Jul 14, 2008 03:58 PM
8911 Views
First of all let me appreciate mouthshut.com for providing the users an opportunity to post their reviews and comments. My sincere thanks to the mouthshut team.
I chose to buy Indica Xeta GLG after reading the reviews posted by many proud owners on mouthshut.com and on recommendation from my friend who owns Indica Diesel & Petrol version. I bought this car in the last week of April 2008 from Shaman Auto (Mumbai) for Rs. 3, 26, 000/- (Thane registration), which means my car is less than 3 months old.
Why I choose to buy Indica Xeta GLG?
(1) I don’t like Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai as all their models are over priced
(2) Indica is a TATA product (a trusted company)
(3) Space and comfort in the car is better than other cars in this budget
(4) Attractive price/ discount offered by the dealer
(5) Good Air-conditioning (1 ton)
(6) Car design & safety (low and wide car)
(7) Low maintenance
Am I happy with the car?
The answer is “NO” because of many reasons. In fact, I’m planning to sell the car and buy a decent one that fulfils the above criteria except the pricing and the brand.
Why I’m not happy with the car?
In the past, I’ve driven Maruti 800 for 3 years, Hyundai Santro manual for a year, Honda City manual – old model for a year and Opel Marina manual in Europe. When I returned from Europe I decided to buy an automatic car with a good air conditioner because of the worst traffic conditions and bad weather in Mumbai; but none of the car were available in India that would fit my budget. Honda City – Automatic was a good choice but over priced. I believe in value for money and think twice before I spend every penny I've earned. I decided to hire a driver and started my research on good affordable cars with low maintenance in the long run. After a lot of research, test drives and feedback from many others, I choose to buy Indica Xeta GLG Petrol, as my daily run was not more than 25 kms.
Since the time I’ve bought this car, I’m cursing my decision. I was advised by many people including my family members to not to buy a TATA product but wanted to prove a point that TATA motors have improved. Actually, I believed in TATA products as I worked for them for more than 5 years in the past.
Initially there were 2 defects that I noticed on the day of delivery and was told that these defects will be fixed during the 1st service and not on that very day. There were few more defects in the car that I noticed after few days like cracked headlamp and bad door/ window rubber fittings. The headlamp was replaced without any cost but I’m compromising with other defects that cannot be replaced. The finishing is not up to the mark (in fact worst) and my car has started making noises from everywhere. I think I’ll have to install a music system to get rid of these noises. The mileage that I got for the first 1000 kms I drove was only 4.5 kms per litre and later was improved to 6.4 kms by TASC Worli service station. Believe me, I was told by the attendant that since it is a new car the mileage is so low. Over a period of time, the mileage shall improve and need not be fixed at this point in time. Only when I insisted this issue was fixed. After the 1st service the mileage improved to 7.5 kms and continues to be between 7.5 & 8. I always run my car with AC on in Mumbai city limits.
The customer service offered by the dealers and service stations I visited were not good. I hope they improve on this front very soon. I spoke to few people in TATA motors (regional office) and they helped me to get the above problems fixed. They are very helpful, prompt and tries to understand the defect/ problem and assist you to fix them.
To improve the mileage my service station advisor advised me to take my car on a long drive, which I did in the last week. I traveled to Lonavala, Khandala, & Ambey Valley via Mumbai-Pune expressway and the mileage I got is around 8.5 kms per litre with AC on. During this drive I noticed many other problems and have reported this to TATA motors today morning. Hopefully, they assist me to fix this ASAP. Would any body believe that I’ve stopped using this vehicle from today and she is done only 2000 kms till date and have so many issues? Also the air-conditioning initially was not up to the mark. I had to install a Garware sun-film worth Rs.6000/- on all four sized. Post this; the cooling is better but not excellent. Where as the cooling in Indica Diesel remains the best in its class.
The problems that were noticed in my long journey are (a) Car refused to climb up the hill with AC on and when all seats are occupied with sufficient luggage in the boot (some how we managed the show) (b) You have to drive constantly in 1st gear to climb up the hill with 4 others in the car (twice I had to ask couple of people to get down and push the car from behind) (c) Other cars like Alto, 800, Santro easily overtakes you when climbing the hill (in fact twice I lost to auto-rickshaw) (d) Handbrake doesn’t function when on hill with 4 others sitting in the car (e) I also noticed power-steering getting harder at low speed (my back and shoulders are still in pain) (f) we started getting a burning smell in the car when the engine was pushed hard to climb the mountain (g) brakes are not very good but better than 800 and Alto.
I don’t want to say that all Indica Xeta will have the above problems mentioned but I’m sure I have got a defective piece. There are few good things that I’ve noticed with my car but I think it is useless to talk about after mentioning the above defects/ problems. I know one individual who can talk great about Indica Xeta since he never faced this kind of issues. The only difference between us is that the Xeta he owns is his first car and I have owned and experienced many other cars/ brands. The benchmarking will always be different with difference users and type of usage. I would recommend all prospective buyers to test the car in the worst conditions before you freeze the decision to buy. I now realize that spending little more or more to buy a good car makes good sense and off course a wise decision in India at least where consumers like me have no powers to go against the maker. I’ve learnt this lesson the hard way and hope people reading this review makes a correct choice and decision. I’m not proud of my brand new Indica Xeta GLG 1.2 litre petrol.
Best wishes. Amal
