Issues with Mahindra and Tata Motors’ customer support seem to be increasing faster than the tech in their cars. While the two homegrown brands are making very good cars for their segment, the experience of customers seems to be hideous across the board. One search on any forum like TeamBHP will show you how bad the situation is.
Hundreds of threads, each with hundreds of replies of people reporting bad service with driven, used cars being given on deliveries, issues going unfixed for months, people’s cars being damaged and used for personal work, to even threatening customers with violence – Mahindra and Tata have a huge problem which needs immediate attention. Sooner than the next software update on their EVs.
While it can be argued that Tata and Mahindra have come quite far in terms of the kind of cars these two companies make. However, one thing that has probably gone south for these two companies is the quality of customer service. Here, we don’t only talk about the servicing and the experience associated with it, but also the way cars are sold and delivered – from downright harassment of customers to not having enough technical knowledge of the vehicles – the stories are as many and as unfortunate that it is unfair not to highlight this.
Let’s take a look at how things are with each brand based on reports of people’s experience with A – the delivery of their new cars, and B – the service of both brands. Let’s begin.
MAHINDRA – Delivery Experience
A very recent report from a known tech YouTuber brought this to our attention again, where the buyer was delivered the car with over 170 kilometers on the odometer. Upon inspecting further, the YouTuber, who goes by the name Venoms Tech, also said that his brand-new XEV 9e also had scratches. He also stated that he found pen and ink stains on the seats. YouTuber also said that his car’s carpet lamp wasn’t working and that some of the purchased accessories were missing in the car.
In another TeamBHP post, a user mentioned their bad experience with the delivery of the new XEV 9e. In their post, the user said that the delivery experience was “horrible” even after buying the most premium car in the Mahindra lineup. “Delivery arrangement was zero, no cake cutting, no celebration just got the key and the car, even though there was no ribbon on the car. Just got the key and the car,” the user said in his post.
Another user posted about multiple delays in the delivery due to a software update. In another thread, a TeamBHP user said that during his PDI, he found dents and scratches on the doors and panels of his new XEV 9e before delivery, along with ink stains on the interiors.
This is the case with many people across the brand’s dealerships throughout India, and it is not specific to the Mahindra XEV 9e. Social media and forums are filled with people’s complaints about Mahindra’s handling of customers, especially at the time of delivery.
TATA – Delivery Experience
With Tata, the story is similar. Across forums and social media, users have spoken about the bad experience with the deliveries, regardless of the model users are buying. A TeamBHP user, while describing his experience with the delivery of his Tata Harrier, said that despite doing a PDI and informing the dealership about issues, they were still not fixed. “But upon checking the car at the showroom, ALL the issues were still present, and LITERALLY, nothing was done to solve them,” the buyer said.
Another buyer of the Tata Nexon detailed their harrowing experience with the delivery of their Nexon. Here, the user detailed how the dealership staff poorly managed his delivery, first offering a car that clearly didn’t go through a proper quality check and then confusing him further by sending him to a stockyard and still not being able to get the car delivered on time.
Furthermore, the dealership didn’t even do the formalities on time and tried to give excuses to the customer for a job done poorly. This thread also goes on to expose how dealerships may be prioritising buyers who pay more for the car (different story).
This is again across the cars that Tata is selling in the country. In a detailed Medium post, a Nexon buyer recounted ants emerging from the handles and roof, constant boot-door noise, door and ORVM vibration, and a gaping, misaligned driver door. Even after two days in the workshop, the issues remained. The service engineer’s absurd suggestion? “Put naphthalene balls in the car to remove ants.” The owner’s despair was clear: > “All I got is promises that they will solve it and tons of frustration.”
Service Experience – Mahindra
Now the service experience is also similar to both Tata and Mahindra. We will start with Mahindra. In a long thread on TeamBHP, a Mahindra Thar owner detailed how his car’s service was not only improper, but it was also marked prematurely for the 3rd service. Another XUV500 owner said that his decade-old car had a recurring belt issue, suspension and brake noise. Still, the small belt change turned into a Rs 15,000 service bill with multiple replaced parts. He was further charged close to Rs 50,000 for suspension and brake repairs, and despite paying this, the customer claims that the noises remained. On top of that, the service advisors even tried to dismiss concerns.
In another more recent incident, an XUV700 user in Gurugram faced a botched 10,000-kilometer service. In a TeamBHP post, the customer detailed the experience, highlighting the fact that his car was not cleaned and a “filthy, dusty” car was delivered post-service, that too, after a delay.
Tata – After-Sale Service
Now, coming to Tata, here also users have been posting about the bad service experience for years. While the story is similar to Tata’s, the level of customers’ frustration seems to be much higher. It has led to communities and sub-Reddits that Tata vehicle owners have made. In one such Facebook group, Tata owners have summed up these issues, saying “Tata owners who don’t face issues are the lucky ones.
The service personnel and quality are below par, filled with lethargic, non-enthusiastic service personnel. Another user said, “Extremely disappointed with Tata’s car service! I recently took my vehicle for a major service, and the experience was very bad. From delayed service to poor communication and subpar work, it seems like quality and customer satisfaction are not a priority. The car was not properly washed. Inside was not even touched, and these guys are charging labour at such high rates. I was charged 9k for this kind of service. I expected much better from a reputable brand like Tata,” the user said in a post on Facebook, along with a video of the car’s condition after service.
In another incident, a Tata Harrier Pure Plus dark edition owner posted on Reddit about a terrifying delivery experience. Days after delivery, the gear lever went loose on the highway—leaving them stranded. Dealer response? Delayed (arrived only after three hours), initially blamed the owner’s driving, then later identified gear-shifting cable issues. This issue remained unsolved till the time of posting on Reddit.
Final Thoughts
Delivery across both Tata and Mahindra has troubling anecdotes—whether it’s ridiculous excuses, poor build quality, or safety hazards. Furthermore, the number of people receiving dirty and unrepaired cars after paying the price is just astonishing. It makes one wonder what the brands are doing in order to fix this. More importantly, many of these buyers of Tata and Mahindra cars have highlighted the attitude of service associates who try to evade problems instead of helping out customers with their problems. This, over and above the lack of technical knowledge in terms of identifying the issues and potentially fixing the cars, but a topic I am leaving for another story.
At the same time, it is important to note that most of these users said that they were happy with their vehicles, meaning that these homegrown brands are now actually making good cars that people like, even in the long run. Despite the positive response to the product itself, social media is filled with people enraged about the lack of fit and finish, followed by the lacklustre service and repairs.
