[dj_turbo]

Guys
Short update after the last visit of TASS (Om Sai Motors, Charkop, Mumbai).

The work done:

1. Dent removed from the tailgate and side panel at the back and both of these were repainted. Total cost came to INR 7800 but this was FoC for me.
2. Front right side Wheel arc was replaced. (cost= INR 332)
3. I mentioned less feel of brake bite to SA, the brake shoes were replaced FOC under warranty, Cost = FOC (part cost mentioned 2458 x 2 nos)
4. Suspension and underbelly checked as I scrapped the under-body few times in past and no problems found.
5. SA recommended to fill wiper fluid which I agreed to and it costed hundred bucks.

The total bill came to INR 490 and so far I have no issues with the quality of work done, except the new badge at the back which were replaced, in the new one, there is no E and just the MOTION is there, which they offered to replace FOC in my next visit.

Overall the experience was better than previous occasions.

Cheers
Dj

[sad:)]

Dent removal and paint : Free of cost... ?? was this dent to to wrong handling of car during servicing ?

And what is this wiper fluid ? water ? hunderd bucks ?

[dj_turbo]

Originally Posted by sad:)

Dent removal and paint : Free of cost... ?? was this dent to to wrong handling of car during servicing ?

And what is this wiper fluid ? water ? hunderd bucks ?

Dent was gifted by Marudhara motors, Jodhpur when I last visited them a month ago. When I reported this to Fiat (Mr. Mangesh and service email ID), they offered to cover the charges over and above the insurance claim. So I got it done FoC.
And the wiper fluid was something he mentioned that will be added to water, I don't think it will be anything more than detergent agent with water.

[dj_turbo]

Guys
Today I got a call from Om Sai Motors for confirming my postal address and the lady told me that they are sending two complimentary Fame cinema's tickets which can be used till December in Mumbai.
Suddenly I started feeling that Fiat is caring for it's customers. The last service experience was nice, I got response from them without reminders about the incident happened and this seems to be icing on the cake.
The thing which I fail to understand is, Skoda can do all those things mentioned on various online forums and still manage to sell good numbers of cars but Fiat is still fighting for survival.
I hope Fiat put more efforts on QC and A*S in days to come, make the cars lighter and more fuel efficient then things might change. Some official car clubs and efforts towards making it a lifestyle brand would also help where the loyal customers will feel the belongingness to the brand and will eventually spread the good word about the brand. For all that to happen, the prerequisite is to minimize the quality and service related issues.

Dj

[sandip1974]

Have a small suggestion, can we compile all the niggling issues in the pdi format presented to customer care as part of buying experience ala: anna hazare as a token of our love for fiat to improve initial build quality, have a gut feeling that it will definitely have asm impact

[pinin]

@DJ

I do not know whether it is good or bad to apply the varnish. I do not like anything that has gloss. Besides, it changes the color of the Dash/Interiors.

I prefer the grey to black.

Pinin

[dj_turbo]

Originally Posted by sandip1974

Have a small suggestion, can we compile all the niggling issues in the pdi format presented to customer care as part of buying experience ala: anna hazare as a token of our love for fiat to improve initial build quality, have a gut feeling that it will definitely have asm impact

Hi Sandip, Sounds like a great idea, or better, just give them a link to ownership threads on T-BHP and TEAM-Fiat.

Originally Posted by pinin

@DJ

I do not know whether it is good or bad to apply the varnish. I do not like anything that has gloss. Besides, it changes the color of the Dash/Interiors.

I prefer the grey to black.

Pinin

After so many days, the varnish polish has gone, I hope it doesn't result in de-coloration of DB. Next time I am going to ask them for not applying it.

Guys, a long long drive is coming next weekend. I am all excited about it .
Initially I thought that a small car is more than sufficient for a single nomad like me, but now, a friend of mine is coming with his wife and loads of luggage, suddenly I am feeling that I should have bought a car with boot (or XUV5OO )

DJ

[dj_turbo]

hi guys

Two days back I did one more marathon drive from Mumbai to Jodhpur, this time i was accomanied by two friends with loads of luggage. I started at 5 AM from Mumbai airport and reached home at 2AM.

The reason why I am writing this is to reassure all folks here that for highways, nothing beats a Punto. We lost few turns on the way and ended up travelling by a 100kms strech where there was literally no road. The old one was demolished and new one was yet to be started, so i had to drive on sharp stones, big potholes in middle of nowhere, After covering that part without any puncture or flat tire; I definitely recommend that you don't have to replace the Apollo OEMs right after buying the car, these are goodenough for more than normal usage on highways.

For this 1100 kms run, i got a lowly figure of 16.8 kmpl, which can be attributed to worst road and traffic conditions, but still I was expecting more than that.

I will state more details in days to come.

DJ

PS: The count of smiles stands at 11250 now. :-)

[hemanth.anand]

^^^ There is no hatchback at present in India that can beat Punto on highways. Wish you cross many more (s)milestones.

By the way, I agree with you that 16.8 is not a good FE for a diesel. Was it without AC?!!!

Nowadays, I'm not suggesting punto to any of my friends who ask me. I just tell them to take a TD.
Rest of the things happen automatically and one extra punto booking is made

[dj_turbo]

Originally Posted by hemanth.anand

By the way, I agree with you that 16.8 is not a good FE for a diesel. Was it without AC?!!!

Nowadays, I'm not suggesting punto to any of my friends who ask me. I just tell them to take a TD.
Rest of the things happen automatically and one extra punto booking is made

Yes, It was with AC ON all the time, The Inst. cons. shows in the range of 13.2-14 around 100 KMPH and while accelerating in 1st and 2nd cog, it hovers around 5.1-6.4 KMPL.
Next time I will more gentle with right foot and will see if I manage to get better efficiency.

DJ

[abhi_k007]

Congrats buddy, its lloking great in this shade, but how are the interiors, i have heard that the quality is not up to the mark and that is a big turn off in these cars.

[DigitalDragon]

@ dj_turbo

Congrats for owning the little cute italian beauty. The color is just awesome and so are the snaps.

I am seriously contemplating to buy one 90 HP shortly. Few queries:

1. Which brand is the reverse parking sensor?
2. During a recent visit to showroom, i felt the stock seats are a bit hard. How comfortable do you find them for a long drive ? Is the ergonomy perfect, meaning do you feel any pain in neck/back/shoulder after a long drive?
3. The Punto site says there is a rear foot level ac vent. Have you experienced it ? Somebody had a wish list of this feature in one of the posts in this thread.
4. I came across the driver side window auto up feature during my inspection of the car. Hope you have experienced it. Surprisingly the Punto site does not mention any such feature.
5. Last one - what about the body roll in hill areas ? I read you went on a trip to Kasauli. I also drove from Ludhiana to Kasauli this April in a Zen Estilo. There was significant body roll.

Thanks and look forward to hear from you.

[dj_turbo]

Originally Posted by abhi_k007

Congrats buddy, its lloking great in this shade, but how are the interiors, i have heard that the quality is not up to the mark and that is a big turn off in these cars.

Hi Abhi, You have to experience the interior quality yourself as I do not find anything inferior to the other options available in the same price bracket and you will find many people who think otherwise. I agree that here and there the plastics could have been better but certainly that was not a deal breaker for me.

Originally Posted by DigitalDragon

@ dj_turbo

Congrats for owning the little cute italian beauty. The color is just awesome and so are the snaps.

I am seriously contemplating to buy one 90 HP shortly. Few queries:

1. Which brand is the reverse parking sensor?
2. During a recent visit to showroom, i felt the stock seats are a bit hard. How comfortable do you find them for a long drive ? Is the ergonomy perfect, meaning do you feel any pain in neck/back/shoulder after a long drive?
3. The Punto site says there is a rear foot level ac vent. Have you experienced it ? Somebody had a wish list of this feature in one of the posts in this thread.
4. I came across the driver side window auto up feature during my inspection of the car. Hope you have experienced it. Surprisingly the Punto site does not mention any such feature.
5. Last one - what about the body roll in hill areas ? I read you went on a trip to Kasauli. I also drove from Ludhiana to Kasauli this April in a Zen Estilo. There was significant body roll.

Thanks and look forward to hear from you.

Thanks DigitalDragon.
1. The parking sensor is not FIAT OEM, I will recheck the brand name for you. So far it has worked fine.
2. I have done many non-stop trips exceeding 13 Hrs (twice more than 20 hrs) and I was able to go to office next morning, I hope it says it all, flipside is, I travel alone most of the times and was never on the back seat, so I am not the best person to comment on rear seat comfort.
3. There is no rear seat AC vents but I have read on some forums that guys have put a front arm rest and ac vent.
4. The driver side is one touch up, which I find useful at tollgates. Wish it was there for all windows.
5. Body roll in Punto is non-existent, this car is certainly the one you would want to take on curvy roads; on the ghats, the big car like feel is really nice. Please see if you are comfortable with short first and second gear which will be little tricky to deal with if you have heavy traffic on steep ghats.

I tried not to sound too PRO-Punto but couldnot help and I am sure you will also be not different once you own one.

There are few points which I didnot like much which are mentioned on the first page.

Let me know if you have any more questions.

DJ

[Akshay1234]

Originally Posted by dj_turbo

3. There is no rear seat AC vents but I have read on some forums that guys have put a front arm rest and ac vent.

Actually there is under the front seats. When you set the air for feet they work.

[DigitalDragon]

Originally Posted by dj_turbo

Let me know if you have any more questions.

DJ

Thanks DJ. I will wait for your response on the Reverse Sensor.

Originally Posted by akshay1234

Actually there is under the front seats. When you set the air for feet they work.

This is an interesting find. I was wondering how they can mention some feature which is non-existent. On the contrary they did miss to mention the driver side auto up in the feature list.