[S.MJet]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

Surprised they changed the fabric alone, for one door! I suspect the doorpad has been changed, for some reason. May be you should raise your voice to get the original fabric colour back.

Originally Posted by DRIV3R

BTW, they have replaced the entire door pad, and hence you have got the black fabric inserts, which are part of the pre 2012 models. Our Punto too needed a new LH front door-pad, Fiat shipped the wrong part (with the black fabric insert) and I am still waiting for the new part to arrive.

Get the new part ordered.

Originally Posted by sandsun7

I am really surprised that you had not raised an objection immediately after you saw the changed door fabric color!

Originally Posted by nkrishnap

However, first ask the SA to change the door pads as in the 2012 version. It looks really odd to have the odd color door pad. The SA should really be a nut case to have done this at the first place.

Couple of visits to A.A.S. but no satisfactory reply as to why door pad was replaced with pre 2012 one & no concrete answer by when they will change it back to new one.
I am sure they are hiding something.

Would like to highlight this to Fiat India.
Can someone pm email id of customer service manager in Fiat India.

[Sommos]

@S.MJet : Congratulations for your new car. This is a fantastic review of an amazing car. The colour is also fabulous. Hope you enjoy a long and trouble free association with the Punto.

As for the email address of the Fiat Customer Service, here is the details :
Mangesh Kodalkar - Mangesh.Kodalkar "at" fiapl "dot" com : He is incharge of customer services at Fiat. But for your case I think you need to contact the "Regional Coordinator" for Fiat services, who can give your a prompt reply by coordinating with the dealer workshop. Services issue is taken care by TMIL and Fiat will only forward your complain to the concerned desk at TMIL.

[S.MJet]

Completed 10000 kms last Sunday.

Engine feels smoother & eager to be revved.
May be now, I have got used to it.

Everyone, family, friends, colleagues who have taken a ride have given thumbs up for its solid tank like built, secure feeling it gives & matured and comfortable ride quality.

Overall FE at 17-18 kmpl is a real VFM. (50-50 City-Highway drive)

Completely happy & satisfied with overall experience.

Door rattling, which was fixed during 1st service + one additional visit, is back again at 50-60% of the original levels.
Apart from this door rattling, have not faced any other issue / problem. (touch wood)

Cheers

[rameshnanda]

Congratulations on completing 10,000 kms in your Punto.

The FE given by you is good. Is that with 100% AC?
Is your doorpad replacement issue solved now? Did you contact Fiat and did they take any action?

[kailashnj]

Congrats on your Punto and for achieving the milestone of 10k kms. I have lived with Punto for 3 years and its a hoot to drive car. Best handling that you can get and very stable even on high speeds.

As for your issue with the door rattling, chances are the door pads are not fit properly (i mean screwed properly.) Check in front of the SA and ask them to fix it in front of you so that you know what is the root cause of the rattling.

[nkrishnap]

Originally Posted by kailashnj

Congrats on your Punto and for achieving the milestone of 10k kms. I have lived with Punto for 3 years and its a hoot to drive car. Best handling that you can get and very stable even on high speeds.

As for your issue with the door rattling, chances are the door pads are not fit properly (i mean screwed properly.) Check in front of the SA and ask them to fix it in front of you so that you know what is the root cause of the rattling.

The wiring that connects teh powerwindows switches and the powered mirrors are generally the culprit. Secure them tightly with a wire strap or an insulation tape. That can solve the issue.

Do give it a try and see if it resolves the issue.

[S.MJet]

Originally Posted by rameshnanda

Congratulations on completing 10,000 kms in your Punto.

The FE given by you is good. Is that with 100% AC?
Is your doorpad replacement issue solved now? Did you contact Fiat and did they take any action?

Thanks rameshanand
Yes FE is with 100% AC. My daily office drive is 70% highway in mild traffic conditions with speed hovering at 70-80 kmph & I am generally not a heavy footer.

For door pad change, followed up couple of times but no response from TASS.
Now waiting for Fiat exclusive showroom to go live in Navi Mumbai. 'Coming Soon' board has already come up.

On a second thought I am planning to get interiors including door pads done in leather from Stanley.

Originally Posted by kailashnj

Congrats on your Punto and for achieving the milestone of 10k kms. I have lived with Punto for 3 years and its a hoot to drive car. Best handling that you can get and very stable even on high speeds.

As for your issue with the door rattling, chances are the door pads are not fit properly (i mean screwed properly.) Check in front of the SA and ask them to fix it in front of you so that you know what is the root cause of the rattling.

Thanks kailashnj.
Yes, in addition to style solid built, handling & high speed stability are Punto’s USP.

Doors were opened in front of me by A.S.S. engineer. One of the door is now completely rattle free, while the other one still rattles. Could not ascertain root cause though.
Will give it a try as suggested by nkrishnap.

Originally Posted by nkrishnap

The wiring that connects teh powerwindows switches and the powered mirrors are generally the culprit. Secure them tightly with a wire strap or an insulation tape. That can solve the issue.

Do give it a try and see if it resolves the issue.

Will definitely give it a try. In such issues DIY is likely to give better result.

[S.MJet]

Hi All

Update – Second service (15K kms).

As odo was approaching 15k kms, I was looking for update on Fiat exclusive sales & service to launch in Navi Mumbai (coming soon board came up somewhere in Oct/Nov) but there was no sight of launch date.

It was clear by now that Fortune Cars, existing Tata-Fiat dealer is not taking up Fiat exclusive dealership (at least in Navi Mumbai), and will sell & service Fiats till March’13 only

I was hesitant to give my Punto for second service to them but was left with no choice.

Issues:
Water seeping in from front passenger foot well
Left rear door rattle.
Mild rattle from dashboard left corner

Reached the service center 9:15 am and SA Mr. Jitender was assigned in 15 min. First 2 mins interaction killed my little hope of getting a decent service.
Knowing that they are not continuing with Fiat, I had already lowered down all my expectations.
SA neither was interested in listening to the issues I had to report, nor did he explain the jobs they will be carrying out. He simply gave me estimate of Rs 6000 saying he will call when the car is ready. On probing why 6000, he gave estimated breakup, 4000 for oil, filters etc, 1200 for wheel alignment & balancing and another 500 for misc items.

Luckily I spotted technician Mr. Verma who takes care of Fiat cars. He was nice enough to listen to the issues and was aware of AC pipe blockage issue causing water flowing into passenger foot well & assured me it will be sorted out.
For rattling problems he was not very interested & I choose not to insist.
Will take up with new exclusive dealership.
Left the car & headed to work.

No call back from SA so went to pick up the car at 5pm

Jobs done:
Engine oil – 1906
Oil filter – 365
Fuel filter – 1695
Air filter – 268
Wheel Balance weights – 42
Wheel alignment - 720
Wheel balancing – 480
Total – 6158 (including taxes)

Water in passenger foot well seems to be sorted out but nothing done about rattles as expected.
They have done tyre rotation but not sure they have done alignment & balancing.
Steering wheel vowels at speed > 80 kms/h, while breaking & a slight vowel when front left wheel pass through small path holes. This is not the case while going over bigger bumps.
Your inputs on this pls. Had no such issues before this service.

Another observation
On last tank full, MID showed range of whopping 1115 Kms. Normally its 750-850 kms after a tank full.
I guess it is calculated based on instant consumption.
Shouldn’t it be based on average consumption

Overall I continue to be happy & satisfied with the my Punto

Cheers

[swiftnfurious]

Its quite sad how the current Fiat-TATA A$$ choose to perform! I think rather than looking at heavy sales figures, this is one thing they should attack with immediate effect.

To you, I suggest you do a bit more search and find the better most A$$ in your area. Even if you have to drive a bit more, please do it as you may be required to visit the A$$ just once a year.

[amit_mechengg]

Since you stay in mumbai, the best place to service your car is at TCRS. Mr. Prakash there is a very good service advisor and takes care of fiats cars as if its his own car.

Secondly fortune just fleeces the customers. Fiat doesnt charge you for wheel alignement. I can see they charged you a whooping Rs.720 for the same. Make a complain to fiat and this will be refunded to you.

I have got my alignement checked so many times. Not a single time the wheels had lost its alignment. I am very impressed with Fiat cars on this.
Secondly have never paid for the wheel alignment.

[sandsun7]

Very true. I did my second service last week and was not charged for Wheel alignment or tyre rotation, although wheel balancing was charged along with the charges for the weights. I had confirmed with the SA regarding the same before the vehicle was taken to the bay.

[S.MJet]

Originally Posted by swiftnfurious

To you, I suggest you do a bit more search and find the better most A$$ in your area. Even if you have to drive a bit more, please do it as you may be required to visit the A$$ just once a year.

Thanks Dear.
My issues are settled for now & praying I don't have to visit them till my next 30K service & hopefully exclusive dealership though delayed, will be up & running in another two-three months.

Originally Posted by amit_mechengg

I have got my alignement checked so many times. Not a single time the wheels had lost its alignment. I am very impressed with Fiat cars on this.
Secondly have never paid for the wheel alignment.

Originally Posted by sandsun7

Very true. I did my second service last week and was not charged for Wheel alignment or tyre rotation, although wheel balancing was charged along with the charges for the weights. I had confirmed with the SA regarding the same before the vehicle was taken to the bay.

Thanks guys for your inputs.
Had written to Mr. Mangesh at fiat customer service & got a prompt reply from him directing me to Mr Mahesh at fortune cars.
Met Mr. Mahesh, GM Service at fortune cars & he was prompt to acknowledge & apologize for the trouble I faced.
Complete wheel alignment & balancing was done again in his personal supervision.
Alignment was fine, issue was with balancing & everything is sorted now except the money part. As per him free alignment is provided in first service only & is chargeable subsequently. Did not wanted to argue with him.

Need another input
My insurance is due for renewal, and was searching online.
Got quote form HDFC Ergo for Rs 12017 (IDV 585000) & Bajaj Allianz Rs 9873 (IDV 567000).
Bajaj’s quote looks very attractive.
Are they as good as others or is something hidden/fishy here
Pls advise.

[amit_mechengg]

Always opt for a zero depreciation scheme.

[swiftnfurious]

Originally Posted by S.MJet

...Need another input
My insurance is due for renewal, and was searching online.
Got quote form HDFC Ergo for Rs 12017 (IDV 585000) & Bajaj Allianz Rs 9873 (IDV 567000).
Bajaj’s quote looks very attractive.
Are they as good as others or is something hidden/fishy here
Pls advise.

Are these online quotes? In that case, you can still haggle a bit after calling the agents. But please make sure that they do NOT reduce your IDV. This is something which I went thru NOT realizing. They will offer much better prices by reducing the IDV which is NOT a good thing for the owner.

[nkrishnap]

Originally Posted by swiftnfurious

Are these online quotes? In that case, you can still haggle a bit after calling the agents. But please make sure that they do NOT reduce your IDV. This is something which I went thru NOT realizing. They will offer much better prices by reducing the IDV which is NOT a good thing for the owner.

+100. The best way to start with is seek the maximum IDV and then start negotiating on the insurance premium. A few quotes from the insurance service providers + existing service provider too.

Also a bit of research on which insurance company is having hassle free claims process is also necessary.