[anuking]

Hey Everone,

Very quickly wanted to share my experience with GoMechanic in Pune. I have a 2018 Hyundai Verna 1.6 VTVT SX(O) Automatic. Very recently started noticing water dripping near passenger side foot-well, though not an expert my gut feeling said that the drain pipe must be clogged somewhere. A few google searches later I found that to pump out anything from the drain pipe I will have to go under the car.

I thought why not give GoMechanic a try, I went with their basic service that included the following,
1. AC Checkup.
2. Refrigerant check and top-up (up to 400 gms).
3. AC Vent Cleaning.
4. Condenser Cleaning.
5. AC Filter Cleaning.

The service was scheduled, the car was picked up an hour later by GoMechanic driver. After the car reached its destined service station, got a call by GoMechanic 'Buddy', he asked me to go for a more premium service, which costs almost 3 times as much. I started smelling something here, I asked him very politely to simply do the basic service and return the vehicle. He agreed.

Within an hour the service was complete and the vehicle was dropped off at my location. Opened the hood to see no sign of condenser cleaning, checked AC vents and still found dust there, checked the filter and apparently it was just lightly dusted. Out of curiosity, checked my DashCam footage, and voila... the mechanic is heard saying in Marathi, "Open the hood, attach two tubes from compression test machine, dust the filter, take a picture and we're done", everybody has a good laugh as well.

I just uploaded this video to YouTube and shared the link with GoMechanic executive, before they knew that there was a dashcam in the car, they were pretty adamant at not accepting their fault, the moment I shared the link with them, they just started scrambling like rats, at least 10 phone calls since yesterday. The offered me a full service in my presence and asked to take the video off YouTube, to which I humbly refused.

Following is the video clip.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fCQA68EYjlA

[JithinR]

Originally Posted by anuking

I just uploaded this video to YouTube and shared the link with GoMechanic executive, before they knew that there was a dashcam in the car, they were pretty adamant at not accepting their fault, the moment I shared the link with them, they just started scrambling like rats, at least 10 phone calls since yesterday. The offered me a full service in my presence and asked to take the video off YouTube, to which I humbly refused.

Thank you for doing the right thing. Suggest that you hold strong and post this to other social media channels. I guess the pleading will soon give way to empty threats.

This new breed of online based car services companies seem to have taken hold well during the pandemic since people don't want to take the cars in for servicing in-person.

Can't imagine how many people have been duped on this till now.

I hope you have had the leak taken care of.

Edit:
Oh the sweet sweet irony (reason no 2)

https://youtu.be/Dp136TeGxa8

[Engine_Roars]

Crooks are aplenty in this beautiful land.

The only change I expect to see post this - GoMechanic's team will be trained to check for Dashcams & have it removed before taking the vehicle in for service.

I am sure you won't take this video down & I appreciate you taking the stand. Please don't lose your sleep over this, your video will make them pay more than they duped you for.

[anuking]

Originally Posted by JithinR

Can't imagine how many people have been duped on this till now.

I hope you have had the leak taken care of.

Thanks Jithin, I agree, these scammers need to be exposed. The leak is yet to be serviced, will probably go to good old Hyundai Service Center...

[vigsom]

Originally Posted by anuking

1. AC Checkup.
2. Refrigerant check and top-up (up to 400 gms).
3. AC Vent Cleaning.
4. Condenser Cleaning.
5. AC Filter Cleaning.

You've educated this service point on how to find ingenious ways of continuing to provide deficient service and mask it. Nevertheless, it is good that you've brought this up for public view. They wanted you to take the video off - a one off case. What about the hundreds of other clients who are being provided such service?

They did point no.1, 2 and 5, while point no.4, a very important step, was skipped. AC vents cleaning in my view is of no use. The only "good" thing that I saw at this service point was a refrigerant recovery machine, that I generally refer to as Robinair.

As far as refrigerant top up goes, a car normally houses approx. 500g of refrigerant. So, a top up is generally no more than 200g. For ones with a dual AC, the charge is generally 850g, and even there, a 300g top up does the job.

PS : Was the AC condensate drain leak fixed finally?

[anuking]

Originally Posted by vigsom

They did point no.1, 2 and 5, while point no.4, a very important step, was skipped. AC vents cleaning in my view is of no use. The only "good" thing that I saw at this service point was a refrigerant recovery machine, that I generally refer to as Robinair.

Glad to know the name of that machine. Still trying to find ways to clear clogged drain pipe, not even sure where it's dangling. I do have a small pump at home, the idea was to attach it to the drain pipe and see if it clears some mess.

[gkveda]

There is nothing called ethical business in India. As they say in sanskrit व्यापारं द्रोह चिन्तनं meaning business means cheating thoughts.

They find innovative ways of cheating in every business. Online business has created ample opportunities to enhance cheating levels since everything is done in the absence of customers.

So, my suggestion is, never go for online business as far as possible.

And coming to specific gomechanic business, I really wonder why one should go to them instead of going to a known local mechanic for such small jobs. What advantage do we get if I go to Gomechanic? According to my knowledge, it is ONLY pick up and drop. But the risk associated with this mechanism is far higher compared to self service(self driving the car to mechanic shop and get the repair done in front of ourselves) Then why should I go with Gomechanic or any such service provider? After all, any local useless mechanic can get tagged with these companies and do cheap repairs.

In my view, this can be totally prevented if we identify some good local mechanics near our location and get the job done.

One of the reason why we go with online support may be, not enough time to spend on these things. But remember, we need to spend 100% more time to resolve these frauds and additionally, undergo mental stress of the feeling of being cheated.

[vj_torqueaddict]

Thanks for sharing! Please do not take the video down.

How old is your vehicle? I am asking this because in my 7 years of punto ownership never once I have done this AC cleaning. I do not find any mention of it my manual as well. The manual says to run the AC once a week that’s all. Hence was wondering.

Edit: I see it’s 2018 model. Please disregard this.

And about the pick up and drop services. I would recommend never to go for it. And do let us know if the leakage was fixed and the root cause. Thanks

[Raghu M]

I for one would never opt for a pick and drop service. I think, no one would drive my car as carefully as I do. So, never ever would give my car to someone without me in it. These online services sound cool but in reality, I highly doubt they have the expertise to handle such critical parts of a car. Like it or not, the dealership is a good place to get your car serviced. Next would be a trusted FNG. If someone is working on your AC, you need to be there. It is highly risky to trust someone completely new.

[anuking]

Originally Posted by Raghu M

I for one would never opt for a pick and drop service. I think, no one would drive my car as carefully as I do. So, never ever would give my car to someone without me in it. These online services sound cool but in reality, I highly doubt they have the expertise to handle such critical parts of a car. Like it or not, the dealership is a good place to get your car serviced. Next would be a trusted FNG. If someone is working on your AC, you need to be there. It is highly risky to trust someone completely new.

Completely agree Raghu, I always service all my cars at ASC, this I misjudged it for a minor issue that doesn't need me to drive all the way to the dealer. Also, truth be told, I actually wanted to give them a shot, but yes I've learned my lesson now.

Originally Posted by anuking

Hey Everone,

Very quickly wanted to share my experience with GoMechanic in Pune. I have a 2018 Hyundai Verna 1.6 VTVT SX(O) Automatic. Very recently started noticing water dripping near passenger side foot-well, though not an expert my gut feeling said that the drain pipe must be clogged somewhere. A few google searches later I found that to pump out anything from the drain pipe I will have to go under the car.

Quick update folks, was in touch with a senior executive at GoMechanic, following is the action taken by their team,

1. Refunding the amount.
2. Blocking that specific workshop for future work.
3. Internal assessment of the process.
4. Service buddy warned and action taken.
5. Offer to avail the aforementioned service at any time, as per my convenience.

From my end, the video and post however will still be there for awareness.

[mercedised]

Originally Posted by anuking

Hey Everone,

Very quickly wanted to share my experience with GoMechanic in Pune. I have a 2018 Hyundai Verna 1.6 VTVT SX(O) Automatic. Very recently started noticing water dripping near passenger side foot-well, though not an expert my gut feeling said that the drain pipe must be clogged somewhere. A few google searches later I found that to pump out anything from the drain pipe I will have to go under the car.

Never trust anybody in business is what I have learnt the hard way. AFAIK, GoMechanic operates on a franchise based model. So, the garages must still be owned by local guys. In such cases these types of frauds are bound to happen. BTW, which dashcam are you using?

[anuking]

Originally Posted by mercedised

Never trust anybody in business is what I have learnt the hard way. AFAIK, GoMechanic operates on a franchise based model. So, the garages must still be owned by local guys. In such cases these types of frauds are bound to happen. BTW, which dashcam are you using?

Aukey DR01 is what I had installed, the wiring etc is all concealed and takes power from the 12v socket, the adapter is soldered directly there and then wires running through the A-Pillar all the way to IRVM. Some hobby project there.....

[tharian]

I feel most of these app based services are the same story at the end. With more and more activities happening via apps and online since last year, people are just making hay while the sun shines and not actually bothered of the end result and quality.

I remember few years ago using one of these apps that had good reviews and it was for denting and painting. It was my sisters Polo which had the dark blue shade and had quite a few scratches and dents to be fixed. I made the mistake of not giving it to my usual tinkerer and painter since it was far away and I had to drop off and pick up the car after few days.

These apps have tie ups with garages, I am not sure on what basis and I feel the garages don't take their job seriously since there is no customer around and the car has come to them through another party. Heck, even if we go directly to an unknown garage for a small job, chances of getting looted is high.

The Polo came back with all the dents removed, but the pain job was not satisfactory as there was a slight shade mismatch which was still okay, but the most annoying part was that there was overspray on the complete roof of the car from another cars paint job which was white.
Needless to say , that app shut down after few months.

I would stay away from these services when it comes to jobs like these and stick to the service centre or a known garage.

[Na_sh]

Originally Posted by anuking

Hey Everone,

Very quickly wanted to share my experience with GoMechanic in Pune...

I had the same experience with GoMechanic in Kakkanad, Kochi. Sometime in April, I had opted for the High-Performance AC service along with the regular periodic service for my Punto MJD. I specifically chose the high-performance AC service as it includes cleaning the cooling coils. The conditioned air had a muddy smell (which is still present, BTW) and I wanted to ensure all the internals are clean, especially the blower fan and insides of the dashboard.

On receiving the car, I realised that the dashboard was not opened. I could touch the dust around the steering column and behind the centre console. On calling the assigned 'buddy', he said he will check with the team working on ACs and confirmed that the team cleaned the AC cooling coil without opening the dashboard. No data on the leak test, the dashboard was dirty below the steering column and even the compressor oil top-up. All these items are included in the INR 3499.00 that they charge.

They were also insisting to replace the brake pads which was barely 50% worn out. Though I didn't find any major fault in the service, I am not sure I'll ever go back to using their services again due to this lack of trust.

[ninjatalli]

Originally Posted by anuking

From my end, the video and post however will still be there for awareness.

Nice catch. There's a decent chance that the video might be flagged by the management with some business defamation / legal catch. Have put down a review on their HQ site (GMaps) with a link to this thread too. Might be a drop in the ocean, but atleast someone might benefit from it.

But I'm surprised you even gave them a consideration - a good share of the 200+ reviews of GoMechanic in Pune talk of extremely bad experiences. Good that the hit to the wallet was reversed.