MAHINDRA THAR in South Africa
A good car, but terrible (or non-existent) customer support
I have been a happy owner of a MAHINDRA THAR in South Africa since 2022.
Due to a Jeep - Mahindra legal Issue in South Africa (and Australia) the THAR is no longer sold here in South Africa.
Nevertheless, spare parts are available and the car works well for our needs.
If someone asks, we say:
NO – its no Jeep,
it’s cheaper!!!
Unfortunately, during the last maintenance in 2025 we had to replace the turbocharger.
Since we had heard about common turbocharger problems with Mahindra vehicles, we searched online to see if there had been a recall for our modell.
We just wanted to make sure we weren't paying for something that could have been covered.
We easily found a web page to check the VIN
https://auto.mahindra.com/service-action.html
You enter the VIN and they tell you whether your car is under recall - or not.
Unfortunately, this check is only for INDIAN vehicles and requires an Indian Cell phone number.
Our Maintenance shop said:
"No, there is no recall on your car"
But what I wanted to know was: "what – if the car were registered in India? Would it be on the recall list then?
So I reached out to Mahindra South Africa via LinkedIn and other social media platforms.
What I expected (a simple solution):
MAHINDRA South Africa could have:
ask someone in India or
use an Indian cell phone number to check the VIN on my behalf.
That was my idea.
But I am not long enough a South African part time Resident. So I have had to learn a lot.
Not with bad government, which is improving quickly, but with commercial companies like MAHINDRA!!!
What actually happened:
First of all MAHINDRA South Africa said:
No, we do not have the THAR on the market
(so basically: Don't bother us with your stupid questions).
They didn't say it quite like that, but South Africa is learning fast, not necessarily in terms of business professionalism, but at least in terms of compliance, anti-discrimination and other such regulations (just like here in Europe).
Italic Courier writing indicates what hit my brain.
It’s not important what you say, whats matters is what the customer understands!!!!!
MAHINDRA told me: "Please ask your dealer".
Imagine this conversation:
Hi dealer, did you charge me too much for the turbocharger??
Timeline of communication:
April 11th (MAHINDRA South Africa) asked for the VIN and other details to investigate the case.
They will send it to the customer care.
(You know: customer care should care about customers. They (MAHNDRA South Africa have to learn a lot here)).
May 11th they (MAHINDRA South Africa) asked AGAIN for the VIN and details to investigate the case.
They will send it to the customer care.
It seems their social media team still needs to learn how to croll up or read a message longer than 5 words.
After reading they should understand what the customer is asking for.
A long way to go for MAHINDRA South Africa.
May 14th they (MAHINDRA) asked:
Hi Franz. Kindly confirm whether our Customer Care team has contacted you
regarding your query.
May 19th they (MAHINDRA) said:
We appreciate your honesty and value your opinion.
We're constantly striving to improve our services, and your input helps us in this endeavour.
From that point on, I kept asking:
"Why dont't you start improving."
Since I still hadn't receiverd a real answer, I commented on a few of their marketing posts, hoping to get noticed.
June 17th the (MAHNDRA) told me that my messages had become aggressive (yes, they did over the time) and they (MAHINDRA) threadened legal intervention,
if I continued to make "negative and incorrect statements. "
I made a last attempt via the Indian service- webpage
https://auto.mahindra.com/service-action.html
Using the MAHINDRA chat bot on WhatsApp (+91 7066331234) I was able to confirm:
NO, the VIN you entered is not included in the service action.
Problem solved.
Final Thoughts:
MAHINDRA South Africa really should improve their service, as they promissed:
We're constantly striving to improve our services, and your input helps us in this endeavour
Will my next car be a THAR? I am not 100 % sure anymore!
More details and the LinkedIn log can be found here:
Mahindra-Memo
latest news;
June 24th the Customer Service of MAHINDRA South Africa answered and told me again, what I did not ask for. They know all about worldwide recall etc. etc.
Additionally they said: “We remain committed to offering you the best service possible”.
I suggested to offer a turbocharger overhaul for the old turbocharger, so I have one as a spare, if the new one brakes down again, as usual with MAHINDRA turbochargers.
(no, this are NO negative and incorrect statements. It’s just a simple search for turbocharger problems with MAHINDRA).
to be continued…….