I bought this car in 2005 July. The car felt really nice for about 2 months and then the problems started. My angst was amplified with the fact that I was a TATA Employee back then and was very proud to have contributed back to my company! ( My family has a good laugh when I tell them the rationale of buying this ’junk’.)
The reasons I bought this car:
Very roomy inside, we had a Ford Ikon back then and this was much roomier. We were planning to do an All India trip with the family and our pet dog.
The car’s handling felt very comfortable.
And at 5.48 Lacs ex showroom at that point of time, this seemed like a real Value for money deal.
The reasons I hate the company now:
The car’s suspensions became stiff and unresponsive in less than 3 months. And the expressions of the dealers when I brought to their notice was truly priceless. Only they did not seem to understand why I was complaining as everything felt just right to their test drivers.
The fuel filter indicator had a mind of its own. It was full tank on day one, then on day three the Fuel low warning light went on. Trip to the bunk and few litres later, the Tank was full! They replaced the unit twice and now though the fluctuations are not imitating the Sensex’s volatile gyrations, I have stopped trusting it nevertheless.
First long trip with family from Chennai to Bangalore to ’show’ my new car to the brother, ends in a nerve racking situation. There is a leak developed in the fuel line and it’s Sunday evening and I am 200 kms away from both the cities in a small town. The fuel leaks at a very fast rate that the tank was getting emptied in less than an hour. Two emergency tank fills later one car over takes us and warns that I was leaving a petrol trail behind and wanted to know if my marbles were intact by driving and posing a risk to everyone. I could nt argue much with his logic and there were no hotels in that town. The saviour was a roadside ’Lorry Mechanic’ who was quite sure what the problem was and promised to help us as best as he could as it was already dark and did not know if there would be someone who could solder that crack etc. Two nerve racking, mosquito battling hours later our man came back triumphant and we were back on business. His very casual remark had me thinking for hours. Apparently this was a common thing that happened in TATA Mini Trucks that came to his garage and hence his ’knowhow’. The next morning I take the care to the dealer and he says that "Sorry you have allowed the car to be handled by an un authorised person hence cannot be covered under warranty’. What transpired the next 15 minutes cannot be reproduced here but ensured that he eventually covered it under warranty.
BTW, the suspension by now was equivalent to the bullock carts that one gets to ride on villages or the famous City buses back then which relied on the passenger’s own spinal system for suspension.
Lot’s more to add, will do if any reader is intersted in my car’s maintenace soap opera And I have not crossed the year 2005 yet!!.
And to quote a close friend famously mentioned, ’TATA Motors is best left doing what they know best, Trucks’. My addition to that line - ’ Only God can save Jaguar - Land Rover from TATA Motors’.
Cheers
Subash