[R2D2]

Originally Posted by honeybee

Whatever be the quality of their product, the Tatas are renowned for their service and support, from the numerous posts I have come across on after sales service of Tata vehicles..

If ever Tata upped the quality game, I'd be the 1st in line to buy a suitable Tata vehicle. I HATE quality niggles but love the way the dealer and even Tata go out of their way to help, as if they understand our pain. Seriously, this is a paradox I haven't experienced before. And no matter what one says about Tata - the body is tough. I felt safe in that Safari.

Originally Posted by honeybee

And your post shows why Toyota stands out even amongst the Japanese carmakers. The Toyota Way has percolated down to the A.S.S. levels too, which is nice to see.

Toyota and it's dealers take customer satisfaction very seriously. This is not lip service. It is true.

My car had an issue with brake pads squealing even when it was a few months late in 2008. Believe it or not, I raised a complaint on the website..and I got a call in 15-20 minutes from TKM Bangalore. I was impressed! To put this in perspective this is one of the SLAs that my team in the IT industry signed up for, in a multi million dollar deal, to deal with critical software issues experienced by users logged into an enterprise class system.

Just to put this in perspective we car owners don't have a SLA with TKM for this kind of response time. It is their incessant drive to up the CSAT scores that pushes the company and its dealerships to perform in this manner.

Seriously, owning 2 Toyotas since early 2006 has spoilt me. I am a person who is rather difficult to please, someone who washes and waxes the cars himself, including the tyres and underbody. No watchman or other 'cleaner' washes my car. It is either me or Toyota's dealer. Kudos to TKM.

[SAS]

I've been doing a PIY ever since my car became 4 years old. It makes absolute sense to buy the oil yourself from the market at a discount + better quality and then give it to the garage to replace it.

I'm extremely lucky since my MASS allows me to bring my oil + filter and he gives me the official bill with it.. All he does is mentions that "oil provided by customer" on the invoice. They're so kind that they even allow me to get the engine flush and add it to the engine and flush it with the oil change.

I'm however hoping to do a DIY from a PIY since I want to keep the vehicle oil to drain for a few hours rather than just the few minutes at the service center. However I don't have the oil wrench to remove the oil filter.

Guys, does anybody know a shop where I can buy an oil filter wrench? Thanks...

[ron_9191]

I tried the PIY and DIY way but it didn't go well in the first attempt. What happened was that I was not able to get the oil filter off then engine and by the time I did it, I was really thinking what in the world made me think I could do this all by myself?.

Second attempt the same but this time, I miscalculated where the dirty oil is going to fall and kept dirty oil collection pan in the wrong place and ended up in a big mess with people frowning upon me in my apartment parking space.

Third attempt, well everything went well this time, I poured in the new oil but it had a slight oil leak. This sort of drove me mad.

Here's what I do. When my car's due for service, I take it to the authorized service centre and tell them not to do anything with the engine oil. When I get the car from service, I take it to a garage near my house, get a new can of oil and the oil filter and get it changed there. No chip chip, no jhik jhik...
And the labour cost?? INR120 only (without engine flush) with it well I have never tried it as my car's done only 26000 km and the oil change attempts that I was talking about was an 800 I had which is sold.

[dhanushs]

Originally Posted by ron_9191

I tried the PIY and DIY way but it didn't go well in the first attempt. What happened was that I was not able to get the oil filter off then engine and by the time I did it, I was really thinking what in the world made me think I could do this all by myself?.

Second attempt the same but this time, I miscalculated where the dirty oil is going to fall and kept dirty oil collection pan in the wrong place and ended up in a big mess with people frowning upon me in my apartment parking space.

All DIY's start like this.

1. For oil filter removal, use a oil filter removal tool/wrench.
2. Oil is drained always through oil sump drain nut.

But yes, a local garage and a 100 bucks does help!

[shibujp]

While I have been carrying out DIY oil changes on my Swift for quite sometime now, here are the pros and cons.

Pros

- nothing beats the feeling when you do it by yourself and things run well.
- if you are a DIY person, it would give you a great satisfaction.
- the effort spent to figure out what tools to use, how everything screws up, coming up with a procedure, buying tools etc. teach you a lot about your car and automobiles in general.
- you don't have to spend 5 minutes every visit to the service center, trying to get the SA to understand the importance of not pouring more than 3 litres of oil in. And if you are not allowed to the oil change area, you can only hope that the instruction finds it way down the command chain

Cons
- one of the biggest problems is disposing the used oil.
- you gotta get down and dirty. Oil in your finger nails, dealing with oil spills etc.
- space to work on your car.
- investment in a set of tools.
- time spent on the change.

Drive on,
Shibu.

[aa_asif]

While I chose Service at a A.S.S, I would be standing next to the service guy, make sure the complete oil is drained to the last drop and most importantly make sure that he puts uses a new oil filter instead of cleaning and putting the same one.

Where can I buy i20 CRDi oil filters in Bangalore??

[dip27in]

I have seen several instances, where the Oil Filter has not been mounted properly, either they tightened too much or left it in middle, resulting to oil seepage. This is my experience in both A.S.S and mechanic who regularly repair my cars at home. This is precisely why, I check for both the condition, after any oil replacement. A over tightened Oil Filter can deplete the oil circulation process.

[blackfire_9]

Well, I usually prefer going the DIY way since I can have peace of mind & I also love working on my machine.
All I do is get hold of the proper oil filter (Purolator) & a decent mineral oil for the process. I already have the required wrenches & other tools such as a pan etc for this job.

However, if my car is in warranty, I usually use the company oil for some kms lesser than I would normally & then change it. So, as a rough estimate, it gives me two oil changes per year, one at the A.S.S (to keep warranty intact) & the second at home.

[dass]

Have any of you tried the oil change facility that the petrol stations seem to be offering now a days? I regularly fill fuel at the HP e-fueling station on Old Airport Road Bangalore and see them advertising the oil change machine, but have never actually seen anyone get their car's oil changed there. If you have got it done, how has the experience been?

[carboy]

The last time I got my minor service (oil change/brake cleaning etc), it was by Carnation WOW(Workshop on Wheels) - they came to my place for it and their guys did a great job. They used their oil - Castrol GTX.

But at my next service (Major service), I took it to Carnation Kurla & wasn't very happy so looking for someone new.

Originally Posted by hemen

I always purchase synthetic oil of the relevant grade and get it changed at my trusted garage.

What part of Bombay is your trusted Garage located at?

[guptavis]

Originally Posted by SAS

I've been doing a PIY ever since my car became 4 years old. It makes absolute sense to buy the oil yourself from the market at a discount + better quality and then give it to the garage to replace it.

I'm extremely lucky since my MASS allows me to bring my oil + filter and he gives me the official bill with it.. All he does is mentions that "oil provided by customer" on the invoice.

I'm however hoping to do a DIY from a PIY since I want to keep the vehicle oil to drain for a few hours rather than just the few minutes at the service center. However I don't have the oil wrench to remove the oil filter.

Guys, does anybody know a shop where I can buy an oil filter wrench? Thanks...

exactly the same with me, my MASS allows me to bring my own oil and mentions it on service note.
I would also like to do it myself for the mental satisfaction but i will not try until i can figure out how to dispose off the used oil in an environmentally safeway. any idea guys? my Mass stores it in big drums and they say they give it to some recycling facility.

[Jeroen]

Hi, new to the car scene in India, but here's what I've been doing in several European countries and the USA.

In essence I will try and do every maintenance and or repair job myself. I've never bought a car new myself, so warranty is something that never comes into play. Having said that, I've had lots of company cars back in Europe. In all cases we leased them and the lease company demanded you stick to the maintenance schedule religiously and take the car to main stream dealers only. So I did. Never touched the company cars myself.

There's several reasons I carry out all my maintenance. Firstly, I enjoy doing it. Secondly, I think I do a better job at it then most official and unofficial garages/dealers. I'm definitely not as quick as they are. But then again, as it is my hobby, my time is my own. I can take all the time I want. I can research all I want, I can ask my petrol head friends and come and help me out.

Most importantly, whilst working on my cars, it gives me a far better understanding on what needs doing, I'll be able to pick up things before they go wrong etc.

As this is my hobby, I'll gladly invest in special tools, even if I need them only once. Or make them up myself, or see if any of my friends have anything I could use.

Back in the Netherlands and in the US I had a good relationship with a few garages I trusted. If I got stuck, they would help me out, lend me tools, or let me watch and help along. You need to make it worthwhile for them, so I did let them carry out various jobs now and then as well, supply tires and or parts.

In the USA getting rid of your oil and other waste is no problem at all. All the car parts shops such as Autozone, O'Reilly will take that back from you as part of their service. They also rent out a host of different tools at very reasonable prices.

On the NEW Company cars:They were mostly BMWs, Audi's, Mercedes, Volvo's and the odd Ford and Volkswagen. As long as there was nothing wrong with them, their dealers are marginally ok at best.

I had a big bust up with Volkswagen years ago. I got the impression that they were not carrying out the required prescribed maintenance, but were still charging for it, admittedly through the leasing company, but still. So, for it's next service I marked each and every part multiple ways.

When I came back in the evening to pick up the car, I told them I wanted it on the lift/ramp so I could verify every item as I had marked them all. Big, BiG consternation. Within minutes I was ushered into the MD's office and he offered me his Audi A8 as a loaner for all of next week, whilst he would "double check" that the maintenance on my vehicle was carried out properly. So he was very much aware of what was going on.

I had issues with the Jaguar dealer in Kansas City as well. The one thing I won't /can't do myself is wheel alignment. I had a problem with the alignment of my XJR. Now, they take a bit of special treatment. Most quick fitters won't / can't do the job. So left my car with Jaguar and when I came back got a bull **** story why they couldn't fix it from the service manager. Told them to bring the measurements, the mechanic and let him explain to me what he'd done. He came, brought the measurements explained what he'd be doing.

I told him what he should have done. They were adamant that it could not be fixed. So I agreed with them, I would get it fixed, I would show them the new corrected measurement and they would have to re-imburse me. Took me a while to find a shop that really understood alignments and understood what was wrong with my car and fixed it all in under two hours. Humble pie time for Jaguar.

I believe one of the problems is that most dealers work by standard rates. So on a wheel alignment they have a fixed price, and they can't afford to work any longer on it, then the standard allows them. If they can't fix it in the allocated time, they call it "not-fixable", which is just rubbish.

Audi was the most and utter pathetic dealer I ever had the misfortune to have to deal with. Nothing big, just endless list of little niggles. Started by putting wrong registration plates on my car, which got me into a lot of trouble with various law enforcement agencies. Damaged the interior by swapping out a faulty radio unit. Replaced the cruise control 8 times in the space of two and a half year. Blew all its head light bulbs every 6 weeks etc. etc.

So my experience with high end cars and their dealers and their respective maintenance is sub standard at best. Not sure how it works here in India. But in the US/Europe Audi, Mercedes, Jaguar etc. will give you a complementary loaner as long as your car is in maintenance, they have very nice reception areas, with great free coffee.

As long as you have just standard maintenance and don't poke around what they're actually doing, and you don't mind footing a whopping great bill, you'll be fine.

Anything out of the ordinary, and you can run into problems pretty quick, especially if you start poking around and demanding to know exactly what they are doing, why they are doing it, why aren't they doing it differently etc/.

So I just don't trust them. They have to much staff that hoovers around you, pours you coffee, shows the next sales brochure, filling out form after form, washing your car, pester you with customer satisfaction surveys etc.

I'd rather be dealing with the mechanics myself. So I prefer small repair shops where the owner is very much present and in charge and who employs some real top notch mechanics.

I'd much rather get charged by the hour by somebody who really understands what he's doing, then to pay a fixed rate and hope it gets fixed permanently for that fixed price.

With modern cars electronics plays a more crucial part. You show me a workshop and I will tell you if they are capable of really trouble shooting and fixing electronic issues. If they have the latest and greatest diagnostics tool and not much else, run a mile! Because they won't have a clue. They can follow the steps the diagnostic tool gives them, but if that doesn't solve it, it's again "not fixable" or it becomes a question of hit or miss replacement.

Just read the other day, that Jaguar in the UK had came nr 1 in the JD Powell survey when it comes to customer services. Good for them! But I remain skeptical.....Maybe in a few years I should move to the UK and experience it first hand.

Jeroen

[SAS]

Originally Posted by guptavis

exactly the same with me, my MASS allows me to bring my own oil and mentions it on service note.
I would also like to do it myself for the mental satisfaction but i will not try until i can figure out how to dispose off the used oil in an environmentally safeway. any idea guys? my Mass stores it in big drums and they say they give it to some recycling facility.

Do you have the oil wrench? Disposing off the oil is relatively easy... After you drain the old oil, fill it into the empty container of your new oil and then drop it off at the MASS or so.

The biggest difficulty I've faced is in getting an oil wrench. Does anybody know where I can pick up one in Mumbai (western suburbs)?

[guptavis]

Originally Posted by Jeroen

So my experience with high end cars and their dealers and their respective maintenance is sub standard at best. Not sure how it works here in India. But in the US/Europe Audi, Mercedes, Jaguar etc. will give you a complementary loaner as long as your car is in maintenance, they have very nice reception areas, with great free coffee.

As long as you have just standard maintenance and don't poke around what they're actually doing, and you don't mind footing a whopping great bill, you'll be fine.

So I just don't trust them. They have to much staff that hoovers around you, pours you coffee, shows the next sales brochure, filling out form after form, washing your car, pester you with customer satisfaction surveys etc.

WOW! didnt expect these kind of things would be going on at such premium car workshops.
however my (limited) experience over here has also been somewhat similar.
Both the Honda workshops in my city are simply atrocious. Ive caught them red handed in a similar way. they have nice waiting lounge, and cofee, internet etc but the treatment they give your car is rubbish. and they dont let you in the service area so most people dont even come to know. Thanks to this forum i now understand a car better and can understand when someone is playing with me (most times).

Finding tools is difficult over here cause i guess hardly anyone does these things themselves.

Originally Posted by SAS

Do you have the oil wrench? Disposing off the oil is relatively easy... After you drain the old oil, fill it into the empty container of your new oil and then drop it off at the MASS or so.

The biggest difficulty I've faced is in getting an oil wrench. Does anybody know where I can pick up one in Mumbai (western suburbs)?

No, i dont have an oil filter wrench. did you go to your local motor market and look around for it? i havent tried but i will when i get time.
Are you sure MASS would take the old oil? i mean why would they? if you're not getting the oil change done from them.

[Aroy]

Originally Posted by guptavis

Are you sure MASS would take the old oil? i mean why would they? if you're not getting the oil change done from them.

What my neighborhood work shop told me is that the old oil is sold at quite a good rate, so much so that he changes the oil free of cost