[StreetAddict]

I've heard many instances where the Authorized Service Center/FNG changed the entire horn set even though the issue was with the connections (corroded/broken/loose). Hence, I always prefer DIYing small issues. Less chances of being cheated!

One of my acquaintances bought a used RE Classic 500 EFi. He gathered info from various Delhi based motorcycling groups on FB for a good mechanic to get a general checkup done & almost everyone directed him to a world-class, renowned (pun intended) mechanic located in East Delhi. The bike had a slight missing issue & he was sold a piston change (aka 'heart transplant'), piston sleeve, etc. All amounting to well over 26k INR. The issue was later identified by an RE Service Station. The culprit was a faulty fuel pump.
I've had my share of issues with that guy but that's a story for another day.

[Turbohead]

I'm surprised there isn't any usual VW/Skoda bashing going on!

Anyway, for the 45k service at VW ABRA here in Chennai, we told the SA that any unnecessary items, like AC disinfectant, wouldn't be tolerated. That pissed off the SA!

Later in the evening, when we had gone to collect the car, the bill was only 11k( the lowest so far). We were quite pleased until we saw the recommended work in the job sheet: Change alternator belt and tensioner-RS 7000, change brake pads, change rear suspension bush.

He insisted that we had to change the belt and tensioner because there was some 'sound' coming from the engine bay. We weren't sure of the diagnosis and ignored it anyway since such replacements were never reported in the Vento thread, ever.

Surprise! Once the engine was warmed up, there used to be some vibrations-minor but very annoying! We were perplexed and in two minds whether to go ahead with the replacement. On our trip to Kerala, we showed the car to the SC there and they had a totally different diagnosis- something in the gearbox, which they said wasn't worth working on as it involved a lot of labour! The brake pads were changed there as it was definitely due!

Later I came to the conclusion that the vibrations were caused because the RPM dipped below 800 after warming up!

Soon, ABRA motors came up with a fancy offer for which their customers can avail lots of discounts ,offers, free car washes etc for Rs 1000! My dad went for it as we were happy with them anyway! I went for the 'free car wash and checkup' offer and told the SA, who happened to be very friendly, about the vibrations and told him about my assumptions!

He returned the car after a few hours and said there wan't any problem! Although I was slightly disappointed initially, the vibrations had vanished for good! And I still don't know what they did!

One thing I did learn was that befriending your SA and the head of the service centre is critical for a peaceful car ownership!

[nijelj]

Where : Art of Motorcycles, Adugodi
When : Last year
Who at Art of Motorcycles ? : I don't recall the name. It was not the Zoheb(owner), nor the north eastern indian mechanics. It was this plump guy, speaking hindi with the hyderabadi accident

What happened : My brothers Classic 500 was kept in storage for some months without starting. He needed to do a assam drive, so I had to make the vehicle back to working condition. The battery was discharged completely and even after charging, it did not have enough power to engage the self starter. So after kick starting, I took it to Art of Motorcycles (AOM) for an overhaul. I left it in the morning and then wanted to get an estimate in the evening.

For the starter not cranking, the mechanic told me that the starter relay is gone. I was skeptical and did not agree. I told him that the battery was weak and that could be the reason. He said that he had tried with a new battery and still the problem was there. I wasn't convinced and told him to do it in front of me. He was generally wasting time showing confusion and trying to connect a spare battery in series with the old battery. In the end I got down and showed him how to connect. The bike started without any issue with the electric start itself. After the overhaul, I have not gone back to that workshop.

Another incident
Where : Limra motors (now some other abbreviated name), 8th main, behind NIMHANS
When : Last year
Who : The main guy

What happened: My Rodeo (a Mahindra scooter) would not start with self start. I changed batteries and still the problem continued.1 of 10 times, it would start with the elec start. I took it to this guy, who says he will check and let me know. He calls me later and tells me that the alternator has to be replaced. I was busy in some meeting and told him to please check again and rectify only what is required. Two days later I go down there and he asks me for 2000rs!! What for? For rewinding of the coils in the alternator! A new alternator costs less that that. The sad thing is that I knew there was nothing wrong with the alternator, because the alternator was charging normally even before I gave it to him. Also occasionally the elec start would work too. Even after explaining that there was no way there could be a problem with the alternator, he did not accept it. There was nothing to be done. I gave him a chance to reduce the cost, telling him that I will not come back here, if you still want 2000rs for this. He did not budge. So gave him the money. After the rains started, the problem has come back, so now the scooter also is unused for a long time.

I get disappointed and angry when such incidents happen. I wouldn't mind shelling out money for something is genuinely wrong with the vehicle. It is when they make up stuff on the fly, that I lose it.

[vkr15]

Originally Posted by Turbohead

I'm surprised there isn't any usual VW/Skoda bashing going on!

One thing I did learn was that befriending your SA and the head of the service centre is critical for a peaceful car ownership!

Plus 1 to that. Becoming friends with your SA is a safe bet. Possibilities of this becoming a reality are better in small towns vis a vis metros and 'happening' cities. I owned a VW Polo(P) HL and after the first six monthly routine inspection identified the SA who took the car under his care. Paid him a visit a few days later (even though I had no problem) for a couple of minutes chat and small talk. For the next 4 years I always gave him a call for routine servicing or minor niggles( read apprehensions). He would always summon the most qualified mechanic available with alacrity to attend to the issue.
Now that I have switched over to the GT TSI, I intend to carry out the same human relations exercise. Fortunately, have made friends with a couple more SA's so even if one is on leave/absent, there is always someone who will give you a patient hearing. Personally, I have not had any issue with VW workshops. Hoping that it stays that way.

[NiInJa]

My Brother's Fiat Linea had issues with the gear shifts since the day it arrived.
The first two gear up shifts needed a heavy hand, you literally had to shove the gear lever in the slot to make it work. Things started getting worse after six years when the car refused to slot from neutral to first and 2nd to 3rd gear. Also did not shift to reverse without a good shove and a huge audible rattle in the gearbox.

My brother showed it to Pandit automotive and Jay-Vijay Fiat while it was still servicing Fiat cars, both said the entire clutch assembly has to be changed: i.e. The clutch plate, throw-out bearing, slave cylinder, fluid and other small parts, amounting to about 30,000 Rupees. This they did so by having a quick diagnosis while the car's engine was running. They concluded the course of action in 10 minutes flat. Not convinced, we took the car to another local garage who suggested to get the slave cylinder replaced and see if that works.
He took about 4 months to procure the part, by the time it arrived, my brother had to leave India and the car was with me. A colleague of mine suggested another person who runs a garage in his bunglow in Kothrud and he is a nerd who will 'service' cars with genuine problems only (He dismisses
general service of a car at his garage)

I took the car to him explained everything so far, asked him if slave cylinder needs replacement. After listening to my story, he sat in the car, cranked the engine, pressed the clutch, tried slotting the gear in 1st, didn't work, then shut the engine, slotted the gear in first with engine off and the gear slotted like nothing had happened to it. Same with reverse gear. He got out of the car and then explained everything with simple hand gestures as to what happens in the gear box when the clutch is pressed.

His diagnosis was : IF the slave cylinder were gone, clutch release would have been slow or it would never come back to its normal position as there would be no pressure, its pure hydraulics (A simple fact that Pandit and Jay Vijay Fiat missed) So slave cylinder is working fine. When the car is running, the gears dont slot, but when the engine is off, it slots perfectly (This again was missed by authorised service centers): Why does that happen? Because when the engine is off, the flywheel is not rotating, since there is no rotational force, the throwback bearing (clutch release) is able to do its job properly. (He showed me how a throwback bearing works with his palms and hand) When the engine is running, the flywheel is rotating and slotting in from neutral or standstill is a problem as the bearing has to work against the rotational force of the flywheel, slotting gears smoothly when the car is motion means the flywheel and clutch are rotating at the same speed so the bearing does not have to act against it. Hence there is a problem with the throw out bearing and the clutch plate is fine.

He explained everything like Sherlock Holmes would and told me that he would open up the gearbox next week and whatsapp the photos of whatever his findings were. As expected, the photos showed a completely worn out throwout bearing, the clutch plate was fine with usual wear and tear, the slave cylinder perfectly fine with no leakage or anything. I fell in love with him He changed the clutch plate and throwout bearing (as the bearing is a part of the clutch plate assembly, they are not sold separately) Total cost 9500 Rs, the gear shifts and clutch play are smoother than my Honda Brio which is run only 23k km.

Another one : My Activa's speedometer had stopped working, Pashankar auto told me to replace the entire thing which cost a few hundred bucks (dont remember as I was college then) Our local garage guy changed the plastic gear at the front wheel and charged me 15 Rupees for it

When someone says 'You have to replace the entire thing' without a proper diagnosis, just say good bye !

[greenhorn]

Originally Posted by NiInJa

When someone says 'You have to replace the entire thing' without a proper diagnosis, just say good bye !

Sadly this is standard practice at most ASC because
1. Less complexity in terms of keeping spares
2. Less expertise needed for their service staff
3. Faster turn around time

[hiren.sharma]

Well, since we are discussing Diagnosis errors how can we leave Skoda A.S.S. alone.

I own a Dec 2014 Skoda Rapid TDI Elegance (Black Package) and it started creating this weird grinding noise whenever I'd steer sharply to the right. The noise wasn't there if I'd steer softly or to the left in any case.

It took them (Nawab Motors Noida) 5 Weekends, almost 40 hours to determine the root cause. The started with washing my suspension with jet stream, lubricating several other nuts and bolts. They continued cleaning the rust that had deposited on the front drums but it didn't help either. They even convinced me to change the bearings, even though they were in extremely good conditions.

Finally one good day, God sent a saviour named Rohtash. He was an extremely knowledgeable guy "Rohtash", who was actually a VW technician and claimed he knew VW, Skoda and Audi cars inside out.

I went on a small test drive with him and on the very first turn he identified it as a metallic grinding noise which could be caused by a small pebbles that often gets stuck in the front tyres. We immediately came back, lifted the car, removed both front tyres and within first two minutes, he pulled out a small stone from front right tyre and we we ready to take my ride for another spin.

To my surprise, the noise never came back. I spent 5 weekends, nearly 30 hours and this is what the out come was. Ofcourse, Rohtash wasn't happy with the skills of the technicians working there, I believe he was invited to bring in a revolution to an already dumb workshop .

God bless him !! He saved me lot of money and time

[interest]

I have faced two such instances in the recent past-
1) Clutch plate replaced instead of hydraulic setup- My car clutch pedal suddenly turned very hard on the way from Delhi to Agra on yamuna expressway. If I waited for 15-20 mins, the pedal would become normal but again after driving for 10-15KMs it would return to being very hard. When the pedal became hard, the gears would disengage and the car would effectively be in neutral. I happened to stop near a Crossroads outlet on the expressway and decided to take the vehicle to them for inspection. The mechanics there mis-diagnosed the problem to be related to clutch plate and replaced it but the problem still continued. Eventually, I had to get the car towed back to my home in Delhi from near Jewar toll plaza. I read up on the internet and from the symptoms it seemed like a problem with the hydraulic set up of the clutch. Next day, took the car to a hyundai service station which replaced the master and slave cylinder and the car is working fine since.
b) Replacement of gear oil instead of internal shaft bearing- This time around the problem was solved by a roadside repair shop and some internet searching instead of the hyundai workshop upon whose insistence, I changed the gear oil. My car was producing a sort of grating/humming noise when I was accelerating/coasting in 2/3rd gear. The noise would vanish if I pressed the clutch pedal or brought the car in neutral while it was still moving. Upon Hyundai workshop's insistence, I changed the gear oil but it did not help. They said I should continue to drive for a month and then they would be better placed to understand the problem. I was concerned about inflicting damage on my car if I continued to drive without getting the problem rectified so I went to a road side mechanic who I have gone to for minor jobs earlier. He said that the noise could be due to a faulty internal shaft bearing. I did my own research on the internet after that and it seemed that he was right. I got him to replace the bearing and voila, the noise vanished.

[Udit]

My decade old Maruti 800 had developed a super-heavy steering wheel. I had restored and spent a lot on car that time, so I was looking for some cheap fix. One FNG suggested me to get wheel alignment and caster angle checked. I got it done but nothing happened. The steering was so heavy that I had to pull it with both hands to center after taking a turn. I went to another FNG who suggested to get tie-rod ends changed and rake greased. It also went in vain.

So, I finally made my mind to take it to MASS. SA told me that rake assembly is worn out and needs a replacement. I got it replaced, steering was still same. SA tried to convince me that it is normal and with time it will become more free. But I knew problem was still there. Finally took it back to the FNG and told mechanic the whole story. Finally it was found that a hard steering column was making my zippy 800 a truck. Got is replaced and the problem resolved completely.

[sidzz]

My contribution: So, had given my grand i10 for 2nd service in the morning and the SA calls me in the afternoon.

SA: Saar, the engine mount is bent. You might have hit the car somewhere. It needs to be changed.

Me: What!!?? Did you hit my car?

SA: No saar. It was like that when you gave the car for service. I will have to order the part.

Me: What is the price?

SA: 8500 saar!

Me: Send me a photo and then i will decide.

He sends me a dark photograph in which nothing is visible.

I call him this time and ask him to hold on to it, I will personally see the damage and then decide.

I go there in the evening and ask him to show me damage. He gets the car lifted and in the under body what I see are few (not very deep) scratches on the paint work of few parts of the under body.

Me: You said engine mount is bent?

SA: Yes saar! see the scratches. All parts need replacement.

Me: Get the car down and give me the bill of the service done. Stop fooling around with me.

I pay off the service bill and drive away from there.

[confused.geek]

Originally Posted by greenhorn

Sadly this is standard practice at most ASC because
1. Less complexity in terms of keeping spares
2. Less expertise needed for their service staff
3. Faster turn around time

I am going through this right now. My Alto needs a change of the Tie Rods on the front and they want me to get a full steering column change and a suspension change!

This is from GEM Motors, Kondapur, Hyderabad.

I previously had an issue with excessive smoke and the fault was completely mine. I overshot the oil change due to pressing issues at work. When I did get the car in for the oil change, they advised me to get the piston rings changed which would cost 30K. I insisted on the oil change and it fixed it. This was at the same place.

[BigBrad]

Here's my recent experience with a local mechanic & a VW service center in Bangalore:

I drove from Cochin to Bangalore and we reached my cousin's place by around 3pm. In the evening we headed out to the city in another car and my wife had to take something from our car. So I unlocked the doors, she took the things and we left. A little later, I realised that I forgot to lock the car, but the car was inside an apartment complex with security guards around. So, I decided not to trouble everyone else by going back to lock the car. Once we reached back, I wanted to move the car to a different place within the apartment compound and when I tried to start the car, it doesn't even crank. The interior lights were going dim, the instrument console lights started flickering etc., all pointing to a weak battery. But I was quite surprised too as we drove all the way from Cochin the same day and at no point during the journey or the days before it, the car showed signs of a weak battery. So my cousin brother called up a local mechanic who send one of his guys to check the car. The guy who came was quite ill equipped to even swap a battery as he didn't have a T spanner to remove one of the bolts. Also, he was trying to remove the +ve terminal first instead of the other way around. He worked like a trainee guy and I was not at all feeling comfortable with the way he was working on my car. But I didn't stop him as I thought it may offend my cousin brother and he was quite confident from the past experiences he had with the garage. I had the suspicion that the battery was drained when my wife opened one of the doors while we went out and that she might not have closed the door properly which might have caused the footwell lights to stay ON for a long time thus draining the battery. However, I'm not 100% sure if this is indeed the case.

So the mechanic suggested that we recharge the battery first and see if it holds charge before buying a new one. I too agreed with him since it was on the same day we drove from Cochin to Bangalore and there were no symptoms of a weak battery in the recent times. So the battery was put for charging for around 10hrs and the mechanic came back and fixed the recharged battery. At this point, I was not with the car and my cousin bro handled everything. The recharged battery didn't help and the mechanic tried another battery which he had brought along. Now even the other battery didn't help in starting the car. Both the mechanic and my cousin bro suspected something else was wrong with the car which was causing this problem. The mechanic checked the fuse box, pulled out some of em and didn't find anything wrong. He didn't diagnose further and left it there as it was getting very late. When I reached the place, I knew the old battery wasn't of any use now and hence decided to buy a new one. Called up the nearby Amaron dealer and the guy came in 10mins. He was pro unlike the previous mechanic guy and had the required tools and also knew how to remove and replace everything. With the new Amaron battery, all signs of a weak battery were gone. The car was cranking too, but engine wasn't firing up. But I noticed that the glow plug symbol had started flashing on the console. Also, the outside indicator lights and brake lights were not working. But, headlights, park lights, reverse light etc were working. I also noticed the indicator lights on the console were hyperflashing. All this made me think of some electrical fault with the car. Since it was on a holiday, I couldn't get any professional help. In the meanwhile, I got immense help/suggestions from friends and bhpians on possible causes. Called up VW RSA and towed the car to a nearby VW A.S.S the very next working day. They checked all fluid levels, fuel filter I/O lines etc. Nothing wrong. Did a VAS scan and it threw up a lot of errors. No signal, low voltage, open circuit etc. The technician immediately looked at the fuse box and said a fuse seems to be missing asked me if I touched it. I said I did check during my diagnosis, but had put everything back in the correct slot. I was 100% sure of this. He then removed one fuse from it's slot and put it into the correct one. Cranked and the engine fired up without a fuss. No glow plug flashing and all lights were working fine too. Problem solved in 5mins. The local mechanic while checking fuses, had put one of em into a different slot which caused all this . But no, the story didn't end there.

They moved the car to another section and I see one guy come, he opened the hatch and pasted the dieselgate sticker in the stepney well. Alarm bells rang in my head and I knew they were trying to force the dieselgate update on me without my consent. I intervened at this point and made sure not to leave the floor without my car in sight. Told them I don't want the update and somehow convinced the senior guy at service. They were still keeping the car with them for too long to my liking citing lame reasons like Q.C check n all. After some tense moments, I got the car and happily drove home. Thought I would start the return journey to Cochin by noon and I packed all luggage, loaded it and started the car. Now, the coolant warning symbol was flashing with beep sound. Switched off the engine and checked the engine bay and I see the coolant tank is empty. That's when I noticed that the coolant tank's cap was loose and the liquid was spilled all over. The idiots at VW A.S.S didn't close it properly as I knew for sure it had enough coolant while the car reached the A.S.S that morning. So much for their Q.C check . Called them and they came over with a bottle of coolant, filled it to the max level and did some test drives, idling etc to ensure that it's not a leak. They gave me what was left in the bottle. Also apologised for their mistake, but we lost an extra day's leave because of this last minute trouble.


Lesson learned: I should have just called the VW RSA team from the start since I had already paid for the service. It'd have costed me nothing and they would have jump started the car instantly. I could then call the Amaron dealer and simply got a new battery and that would have been the end of the story. Sadly, some things are learnt the hard way.

P.S.: Must mention the great support I got from the VW RSA team. They were really helpful and for once I felt someone from the company side is genuinely helping us in trouble like a true friend.

[headers]

Originally Posted by greenhorn

hey, My intent was not to bash the incompetence of mechanics - nobody is perfect, and a lot of us expect a mech to spit out a diagnosis by simply looking at a car, and obviously the results of that method are not that great

The intent of the thread here is to share stories where mechanics willingly mislead customers by cooking up fake stories/excuses

Also, as cars get more complicated with electronics and gadgetry, there are a few mechanics who understand it all. Dont mean to support / insult anyone, but vehicle diagnosis is of paramount importance and that comes only by hands on experience and not by reading up forums alone!!

Originally Posted by Turbohead

Anyway, for the 45k service at VW ABRA here in Chennai, we told the SA that any unnecessary items, like AC disinfectant, wouldn't be tolerated. That pissed off the SA!

Thats the worst service centre in chennai and i can confirm it from personal experience of having 2 VWs in the family.

There SAs are complete dudds and only thing one will hear is "Will report to concerned person" or "Will get back to you Sir"