Service center staff have generally been very courteous but sadly courtesy with absent competence doesn’t help mechanical problems.
BHPian dijkstra recently shared this with other enthusiasts.
I own a Tata car. And thus far, have been unable to find one ASS in my city – Kolkata, that has been satisfactory. In my two years of ownership, at the 3 separate service centers I have serviced my car, the general trend has been that they are:
- Terrible at problem diagnosis
- Always manage to add a new problem instead of solving the original problem (I have some examples)
- Okay at regular fluid changes
- Suck at mechanical maintenance
- For bodyshop repairs, paint color matches well but paint quality is poor
In terms of utility then, they are really not much better than roadside noname garages. Except maybe the courtesy part. Service center staff have generally been very courteous but sadly courtesy with absent competence doesn’t help mechanical problems.
It may seem that I’m generalizing and I really hope that there are exceptions, but this has been my experience.
My question to fellow owners of Tata cars on teambhp is:
- What would be your strategy maintaining your car while it’s still within warranty given this poor state of Tata ASS.
- Do you know of any authorised service center in Kolkata or within 20KMs of Kolkata, that are really good with knowledgeable people who are willing to help?
- If not ASS, any well-known FNG you would recommend? Potential troubles for warrany claims in future?
Now about the examples I promised:
- SC in rajarhat. Took car for a scratch repair. They added another deep and prominent scratch on the same panel, after the repair job!
- SC in park circus. Complained about mileage. Got the usual reply to drive under 2k rpm, not to brake often. They adjusted something that improved mileage (from 8-10kmpl to 13kmpl) but absolutely broke the initial acceleration of the already puny engine of Altroz NA. I can confirm that the initial grunt is missing in my car compared to an untouched Altroz.
- SC at Jugberia. 24 months major service. SA advices brake bleeding among other things. Brake had no problem before service. After service, the crisp and confident brake of factory Altroz is now a spongy, unsure brake with little to no response in the initial 30-40% of pedal travel. I spend one entire additional day at SC to let them fix it. Asked them multiple times to completely bleed the lines but no help. Finally service manager accepts the problem and asks me to leave the car with them, they will measure various metrics in the braking system and determine what’s wrong, and it might take upto 5 days. I refuse. The SA even advices replacing the master cylinder and break booster of a 2 year old, 6900km driven car. To add, they adjusted the rear beake which has now made the hand brake lever very hard and hasn’t helped the original cause.
I am, at this point, tired of these experiences, and really think just not servicing my car (other than fluid changes) would have kept it in a better shape. And maybe just go to good FNGs as and when needed. Only hesitation is the warranty. I have 3 more years of warranty left.
Please advise, and share your experiences too. Thank you.
Here’s what GTO had to say on the matter:
You have to get your scheduled services & maintenance at the Tata dealer only. Too risky to lose warranty coverage as parts costs of modern cars can get expensive.
Scheduled maintenance at the ASS only.
Scratch & dent repair (like you got done) can certainly be done at an FNG.
Tata is experiencing enormous growth in new car sales, purely driven by their fantastic new cars. However, it is a fact that their service network hasn’t been able to keep up with the sheer volumes and is simply overburdened.
End of the day, service quality all comes down to your service advisor. Go on a less busy day the next time and try to build a rapport with your SA.
Here’s what BHPian greenhorn had to say on the matter:
The only things you have to do are the mandatory scheduled maintenance as per the user manual. If the service center says something else, ask them to get it from tata in writing. It usually consists of fluid and filter changes. Everything else can be done outside. That’s what I used to do.
Just don’t mention that you’re giving the car outside, and act like your car is unusually reliable. Also try using tata original parts ( you can get them off boodmo) so that you car looks all original. If you use aftermarket parts then the service centers will be able to spot it
Here’s what BHPian PaddleShifter had to say on the matter:
Question: Did you opt for extended warranty? What is the total warranty period left? Edit: I saw that you have three more years of warranty remaining.
If you are facing issues, my recommendation to you is as follows:
1. Stick to ASC for all scheduled services/ periodic maintenance. Do not opt for any extras such as throttle body cleaning (EGR cleaning for diesels), brake cleaning, lubrication etc. Let them perform the bare minimum given in the service schedule.
2. For any other work on the car, find a good independent garage. Make sure no third party/ aftermarket part is used though, that can be identified in the service center and become a cause of warranty denials.
3. Once you are done with the warranty period, you are free to get the car serviced anywhere.
Here’s what BHPian Big_Smoke had to say on the matter:
Try Dulichand Motors Workshop.
My Harrier is serviced there since bought. Initially they were very callous and slow. My car had one small part missing on the day of delivery and the service centre was not responding actively for the part replacement. I complained to Tata Customer Care. Consequently, the Manager of the Workshop reached out to me, developed a good rapport and have been more attentive in servicing my car ever since.
However, I will agree that they are not very competent in solving major issues. And I never get the body work done from them. Body work has always been at AV Designo. It is stupendously fast and very good quality work there. Apart from engine and transmission issues, AV Designo can take care of other mechanical problems.
Also, never leave your car at the Tata ASS. Read about the issue and try to solve the problem with the SA & mechanics. But avoid leaving the car with them for multiple days.
Keyword: Fed up of Tata ASC's incompetence: Can an FNG be used within warranty?