[Rajeevraj]

I recently got the 3rd service of my Vento TSI done through WheelsWisdom. Detailing my experience here.

What they provide.

• Managed Car Service/Repairs at authorized service centers or third party centers depending on the requirement
• Used Car Evaluations.
• Membership Packages.
• Some more details about the company and offerings in this thread (Indian Apps that help you with the purchase / servicing of cars).

Location and Timing

• Web Based Service only. No App. Currently available in Bangalore.
• No booking taken for Weekends. Services only on Weekdays.
• Website: https://www.wheelswisdom.com/
• Office Address: S-17, Concourse, International Tech Park Bangalore, Whitefield Road, Bangalore 560066, India. 080-3350-9344

Service Used and Cost

• Service Assist-Managed Car Service at authorized dealer (In this case Volkswagen Whitefield).
• Rs 1500 for most regular cars (more on this later).

Why I went with WheelsWisdom
My third service was due in the middle of October. My plan was to do the service in the first week of October. VW owners in Bangalore will know the difficulty in getting a service appointment. There is a typical lead time of 1-2 weeks in both VW Whitefield and Palace Cross. The Dusserha holiday season made it even more difficult. The dates and options that I got did not match with my schedule also. October middle came without me having an appointment. Things did not look good for the rest of the month also and I did not want to delay the service more than a few days beyond the cut off date as I am in extended warranty and did not want to give any chance for VW to reject any future claim citing a delayed service. I did not have any major complaints and the 3rd Service was expected to be a standard one. So reluctantly kind of decided to go with the first available slot and use a dealer pick up and drop facility. Few more challenges came to mind.

• Fortunately I have had to visit the service center only for service and one ad-hoc visit for brake pad replacement. So three visits over 3 years across 2 centers meant that I did not have an established relationship with a center or an SA.
  
• For all my visits I had to push to get the car delivered the same day. Due to the load, they always try to start with 'cannot be delivered today'.
  
• Going to VW Palace Cross basically means taking a day off just considering the commute. VW Whitefield is closer, but still means taking a few hours off from work.
  
• This thread also got me thinking. I typically just drop the car and pick up. And now I was taking another step back.

I had read about WheelsWisdom (In fact had created the thread referenced above after seeing an Ad) and saw good reviews. So then thought-Let me try it out. After all, they promised to do what I can do and also do more.

What they promise to take care of (from Website)

Booking cost includes:

1. Our Technical Expertise
2. Cost control
3. Quality control
4. Appointment booking at the service center
5. One month warranty
6. Pickup (by Tech Adviser)
7. Drop (by Tech Adviser)
8. Professional interaction
9. Continuous updates (by Tech Adviser)
10. SMS and Email alerts
11. Payment management

Steps followed

1. Logged in to the website and selected the relevant option as described above. Entered details about the car and the type of service needed.
   
2. There is an option to enter the list of issues faced/ any special requirements etc...
   
3. By default they say they will service at the center closest to location or the best one based on their internal ratings. My condition was that I do not want it serviced at Elite Motors Hosur Road.
   
4. Selected the date. The date I wanted. 24th October was available. One obvious concern was how they would get an appointment at the service center at short notice (roughly a week). I was half expecting a call indicating that they could not get an appointment. But what I understood is that they do have some sort of a priority engagement in place.
   
5. Once submitted and after making the payment of Rs 1500, got a confirmation sms and email about the booking.
   
6. The next day got a call to confirm the appointment and the details of service. Was also given the name of the service adviser assigned to my car. Was told he would call me the day before the service to confirm.
   
7. Got a call as promised the day before. The SA told me he would be there by 8am.
   
8. Arrived promptly at 8am on the day of service. These folks are basically what WheelsWisdom call technical experts and they are kind of similar to the SA’s you see at the center-but supposed to be more knowledgeable and better trained.
   
9. The person who turned up had experience with VW and seemed knowledgeable enough. Took a bunch of photos, proceeded to confirm the service requirements and went off with the car. Service had been booked at Apple Auto Whitefield.
   
10. Got a message and a call from the SA once the car was checked in for service. Also a confirmation that there are no other items recommended.
    
11. By 4.30 got a call that the service was done and the car was being washed. Bill amount was Rs 8300 and this was informed. By 5.30 the SA arrived back with the car. Discussed the bill in detail, requested me to take a test drive.
    
12. Car felt pretty good after the service. More smooth than what I have observed after previous visits.
    
13. Payment was done via NEFT post this test drive.

Overall, went through pretty smooth. Now, looking at promised vs observed

• Technical Expertise: The SA seemed to know this work well enough. My service itself did not entail any deep analysis or issues. So the depth of technical expertise was not validated here. For my situation I was satisfied. Would be interesting to see how they manage a major repair.
  
  
• Cost Control: The bill of INR 8300 was the lowest among the three services. It was not an exact apple to apple comparison as in the first service I had done Wheel Balancing and Alignment at the time of service and the 2nd service entailed a replacement of a broken lock carrier. In addition personally I know enough to understand the unnecessary stuff that is being pushed. So if you consider all this and look at it, there is still definitely a cost benefit and probably kind of evens out once you consider the 1500 fee(In this particular case). But considering the other benefits, I would say overall this is positive.
  
  
• Quality Control: As per their charter, the SA is with the car all through the service. I have no way of validating this, but overall the car feels pretty good and also considering the car was returned by 5.30, points to the fact that the service is followed up well.
  
  
• Appointment Booking: A big plus, they did take care of the booking and got it on a date that I wanted.
  
  
• Pick Up and Drop: Done as per promised schedule. I have a soft corner for punctuality and was impressed with that here.
  
  
• Professional Interaction and Continuous updates: No concerns here. Professional gentleman and got timely updates.
  
  
• Payment Management: Was smooth. No cash payments entertained. Has to be NEFT or Credit Card. Was done post-delivery.
  
  
• One month warranty: Hope I do not need to invoke this.

Negatives

• Nothing specific based on my experience. In the feedback call post-delivery, they were a little pushy on feedback. Please give us a 5 star rating types once I told I was happy with the service. Asking for feedback is fine, not good to push for a top rating.

Recommendation

• If you are a person who always takes the car personally and stays with the car to monitor the work through the service, I dont see a real benefit with this service. Such folks more often than not would have a good relation built with the service center and/or the SA.
  
• If you have no clue of what happens in the service center and are tired of the hassles of servicing and unnecessary stuff being pushed, would recommend to try this service.
  
• If you are in an in-between state, (like me) some level of knowledge and insights, the service may or may not help depending on your pain points. Worked for me in this case and would try them again.

Some Random Thoughts

• Currently as I understood it is a small setup. Would be interesting to see how well they scale while adhering to their core values. A lot revolves around the quality and knowledge of the technical advisers they have. Don't want to get into a situation were a poor technical adviser overrules a more experienced mechanic for some repair/replacement.
  
• This brings in an additional layer. If something goes wrong I feel it can potentially result in issues as there are 3 parties involved.
  
• There is no commission from the dealer and their focus is cost reduction and quality monitoring. I don’t see a reason why Service Centers should patronize them and give them priority. It could bring them some additional business as they will be doing this on weekdays only, but is not a given. The core benefit of cost reduction to the customer hits thee service center in the area they make the most money. Fleecing by pushing unwanted stuff.

[GTO]

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the Team-BHP Directory. Thanks for sharing!

[speedmiester]

I have used their service for my brother's Honda City which had problems with rat bites.
WW did a fantastic job of getting the car fixed without burning a huge hole in the pocket. This inspite of getting the job done at authorised honda service station.

I highly recommend their service if you are hard pressed for time.

[FireFoot]

I picked up a pre-owned a black 2012 VW Jetta TDi CL MT. Thanks to Team-BHP, I was extremely thorough in my pre-purchase inspection and documentation. To cut the story short, the car was due for a service in about 3000 kms from the time I got it. I knew there was an issue with the front suspension/lower arms. Besides that, everything was super clean.

I owned a Vento TDi HL MT in 2013 and I did not have great experiences with the service. So I looked up Wheels Wisdom (WW). Booked their 'car service' package which costed me Rs. 2000/-. The service advisor, Shanmugam, called me a couple of days before the scheduled appointment to introduce himself and clear any doubts I had. He showed up promptly at the fixed time - took time to listen to all the complaints I had, he took a test drive to check if he could find any faults. I also requested him to get the suspensions, clutch, battery, fuel/water pump/ timing belt etc. (basically everything that can wear out on a 52k kms driven car). He made a note of everything and the car was driven away.

I was constantly updated with the progress being made at the service center with pictures being send to me on WhatsApp if needed. Thank God - there was nothing wrong with the car except for the worn out lower arms in front. This part wasn't available with the service center. The WW Service Advisor checked with me and put in an advance payment for the part. The car was delivered back to me. Oh, I forgot to mention - software upgrade to fix the 'dieselgate' issue was done too. I got a nice car kit from VW as gift. I was superbly elated with the service experience.

The SA kept updating me about the availability of the part. When it was available (it took about 10 days), he came to pick the car up again, got the work done and delivered it back. Extremely superb experience yet again.

They followed up with me after the delivery of the car for about a week to check on how it was doing which, I think, was a great gesture.

I, certainly, am a permanent customer with them now and will sign up for the annual membership soon. It is worth every penny and I hope they don't let the bar drop while I wish them success.

(I have absolutely no affiliations with Wheels Wisdom. This write-up is solely on the basis of my experience.)

[salunkhe.vizz]

After reading rave reviews on teambhp, I decided to use wheelswisdom for my first service on my 1 year old used 2011 Cruze AT.

Background: The car was bought from mahindra first choice, and had niggles since day one. I had already replaced timing belt & AC coil in the past. Currently, the car had judders while breaking, required a major 70k overhaul, issues with AC, issues with the horn, left side roof beading was out, logos needed to be replaced, mud flaps needed to be replaced, etc

Booking Process: I booked on a Sunday night after a long 1200km drive on the weekend. My assumption was that they will take ages to get an appointment from a Chevrolet dealer, but I was surprised to see slots available from Tuesday itself (just a day away). I booked online and paid INR2500 for the booking by credit card for a 8am pickup. (p.s. They also have a paid towing service in case your car is not drive-able which seemed decently priced).
I got a first call on Monday to list down any other issues apart from what I had mentioned in the booking. These were also added to the list that I had already typed out. I got a second call by the Technical Advisor (Sajin) a day before who reiterated the issues and promised to be there by 8am next day.

Pick up: I had a late night so I was getting ready to be out with the car by 7.55-8.00am. From past experiences I assumed the advisor might be late. I was wrong ! He was at the door by 7.30am, and I missed his calls for 15 mins as I was in the shower. Luckily he didnt seem to mind when I finally gave him the car keys at 7.45am to start inspecting the car.
I removed all personal items from the car. He took stock of all accessories and also took pictures of the car and affected areas. He listed down all issues very meticulously. I told him I would want the car back ideally by evening, and broke down the issues for him basis high and low priority. He said he will try his best.

Service : Sajin called me as soon as he reached the service station. He assured me that the car has reached properly and that he was now working on the issues one by one. After this I got a call almost every 30 mins to give me feedback on what parts are available and what cannot be replaced. He got all the critical work finished, and also some quick fixes done instead of getting parts replaced (beading stuck back, pads changed instead of discs for the vibration, he also managed to get free work worth 5k+ done in some brake bleeding camp at the dealer workshop). I kept getting sent prelim quotes and revised quotes basis things I asked him to get done / leave it for the next time (on whatsapp).

Delivery: He arrived around 8.15pm with the car shining and in great driving condition. All fixable issues were completed, while he gave me a list of other things that need to be worked on in about 6 months (timing belt, suspension mounts, discs etc) - totaling to around 30k. He asked me for feedback and then his manager also called me on his phone to check if everything was up to my liking.

Payment: I told the manager I would prefer paying by card (he said no hurry, he will send me link for card payment and I can pay by tomorrow). I ended up paying the same night and got a payment acknowledgement.

Overall benefits:
Damage of 17.5k for service + 2.5k for service assist
Savings of / on
- 5k+ direct saving due to dealer camp that was suggested by advisor
- 30k+ deferred expense saving as these parts were personally checked by tech advisor
- Time and effort saved in going to the service center that is 1 hour away one way, taking appointments and following up on work
- Replacing parts basis workshop advice without knowing if you really need to get them changed or can stretch for few more months

Overall I came back very happy at the end of this day. I think the 2.5k spent gave me more vfm than any other car service / repair related payments I have done in the past. I hope more and more people use them and keep their business sustainable and afloat, its a boon for working corporate slaves like me !

[TSourav]

I had a beautiful experience with Wheels Wisdom lately. I would really like to share my experiences here.

A brief of background and the issue that I had in hand:

I have a humble little Nano, which has run 25K kilometers in its 5 yrs of life. It was unfortunately sitting in the garage for more than 6 months. As a result, the rats did create a havoc to the electricals in my car. Never mind, this summer I got it serviced from KHT motors and got it up and running to its glory again. The service advisor at KHT, a nice gentlemen, did mention that there was a rat bite in the AC compressor wiring, and they got it fixed. However, I knew that the rats have probably done more damage, something that will uncover itself in the future. Then comes the rains, and with it comes my woes.

Frequent intermittent issues with indicators, brakes, horns, lights, starter motor kept coming. It was really difficult to keep a track of all the issues, as the issues used to crop up all of a sudden and used to go away on their own. These frequent intermittent issues are the most annoying ones because they are really difficult to reproduce in front of the mechanic. Thus, I figured out that my car needs a thorough check-up of its electricals, something that might take a long time at the service center. That means an entire day at the service station. Also, I am very particular with who drives my car. I generally do not trust the service center pick and drop guys. I look for mechanical empathy in the person before handing him over my keys.

I did come across Wheels Wisdom in team-bhp and I liked the concept. This time, I wanted to give it a try.

Reasons:

1. The intermittent issues: Most of the service centers will dismiss me by saying, "It's a Nano, Sir. Problems like these will keep coming". Keeping my car in top shape is my utmost priority and thus no issue is small enough for me. So, I needed a patient service adviser, who will value my concern, no matter how small the issue is.
2. For not taking a day off from work for servicing of my car.

I went ahead to book an appointment with Wheels Wisdom. Here are the key points of my experience that I loved:

1. Very professional and punctual: I got regular calls informing about booking status and also enquiring about condition of the vehicle and the issues that I am facing. The service advisor from Wheels Wisdom came before time and punctuality is one trait that speak volumes about professionalism.
2. The service advisor: The SA was a young, enthusiastic guy and really had very good knowledge about Nano. I loved that fact that he didn't dismiss the car as a cheap car. He was keen to know about all the issues I had ever faced and was very thorough with his initial inspection. He even tried to replicate the few elusive issues and even replicated few.
3. Regular Updates: The SA took the car to KHT Motors and was giving me updates on the progress of the servicing. He was sending photos in Whatsapp and was always in touch with me
4. Cost Protection: The SA insisted on repairing than changing parts. My indicator flasher unit in the fuse box was having trouble and he insisted on opening the terminals and fixing the issue than to replace the entire unit. This really keeps the cost down and makes for a great value for money.
5. Post Service Guarantee: Wheels Wisdom also provides a one month guarantee after the service. That is a good peace of mind.
6. Hassle Free: The SA picked up the car and also delivered the car to me. The cost seemed at par or even less than what I would have shelled if I have go the TATA service center on my own. To top it all, the SA had mechanical empathy!

In the end, I would say that Wheels Wisdom definitely needs to be appreciated for what they are providing. For me, it is like having a Nexa service experience for my humble Nano.

[Rajeevraj]

So it was time for the 4th Service and going by my past experience, decided to go with wheelswisdom again. Around the time I was planning the service, got this email from Wheels Wsidom

Effective immediately, Authorised Dealership bookings will only be available to ClubWise™ Infinity Annual Members. Given membership benefits (see all benefits), I hope you will see value in signing up for it so as to continue utilizing this option.

Why are we making this change?
Over the past two years, we have strived hard to provide market leading and consistent service quality to our customers, irrespective of whether work was carried out at Authorised Dealerships, or Multi Brand service centers. We firmly believe in providing both options to customers, while fiercely guarding and preserving our ‘No Commissions’ founding principle in a market that is not known to be ethical at all. We weren’t surprised when we saw that customers saw Integrity (Honesty, Ethics) as our most important character trait – often more important than Tech Expertise and Quality. We know this because even when we make an inadvertent mistake, our customers support us recognising our honest intent, and willingness to correct mistakes and learn from them.

I’m proud to share that even after two years of inception, Wheels Wisdom is still the only company that operates like it does (it is incredibly hard to execute what we do on the ground - making it hard to copy), and is still the only company that provides an Authorised Dealership booking option. While it is possible to make healthy and ethical profit margins from Multi Brand service centers because we negotiate lower B2B prices with them while still providing value for money for our customers, it is extremely challenging to do so working with Authorised Dealerships, given that they’re already expensive and have high infrastructure operating costs. While we successfully drive down customer bills at authorised dealerships, our erstwhile margins did not justify our costs, unless backed by an Annual Membership.

Now this was a bummer. I still had ~2 months of extended warranty left and hence wanted the 4th service also to be at the Authorized VW Dealership to avoid any risk to the extended warranty even though it was only couple of months remaining.

The Annual Membership mentioned cost was INR 5000 + GST= ~INR 5900. The benefits called out were as below. I parked the service plan and spent some time thinking about this.

• Flat membership fee for unlimited Wheels Wisdom doorstep visits for 1 Year (No further Wheels Wisdom visit charges towards car servicing and repairs). This was good. Since I service ~10 months, it meant 2 service visits were covered.
  
• Peace of mind and price protection for an entire year. Not really clear on what kind of price protection.
  
• Exclusive access to Wheels Wisdom managed Authorised Dealership service option. - The main reason I would need to take the membership if I wanted to use Wheelswisdom for service at the authorized dealership
  
• 12 Point Bosch Car Service Package at a special member price of Rs.5000 (Regular Oil) and Rs.6000 (Synthetic Oil). - Not relevant at this time. Maybe beneficial if the next service is done outside the dealership
  
  
• Add a second car at the same address (optional) at a 50 per cent -
  discount and get unlimited Wheels Wisdom visits towards both cars. - Not relevant at this time.
  
• Complimentary insurance liaison (no additional Wheels Wisdom charges). - Can turn out to be useful. Always difficult to coordinate the insurance and dealership
  
• 10 per cent discount on Used Car Inspections and Car Purchase Advisory. - Not relevant at this time
  
• Complimentary spare part delay follow ups. - Important. Considering VW's poor history of unplanned maintenance and replacements.
  

Finally after much thought decided to go for it. Primary drivers were:

• Good experience the first time with them.
  
• The fact that 2 service visits could be covered in the yearly membership.
  
• Shady experiences with VW that keep popping up on a regular basis. Especially once out of warranty. Felt it would be good to have someone to closely follow up if I got into unplanned maintenance post the warranty expiration. I am not the kind of person who can/will sit in the service center the whole time and even if I did, I don't think I will be able to catch all shady practices.

All that done, membership in hand, booked the appointment for Thursday Oct 12th. Summary below

• Was able to book on the date I wanted. Typically difficult to get a slot for appointment as and when we want.
  
• Got a confirmation call previous day and the items I had put as part of the booking were reviewed.
  
• The SA-Mr Martin, turned up on the day of the appointment at the promised time. Went through the list again. Apart from the regular 4th service, I wanted the battery changed and wiper blades replaced. Battery he said he would check both at the dealership and also outside and let me know.
  
• Also had called out no stuff like A/C duct cleaning, 3M stuff, Wheel Alignment/Balancing to be done. All these were noted.
  
• Car was taken and once at the service center Martin called me and mentioned that during the drive he felt the engine noise was on the higher side, the DSG was having slight jerks when shifting from 3-2 and there seemed to be a small rattle from the driver door. Good to see these things were noticed and reported.
  
• I had casually mentioned I needed to change tyres. VW as part of the Volkfest were running some offer on the Stock Apollo and Good Year tyres. Martin captured details and sent this to me in case I wanted to check it out. A quick check revealed that the prices were high and in any case I was looking at Michelin for the replacement.
  
• Although initially the expectation was that the car would be delivered the same day, after reaching there, it was said that the service center would not be able to give it the same day due to the holiday rush. This was a bit of a downer. Although typically VW Service centers here in Bangalore by default never commit the same day, last time wheelswisdom was able to turn it around the same day. Not a big deal as the reason made sense.
  
• The car was ready the next day by 3PM and I kept getting the updates. Was sent the battery quote from the service center and from outside. As expected the service center was a rip off. So post the service, Mr Martin did the battery replacement from outside before bringing the car over. Checked the rates in various online portals and the pricing was in line. Rs 4400 with exchange.
  
• Apart from the regular service stuff, a DSG software update was also done that seems to have taken care of the 3-2 jerks.
  
• One item that ended up being pending was the wiper blades. Apparently VW did not have it stock (really!! I thought), Martin attempted to source it from the Multibrand Bosch center but did not work out. It is expected to reach early next week and they have said they will come home and make the change.
  
• Car was delivered by 7PM on 13th. Did a quick test drive yesterday and a longer drive today and everything seems good. Cost came up to ~12,000+ 4400 for the battery.
  

Overall a very good experience. Good thing was that the positives I noticed a year before still holds good. It is easy to slip and was good to note that the service levels remained very good. The fact that they did the service at the authorized center and then helped do the battery stuff outside and also have promised the wiper blade replacement at my home itself was an additional positive.

On the downside, the mandatory membership for the authorized service center option is a downer(Not getting into the justification and the validity of that-just from a customer perspective). It may turn out to be the best thing I have done in case I run into out of warranty problems in the next year. So will defer a final judgement on that.

[jayantvs]

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj

Now this was a bummer......The Annual Membership mentioned cost was INR 5000 + GST= ~INR 5900. The benefits called out were as below. I parked the service plan and spent some time thinking about this.

I was in a similar dilemma last month after seeing an email from wheelswisdom about the access to authorized dealership only to Annual members. I had a long discussion with Vinodh, a supervisor at wheels wisdom and his justification was that they were not making much profits at authorized dealerships hence there was a change of policy.

Though my car is out of warranty and I prefer to service at third party service center but there were a few jobs that I would like to be carried out at the authorized dealership only I took the membership paying Rs 5900 which I can utilize twice within the membership period plus I could always use their service without any additional charges.

I have also renewed my car insurance with them which turned out to be a bit costlier than my earlier premium (Royal Sundaram) as they deal only with Bajaj Allianz. Have to check how they help during Insurance claim if the need arises.

P.S. They have a diwali offer now where the Annual membership fee is Rs 4500+GST if anyone is planning.

[Mad Max]

It looks like they've removed Chevrolet from their car list. :( Would be the most needed at this point in time.

[ksameer1234]

Sorry but I am not really convinced if this service is worth the cost it demands. In comparison, if I just went ahead and gave 1000 to the mechanic at service center working on the car, I am sure his sincerity for work would shoot sky-high, something I doubt the technical advisor of Wheel Wisdom would be able to enforce.

This is precisely what I used to do when I would service my KTM at hometown. At the end of service, I would tip the mechanic 100 rupees and next service, my RC got royal treatment!! 100% of the mechanic staff (2 out of 2 mechanics at KTM service center ) would be working on my bike and that too with utmost care! And all it took was tipping them 200-300 rupees which didn't even matter since lubing and cleaning was discounted in the bill!

[Rajeevraj]

During my last highway trip, had noticed vibrations creeping in to the steering when braking from highway speeds. Had faced this issue at around 25k and at that time had the rotors and pads replaced at VW Whitefield (They had refused to attempt disc skimming). With odo currently close to 41k, Was a little surprised to see this pop up again within 16k km.

Also had noticed that one of the brake lights was not working fine. Since I had the annual membership, decided to go with Wheels-Wisdom to get these done. Deliberated on whether to ask to go to VW Service or try a 3rd party Bosch Service Center. Considering the past experience where VW Whitefield did not agree to skimming, and also considering that I was out of extended warranty, decided to go with a Third Party Service center. On contacting them, they indicated that they would take it to SR Motors, which was a Bosch Authorized Service Center in Hoodi-Whitefield. Although there was no detailed feedback on the forum, there were a few posts which indicated good experience. So decided to go ahead.

Overall summary

• As with previous experiences, the SA (Martin) turned up on the dot at 8am. He was the same person who had come last couple of times and hence knew the history of the car and my expectations well enough which was good.
  
• The disc check and brake light were the main things, In addition wanted to check if there is an option to get better headlamps. Since they do not do any kind of after market installs, this was not possible to do. Asked to check for better bulbs, but since that would not make any significant difference, dropped the idea.
  
• Got the regular updates once the car reached the service center including pictures of the discs , before and post skimming.
  
• An overall check of the fluids and electricals was also done.
  
• Good experience and nothing to complain about. Was not able to test at actual highway speeds, but to whatever extent I could, the skimming seems to have taken care of the issue.

On a side note, with the membership taken, there is a temptation to call them for any issue/ maintenance, but need to take it on a case by case basis. For example, few weeks back replaced the tyres with Michelin P3ST. Initially I had reached out to check on the price they can offer and where they would take it, although price was they did get back with a good price, I did not go ahead because for any tyre stuff, I preferred going to Madhus. (Which is what I did for the tyres after speaking to Nikhil).

Pics of Discs before and after the skimming.

[NowNew7]

I decided to try out Wheels Wisdom Service Assist for my lovingly, but well used, out of warranty, i10 AT.

Reason?

I had always given my vehicle to the nearby Hyundai ASS, as per the prescribed schedule, and my experience consistently was less than 100% satisfaction. Especially with the bill regularly trying to reach almost 20K, without any major issues and no apparent improvement. In fact couple of issues (erratic AC Cooling and vehicle sometimes not moving ahead on engaging "D") have been there for multiple years now, with no resolution in sight.

My Experience

1. Booking: This was a breeze with the website.
2. Appointment: I was able to get an appointment easily for a slot which worked one day away. WW calls out that they don't book appointments on weekends, and this makes sense and works, as even personal booking and service feedback during weekends isn't a great experience. Also I would prefer to have the vehicle with me on weekends as unplanned trips are more probable and App Based Taxis less reliable then.
3. Communication & Follow Up: Got an instant appointment confirmation on mail, followed by a telephone call from Martin confirming the list of issues and advising that the SA Mahendra would be there on time for pick up. Post pickup Mahendra shared vehicle snaps on WhatsApp and then regular updates via WA or phone on service progress till delivery. In between I got a call from Martin on an issue which they thought should be clarified as well, and finally a follow up call post delivery. I have been advised there would be a feedback mailer on the SA shortly and a 15 day feedback on vehicle running status
4. Pickup & Delivery: The SA, Mahendra, was there before the booking time itself and was attentive and understanding of the issues that I highlighted. I had the option of changing pickup/delivery options between my home and office and this would have been pretty convenient, though i did not use it this time
5. Service: The appointment clearly stated that the service would be at a multi-brand service provider, which was fine by me as I anyhow was wanting to evaluate the exact same service center. The issues highlighted were addressed and no needless extras got added. For one of the issues the vehicle was taken to an ASS, without any extra cost or hassle.
6. Billing: The cost is about HALF of what I have seen at the ASS. Despite the fact that 2 different service centres had to be visited for follow up. There were no useless "recommendations" loaded and the billing remained what I booked for initially except for one replacement switch paid for on actuals. In fact the service assist saved me 250 Rs directly by getting one of the switches changed at ASS instead of the multi-brand which had a higher charge, as well as another 1000+ avoided by repairing and lubricating a window switch which would typically have got replaced at the ASS. A whopping 30K expense which the ASS recommended for Gear Box Oil Change was also deferred for which I have been advised that it can happen after another 30K Kms of running. (which would be a couple of years as per my current running pattern)

Overall Verdict I am pretty happy with the halved bill, super customer orientation and service, as well good value for money and practical approach. Definitely likely to use them in future as well as make referrals to my friends.

Originally Posted by ksameer1234

Sorry but I am not really convinced if this service is worth the cost it demands. In comparison, if I just went ahead and gave 1000 to the mechanic at service center working on the car, I am sure his sincerity for work would shoot sky-high, something I doubt the technical advisor of Wheel Wisdom would be able to enforce.

This is precisely what I used to do when I would service my KTM at hometown...

ksameer1234 In my experience the value for money was apparent by the avoidance of the "recommended' options itself and the final bill which is half of what the ASS has been charging. You hit the nail on the head with the "hometown" part, which typically in smaller cities works pretty well where a personal connect is possible. Not so at an ASS in a metro where there is churn and you typically do not even get to meet a mechanic but just the ASS service advisor. And the person staying with the car throughout and sharing the updates assures me of the value the technical advisor from WW brought in.

[sangam_mm93]

Hi Guys,

I have written a short write up regarding my experience with wheels wisdom for my Jetta.


Click here to read. (Volkswagen Jetta : Test Drive & Review)

[Rajeevraj]

Just got reminded that I had not put the update I had intended to put. Had done the 5th year service of my car with Wheels Wisdom as I had done for the last couple of years.

Most of the positives mentioned initially continues to hold. Punctual arrival, detailed updates from the time the car is taken to the time it is returned, ensuring that no unnecessary items are pushed through, good post service quality check and so forth. Another plus was that they took it to VW Bangalore Motors Service Center on Mysore Road which is one of the better centers.

On the downside, over the last couple of years, the same technical advisor had been coming and that helped as he knew my car well. This time was a different person and felt he did not have deep enough technical knowledge-seemed a little new. For example, I had a cracked lock carrier and he initially gave an estimate of Rs 11000 for it. Only after I explained that there is no way a lock carrier can be 11,000 he realized he was not looking at the right price list.

But he more than made up for it with very detailed updates. As the screen shots below show, was a continuous update.

I had the Rs 5000 odd annual membership since last year which actually covered two services and a couple of ad hoc visits for smaller things. Membership has lapsed , but planning to renew.

On the car itself, for the first time cost a tidy sum. Broken lock carrier, replacement of front bumper, change of rotors all resulted in a significant bill. Had decided to do these things and hence was expected. Car close to completing 5 years and planning a more detailed updated in my ownership thread.

[jayantvs]

I gave my Fiat Punto for service through Wheels Wisdom this week. I have been going the Wheels wisdom way for the last 3 years due to their due-diligence throughout the service duration. So far I had very positive experience with them and hope it continues.

My Punto is in its 10th year and was due for service in July but off late I was hearing a strange sound from the suspension which made me prepone the service.

I am also an annual member of Wheels Wisdom and in my case it is a value for money as my car went for two annual service and one ad-hoc visit during the last one year of my membership. I do feel my service cost has come down compared to when I used to give it to the Fiat service center, although after wheels wisdom I have been giving my car for service outside the authorised Fiat service center.

Parts are definitely an issue for Fiat but they do help in procuring parts from Fiat, the only thing is sometimes the wait time is more.

As Rajeevraj mentioned in the previous post I did see a new Tech advisor(Vipin) this time who was different from one(Arun) with whom I interacted for the previous two times. However that was not an issue as Vipin had checked the history of the vehicle before meeting me and surprisingly he was able to point out what was done during the last visit to the garage.

The service went smoothly with the usual regular updates from the Tech advisor. There was a strange sound coming from the under the car and I suspected it was the suspension, it took some time for them to figure out the issue and it seems the problem was with the link rod on the RH side which was replaced under warranty as it was recently replaced 5 months back.

Though it was late when the car was back but the Tech advisor patiently waited till I test drove the car and explained me what all things where done. Moreover I was only charged for the service and wheel alignment which I had opted for, they did not charge me anything for the work done to find out the issue with the sound which was a pleasant experience compared to when most of the garages ask money just for checking the issue.

I am yet to take it for longer drive but I am very much satisfied with their approach so far. The founder Sandeep Menon even sent a message after the service to check everything went well.

Overall a good experience this time as well!!