[anjan_c2007]

A buyer spends his or her lifetime savings (in many cases) to buy a brand new car worth either Rs 5 or Rs 10 or Rs 15 or Rs 20 or even Rs 20 plus lakhs. And God forbid, when the new car suffers a breakdown and becomes immobile, it is ferried to the ASC. We often sight crudely built or doddering, commercial tow mini trucks or trucks sent by the ASC to ferry the car under breakdown.

It shows a total apathy on the part of the ASC and also on part of the auto manufacturer's too, to officially certify the use of such shabby, dangerous, crude car carriers with the potential to cause damage. Most car makers have just one agenda these days summarised in this phrase "create marketing toolkits, push sales and then make money"

A case in point is here where the car owner has expressed his concern over the 'devil may care' attitude of the ASC by sending such a very crudely fabricated towing mechanism fitted to the mini truck, most likely a Tata Ace class mini-truck. This has triggered me to post this new thread.

The photos of the towing mechanism therein and the thread:-





https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/techn...dai-i20-2.html (Engine failure in brand new Hyundai i20)

Post # 1 on the thread by Mr Rahul Nagaraj on behalf of Mr Santanu Kumar, the Hyundai i20 owner, referring to the authorised dealer Advaith Hyundai, Residency Road, Bangalore's tow truck .

After checking all these parameters, the technician finally said,

“Sir, everything looks absolutely perfect, even I am surprised why the car is unable to start, It could be a manufacturing defect, which is in fact very surprising, especially on the i20. However, you will have to get the car towed to the Hyundai Authorized service centre", and he charged Rs 400 for this.

We called the Hyundai RSA, They did send a towing vehicle.

That was the next surprise from Hyundai showing their pseudo concern towards their own customer.

The towing vehicle which was supposed to take a brand new vehicle ideally is a flatbed vehicle on which the car would be carried, but the towing vehicle which came to tow our brand new car was the one that didn’t have a flatbed. Instead, it is the one that lifts the front axle and pulls the rest of the car on the road, just like how the traffic police forcefully pull an offensively parked car (I am sure you would have seen those).

The car maker Hyundai Motors India Ltd is hand in glove with the ASC, as it has no concern of any kind, for the cattle class tow trucks being used. It does not have any quality control checks or SOP's for the tow trucks, that need to rightfully and mandatorily have the manufacturer's speciifications to be fit, to ferry cars under breakdown.

Every car maker needs to have laid out SOP's and company specifications for such tow vehicles that are meant to ferry new cars from various locations. These need to compulsorily be flatbed trucks and not tow trucks. The car needs to be loaded and unloaded carefully with adequate care and securely parked and well fastened, to remain static all through the trip.

If a dealership does less business to self-own a flatbed truck, it needs to be permitted to outsource such a truck on a regular, contract basis. Such an outsourced truck needs to comply with the car maker's certified specifications (SOP's) to be able to get such a contract and render service, that should be liable to get cancelled if there are deficiencies and shortcomings.

Ours is not a consumer oriented society with consumerism and activism engaged in by a majority, but step by step things need to be brought into a system that delivers well. Interests of the car buyer are prime and need to be catered to by the car makers. Its a two way traffic of take and give.

[VKumar]

Very valid point raised sir.

I am unsure about other brands, but I have availed the RSA from VW and Skoda total 7 times in my life for different cars of mine as well as in my circle. Doesn't matter if the car is a humble Polo or Fabia or the higher priced products, they always send only the flatbed trucks.

In fact once I was stuck in a tier three town, I hesitantly said that it has to be a flatbed, and the the executive from that side herself said that "Sir we have the policy of sending only flatbeds".

Two pictures are attached for reference of the same car, both the times after minor accidents. In fact in one case, the car was driveable, I told the RSA executive that front glass is broken, so they themselves suggested to take the flatbed as it's not safe to drive in such a situation and it's already monsoon in Delhi-NCR too.

Couldn't click the pic after the car was loaded in this case! First look how well she was cleaned, and then look at the lower section of front bumper. It was an underbody hit that shattered the radiator

[PaddleShifter]

As I have replied in that thread too, a car owner should ask for a flatbed. I did the same in 2013 when the plastic clutch slave cylinder of my Punto broke and a tow truck arrived to take my car to the ASC. I spoke very softly about a flatbed and it arrived within minutes. I did not have to argue at all.

There are too many things that need to be standardised in our country and the entire financial burden of that will eventually fall on the consumer in our “developing country”. So let us not ask our administrators to pass rule on such matters. Let us deal with that ourselves.

[IshaanIan]

I have been in a few situations where a car has had to be towed away, and have never faced any issues getting a flatbed truck. Be it through insurance, or through the dealership, or through a lease company or even through independent garage networks. The issue is simply about cost. Flatbed trucks cost more, thus aren't usually owned by every road side assistance team and as a result it could sometimes take time for an outsourced flatbed truck to reach your location (it is a lot bigger than the normal farmer-spec tow-trucks so would naturally not be able to arrive at your location as quickly).

At the end of the day, that Hyundai i20 was towed away at a cost borne by the owner of 400 rupees. Just imagine if the owner is asked to pay 2000 rupees? A large percentage of the owners of small front wheel drive cars won't be able to digest this. A lot of these car's bumpers itself would cost as much if not less than towing them on a flatbed. I have only ever gotten a free flat bed from a leasing company and even in that instance, I chose to drive the car (severely crashed but still drove better than a nano) since I didn't have the time to wait for the flatbed in the outskirts of town in the middle of pouring rain.

For me it is very simple:

If the overhang is short and it is front wheel drive, I use the most convenient method which is the regular tow truck. If it is RWD or AWD or a particularly fussy long overhang-ed car, then wait it out for the flatbed. If the owner itself wants to be fussy then one can always just request that the vehicle be a flatbed everyone obliges, it just isn't the norm understandably in a country like ours.

[GTO]

Great thought & post and one I completely agree with. In many countries, I have seen only flatbeds being used for cars and never the old towing way. This is just so much safer - no potential damage to cosmetics (the front of the car), no potential damage to the drivetrain (if done wrong), and no potential damage from other cars on the road.

It will come at a cost, but any sane car owner will happily pay the extra $$$.

The only reason we don't see it already happening is that the towing market is infested with the old trucks, and the effort it takes to load a car from the owners place as well as unloading at the workshop. That's why you will mostly see more expensive cars on flatbeds.

[PrideRed]

Instead of making mandatory Manufacturers should differentiate dealer based on their track record, facilities offered something like below:

1. Gold Category Dealer: Sales + Service under one roof, good NPS, facilities offered(pickup drop, flatbed towing, wait lounge, cafe etc.)
2. Silver category: Sales + Service under one roof, Good NPS, moderate facilities.
3. Bronze category: Only service or sales, Good NPS, basic service.

Dealers with bad NPS should never let to operate. Quite some time ago, HP launched "Club HP" which was awarded to dealers who assured quality and offered good facility. I would not go to HP unless it was Club HP. Wile HP now seem to have diluted this, I personally felt it was a good exercise. Eventually most dealers upgraded and acquired Club status.

[sarav100]

Wait, owner was charged Rs 400 for availing tow truck under RSA ? Hyundai provides 3 year complimentary RSA service with new car purchase and this is new gen i20, so it should be eligible for free RSA towing.

Flatbed or not, charging a customer for a service that is supposed to be complimentary is daylight robbery. Perhaps, it would be better if OP could present with a bill confirming the same.

[prasanna_indaje]

I should appreciate Ford India here. My 1.5 year old Figo 1.5 AT developed a leak in fuel return pipe. On calling RSA, they sent a full size flatbed to my home, which is 60 km away from nearest ASC.
Just called friendly service GM at Cauvery Ford Bangalore and he arranged everything!



And entire exercise was free of cost.

[nandrive]

Flatbed towing is mandatory for my AWD hybrid car, I think its the same with AWD EVs/HFCVs as well. So in near future flatbed towing will become default or only choice.

[Totoro11]

This is surprising and seems to be a dealer specific issue.
1. Road-side assistance is offered by Hyundai free of cost for all vehicles under warranty Link

2. The type of Truck provided is dependent on the vehicle status, whether it is movable or not. In case vehicle is immobile due to damage, it is very difficult to load it on the flat bed and hence they may provide a crane. Also, for automatic cars, OEMs advise not to move the car for a long period with engine off to avoid transmission damage so most likely a flat-bed will be provided.

3. OEM and Dealers and Insurers are usually ok to provide a flat-bed truck if the customer insists. The people on ground may show some resistance but if you are firm, they will accommodate.

4. If the customer arranges for towing out of their own pocket, insurance company reimburses that. Dealer will ask you for the towing payment receipt to include in your claim file.

I had an accident with my i10 last month and the above comments are based on that experience. The wait for a flat-bed was long (5 hours to be precise) but then in 2hrs, they arranged for a person to come and take custody of the car so i was free to go home. Since i stayed close by, i came back when truck arrived and accompanied it to the Service center.

[speedracer05]

Originally Posted by PaddleShifter

As I have replied in that thread too, a car owner should ask for a flatbed. I did the same in 2013 when the plastic clutch slave cylinder of my Punto broke and a tow truck arrived to take my car to the ASC. I spoke very softly about a flatbed and it arrived within minutes. I did not have to argue at all.

There are too many things that need to be standardised in our country and the entire financial burden of that will eventually fall on the consumer in our “developing country”. So let us not ask our administrators to pass rule on such matters. Let us deal with that ourselves.

but but.. a tata ace with a hook is exactly what is used by traffic cops(Bangalore) to tow random cars for their weekly fill of bribes and harassment.
Gov can surely standardise handling of cars for towing by traffic cops! My last car had multiple scratches caused during towing by traffic cops.

[su1978]

Originally Posted by prasanna_indaje

I should appreciate Ford India here. My 1.5 year old Figo 1.5 AT developed a leak in fuel return pipe. On calling RSA, they sent a full size flatbed to my home, which is 60 km away from nearest ASC.
Just called friendly service GM at Cauvery Ford Bangalore and he arranged everything!

Attachment 2191794

And entire exercise was free of cost.

Ford has always gone that extra mile to achieve customer satisfaction. Contrary to the popular opinion, i feel that rarely there would be any owner who would complain about the poor and costly ford service and road side assistance.

In my last 16 years of ownership of various cars, only once i had to get my car towed. And it was my Ritz VDI which suddenly developed some starting problems. I called the Maruti toll free number and asked for assistance. They forwarded the complaint to the nearest service center. In turn, they gave me the number of a tow truck owner. He informed me that he will reach after 2 hours as his staff has gone to the market. Then i called regular Maruti service center which is closer to my residence and asked for help. They informed me that they do not have a tow truck and sent an Eeco instead. He towed my car with a rope. All this happened in Faridabad which is a part of Delhi/NCR and Maruti is based in Gurgaon/Delhi. God save the customers from tier 2/3 cities.