[Irish]

Hi Guys,

This thread is being appropriately started. Reliability as well as Servicing is a BIG problem with TATA cars.

I have also suffered with one nightmare. For further details, please read it here:

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...op-bhopal.html


Cheers!
Irish

[akhil994]

Originally Posted by Irish

Hi Guys,

This thread is being appropriately started. Reliability as well as Servicing is a BIG problem with TATA cars.

I have also suffered with one nightmare. For further details, please read it here:

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...op-bhopal.html


Cheers!
Irish

Your experience only refers to the servicing bit, yet you mention reliability as well?
These terms should not be used interchangeably.
I agree service can be a hit and miss occasionally, but having had an Aria with nearly 1,15,000 on the odo in nearly 4 years on stock suspension and clutch,and generally being niggle free apart from rear brake pad change that too at 105,xxx kms, I don't quite agree to that point.

[theexperthand]

Originally Posted by Irish

Hi Guys,

This thread is being appropriately started. Reliability as well as Servicing is a BIG problem with TATA cars.

I have also suffered with one nightmare. For further details, please read it here:

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...op-bhopal.html


Cheers!
Irish

Hi Irish,

Sorry to hear about the issues you are going through. It definitely shows that that particular showroom guys are unscrupulous, and the AXA guys are not better.
But I fail to understand why you coupled your problem with reliability - as far as I can see, there is no reliability issue, but only service center issue.

--Anoop

[Irish]

Originally Posted by akhil994

Your experience only refers to the servicing bit, yet you mention reliability as well?
These terms should not be used interchangeably.

Originally Posted by theexperthand

But I fail to understand why you coupled your problem with reliability - as far as I can see, there is no reliability issue, but only service center issue.

--Anoop

Guys,

Hold your horses!
I just tried to quote the title / topic of this thread. My intention was not to quote the reliability of TATA w.r.t. my white elephant.

It was scratchless and trouble free during the last 3 years and for the first time it had gone for the accidental repairs.

Cheers!
Irish

[Nissan1180]

Originally Posted by sary

The need for this thread itself, the volume sold or the market share of TATA motors passenger cars and the turnover (profit/loss) of company should answer most of your .

If you ever worked in a corporate, you'd know that the best output from a particular team does not always translate into a hockey stick sales curve. Someone in the chain might ruin the show.
There are hundreds of processes that are involved in the creation of a product. Cause and effect relationships are not so easy to ascertain. In case of Tata, the marketing team is still not justifying its existence and the TASS is on a journey of continuous improvement. They will be at par with the benchmark in terms of service experience, but this being a company with an Indian management, it will take some more time. The recent launches , as I already mentioned, are class defining. The Zest did not get the COTY award because of any other reason.
Good cars do not always outsell the competition. They penetrate the market, contribute to changing the perception and then motivate more people to adopt. Remember the Peugeot 309? It was outdated in Europe but it was the best mid sizer that you could get here. Yet it never sold in good numbers because of issues with service quality and the customer service reputation of PAL.

Anyway, if you are inclined to base your decisions on perception rather than facts, there is nothing more for me to say. All the best

[apachelongbow]

Personally speaking both my Tata cars are absolutely reliable. Speaking of the Dicor which did about 27k before I sold it and the current Storme which is 25k and going strong. I have no problems with either the quality or the service provided by Tata. No part has failed so far, and extended warranty provides peace of mind. Regarding build quality, no questions the Dicor can be termed as poorly built, especially on the panel gaps, fit and finish and quality of plastics along with the dreaded tailgate rattle, however nothing fell off and the car could go places where other cars can only dream of going.
Fit and finish on the Storme is par for the course with good plastics, fit and finish acceptable, and no sqeaks or rattles to mention of. So in my book Tata have improved tremendously and for the price I paid there is no decent SUV to speak of, and I will not compare the poor handling atrocities from some other maker or hatch back on stilts which I am not interested in.

[jaysmokesleaves]

This was my first experience of Toyota India service about 4 days ago and after this experience I don't think I will every buy a Tata again.

Toyota service experience in contrast to Tata -
Toyota - service booked for 1130am. I showed up at 1125. Service advisor met me in 10 mins. Car was taken in with a promise to deliver at 245pm. Jobs incuded spiral cable replacement and 70k service( engine oil and filter change, Inspection, full wash including underbody, etc)
Car was handed over to me at 3pm ready to drive out after all formalities completed.
All this while, I sat in the customer lounge that feels like an owners lounge and was served ample coffee biscuits and chips.
My Tata experience for 7.5 yrs with my Safari was quite a contrast to this.
I would arrive at 930am, car would be taken in at 10/1030am after following the service advisor around. Thereafter I would leave since they could never deliver the car at the promised time. In fact they never promised a delivery time. Thereafter, I would call the service advisor to find out status of car and delivery time. I would be called by 530pm and eventually given delivery at 7pm.
After this I would have to return again due to 3 more issues created by poor service technicians.
I was very lucky my Safari served me well. But Tata, bye bye. Your after sales service truly sucks. The people working there are unhappy souls and it reflects in the customer experience.
You need to turn that around before you expect people to buy your cars. My views are my own experience over 7.5 years of using only Tata service centers. No offence to anyone here.

I test drove a Storme about 4 months ago. Brand new with 4800kms on the odometer and the tachometer wasn't working and a few bits and pieces in the interiors were out of place which I could spot being familiar with the car. Lots of wind noise above 110kph which increases with crosswinds. What and how were they developing the Storme for so many years? With ac on in recirculation mode you can still smell a garbage dump outside your car. The person offering the testdrive had no clue about the vehicle.
Need I say more.

[coldice4u]

Every car maker has a reputation in the market and not without reasons. Tata included. As an example Hyundai does too. Hyundai took 15 years of hardwork and dedication to get to a point where a 15 lakh rupee car from its stable is considered aspirational.

Tata started turning round with the Zest and Bolt 2-3 years back. Its a long way ahead. Reputation is not something built overnight.

[Zappo]

Originally Posted by gixxerboy

Sounds too good to be true maybe it has to do a lot with the road conditions , trust me in my part of the country getting 30-40k kms on stock tyres and 50k kms on stock suspensions or clutch , on a TATA is considered impossible (no offence)

Originally Posted by rkg

I dont think iam lucky. Doubting guys can check with any TASS. Please PM me, will give vehicle registration number. Entire service history is with TASS till i sold the car @ 92K.
I live in Bangalore which is definitely not a rain starved place.

This is the problem with many guys who never used a TATA car. Whatever they say is hearsay.

I changed shocks at 74k on my own as one of the front shock has oil leak and iam going on along drive.

I don't know exactly what is so difficult to believe here or needs to be proven. When I sold my initial 2005 model Indica earlier this year it had genuine 94k on the ODO. It had consumed two sets of tyre changes in its lifetime, was running strong on its 3rd battery (earlier ones were Exide from factory and SF Sonic after that) and stock shocks without much problem. Clutch was working flawlessly. Yes, the front shocks were not as strong as they were on day 1 but they had a life of another 5000 kms or more in them. And there is no magic to it. Kilometers may be one parameter but a minor one. There are so many other parameters which play a vital role. How often you used the vehicle on long drives, the kind of tarmac on which it ran often, how badly was it loaded in its lifetime etc.

[ksameer1234]

I actually find it surprising to see a dedicated thread putting a question mark against the reliability of Tata cars. Of course, service is more of a miss than hit but I wonder if others are so good?

I have already mentioned this many times but I am not sure how many BHPians have been to far interior places in India. Zest is actually selling wonderfully well and even Bolt is seen frequently. More than even Dzire if considering the new sales.

There was a time when Tata commanded blind faith among masses. Somewhere, it was lost and it hurt the goodwill built over years. Now Zest / Bolt is a competent product and I am pretty sure, satisfied owners will far outnumber disgruntled ones in future. This is when the goodwill will build up again.

People might not agree but I believe a majority of buyers opts for cars which they see on road. They don't read reviews, draw up excel sheets and stuff.

As for the taxi stuff, I don't believe anyone confuses Zest with Indica / Vista / Indigo. It is very clear which is taxi and which is not. And being a Zest owner, when I took car 300 kms away from the nearest town, seeing Indigo / Indica only inspired confidence. Confidence that if that car survives, so will mine.

Rome wasn't built in a day but neither was destroyed in a day. Tata has lost a lot of ground but there is nothing it can't claim back.

[DieselAddikt]

Wow ! Now that the thread has become active after the launch of Zica, I will share my opinion too.

My first 2 cars were Marutis and then I switched to a TATA. I understand that the service is a hit or miss with every brand. For me, TASS was a little better than MASS. With MASS, I always had to argue with them for "Engine Carbonizing, AC Cleaning, Interior Cleaning" stuffs. With TATA, I did not have to go through that process of declining a million useless things that MASS always asked me to do. The work done on my car was also satisfactory. In fact, a body work done on my car after an accident was of exceptional quality. It did not even feel like the fender was bent. My Vista has run around 1.2L kms by now and it still does duty at home. Never has it broken down or had me stranded anywhere.

The car had a few initial niggles which were resolved either by TASS or myself way back in 2009. (Like a fused bulb or really pathetic wiper blades.) After that it has been a pleasure owning it. It runs on its second set of clutch assembly and third set of tires now. I never slow down much for bumps or potholes and it still runs on original suspensions/shocks/dampers. And the alignment is still good. Will I buy a TATA again ? YES.

[carwatcher]

I am a Fiat customer and still get shivers whenever I take my car for once a year servicing at the Tata workshop. Also on some other thread I was least surprised at the opinion of the current Tata customers that whether they would again buy a Tata car, the answer of the big majority was a big No, that says a lot. IMHO this has something to do with the work culture prevalent in the organisation and which ain't going to change soon.

[chennai-indian]

I own a TATA Nano and used to drive around in a Vista a few years back so I can compare the service levels then and now. I find a huge improvement in service and responsiveness a few years back and now - I never had a situation where I had to spend time running after the service guys for my Nano. In fact, my service experience for the Nano is multiple times better than the service experience for my Honda City

[gauravdgr8]

Cars owned by me in the last 10 years:

1. Maruti 800
2. Chevy U-vA
3. Vista Refresh - 67K and running - 4 years
4. Vista D90 - 22K and running - 2 years
5. Nano Twist - 2.5k - 5 months

Well Maruti 800 was a no brainer as a first car, however buying a Tata in 2010 after reading so many stories was a bit of a gamble I took and it has paid off well. Every time I think of changing the car, (recently cancelled the Baleno booking) I simply cannot think of a more comfy car in its class. Vista D90 was bought only because of the roominess and the satisfaction from the initial Vista.

Why did I buy a Nano for my wife. Well, for 2 lac, it ticked all the boxes. Irrespective of it's repute in the market, which I am sure if purely from the burning incidents and the 2008-09 model, Nano Twist and now the new one are truly smart city cars. Specially for women who have a fixed commute, it's a gem to putter around in crowded places. Super economical.

As far as reliability is concerned, I can simply laugh at people who do not own a Tata and yet rebuke it or compare it to the 2003 Indigo/Indica and compare the service experience that they experienced some decades back.

I have had my car serviced in Hyderabad, now Chandigarh and Raipur too. All places have got satisfactory results.

Would I buy another Tata. Absolutely

[sairamboko]

I just did a small trip from Bangalore to Salem - 300kms one way in my Nano. The car was more comfortable than my Wagon R, which I owned previously. The quality of the body and the interiors are far superior than Maruti. I have crossed 1200kms in 1 month. Best part is the service intervals - 1st service at 1500kms or 3 months and the next service is at 1year . Totally in a 3 years span, only 3 services are required. This itself talks a lot about the reliability of the Tata cars. There is some kind of mental block and hard perception that, Tata cars are not reliable. Tata is improving a lot and still has a lot to cover. I am sure it will do.