I havent been to sterling for almost 20,000kms now. Surprise surprise the car is much better and costs are in check somewhat. But recently something happened which again proved that my decision to stay away from TASS for my indica is good.
That something happened immediately after
https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/stree...breakdown.html (Breakdown!)
I go to sector 16 market and after scouting around zeroed in on a roadside guy who goes by the name of "Imam".
He does not have a shop, but whenever the workshops in Sector 16 noida are flummoxed with a problem they do not understand, or they get a complicated job, he is the man who is called.
As a freelancer, he has a box on the roadside and he does lot of work ranging from electrical to mechanical. When I went he had an Esteem opened up and some big electrical work going on in a NHC Vtec.
So I go to him and explain him the problem that the alternator is dead.
After letting the car cool down for 30 minutes, he opens up the alternator.
Its a goner, the winding is gone completely(burnt). The fault he says, was the regulator. I was lucky that the momentary surge did not blow up other electrical parts.
After making a list of all the parts which need to be changed, the bill was close to 6000, and a brand new alternator from LUCAS TVS would cost 8500. So I bought the new alternator.
And then he showed me a wonder of wonders. The alternator bearing on the old alternator was of a different spec.
you see, Tata cannot get things right in one go. Neither can their suppliers. So it is entirely possible that an alternator on a car sold in November may have a few parts different from an alternator sold 3 months earlier.
In the first ever running breakdown of the car(due to alternator belt snap) the alternator bearing was replaced by Automobile sterling(those were my foolish TASS days).
Getting all the parts of exact spec for a 2002 June indica requires struggle(when Imam was making a part list, it was difficult to match all the parts too).
So the wise guys at sterling did this. Took whatever they found and fit it in.
A normal right spec bearing would last 50000+kms, this bearing would have lasted me maybe 20,000 total. Its another matter that the regulator trashed the alternator completely.
I cannot make out any markings on the bearing(friction has rubbed them off!!) to make out if the bearing was genuine or some local brand.
So to all you people who care a wee bit for your cars, stick to sterling only if you want a wash and an oil change. Any problem, no matter how small cannot be fixed by those guys.
I am sure there must be Tata folks reading this forum. My only question to them is how do you chose your dealers?? Heck look at safari threads. 5 visits to workshop and those incompetent fellows cannot even find out the location of an oil leak?
The new safari 2.2 manual says minimum API-CH4 oil is needed, and I doubt even a single dealer has taken pains to source the correct spec oil? Are the Tata customer care centers sleeping? Or they want Tata to go the FIAT way. A great product ruined by service centers? Looks like instead of technology, Tata has learnt the art of managing dealerships from their bedfellows.
Thats the reason when a fiat owner tells me, "Service and spares is not a problem since Tata does it now" I just laugh.
The story is same for all dealers, its just that I have been involved with Sterling only, so I know of them.