Buying a car is a very big occasion for us irrespective of whatever segment the vehicle belongs to. But, things can go awry at times and that can really make the whole “new car experience” sour. A MotorBeam reader recently reached out to us sharing his ordeal that he had with his brand new Jeep Compass.
Vinit Murkibhavi took delivery of his brand new Jeep Compass S 4×4 Diesel AT (top-end variant costing Rs. 35.50 Lakh OTR) on 8th July from Landmark Jeep and the odo reading at the time of delivery was 87 kms. Next day, the owner was driving his vehicle to Pune and when the odo was at 177 kms, the vehicle started jerking and the instrument cluster started flashing, “SERVICE TRANSMISSION”.
The vehicle’s transmission oil was found leaking. The owner stopped the vehicle immediately and called the SA from the dealership who had delivered the car on the previous day. The owner also called the company’s MOPAR 24 hour RSA who refused any help as the vehicle broke down within 48 hours of delivery and RSA wasn’t activated yet.
Finally, the owner arranged a flatbed on his own after looking around with local contacts for 4 hours and got the vehicle sent to Landmark Jeep, Thane. The company didn’t check the vehicle that day because it was a Saturday evening and then the next day the service centre was shut because it was a Sunday and the vehicle was inspected only on Monday.
Upon inspection it was found that the transmission oil was leaking from a loose pipe and it is a bit surprising that such an important part was missed during the vehicle’s PDI. This caused a lot of agony and distress to the owner, especially after spending so much money.
The part was rectified and the vehicle was delivered after that. After persuasion from Vinit, the vehicle’s warranty was extended from 3 years/1 lakh kms to 5 years/1.5 lakh kms free of charge. All was good for a couple of days but then the vehicle broke down again on 15th July.
Vinit was driving his car from Powai to Bandra and the vehicle was performing as expected. He stopped in Bandra for 10 minutes to pick up some groceries and once he was back, the vehicle refused to start. This time the RSA sent a tow truck and the vehicle was towed to Landmark Jeep, Andheri again. The current odo reading is less than 400 kms.
There has been no concrete answer from Jeep after this and tomorrow again being a Sunday, the vehicle would be inspected only on 18th July. Until then, the owner will have to rely on other modes of transport. This whole experience has left a bitter taste with the owner because he sold his perfectly reliable Mahindra XUV500 for this Jeep Compass and being a global brand he expected better standards.
We feel Jeep has delivered a defective car to the owner and such things do happen once in a while but in order to maintain their goodwill and keep their customer happy, the automaker should replace the vehicle with another one or offer a complete refund along with some additional compensation to the owner. We hope Jeep looks into this at the earliest to the satisfaction of their valuable customer.
