The story of Toothless: Tata Safari GX 4x2 Black Dualtone

7th August 2011, 21:42

1000 km up, getting ready for first service and everything so far has been great, except for the dealer experience at Concorde Motors, Diary Circle, BLR. It's a long story, but here is the gist.

* My car was delivered on July 16, but I was refused the offer on AMC/Ext. warranty which totals to Rs 23,500 but for July the offer was at 9,500. I paid the final amount on July 16.
* I was told that this was because my car was internally invoiced on June 30 (ostensibly to meet monthly/quarterly deadlines) even when I did my PDI in July !
* I was asked to escalate to one Mr. Praveen of TML (Territory Mgr) who finally responded to my email after one week. (Remember 1980s ?). I was told I was given a cash discount of 13,500 already !! I was not aware of this and requested a break-up but no response.
* Finally, I was offered no choice than to buy the full AMC + Warranty at Rs 23,500 or go without one (there is a 2yr, 20K available at about 13,000)
* I went to the showroom to make the payment and at the cash counter was curtly told that I would have to pay 2% extra to cover for bank/credit card charges.

Sorry, I blew my top. I had enough of this trash treatment from Concorde. Why inconveneince the customer ? Either bake it in or let the customer know upfront (I had called to confirm the cost in the morning) before they come to the showroom. Who (apart from maybe Bellary miners) carry that kind of cash ? And I am sure many people have something like a 15,000 daily withdrawal limit.

In all fairness, I was offered that TML will share 1% and I'd have to bear 1%. For me, it was insult to injury, because (and maybe it's just me) I thought it is completely unethical and inappropriate business practice to charge and additional 2%. In fact, on the day of the delivery, I had to make some payments for the accessories, but at that time, they did not charge 2% extra.

I mean, this is 2011, even the roadside "supermarket" does not charge you 2% extra.
Ah, in the meantime, one salesperson, wearing a manza t-shirt came and asked me if I owned the Safari parked outside, to which I said yes. He said, "Sir, I have a customer who wants to see the seats, can I borrow you keys for a minute ?". I obliged, esp, since I was aware that there is a trim difference in seats betwwen EX,LX and GX,VX.

I followed him to the parking lot just a few seconds later(he did not notice I was behind him). He got up into the car, gets the "customer" to climb up onto the passengers seat. Then, I see this guy slot in the key and crank up the engine even without checking the ECU lights and without depressing the clutch (which puts an unnecessary load on the starter motor). Then he & the "customer" jerk the steering around to estimate the play. Then he blasts on the AC and checks out the blower levels and all. All this took barely half a minute and I already had enough for the day. I asked my salesperson (who had by this time followed me) to ask his colleague to "get out of the car".

Finally, I had to go over to an ATM, get the cash (because I was principally stuck I would not waste 450 rupees). I asked to meet someone who was in charge and I was met by Mr. Madhusudan, the person who leads sales.

He was polite, but unable to be of any help.

Bottomline:
1. Pre-sales, Concorde creates a differentiator for themselves caliming a deep association with TML. Post-sales, that quickly disappears. In fact, they just put things on the "company" and play good cop.

2. While I would still like to believe that the people themselves are not bad, nobody seems to have any empowerment to do anything. Everything escalates up, reaches a certain level and comes back down with everyone nodding their heads but unable to make any meaningful difference.

I am now very wary of the whole Tata thing. Seemed like a well-meaning but incompetent bureaucracy to me.

Lukeskywalker · 7th August 2011, 22:40

I understand the anguish you face, I, for one have never found Concorde Motors dairy circle competent, I cannot speak of their service department, but the sales force is pathetic, they have an attitude that they are a company owned outlet so they need not canvass for customers, and like you mentioned, they claim that their hands are tied for almost everything you ask in terms of value added services that normally go along with a car sale.

AlphaKilo · 8th August 2011, 00:15

sorry to hear the bad treatment of concorde motors. Why dont you write to tata heads regarding this behaviour?

8th August 2011, 09:43

Quote:

Originally Posted by AlphaKilo

sorry to hear the bad treatment of concorde motors. Why dont you write to Tata heads regarding this behaviour?

I was advised to write to Mr. Praveen (Territory Mgr South ?). He replied to my complaint email after about 6-7 days and said that since I had already received a 13,500 discount, I was not eligible for anything else.

I requested him to explain how he calculated the 13.5K discount, but I have not received any response from him yet.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lukeskywalker

.. I cannot speak of their service department, but the sales force is pathetic..

I will be going in for a svc this week, let's see how that goes. BTW, saw your garage pics, the T-Saf is a killer. Congrats ! 2

jkrishnakj · 9th August 2011, 13:15

Quote:

Originally Posted by sarcar

I went to the showroom to make the payment and at the cash counter was curtly told that I would have to pay 2% extra to cover for bank/credit card charges.

Sorry, I blew my top. I had enough of this trash treatment from Concorde. Why inconveneince the customer ?

Sarcar - Ask Concorde who their Merchant Bankers are and you can officially write a complaint to the bank. No Merchant is allowed to charge extra. The bank will take it up very strictly.

3rd September 2011, 12:14

Apologies at the outset. I know this is seriously delayed. It's been over 3 weeks since I got the first servicing done and thought would jot down my experience.

Aug 9, 2011
I took in Toothless for the first doctor's checkup at 1242 km. I arrived at the Concorde Motors' Begur Service Station at about 9 AM. The afternoon before, I had tried to book an appointment and was initially asked to come a day later. However, I persisted with the lady and got a slot.

I had a nicely formatted and printed document to capture all the issues I wanted to get checked/clarified. The human mind, it is said, can remember up to 7 different things at a time. My brain gives in at about two and half. And my list had about 17 issues. I am jotting down the key ones, including the work done/response.

Car pulls to left. Alignment or suspension issue ?
Has been corrected. SA mentioned that it would not be perfect.
I am happy; I do not see the pull anymore, it's pretty straight-line. However, the braking still causes just a little pull. Now, I look at it as a feature rather than a bug and have adapted my driving style to that.
Steering column has slight grunt noise when turning right from center position
SA mentioned that this was normal due to the bushing. I have no problems.
Left and right wheels do not turn equally.
Was adjusted. Now OK.
Rear door not opening via central lock or electronic key. Have to manually open.
This was a significant niggle. The SA seemed to be aware of the issue and was corrected during the service. No further issues.
Passenger seat squeaking
SA mentioned that some nuts and bolts had been tightened and greasing in the joints done. But this is something which has actually turned worse. The noise is significant. Need to decide what to do. Any suggestions ?
Electronic key operating distance is too low
Surprisingly the key seemed to behave well at the TASS; usually I have to almost hug the car to make it work The SA mentioned that it was within normal range as per his experience but also offered to raise a ticket with Minda (OEM) if things were really getting bad.

There was a few more minor things on the list, all of which was taken care of.

The place is way too far off from where I live (C.V. Raman Nagar) and I had to skip office (not good). Finding the place for the first time is tad difficult. The waiting room is unimpressive.

What I did not like is that the odo on returnin was 1257 km, so about 15 km of driving had been done. Not sure why this was the case. Not that I mind so much about anyone driving it for a reason, but would have been good if it was explained. I saw it after I left the TASS; maybe I should have enquired politely.

On the positive side, I was overall very happy with the service. Servicing was done per my expectations (which is pretty steep having been pampered by Hyundai).

It was a pure thrill to see so many T-Safs from all generations around. Exhilarating !!! The Sr. SA [Asaf] was quite knowledgeable and I would (based on this encounter) give a 9/10. The driver side window did not fold up completely after the servicing. good that I saw it while in the shop. It was promptly fixed no issues.

I was given the assurance that I could safely drive to Munnar the day after without any worries. And what an astounding trip that was !

Lukeskywalker · 3rd September 2011, 20:55

Quote:

Passenger seat squeaking
SA mentioned that some nuts and bolts had been tightened and greasing in the joints done. But this is something which has actually turned worse. The noise is significant. Need to decide what to do. Any suggestions ?

WD40 sprayed under the passenger seat (The railing on which the sliding happens)will stop the squeak till it comes back in time, then spray again.

Quote:

Electronic key operating distance is too low
Surprisingly the key seemed to behave well at the TASS; usually I have to almost hug the car to make it work

The SA mentioned that it was within normal range as per his experience but also offered to raise a ticket with Minda (OEM) if things were really getting bad.

Call Minda on 18001022777, they will issue a complaint number and their representative will visit you at your convenience, he will check the efficacy of the unit placed under the driver seat, if found faulty, will be replaced under warranty (within 1.5 yrs), a simpler solution would be to ask the Minda technician to pull out the antenna wire which is enclosed within the unit, this increases the range considerably.

mannubhai · 14th September 2011, 13:35

Sarcar, Quite an impressive write up , i must say.

With every passing thread i dig up on a safari, my decision to go for one, becomes stronger.

Hopefully soon, ill have an ownership thread of my own

14th September 2011, 15:10

Quote:

Originally Posted by mannubhai

With every passing thread i dig up on a safari, my decision to go for one, becomes stronger.

Hopefully soon, ill have an ownership thread of my own

mannubhai,

Go for it, this is an excellent beast !! Look forward to your thread.

verditer · 14th September 2011, 15:31

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lukeskywalker

WD40 sprayed under the passenger seat (The railing on which the sliding happens)will stop the squeak till it comes back in time, then spray again.

Where can I get hold of WD40 can n Bangalore? Is it widely available? I have the same problem and in need of a can. Any pointers appreciated.

IronH4WK · 14th September 2011, 15:36

Quote:

Originally Posted by verditer

Where can I get hold of WD40 can n Bangalore? Is it widely available? I have the same problem and in need of a can. Any pointers appreciated.

i saw small cans of WD40 near the automobile/tools section in SPAR in Oasis (Koramangala).

motomaverick · 14th September 2011, 17:07

Great write sarcar, the safari has always been a dream vehicle for me but the practicalities and nesseceties along with finanace played a spoil sport but i bought the most VFM sedan Manza recently. But "Happy Motoring" ahead!!

My dealer experience was also not great which i have penned down on my owneship thread. But it seems if you write a feedback on the Tata website, there is a direct e-mail sent to all regional heads & passenger car heads, so its directly visible, this is the info i got from the Div Mgr for Prerana motors.

n.devdath · 14th September 2011, 18:23

Quote:

Originally Posted by verditer

Where can I get hold of WD40 can n Bangalore? Is it widely available? I have the same problem and in need of a can. Any pointers appreciated.

Almost all good accessory shops stock it, but JC Road would have tons of it all over. Which area of Blore do you stay at? I could probably recommend you a store close to home.

sagarpadaki · 14th September 2011, 22:25

Quote:

Originally Posted by verditer

Where can I get hold of WD40 can n Bangalore? Is it widely available? I have the same problem and in need of a can. Any pointers appreciated.

You can also try "Zorrik 88" which is an equivalent to WD40 and available at almost all hardware and plumbing shops.Pretty easy to find

verditer · 15th September 2011, 09:49

Quote:

Originally Posted by n.devdath

Almost all good accessory shops stock it, but JC Road would have tons of it all over. Which area of Blore do you stay at? I could probably recommend you a store close to home.

Thanks Devdath; Any pointers around WHitefield/AECS Layout area? JC Road is too far away for me. (I live in Hosur and commute to Whitefield everyday for work)...

Thanks again.

7th August 2011, 21:42	#46
sarcar Posts: n/a	Re: The story of Toothless: Tata Safari GX 4x2 Black Dualtone 1000 km up, getting ready for first service and everything so far has been great, except for the dealer experience at Concorde Motors, Diary Circle, BLR. It's a long story, but here is the gist. * My car was delivered on July 16, but I was refused the offer on AMC/Ext. warranty which totals to Rs 23,500 but for July the offer was at 9,500. I paid the final amount on July 16. * I was told that this was because my car was internally invoiced on June 30 (ostensibly to meet monthly/quarterly deadlines) even when I did my PDI in July ! * I was asked to escalate to one Mr. Praveen of TML (Territory Mgr) who finally responded to my email after one week. (Remember 1980s ?). I was told I was given a cash discount of 13,500 already !! I was not aware of this and requested a break-up but no response. * Finally, I was offered no choice than to buy the full AMC + Warranty at Rs 23,500 or go without one (there is a 2yr, 20K available at about 13,000) * I went to the showroom to make the payment and at the cash counter was curtly told that I would have to pay 2% extra to cover for bank/credit card charges. Sorry, I blew my top. I had enough of this trash treatment from Concorde. Why inconveneince the customer ? Either bake it in or let the customer know upfront (I had called to confirm the cost in the morning) before they come to the showroom. Who (apart from maybe Bellary miners) carry that kind of cash ? And I am sure many people have something like a 15,000 daily withdrawal limit. In all fairness, I was offered that TML will share 1% and I'd have to bear 1%. For me, it was insult to injury, because (and maybe it's just me) I thought it is completely unethical and inappropriate business practice to charge and additional 2%. In fact, on the day of the delivery, I had to make some payments for the accessories, but at that time, they did not charge 2% extra. I mean, this is 2011, even the roadside "supermarket" does not charge you 2% extra. Ah, in the meantime, one salesperson, wearing a manza t-shirt came and asked me if I owned the Safari parked outside, to which I said yes. He said, "Sir, I have a customer who wants to see the seats, can I borrow you keys for a minute ?". I obliged, esp, since I was aware that there is a trim difference in seats betwwen EX,LX and GX,VX. I followed him to the parking lot just a few seconds later(he did not notice I was behind him). He got up into the car, gets the "customer" to climb up onto the passengers seat. Then, I see this guy slot in the key and crank up the engine even without checking the ECU lights and without depressing the clutch (which puts an unnecessary load on the starter motor). Then he & the "customer" jerk the steering around to estimate the play. Then he blasts on the AC and checks out the blower levels and all. All this took barely half a minute and I already had enough for the day. I asked my salesperson (who had by this time followed me) to ask his colleague to "get out of the car". Finally, I had to go over to an ATM, get the cash (because I was principally stuck I would not waste 450 rupees). I asked to meet someone who was in charge and I was met by Mr. Madhusudan, the person who leads sales. He was polite, but unable to be of any help. Bottomline: 1. Pre-sales, Concorde creates a differentiator for themselves caliming a deep association with TML. Post-sales, that quickly disappears. In fact, they just put things on the "company" and play good cop. 2. While I would still like to believe that the people themselves are not bad, nobody seems to have any empowerment to do anything. Everything escalates up, reaches a certain level and comes back down with everyone nodding their heads but unable to make any meaningful difference. I am now very wary of the whole Tata thing. Seemed like a well-meaning but incompetent bureaucracy to me.
	() Thanks

7th August 2011, 22:40	#47
Lukeskywalker Senior - BHPian Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Bangalore Posts: 1,397 Thanked: 1,243 Times View My Garage	Re: The story of Toothless: Tata Safari GX 4x2 Black Dualtone I understand the anguish you face, I, for one have never found Concorde Motors dairy circle competent, I cannot speak of their service department, but the sales force is pathetic, they have an attitude that they are a company owned outlet so they need not canvass for customers, and like you mentioned, they claim that their hands are tied for almost everything you ask in terms of value added services that normally go along with a car sale.
	() Thanks

8th August 2011, 00:15	#48
AlphaKilo Senior - BHPian Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: VOMM-EDDW-EDDM Posts: 1,162 Thanked: 1,188 Times View My Garage	Re: The story of Toothless: Tata Safari GX 4x2 Black Dualtone sorry to hear the bad treatment of concorde motors. Why dont you write to tata heads regarding this behaviour?
	() Thanks

3rd September 2011, 12:14	#51
sarcar Posts: n/a	Re: The story of Toothless: Tata Safari GX 4x2 Black Dualtone Apologies at the outset. I know this is seriously delayed. It's been over 3 weeks since I got the first servicing done and thought would jot down my experience. Aug 9, 2011 I took in Toothless for the first doctor's checkup at 1242 km. I arrived at the Concorde Motors' Begur Service Station at about 9 AM. The afternoon before, I had tried to book an appointment and was initially asked to come a day later. However, I persisted with the lady and got a slot. I had a nicely formatted and printed document to capture all the issues I wanted to get checked/clarified. The human mind, it is said, can remember up to 7 different things at a time. My brain gives in at about two and half. And my list had about 17 issues. I am jotting down the key ones, including the work done/response. Car pulls to left. Alignment or suspension issue ? Has been corrected. SA mentioned that it would not be perfect. I am happy; I do not see the pull anymore, it's pretty straight-line. However, the braking still causes just a little pull. Now, I look at it as a feature rather than a bug and have adapted my driving style to that. Steering column has slight grunt noise when turning right from center position SA mentioned that this was normal due to the bushing. I have no problems. Left and right wheels do not turn equally. Was adjusted. Now OK. Rear door not opening via central lock or electronic key. Have to manually open. This was a significant niggle. The SA seemed to be aware of the issue and was corrected during the service. No further issues. Passenger seat squeaking SA mentioned that some nuts and bolts had been tightened and greasing in the joints done. But this is something which has actually turned worse. The noise is significant. Need to decide what to do. Any suggestions ? Electronic key operating distance is too low Surprisingly the key seemed to behave well at the TASS; usually I have to almost hug the car to make it work The SA mentioned that it was within normal range as per his experience but also offered to raise a ticket with Minda (OEM) if things were really getting bad. There was a few more minor things on the list, all of which was taken care of. The place is way too far off from where I live (C.V. Raman Nagar) and I had to skip office (not good). Finding the place for the first time is tad difficult. The waiting room is unimpressive. What I did not like is that the odo on returnin was 1257 km, so about 15 km of driving had been done. Not sure why this was the case. Not that I mind so much about anyone driving it for a reason, but would have been good if it was explained. I saw it after I left the TASS; maybe I should have enquired politely. On the positive side, I was overall very happy with the service. Servicing was done per my expectations (which is pretty steep having been pampered by Hyundai). It was a pure thrill to see so many T-Safs from all generations around. Exhilarating !!! The Sr. SA [Asaf] was quite knowledgeable and I would (based on this encounter) give a 9/10. The driver side window did not fold up completely after the servicing. good that I saw it while in the shop. It was promptly fixed no issues. I was given the assurance that I could safely drive to Munnar the day after without any worries. And what an astounding trip that was !
	(1) Thanks

14th September 2011, 13:35	#53
mannubhai BHPian Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Bangalore Posts: 408 Thanked: 288 Times View My Garage	Re: The story of Toothless: Tata Safari GX 4x2 Black Dualtone Sarcar, Quite an impressive write up , i must say. With every passing thread i dig up on a safari, my decision to go for one, becomes stronger. Hopefully soon, ill have an ownership thread of my own
	() Thanks

14th September 2011, 17:07	#57
motomaverick Senior - BHPian Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Toronto, Canada Posts: 1,898 Thanked: 989 Times View My Garage	Re: The story of Toothless: Tata Safari GX 4x2 Black Dualtone Great write sarcar, the safari has always been a dream vehicle for me but the practicalities and nesseceties along with finanace played a spoil sport but i bought the most VFM sedan Manza recently. But "Happy Motoring" ahead!! My dealer experience was also not great which i have penned down on my owneship thread. But it seems if you write a feedback on the Tata website, there is a direct e-mail sent to all regional heads & passenger car heads, so its directly visible, this is the info i got from the Div Mgr for Prerana motors.
	() Thanks