Fiat Linea 1.4 FIRE Emotion Pack

Dreaded TASS visit looming large !!

Wiper fluid pipe is broken. ABS wiring needs to get checked.

 

Have you ever heard Wiper blade spare part by a car manufacturer for a non-D segment car costing more than Rs. 1,300/- ?

Welcome to the world of Tata & Fiat !!

My car has a loose connection of ABS & I wanted to change Wiper blades as the monsoon has arrived. That's my only crime !

I was charged...

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Both sides Wiper Blades (only the blades and not the arms)

Rs. 1,300/-


Labour charges for changing Wiper Blade !!

Rs. 150/-


Loose connection of ABS wiring - repair

Rs. 850/-


EBD scan to check wiring !!

Rs. 650/-


Total Bill (incl taxes)

Rs. 3,121/-

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Well done, Fiat & Tata !! You must thank all buyers in Mumbai who have bought a Fiat in Mumbai for there is no reason someone should even consider it looking at your "modest" maintenance charges in Mumbai. And for God's sake, stop advertising competitiveness of your parts cost for if such a simple need is going to attract over-Rs. 3,000/- then there is no point of "competitive" spares.

 

What is the spare part number of Wiper blades?

I remember, I had changed it in couple of hundred bucks.

 

0051759103 ---- Wiper Blade Front RH....Rs. 584 + Rs. 68.56 VAT
0051759104 ---- Wiper Blade Front LH....Rs. 584 + Rs. 68.56 VAT

@dj.nish

I agree about cost competitiveness of neighborhood garage. However, every time I tried it in all my earlier vehicles, I've had very bitter experiences (I never had Maruti, Tata cars or a Bajaj Scooter - all of which are mechanic-friendly). Every time the garage did something which was not 100% correct and lead to several other more complex & complicated issues. It['s a vicious circle - once they create issues, you've to stick to him only to sort it out as you had already paid heftily. Then trial & error starts creating more issues and you can't come out. Every time ultimately I had to take my vehicles to the authorised service station to sort it out & to 100% of my satisfaction (ultimately I ended up paying 2-3 times in the whole process).

I may have still gone outside had it been only Wipers but for ABS wiring I still had to send the car to TASS and hence got the Wipers also done there.

There is a private service station R.S. Motors in Kandivali (W) where entire Fiat service team from Fortune, Sakinaka (originally from Fiat's Anuroop Motors) has shifted. The Service Advisor knows me & called me several times. But I could not gather courage to leave the car to them. If something goes wrong, atleast authorised service station has a so called reputation (because of the Manufacturer pressure) to "right" it at their cost, that's the weakest point of a neighborhood garage.

However, am not averse to try it out. But, if a customer does it, it'll be a blow to Fiat & Tata as it signifies that a customer has lost his confidence in them for support & after sales service.

My point is, if I've bought a car from Fiat or Tata, why do I need to rely on someone else? Why can't they satisfy their customers so that when the customers leave the service station, they leave with delight - be it workmanship, convenience, cost effectiveness or the service. Till the time Fiat fails to do it, whatever little changes it is doing at tortoise pace would never be relevant. And the sales figure shows it.

They made me lose my passion towards my Linea. Few pages back in this thread, I wrote how I used to look at my Linea earlier and how do I look at her now. Now, she has almost become a commodity. There is not much passion involved now. I can see the end of relationship in less than a year from now.

 

Lonavala Monsoon trip finally happened....

 

Parts are same, so looks price has increased.

 

I also thought so, I vaguely remember the price somewhere around Rs. 600 - 800.

@dj.nish - I was a bit harsh in my earlier post purposefully as we all wish Fiat to do well and these are the roadblocks and the key items it should have been plugging. Yes. This is how other manufacturer service stations also charges customers. EBD / ECU Scan - Rs. 650/- !! This is what they charge every time they do the scan.

Somehow, I feel that there is a sea-change in the way TASS is functioning across in last 6 months. The Spare parts charges have increased, labour charges have increased, instances of unnecessary work to inflate bill has increased substantially. In last 6 months, every time SA tried to suggest me every possible item to increase the bill. This was always there across. But for TASS, this seems to have increased noticeably in last 6 months. Why? Is it due to the oncoming separate Fiat service station? or is the focus on profitability increased at the cost of customer satisfaction?

---------- Post added at 03:49 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:55 PM ----------

Next time, I intend to try out R.S. Motors. Any one here who has any experience there?

---------- Post added at 10:00 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:50 PM ----------

The biggest and most vital issue is that there are far too many visits to service station is required. For whatever reasons, too many parts though significant or insignificant go wrong. On an average, I think a customer is forced to take his Fiat to service station 6 to 8 times a year. That's way too much. I can still understand high maintenance cost or labour charges, if a customer needs to visit service station once ayear apart from scheduled service. Sadly, this basic requirement remains a dream and there is no peace of mind. Far too many niggles and parts change requirements means you are at service station every alternate month. Build Quality is not only the sheet metal strength, it's also how the car is screwed together overall. That's where Fiat is weak, very weak and this is where a usual customer is afraid to take a plunge. No wonder, with 2 excellent cars, Fiat finds it difficult to cross even 2,000 units a month.

GC upgrade is helping a lot. There zre big potholes in Mumbai roads, also found huge potholes at Lonavala. But never my Linea scraped its bottom. On the other hand I feel the ride has becomestiff which I do not like.

---------- Post added at 11:20 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:00 PM ----------

GC Upgrade Impact:

• Advantage: Increased GC is a peace of mind. Earlier, I used to be extremely cautious as any little scrapping of bottom is like a scrapping on the heart !! Now, am completely fearless. Even big potholes are gulped without bother.
  
• Disadvantages: Stiff Ride. Handling a tad below earlier.

To overcome stiff Ride, I'm going to lessen tyre pressure. Usually, I fill 32 psi in cold tyres. Now I'm thinking of trying 30 psi or may be 32 in front & 30 in rear tyres in cold tyres status.