Regrets of an Petrol Indica LSi Owner. Review on Tata Indigo - Petrol

I am an Electrical Engineer employed at Vizag Steel(RINL), Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, INDIA since 1987.

After owning a Maruti-800 for almost 10 years I purchased a Tata indica(LSi) petrol car in Sept- 2004. I opted for an Indica petrol basically for its low price and features not available on superior cars like Maruti Wagon-R or Hyundai Santro Zing at that time. Santro was being purchased by everyone in our steel plant township so I wanted to buy something different. I even splurged money on a blaupunkt stereo worth Rs. 9000/- and a set of Alloy wheels worth 14000/- to make my car look different.

To this day I regret the decision that I made and I envy my friends who made the decision to buy either a Maruti or a Hyundai product. I get so jealous and angry when I get to drive their cars which I think have better handling, are smoother, superior and long lasting.

Topping the list of irritants on a TATA Indica are:-

1. Poor build quality

   
   




2. Increased time it takes to accelerate and decelerate.

   
   




3. Poor mileage(like 9 to 10 kms/Litre)

   
   




4. Vague feel to the gear shift lever.

   
   




5. A body which gets dented easily.(The rear door got a noticeable dimple when a colleague of mine just shut the door hard). I noticed that the same could be caused even if someone leans heavily on the car.

   
   




6. Small Boot space. Not even 2 decent sized suitcases can fit.

   
   




7. Noisy engine even though its a petrol model.

   
   




8. Vibrations on higher side compared to Japanese or Korean cars.

   
   

The only plus point are the few extras like a Tachometer, Digital odometer/trip meter, rear split seating, Boot lighting, etc. These were not available in Wagon-R or Santro Zing at that time.

Added to the poor quality problem is the bad experience you face when you take your vehicle for servicing at the Tata Motor workshops. The biggest problem in Visakhapatnam is to get an appointment with SRMT’s Service center. They are the only service center in Visakhapatnam for cars and they cater to the huge base of Tata indica’s which are mostly run as Taxis. No one at the workshop has the time to listen to your complaints or problems while accepting the vehicle. The workshop takes in at least 40 or 50 vehicles per day and I have serious doubts if they have the kind of manpower or facilities to do justice to so many vehicles. I also managed a peek inside the workshop and found that the facilities are not up to mark, especially the lighting is so poor I wonder how any mechanic can do a decent job. I seriously doubt if they carry out any scheduled checks mentioned in the service book. In fact the only work they seem to do well on our cars is the water servicing part.

During the first visit to SRMT I was told that it is necessary to get the exterior Telfon coating done without which the paint would loose its sheen….blah…blah….and …blah. I was surprised at the interest they were taking in the health of my car’s paint. Somehow I could not be convinced and I was left alone with my money intact.

During my second service visit to SRMT, I however fell victim to the constant crap of vehicle rust preventive treatment which was being foisted on me by agents of M/s. DINITROL. It almost made me feel that TATA Motors love our cars so much and without anti-rust treatment our cars will just fall apart. The DINITROL guys incured my wrath later in the day when I found smudges of anti-rust paint all over my new upholstery. I never thought this kind of thing could happen in a TATA motors workshop. On my complaint to the AGM, I was offered a free clean up on a later date for which I had to travel again to their workshop all the way from my residence 30 km away.

I have made various attempts to contact someone at Tata Motors for appointment of another Service center or Authorized workshop at Visakhapatnam but none of the e-mail ID's shown in service book seem to be functional. The people at SRMT were also not able to give any of the latest contact details, tel numbers or e-mails ID's. I even visited the TATA motors site and lodged a complaint but no one cared to reply. It looks they are not bothered about customer feedback. Only after buying an Indica did I realize that this car does not have much market image, largely to it being popular as a Taxi. Incidentally most of Tata vehicles are brought to the workshops by the drivers who do not have much knowledge of the car nor are they really interested in the cars’ well being. No wonder they treat me the way they do.like a taxi driver. This really lowers my self esteem.

As of now my battery is in its last stages of life and there are huge holes in my exhaust pipe making it sound like a boat. All this in just 3 years after purchasing it and my extended warranty just lapsed.

I don’t think I will ever recommend a TATA vehicle to any of my friends, relatives or colleagues.