Hyundai dealer charges Rs 25,000 for a Xcent's service

The car was driving fine but we opined that a service was needed since it was stationery for a few months.

BHPian saket77 recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Another achievement by Hyundai and Advaith, BLR! My BIL received a 25K bill for his Xcent service!

Attaching his invoice from Advaith Motors, Bangalore. Since his car was not used for about 9-10 months, stuff that he asked to do was:

Engine oil change, brake fluid change, brake caliper greasing, coolant check.

Prior to going to service, the battery was charged by Exide dealership from which it was purchased and found to be OK. The car was driving fine but we opined that a service was needed since it was stationery for a few months.

One Tire was changed by Hyundai as the puncture was 'not repairable' as per Hyundai/ Advaith. I have marked suspicious items in the list. Most of these jobs were not asked for. Some items price are definitely inflated. Screenwash for Rs. 102/-, oil drain plug for Rs. 186/-. They are charging Rs. 2440/- plus 18% tax for service, still they have charged Rs. 1420/- plus 18% tax for brake cleaning- whatever that means. Rs 146 plus tax have been charged as labour for changing wiper blades- which were actually not asked for, including throttle body, injector cleaning, wheel alignment, wheel balancing, and etc etc long list.

Rs. 355 plus tax towards labour for changing AC filter. Battery was checked, charged and reported OK by Exide- the OEM, a week before. Still charged ~300 bucks towards it - god knows what they did.

Thanks that I don't own a Hyundai!

Here's what BHPian hserus had to say on the matter:

1. The oil drain plug is changed every two or three service intervals as it or the drain washer wears away from repeated unscrewing to drain the oil during changes.

2. Water wash, ac cleaning and interior cleaning are definitely not needed here and are better done at professional detailing studios.

3. Tyre change and alignment should also be done at a good tire store not at a dealer.

Other than that - wiring harness repair etc look fine. Was there a rat bite issue with the parked car?

Here's what BHPian AkMar had to say on the matter:

This is a clear case of SA going overboard and adding all & sundry value added services. If they add 1 or 2, there is higher chance of it going unnoticed. But this can't go unnoticed even by layman customers, they will surely face the music.

I don't agree with the last line though. This can happen with any service center, not just Hyundai. Happened to my dad with Maruti as well.

Here's what BHPian AROO7 had to say on the matter:

Wheel alignment and Balancing, car washing, AC clean, interior, etc these things are never done up to the mark at HASS and is better to get it done from outside in your presence. This is a clear case of SA adding unnecessary stuff to fleece the customer and maximize his commissions. Further, if the estimated amount was 16k and it inflated to 25k there is no way he should have accepted the car in the first place and instead asked for an explanation if the bill was overshooting the estimate then why wasn't his permission taken before carrying out that job (even 21.5k settlement bill seems too much for a car that has barely run 25k kms).

Now coming to what I generally do when I get my '11 make Hyundai i10 serviced:

• First I scan through the list of jobs the SA has added and get removed the unnecessary stuff right there (like interior clean, cutter polish, engine bay protection spray, etc.).
• Then I add a clear-cut instruction to the SA if anything more outside of this is required then call me first before doing it otherwise I won't accept that in the final bill.

This might be overwhelming to do in the first place but has been my routine since I had the first-hand experience of Hyundai overinflating the bill with unnecessary items. In the end, this is a common practice by SA to increase their commission or meet their target so it's better to be vigilant to avoid getting fleeced.

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