[condor]

I have had issues in two of my cars soon after delivery. But both fixed quickly, and without much pain. I took both as new component issues which got covered under warranty (that's what warranty is for !) And I would rather have an issue during warranty - the sooner the better, than further down the line.

These are components which may have unknowingly suffered a defect during manufacturing, and were fixed.

As long as a car (or anything else) is not a lemon, I would say not fret too much. And hope no one gets a lemon. Lemonades are not always possible.

[abhi_tjet]

Getting lemon is an extreme situation. In most cases, there are some minor/major issues which need to be fixed in service center, car being couple of days old notwithstanding. There should be some SOP or guidelines which should cater to this. Some obvious issues such as A/C not working, music system issue, light not working, suspension issue, etc.
All these can be easily identified in dealer PDI and if these issues arise, let’s say, within a fortnight, these should be handled differently and shouldn’t be treated as just warranty replacement.
Some measures can be providing loaner car, providing cab fare, some freebies, etc.

In my case, my Tiago had a shot suspension in front left side. I recognised this within a km distance of showroom after taking delivery. I didn’t went back same day since I was with family and it was getting dark. Concorde Pune drove my vehicle twice before delivery, once when I requested PDI and second time for delivery. They should have caught this obvious issue. They chose to ignore it.
They fixed it yes, but without an iota of regret or embarrassment felt for customer.

[motorotor]

I have been fortunate in this regard. I have owned cars from different manufacturers, spanning quite a few different segments, and both used and new but not faced any issues that can be classified as major. However, after reading all the different stories out there and the lackluster response from the manufacturers in general I think the "lemon" laws need to be strengthened and enforceable. Being enthusiasts nothing more disheartening than staring at the fact that your priced possession may be a lemon.

[slamnos]

This explains the need to thoroughly test a car in every country a manufacturer intends to launch their products.

Most European / American car brands test in their home countries which may not be relevant for Indian road infrastructure, weather and driving conditions.

Automobiles / Components tested in one's home country may not experience the same heat, cold, humidity, dusty conditions found in India, and that clubbed with poor Indian road infrastructure makes it even worse.

Also the quality check has to have equal prominence as manufacturing to ensure consistency in every car rolled out.

Very few manufacturers have been able to ensure in all the countries they have chosen to make an impact.

[landcruiser123]

Just wanted to point out that there isn't a single Japanese car in the list.

For all the bashing MSIL, Honda, and Toyota get, part failures in these brands are very rare in the first few years of ownership. Few Marutis have had AMT issues, but overall market response for AMTs are positive.

[CarJunki]

Having designed some systems that are allowed not more than 4hours an year of downtime for maintenance and to top it off, if systems fail then penalty clause is quite severe. Sometimes these penalties are more than 100M USD.

Quality as @V.Narayan stated is something ingrained and inserted by checks. You have to really design for it and unfortunately most manufacturing practices have not evolved to continuously improve quality. This disease is now becoming widespread.

Time and value is ripe for a lemon rule in India. Yes these regulations will increase cost to customer but will ultimately result in much more mature market. The unfortunate situation is such regulations will only result in more grease will be required to make the system run.

The regulation are mostly missing in few critical areas like safety, product and service qaulity (some call it lemon rule).

[evil_grin]

Some of the cars mentioned are new products from companies that either are new to the country (Kia)or have a history of initial issues (Tata).
That's why I didn't even test drive the Seltos even though it was a great car. New car + new manufacturer was too much risk. That's coming from someone who chose a Skoda. At least for Skoda, the expected issues are known in advance.

Thankfully I haven't faced these issues with any of the vehicles in the family. Unless you count the LML Freedom that used to die in the rains ��.

[jeetumg27]

There is another topic on the forum Lazy Japanese Manufacturers (The lazy Japanese car manufacturers in India)

The fact that not a single Japanese manufacturer (except Yamaha) has been mentioned in the breakdown list above, goes to show how much they actually stress on the QC & processes. I am shocked to see Mercedes Benz being mentioned thrice - spending that amount of money and getting a car like that is just not worth it.

Though most brands may deliver a lot of tech, features, gizmos etc. they do forget the most important feature "Peace of Mind" - which is one of the most important reasons why someone buys a car.

Since the days of Indica (remember the V2), Tata has still not got their QC right ; its appalling to read the New Thar ownership issues thread - how are they even calling it an off-road vehicle?!

[StarrySky]

Years back, the "Check Engine" light came on in my friend's Punto 90HP within a couple of km of him having driven it out of the showroom after taking delivery. He took it back to the showroom and the car remained there for 2 or 3 days. The showroom guys then delivered the car to his home (about 140km away) after fixing it. He didn't have any further trouble with the car.

EDIT: When my brother who took delivery of his Linea, he soon found that the odometer wasn't working. We suspected the showroom may have disconnected it and given the car for TD before delivery. But anyway, there was nothing to do at that point of time. He turned the car around, went back to the showroom and got it fixed immediately.

[AKSarkar1]

Sadly such kind of incidents have become far too common in India. I feel really fortunate that we have Team-BHP as a forum where we can discuss such issues and if there is one thing that I have noticed, even car companies and workshops take note of our forum.

Talking about the problem itself, I feel it is a mix of complacency by the manufacturers and sometimes the lack of rules in place for such lemons. I wonder if such defects root from financial austerity measures or are caused by a complete disregard for quality testing/customer safety by car manufacturers. Putting an 'all checks okay' sticker on a car windshield is just an eyewash these days.

Regardless, customers should not face such perils especially after parting away with so much of their hard-earned money.

[Brumby]

A new car having niggles, small or big is a concern for the owner.

What I am not able to understand that why the manufacturers do not acknowledge this even for the most obvious cases.

Any friends here in the forum who are in production and sales of consumer goods, can make us understand why the manufacturers simply do not accept the quality issues in their products and offer replacement to the customers who put in their hard earned money to buy the products.

Surprisingly all these companies always boast of fair business practices and customer centric approach

Regards.

[sany0023]

We took our new car Tata Altroz to home today. I did PDI before and found nothing to worry about. But after taking car to home, I noticed below things.
1) Rust on Disk Brakes (both sides)
2) Uneven paint finish near spare wheel space.

Is this Ok. I am new to car world and this is our first brand new car. I am worried. Do I need to visit service center to get them fixed?