Team-BHP > Team-BHP Reviews > Test-Drives & Initial Ownership Reports


Closed Thread
  Search this Thread
105,419 views
Old 1st August 2009, 14:53   #1
BHPian
 
bnzjon's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Dubai
Posts: 836
Thanked: 127 Times
Bravo! It’s a Vocal White Linea - Aal Izz Well (Now sold and upgraded to the TJet)

Hi Folks, after a long wait of almost a year, i ended up owning my Italian beauty on the 10/July.

Admiration Guaranteed
I was one of the first to test drive the car in Chennai. Almost waited in the showroom like a school kid for an hour to test drive her. I still remember how excited i was when the car first arrived at the showroom.

The moment i saw the car, I decided that she will be mine soon but something stopped me from booking the car. Was it pressure from family and friends not to buy a FIAT? Was it the bitter experience my friends experienced with their Palio’s? Was it the fear of me being termed as someone who owned a beauty from a company which was mismanaged earlier ?

Yes, i feared all these. So i decided to wait and watch. I desperately needed someone to help me decide.

It was then i incidentally started reading the team-BHP forums. To cut a long story short, i need to Thank Geeash (Dr. Ashwin), Vahanpujari, Coolboy, Karthik and many more for their excellent piece of information in their forums which i used to proudly read out to my family and friends. It was kind of me convincing everyone that things have improved at FIAT.

Bravo! It’s a Vocal White Linea - Aal Izz Well (Now sold and upgraded to the TJet)-dsc00200.jpg

Sales Experience
After a long wait of 4 months, i finally booked the car on 25/May. Applied a loan through HDFC at 10.50 percent and made cash payment on the same day.
Variant - Emotion Petrol
Colour - Vocal white
Dealer - Concorde, Chennai

Negotiated hard for some freebies and finally managed to get Floor mats (2+3), Mud Flaps, Rs. 3000 discount on Sun film, Rs. 8000 as Corporate Discount, Rs. 4000 discount on Seat Cover.

Took Insurance privately from TATA AIG and not from the dealer. Premium paid was Rs. 15,500 against Rs. 20,000 quoted by the dealer. Saved Rs. 4,500 on that!!!

I opted for RE35 sun film (make: 3M) and OEM Leather seats (body touching part is Leather and rest art leather). The price quoted by dealer for sun film and Seat covers were Rs. 5800 and Rs. 11,700 respectively.

Waited for 2 weeks and finally my car came on 3/June at the Dealers Yard. PDI was done on the 5/June.

The sales experience was very good. I would give a 10/10 for the way i was treated at the showroom. Infact, they pampered me. I thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

The car was registered on the 9/June and delivered to me on the 10/June.

At the time of the delivery i noticed a minor unnoticeable scratch on the front bumper (paint peeled off a little) which the dealer promised will be painted at their Service Centre at my convenience.

Bravo! It’s a Vocal White Linea - Aal Izz Well (Now sold and upgraded to the TJet)-dsc00183.jpg

As I drove out of the showroom towards my office which is at a 5 km distance, I could see curious looks on the car. Similarly as soon as i reached office, i was surrounded by my colleagues.The first reaction was "wow! What a car machan. She is a stunner!”, the next reaction was "Machan, tough times for you with the service and spares".All i did was just a broad smile which i am sure they understood.

In the meanwhile, just 2 days before my car was delivered i was invited for the Car and Coffee Meet. Reached there on time. The Best part of the meet was my meeting with Geeash (Dr. Ashwin). We became instant friends. Today we speak to each other everyday for at least 5 mins. The entire discussion would be around Linea and related issues. I along with Ashwin won the Miniature Car which was delivered to me after a long 45 days wait. Even the miniature had paint peeled off on the bumper (felt like FIAT specially made that miniature for me!!!!!). The car is kept proudly at my office desk. I am sure one day some maniac will steal it! Wish I had a gear lock and centre lock for the same.

Bravo! It’s a Vocal White Linea - Aal Izz Well (Now sold and upgraded to the TJet)-dsc00182.jpg

Life with Linea at Concorde Service Station, Chennai
Most of you have updated most of this part in your forums but let me also invite you to be part of my happiness, sorrow, frustration, anger and my weekend experiences (mostly at the service centre).

Went to the Concorde Service Centre in Ambattur, Chennai which is the most sophisticated and modern service centre TATA has in India (as claimed by the service advisor and Centre Manager). Informed them about the scratch and they immediately agreed to paint the same. I left the service centre contented. Here comes the sad part. After one hour, the service advisor called me to inform that they will not paint the bumper Vocal white instead they will do a touch up. I called up sales office desperately and after 1 hour, the sales office sends an urgent fax on my behalf to the service centre.

I was informed to collect the car at 6 pm next day. The next day arrived and i was at the service centre at 5 pm. The car was ready, cleaned (but made them clean again as lot of places including the seat covers were soiled). The painting job was 200 percent perfect but they had made 4 scratches free of cost, that too, one on each side of the car!

This was informed to the service advisor and he was apologetic. Had to leave my car for one more day at the service centre. During the first week of ownership, my car was with the service centre for almost 3 days.

The next week, i again rushed to the service centre to fix couple of rattling noises heard from the doors (thanks to installation of Sun film!).

In the meanwhile, I treated her with 3M paint protection and full body Dinitrol anti rust which costed me Rs.1500 and Rs.3214 respectively. Added body color reverse parking sensors from Xenos for Rs.3400.

Bravo! It’s a Vocal White Linea - Aal Izz Well (Now sold and upgraded to the TJet)-dsc00196.jpg

Long Drive and my Weekends
The next weekend, i drove down to Yelagiri which is approx 240 KMs from Chennai. The ride quality was top class. I got a FE of 16.8 and 18.7 (as displayed in the MID) up and down Chennai respectively. I was driving her at 80 constantly keeping in mind the run-in period. The car was smooth and was sailing. Want to scream at the top of my voice to all critics that this car is not underpowered.

After reaching home, i found 2 screws on the floor mats. Searched the whole car and couldn’t find from where these screws came from.

Again, rushed to the service centre (the service centre is just a km from my home) and found that these came from the driver side door handles.

I was forced to visit the service centre 5 times in two months to rectify the below issues
1. Driver seat Back rest is shaking which the Vendor (Tata Johnson) and Service Centre has agreed to replace after persuading for almost 3 weeks and some tough talking with Mangesh Kodalkar. Order Placed for New Seat on 11/July. Yet to receive the same.[/FONT][/COLOR]
2. Wiper fluid tank had a crack. Order placed for replacement on 25/June.
3. Rattling noise from the rear parcel tray which was eluding for the past one month was finally found. The culprit is the rear seat belt casing. Order placed for a new casing on 25/June.
4. OEM seat covers have become Saggy. Requested for a replacement or money back which is being discussed within Concorde Motors and Mangesh. They are trying to convince me that they will refit the same but I am not convinced. Yet to receive a favorable reply.
5. Seat Belt Buzzer is not working - SA claims that buzzer is not available in Emotion but the Website and sales brochure claims otherwise
6. Wiper changed as the rubber beading was faulty.
7. Headlamp beams adjusted as the beams were too low.
8. Noise from steering column which was rectified.
9. AC cooling not effective but all lineas have the same issue as stated by SA.
10. Driver seat goes down automatically every night! No solution yet in place at Chennai
11. Letters in LINEA and Emotion logo falling off. Checked with Mangesh and was informed that it because of the glue issue. Order placed for the same on 11/June. Yet to receive.
12. The tyre noise is too high which SA claimed as normal in all Linea
13. Weather strip under the bonnet, Bonnet Lever and Fuel Lid opener is too flimsy(loose?) which is the case with all Linea's as stated by SA

Overall, it’s a fantastic sales experience and a little worrisome service experience. All that i know is the service centre at Chennai has learnt a lot about the Car from me and Dr. Ashwin, including how to treat a customer!

My weekend special with the service centre still continues.

What a Car!
Btw, I get around 11 KMPL in the city with 100% AC on. The average speed shown in the MID is around 22 Kms. My daily commute is around 32 kms and weekend it is around 80. I have completed 2600 Kms as of date.

The ride is butter smooth. She handles potholes with a sturdy thud. Music system and ACC is decent.

Apart from the inherent niggles; she is a delight to drive.

Bravo! It’s a Vocal White Linea - Aal Izz Well (Now sold and upgraded to the TJet)-dsc00226.jpg

Additions and wish list
I am planning to soon dress her with the following
Door scuffs (order from eBay)
Rear spoiler (don’t know from where I could get it)
Change my front chrome grill to black one found in active mode
Water pressure jet from Bosch
K&N filer after 10k KMs
bnzjon is offline  
Old 1st August 2009, 15:05   #2
BHPian
 
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Chennai
Posts: 51
Thanked: 0 Times

Hi Congrats on owning the beauty , Take good care of her.Do you reside at ambattur and its surrounding areas?
hari78 is offline  
Old 1st August 2009, 15:08   #3
BHPian
 
mnhegde's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: B E N G A L U R U
Posts: 473
Thanked: 0 Times

Congrats friend. Nice purchase. Nice review. Looks stunning in white. What brand is the OE tyres?? FE is good. Keep updating the thread about ownership experience .

Have fun and Drive safe.

Last edited by mnhegde : 1st August 2009 at 15:13.
mnhegde is offline  
Old 1st August 2009, 15:11   #4
BHPian
 
bnzjon's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Dubai
Posts: 836
Thanked: 127 Times

Hari, i stay at Mogappair, just behind the Concorde Service station. Thats the reason that i rush to the service centre as soon as i come across a small (non existent !) niggle in my car.
bnzjon is offline  
Old 1st August 2009, 15:16   #5
BHPian
 
bnzjon's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Dubai
Posts: 836
Thanked: 127 Times

Quote:
Originally Posted by mnhegde View Post
Congrats friend. Nice purchase. Nice review. Looks stunning in white. What brand is the OE tyres?? FE is good. Keep updating the thread about ownership experience .

Have fun and Drive safe.
Thanks mnhegde, the tyres are Goodyear and factory fitted ones. The tyre noise is on the higher side. I am planing to change the same,maybe,after sometime, as i will lose quite lot of money in exchange.

Read somewhere in the forum that filling Nitrogen may reduce noise in tyres. Is that true ?
bnzjon is offline  
Old 1st August 2009, 15:22   #6
Senior - BHPian
 
coolboy007's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: New Delhi
Posts: 1,852
Thanked: 2,137 Times

Congrats, Welcome to LINEA club and as Vahanpujari says you are a "Linean" now Excellent snaps with scenic beauty, V white is such an elegant color diff from the crowds of silver (incl me).

Quote:
Originally Posted by bnzjon View Post
1. Driver seat Back rest is shaking which the Vendor (Tata Johnson) and Service Centre has agreed to replace after persuading for almost 3 weeks
Now thats a unique issue which noone has faced so far, pressurize fiat to get all parts early.

Quote:
2. Wiper fluid tank had a crack. Order placed for replacement on 25/June.
VP has face this issue, dont know if its resolved now. His tank was also damaged, checked yest and mine is working fine.

Quote:
3. Rattling noise from the rear parcel tray which was eluding for the past one month was finally found.
Rattles are there in some Lineas, make a list of all parts requested and send a mail to rajeev kapoor and Mangesh to get things done quickly

Quote:
4. OEM seat covers have become Saggy. Requested for a replacement or money back which is being discussed within Concorde Motors and Mangesh.
You mean seat covers which have come with car or dealer provided you? Saggy? My friends covers are just fine, care to explain a bit more?

Quote:
5. Seat Belt Buzzer is not working - SA claims that buzzer is not available in Emotion but the Website and sales brochure claims otherwise
Kadwa Sach- Emotion has no buzzer though claimed on websites.

Quote:
6. Wiper changed as the rubber beading was faulty.
7. Headlamp beams adjusted as the beams were too low.
8. Noise from steering column which was rectified.
Again unique issues dude, steering column, noise when steering turned full turn?

Quote:
9. AC cooling not effective but all lineas have the same issue as stated by SA.
No buddy no, as mentioned by Sunil here, maybe your AC drain pipe is chocked, get it checked, the ACC in Delhi heat at 42-44 degrees cools the cabin in 4-6 mins and after that it chills the front passengers.

Quote:
10. Driver seat goes down automatically every night! No solution yet in place at Chennai
It doesnt go down at night, when we exit or enter the car our thigh touches the lever and seat goes down, FIAT are designing a new lever.

Quote:
12. The tyre noise is too high which SA claimed as normal in all Linea
Thank the goodyear tyres, my friend has a AVEO when he changed to Michelins the tyre noise was gone. Goodyears have high noise levels.

Quote:
Btw, I get around 11 KMPL in the city with 100% AC on. The average speed shown in the MID is around 22 Kms. My daily commute is around 32 kms and weekend it is around 80. I have completed 2600 Kms as of date.
I get around 12+ in city traffic in Delhi with ACC at 24-25. When i took my car to himachal at 1000 kms got 14.2 on highways with 155 as top speed and 6000 RPM twice in 3rd gear what a roar from the engine.

Enjoy the car, you made a right decision.
coolboy007 is offline  
Old 1st August 2009, 16:05   #7
BHPian
 
bnzjon's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Dubai
Posts: 836
Thanked: 127 Times

Coolboy, thanks.

SeatCover - there are 2 types of seat covers available with FIAT dealers (i am not referring to the company fitted fabric seat covers). One of which is purely art leather for Rs. 7000 and the other one is part leather (body touching Part) and part art leather for Rs. 12000.

I purchased the second one from the dealer. The Leather portion has become saggy(loose) whereas the art leather portion is body hugging. Will post pics for more clarity.

Steering column - there was a humming sound when i turned the steering full. This is rectified now.
bnzjon is offline  
Old 1st August 2009, 16:12   #8
BHPian
 
bnzjon's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Dubai
Posts: 836
Thanked: 127 Times

Quote:
Originally Posted by bnzjon View Post
Hi Folks, after a long wait of almost a year, i ended up owning my Italian beauty on the 10/July.
Friends, pls read the date as 10/June instead of 10/July.

Apologies and Thanks !
bnzjon is offline  
Old 1st August 2009, 17:16   #9
BHPian
 
mnhegde's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: B E N G A L U R U
Posts: 473
Thanked: 0 Times

Its better to change the tyres as soon as possible . As the tyres have not run much, you will get a good price for good year's . Try michelins XM1's .

I changed my good years to michelins in my wagonR and started to fill nitrogen after that. As I did both the things (tyre change and First nitro fill) at the same time, I couldnt make out the difference (whether noise reduction is because of nitro filling or tyre change) . I didnt experience tyre noise after the change.

Last edited by mnhegde : 1st August 2009 at 17:25.
mnhegde is offline  
Old 1st August 2009, 17:23   #10
BHPian
 
bnzjon's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Dubai
Posts: 836
Thanked: 127 Times

Quote:
Originally Posted by mnhegde View Post
Its better to change the tyres as soon as possible . As the tyres have not run much, you will get a good price for your good year's . Try michelins XM1's .

I changed my good years to michelins in my wagonR and started to fill nitrogen after that. As I did both the things (tyre change and nitrogen fill) at the same time, I couldnt make out much difference between nitro and normal filling. But yes, tyre noise wasnt present after the change (Am not sure if it is because of nitro or the new tyres).
Friend, any idea how much i would require to shell out for the new tyres ? i meant, the price difference.
bnzjon is offline  
Old 1st August 2009, 18:23   #11
Senior - BHPian
 
theragingbull's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: Austin, TX
Posts: 2,601
Thanked: 646 Times

wow....Another (exclusive) Vocal White Linea! Congrats!
IMO don't change the chrome grill to the black one as it will not look good at all. The Maserati appearance will go.
theragingbull is offline  
Old 1st August 2009, 18:33   #12
BHPian
 
bnzjon's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Dubai
Posts: 836
Thanked: 127 Times

Quote:
Originally Posted by theragingbull View Post
wow....Another (exclusive) Vocal White Linea! Congrats!
IMO don't change the chrome grill to the black one as it will not look good at all. The Maserati appearance will go.
Dear Friend, please see the pictures of Ghost Rider's Vocal White Linea in the 'Test drive and Initial Experience' forum titled : "Vocal White LINEA;The Transformation Chronicles"

IMO,the Black ones on the Vocal White looks damn cute. I need to personally see how it looks. In the pictures, it looks gorgoeus.

Maybe, i will alternately use the black and chrome ones whenever i feel bored of the looks

anyways, i will have to see her in flesh to decide.
bnzjon is offline  
Old 1st August 2009, 19:24   #13
BHPian
 
NutsNBolts's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Jammu
Posts: 817
Thanked: 41 Times

Congrats machan. The car looks lovely. Your experiences in two months point to a lot of lacunae left by Fiat in providing finishing touches to the car. Hope they will be rectified based on feedback.
NutsNBolts is offline  
Old 1st August 2009, 19:34   #14
Senior - BHPian
 
amit V8's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: kolkata
Posts: 1,070
Thanked: 217 Times

congrats bnzjon, its a great car and the color is awesome. white mudflaps will look great and please post some interior pictures.
amit V8 is offline  
Old 1st August 2009, 20:13   #15
BHPian
 
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: Hyderabad
Posts: 739
Thanked: 0 Times

congrats dude. Welcome. Seems like the vocal white club is growing strong here!

I am very curious to know about how they "fixed" the steering-hum.
I asked during 1st service and the SA said that it was normal phenomenon for hydraulic power steerings.

can you recheck again? This humming sound will come even when car is idling and you turn steering full-turn.

Quote:
Originally Posted by bnzjon View Post
Steering column - there was a humming sound when i turned the steering full. This is rectified now.

Last edited by neotraveller : 1st August 2009 at 20:20.
neotraveller is offline  
Closed Thread

Most Viewed
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search

Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Team-BHP.com
Proudly powered by E2E Networks