Pre & After Service Checklist & Tips !
Thanks to my recent terrible experience after picking my car from service i looked back to see all the things that have gone wrong with my other cars & friends cars after service & have also got some candid info from people in the industry,so rest assured all the things mentioned can/have happened & other members are welcome to add in there knowledge/experiences to this thread.
My view on service centers
Service centers seem to be going downhill all thanks to the incredible number of cars being sold everyday so the amount of cars these centers see every day increase along with time,this specially holds true if your car is a Tata,Maruti or Hyundai (but that does not mean smaller volume makers wont screw up).
http://www.theautomotiveindia.com/forums/indian-auto-news/109-car-manufacturer-wise-monthly-sales.html
So no matter how friendly you are to the advisor or vice-versa your car is in the changing hands of the mechanics & engineers in & around the service bay so best ignore the friendly or poker face of the service advisor when taking your car back from service,i learnt the guy who screwed up my car service handles 20+ cars in a span of a few hours & he was not the only one.(Work target or promotion seeker???)
Things you need to mark on your car
- When your car is given for service the battery is disconnected usually when being worked on but its a rare scenario for it to be removed out & there have been cases of batteries ending up in another car so write your car number on the side of the battery.
- Make note of the dates on your tires that is if your tires are the stock tires that came with the car,you can read the dates on the tires by looking at the 4 digit code usually given in a box on the tire wall,for Example 2811 means 28th week & 11 stands for 2011 , your tires can end up being swapped with someothers when being removed for wheel balancing.
Pre-Service Checklist
- Make a note of all the things that need to be rectified when you give the car for service,you can make things easier for yourself by typing & saving the text on your cell phone as you mite forget to mention some issues when talking to the SA.
- The obvious things like removing the music system head unit & woofer are advised but if your a fussy music freak & your music system has a million settings then make note of the settings as they can get reset during service.
- Make sure you have your service manual along in the car as they contain coupons for service ,but some centers dont really require as your car details are shared within the company database.
- Take a look under the seats & other storage areas to see if you have left anything behind in the car & briefly make note that all mats,mudflaps,wheelcovers,spare wheel are there,its also the SA duty to inform you if things are missing & write it in the report(along with dents & other damages).
After-Service Checklist
- Make sure all issues you have mentioned are rectified as these are the things will shown the amount of attention given to your car by the SA.
- Make sure all old replaced parts such as clutch,brake pads are given to you or kept in the car.
- If engine oil is changed then its the duty of the SA(but rarely done,so help yourself) to show you that engine oil is new & it has been topped up to the right level.
- Chances are your car mite have new damages so no matter if its raining(borrow an umbrella) or getting dark check wheel arch areas & corners of the windshield for damage using the light from your phone atleast as i cannot stress how many times things have gone wrong with our cars & others i know as these are most likely places other than the obvious bumpers so you can raise the issue & save yourself some misfortune.
- Check mats,tires,spare tire(especially if wheel balancing was done) wheel covers & battery all belong to your car(easier if you have made note before).
Its quite often we hurry off without checking everything on our cars after service despite the bills being equivalent to a decent youths one month salary,but i hope this thread will help others from facing unwanted hassles in the future.
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