[rajushank84]

@karthik, very sad to hear what happened. After paying such a huge amount and this happens to our car that too from a world-class company like Fiat, it is frustrating. If i were in your place, I would go to a totally different A.S.S and get all the electricals checked from scratch.

Originally Posted by Rahulkool

This true to some extent, when you give the car for anything extra apart from regular service, TASS people mess up one or another thing. I don't know what exactly is the problem or they are not trained well. What Fiat don't understand that the customer is not interested in getting 6000rs back but getting the car back which is properly fixed and screwed together. Really sad situation for Fiat and i am sure these things are not going to improve, i feel they are not even bothered.

I agree 100%. I had the similar issues when i owned Indica Xeta. The car itself was awesome, but the service guys kept messing up something. At one point, i was afraid to give it for regular service - and my fears always proved right! Not once did they return the car after service in a good condition!

I think Tata's service network have several issues. Not enough training, the mechanics learn by experience (on our cars), the service advisors have zero knowledge, the hierarchy is more years-of-experience based than designation based (like a Govt office), so the mechanics dont respect the service advisors. Attrition seems to be high too and there is no employee satisfaction. Overall, there is no sense of pride in the work they do, and no one feels accountable for anything.

If Tata cannot fix this, it doesn't matter how good their cars are when their cars come out of the factory. This is the reason I didn't consider Vista and Punto (excellent cars, have potential to be class-leading) when I sold off my Indica in sheer frustration and went shopping for a new car.

[Palio_2005]

Having owned a Palio for close to 5 years, I am really saddened to see the quality issues, poor fit finish and overall attitude of the dealers and company towards their cars.

Ideally I would love to upgrade to a Linea having driven a Fiat car for so long, but spending 9 lacs on a car and then living with a thought of uncertainty makes me think again. Every time I see a Linea my heart says go but mind says no.

[supremeBaleno]

Originally Posted by supremeBaleno

If Fiat is serious about the Indian market, they better start working on moving from the A.S.S. tie-up with Tata to slowly setting up their own network.

Today's TOI has an article which indicates how the poor sales of Fiat cars is related to the Tata-Fiat JV. Eg. a customer calls for a TD of Grande Punto. Salesman comes to his place with a Sumo 'Grande'.

The Fiat-India CEO acknowledges the low sales, but does not directly put the blame on the joint operation.

[benbsb29]

Originally Posted by arun1100

Bangalore Fiat owners: KHT Service centre is far superior compared to others. The CRM there is ready to help all Fiat owners with their issues.

KHT is a new dealership and service center, so on the initial leg, they are all out to help customers. Once they settle into their groove, they will follow the same route as other dealerships in our country, not limited to Fiat alone.

Originally Posted by Amartya

I am forwarding a link to this thread to Fiat India, and I'd suggest dropping a mail to Mangesh as well.

Check the quote below, he has done all he could to pursue this issue from his end, including Mangesh as well as the CEO.

Originally Posted by karthik_rao

At all times, I had a major issue with the responsiveness of Fiat, Tata Fiat and the Service Station. People all along the chain made promises and never delivered. People never got back to me. I had to do all the calling. Tata Fiat told me around 3 weeks back that they would reimburse 6000 Rupees (the cost of the Extended Warranty) to compensate for my troubled 8 days without a car. I am yet to see that ridiculous sum of money. I sent emails to Fiat Customer Service (Mangesh Kodalkar) and to the CEO (thro the website). I am yet to hear anything at all from either of them on this. I have a good mind to name all the indolent people I had to deal with, but that doesnt serve any purpose.

[karthik_rao]

Hi,
The GM of the Service Center has been calling regularly in the last two days after a particularly acidic conversation with the Tata Fiat guy who manages Mumbai Dealerships.

This guy incidentally was very rude with me on 20 July, bacause I had complained to his boss that he is not taking calls, answerings SMSs or emails. He thought I shouldn't have complained about his callousness. He also told me to talk directly to the dealer, since he could not get the dealer to do his bidding. He then asked me to talk to his boss, since I had complained. Talk about abdication of responsibility.

I was really furious after this call and immediately called Mangesh of Fiat, but got no response though his cell rang. It was 830 PM, to be fair to him, but there was no callback the next day for the missed call either. So it is not like Fiat cares too much. This is probably not a story of Tata sabotaging Fiat, like some posters suggest. It looks like a case of Fiat digging its own grave.

My key has arrived and the reason it took so long, according to Tata Fiat, is that it comes from Italy. Can you believe that? I mean Italian Manufacturers are not famous for Quality, but this key is really sub-par.

Anyways, I will take my car in tomorrow, and have been told it will take 4 hours to do the job.

I have been chasing hard with Tata Fiat for an official explanation for all the pain caused to me. Even the Head of the Western region has been promising to send it to me since the last 4 days, but nothing so far.

I wonder when the saga will end?

[bhp_maniac]

Originally Posted by karthik_rao

Hi,
The GM of the Service Center has been calling regularly in the last two days after a particularly acidic conversation with the Tata Fiat guy who manages Mumbai Dealerships.

This guy incidentally was very rude with me on 20 July, bacause I had complained to his boss that he is not taking calls, answerings SMSs or emails. He thought I shouldn't have complained about his callousness. He also told me to talk directly to the dealer, since he could not get the dealer to do his bidding. He then asked me to talk to his boss, since I had complained. Talk about abdication of responsibility.

I was really furious after this call and immediately called Mangesh of Fiat, but got no response though his cell rang. It was 830 PM, to be fair to him, but there was no callback the next day for the missed call either. So it is not like Fiat cares too much. This is probably not a story of Tata sabotaging Fiat, like some posters suggest. It looks like a case of Fiat digging its own grave.

My key has arrived and the reason it took so long, according to Tata Fiat, is that it comes from Italy. Can you believe that? I mean Italian Manufacturers are not famous for Quality, but this key is really sub-par.

Anyways, I will take my car in tomorrow, and have been told it will take 4 hours to do the job.

I have been chasing hard with Tata Fiat for an official explanation for all the pain caused to me. Even the Head of the Western region has been promising to send it to me since the last 4 days, but nothing so far.

I wonder when the saga will end?

I seriously suggest to take this opportunity to change your A.S.S. Take her to a different service center for the fix. Tell Fiat guys that you don't want to give your car to the people who have messed it up like that. I am pretty damn sure that it's a service issue. As somebody posted, machines can fail. But if the service offered is better, then we can understand that. It doesn't only happen in Tata-Fiat. My Swift VDi had a rusted boot door after a month of ownership. But Maruti has been fair to me by replacing it. Again I had scratches all over when I got her after service. Same story repeated. The Works Manager came to personally meet me and resolved the issue. So its all about service. I agree that Tata-Fiat A.S.S doesn't have the best service, but changing your service center will help for sure. Hope this is the last time you are facing such an issue.

[amitoj]

I have a somewhat silly question.
Why would the dashboard need to be opened up to replace a faulty AC compressor? I mean, Karthik was told it was done to replace some "expansion valve" but can someone throw some more light on this please?

[Hashim]

Originally Posted by amitoj

I have a somewhat silly question.
Why would the dashboard need to be opened up to replace a faulty AC compressor? I mean, Karthik was told it was done to replace some "expansion valve" but can someone throw some more light on this please?

Expansion valve is behind the cooling coil which is inside the dashboard and hence its required to open the dashboard. Dashboard doesn't come out without removing steering so lots of wire connectors need to be removed, really its pain to see when its done on new car.

They might have suspected bad expansion valve so changing it.

[karthik_rao]

My remote issue was fixed on 24 July. Finally. My mechanical key is now able to open the boot. Car also seems a bit smoother, must be some tune up after the Monsoon Check up that happenned on the same day.

One issue not rectified was the plastic panels around the steering, where the key goes in. The guy told me it was normal, and I did not have the patience to discuss it any further, or to check out new cars and see if they had the same panel gap.

A new issue that cropped up was that my boot lid is now not flush with the body. The works manager said that could be set right at my next service. Question is, why did it go wrong in the first place?

Actually, many people seem to think it is a problem with the Dealer. However, I am not so sure. In my experience, the Dealer has been more responsive than Tata or Fiat. Still, I will try out another dealer to see if that makes a difference.

Tata Fiat have been promising me info on why things went so wrong for me, but still no email back on this. Today, the Head - Customer Services of the Western Region told me that the issue had been fixed, so why did I need this mail?

I hope that every problem with my car does not turn into such a long-drawn trial.

[bhp_maniac]

Originally Posted by karthik_rao

My remote issue was fixed on 24 July. Finally. My mechanical key is now able to open the boot. Car also seems a bit smoother, must be some tune up after the Monsoon Check up that happenned on the same day.

One issue not rectified was the plastic panels around the steering, where the key goes in. The guy told me it was normal, and I did not have the patience to discuss it any further, or to check out new cars and see if they had the same panel gap.

A new issue that cropped up was that my boot lid is now not flush with the body. The works manager said that could be set right at my next service. Question is, why did it go wrong in the first place?

Actually, many people seem to think it is a problem with the Dealer. However, I am not so sure. In my experience, the Dealer has been more responsive than Tata or Fiat. Still, I will try out another dealer to see if that makes a difference.

Tata Fiat have been promising me info on why things went so wrong for me, but still no email back on this. Today, the Head - Customer Services of the Western Region told me that the issue had been fixed, so why did I need this mail?

I hope that every problem with my car does not turn into such a long-drawn trial.

Thank GOD, you got your issue resolved. Why I felt its the service center is because, I don't think Tata or Fiat or any manufacturer will ever tell their service people to lubricate a remote switch. That was a classic example of a service person ignorance.

[evo]

Originally Posted by karthik_rao

One issue not rectified was the plastic panels around the steering, where the key goes in. The guy told me it was normal, and I did not have the patience to discuss it any further, or to check out new cars and see if they had the same panel gap.

The panel gap that you speak about IS present in new cars too, as I found out, much to my disappointment.

[vikrantj]

After reading this thread , I really feel sorry for what Karthik has to go through. But let me tell you , Linea is a gem of a car and it is unfortunate that Karthik got one of the bad apples . I understand that there were no issues in his car that could not have been caught during QC process out of factory.
But I feel some of the posts in the topic have been made without a solid backing or reasoning or personal experiences, and made simply for bashing. Tata-FIAT venture is the best thing that has happened to FIAT in recent past. Yes there are bad TASS but to generalize all TASS is bad is going too far.
Somehow anything related to FIAT get center stage and people vent out their anger even though they have no personal experiences with the car or the service guys. If you look through the whole TBHP post you will find more serious issues with other car manufacturers than FIAT atleast FIAT does not stoop to a level of unethical practices.

[karthik_rao]

Originally Posted by vikrantj

After reading this thread , I really feel sorry for what Karthik has to go through. But let me tell you , Linea is a gem of a car and it is unfortunate that Karthik got one of the bad apples . I understand that there were no issues in his car that could not have been caught during QC process out of factory.
But I feel some of the posts in the topic have been made without a solid backing or reasoning or personal experiences, and made simply for bashing. Tata-FIAT venture is the best thing that has happened to FIAT in recent past. Yes there are bad TASS but to generalize all TASS is bad is going too far.
Somehow anything related to FIAT get center stage and people vent out their anger even though they have no personal experiences with the car or the service guys. If you look through the whole TBHP post you will find more serious issues with other car manufacturers than FIAT atleast FIAT does not stoop to a level of unethical practices.

Hi Vikrant,
I can speak from personal experience, and I must say that there are quality issues, and spares are not available AND after sales service is poor. I don't really think I would have such serious issues with a new vehicle from MUL, Honda, or Hyundai, just to name a few players. Like someone pointed out, these are clear issues that can be caught at QC. Now a little birdie tells me that there was a whole batch of defective compressors on Lineas in march 2010. Of course, I dont have evidence. But that is the kind of thing a quality conscious manufacturer would catch.

Thankfully for me, I havent had any problems since then, except for very minor ones. Fingers crossed, and hope this is not because of very little driving in the past month. There is a little dome shaped plastic lid on a sensor on the center of the dashboard, just under the windscreen. That lid has come off, and I am waiting for spares to get it replaced. Then my numbers came of my number plate (not Fiat's fault, but the Dealer used really shoddy materials).
Not stuff that keep me awake at night, but all adding to the general feeling that we could have better Quality.

The engine has been the saving grace. I still havent gone for a longish drive even after 4 months of buying the car, but I can see that this is a great diesel. I am now getting used to the torque curve, and find the car can really move if you want her to.

[karthik_rao]

Finally got to take a reasonably longish drive last week. Went from Mumbai to Bhandardara and back. Total distance of around 360 KM.

It featured plain highways, Kasara Ghar, and country roads, and gave me a good sense of the car's performance.

Good fuel economy. Took around 20 liters diesel for 360 odd km, including 60 odd km within city conditions. A/c on all the time, 3-4 occupants with luggage. And I wasn't exactly going at a sedate 80 kph.

The handling was what I really bought the car for. Full marks here. I threw her into bends at reasonable speeds and she stayed on track quite nicely.

Ride quality was tested on the Ghoti-pimpalgaon segment. It was a really bad ride, but not really the car's fault.

Ground clearance is a real issue on not so good roads. I scraped the bottom a couple of times, and I was afraid to go off road to let oncoming traffic pass.

[benbsb29]

Originally Posted by karthik_rao

Ground clearance is a real issue on not so good roads. I scraped the bottom a couple of times, and I was afraid to go off road to let oncoming traffic pass.

I managed to do that as well, when TDing the car at the time of its launch. Was actually surprised it happened, since i wasnt expecting it.

Good to know most of your bad experiences are behind you. and wishing you a much more happier ownership experience henceforth.