[bluevolt]

Originally Posted by audioholic

Sir here is a quote of your labour charges:

Labour

The charges for Flush, injector cleaning and TBC itself come to more than Rs. 2k taking taxes to consideration. As we have discussed in this thread itself, these are extra services that are nothing but fleecing methods by dealers. In case you had refused, your bill would have been 33% lesser, ie 4k rupees. Please do not opt for such services unless you have a problem with the related part. We have a WagonR LPG in the family(not mine) which has done 52k kms in roughly two years and not even once has TBC, injector cleaning and flushing been done. It runs as good as my two year old 10k km run WagonR.

I agree. Maruti Dealers actually finds one or another reason to fetch money from customers without much reasons. I refused de carbonising this time but they included engine flushing without even asking me.

Will take care from next time what should be done and what should be not.

Originally Posted by Gansan

It is, relatively speaking!

I feel happy about my Alto's service bill (though I expect a bill of around Rs 6 - 7k for my 48 month service scheduled next week), when I see the bills of my neighbors' Vento and Rapid!

Maruti has definitely raised the price of it's parts and labour and now costs are comparable with my Honda City. I agree it still may be cheaper than some other brands like VW/Skoda.

Originally Posted by Gansan

My Splendor, when left for service at the A.S.S., never gets a bill below Rs 1.2k, so what can we expect for a car!

+1

Originally Posted by supremeBaleno

If the 30K and 40K services were just the normal routine scheduled services, then the rates are indeed high. I would suggest you check with tbhp-ians in your area/city for a reliable private garage, where the same service should cost you 40-50% lesser.

Also, the relative cost of the 2 services seems odd to me. I would have expected the 40K service to cost more because for Suzuki cars, the 20K/40K/60K/.. services are more comprehensive (and costing more because some fluids/parts have 20K replacement schedule) than the 10K/30K/50K/... services.

Also would help if you posted the breakup here.

Yes they were normal service with no mechanical part being replaced.

here is the break up of 30k and 40k service respectively (source - my ownership thread http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/long-t...ki-wagonr.html)

Fifth service

Fifth service was done at 30,000 KMs in December. This one was heavy on pocket as bill amount was Rs. 7700

The consumables which were replaced are

- > Oil filter – Rs. 70
- > Engine oil – Rs. 850
- > Spark plugs – Rs. 220
- > Air filter – Rs. 160
- > Wiper blades – Rs. 170
- > Fuel filter – Rs. 250
- > Decarbonizing – Rs. 1650
- > Gear oil – Rs. 770
- > Misc. consumables – Rs. 100

Labour charges are

- > Paid service – Rs. 850
- > Tappet adjustment - Rs. 350
- > Throttle body cleaning – Rs. 450
- > Drum and disc brake cleaning - Rs. 850
- > Taxes – Rs. 900


Sixth service - 40k

Total cost – Rs. 6000

Details of the service bill

PARTS

Air cleaner replaced – Rs. 177
Oil Filter replaced – Rs. 75
Horn – Rs. 150
Coolant – Rs. 210
Brake Fluid – Rs. 175
Engine Oil – Rs. 910
Miscellaneous items (including screen wash, number plate nuts etc) – Rs. 100

Labour

Paid Service – Rs. 1150
Engine system flushing – Rs. 675
Fuel injector cleaning – Rs. 550
Throttle body cleaning – Rs. 700
Brake bleeding – Rs. 350

TAXES – Rs. 720

__________________________________________________ ____________

From my service records just compare the charges of paid service I paid at every service.

20k service - Paid service charges – Rs. 710
30k service - Paid service charges – Rs. 850
40k service - Paid Service charges – Rs. 1150

Also compare the prices of engine oil

1st service - Engine Oil – Rs. 540
2nd service - oil was not changed and for 3rd service I don't have the record as of now.
4th service - Engine oil – Rs. 740
5th service - Engine oil – Rs. 850
6th service - Engine Oil – Rs. 910

[Gansan]

Originally Posted by paragsachania

• At 20k on the ODO, you will spend on Coolant and Gearbox oil and as well get the brakes serviced - You then pay separate labor for front and rear brake cleaning!!
• A relatively new car run less than 40,000 kms may not need any parts (Eg: Brake pads, Spark Plugs etc) to be replaced.

All fluids were replaced,brakes overhauled and spark plugs replaced during my 24 month service, even with the odo below 10K KM. I was informed they should be done since 24 months had passed, though the running was low. That is what the manual also recommends, so I let them do it.

Now I expect them to do it again for the 48 month service, though the odo is still short of the 20K mark. Fine with me, since the manual recommends XX KM / XX months, whichever is earlier.

P.S.: The car is still running with the OEM Amaron battery. I want to replace it but the SA says no need till I get any warning signs. Is he right? Will there be early warning signs or will it suddenly conk out?

[bluevolt]

Originally Posted by Gansan

P.S.: The car is still running with the OEM Amaron battery. I want to replace it but the SA says no need till I get any warning signs. Is he right? Will there be early warning signs or will it suddenly conk out?

My WagonR's OEM Amaron battery lasted for complete five years before giving up. I replaced it with another Amaron. You will notice weak engine cranking when the battery is at its last stages.

[supremeBaleno]

Originally Posted by Gansan

The car is still running with the OEM Amaron battery. I want to replace it but the SA says no need till I get any warning signs. Is he right? Will there be early warning signs or will it suddenly conk out?

The OE Amarons are pretty good in terms of life. Our Swift's OE battery lasted 6yrs, 2 months. Regarding warning signs, usually there will be some signs like cranking issue, but not always the case. In our case, one fine day, the battery just conked off and not even slight cranking possible, maybe because car was not used for the last 2 weeks and with the car parked in the open, the rains/cold could have been another factor.

@bluevolt, please see my comments inline below in bold

Originally Posted by bluevolt

Fifth service was done at 30,000 KMs in December. This one was heavy on pocket as bill amount was Rs. 7700
The consumables which were replaced are
- > Oil filter – Rs. 70
- > Engine oil – Rs. 850
- > Spark plugs – Rs. 220
- > Air filter – Rs. 160
- > Wiper blades – Rs. 170
- > Fuel filter – Rs. 250
- > Decarbonizing – Rs. 1650 SB: What is the consumable involved in Decarb. Decarb itself is a big hoax. They cheated you straightaway 1650 on this, which is close to 1/4th of the total bill
- > Gear oil – Rs. 770SB: Check your manual - I doubt gear-oil has to be changed at odd-10K services. This would have been changed at 20K service and next should be @40K
- > Misc. consumables – Rs. 100

Labour charges are

- > Paid service – Rs. 850
- > Tappet adjustment - Rs. 350
- > Throttle body cleaning – Rs. 450
- > Drum and disc brake cleaning - Rs. 850
- > Taxes – Rs. 900
SB: TappetAdj, TBC and brakes are all items they used to bilk you. And then again they do TBC in 40K service. I have done it only once in 70K kms and that was also because me+mechanic thought it could be linked to the CheckEngineLight staying on

Sixth service - 40k
Total cost – Rs. 6000
Details of the service bill
PARTS

Air cleaner replaced – Rs. 177
Oil Filter replaced – Rs. 75
Horn – Rs. 150
Coolant – Rs. 210
Brake Fluid – Rs. 175
Engine Oil – Rs. 910
Miscellaneous items (including screen wash, number plate nuts etc) – Rs. 100

Labour

Paid Service – Rs. 1150
Engine system flushing – Rs. 675
Fuel injector cleaning – Rs. 550
Throttle body cleaning – Rs. 700
Brake bleeding – Rs. 350
SB : Again they fleeced you with engineFlush (useless), TBC and FI cleaning. Not sure if brake bleeding was required to be done - they have charged for brake fluid in parts, so possibly some genuine issue with the brakes is my guess.
TAXES – Rs. 720

I would suggest you go to the service after reading the maintenance schedule in the manual for that service. And in the job card, have it written that you dont want items like flush, TBC, decarb, alignment etc done.

[Gansan]

Originally Posted by supremeBaleno

Regarding warning signs, usually there will be some signs like cranking issue, but not always the case. In our case, one fine day, the battery just conked off and not even slight cranking possible

That is what I am worried about, the battery giving up the ghost at a most inconvenient time / place.

@Bluevolt

I always write "No additives, No engine flush" in capital letters on the job card! That is a big waste. I always carry my own engine oil, though I let them change the other fluids, oil filter etc.

Nowadays their MGO is a standard 10W30 which they use for all cars, though it is meant only for the K series engines, so be careful. Older cars need 20W40.

[Gansan]

My Alto completed four years and went to MSM for (4 years / 40k KM) service today. As mentioned, though the odo is at 17400 KM, they change all fluids at every two year mark. Since the owners' manual also recommends likewise, it is ok with me.

At the workshop:

Spark plug NGK Rs 327.50
Air Cleaner element Rs 170.00
Oil filter Rs 78.00
Brake fluid Rs 262.00
Coolant Rs 410.00
Gear oil (Shell) Rs 691.00
Misc Rs 151.00
Paid service Rs 1220.00
Brake overhaul Rs 800.00
Electrical check-up Rs 200.00
Interior cleaning (optional) Rs 750.00
VAT and Service tax Rs 669.50

Total at MSM Rs 5729.00
Shel HX-7 (provided by me) Rs 1325.00

Grand total Rs 7054.00

jobs recommended for next service:

Suspension noise, Steering box.

[bluevolt]

Originally Posted by Gansan

Electrical check-up Rs 200.00

What's involved in this?

[Gansan]

Not sure, may be an euphemism for checking battery charging / discharging current and electrolyte top-up, I guess! Which they do for free at Shell pump if we use their oil change facility!

[Swiftoholic]

Hi friends! I have been searching for threads that could help me understand the essentials of a major service for a Swift petrol and associated costs but couldn't find any. I could be wrong, mods please delete this post if you feel that way.

Car: Swift K-series (old model), 3 years, 3 months and 66,000 kms old
Service station: Pasco automobiles, Gurgaon
Last service: @55,000 kms, same workshop, cost about Rs.11,000
Assigned service advisor: Shambhu
Current Issues reported: 1. Poor mileage (9kmpl) in city driving conditions, we all know about Gurgaon traffic during office hours, don't we, nevertheless that's way too low for a Swift.
2. Poor acceleration, clutch slipping, hard clutch pedal
3. Noises from dashboard, AC blower, Right door
4. Other minor/regular niggles

The estimate provided was a whopping Rs 22,000, had me sweating and getting thoughts like, 'is owning a Maruti really cheap anymore?'

Gathered my senses and asked for a breakup. Here it goes:

Clutch overhaul: 6000+1000 (the extra 1000 in case of a damaged flywheel)
Oils and filters: 2500
Synthetic engine oil: 3600
Service labour: 1400
Engine flushing: 600
Throttle body cleaning: 800
Fuel injector cleaning: 500
Engine lamination: 800
Dry cleaning: 1100
Brake (bleeding, calliper pin greasing and brake pad replacement): about 2100
Taxes: About 2000

That adds up to more than 22,000!
The experience of dealing with Shambhu was like dealing with a Sales person whose life depends on increasing his company's top line and this is why:

- He offered me underbody anti rust coating, when I already had it done a couple of years ago. He was hoping the warranty period had expired, checked it on the common tablet these guys carry and came back disappointed
- He then slipped in engine flushing on the job card without discussing or telling me
- A cabin air filter was added to the job card, which is not a factory fitment on the swift, I just didn't know until very late
- Not covered in the above estimate, he offered front power windows for my LXI model which I politely declined thanks to the heavy damping I have on the front two doors which I want to keep untouched as long as I keep the car
- He quickly spotted a couple of dirty stains on the seats and was prompt to offer dry cleaning and with every offer he was quick to pen it down on the job card

I politely turned down Engine flushing (the opinion is divided here on the usefulness and I have decide to not get it done indefinitely), Engine lamination (he tried real hard to sell this, but I managed to defer this until atleast the next service coz I wasn't too sure of its usefulness), brakes related work (had my brakes done recently at a non Maruti service station with replaced brake pads bought from Alva motors, a distributor).

I would rate the overall experience of working with him a lowly 2 on a scale of 1 to 5, especially because he test drove the car before offering all of the above and there is no way the brakes could have required work. He relied more on the service record that showed up on the tab rather than using his judgement while driving the car. I wasn't too pleased!

Final bill after corporate discount and taxes amounted to about 15,000.

I just could not trust the service advisor so I decided to oversee the entire service myself. Went back home after leaving my car at the station and told Shambhu to call me when the work on clutch would begin. He called up at the end of the day yesterday but I couldn't make it to check the progress. Today morning I reached at 10:00 and decided to see it through.

The clutch plate and pressure plate had already been mounted by the time I reached. The cabin air filter, oil filter, air filter had been mounted too. I checked upon the old parts and when I couldn't find the old cabin air filter I checked with the mechanic. He told me I didn't have it in my car earlier and this is when I found out it is not a standard fitment on the Swift. I felt I should have been told this earlier and I expressed my displeasure to Shambhu who sounded irritated at this. Well, I chose to keep it coz it didn't burn a hole in my pocket and couldnt possibly do any harm to the car, logically.

I had earlier agreed to the dry cleaning but it started raining today and I didn't want to drive around with wet seats. The washing which was done yesterday wasn't satisfactory and I had it done again. The car waited unattended near the washing area for an hour and a half, before I walked up to the supervisor overseeing the washing of cars and requested him to expedite its washing.

There was only one option of Synthetic engine oil available which was Mobil1 grade 0w40 and which was stored in a large drum. There is no way to be sure of what's there in the drum. Seriously considering getting my car done outside Maruti service stations for peace of mind. That's the irony. I didnt see the throttle body cleaning and fuel injector cleaning done while I was there, don't know if it was done or not.

Experts, could you please throw some light on when it would have likely been done, before the clutch work, the first thing? I was right there through the mounting of the gear box and putting together of suspension parts that had been dismantled and through the sorting of all other niggles. Is there something that could have been avoided out of the final works? Does getting the car serviced out of the Maruti authorized service network make more sense, now that the warranty has expired? I am sure many like me are looking for answers to some of these questions, you expert advice could be of great help.

A small note of appreciation for the mechanic, he did a great job from what I saw and patiently answered zillions of questions I had and even told me what he didn't find wrong in the car, I was happy to hear from him that my brake pads will do another 10k easily and no bleeding was required. He repaired what needed repair. Didn't find anything wrong with the suspension, which was contrary to what Shambhu had said earlier.

The car: There was a lot to cheer when I test drove the car after it was serviced. Super light clutch, super smooth steering, clear improvement in acceleration. Got my tank full with the trip meter reset to zero, very curious to measure the fuel efficency now. It used to be a good 13 kmpl in the city not so long ago. The rattles are low for a 66,000 km old Swift, partially because of the damping on front doors. I am happy with the car and the mechanic who worked on it.

[wanderluster]

Pasco is a rip off. I cut down my service costs by 1/2 -2/3 by going to Qutab Motors in Sushant Lok and i was much happier (more attention was given to the car). The folks at Pasco make optional things sound mandatory - that's how they up sell (to meet internal targets). A couple of times when i gave my cars for servicing there, they did things i did not ask them too and i had them take it off the bill.

[Dry Ice]

Swiftoholic,

Apart from the clutch overhaul I don't see anything in that list that was absolutely essential. Especially after you had got the brakes attended already.

These guys have just one purpose - inflate the bills as much as possible.

Since your car is not in warranty anymore, I would strongly recommend maintaining it at an FNG. With Maruti, spares are never a problem, you can get them over the counter.

As far as routine services go, oil change + balancing/alignment + fluids check/topups should do it. Oil change - If you get your own oil, filter etc, the oil change would hardly cost you anything at an FNG. Wheel alignment - independent tyre shops usually do a better job and it works out cheaper too.

What else, interior cleaning - Give these door step detailing kind of guys a try. They do everything right before your eyes. I think there are quite a few in NCR, check the directory section.

[sindabad.sailor]

It again comes to how cheap really is Maruti Service. Till the time you are under warranty, it is indeed. However moment you are out of warranty, bills start inflating.

Had done my Estilo at Maruti ASS in the past. Reached something like 1030 ish in the morning and had to park my car in que running almost 200 m long with cars parked bumper to bumper. This was 20000 km service which was significant if not critical. Still got a call at 1630 that my car was ready. I till date believe that they must not have completed half of the service. That was the last day when I took my Estilo for service there.

Now with SX4, I took it there only once, after having bought her pre owned. Usual gimmicks of engine carbon cleaning (9800 km on odo, 1 year old car) and what not. Had to resort to tough talk to get the SA on track. I was checking the work in the bay and saw only part draining of the coolant. The bill was for some 3.5 odd ltrs. Again had some difficult conversations with the SA. There went another Maruti car away from ASS. None of the nuts and bolts were tightened using torque wrench. I remember having a vetting inspection on my ship where the inspector nearly destroyed me for torque wrench calibration having expired a week prior the inspection. And now India's biggest car maker's authorised service station seen not even using them.

I have a local mechanic who was working at Maruti ASS for few years. I am getting everything done there at fractional cost and peace of mind.

Crux, outside the warranty period, Independent garages are far more economical. Also apparently Maruti car's aren't too complex in built and hence are low risk affairs servicing them at local garages.

[Swiftoholic]

Originally Posted by wanderluster

Pasco is a rip off. I cut down my service costs by 1/2 -2/3 by going to Qutab Motors in Sushant Lok and i was much happier (more attention was given to the car) .

Are the labor rates cheaper there or do they simply not offer services like Throttle Body Cleaning and Fuel Injector cleaning during a normal service or both?

Originally Posted by Dry Ice

Swiftoholic,

Apart from the clutch overhaul I don't see anything in that list that was absolutely essential. Especially after you had got the brakes attended already.

I am curious to find out how useful are Throttle Body cleaning, Fuel Injector cleaning and if they really are essential why are they not covered under the Service labour charges. Will my car engine or any other major part die a premature death if I dont get these done regularly? If they ARE necessary, how often should these be done?

[harryms]

Dear friends,

The situation described is something which all of us face not only with any specific brand but with every brand of cars in Inidia regarding service.

There are few points which we should take care when we give the vehicle for service,

1. The first document which we we sign and give which contains the issue and work which need to be done for the service (the job card- i don't know what the exact name). This is a legal agreement which the owner and the workshop makes. what ever written in it is signed by the owner and the representative of the workshop (Service Advisor). There is in obligation to the owner to pay for the work other than what it is described in the job card agreement. So be careful in signing and giving the job card agreement.
So once you hand over the vehicle with the job card signed tell the SA that you wont pay for any work other than what is written in the job card. if you tell this the SA will not charge or do any extra work without your approval since he knows what you have said and he will be in trouble. If they do extra work and charge you you can always challenge it with the service manager or in consumer court.

2. You should have a clear idea about what work need to be done in your vehicle. do make points in a piece of paper before you go to workshop. In this way the SA knows that you know what stuff needs to be done. Dont just rely on the SA fully so that he will trouble shoot all the issues and give your car perfectly. God only knows if all the work is done which is written in the job card. some works can be inspected with our eyes but other works we cant see from outside. so the workshop's service record by other members count for this.

I have faced many issues with TASS for my car, many times they have not changed the air filter and pollen filter of my car.

The SA think that users are ignorant about technical and legal facts so they exploit all of us.

i hope we can fight against this injustice with sharing of knowledge.
I also request moderators to start a special threads to share about the all authorized service station issues and rate the authorized service stations according to the feedback from users. This will help users to find reliable service stations and also reliable SA.

[rakesh_r]

I took my Swift Diesel for a check up yesterday to Fortpoint Andheri as i had planned to goto Goa during the Independence day holidays.While the car was being attended i went through the labour charges.One of the labour charges almost gave me a heart attack.Fuel injector cleaning costs 11700 INR
Heres the twist(while i was recovering from the shock) went and asked the advisor not one but 2.

Me -Does the injector cleaning for the swift Di cost 11700 Rs..?
Advisor 1-Yes
Me-Why is it so expensive?
Advisor1-Shrugs
Me-Does the injector cleaning for the swift Di cost 11700 Rs..?
Advisor2-Sir,ddis engine injectors cant be cleaned,they need to be replaced.

I find this totally baseless.Why cant the injectors be cleaned.I asked some of my friends over at HVK forum and confirmed that the injectors are indeed serviceable and can be cleaned and calibrated at 1/10th of the cost.
Is the dealer taking us customers for a ride?