[kbalii]

Originally Posted by sammyboy

Bro when one buys a car one does look at the spare price list to decide if it is affordable or now. I can buy a Merc if I want but would I be able to take care of the spares whenever required? No. So i stick to something I am okay paying for.

I have 2 Fords in my family and I bought them fully knowing what could be the consequences of buying and the spares cost.

Please think before comparing Ford spares to a Maruti. No company can match the spare prices of Maruti and its not rocket science to understand that.

One disturbing trend I have noticed is that quite a few people become Ford bashers whether they have any experience with the car or not. Plus all of us are well read and team-bhp is there along with google to check for experiences. If its a one off case , i can understand but if you keep hearing about somethings going wrong with a car and still buy it , it will be usually you love it and are willing to take a risk. I am and I do.

I completely agree with you.

I am sure you would appreciate that there are good mechanics in places other that authorised service stations, who could actually help you when your warranty runs out and your car might not need a replacement.

I think that is what this dude with a sad experience needs help on.

[kbalii]

You could go ahead and post a request for a suggestion for a good mechanic in the thread mentioned below:

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...int-shops.html

I am sure you will find good help.

[car'zy]

Well, Sammyboy, Ford is known to develop more problems as compared to a few other makes, comparatively- let alone the spare costs. Thier after sales is nothing to write home about, and to add, thier cars are not tanks either. I had a lot of problems once my car went past the 50K mark, so have a few other Ikons owned by friends. And, this is also corroborated by so many other owners in this very forum and elsewhere. Ford, especially the Ikon is not a hassle-free long term ownership car. I havent owned the Feista but purely on feedback from people who have owned the Ikon as well as the Fiesta, I get to hear Feista fares marginally better.

[sammyboy]

Originally Posted by car'zy

Well, Sammyboy, Ford is known to develop more problems as compared to a few other makes, comparatively- let alone the spare costs. Thier after sales is nothing to write home about, and to add, thier cars are not tanks either. I had a lot of problems once my car went past the 50K mark, so have a few other Ikons owned by friends. And, this is also corroborated by so many other owners in this very forum and elsewhere. Ford, especially the Ikon is not a hassle-free long term ownership car. I havent owned the Feista but purely on feedback from people who have owned the Ikon as well as the Fiesta, I get to hear Feista fares marginally better.

I completely understand that bro and appreciate your point of view. I agree that its not a completely hasslefree car post 50k kms but just want to say that when all this information is available and one chooses a car inspite of that then one lives with the cost and expenses.
Skoda and honda are wonderful cars to own but they also have expensive spares but people still buy and live with them, right? I am not comparing these to Ford at all. All I am trying to say here is that when someone buys one of these cars they do know the costs associated with maintaining them so crying for every expense and blaming the company doesnt make sense.

Kbalii : Thats right. The main issue here is that the owner unfortunately landed at the wrong mechanic and suffered.

[iceman91]

naj,
Mate well this is whre the forum comes handy. utilise it to find out who to go to and how much to pay.
my friend in Bangalore had the same issue wiht his Ikon, he called me I knew someone reliable got it done for him for 4k except cat con. this was in 2004. The car is perfect even today with regards to the exhaust.
Ditto wiht my accent, dad insisted on company they quoted 8k I got it done for 2.5 more than a year ago. Still works fine.

Please dont misunderstand, all I am saying is e have such a ovely foruma nd need ot utilise its networking for mutual benefits.

cheers

[abhi1309]

My friend changed her cars for Rs 2500, the rear part I think, it could not be welded so got it changed. It is a 1.6 Zxi run for 30000kms but about 4 years old and it leaked for the first time. I dont blame the car.

My friend got it changed for his accent for just Rs 1350 including fitting directly from a spare parts shop. I accompanied him to all the 5 shops we visited and the prices varied from 6000 to this 1350 and I kind of understood how mechanics are almost terrorists. They will say whatever amount they think.

Ultimately its your bargaining power and the ability to run around a bit in the market. All mid segment car exhausts cost the same to make, no matter what brand it is. Why should they cost more/less in the end market.

[zen91]

Originally Posted by sammyboy

Bro when one buys a car one does look at the spare price list to decide if it is affordable or not. I can buy a Merc if I want but would I be able to take care of the spares whenever required? No. So i stick to something I am okay paying for.

I have 2 Fords in my family and I bought them fully knowing what could be the consequences of buying and the spares cost.

Please think before comparing Ford spares to a Maruti. No company can match the spare prices of Maruti and its not rocket science to understand that.

One disturbing trend I have noticed is that quite a few people become Ford bashers whether they have any experience with the car or not. Plus all of us are well read and team-bhp is there along with google to check for experiences. If its a one off case , i can understand but if you keep hearing about somethings going wrong with a car and still buy it , it will be usually you love it and are willing to take a risk. I am and I do.

Completely agree with you sammyboy, I guess a lot of people have a misconception about Ikon and its maintainance.

I got the mid muffler of my Ikon 1.6 changed(as it had a few holes in it) for 5.5K at Ford A.S.S about 3 months back.The only other part that I changed apart from the strut bushes in the last 33 months of ownership with 44k kms on the odo.

[naj]

Sammyboy , The Ikon is a wonderful car.But spares are pricey .I feel the 22 k quoted for the second stage pipe steep thats the reason I ventured out.I have mentioned in my post that I usually do what ever the service adviser suggests but 22k is way too much, ofcourse according to me.
I doubt if now I will ever get my car repaired anywhere other than the Ford Service no matter the costs.
Secondly it never occurred to me to check the spare part list then when buying.Actually I read one editorial by Hormazd Sorabjee in Autocar in which he had written about 5 best Indian cars and Ikon 1.6 was one of them.After the test drive I decided for it against the Baleno.And in 2004 There were very few options too.

Ikon is not free from problems .There are niggling problems which crop up all a sudden.But its a excellent car to drive though.
I really feel overwhelmed by the posts and inputs and surely I know now just as iceman91 sir suggested ,I can always bank on the forum for advice.Guess I should have done that first.
And before giving the car to the mechanic I had discussed and it was decided what was to be done.He did seem to be convincing.
Thanks
naj

[car'zy]

Originally Posted by sammyboy

I completely understand that bro and appreciate your point of view. I agree that its not a completely hasslefree car post 50k kms but just want to say that when all this information is available and one chooses a car inspite of that then one lives with the cost and expenses.

I agree, all this stuff is well documented. But I also wish everybody would do enough research before buying a car. I was guilty of not doing enough as well - before teambhp happened!

And other than that, Ikon was a great car. I absolutely loved its road manners, the planted feel and the fact that it was very driver centric. I have driven various other cars including ones from upper segments but I'm still to completely like anything better than the Ikon. May be I'm biased.

PS: Cedia, perhaps!

[diabloo]

As such everyone knew about Ford Service (remember Metro of Bangalore?), now they are scaling new heights.

Wish multi-brand car service comes sooner.

They are quite capable garage shops who offer good service, but I know none in Pune.

Originally Posted by naj

Bottom line I have no option but to buy pricey Ford spares .Any way I have to get cheated in any condition.So why not get cheated by Ford?

[benbsb29]

Originally Posted by iceman91

naj,
Mate well this is whre the forum comes handy. utilise it to find out who to go to and how much to pay.

Please dont misunderstand, all I am saying is e have such a ovely foruma nd need ot utilise its networking for mutual benefits.

I am totally in agreement with iceman's post. If given a chance anyone and everyone will rob us. As someone once said, "Somebody is good only till he is given an opportunity".

Leverage the forum to find the right people to get in touch with, such as a local and trusted mechanic'. Once my car is out of warranty, i would also probably look for such options. Ofcourse, i would try and do my research first.

[rjstyles69]

That sure was a nasty experience for you naj. If I were you I have no clue what would have been the outcome. But what has ford got to do with this ? Shouldn't it be that you got fleeced by a roadside mechanic than ford themselves ? Ford has their prices in places which for a few of us is expensive and you decided to get it done outside.Whats ford's role here is something amiss for me.

Originally Posted by aaggoswami

Ford is known to provide bad service and costly spares. The ideal solution for you IMO is to find buy the part yourself and get the job done by local mechanic in front of you. Will consume a day or may be two, but you are sure you are not being cheated.

Well I think he wrote his story about being fleeced by a local mechanic.I think you ought to read sammyboy's post quoted below. He speaks from experience and I doubt if you have if at all any kind of evidence/experience to say "We all know Ford Spares are expensive" . A very strong comment made by you here, not everything comes for cheap when you own a car.

I just dont agree with the name of the thread as it is very misleading.
It was your choice to go to the other guy and unfortunately you got ripped. I dont think it is fair to blame Ford for this.

You know a lot of people have been talking a lot about the expensive spares of Ford. I am still not sure though, as I have had the ikon for 3.5 years now and havent felt it so.
Would the other non Ford car owners who might have had these particular parts changed share the kind of prices they pay for their spares?
I know nothing compares to Maruti and you get a zillion different companies making these parts too.

Sammy even maruti has their fair share of expensive spares, lets not get there .

When one buys a car one does look at the spare price list to decide if it is affordable or not. I can buy a Merc if I want but would I be able to take care of the spares whenever required? No. So i stick to something I am okay paying for.

Pretty apt and the right comment by sammy, coz you never buy a car looking at the price of the spares. Come' on in that case you and I would end up buying spares locally which were cheap and end up making our own cars.

Originally Posted by iceman91

Please dont misunderstand, all I am saying is e have such a ovely foruma nd need ot utilise its networking for mutual benefits.

Amit how many down when you typed this ?

Edit : Naz I dont intend to rub salt into your wound, but then like Amit(iceman91) said you are a member of a public forum and should have discussed it here before taking the leap. Am sure someone would have chipped in to help you out.

[sammyboy]

Originally Posted by naj

Sammyboy , The Ikon is a wonderful car.But spares are pricey .I feel the 22 k quoted for the second stage pipe steep thats the reason I ventured out.I have mentioned in my post that I usually do what ever the service adviser suggests but 22k is way too much, ofcourse according to me.
I doubt if now I will ever get my car repaired anywhere other than the Ford Service no matter the costs.
Secondly it never occurred to me to check the spare part list then when buying.Actually I read one editorial by Hormazd Sorabjee in Autocar in which he had written about 5 best Indian cars and Ikon 1.6 was one of them.After the test drive I decided for it against the Baleno.And in 2004 There were very few options too.

Ikon is not free from problems .There are niggling problems which crop up all a sudden.But its a excellent car to drive though.
I really feel overwhelmed by the posts and inputs and surely I know now just as iceman91 sir suggested ,I can always bank on the forum for advice.Guess I should have done that first.
And before giving the car to the mechanic I had discussed and it was decided what was to be done.He did seem to be convincing.
Thanks
naj

Naj I appreciate you taking the comments in the right spirit. I can totally understand that when you bought the car there wernt many options available and the ikon 1.6 is a gem of a car. Even I was in love with the car but couldnt afford it at that time and settled for a flair which was more in my budget. Its really sad that you got ripped by the mechanic. Well you live and you learn Now that you have so many bhpians who should be able to guide you to a better mechanic, take their help . I do that everytime and have been bailed out of tricky(read expensive A.S.S) situations by their support. Forget what happened, if you ever find the spares too expensive, ask on the forum and if there is no alternative or Ford spare is the best alternative in that condition go for it. Now that you have a fantastic set of people to support you take advice, do your research and have fun.

The Ikon is a lovely car and we all have had a wonderful time owning it. lets not spoil our pleasures because we have to pay a little more for some things. Come on man, Drive on and enjoy your fantastic car.

All: Thank you for understanding and taking my points in the right spirit. Its great to be able to have a frank and fruitful discussion with all you guys.

[amitk26]

Originally Posted by rjstyles69

That sure was a nasty experience for you naj. If I were you I have no clue what would have been the outcome. But what has ford got to do with this

Are you kidding ? Untill consumers are vigilent Indian consumers are going to be fleeced by manufacturers. It does not matter what product or catagory. Negative publicity is a great disinsentive for manufacturers to provide defective / low quality products.

Ford has following things to do with this,

- Using poor quality pipes from OEM manufacturers probably to reduce cost
such that they get corrodaed with in few years of manufacturing.

- Using inferior / substandard paint process in India , And that is the reason
why most Ikons without rust treatment in humid areas develop corrosion near to lower edges of door and in under body.
Empirical evidences suggest that Ford cars are rust prone.

- Using inferior steel sheets , That result in orange peel on paint.
And even a classic case of breaking car in 2 in case of accident , You can search net for pictures if you wish.

- Milking customers by high pricing of components.

- Suggesting to replace full components instead of repairing at A.S.S

- Components such as catcons , Exhaust pipes are manufactured by 3ed party OEM vendors, by pricing them very high ford tries to milk its customers over a period of time.


This post has a purpose and that is to warn future customers to be beware of buying ford and also to serve as a deterrence by creating negative publicity which is best tool at the hand of end user.

FYI : In Home country of Ford some one might have sued and asked for millions in punitive damage and they could have gone for out of court settlement.

[condor]

iceman91 : .. well this is whre the forum comes handy.

.. all I am saying is e have such a ovely foruma nd need ot utilise its networking for mutual benefits.

cheers.

rjstyles69 : Amit, how many down when you typed this ?

Riju, it's Friday, yaar. And Daru-man has already said Cheers!.