[yogeshsom29]

Congratulations on your buy & very well written review. Considering the details in the post, doesn’t look like you’re writing this after 2 years; either you were logging everything somewhere in rough or you have an amazing memory.

Stand out was the bargaining skills; its noteworthy especially when you’re buying something with so much emotions but still holding the ground on best price.

Good color choice & most of my previous cars viz Palio, wagon R, New Figo & the current ride WRV are grey in colour.

While I was in market for a new car earlier this year; I had Ecosport, Creta & WRV in contention mainly because I wanted to gift my 7 year daughter sunroof experience while still getting hold of something with higher ground clearance, decent safety features & practicality also. I was very keen on Creta after test drives but had to drop the ball for the optimistic pricing it sells at; Head & heart both were not able to comprehend on the pricing topped up with the famous variant confusions.

Its indeed a very good & practical car; enjoy mile munching.

[Torque_Curve]

Originally Posted by vivekgk

A nice review for a very nice car!! Thanks for putting this up, as the base 1.4 variants of the Creta and the Verna are usually given a miss by most reviewers online. Even TBHP's official reviews rarely cover the lower engine options and variants.

Thank you for your kind words. Even I recollect reading only one ownership review of the 1.4 Creta, that too exclusively on Team-BHP by a fellow member.

Originally Posted by vivekgk

I had similar experiences with the Brezza, as it was almost impossible to get a test drive. As with all Maruti cars, most people just booked it without demanding a test drive, and with all the bookings in hand the staff were getting uppity when we asked for test drives, and mostly had a "take it or leave it" attitude. It was the same case for me, but I had a friend at the showroom who managed to arrange a long TD for me.

I guess that the kind of sales they make has gone into their head and bloated their attitude. Nonetheless, it's a loss for them at the end of the day, not that it would make a world of a difference to them anyway. I guess you were lucky to have a TD arranged for yourself via your friend.

Originally Posted by vivekgk

Now this I find weird, because the base variant of the Ecosport started at about 8 Lacs OTR at the time, and the Titanium Diesel model that I bought in 2016 cost me 10.29 lacs OTR after discounts. I chose it over the Creta because the Creta 1.4 was missing out on so many features while priced the same as the Ecosport Titanium which had a bigger engine, Airbags, Alloy wheels, climate control, seat height adjust, lumbar support adjust, Fog lamps, the Sync Audio system, and at the time, I calculated that I would have to spend about 1.5 lacs in accessories to bring up the Creta to the level of the Ecosport Titanium.

Also, I find the sideways opening tailgate to be more useful than the regular hatch, especially if there isn't much room at the rear to open the door fully. In the case of the hatch, if there isn't much room (say 1 feet) behind the car, if you open it partially, the opening is at the bottom. But in the case of the sideways opening door, you can open it a bit and put your shopping inside through the gap.

I don't exactly remember the quote(s) shared by the dealer but my father did mention that it was out of our budget. Let me check with him if he still has the price list lying around somewhere at home and get back to you on the same.

Regarding the usage of the tail-gate, to each is his own I suppose. The society where I live, parking cars one ahead of the other is a daily affair and we have the occasional fools who park a bit too close. In such situations, I find it easier if the tail gate opens vertically instead of side-ways as it requires comparatively less space.

Originally Posted by vivekgk

As I recall, the Duster RXE was priced the same as the Creta 1.4. The main reason I didn't finalize it was the lack of airbags, and because the Ecosport's killer pricing and features. I agree about the spartan interiors (but they remain the same over age), and the hit or miss service. I remember that the ride was awesome, and so was the interior space and boot. The engine was also very smooth, and it was the easiest to drive, with no lag at all, and enough power.

Exactly! If the interiors were a bit better and the ASC's were up to the mark, I guess we could've gone for the Duster instead of the Creta.

Originally Posted by vivekgk

That's quite a negotiation!! Kudos! I was not able to get any discounts from the Hyundai dealer here, as they were saying they didn't have the 1.4 in stock and would have to order it. There was also a waiting period.

Thank you once again. The dealers we were in talks with were ready with discounts even though neither of them had our choice of colour in stock. Lucky me, I guess.

Originally Posted by vivekgk

I like the accessories that you have got, especially the LED reflector strip. I am having a hard time finding something like that for the Ecosport.

I did a general search regarding LED's for the Ecosport on the web and was able to find such LED powered elements which can be fitted above the tail-light section, probably on the pillars next to the rear windshield. I can share a few links from the web if you'd like or even just want to see them.

[mithun]

Kudos to a great thread!

1. Please create another thread about negotiating discounts from car dealers. Yours was a great one because Hyundai dealers usually don't give too much of discount from their pocket, only company authorized discounts :-)

2. One query: Is the spare wheel size same as that of other tyres or different?

[Torque_Curve]

Originally Posted by mithun

Kudos to a great thread!

1. Please create another thread about negotiating discounts from car dealers. Yours was a great one because Hyundai dealers usually don't give too much of discount from their pocket, only company authorized discounts :-)

I guess there is a similar thread (The "NEW" Car Price Check Thread - Track Price Changes, Discounts, Offers & Deals) already up and running on the forum. I guess we can get started there itself.

Originally Posted by mithun

2. One query: Is the spare wheel size same as that of other tyres or different?

The spare wheel is the same 16 inch steel wheel as the rest of the four wheels on my Creta.

[Torque_Curve]

To begin with, apologies for posting updating the thread since a while. In the past 2 months, there have been 2 visits to the service center, details of which I am sharing below. There are no other significant details to share in the past 6 months/1 year of ownership.

Visit Number 1:

The rear windows (both, left and right) were not functioning and we decided to head to the service center to get it fixed. We met one of the service advisors (SA's), Mr. Safwan, who patiently listened to our complaint and said he will get it fixed. He also told us about the on-going summer service camp wherein they would offer 10% discount on spares and service (IIRC). Since the car was almost 2 years old, the original anti-rust coating (applied at the time of purchase) would've past it's life by now. So we requested him to undertake anti-rust coating for the under-body and the silencer. Initially, I was confused since the silencer is a part of the under-body and the cost for it's anti-rust treatment should be included in the under-body coat. Later, the advisor explained to me that the silencer requires a different type of coating and hence the different segmenting and pricing. I went to collect the car later in the evening and they showed me the two different anti-rust coatings applied to the under-body, silver coloured coating for the silencer and black coloured coating for the overall under-body. The issue regarding the windows too were fixed by replacing their motors on both sides (claimed under warranty). The total bill came to INR 5,529.



Visit Number 2 (3rd [free] service update: 2 years or 20,000 km's):

During the second free service done last year (May 2018), the engine oil opted by the service center by default was Servo. I asked the SA at that time as to why he hadn't asked me which engine oil I would have preferred in my car, to which he responded that only Servo branded engine oil is available in the whole of Western Maharashtra. I had told them then and there that since the company has given the option, I would like Shell engine oil to be available during the next service (May 2019). Fast forward to April 2019, I call up the same SA who had attended to my car last year (Mr. Azharuddin) and he said the oil isn't available and you can't get Shell branded oil. I told him I'll talk to the higher-up's and see if I can get it arranged. I called up the customer relation manager at Modi Hyundai SVC (Ms/Mrs. Saba) who asked me what problem I have with Servo branded oil and why I couldn't go ahead with it. I was furious at this question and asked her that if the company offers two brands of oil, why should I stick to the brand I don't want? And if Hyundai is pushing one brand (Servo), why say that they offer Shell branded oil too? She said she will have to talk to her superiors and would get back to me soon. Later, I received a call from her and she said Shell oil would be made available for me, the only condition being that I had to inform her 3 days prior to bringing the car to the SVC. I was okay with this and asked her to go ahead with the order. I did call her 5 days prior to the service and requested her to keep the Shell engine oil ready for my car, which she agreed to. On May 20th, I went to the service center with the car for the annual service/3rd free service and was attended to by a very competent SA (unfortunately, I don't recollect his name). He noted down all the things to be done in the car during the 3rd service, asked me if I was facing any issues that had to be rectified. Save for the scheduled service, I had only one complaint that the music system wasn't sounding as efficient as it was in the initial days. As the music system of the E+ variant comes without Bluetooth connectivity, I am used to listening to songs in the car via the aux cable since day 1. He gave me a delivery estimate of 2.30 PM, which seemed fair considering I had brought in the car at 10.30 AM. He also informed me that he would call me when the oil is being changed so that I'm satisfied that they're indeed putting Shell branded oil.

About an hour into sitting at the customer lounge, the SA asked me to come to the service bay where they were changing the oil. Surprisingly, the engine oil was brought in a semi-transparent can (10-litre, white-ish coloured unit) I asked the guy working on my car which oil it was, he said it's the one you had asked for (didn't mention the brand), so I asked him why is it in such a can and is it Shell? He replied stating that they procure in large quantities hence whichever oil they put is brought to the car in such a can only. I had my doubts here but didn't want to question him further since he seemed clueless about anything. I later asked my SA but he claimed that it was indeed Shell. I still had a thought pondering in my mind that if they indeed had large quantities of Shell, why was I made to inform them days in advance? This made me question their level of trust and born was the thought whether or not to give the car to Modi Hyundai henceforth. Coming back to the service, the other parts such as the oil filter, diesel particulate filter, air filter and AC cabin filter were changed in front of me. All this was done by about 1 PM. The mechanic said he would take a while to diagnose the issue with the music system and requested me to go back to the customer lounge to which I obliged. I went back about 45 minutes later to find the mechanic missing. I asked his co-workers and they mentioned that he has gone for a lunch break. This reminded me that even I hadn't eating anything since morning as I left in a hurry for the service center, hence I decided to grab a bite somewhere nearby. An hour later, I came back and found that the car was out of the service bay and of the the mechanics was taking the car for a test, he asked me to hop in and check whether the music system issue was fixed. He also mentioned that the front driver side speaker was replaced under warranty. I asked him are these (speaker and window motor issue) common for the Creta and he said that they had received a considerable number of complaints. After listening to a few songs, I felt that the volume level did increase than earlier although it wasn't as loud as it was during the initial months. (I was used to listening to songs on the volume level 16 although I was able to get the same output only after turning it up to 22-24 in the recent months). The mechanic tried to push the blame saying that this is the regular volume when played with an aux cable but when I told him I've always listened to songs via aux only, he went mum.

Post the short test drive, we returned to the SVC and he said the car will be washed and returned to you in a while. Meanwhile, I went to the customer lounge and kept myself busy with social media for a while. Around 3.30 PM, I went out in search for the car and see that they are yet to finish the cleaning. I ask the SA to speed up the process as it shouldn't take 2 hours to clean a car, that too just from the outside. Half an hour later, the SA came and told me that the car is cleaned. I went out to check the car and could still see a few bird droppings and unclean panels which I pointed out to the SA. He asked me if he should send the car for cleaning once again? Seriously?
I requested him to clean only those specific parts/panels which were dirty and give the car back since I don't have 2 hours more to spare, that too just for cleaning. Finally, I received the car around 5 PM. He gave me the estimate for the bill which included charges for 2 windshield washer liquids and I asked him to remove it since I already use 3M sourced windshield washer and have box of it lying around at home for future use. He politely agreed and got them removed from the final bill. The final amount for the service came to INR 7,629. I later filled the feedback form, where I highlighted that I had found the bathroom to be unclean and hence gave a rating of 8/10. The bathroom was dirty with footprints and a guy began cleaning the washroom while me another another customer were still using it. To top it off, he didn't have a jug (for the lack of a better word) and used his hands to take water from the tap and just splashed it on the floor. Why Hyundai? Why can't you take care of these small things that can really make a difference in your rating? In the feedback form, I also highlighted the amount of time they took to wash the car and that there were still a few unclean parts. Since I was satisfied with the approach of the SA and the way he handled everything, I gave an overall rating of 9/10. The SA took the feedback form from me and submitted it to his senior. This senior employee, probably the manager at the SVC, came and asked me what was the issue with the washroom and how long did the car wash take? I explained the issues to him and he went out to see the car. He came back soon and ask me if I was now satisfied with the was after pointing out the issue. I agreed but told him that it shouldn't take 2.5 hours to clean a car from the outside, specially when you guys service the car much faster then that. He apologized and promised to look into the issue and get them solved by the next time I visit them.

A day later, my father received a call asking them about the quality of service and the feedback he'd like to share. This is when I had lost it. I had specifically told them during the visit in April (visit number 1) as well as during in May (visit number 2) that they should change the contact details and put my mobile number in the primary contact details and my father's number as the secondary detail. The lady at the desk had acknowledged the same on both occasions but nothing seemed to have been changed in reality. Nonetheless, my father told them that I had taken the car for servicing and that only I could answer these details and hence shared my number. The person on call was apologetic in nature and said that they would like to send me a gift due to the troubles I had to face. I reluctantly agreed and when the person chosen to deliver the 'gift' arrived at my residence (he called me since I wasn't personally present to receive the gift), he had the cheek to tell me that if you receive a call from Hyundai India, please give us a rating of 10/10. In my mind, I was thinking I'm done with Modi Hyundai at least if not with Hyundai completely. The sales department illegally charging handling charges on new cars, the service department trying to bribe you with gifts, where are you headed with this kind of attitude? And the gift, if you must know, was a box of chocolates (the exact same one given to new car customers during delivery). I didn't want to eat it after getting to know that it was a bribe, not an apology of sorts, so I gave it away to a kid who was begging at a signal. Attaching below a scanned copy of the 3rd service bill.



I had some voucher worth INR 1,000 which I had claimed during this service and the same was reflected in the physical bill. However, the Hyundai Care app shows the total amount (without discount) instead. Not that the app is of much help anyway, it just shows the final billed amount, km reading during the service and the date of the service. Had there been a complete break-up of the bill in the app, it would've been much more helpful.

[Torque_Curve]

So here comes the much delayed update, which will be followed by the fourth service (third annual service and first paid service) in the next few days. There has been just one unusual (read accidental damage) event with the car in the past year.

I, my father and my uncle were returning home after immersing my granny’s ashes in August 2019 and dad misjudged the turn at my society gate which ended up damaging the front left fender and a bit of the bumper. While the bumper was touched up, the fender was a little crumpled and was torn (for the lack of a better word) in the middle, so it had to be replaced. We took the car to Modi Hyundai, the local ASC in Thane, to get it repaired. Since the car was already at the ASC, we told them about issues related to the front speaker and front passenger window, both of which were not working properly. They were replaced under warranty. With this, I have come to think that these elements are not as reliable as I thought they would be, under ‘Hyundai quality’. A total of three motors and two speakers have been replaced till date, and one year later, I’m facing issues with both the things again. While I can live with a slower motor for the window assembly, I simply cannot stand issues with the music system. If you have a Creta made sometime around 2017, I’d suggest you take that extended warranty. Coming back to the experience, while the SVC was quick to get the car repaired and parts replaced under warranty, it took them forever to get the car billed and handed over. I followed up with them for three days but they did not give me any update. The following Monday, I had to go out of the city for work and would be back only a few days later. It was during this time they realized the car is still with them and they began pestering me to collect the car. I categorically told them that I had followed up during the weekend as I did not want this issue to crop up, but to no one’s avail. They tried convincing me by saying we’ll drop the car home and also send a card machine for payment, but I refused to accept delivery until I’ve seen the car myself.


The only photo of the damaged fender I could click

The following weekend, I went to the ASC to pick up the car. I checked the car and everything seemed to be fine. They had replaced the fender as well as the front bumper as “it would be misaligned if we retain the old bumper”. I made the payment, which came to Rs 21,xxx, but was later discounted to Rs 16,xxx (bills and receipts attached below). I was wondering how they could give such a discount. It was only a month later that I realized that the bumper was not replaced, just touched up. How did I conclude this? A few weeks down the line, I noticed the same scratches on the left side of the front bumper that were present before the car was put in for repair. While they had cleverly smoothened out the surface, the paint faded away revealing the old scratches. No point fighting with them one month later I realized, so no more accidental repairs at this ASC at least, henceforth.







Save for the aforementioned episode, the year has been rather simple. The car has seen only city runs (and an occasional trip or two to Lonavala/Pune). It has clocked about 500-700kms in the city itself during the lockdown as I used it to ferry stuff on a regular basis for an NGO I work for. At the time of writing this update, my Creta has covered 17,7xx kms, up from the 12,4xx kms that were recorded during the last service in May 2019. A death in the family and work commitments hampered the longer running of the car as we couldn’t go on holidays. I had saved up a considerable amount of leaves from office this year, but alas, life had its own plans in the form of the Corona pandemic. The car is undergoing its annual service as I type this, more on that in the coming days. Singing off with a few random pictures clicked through the year that went by.


One thing I have to admit, the folks at Modi Hyundai do a really good polishing job, I mean just look at that reflection on the hood!




During an outing somewhere on the old Mumbai-Pune highway


Snapped at the Hyundai yard on the outskirts of Thane. I had gone to do the PDI for a friend's Red i20 (seen in the background)


One of the last photos of the City with the Creta before we sold it a few months ago






A few random photos taken here and there


Minimalistic, no frills interior


She decided to get dirty in the monsoons, kinda what she's made for, right?




Some TLC and a much needed shampoo wash the next day


Post wash shine


Parting shot with the garage-mate

[Torque_Curve]

So here comes the update for the fourth service/third annual service/first paid service or whatever else one might call it. To begin with, the annual service is usually undertaken around the last week of May, just as it completes an additional year from the purchase. This time though, it could not happen at the said time due to the Coronavirus pandemic which pushed the service to exactly 2 months later, in July 2020. When I had called the SVC to book an appointment in May, an employee known as Vaibhav told me that there is not enough manpower as most of the employees are in containment zones and hence the SVC is closed. Acceptable, I said to myself, as I requested him to inform me as soon as it opens as my car will be overdue for service and I wouldn’t want to delay it any further (as much as possible) and he agreed to the same.

Sometime around mid-July, my father (whose number is still in the records for contact after numerous requests to update it to my number) gets a message saying that the service centre has resumed work and we can book an appointment. The message also had a link with an option to book the service online. I did the same and waited for 2 days but to no avail. I later called up the SVC and requested them for an appointment and was told that the earliest appointment I can get is around the second week of August! What? Why? Too many bookings for service since it was closed for a few months due to the pandemic, they say. But what about my online service booking and the fact that Vaibhav was supposed to contact me once they resumed work? Sir, we are not responsible for that, comes the answer. Fed up with the horrible attitude, I keep the phone and write a mail to the higher-ups of Modi Hyundai, while also marking Hyundai India in the same mail. Later in the day, I get a call from Shazia, who is the Ass. CRM of Modi Hyundai Thane, asking me about the issue and what they could do to solve it. I requested her (around 20th of July) to give me an appointment for any date before the end of the month as I would get busy with work and personal commitments post the said date. She said she would check and get back, which was followed by a call a few minutes later to give me an appointment for 28 July. See, now, was that so tough? Anyway, I also took the opportunity to request for Shell engine oil, as opposed to Servo which they regularly use. They did make it available for me at the end of the day, unlike the last time when I had to fight it out for.

Moving on to the day of the service, I arrived at the help desk about 10 minutes late for the appointment, given the rush at the gate and the line of cars waiting to get inside. As I got off the car, one of the service guys put a plastic cover on the frequently touched parts such as the seats, steering wheel, and gear knob (they should do this for the hand-brake too, right?), courtesy of keeping any risk of Corona away. I was asked to sit in the customer lounge, which was marked with X spots on a few seats, keeping the social distancing rule in mind. People honestly followed it until noon, which is when the crowd increased and people started to sit like any other pre-corona period. My SA came over 10 minutes after I entered the lounge and we proceeded to the car with the mandatory checks and photos before the car is sent in for service. I was asked for any problems that I was facing, and I pointed out a few issues such as the volume of the music system fading randomly (my system is the conventional 2-DIN unit as seen in the base variant, without any Bluetooth connectivity, so an issue with the latter was automatically ruled out), the signature Creta braking issue (ABS intervening and brake lever kicking back) and the leakage issue from the front two doors, an issue that was apparently ‘solved’ last year but came back to haunt me yet again. Except for the braking issue, the other two problems would require warranty claims, which is when I also realized that the standard 3-year warranty was over and we had to extend the same. I requested the SA, Azharuddin, to add the cost of the extended warranty (additional 2 years, taking the total to 5 years/1 lakh kms). He agreed but little did we know what storm Hyundai had waiting for me.

The standard warranty was valid until 24 May, which was extended by Hyundai for two months due to the pandemic period. The date was thus extended till 24 July, and neither Hyundai India nor the dealer, Modi Hyundai bothered to inform me that the standard warranty is about to expire. I understand it is not their responsibility to inform customers, but at a time when dealers are pressed for extra income, isn’t this the next logical thing to do, instead of cheating new customers in the name of handling charges/hiked insurance charges as they’ve done here? (Insert Ashlil’s link here). Coming back to reality, the SA tells me that the system is not accepting the request since it has been 3 days since the deadline for the extension has passed. He talks to the lead SA who also confirms the same. I ask them to try once again and let me know by the time I go in for billing.

Meanwhile, the standard affair of service includes the change of engine oil, oil filter, and air filter. I was informed by the SA that the front disc pads are worn out and they should ideally be replaced. I asked him to get me the old brake pads and also show me a set of the new ones, images of which are attached below. This, I was a bit skeptical about since I believe that disc pads should ideally work till about 40,000 kms on an average. Request BHP-ians to see the images and suggest whether it was a loot in the name of service or whether I actually need to start driving, (rather braking) properly. I felt that the pads were fairly done with their life and confirmed the same with a friend who suggested that anywhere between 18-20k kms of usage is fine, following which I went ahead with the change. The SA also advised that the discs need to be skimmed as there were visible lines and that would affect the braking capability. Once again, inputs from BHP-ian’s here would be really helpful, although I missed taking a photo of the discs during the same period, so that might be more of a hunch.

The service was done by around 4 pm and I was handed over the bill which came to approximately Rs 19,000. A pretty hefty service bill for the first paid service, if you ask me. While most of the charges in the bill below are self-explanatory, I don’t understand the charges for the Wuerth service plus package, and although the SA had given me kind of a sensible explanation for this, I don’t remember that at the moment. They had even added vehicle hygiene care charges, which came to about Rs 300, and I had to remind them that Hyundai had waived off these charges as a part of its ‘Freedom Drive’. The windshield washer liquid was also put without permission, something that I usually don’t approve of, but did this time anyway since I was out of the 3M liquid I generally use. They claim to put 1 packet while servicing while another is kept in the car. I found the latter but I doubt the former was done, again, this could have been done in front of me, in order to put to rest any doubts I had/still have.


The steering wheel was wrapped as a preventive measure to prevent the spread of COVID-19


The failed attempt with the seat cover

Coming to the extended warranty, the issue turned out to be a real pain as it wasn’t approved at the time of billing and I had to go back home without getting the other issues solved. I requested Shazia to escalate this issue with Hyundai India and get back to me on the same. I was promised an answer in 10 days, which I had to follow-up for a reasonable number of times before they approved it on ‘good-will' terms. The forum rules don’t allow expletives else I would’ve had some really special words for the folks at Hyundai India, faltering on their own and them claiming good-will. Ya right! After the warranty was approved, I contacted the SA, Azhar, once again for an appointment and he said you can bring in the car the next day, no appointment needed. I made the customary call to the SA as I sat in the car, but there was no response. I reached the SVC 15 minutes later and tried again, but got the same treatment. To make things worse, the guards at the gate refused entry since I did not have an appointment. I had to call up Shazia and explain the whole situation, and it took them a while before me and my car were let in. Once inside, I was allocated another SA by the name of Roshan, asked him to make a bill for the extended warranty so they can go ahead with the work. As is the case with most firms like these, billing is done in a jiffy while the work takes forever.

The technician (along with me and the SA), took the car out for the test drive before beginning any work and drove for about two kms, trying various braking maneuvers for the braking issue, but to no avail. He asked me to drive and try replicating the same, but in the first two hard braking trials, nothing came of it. The third time, there was some juddering, which the technician said was due to the ABS doing its job. That sounded reasonable and as I couldn’t successfully replicate the issue, it was removed from the list of problems. I can’t blame the technicians this time, as this issue has cropped up only twice in its three years of ownership with me. This fault lies with Hyundai India alone and it’s really bad on their part that they couldn’t solve this issue until very recently. I’ve heard/read that the Seltos also suffers from the same issue.
Coming back to the other issues, the car was then taken to the service bay and the leakage issue on both the doors was attributed to some ‘adjustments’ required as the rubber beadings were dislodged from their place, resulting in the leakage. Fixing this would take a while and I was requested to take the car back the next day. Regarding the issue with the music system, I was not able to replicate the issue with the music system, and it was obvious since that was an issue faced at random intervals. It was later found out that there was an issue with my phone which resulted in this problem and any issue to do with the car was ruled out. Credit to the technicians and another SA (who was called in by the technician as he was passing by) to check with their respective phones and clear this issue for me. I called up the new SA the same evening to confirm that the work on the car was done and he replied in affirmative. I called him in the morning once again to ask if the vehicle was ready to be delivered and he agreed, asking me to come in some time. I reached there to find the car dirty on the outside. I guessed that the cleaning was pending and asked him to get it done while the gate pass is issued. To my surprise, he refused the same saying it’s too crowded now and will take a while to get it done. He had all the time from the morning but he chose to leave the car in an ‘as it is’ condition. Basic courtesy, what’s that? I didn’t bother telling him and requested for the gate pass. Meanwhile, I met Shazia and requested her for the extended warranty certificate. Yet another surprise was in the making, and we haven’t bothered to get/print the certificate either (since we don’t get any money for warranty claims, I suppose). She said a soft copy will be shared on mail later in the day and a hard copy will be sent to my address soon. She asks for my e-mail and I tell her I’ll send it on Whatsapp/text message so that the details are not lost later. She insists on writing it down and promises to send it later in the day. As a last effort, I try asking her if the car can be washed, just the exterior, and the response I get is ‘no sir, employees are going for lunch break now, it’s not possible’. Sigh! When will they learn that these small things sometimes go a long way in making a difference to the customer, especially when one is already put off by the lack of attention you pay to the services you provide? Maybe I am wrong, I need to stop expecting standard courtesy from the dealers and move on to an FNG once my warranty is over. But nonetheless, for the next two years at least, I am at their mercy.

I waited for a few days for the warranty certificate to arrive by mail (let alone physical copies) as sending that shouldn’t take more than a few virtual clicks. Here I was proved wrong yet again. A week later, I received a call from customer care for feedback on the service and when I mentioned the negatives, they said they will try and solve them, and for a wash, I can get the car back to the SVC and they will get it done. Wow! Three to four visits for something that should’ve been done in just one, great standards of service there, Modi Hyundai. I had to tell her that I am not coming back just for a wash, and that the warranty certificate is nowhere to be seen. After all this, they still had the guts to ask for a 10/10 rating. Now if only I could rate in the negative for once! A few days later, Shazia called me and asked for my e-mail id once again (yep, even after insisting on getting the details on record, here we are, back to square one). After taking down the details, she said that the certificate couldn’t be sent as the network at the SVC was down for a few days (Really? How did you manage to keep the SVC open, generate bills and do all other work, in that case?). Luckily for me, I got the certificate by mail later in the day while the physical copy was also delivered in the evening itself.
Finally, given a choice, how would I rate their service? Barely 4 or 5 out of 10. It’s a totally different topic that they see all ratings below 8 as the same (stupid standards, I know, hence not even taking the trouble of talking about it per se). All in all, it seems it’ll be a tough two years ahead before I change to an FNG. Thankfully, the service intervals mean I have to go only twice in that time-frame (unless any unforeseen issues crop up, that is). The extended warranty cost me Rs 20k, just in case someone’s asking.

Attaching images of the bill below:





Back in October last year, I also attended a small Team-BHP meet at hotel Ahura, Charoti. During the return journey, I felt something amiss as the car began vibrating real hard on the run, which seemed very strange. I stopped a little later after a toll plaza and inspected the tyres to find the front left tyre losing air at a good pace. With the help of a fellow BHP-ian who was with me in the car, we managed to change the tyre with the spare unit in 15 mins flat, not bad timing for both of us who hadn’t done it for a really long time. We resumed the journey and the vibrations were still present, although they had reduced by about 90%. We checked air pressure and then came back home at a slow pace. I checked the tyres at a local tyre shop and the folks there informed me of the uneven wear. This is when I realized that I missed the alignment and balancing this year due to the Corona-induced lockdown. I always get it done outside the ASC, but somehow forgot it, and unfortunately, it resulted in eating up the front two tyres. I decided to get the tyres changed nonetheless and opted for Yokohama Earth-1’s, which were Rs 5,700 a piece. We got the tyres as well as wheel alignment and balancing done at Balaji tyres, Thane, with the latter being charged at a mere Rs 500. The difference between the Yoko’s and the GoodYear Assurance tyres was instantly noticed, with the tyre noise halved, if not more. And this was the result with only two tyres changed!



The old tyre that was damaged as I missed my alignment and balancing. Lesson learned the hard way!


The new Yoko's in the house

The Team-BHP meet at Charoti:












The rest of the year has been quite uneventful, and save for two trips to Pune, the car has been restricted to duties in the city itself. The odo currently stands at 20,5xx kms and the annual service is due during the end of May. Wrapping up this update with a few photos below.
Somewhere in Manjiri:














When my parents decided to drive down to Pune, and I joined the party by visiting my relatives on the bike


A diet of Shell's fuel didn't make any noticeable difference, although the same can't be said for my bike


Sitting calm at one of the creeks in Thane


A tankful costs anywhere between Rs 3,500 to 4,000 depending on the fuel rates.


Sudden rains early in the morning give a different feel altogether!