Greentracks service review vis a vis Concorde Motors This might be an old thread but I felt that recent experiences on my part with these two service centers might be of interest.
I own a 2002 FIAT Palio 1.2 ELX.
About two months ago, I faced a problem with the car refusing to start when switched off somewhere en route ( e.g. at a shop or such). This happened intermittently two or three times.
Concorde Motors at Hosur Road, Bangalore, was consulted, and they were of the opinion after 'checking' that nothing was wrong with the alternator, battery or anything in between, and identified a TDC sensor as the probable culprit. This was duly replaced and billed at around 1000 plus taxes and labor.
A week later, and at the very moment I needed to start the car for a hospital trip because my wife had just fallen and torn her ankle ligament, the car refuses to start, and had to be push started once again. (push starts were the only alternative on the earlier occasions too, with no stopping along the way for fear of being stranded!)
Needless to say, the Concorde Motors folks promised to send someone right away.
In the intervening six hours, I called the amaron battery people since my battery was over 5 years old, and they sent someone over and got a new battery installed within an hour.
This worked like a charm and the engine cranked the first time.
Six hours after my call to Concorde, drivers call me asking for directions to my place to come pick up the vehicle! ***??
I told them that the matter was taken care of, and had strong words with the service advisor regarding the delay- some excuse about the drivers being caught by the police for lack of license, and hence being unavailable, was given to me.
A few days later, the AC stopped functioning. The LED on the dashboard control would glow, but the compressor was obviously not kicking in.
I took the car back to Concorde. After much 'checking', they decide it is not a wiring problem, but that the AC thermostat needs replacing, and will entail removal of the dashboard, with a subsequent bill of around 4000. ( 1000 for part and 3000 for labor @ 300 an hour for 8 hours plus taxes!)
As for availability of said part, it would require being ordered from FIAT in Pune.
I was asked to check back in a week. After 3 weeks of checking with no sign of the part, and with a long drive in the sun to Goa imminent, I took it to GreenTracks, who had earlier (on checking for availability of the thermostat) told me they had the part in stock.
Their check revealed only a loose wire ( the crimp at the connector needed to be tightened) with an outlay of around 300 rupees. The AC has worked fine since.
Interestingly, a short while after this, and the day before my drive to Goa, i faced a starting devil again. Push start, and straight to GreenTracks this time.
They checked the alternator and battery outputs and came to the conclusion that the battery was not charging, though the output at the alternator was OK.
This was traced to corroded contacts, which were duly sanded and I was on my way. Outlay roughly 600 rupees.
I had an excellent drive to Goa and back. the 1300 + KM round trip more than charged the battery. There were no issues with the AC ( on all the way there, while there, and back) and the battery (with ipod docked and all blowers at full tilt).
Which brings me to the crux of the issue--
Concorde Motors doesnt seem to know their FIATs.
The folks at GreenTracks are ex Sundaram Automobile people ( where i actually first purchased my car), and know it better than Tata does.
I used to get GreenTracks to service my car in the intervening time when Sundaram shifted operations from their Kasturba road facility, and stopped only when GreenTracks stopped calling me to remind me about scheduled services. (I think the fact that Santosh, who many people have mentioned, had left in the intervening period caused some disruption to customer contact).
Given these experiences, and the fact that GreenTracks is in fact an authorized service center for FIAT, I do not see any reason not to give them my custom. They are closer and more accessible in location compared to Concorde, and seem to know their job better. |