Chennai rains keep car service centres busy

Water-logging and inundation of roads during rains in Chennai over the past week are keeping car service centres in the city busy, according to industry sources.

Maruti Suzuki has promptly stepped in to offer timely advice and service to its customers.

Past lessons The company’s experience in handling similar situations in Jammu-Kashmir and Mumbai on earlier occasions helped the team to act immediately, Pankaj Narula, Executive Director (Service), Maruti Suzuki, told Business Line. Dealers sent SMS to customers immediately after heavy rains cautioning them against driving through waterlogged areas and advised them not to start the car if the engine turned off in waterlogged areas as it would lead to “hydro-lock” and engine seizure.

“We also shared a helpline number. On November 13, we received more than 60 breakdown calls,” he added.

He added that around 350 vehicles had been brought to service centres with problems caused by water-logging and some more could be expected in the coming days.

“Over 145 vehicles have been delivered and are on the roads. We have 27 workshops in Chennai. Incidentally, six of our dealer workshops also suffered water-logging and are out of operation,” Narula said.

Insurance claims Besides attending to breakdown, the company has also had discussions with insurance companies to clear the claims quickly, he said and pointed out that cars were assessed for damages based on level of water-logging – carpet level, seat level and dashboard level.

“We also need to assess the requirement of the damaged spare parts and rush the same to Chennai from our Gurgaon facility,” he said.

The number of Maruti vehicles on Chennai roads is estimated at over 2.25 lakh.