[pareshraheja]

Originally Posted by Dr.Suraj

Mere do anmol Ratan ... Thank you Tata.

Salute to Mr. Ratan Tata sir.

Doc, It has been nearly 2 years and haven't heard from you on the club class. Have you sold it?

My FIL has a Manza bought about 2 years ago and he is struggling with the suspension issue which, has also forced him to change the front tyres due to uneven wear. The mileage is around 20 K.

The TASS refused to accept any fault. They just washed their hands off by saying that the issue is related to alignment not being right. But, we argued by saying that the car has been in the hands of TASS from day one and we have religiously followed the service intervals. So, if something has gone wrong, it's the fault of the TASS guys but, they just refused to help. It's like banging your head against the wall.

Well, he is so frustrated that wants to just shun the car and curses himself for buying the Manza instead of the Dzire. I too feel guilty for convincing him to buy the Manza over the Dzire.
Unfortunately, he is in a small town called Sagar in MP and I am in Blr. Not able to fight his battle sitting here. If you can share the contacts of the right people in Tata, will take up his matter with them.

Cheers

[Dr.Suraj]

Greetings!

It's been too long since I updated this thread.

No, I haven't sold my Eleganza. Infact it's still a joy to own.

Odo reading is 46947 kms as of today.

Gold AMC expires at 50,000 kms.

Gold AMC has been a LIFE saver & complete peace of mind. Worth every penny.

So far clutch, brake liner etc. amongst things that were replaced under warranty and / or AMC.

A couple of minor accidents made me replace the front fog lamp, front bumper, rear tail light. - all under TATA AIG Pearl Insurance.

No MAJOR issues to be honest.

Tyre change at 50,000 kms. The vehicle is about 3 & 1/2 years old.

Umpteed trips out of town - Lonavala, Ahmednagar, Mahabaleshwar - as far as Ooty, Coimbatore, Hubli - with 1 day drives in excess of 1000 kms - fully loaded with 5 & 1/2 adults and packed to the brim boot.

Average even in such conditions is between 19 to 21 kmpl.
Power is decent and when required easily crosses 130 kmph - but I prefere to stay below it.

There has been no rusting or falling off parts as such.

A couple of minor rattles keep creeping in - mostly due to suspension bush wear & tear - partly because of a not so careful driver (the new driver since last year or so) on not so even Bombay roads.

Another issue has been blowing off bulbs - either right fog lamp or rear fog lamp, occasionally indicators.
This has been attributed to a bit of rodent nuisance and a bit or carelessness again by the driver while cranking the ignition.

Yes, there is significant scope for improvement - most of which is being seen in the Zest.

But the ride and space remain one of the positives. The back 'sofa' is unparalleled to this date even in cars higher up.
Driver's seat & driving also fatigue free. 700+ kms in a day and one does not step down feeling tired or fatigue with back aches.

Overall - no regret whatsoever.

Sure, obviously there is a lot of things that could improve and looks like are going to soon.

Added a rear seat organizer : Explorer Edition for the Safari Storme.

Purchased from the Tata Motors eBay store (huge discounts).
http://www.ebay.in/itm/Tata-Safari-S...item43cc04d602
Will try and upload photos soon.

No plans of changing to Zest at the moment.

Intended usage is another 2-3 years - till there is a completely new Safari (not facelift 2015) - or the Q501 / Q502 SUVs are ready for the market.

[madhu33]

Originally Posted by Dr.Suraj

Odo reading is 46947 kms as of today.
No MAJOR issues to be honest.

Ditto for me, mine Aura ABS is 3years and 7months old now , done 51k kms.
no major issues as such. A satisfied ownership.
I was sick of the swift at this juncture in my ownership then.
The Manza certainly is proving its built. Fingers crossed , lets see.

Originally Posted by Dr.Suraj

Tyre change at 50,000 kms. The vehicle is about 3 & 1/2 years old.

I was forced to change to new ones in 2nd year of ownership at 18k on ODO.
Had side wall cracks on 2 tyres and umpteen punctures on the 3rd one. So bought 4 new Yokohama C drives @5250/- per tyre .
Slightly up sized to 195-60 R15.
So far so good..

Originally Posted by Dr.Suraj

Umpteen trips out of town - Lonavala, Ahmednagar, Mahabaleshwar - as far as Ooty, Coimbatore, Hubli - with 1 day drives in excess of 1000 kms - fully loaded with 5 & 1/2 adults and packed to the brim boot.
Average even in such conditions is between 19 to 21 kmpl.
Power is decent and when required easily crosses 130 kmph - but I prefere to stay below it.

Have been doing solo breakfast drives to Lonavla since last 3 sundays.
Mileage i have been able to extract (solo in the car) is 20kmpl at max.
I agree, i am little more aggressive on the Pedal.
However point to note that , my daily office drives , i am getting 13-13.5kmpl whereas in the swift VXI, 3- 1/2years ago i used to get only 12kmpl

Originally Posted by Dr.Suraj

A couple of minor rattles keep creeping in - mostly due to suspension bush wear & tear - partly because of a not so careful driver (the new driver since last year or so) on not so even Bombay roads.

no such issues for me after the front suspension overhaul i had.
That experience with TASS was not so good one. Otherwise i have been mostly satisfied with them and found them better than MASS save this 1 off incident.

Originally Posted by Dr.Suraj

Yes, there is significant scope for improvement - most of which is being seen in the Zest.

Yes they are getting there. But the layman perceptions is hard to change. it might take long time.

Originally Posted by Dr.Suraj

But the ride and space remain one of the positives. The back 'sofa' is unparalleled to this date even in cars higher up.

The Back seat is a super place to be in.
Infact betters some of the D segment cars too.
On the other hand , you find lots of legroom in many cars now a days, but the fact is that the perfect under thigh, perfect recline angle of the Manza back seat is unmatched in c or c+ segment as of today.

Originally Posted by Dr.Suraj

Overall - no regret whatsoever.

I bought the manza(& also due to my past experience with the Alto and swift )
with a 3 year perspective. But then i now realize, i can easily go upto 6 years with it. Fingers crossed . lets see. there's no itch as of now. Also hard to find a equivalent VFM upgrade. Sort of spoilt by comfort of the Manza.
But yes , i do admit , i sometimes am left wanting a bit more from the 1.3mjd and also the body roll ..Its good in a way , as it keeps myself in check. Not under powered as such but still sometimes "Dil maange more"
But then there's no end to Dil maanging more.

Originally Posted by Dr.Suraj

Intended usage is another 2-3 years - till there is a completely new Safari (not facelift 2015) - or the Q501 / Q502 SUVs are ready for the market.

DITTO, you have the same thought process as me. its not so easy to find the correct VFM upgrade after the Manza.
May be we belong to the same age group .

[Dr.Suraj]

Originally Posted by madhu33

DITTO, you have the same thought process as me. its not so easy to find the correct VFM upgrade after the Manza.
May be we belong to the same age group .

Wow!

That's like a word for word echo of sentiments and opinion.

Indeed - we must be somewhere around the same age.

Would love to meet up with you sometime at TCRS, Worli.

- Yes, not yet 'bored' of the car. Does seem to be built strong. Workhorse style

- Thanks for the tire tip. I too intend to go for the upsize. Yokohama or Apollo Accelere - based on what I read in another thread.

- Max I have ever got is 23.3 kmpl (pic in the thread) - usually 21 easily. And daily commute - bang on between 13-15 kmpl which includes bit highway and otherwise city traffic and congested roads.
Much better than my Indica petrol (8 - 10)

- Yes I did read about your one-off incident. I have had a great time there so far. Javed, Prakash, everyone - most importantly Patil sir. No inconvenience whatsoever. Complete peace of mind.

- It will take time - but if they stick to the effort - I guess another year or so, perception may change

- Seriously! That is precisely what my father says too. Manza spoils you. The backseat. The angle is supposed to be same as S class. Long long journeys and not a whimper from the ladies in the backseat. Worth every bit just for that backseat

- Another VFM upgrade (Zest is superb, but can be considered a downgrade from Manza) would perhaps be whatever they replace the Manza with. But why hover in the same segment. Rather enjoy for a few years more, Concorde is there, I feel it can easily do 6 years and in the meantime allow Tata to improve and get better vehicles with the JLR inputs.
Then once again it would be a VFM product to upgrade too.

Will keep you updated!
Thanks for replying

[Sridhar K]

Dr. Suraj

Good to know that your Manza is still doing good. Though I sold my Manza at 20k due to some personal reason, the person I sold to has the vehicle still with him and done 100,000 kms. My neighbor who bought the car on his wife's insistence (she once traveled in mine and forced her husband to buy a Manza) has done 130,000 kms in his Manza and still going strong.

A good car let down by the Tata image. The biggest let down is the resale value as people don't understand the quality of a Manza over a regular Indigo. Hope Zest does better.

[Dr.Suraj]

Originally Posted by Sridhar K

Dr. Suraj

Good to know that your Manza is still doing good. Though I sold my Manza at 20k due to some personal reason, the person I sold to has the vehicle still with him and done 100,000 kms. My neighbor who bought the car on his wife's insistence (she once traveled in mine and forced her husband to buy a Manza) has done 130,000 kms in his Manza and still going strong.

A good car let down by the Tata image. The biggest let down is the resale value as people don't understand the quality of a Manza over a regular Indigo. Hope Zest does better.

Perfectly said.

It is a competent car with some class leading features. Infact when it was launched it had the best safety features at the price point. Even bluetooth. etc.

Rear seat is unmatched. Re-sale value is disastrous. Best to keep it running since it has no major issues and is quite comfortable.

Yes I did rad your thread and was sad to know that you sold it. But I guess you did sell it with a heavy heart and due to practical reasons.

Hope someday you will own a Zest.

[Dr.Suraj]

Long overdue updates!

Would like to share this for now:

New Shoes! After reading all the discussion on the Manza tyre thread -

Bridgestone Turanza AR20 - 195/60/R15

Noticed a drop of 0.8 kmpl in the average.
But - ride quality and braking have improved noticeably.

No brushing while turning or touching over speed breakers.

Worth it. Done about 4000 kms in them so far.
Got it done at Sonal Super Services, Lower Parel - Mr. Mukesh Ganatra there is a gem of a person to deal with.

Some pics:

[madhu33]

Those 195-60-R15 fills up the wheel arches really nicely.
I have personally driven the upsized Yoko C drives for 38000 kms.
Yes the taller sidewall further improves the ride quality & braking.

In my quest to save some bucks i have again reverted to Goodyear Dp 185-60-R15.
i got them for 3750/- a piece.

I miss the looks of 195-60-R15.
The ride quality and the braking and the squealing and the road noise from these GYDPs is very annoying after the Yokohama C drive experience.
I don't know what bit me while selecting those.

Good to see and reassuring to see your Manza serving you well.
Would be nice to catch up with you sometime soon.

[Dr.Suraj]

Originally Posted by madhu33

Those 195-60-R15 fills up the wheel arches really nicely.
I have personally driven the upsized Yoko C drives for 38000 kms.
Yes the taller sidewall further improves the ride quality & braking.


Good to see and reassuring to see your Manza serving you well.
Would be nice to catch up with you sometime soon.

Indeed. The wheel well fills up better - looks much better and complete.

Somehow TML always keeps some 'extra' space in their wheel well. Wonder why?

I too, can't imagine what bit you to downgrade to 185 again!

Yes indeed - one of these days at Concorde, Worli.
That's my usual haunt with both of my darlings.

Was there yesterday - getting the anti-rust touch up for my Nano.

Might visit again (or have the car picked up and delivered) in 2-3 days - need a new glow plug for my Manza & if available a new face plate for the HUD.

[vanatlarj]

Originally Posted by Dr.Suraj

Long overdue updates!

Hello Dr. Suraj,

Great to see your beautiful car still going strong. Its indeed one of the best on roads. I too have one AURA-ABS Q-jet since July 2012 and have done some of the best cruises possible in the northern part of our picturesque country. My love for my Manza grows with every day passing as it keeps me impressed with it unshakeable performance. I am about to complete 3 years with my "Dolph" next week and plan a few upgrades as birthday gifts to my beauty.

I saw in your garage that you had plans on "Upgrading the ICE to MapMyIndia navigation system with 5" touchscreen + rear view camera" did you go for it eventually? please share your notes if you did. (pardon me for being a newbie here if you have already posted it and help me with the link please)

Had a question on upgrading the Manza stock ICE : what happens to the steering mounted control? I did check with a few local technicians and all said that its left useless as it cannot be integrated to an after market device, be it any brand. I then checked for the stock touch screen HU that came with the club class and the dealer quoted a whopping 42k for it.

could you please share your inputs on what could be the options here.

Regards,
Van

[Dr.Suraj]

Originally Posted by vanatlarj

Hello Dr. Suraj,

Great to see your beautiful car still going strong. Its indeed one of the best on roads. I too have one AURA-ABS Q-jet since July 2012 and have done some of the best cruises possible in the northern part of our picturesque country. My love for my Manza grows with every day passing as it keeps me impressed with it unshakeable performance. I am about to complete 3 years with my "Dolph" next week and plan a few upgrades as birthday gifts to my beauty.

I saw in your garage that you had plans on "Upgrading the ICE to MapMyIndia navigation system with 5" touchscreen + rear view camera" did you go for it eventually? please share your notes if you did. (pardon me for being a newbie here if you have already posted it and help me with the link please)

Had a question on upgrading the Manza stock ICE : what happens to the steering mounted control? I did check with a few local technicians and all said that its left useless as it cannot be integrated to an after market device, be it any brand. I then checked for the stock touch screen HU that came with the club class and the dealer quoted a whopping 42k for it.

could you please share your inputs on what could be the options here.

Regards,
Van

Hi !

Sorry for the late reply.

You have just put your finger on a painful throbbing nerve.


I was due for the ICE upgrade. There was even an offer (in December 2013) - with TATA - where the 42k system was being offered at 18k to existing Manza owners.
Now this being the same system offered in the club class - it worked perfectly well with the steering controls.
&
had GPS !

While I was still debating with the guys at Concorde, Worli - whether it would integrate my existing (factory fitted) reverse sensors, whether it would include a camera, where and how the GPS sensors would be attached ....
and they were to get back to me with the replies - their ENTIRE process took painfully long and I got occupied with something very very important at home.
When I got back to them in January - the offer had already been closed!
&
I lost out on my dream because of their poor service attitude!

The SA co-ordinating with the accessories guy - co-ordinating with the dealer and what not.
Complete waste of an opportunity.

Still regret it 100% !

If anybody at Tata is listening - please introduce it again and empty whatever club class HUD systems you have in your inventory. Some of us Manza owners will gladly lap it up.
Our work horses are still going to serve us well for another 3 years minimum.

[Dr.Suraj]

My apologies - for not having updated this thread in a very long time.

There is a lot that has taken place after the tyre change.

1. Oil sump hit by a tree stump - major damage.
2. Few days later - 3 glow plugs failed - 1 got stuck - cylinder head had to be opened to melt it out. Another major issue.
3. Now - an engine mount has broken off - and I am looking at some serious trouble.

All throughout - the guys at Concorde Motors, Worli - especially under the direct orders of Raju Patil and ably supported by Javed Shaikh have stood by me and made things go super smooth and as fast as possible.

But this time - I am not so sure.
Seems like things are going to take a sour turn. For the worst.

Will try to update every single experience with pics (I have pics of all the damages and the bills) - as much as possible.

[GrammarNazi]

Originally Posted by Dr.Suraj

...
2. Few days later - 3 glow plugs failed - 1 got stuck - cylinder head had to be opened to melt it out. Another major issue.

Did they try other methods of extracting the glow plug ?

P.S. : If this was done under Mr.Patil's watch, then there'll likely be no issue in future.

3. Now - an engine mount has broken off - and I am looking at some serious trouble.

This happened within normal usage?

All throughout - the guys at Concorde Motors, Worli - especially under the direct orders of Raju Patil and ably supported by Javed Shaikh have stood by me and made things go super smooth and as fast as possible.

Is this the same Mr.Patil from the Tata Motors plant? If yes, you're in safe hands, AFAIK guy knows the car through & trough.

But this time - I am not so sure.
Seems like things are going to take a sour turn. For the worst.

Will try to update every single experience with pics (I have pics of all the damages and the bills) - as much as possible.

If you've had good support of the senior guys, try to not let it go sour.

As a precaution, send letters & photocopies of other documents (job cards, bills, pics) in hard copy to Tata Motors heads who're in the passenger division, appreciating the past effort, explaining the current situation & requesting cooperation incase something went seriously wrong.

Hope for the best.

[Dr.Suraj]

Originally Posted by GrammarNazi

Did they try other methods of extracting the glow plug ?

P.S. : If this was done under Mr.Patil's watch, then there'll likely be no issue in future.


This happened within normal usage?


Is this the same Mr.Patil from the Tata Motors plant? If yes, you're in safe hands, AFAIK guy knows the car through & trough.


If you've had good support of the senior guys, try to not let it go sour.

As a precaution, send letters & photocopies of other documents (job cards, bills, pics) in hard copy to Tata Motors heads who're in the passenger division, appreciating the past effort, explaining the current situation & requesting cooperation incase something went seriously wrong.

Hope for the best.

Mr. Rajagowda Patil - the GM of Concorde Motors, Mumbai.
I believe we are talking of the same gentleman.

• They genuinely tried every method in the book to get that glow plug out. In fact they were reluctant to open the head. They did try their level best. Over 3 days. Many methods. I am sure of that.
• Yes, the glow plug was changed as per Patil sir's guidance. I don't think he was personally there when it happened. But he was aware of it before and after. Which is why I was not worried about it at all - till this happened !
• Normal usage - Yes. Mumbai only. The car has not been on any highway trip in last 2 months atleast. Regular commute on Western Express Highway - Mumbai. No rash driving. Has not touched triple digit speeds in last 2 months. Tracked regularly via GPS. No other suspension or bush noise to indicate a big bump or pothole.
• Not 'had' - have. We all still have a good rapport with everyone there. My father goes there. My wife goes there. I am there atleast once a month - for something minor in either of the vehicles. From the ladies at the reception to some of the technicians inside - I know most of them by name & they know me well too. That is not even a thought that crossed my mind. No tension or doubt there. At all.
• 1 change there in recent times - is the CRM has changed - Vaishali from Wasan has been brought in, & I have had disastrous experiences with her & Wasan in general from 2005 to 2012. I sincerely hope she does not bring down the quality at Concorde.
• I have not yet escalated the issue to TML per se. Infact this particular incident I have not emailed to Patil sir either. But you are right. It might be worth doing that. Because we seek answers. DIe cast metal parts are not supposed to crack just like that. This could have been a bigger disastser. & it casts a small shadow over our future with TML. (scheduled to book the Kite when it launches)

[Dr.Suraj]

A new DIY I tried - source - AliExpress.
Cost Rs. 270

Purpose - to keep the rain water off the mirrors and keep the visibility of the ORVMS better.
Does it work - YES. Except for the 10% in the bottom end closer to the car.
Looks good, let's hope it lasts.
Took me all of 3 minutes to do it both sides.

Has anybody else tried this before? Any disadvantages?
I did not find them hampering my visibility or the movement of the glass inside the housing (for adjustments)