[bj96]

Originally Posted by n.devdath

A 2.2 ton engine doesnt make a difference to it. Yes if the driverhits a ditch, the suspension should have been damaged as well along with at least some body parts like the sump, the bumpers and the wheel rims.

By 2.2 I meant the vehicle weight and not the engine CC.

I was referring particularly to following issues reported by original poster which can happen by a deep impact underneath the body:

1. Car shifting to 4H mode on its own- could be due to a hit on the 4x4 transfer case/differential housing causing mechanical damage?

2. Weld in chassis- may be the beams did not break, but impact was sufficient to bend them. Dealer tried to fix the glaring bend by cut and weld?

I am guessing. Probably looking at the underbody will reveal the damages better.

Originally Posted by n.devdath

...
have the car jacked up and have a detailed look at the fittings with the car lifted. Also, is is essential to take photographs just in case...

+1

If possible, hoist another new 4x4 Safari up the ramp and thoroughly compare side by side the damages/differences underneath. Photograph new one too for a better forensic study

-BJ

[PAVAN KADAM]

Its just bad luck bantejas,

Not every car that comes out of TATA stables like what all say is defective. Especially if its a Safari, everyone jumps the gun too soon

Not deviating or debating much, i would like to tell you Concorde or TATA motors will surely do all necessary help in getting your car back to its best.

And this kind of treatment you get from all car dealers, be it Maruti/ M&M / Skoda / others.

Dont worry, i've been dealing with them since 3 yrs, you just need to pull a few strings to get your job done.

Your car will come out good.

[Digital Vampire]

OMG...This is shocking news!
Looks very much like you've been pawned off with an abused TD vehicle.
The VIN should be able to give you details about the manufacturing date.

I'm really sorry to hear this Tejas. The only good thing about Tata service is that they are very receptive to changing parts within warranty.I wish you all the luck in getting the issues fixed once and for all.

From the recent Safari cases reported here, it seems like the Tata dealers are hell bent on writing an obituary for Safari even before its replacement arrives.

Its really sad to see such problems when Safari is Tata's flagship model.

PS: Concorde is owned by Tata themselves.

[barathan]

I would say its purely a buyers mistake of taking the delivery of the car even after he noticed the Tilt of the car. Now the debate for so called "Chasis" problem might have been related to Manufacturing problem or a Service Engineer might hit the car by revving up the car from workshop to showroom. Those discussions are only speculations and there is no point in discussing them right now, after all the affected party is us as a "Customer".

Buying a car is always exciting for everyone and we somehow loose our patience while taking the delivery of the car thats the reason TBHP threads and hundreds of forums recommend us to always take a Picky friend with you who is quite picky on the car and pointing his concerns on the car. Hey sometimes friends like that do help us save money .

My 2 cents for resolving the problem would be to go speak to the Concorde Motors Senior Manager and explain situation to press the point regarding Lemon Law because obviously the buyer had got a Lemon which has a Chasis Problem which is quite a big deal for a car and it almost costs 30% of the Car's Amount. I think one of the TBHP friend got the Ford Fiesta TDCI changed by Ford accepting the car sold was Lemon. You can go through TATA's web site and send a detailed comments via Email and Contact the appropriate person directly to speak out your frustraction.

Hope your problem have a happy ending!

A few links...

Defective Vehicles: The Law And You - The Financial Express

Consumer court asks Hyundai Motor to replace faulty engine- Automobiles-Auto-News By Industry-News-The Economic Times

[jaysmokesleaves]

@Bantejas >>> As a 2.2 4x4 Safari owner I shall advise the following:

TML will NOT give you a new car. You will have to take the legal route for that and prove everything which will prove to be a very big pain. SO time, peace and money will be lost in the legal route with no time guarantee as to how long it will take for you to win(if you do). Im not suggesting you to chicken out, but rather saying that if uve got what it takes to go the legal route then sure go ahead.

I suggest you get everything changed or rectified under warranty. There after if you feel that you wish to keep the vehicle, keep it. But do take into account that you may(more likely) have to put up with further issues with your vehicle and may require regular if not frequent visits to the TASS. So time and effort is something that you will account for as part of your ownership experience. Also it seems that your dealership does not seem to have a decent track record. TML will continue to replace everything under warranty at the cost of your peace of mind.

If on the other hand, you can afford to square your losses and move on, then its best to put your vehicle up for sale and move on. Monetary loss it may be, but it will certainly give you PEACE of mind.
Since you and your wife enjoy driving, there are suv/muv options in the market to choose from which though without 4x4 may prove to provide you with a better ' peace of mind' ownership experience, while still allowing you to explore vistas you could not do in your hatch.

No offence meant to other Safari owners here.

Cheers,
J

[4x4addict]

I agree with Jay here. Tata will not give you a new vehicle. However you can pretty much change 99% of the vehicle under warranty so you practically have a new vehicle by the time the warranty expires. I suggest get every part you can replace under warranty replaced and then either use the vehicle or sell it.

[bantejas]

Thanks a ton to Devdath for accompanying me to Concorde today. He TDed the truck and found some issues which, when fixed, will be delivered back to me. I will update in detail with the issues that we found tomorrow. Overall, the feeling was nice and I think that the big issue has been fixed finally. I hope that I do not get much issues in the future. If I do then I will be selling the car off for a sedan instead or maybe Bolero.

[bantejas]

Finally I synced up with Dev yesterday at around 11:30 AM and we reached Concorde Motors along with his friend at 2 PM. Initially I was supposed to get vehicle at home at 11:30 AM but when I called them, they said that they still were fixing some issues.
1. Dev had a look at the car and the moment he saw it, he found out that the front suspension of the car was much lower than the other Tata Safaris. When we approached to the TASS, he adamantly said that the height should be 82 inches. We immediately demanded to check the production cars which were at their yard. All of them were at 84-85 inches. Amazingly, those people still were very adamant on the 82 inches as the height. When Dev demanded for a proof of it, they went off and didn't come back for a long time.
Finally a few calls were made to Tata Motors and they found out that it should be 84 inches and they made it to 84 inches.

2. Second issue was a sound from Left Rear suspension/mount that we Dev observed when we tried to shook the vehicle. Again, the TASS were not at all sure of what the sounds were. When Dev asked them about it, they gave a big funda which he could not buy and asked them to just tighten the mounts. Again to prove it, we had to go to other cars to find out about it. Most of them didn't have it, but one had. I should've taken down their number too. When they saw that one more car had the same, they said that it is normal behaviour! Dev said that it shouldn't be and asked them to figure out the issue. We went off for lunch at around 4 PM and returned by 5 PM.

3. We TDed the truck and found everything to be in place. I am not a Safari/SUV expert but we could feel that the jobs done were pretty good. Didn't have any issues in the TD which we took for a small soft roading too. The 4wd motor had been replaced and so now, I have a brand new 4wd parts. It didn't get engaged in the 4wd mode by though I had seen it happening only a few times after the Sensors were fixed. Anyways, they still do not know the cause of the issue.

4. After coming back, we found some niggling issues e.g., hand brakes not working properly etc and we have left the truck there it self. I will get it on Monday and mostly will be off for a drive to Nagarhole along with Dev, his friend santosh and my wife on one of the weekends to do more tests.

Frankly, if I ever get some more issues with this car, then I will sell this off for a hatch/sedan/Bolero. I absolutely love this vehicle but high time that I start using my head as maintaining two girl friends at the same time is too difficult for me. My bullet is more than enough.

[dadu]

Originally Posted by bantejas

Thanks a ton to Devdath for accompanying me to Concorde today. He TDed the truck and found some issues which, when fixed, will be delivered back to me. I will update in detail with the issues that we found tomorrow. Overall, the feeling was nice and I think that the big issue has been fixed finally. I hope that I do not get much issues in the future. If I do then I will be selling the car off for a sedan instead or maybe Bolero.

Saw this too late for any help, but this is unfortunate and will have to agree with jay here, very difficult to get the whole vehicle replaced once sold.

But as others pointed out we as buyers have to be careful during our purchase (i can understand the excitement etc), at the first sign of suspicion, BACKOUT, in your case it was the tilt to one side.

All 4x4 safari's are made on order and hence never buy a "readily available" 4x4 Safari, unless you can see the factory invoice(form ??) which is required during RTO registration with the dates etc, too old means high possiblility of being used as Test/ curiousity Drives by staff, customers etc.

Get the CS involved get it rectified is the best option, trust me they will replace any/ all suspected/ faulty parts if required. No point in selling as you will loose big time.

Hope all the troubles are bygones now.

[n.devdath]

Originally Posted by bantejas

Thanks a ton to Devdath for accompanying me to Concorde today. He TDed the truck and found some issues which, when fixed, will be delivered back to me. I will update in detail with the issues that we found tomorrow. Overall, the feeling was nice and I think that the big issue has been fixed finally. I hope that I do not get much issues in the future. If I do then I will be selling the car off for a sedan instead or maybe Bolero.

To the best of my knowledge, the vehicle should be ok now and doesn't seem to have any issues apart from the niggling faults that we shortlisted and need to get rectified prior to accepting the delivery.
And yes, I still maintain that the Bolero is not a sensible choice....!!!!

A word about the Concorde staff at their Hosur Road branch. They are technically very incompetent about the Safari and need serious training. Even their so called "Safari Dr" tried to fool me a couple of times for the issues I raised without being able to explain the root cause or identify it.
When he knew we were not taking his explanantions, he just walked off

Yes, the staff especially the supervisors are quite patient and courteous but that is no compensation for their technical incompetency.

I would also like to mention here that it was great experience meeting a TBHPian in person and spending some time with him and the car, of course not to mention Concorde.
Anyone in Bangalore having issues with their Safaris or Skodas can feel free to contact me and I would be glad to assist.

Cheers..

[HappyWheels]

Dev,

Good of you to take the time and help out!

[n.devdath]

Originally Posted by HappyWheels

Dev,

Good of you to take the time and help out!

Thank You Happy Wheels....I m looking forward to be called for a new Safari GX 4X4 PDI as well, in case the owner considers me worth it...!!!!!

[bantejas]

Originally Posted by n.devdath

Thank You Happy Wheels....I m looking forward to be called for a new Safari GX 4X4 PDI as well, in case the owner considers me worth it...!!!!!

Happy wheels! you should definitely consider taking Dev along with you. I hope that I can hop in too .

Got a call that they will be dropping to my office at around 12 Noon tomorrow. Dev, I'll call you once I get it and after checking it.

[khan_sultan]

Dev, kudos to you mate. This feels nice and hope that all worries end here.

Originally Posted by n.devdath

Thank You Happy Wheels....I m looking forward to be called for a new Safari GX 4X4 PDI as well, in case the owner considers me worth it...!!!!!

And considering that this one also will be from Concorde (Maybe different branch) so all the more reasons..

[condor]

@Devdath, appreciate you taking the time out to help a fellow-bhp-ian.

n.devdath : Thank You Happy Wheels....I m looking forward to be called for a new Safari GX 4X4 PDI as well, in case the owner considers me worth it...!!!!!

Shouldnt be a problem, I guess .... unless Concorde declares you a persona-non-grata !