Worst after sales service

Dear Sir,

I am a practicing doctor in Patiala and a sad owner of XUV 500 W-10 bought in June 2015. I was a fan of XUV-500 till now and must have recommended at least 10 friends and family members to buy the same. But recently something happened that changed my entire view about the car and the company Mahindra. I planned to make a road trip from Patiala to Goa on this new years eve.

We were supposed to leave Patiala on 31st Dec and reach Goa by 3rd Jan visiting various places on the way. The vehicle was quite fine, however around 20th Dec, it showed the yellow “check engine” light off and on. So I went to the local dealership who inspected the vehicle and replaced the vacuum modulator under warranty. However the light did not go off after they replaced the vacuum modulator and it took them another 2 hours to solve the issue. At last they handed over the vehicle to me saying that everything is ok. I have been using XUV for the last 7 years and this is my 2nd XUV.

I was not satisfied with the performance as the engine was showing loss of power on highway driving. I again approached the Patiala dealership but they could not find any error and told me it’s just my phobia nothing else. I believed them and started my journey towards Goa on 31st Dec 2017. However the engine seemed to be compromised throughout the journey which I had to ignore as per my local dealership’s advice. We reached Goa on 3rd Jan 2018 evening. We were supposed to stay there for 4 nights and check out on 7th Jan. we had another friends couple along with my Father in law and 3 children.

I was quite enthusiastic as I love to drive. We planned to visit various sightseeing spots in the days to follow in our ever favorite XUV. However when I started the car very next morning i.e on 4th of Jan, there was a loud sound as if the tyre had busted and the car came to a halt. I got down and checked that all tyres were fine. I tried to restart the engine but it won’t take the self. After trying for a couple of times, I thought better call the experts. I called on the helpline number who after a very lukewarm response put me across the local Muktar Automobiles expert team.

The service advisor told me that they will charge 1500/- rupees just to visit the vehicle and it does not ensure that they can solve the problem or not. The other option was to get the vehicle towed to their dealership where they can inspect the vehicle completely. I thought, since the days were limited, it was better to save time and I asked my family to wait while I arranged to get the vehicle towed to the dealership by paying 2500/- rupees.

I reached there around 11 am. And after making repeated requests to the service managers there they ultimately attended me. They kept on making vague guesses about the problem and when around 1 hour had gone, they decided to keep the vehicle and issued me a vehicle receipt mentioning that require minimum 2 days to get the vehicle back to shape. They gave the date of delivery as 7th jan, however verbally they told me that it should be ready by 6th Jan evening itself.

I could see my entire trip getting ruined. I went back to my hotel in a local bus as there was no dropping facility available. I requested the company to at least arrange for an alternate vehicle, but even after making repeated requests, they said that the best they can do is arrange for a Maruti Swift. Finding no alternative, I had to hire a 7 seater rental vehicle @ 3500/- per day as it was high season and there was a shortage of vehicles.

We had to miss many tourist attractions like Dudhsagar Falls as the rental vehicle was given for local use only. Anyhow, we managed to carry on with our trip with a heavy heart and waited for 7th Jan for our XUV to return. But to my utmost surprise, I received a call from company expert on 7th Jan around 12 pm saying that they have not been able to find the error! and asked me to wait for another day. I had to make emergency arrangement for stay for all the people along with transportation. I got an SMS from Company saying that my vehicle shall be delivered on 8th Jan around 4 p.m.

We checked out of hotel next day i.e on 8th Jan, and when I asked about the status, only reply that I got was that there was something wrong with the engine and they are still trying to figure out the problem. It may require another day or two. This was so much disgusting. We were supposed to reach Patiala on 12th Jan for an important family function (Lohri Function of my niece). I got in touch with senior management of the company and Mr. Swapnil the area manager said that he was personally monitoring the situation and it should not take long.

I trusted the company and waited for another day. However on 9th Jan, I made around 6 calls to the service manager Rahul K, and also to area manager and when they responded by afternoon, all they could say is that they are trying their best. I had no choice. We all were being held hostage without any fault of ours. Finally on 10th Jan, Mr. Swapnil informed that there is a huge list of parts that have to be replaced and he is arranging for them. I could not afford to extend my stay that long as I was supposed to reach Patiala on 12th by all means and we had small children with us who had to attend school on 13th.

I tried to search for air tickets but the best option that we could get was on the morning of 12th Jan. We had to purchase 7 tickets on premium price. We had to make arrangements for stay and transportation till 12th Jan meaning that an extra expenditure of 5 days starting from 7th Jan, not to mention the amount of harassment that we all had to face. Finally on 11th Jan, I received the vehicle at 6.30 P.m. I had to ask my father in law (a retired senior citizen) to get the car back as it would take 4 more days to reach Patiala and we all could not afford to travel by road for obvious reasons.

On 12th Jan, we all left by air with a heavy heart and a ruined trip. But the ordeal did not end even here. My father in law started from Goa at 8 am and within an hour, the same problem of loss of pick-up started to appear again. Our phones were switched off as we were in flight and he somehow managed to get in touch with area manager again and was asked to take the vehicle to Kohlapur Service Centre. They have done some patch-work, which I am still apprehensive may not last long. Now the question is that will Mahindra have the guts to take the responsibility of the entire blunder? Will Mahindra have to guts to compensate for the entire financial loss that I had to suffer? (not to mention the emotional ordeal). The only option left with me is to approach the consumer court and let’s hope the justice prevails!

In the end I would like to request all readers, not to trust Indian companies and prefer established brands. And do take a feedback from existing customers before making any decision.

Dr. Sameer Modi 7 Preet Nagar, Lower Mall, Patiala 91538-XXXXX.