[torquing_points]

5500 kilometers down... And the car seems to be falling apart now. Rattles from the overhead air conditioning unit are back but most significantly steering issues are plaguing the car. The steering makes a lot of noise when sharply turning the car on either side. Got it checked up last week and the service guys noted that 'all 4 washers are cut'. I'm not sure what exactly this means and if it is a safety issue. They replaced the washers art that time but now the steering noise is back.

Funny thing - this is not covered under warranty!? Even when the car was wobbling a lot at about 2000 km , they didn't honor the warranty and we had to pay for wheel alignment and balancing. They claim 'such requests and parts are not covered under warranty'.

So while I really enjoy the car, I've stopped recommending it to others now.

Mileage is still at 10 kmpl and driving dynamics are satisfactory. As I mentioned before I've stopped using the back seat completely now because the front seat is so much more comfortable.

Meanwhile since they don't honor warranty anyway I've decided to go ahead and get my head unit changed to one which has A2DP. Will update on that as I do it.

5000 km summary: car is still fun to drive but now the real Tata demons are starting to emerge.


Meanwhile our family duster has crossed 10000 km with zero niggles. It's not as much fun to drive but the back seat is much more comfortable than on the storme. I get a lot of questions, having bought both the duster and the safari. Whenever I'm driving my self I prefer to drive the safari because it's higher and more fun. But in hindsight two dusters in the house would have been a better (albeit boring) idea.

[CARDEEP]

^^^ That's bad, but, I guess you need to change the Service Centre & make some noise. I am sure your woes will come to end .

Again, this highlights the same issue I have been raising, Tata A.S.S. & QC Deptt. competence & willingness to work good.

[narayan]

Originally Posted by torquing_points

5500 kilometers down... And the car seems to be falling apart now. Rattles from the overhead air conditioning unit are back but most significantly steering issues are plaguing the car. The steering makes a lot of noise when sharply turning the car on either side. Got it checked up last week and the service guys noted that 'all 4 washers are cut'. I'm not sure what exactly this means and if it is a safety issue. They replaced the washers art that time but now the steering noise is back.

Just read through your thread and wondering whether this is the right time to book the Storme or wait for longer ? Why is Tata making the buying decision such a gamble !

[djpeesh]

Originally Posted by narayan

Just read through your thread and wondering whether this is the right time to book the Storme or wait for longer ? Why is Tata making the buying decision such a gamble !

Narayan, buying a Tata car has always been a gamble. The Tata folks said that quality has been addressed in the current batch of Stormes. I'll take that with a pinch of salt. You need to go do a good pdi and hope for the best.

That said, it's the same with the xuv as I'm finding out but not half as bad as Tata.

[tsk1979]

Originally Posted by djpeesh

Narayan, buying a Tata car has always been a gamble. The Tata folks said that quality has been addressed in the current batch of Stormes. I'll take that with a pinch of salt. You need to go do a good pdi and hope for the best.

That said, it's the same with the xuv as I'm finding out but not half as bad as Tata.

Quality is not a screw which you tighten. Its an ingrained part of your companies DNA. You cannot fix quality in 2 months. If you make a shoddy car today, it means you are a shoddy company.To become a quality company from a shoddy company requires the following
1. Acceptance - I make lousy cars. I don't know what is quality. My workforce is either not competent, or does not care. This is the first step in self improvement. Till this step comes, nothing can happen. Nor Tata nor Mahindra have this acceptance. Head in the sand
2. Will - If by some miracle, you make them realize that they are sub standard companies making sub standard products,comes the next task. The will to change. This is very important. There are two things people do after they accept a fault. Whether to do something, or chalta hai. So even if you have a few people in the company who know the truth, its marred by Chalta hai. The will to change is missing
3. Means - If the will is sorted, most of the work is done. Most work that is. You still need the means to do so. If you were a short term vision guy, who fired all the good guys because they were expensive, then good luck.

Tata has not even reached the Acceptance stage. Same can be said true for Mahindra. So whenever you buy a Tata or a Mahindra, its a gamble. A luck game. IF you are lucky, then you can come on threads and claim these companies are great and we unnecessarily bash them blah blah, but this does not mean any thing to people stuck with a lemon flavored car.

So always remember, its a gamble. But then our entire life is a gamble. Risks, opportunities, chances.... its all a big game.

With the Tata the best way to play is hound their customer care.Send them copies of the bills and ask, your 2000kms old piece of junk is not working, and you expect me to pay. Should I go to consumer court.Write a nice letter, and address it to the chairman. Post this letter via Registered post in a brown envelope. Write it with your hand.

[n.devdath]

Originally Posted by tsk1979

So whenever you buy a Tata or a Mahindra, its a gamble. A luck game.

So would you prefer to play this gamble with Mahindra or Tata?
Or, would you rather pay INR10 lac extra to buy a better product probably made by Toyota or Mitsubishi even if it means a longer wait and/or a higher EMI?

[narayan]

Originally Posted by n.devdath

So would you prefer to play this gamble with Mahindra or Tata?
Or, would you rather pay INR10 lac extra to buy a better product probably made by Toyota or Mitsubishi even if it means a longer wait and/or a higher EMI?

More car buyers seem to be ok playing the gamble with M&M as seen from sales and M&M is also smartly capitalising on this gap between the 10-20 lakh segment. This is where Tata seems to be lacking. No point in us discussing the merits of the Tata product in isolation and then blaming everything on dealers, after sales services, QC etc. The latest I am seeing in some threads is how M&M is so good in managing media and how bad Tata is. Comon guys lets give it a break - we all love Tata but lets not find excuses on their behalf.

Sorry Torquing points for hijacking your thread

[tsk1979]

Originally Posted by n.devdath

So would you prefer to play this gamble with Mahindra or Tata?
Or, would you rather pay INR10 lac extra to buy a better product probably made by Toyota or Mitsubishi even if it means a longer wait and/or a higher EMI?

I would pay upto 4-5L extra, thats about it. Anyways, my budget is between 10-12, so I do not have a choice till SIAM has its way and keeps blocking imports.

[n.devdath]

Originally Posted by tsk1979

I do not have a choice till SIAM has its way and keeps blocking imports.

So what would you choose today, between Mahindra and Tata?

[condor]

The Jeeps are a-comin'

[tsk1979]

Originally Posted by n.devdath

So what would you choose today, between Mahindra and Tata?

If I had no other choice, it would be a Storme, due to purely reasons of the heart. By head logic it does not make much sense.
That said, as of now, I will flog the white elephant as much as possible.

[redracham]

Originally Posted by torquing_points

5000 km summary: car is still fun to drive but now the real Tata demons are starting to emerge.

Eagerly waiting for a 10k report

[4x4addict]

Originally Posted by torquing_points

I still don't know how being the pedigree that we are, we can be so illogical in our decision making.

So very true mate. I wish and sometimes even pray that I could just get more logical and buy an Innova and get done with. It is the most practical, perfect and best put together MUV you get in the 15 lakh range. Unfortunately my wishes and prayers in this regard never get answered, and I am forced to risk the dance with the devil (Tata). I would rather be little worried in a Storme that be content in an Innova

Originally Posted by narayan

More car buyers seem to be ok playing the gamble with M&M as seen from sales and M&M is also smartly capitalising on this gap between the 10-20 lakh segment.

M&M does a great job of building and selling poorly designed products. Tata engineers, good products, but cannot build them or sell them well.

[JediKnight]

Originally Posted by tsk1979

Tata has not even reached the Acceptance stage. Same can be said true for Mahindra. So whenever you buy a Tata or a Mahindra, its a gamble. .

I think it is erroneous to put Mahindra and Tata together. Mahindra is better than Tata and the market also agrees with this. At least Mahindra drive trains are very reliable ( except may the infamous clutch issues seen in Mhawk scorpios ).

[torquing_points]

15000 KM report

Hi guys -- 15000 kilometers are up, and its time for another quick note. The summary is that my ride is now very comfortable because (1) I have stopped sitting in the back seat and (2) I now have a good sound system. Here are detailed notes:

(1) I finally realized that Tata warranty is worth nothing, since they refused to (or were unable to) fix steering wobbling under warranty, so I decided that its time to now install a sound system that would make the ride pleasant. So I dumped a fair amount on damping, amps, sub and speakers.

(2) The engine now has more of a grunt like the old Safari, not the quiter hum that the Storme seemed to have when I bought it. Doesnt bother me -- I was expecting it to show its true Safari colors soon

(3) rattling is back on the tailgate, but this time im not bothering to fix it. I just turn the volume knob up

(4) The car really does well on the highways, but I absolutely dread going on poor roads. while it handles them well from a 'not-breaking' perspective, its not as comfortable as most sedans would be. Sitting in the back seat while going on very bumpy roads (which I need to) is like sitting in a food processor

(5) I bought this car because I often have to wade through insane amounts of water when I go to work. This car does this very well. The attached pictures will show you how much water I actually go through on a daily basis during the monsoons.

Overall, I needed a battle tank that can go through anything. This car does that very well. It does rattle a bit, and its not as refined as they pretended it was going to be. But then I didnt buy a Safari for its refined nature. Its still a beast -- luckily thats what I wanted.