[tsk1979]

The service advisor at sterling has informed me that since they are opening up suspension they will do alignment before giving vehicle.
I wonder whether its going to be covered under warranty or not.
Speaking of wheel bearings, the indica's bearings went kaput at around 15K, and were replaced under warranty.

After that they have been going kaput every 30Kms or so.
And in the last 30K kms(80K-108700) since I have started recording each and every expense for her, the maintenance cost for her(including tires) is same as that for the safari!

[Technocrat]

And in the last 30K kms(80K-108700) since I have started recording each and every expense for her, the maintenance cost for her(including tires) is same as that for the safari!

So is that good news or Bad? I mean if maintenance of 1 Lac km done car is equal to a new one then its bad But IIRC you once said that the costs on Indica were low hence the question

[rajneeesh]

Originally Posted by tsk1979

The service advisor at sterling has informed me that since they are opening up suspension they will do alignment before giving vehicle.
I wonder whether its going to be covered under warranty or not.
Speaking of wheel bearings, the indica's bearings went kaput at around 15K, and were replaced under warranty.

After that they have been going kaput every 30Kms or so.
And in the last 30K kms(80K-108700) since I have started recording each and every expense for her, the maintenance cost for her(including tires) is same as that for the safari!

Tanveer,

I believe your Indica has a very high degree of problems. I know that you have immense amount of knowlege about the gaddi. Could it be due to the fact that the vehicle is not serviced regularly and only oil change is done at the recommended intervals with no preventive maintenance.

I have faced far fewer problems with my car although it is more than 5 yrs old with 86 K on the clock.

(Sorry, that I am going OT as this thread is about the Safariand not the Indica.)

[tsk1979]

Originally Posted by rajneeesh

Tanveer,

I believe your Indica has a very high degree of problems. I know that you have immense amount of knowlege about the gaddi. Could it be due to the fact that the vehicle is not serviced regularly and only oil change is done at the recommended intervals with no preventive maintenance.

I have faced far fewer problems with my car although it is more than 5 yrs old with 86 K on the clock.

(Sorry, that I am going OT as this thread is about the Safariand not the Indica.)

The indica had a high degree of problems till it was with TASCs. After that(80K) problems have lessened.
Now she stands at 108700kms with a service due.
And I do all regular maintenance for the indica, not just oil change.
Things like belts. power steering fluid, timing belt, bearings, bushes, brake pads etc., are changed as required and at stipulated service intervals according to owners manual.

As for the problems they have been electrical in nature, and no amount of preventive maintenance can stop your alternator regulator from failing!

[tsk1979]

A lot of people wonder why I call her the white elephant. IS it because the words like beast, bear bull, cow, monkey.. etc., are already taken?
Well partly yes, but more so due to the cost to me.
Cost includes mental cost(stress, fear factor etc.,) and the financial cost.
Yes financial cost. This is no slouch to maintain. Even in warranty. For example wheel bearing change has me 909rs poor.
Why?
Because while the bearings are covered under warranty, the seals and grease are not. And for the 4x4, the seals cost a whopping 357+taxes. Thats a lot of money for something which does not even last 17000kms.

Now coming to the bright side. The rear skid is gone. We went for a try, with their mechanic, and she did the 90 degree skid dance.
Come back to workshop, the guy gets under her, pulls here and there, tightens stuff, adjust things, and we again go for the try.
Everything is fine now, no sideways skidding. The question is till how long? 5000kms 6000kms or 10000kms

As for the bearings front bearings have been changed outer and inner. They have checked alignment after that, and thankfully that was covered under warranty.

For the idle surging problem they fixed the laptop and problem will not come again. I suspect this will need another visit to the workshop. After all there has to be some excitement in life.

The HVAC controls function well now, and direction is where it should be, almost, but then precision is something only fools will expect from this behemoth.

I am attaching the history sheet of my white elephant, enjoy!

[rhandle]

Hehehe. Gurkha black beauty then beats this white elephant. With 12 free services and each service being 7500 kms apart saves a lot. With 3 lacs kms 3 years warranty without paying extra is again excellent. Till now Did not had to pay any single thing, though got sensor and rear leaf springs changed under warranty, also setting of body using washers.

[rkbharat]

Originally Posted by tsk1979

wheel bearing change has me 909rs poor.
Why?
Because while the bearings are covered under warranty, the seals and grease are not. And for the 4x4, the seals cost a whopping 357+taxes. Thats a lot of money for something which does not even last 17000kms.

Now coming to the brigh

But how come 909 when seal cost is 357. did they applied grease worth rs 400 something.

I had this bearing problem in my SX4 recently, basically it was giving problem after the accident I had recently. They had to change the whole hub costing 7600 Rs. under warranty, Not a single Rs to me. I am really like maruti service.

[4x4addict]

Wow, so your repair costs have come to almost Rs 1 for each km ! and that is under warranty. God forbid after warranty expires..

[tsk1979]

Originally Posted by rkbharat

But how come 909 when seal cost is 357. did they applied grease worth rs 400 something.

I had this bearing problem in my SX4 recently, basically it was giving problem after the accident I had recently. They had to change the whole hub costing 7600 Rs. under warranty, Not a single Rs to me. I am really like maruti service.

2 seals. The cost per seal is 357. Greasing is 93. 12.5% is the VAT

Originally Posted by 4x4addict

Wow, so your repair costs have come to almost Rs 1 for each km ! and that is under warranty. God forbid after warranty expires..

Even I shudder on what happens after four years, but of course, a Tata vehicle should be sold by 4 years are over. That said, if the tire cost if taken out, the repair cost comes down to a more acceptable 50p/km. I hope I won't have any more highway blowouts etc.,

[suman]

Originally Posted by tsk1979

For the idle surging problem they fixed the laptop and problem will not come again.

Meaning what? What was the diagnosis & how was it resolved? Was there an error code that was reset?

[tsk1979]

Originally Posted by suman

Meaning what? What was the diagnosis & how was it resolved? Was there an error code that was reset?

I tried asking them, but did not get an answer except "Laptop laga ke theek jar diya".
I have not started her since last night. Today evening when I power her on, if the idle does not surge, I will be very very surprised.
Since I have seen service light multiple times in the past, I am sure there were error codes. But removing error codes does not fix any problem. Error codes are diagnostic error messages.
That said, the car is a lot smoother. So they have definitely changed some setting somewhere. The "boom" is much less, and engine noise has also gone down, not to mention the smoothness.
Whether the problem has gone, I will get to know only today evening.

[ACM]

Originally Posted by 4x4addict

Wow, so your repair costs have come to almost Rs 1 for each km ! and that is under warranty. God forbid after warranty expires..

Rs. 1 per Km maintenance cost (Including tyres & Consumables like Brake Pads and clutch) (excluding Accident Repiars & Fuel & toll) is actually very good for a Car (Safari) costing about Rs. 9-13L. Infact even upto Rs. 2.5 per Km would be very good. Cars in excess of 12L-upto 20L usually in the long run have maintenance costs that go to rs. 2.5-5/kms and beyond 20L it is even higher.

Originally Posted by rhandle

Hehehe. Gurkha black beauty then beats this white elephant. With 12 free services and each service being 7500 kms apart saves a lot. With 3 lacs kms 3 years warranty without paying extra is again excellent. Till now Did not had to pay any single thing, though got sensor and rear leaf springs changed under warranty, also setting of body using washers.

One would know the true maintenance cost for the safari only when it has 1L kms on the meter. 4 yrs warranty for 100,000 kms is actually a good deal on the safari. I think every service for the new 2.2 Dicor is 15,000 kms. for the 2Ltr TCIC it was every 5000 kms.

[tsk1979]

Rs 1/km is good, but only later in the life. In the beginning stages when no brake pads etc., are up for replacement, its actually quite a high cost. Hopefully, she will spring no more surprises!

[rrsteer]

Well I could spot one bright thing in your excel sheet.
The overall FE of 11.2, if I look at it in a stand alone manner, is quite good for a 2 tonner.
Though and I am going to contradict myself here, it should be better. I see that you have done a lot of highway driving, which is what I tend to do myself and my overall FE is almost touching the 13 kmpl mark.

Also if I was not aware of the peace of mind costs that you have incurred (which have been huge), even the maintainance costs would seem pretty ok. If I exclude the tyre costs, your repair bill stands at 8760/-. The total service costs of my M800 after the service done at 20k kms was slightly more than Rs 4000/-

[jaysmokesleaves]

What matters here is not the costs. I feel that its the lack of 'peace of mind'. Im sure neither TSK nor any other owner would anticipate so many issues after spending 1 milion rupees on his suv. Doing every trip with apprehension in the back of your mind that some issue might come up requiring service attention is a true spoil sport.
As such one can do nothing but shut up and put up with ones purchase decision since there is no recourse. You can sell, but if you have a loan, then thats another headache.
From TML's perspective, they attend to every complain and try to solve it with parts replacement. While TML might think that parts replacement justifies their lack of QC and poor product quality, it actually works against them in the long run. After the warranty is over what does a customer do. Because if you see the failure rate of parts and the lack of correct diagnosis requiring more parts replacement, then the cost of ownership becomes truly prohibitive. This holds true for customers who bought the Safari for high miling.

As such one is left with a bitter experience. Im 200% sure that if tsk is in the market for another vehicle, he will not opt for anything Tata, no matter how good the product lienup may seem and how much vfm it may offer, for only one reason, " peace of mind".

Now i cannot even imagine the plight of Skoda owners, who have been abandoned by the company, post purchase.