Chennai: Automobile service centres in south Chennai have stopped bookings for servicing of vehicles damaged by floodwaters. Even prominent dealers handling Maruti and Mahindra four-wheelers are now giving January as the deadline to their customers to repair flood-hit cars, forcing many Chennaiites to use public transport.
According to rough estimates from Guindy and Ambattur Industrial Estates, more than 15,000 cars of different brands had been adversely affected. When DC visited four service stations, service advisors were seen buying time till Pongal from customers to deliver their damaged cars.
“Two weeks back, we received around 1,300 vehicles for servicing and we delivered 300 of them at the earliest. To ensure a speedy restoration of vehicles, we have deployed around 150 people from across the country to reach Chennai and help existing workshops in service and repairs,” said a spokesperson representing Maruti Suzuki India.
Two trucks with spare parts are reaching the workshops to clear the extra rush of damaged vehicles. Since many vehicles had been submerged in water, they will need a thorough cleaning and polishing inside and outside. MSIL will bear 50 per cent of the cost. “Ultimately, our prime importance is to get the customer’s mobility on track”, the representative added.
According to Kevin Flynn, president and managing director, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA), all efforts are on to help Fiat owners. “We are extending free road side assistance to ensure quicker repair and FCA is also mobilising additional dealer manpower from nearby States to expedite repairs so that customers get their vehicles back at the earliest. Further, we will also share the costs on genuine parts replaced in the flood affected cars post insurance support”, the managing director added.
A body shop manager associated with Mahindra service maintained that on a daily basis even a high end equipped station can clear only about 30 to 40 vehicles a day; but so far more than 600 vehicles have reached our registry and regular maintenance services can be resumed at this rate only after Pongal. This is because one of the Guindy units has become defunct due to flooding. A representative of Hyundai maintained that the firm had opened additional help lines to assist the company’s customers.
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