[Thad E Ginathom]

The good news: they will replace the rusted part, and so my confidence in Maruti A-S-S remains untarnished. Thank goodness it is not a certain European make! They say that they have checked underside etc and not found any more problem.

Remaining under the not-so-good news is that my confidence in the longevity of the car has still taken a knock.

I'll have my car back in ten days and will, I'm sure, greet it with a big hug.

[yzfrj]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

The good news: they will replace the rusted part,

Aha...! that is good to hear.
By any chance do they have a theory on "why" ?

Quiet shocking the other set of pics in the thread.
Is quality going to the dogs Maruti ?

[nikunj_cal]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

The good news: they will replace the rusted part, and so my confidence in Maruti A-S-S remains untarnished. Thank goodness it is not a certain European make! They say that they have checked underside etc and not found any more problem.

Remaining under the not-so-good news is that my confidence in the longevity of the car has still taken a knock.

I'll have my car back in ten days and will, I'm sure, greet it with a big hug.

Great news ! Now I just need to fight for my rights as well !!


@Thad - Can you give me the name of the MSS which supported you like this . I intend to quote this thread to Maruti ..

[condor]

Thad, good to hear.

Will you be checking out some anti-rust treatments now ? May be some 3M or similar stuff ?

[supremeBaleno]

@Thad, are they replacing the rusted part for free ?
This rusting on 3year old cars is not a done thing.

Originally Posted by Gansan

Which areas need to be covered? I don't see them masking anything at all.

Well, not sure I can answer this. Whenever I gave the Baleno for routine service at MASS, I was not around when they washed the car - so not sure if they are even masking parts or merrily spraying water into the engine-bay. The bay looks damn neat though after a service.

I noticed the covering of engine-bay parts when I gave the car for a wash at Kerala at a local car-wash. I lingered around and to me it looked like they did a very professional job - letting the engine cool, then covering some parts (not sure which) inside the engine-bay with plastic, proper drying of the bay etc.

Originally Posted by Gansan

Another OT question; they wash inside the engine bay while the engine is still hot - mostly after coming back from a test drive after service. Is it a good idea?

Don't think it is a good idea. Infact even washing the exteriors when the car (body) is hot, is not a good idea. I usually wash either early mornings or late evenings after the body has cooled down.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Yes, it will be done under warranty.

Condor, when my wife spoke to them (fluency in Tamil outweighs knowing a bit more about cars!) she accepted their suggestion for underside coating. Not sure of specification. Certainly I could look at other treatments; might go independent for this... Ignite Garage is nearby to me, and I intend to go to them post-warranty anyway.

nikunj_cal, I think I have already mentioned the company. It is pure self-interest on my part, but I don't want to make too much noise until after they have finished my work, so would you be kind enough not to quote this thread to them for another ten days? After that --- free for all!

I was thinking that, if I was Maruti, I would be so anxious to find out what happened, I would probably have wanted to buy the car back, dismantle the whole thing, and analyse everything, not for the customer's sake, but for the sake of necessary R&D.

[SirAlec]

I am sorry to say but Its pure negligence.

The part to reach that state must have taken time. Its will not rust this much within a month.

SO for members, here is a suggestion. Do look under the hood, even if you don't know the technicality much. It just takes a keen eye to find such spots.

[clevermax]

Originally Posted by SirAlec

I am sorry to say but Its pure negligence.
The part to reach that state must have taken time. Its will not rust this much within a month.
SO for members, here is a suggestion. Do look under the hood, even if you don't know the technicality much. It just takes a keen eye to find such spots.

For a 2007 model car, should the owner be checking every corner of the metal body for rust? Of course doing so will be any day better, but this is a quality issue of the body part and we cannot blame the owner for negligence.

If the car is 15 years old, and if the owner finds out lot of rusting body parts one fine day, we can say it is due to negligence.

[SirAlec]

Originally Posted by clevermax

For a 2007 model car, should the owner be checking every corner of the metal body for rust? Of course doing so will be any day better, but this is a quality issue of the body part and we cannot blame the owner for negligence.

If the car is 15 years old, and if the owner finds out lot of rusting body parts one fine day, we can say it is due to negligence.

Its not just rust, the panel is completely gone. I am not denying that the quality is/was bad. But it might have started with a small nook or corner, which if caught early can be repaired easily. Instead of waiting for the whole panel to vanish and neglect the rigidity of the monocoque.

[vishnurp99]

I am also from chennai. Could it be because of the hard water that seems to be there in most parts of chennai? I park my car outside my apartment in the open. Planning to do under chassis coating and teflon coating. is there any other thing that we should pay attention to? I have a Figo.

[r_nairtvm]

Originally Posted by clevermax

For a 2007 model car, should the owner be checking every corner of the metal body for rust? Of course doing so will be any day better, but this is a quality issue of the body part and we cannot blame the owner for negligence.

If the car is 15 years old, and if the owner finds out lot of rusting body parts one fine day, we can say it is due to negligence.

Originally Posted by SirAlec

Its not just rust, the panel is completely gone. I am not denying that the quality is/was bad. But it might have started with a small nook or corner, which if caught early can be repaired easily. Instead of waiting for the whole panel to vanish and neglect the rigidity of the monocoque.

Clever,

We have two examples here in this thread itself.

Thad - by his own admission never paid attention . Nikunj_cal though prompted by Thad's case looked and found the problem at its starting stage.

Please don't think I am finding fault or anything like that, but I fully second Sir Alec's observations. I am sorry this is generally the attitude from a lot of people, these days.

Thad, I am sure will admit was having a lot of comfort about the extended warranty he has. So did not care much for preventive maintenance at all, it would appear.

Though the modern technology is supposed to be maintenance free ("fill it and shut it") it pays to have a look once in a way. Lift the bonnet on a bright sunny day and have a look see.

I am old and old fashioned but having grown up with technologies less reliable, have learned to treat even machines with respect it deserves so that they would be there for you when you need it, and in a relaible condition.

I have a 25 year old bike with me in India and I am confident what it can do for me even today, as I have looked after it well and know reasonably, what can be expected of it.

The confidence in your machine/tool comes with knowing it and the best way to know it is to maintain it yourself as far as possible.

Enough from the Old Fool! Right

Best Regards & Drive/Ride Safe

Ram

[nikunj_cal]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

Yes, it will be done under warranty.

Condor, when my wife spoke to them (fluency in Tamil outweighs knowing a bit more about cars!) she accepted their suggestion for underside coating. Not sure of specification. Certainly I could look at other treatments; might go independent for this... Ignite Garage is nearby to me, and I intend to go to them post-warranty anyway.

nikunj_cal, I think I have already mentioned the company. It is pure self-interest on my part, but I don't want to make too much noise until after they have finished my work, so would you be kind enough not to quote this thread to them for another ten days? After that --- free for all!

I was thinking that, if I was Maruti, I would be so anxious to find out what happened, I would probably have wanted to buy the car back, dismantle the whole thing, and analyse everything, not for the customer's sake, but for the sake of necessary R&D.

Yeah you had mentioned MSS Guindy in the first post but I was not sure. As for making noise dont worry I will quote this thread as a reference if and only if they say no to me . I also intend to quote this thread only after you receive back your car .

[clevermax]

@r_nairtvm:
Ok. Probably it is my experience of not paying any attention to rusting at all and luckily not having any rusting parts in the cars I am having, that made me say that.

[Gansan]

@Thad
I am happy that you will get it done under warranty. Where is this MSS at Guindy? I know of only two in that area; MSM and ABT. Please PM me if you don't want to post here.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Well, perhaps I learnt my lesson... but I do not think I was negligent. And yes, I am comforted by the warranty, but I am still shocked that this can happen to such a young car.

Even of one does look under the bonnet every week, this is not an obvious thing to see. It is largely hidden by the plastic shroud above it. If it has accumulated dirt and therefore retained moisture, I'd say that is a design fault.

What are we supposed to do? examine every inch of our bodywork every month? Most car customers are just drivers and users of a car, not enthusiasts, anyway. There are certain checks we should make regularly, ie oil, coolant, brake fluid --- the reliability of modern cars does make some of lazy about this.

As a T-BHP member, obviously I have some interest in cars, but I am definitely in the outer circle. I enjoy my car and my driving, I am not entirely ignorant about what happens under the bonnet, but nor do I have any great fascination for it.

Even the MSM (I keep calling them MSS) guys said they would not have routinely checked this part during service, which really suggests that there should be no call on the owner to do so.

This is 2010, not 1960. I did not expect any bodywork rust. Now I know better.

I will quote this thread as a reference if and only if they say no to me . I also intend to quote this thread only after you receive back your car

Thanks for your understanding

Gansan, yes, I mean MSM, of course... my mistake.