidentally, no police complaint has been lodged in this connection by either side. Mods: If required, Kindly move it to the relevant section please !
	() Thanks

14th September 2009, 12:38	#3
jp2u BHPian Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: chennai Posts: 237 Thanked: 21 Times View My Garage	Mercedes for an Nano, man that must be the deal of century if it happens. First fire accident for Nano and it will be interesting to see how Tata acts to this
	() Thanks

14th September 2009, 12:38	#4
prince_pervez Senior - BHPian Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Redwood shores, CA, USA Posts: 4,210 Thanked: 51 Times View My Garage	Damn! People have bearly started getting their deliveries and the niggles have started. Except that this is no niggle. This is big. Big enough to dampen spirits of prospective buyers. Talk about vibrations and rattling. I hope this is not blown up by the media too much.
	() Thanks

14th September 2009, 12:41	#5
Sunilb BHPian Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Dubai-Mumbai Posts: 85 Thanked: 4 Times View My Garage	So the Lakhtakiya has already started showing signs of its low cost innovations!!
	() Thanks

14th September 2009, 12:53	#6
suren181 BHPian Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Hyderabad Posts: 850 Thanked: 11 Times View My Garage	Gentlemen, before we flame Tata, don't you think that we need to first get to know the cause of the fire itself. Emanating from near the Battery could also mean ICE added onto the car ain't it? Haven't we heard of poor installations causing this before?
	() Thanks

14th September 2009, 13:16	#8
Gansan Senior - BHPian Join Date: May 2009 Location: Chennai Posts: 4,535 Thanked: 5,551 Times	Let the facts of the case be out. Before pouring venom on TATA, let us remember the number of Hyundai / Daewoo cars that caught fire on the move in the early years. Not to speak of the cases of suffocation inside the car during rains, when the A/c was running.
	() Thanks

14th September 2009, 13:54	#9
esteem_lover Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Madras/Py Posts: 7,556 Thanked: 502 Times View My Garage	Seems like a good reason to buy a Nano. At least we might get the linea if not the safari.
	() Thanks

14th September 2009, 14:04	#10
MutantX BHPian Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Madras Posts: 868 Thanked: 93 Times View My Garage	Actually, I could see a sizable number of Nanos up for sale on carwale under used car section. I am sure this news would be enough to bring the prices of these used cars down to earth. If i get a Nano LX for 1.2L, I am up for the grab
	() Thanks

14th September 2009, 14:15	#13
emkay456 BHPian Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Mumbai Posts: 388 Thanked: 7 Times	Nano having its battery below the driver seat is quite a dangerous thing. I have started doubting whether newer models of most manufacturers are being wired with cheap quality of cables to reduce costs. Two days back when I had taken my Swift for inspection of A/c found that a pair of cables , having meshed black insulation, have been damaged with the insulation having melted and become sticky. I am getting finicky of the wiring now.
	() Thanks

14th September 2009, 14:18	#14
Gilead Senior - BHPian Join Date: May 2009 Location: Chennai Posts: 2,142 Thanked: 60 Times	Going by what has been written, here is my theory. The guy burnt his car himself in order to get something from Tata. The most damning evidence in favor of this is the lack of a police complaint.
	() Thanks

14th September 2009, 14:21	#15
sgiitk BANNED Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Gurugram Posts: 7,969 Thanked: 4,788 Times	@Gilead: You have worded my doubts exactly. Let us see what is the real story.
	() Thanks