[Thingummy]

Originally Posted by bottle

hehe if possible try to collect and pass on most of what all of us here on tbhp feel as well to TATA Hq

I seem to have ruffled quite a few feathers with my incessant calling and mailing anybody i can get hold of in the TATA motors and FIAT fraternity. I just had a call from Mr. Sahu from TATA motors in Bangalore, and this is his part of the conversation -

'Irrespective of whether the TATA dealer in that particular location is trained on FIAT or not, they have to offer basic assistance and address your concern. In this case you could have expected them to offer tow assistance to the nearest city, and a checkup using whatever knowledge they had to see if they could at least temporarily remedy the problem. Your experience was because of a breakdown in communication where the Manipal motors helpline that you called didn't know how to escalate the matter and get in touch with the right people who could help. In any such situation in the future, please feel free to call me directly on my mobile and i will put you in touch with a TATA center closest to you who'll be able to help' - (I am paraphrasing the conversation, of course)

This is a huge relief to me, and increases my confidence in TATA-FIAT manifold. For a moment, this week, i was concerned that i hadn't made the right decision opting to choose the Palio over other cars, with the futile hope that things were changing for the better. Now, it does look like things have changed for the better. Agreed it might just be all words now, and we'll know the real truth when the rubber actually hits the road - but for now words will do for me :-)

[bottle]

thats great news.. next time in case of a breakdown first person i'm going to call is you

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Thats great news!

Seems TATA-FIAT agreement is going great. Good for both sides.

[omar1310]

I have said many time in this forum and elsewhere that my experience has been good....so far though!

[Thingummy]

Originally Posted by omar1310

I have said many time in this forum and elsewhere that my experience has been good....so far though!

The FIAT joke begins - The car has been in the workshop from 7/15, and the new fuel pump arrived at Bangalore from Pune on 7/20. Amazingly enough, the new fuel pump was defective, and failed to generate sufficient fuel pressure. So Manipal placed an order for another fuel pump on Monday (evidently FIAT doesn't work on saturdays and sundays), which means the new pump should become available this week. In the meanwhile, the A.S.S has fixed my car such that i can drive around temporarily, but they've created a bill for the entire repair, even though the new part isn't fit yet. They are recommending that i pay upfront, get the new parts fitted later this week, or early next week (whenever the part becomes available) - and then claim an insurance refund. Spoke to the surveyor and he said that refund would take at least 10 days,which effectively means that i will have to pay the entire amount today, and its going to take 15-16 days before the refund check is given to me (and that is an optimistic estimate - going by this experience, even the new pump from Pune could fail, and i could get into an endless wait where i would have already paid for the part, but the part never reaches Bangalore)

Everybody has been nice throughout - very supportive, helpful, courteous - but still what's the point, when i have to wait 10 days for simple part replacement, at the end of which i still don't have all the repair work done, end up having to pay from my pocket for the damages, and just go through horrible frustration overall.....

[bottle]

Its sad that it takes this long to replace something as simple as a fuel pump. have you tried to escalate the issue ?

[gemithomas]

Originally Posted by Thingummy

I seem to have ruffled quite a few feathers with my incessant calling and mailing anybody i can get hold of in the TATA motors and FIAT fraternity. I just had a call from Mr. Sahu from TATA motors in Bangalore, and this is his part of the conversation -

'Irrespective of whether the TATA dealer in that particular location is trained on FIAT or not, they have to offer basic assistance and address your concern. In this case you could have expected them to offer tow assistance to the nearest city, and a checkup using whatever knowledge they had to see if they could at least temporarily remedy the problem. Your experience was because of a breakdown in communication where the Manipal motors helpline that you called didn't know how to escalate the matter and get in touch with the right people who could help. In any such situation in the future, please feel free to call me directly on my mobile and i will put you in touch with a TATA center closest to you who'll be able to help' - (I am paraphrasing the conversation, of course)

This is a huge relief to me, and increases my confidence in TATA-FIAT manifold. For a moment, this week, i was concerned that i hadn't made the right decision opting to choose the Palio over other cars, with the futile hope that things were changing for the better. Now, it does look like things have changed for the better. Agreed it might just be all words now, and we'll know the real truth when the rubber actually hits the road - but for now words will do for me :-)

Very sad story thingummy. Have been following this from start but did not write since i never knew what to say.

Really good to hear that things are really changing with TATA. You would have killed yourself for buying a FIAT if you ever had to deal with TVS in such situations (atleast that was the case in Kerala). COuld you put on the numbers and mail id's of contact persons so that it could help others too. Please also mention Mr.Sahu's contact details.

[Thingummy]

picked up the car from Manipal today - they've made a temporary fix to the fuel pump issue with some sealant. The new fuel pump is expected in a couple of days. The insurance claim was also handled pretty well. The TATA motors people spoke to Reliance, and convinced them into a cashless settlement despite incomplete repair work - so i only had to pay for the regular service components (oil, oil additive, fuel filter, oil filter, brush touch up on some scratches, underbody coating, and partial payment for the fuel pump, since there's only a 50% coverage on that)

The underbody coating cost Rs. 1.9K, and now the underbody looks a nice black instead of the earlier brown. There was one small rattle from the front co-passenger window before service, and it seems to have been taken care of.

Now waiting for the new fuel pump to arrive from Pune, and just have to go get it fit - the service head tells me its a 15 minute job, and i've already paid the entire amount upfront, so no more expenses.

Boy am i glad to get my car back!!.. really missed her this past week. Pity i won't be able to head out of town until the repair is completed - hopefully it'll be done before the weekend begins.

[markiv]

Originally Posted by Thingummy

Boy am i glad to get my car back!!.. really missed her this past week. Pity i won't be able to head out of town until the repair is completed - hopefully it'll be done before the weekend begins.

Imagine waiting for 4 months, and still nothing

thats my story.
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...ab-motors.html

Heres the horror tale of incorrect parts being dispatched by FIAT folks:

- Incorrect crankcase sent (1.1's instead of 1.6's)
- Incorrect engine bracket sent
- Incorrect compressor and condenser sent

Apparently the catalogue of spare parts of Fiat cars with the dealer, is not correct/updated!!!

Hoping to get my baby this weekend.

[ravikn]

Hi Thingummy,

Could you please send the mail ID and Mobile number of Mr Sahu so that he could be contacted in case of any emergency as none of these helplines do work properly.

With Regards
Ravi

[1100D]

Thats going to be one Busy Mr Sahu. Hope they replicate more such people. Then ensure they stay with them forever.

[Thingummy]

Originally Posted by ravikn

Could you please send the mail ID and Mobile number of Mr Sahu so that he could be contacted in case of any emergency as none of these helplines do work properly.

Would the mods be concerned if i hand out the mobile numbers on a public thread, or should i PM them individually?

Originally Posted by markiv

Imagine waiting for 4 months, and still nothing

Wow!! I didnt know things were so hopeless. Manipal told me that they seemed to have sent the right part number, but there was a goofup from FIAT, while FIAT indicates otherwise. Now i know where the problem comes from - how do they expect to order the right parts when both parties in the transaction have differing part sheets! Its amazing that in this era of IT, they don't have a networked application that dealers can use to place orders for spares.

Originally Posted by 1100D

Thats going to be one Busy Mr Sahu. Hope they replicate more such people. Then ensure they stay with them forever.

They better, if they are really going to launch the Grande Punto and the Linea at the price points being discussed in the other thread. Or else maybe they'll come up with the fine argument - "The money you save upfront in buying the car is compensated for by the agony you go through each time something needs to be fixed"

[gemithomas]

Originally Posted by Thingummy

Would the mods be concerned if i hand out the mobile numbers on a public thread, or should i PM them individually?

Hey! count me too in case you PM the details

[bottle]

please send me the number as well, unless you got his permission to post the number in public i dont think you should

[ravikn]

Originally Posted by Thingummy

Would the mods be concerned if i hand out the mobile numbers on a public thread, or should i PM them individually?

Hi Thingummy,

Please PM me

With Regards
Ravi