A clean and tidy car interior makes you feel great while driving. In addition, a clean interior ensures good health of the passengers. Even after several thousand miles of driving you can still retain impressive interiors with proper maintenance. If you make it a routine cleaning of the car interiors, a thorough cleaning will just take an hour to finish.

New trend is to send your car at “QUICK” car wash outlet. Express Car Wash is a Unique mechanized car cleaning process where cars are cleaned in just 20 minutes by the most modern cleaning equipments.

Basic Exppress Car Wash includes:
- Complete Vacuuming of Cars incl. Seats & Boots
- Washing & Cleaning of Foot Mats
- Pre Washing of Cars
- Foam Cleaning of Car Exterior
- Tyre Arches Cleaning
- Underbody wash
- Engine Hot Water/Steam Wash
- Washing & Cleaning of Door Frames
- body Liquid Polishing/Waxing
- Cleaning and Polishing of Dashboard.

For more information on Exppress car wash, please visit: http://mericar.com/exppresscarwash/

Send any enquiry on car washing at http://www.mericar.com/car_booking.php?dealerId=4218
or call at MeriCAR Helpdesk at: +918750000555

Other car cleaning tips Source:
Car interior maintenance
Best cleaning tips for your car

MeriCAR.com™, the pioneer in online car servicing and repair, launches a unique and new membership for car owners which entitles them to avail various discount coupons at MeriCAR member workshops in Delhi-NCR.

(PRESS) Gurgaon, Haryana, May 1, 2012 /India PRwire/

MeriCAR 24×7 car servicing booking helpline in New Delhi & NCR launches car servicing deals as a part of ‘Loyalty Program’ for car owners in Delhi-NCR. MeriCAR.com™ coupons include offer for car servicing, Teflon coating, rubbing & polishing, car wash, wheel alignment, 24×7 breakdown card membership comes along with 24×7 support for car breakdown.

Customers need to register on MeriCAR.com and after paying the membership charges online, they can use coupons at MeriCAR.com member workshops in Delhi-NCR. MeriCAR.com is using secure DirecPay, a payment gateway by The Times of India Group venture for all membership transactions.

Car owners can call the MeriCAR Helpline Call Center number at 875-0000-555 to book their car for service or repairs. Using MeriCAR.com™ Loyality Program car owners can save upto estimated Rs.5,000 annually on servicing and repair bill.

“Loyalty Program is customer acquisition program . It would help MeriCAR to retain customers and workshops get new customers by giving them discounts” says Rakesh K. Sidana, Founder, CEO, MeriCAR.com

The company is planning to launch similar program in other cities.

Notes to Editor

MeriCAR.com™ is first in India dedicated car servicing web portal. The venture is helping car owners to search the neighbourhood car service centre, connect to the right car workshop and save on car servicing bill. MeriCAR.com™ impacts unorganized after-sales-market and provides personalized support to find the right car workshop in India. MeriCAR.com™ has over 180 member car workshops and its search web directory has over 500 verified car repair and service centres all across India.

Source:
http://www.indiaprwire.com/pressrelease/auto/20120501118717.htm

It would seem nobody is immune from recalls these days

The company said Monday that the recall involves eight- and 12-cylinder versions of the BMW 5, 6, 7, X5 and X6 series and the Mini Cooper S and Mini John Cooper Works models. Most of the cars were produced in March and April 2011.

The recall involves a possible defect in a cooling pump. The company says the problem has arisen only in one or two cases. It seems all the cars share an electric auxiliary water pump with a dodgy circuit board that can overheat, causing the waterpump to “smoulder” (BMW’s word) or in a worst-case scenario, cause an engine-compartment fire.

BMW India Recalls 3422 cars in early April. 3,422 units of 5 and 6 Series cars in India within a month to replace a faulty battery cable cover. The company will replace the battery cable cover in 5 and 6 Series cars, which were produced between 2007 and 2010

Source:
http://www.iol.co.za/motoring/industry-news/bmw-recalls-rolls-royce-ghost-1.1277746

http://blog.mericar.com/faulty-battery-cable-cover-%E2%80%93-bmw-india-recalls-3422-cars/

Pic: http://i2.cdn.turner.com

Car makers are seeing customer preference for CNG cars after increase in petrol prices. The running cost for petrol car is Rs 5.05 whereas Rs 2.09 for CNG-run.

Restricted availability of CNG stations are considered roadblock for expansion. There are 635 CNG stations in India which are very less to see 4 million cars on natural gas by 2015. The availability is limited to Delhi, Mumbai and Gujarat only.

Maruti offers CNG options in its Alto, Eeco, Estilo, Wagon R and SX4 models and projected CNG cars account 20% of total sales. Other car maker Hyundai has gas variants of i10, Santro and Accent.

New cars are fitted with CNG. If you have old car and you want to install it, then you can contact car mechanics or car service center for installing government approve CNG. Installation of CNG kits to Petrol Vehicles are under the guidance of VRDE (Government Institute) and ARAI (Automobile Institute). There are more than 20 types of Government Approved CNG Kits are available in market to install in Car and other automobiles. Various Indian Made CNG Kits are also available and certified by Government of India.

Here are some of guidelines for CNG cars:

1. Install only durable and Government Approved CNG Conversion Kits to your car.

2. CNG Kit fitting shall be from government approved fitment centers.

3. Take proper precaution and safety measures before installing a CNG Kit to your car.

4. Before selecting for a duel fuel car you should be clear that you really need Duel fuel car. If you travel more than 100 Kms per day, and you will need less luggage space and the filling stations are on the way or near-by, then go for it else think again because it doesn’t worth that extra money you spent.
5. For duel fuel car, you must run car on petrol for sometime. It has been noticed that once car owner install CNG avoid use of petrol completely, it affects engine.

6. Car servicing is required from time-to-time on regular basis for CNG cars, as Engine would have different way of consuming fuel and runs dry most of the time without petrol.

Related Links:

http://www.hindustantimes.com/News-Feed/Auto/Car-makers-optimistic-on-future-of-CNG/Article1-836582.aspx

http://www.cng.co.in/

It was reported that 3422 BMW cars have faulty battery cable. According to the company they have not received any complaint yet and changing the parts under the global exercise.

German luxury automaker BMW will start recalling 3,422 units of 5 and 6 Series cars in India within a month to replace a faulty battery cable cover. The replacement will be done within a month.

The company will replace the battery cable cover in 5 and 6 Series cars, which were produced between 2007 and 2010, he added. “These all cars are old versions of the two models. Out of these, the 5 Series were assembled at our Chennai plant in India, while the 6 Series cars were imported,” the official said.“The parts will be replaced free of cost and it will not take more than 30 minutes for a customer,” he added.

It is not the first time, German car makers Volkswagen AG (VOW.XE) and BMW AG (BMW.XE) recalls early this year in January 2012, more than recall 50,000 cars.

Source / More Reading:

http://www.thehindu.com/business/companies/article3253586.ece
http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20120116-706746.html

According to McKinsey & Company 2010 report, the automotive aftermarket for parts in India is a large and growing market that spans manufacturers, distributors, retailers, service providers and garages.

The total size of aftermarket sector is currently estimated at USD 5 billion to USD 6 billion with 34% car after-sales market (with additional Rs. 8000 crore to Rs. 12000 crore car servicing). Interestingly, there are only 4 states (Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Delhi and Tamil Nadu) contributes 40% share. The market is expected to grow at a rapid 11% per annum.

CURRENT MARKET: FRAGMENTED

According to report, current market structure is fragmented. The value chain in India remains highly fragmented and there is a significant level of intermediation required for parts to reach end customers. The production of parts is split between original equipment manufacturers (OEM), original equipment suppliers (OES) and generic manufacturers. While OEM’s may rely on their own distribution networks, with parts being sold through directly-owned or franchised dealers, the independent channel has grown in significance in recent times. Original equipment suppliers have the advantage of being able to both directly supply OEMs, as well as go through independent distributors.

REPORT ANALYSIS AND SUGGESTIONS:

The report suggested the player must undertake specific initiatives to ensure margins remain at current levels. According to suggestions, the independent garages and multi-brand dealers must capitalise on India’sageing car-parc. Market interviews and analysis indicate that owners of older vehicles often migrate to independent service networks for cheaper and faster service. The lower cost of servicing at independent garages is influenced by primarily three factors – the ability to source generic parts at a lower cost than OE spares, the ability to reach scale in smaller locations through servicing multiple brand vehicles, and the lower overhead cost structure compared to OEMs. Given that the auto market in India has been growing rapidly for the last few years, both generic manufacturers and independent garages and service providers must position themselves to capitalise on this trend. With OEMs more focussed on vehicles in their warranty period, offering higher levels of service for older cars will be necessary for independent players to attract customers. This means they must build a reputation for reliability by focusing on standardisation and quality, while adequately preparing for increasing complexity in vehicles

Here are some suggestions:

Owners of older cars migrate to independent service networks for cheaper and faster service. As the car-vintage matures in India,independent garages must:

1. Build trust: there is low confidence is quality and reliability.

2. Bring in standardisation to prevent migration to OEM service providers.

3. Prepare for increasing complexity in vehicles with adequate training.

Lastly, the report concludes with some overall structure of the aftermarket and opportunities in India.

The Indian automotive aftermarket is at an inflection point – vehicle parc is increasing, parts are getting more complex, customers are more price sensitive, and global suppliers are expanding their sourcing and distribution presence in India. Scaling up capacity to service the growing demand will be a challenge for Indian companies across the value chain, especially with margins likely to come under pressure. Overall, the industry revenue pools will significantly increase, and players who adapt their business models to the changing scenario, are likely to emerge as winners.

Source Report: Full report can be read at:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/48556401/AutoServ-Opportunities-in-the-Indian-Automotive-Aftermarket-Final

PS: This information is posted on blog for information purpose only with mention of link source.

India is poised to overtake Japan as Asia’s No. 2 vehicle market by 2016 according to new estimates (by WSJ). Car sales in India are projected to rise to 4.88 million vehicles by 2016. Car servicing business is growing faster to meet increasing demands from large car population.

Serving to car owners with all makes would definitely bring more business to car service center than serving to one. According to reports, only one-third of the cars go back to the dealerships post warranty and rest search for other good workshop. There is huge potential in after-market for multi-brand workshops.

Small car workshops serve multi brands. Normal servicing and running repair is possible at any service station but arrangement of genuine parts is not easy for everybody. Car manufacturer recommends genuine spares. Availability of genuine spare parts difficult for multi brand workshops and customers prefer dealer workshop.

Over the years, Indian Auto Spare Parts sector has witnessed a slow yet steady growth. Spares parts of different brands are available in the market. Small workshops use non-branded cheapest parts, some believes they are same genuine parts without labels.

Corporate like Bosch, Mobil1, Castrol, Carnation, Carz are running multi brand authorized workshops. Some are building own multi brand workshops and others are making franchisee all across India. There business model varies, some are supplying tools and other lubricants to these franchisee workshops.

There is estimated over 19000 multi brand workshops in India, and estimated 5000 are worth. All corporate search for these 5000 worth workshops to make them franchisee or try to acquire them.

Maruti has 2992 authorized workshops all across India. Currently Maruti vehicles are more than others, but workshops which are not doing good in business starting servicing to multi brand customers.

More Reading and Source:
India to Overtake Japan in Car Sales

http://www.business-standard.com

http://automobiles.mapsofindia.com

Picture Source: http://si.wsj.net

When you buy new car, hardly you do any effort to know the cost of car servicing. Your car is under warranty, and you car manufacturer ensures that you need not to pay anything extra except for oil and consumable.

Once the warranty gets expired, the cost of servicing become high at the same authorized service station. That is the time you need to compare cost at other service station. About 45% of car owners in India, still visit to same service station and do not worry about costs until somebody refer them other service station or they came to know that they are charged “extra” for what they may not require or any other un-happy expereince.

Charging extra for the work/parts that may not require is very common. Globally, car owners worried about charging extra. For example, you brake pads are still to run for another six months, but mechanics ask you to get it replaced now. You can relate these phenomena with doctors asking you take precaution medicine before it happens. It may be good for you if you forget changing your brake pads or not good for replacing things which is still working.

For car owners, you must have cost estimation. Getting car check up at two service station is good idea, but consume sometime. Labour charges have been standardized by car manufacturer at dealers, but fixing at other workshop is not easy thing. Corporate are coming forward to build authorized service station, but standardizing car servicing prices are still a challenge as labour charges varies.

Here are few guidelines:

1. Visit to nearest car servicing center and ask for cost estimation. All car workshops owners do not mind giving estimate.

2. Call to MeriCAR.com Customer executive center. Ask them to give you two choices of car service station. MeriCAR Helpdesk take your call on conference and introduce you to service stations. You will get some idea while talking to works manager.

3. Check out MeriCAR Review Section, you can have fair ideas from car owner’s feedback where you get fair idea of right car service station. You can also try asking question to automotive experts at Ask The Expert.

We are not saying you will get exact cost estimation, but yes, you can get some fair idea of your car servicing and repair. In rare cases, your estimation gone wrong because your car fault can not be detected until car engine is not dismantle, that you can not help it yourself. You have to rely on car service station.

Pic Source: http://t0.gstatic.com/images

You can not believe if you can find pricing of one car workshop cheaper than other. Forget about dealer prices, there is a huge difference. Globally everywhere, workshop has own price structure for regular service and running repairs. Even car manufacturer like Maruti, Hyundai has somehwhat controlled prices at their authorized Car Service Station, but local independent car workshop still have different range of prices.

Following are reasons why price varies at independent workshops.

1. Labour Costs:
It varies from one workshop to another. Even car workshop owner tries to hire cheap mechanics, but some mehanics are costly depending upon their experience. Other workers are hired at different rates.

2. Infrastructure:
Independent workshops with small area are cheaper when it is owned by owner himself. Other rented one and bigger area would be costly.

3. Spare Parts:
Unbranded spares are bought with huge 70% margin from raw market which manufacturer never recommends for use, but people never know if cheaper spares have been used. Common spares are brake pads, clutch plates etc are easily available with different brands with different rates.

Trends are changing, corporates are building own workshop and also making franchisee. They are trying to standardize pricing to win trust of customers. Bosch has over 500 authorized service stations in India. Carnation, MyTVS and many corporate are coming up with their branded workshops.

Pic Source: solihull-service-centre.co.uk

(PRESS) Gurgaon: Feb.02.2012.
MeriCAR.com™, the pioneer in online car servicing and repair, launches a 24×7 car servicing booking helpline in New Delhi & NCR. Car owners can call the MeriCAR Helpline Call Center number at 875-0000-555 to book their car for service or repairs at any time during the day or night.

MeriCAR.com™, India’s first web portal on car servicing and repair, launches 24×7 car servicing and repair booking helpline for car owners at any of the MeriCAR partner car service station in New Delhi & NCR. Currently there are over 100 garages that have partnered with MeriCAR to offer their services on their platform.

MeriCAR.com is helping car owners to search neighborhood car service and repair centres on one platform.. The venture is associated with authorized and multi brand car service centres. As an extension of the service, the company has set up 24×7 call center to provide personalized support during non office hours. Currently the company is offering this facility in New Delhi and NCR and will expand into other cities soon.

The team is already providing 24×7 car breakdown facility through PROMPT Car Helpline Service to provide on-road emergency assistance in New Delhi & NCR.

“The launch of our 24/7 call centre is one more step in the direction of offering car owners a reliable and single platform service to ease their service and maintenance worries. Currently we are launching this in the Delhi/NCR region but hope to take it on a national basis before the end of this calendar year.” says Founder, CEO, Rakesh Sidana