Mahindra THAR in South Africa
A good car but a 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 turb charger.
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 lie 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 turbo??

Timeline of communication:

April 11^th (MAHINDRA South Africa) asked for the VIN and other 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 11^th 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 teir 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 14^th they (MAHINDRA) asked:
Hi Franz. Kindly confirm whether our Customer Care team has contacted you
regarding your query.

May 19^th 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 17^th 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!

Here the Linked-In log:

		Mahindra South Africa (average response time: 1 hour) March 27^th 2025 good morning. I tried to find out, if a turbocharger replacement of m Thar is part of a call back, as thus seems to be a known design failure of Mahindra. MA1SC4BUNK2067201 Sorry Typos
		Hi Franz, we are Mahindra South Africa and currently in our market we do not stock the Thar. Kindly direct your questions to the relevant location. Thank you Mahindra South Africa
		Hi Mahindra South Africa, I am the owner of a Thar licensed here in South Africa. Do you make jokes with customers??? 083 73 00 269 May your manager call me.
		Waiting I hope, I am allowed to publish your answer Still waiting Still waiting
		hi, Mahindra South Africa. Are you still alive??? or only doing LinkedIn once a day?? Or checking, if there are THARs in South Africa??? Just asking.....
		Hi Franz, the Thar has been discontinued in SA and there is no records of a call back on our side for the turbocharge. Kindly contact your nearest dealer for possible parts availability.

		· I will get the parts but do not want to pay for design failures of Mahindra. So if my car would have been registered in India, you would change the turbo on your cost. In SA it’s on my cost. That’s a very interesting business model. Will publish
		· April 4^th · Do you still not want to think about your stupid answer? I am still waiting for a possibility to check my South African registered Thars Turbo Charger is part of an Recall.
		· Hi Franz, kindly refer to the response that was provided above. In regards to your question on if your vehicle was registered in India, unfortunately we are not able to comment on how the branches in India would address your matter, you would need to contact them directly for clarity. Kind regards, Mahindra South Africa
		· April 6^th 2025 · Above you did not provide any answer. How could I refere to NO ANSWER??? So 100% UNABLE. a very interesting business model.
		· I think, the dealer charged me a Turbocharger for a very high price and the TC might be on a call back, how could I ask the dealer??? Hi dealer: did you steal me some money??? I will publish this kind of jokes you make with customers.
		· April 7^th 2025 Hi Franz, the following was the response provided that needed referring to "Hi Franz, the Thar has been discontinued in SA and there is no records of a call back on our side for the turbocharge. Kindly contact your nearest dealer for possible parts availability.". This is the response I had mentioned you should refer to. Kindly provide the following: Name and Surname Cell number and email address VIN number Dealership location I will transfer you to our customer care team.
		· April 11^th · · Franz REINISCH +27 83 73 00 269 or +43 676 93 94 95 8 (WhatsApp) MAHINDRA THAR 2.5 CRDE 4X4 Vehicle register Number DDH525F Vehicle ident. Number (VIN) MA1SC4BUNK2067201 Engine Number BUJ4K96650 Mahindra Caledon. Western Cape. I did not get ANY feedback about BAD turboChargers. This Indian Webpage offers an easy Check, if you have an Indian Cellphone...... https://auto.mahindra.com/service-action.html thank you franz franz.reinisch@maint.at ·
		· Thank you for the above. I will forward your details to customer service.
		· April 23^rd · Did you forget me?? Or the customer service??
		· Hi Franz, The following is the feedback from our customer care team. With regard to the turbocharger matter, as mentioned previously, there is no record of a call back on our side for the turbocharger around a design failure in South Africa. In regard to the Thar, as mentioned previously, it has been discontinued in South Africa. Kindly contact your nearest dealer for possible parts availability. Kind Regards, Mahindra South Africa
		· yes - thank you. To keep me as a futur customer, to buy a Mahindra again, you are far from professional. I do not ask the local Dealer, as they also do not get first hand information from Mahindra INDIA. Why did you not just check my VIN on the Indian Homepage and send me a screenshot of the result?? That was my question!! You remember? https://auto.mahindra.com/service-action.html But the customer care team does not take care of customers!!! Otherwise they would have contacted me directly. Maybe via my local maintenance workshop, which is a ROLA Mahindra. All in all: looking for a Jeep now. As my next car! They are not CHEAP but more professional!! Best regards and please send the answer to the customer care team to care about customer. franz
		· May 7^th · Thank you for sharing your concerns with us. We’ve received your complaint and can confirm that Mahindra South Africa Head Office is aware of the matter and is currently reviewing it. We’ve also received confirmation from the dealership that the vehicle was re-booked for the 29th of April. A member of our Customer Care Team will be in touch with you shortly. To assist us in looking into this further, please send us the following details: - Dealership name - Full name and surname - Vehicle model - VIN number - Contact details (email and phone number) Thank you for your patience as we work to resolve this.
		· May 9^th MAHINDRA THAR 2.5 CRDE 4X4 Vehicle register Number DDH525F Vehicle ident. Number (VIN) MA1SC4BUNK2067201 Engine Number BUJ4K96650 ROLA Mahindra Caledon thank you
		· May 14^th Hi Franz. Kindly confirm whether our Customer Care team has contacted you regarding your query. ·
		· May 17^th · What do you think? NO, nobody is interested to HELP a customer. So - what do you think my next car will be? Mahindra THAR again or a Toyota Hilux?? Mahindra South Africa AND Rola Mahindra are poor performers. And both of them do not have an tiny idea about complaints management.
		· May 19^th · We appreciate your honesty and value your opinion. We're constantly striving to improve our services, and your input helps us in this endeavour.
		· but you dont improve. Constantly!!
		· May 25^th · You say: We're constantly striving to improve our services. When do you start improving???
		· June 2^nd · I ask for a friend: when exactly do you start improving?
		· June 8^th · Very interesting Business Model
		· June 12^th ·
		· But Not for Thar Owners. Thar Owners are f****d from Mahindra SA. At least ignoriert
		· June 17^th · Good day, Franz. We are writing to formally address your recent conduct on social media platforms, where you have made a series of aggressive and defamatory remarks concerning the Mahindra brand. While we acknowledge your right to raise concerns and seek assistance, the manner in which you are currently doing so is unacceptable and potentially damaging to the brand’s reputation. This includes inaccurate references to alleged “recalls” on the previous-generation Thar model, which are not supported by any official communication or technical bulletin from Mahindra South Africa. Please note that although the mentioned Thar model is no longer in production, genuine parts remain available and can be sourced through your servicing dealership. As previously advised, we encourage you to work directly with your local dealership to resolve any concerns you may have. In view of the above, not only are your messages aggressive, but also inaccurate and thus tantamount to defamation. We accordingly instruct you to remove all of your negative and defamatory remarks related to Mahindra within 24 hours of this correspondence and to cease and desist from making any further negative and incorrect statements about Mahindra or the dealer. Should you fail to comply with this demand, we will be left with no further action but to seek legal intervention in this matter. We trust that sanity will prevail and there will be no need for further escalation. All of Mahindra South Africa’s rights remain strictly reserved. Regards, Mahindra South Africa.
		· · You are a Clown. In the beginning of this Thread you PROMISSED to Connect me to you support experts. So one step after the Other. I wait for your experts, lets say for 2 or 3 more days, otherweise I will Go into more detailed (aggressiv) Messages. More Public of course. Micro Webs.
		· 14. May, If you are unable to scroll Up. You said: Hi Franz. Kindly confirm whether our Customer Care team has contacted you regarding your query. Find the Problem!!! ·
		· On 7th of May you said: Thank you for sharing your concerns with us. We’ve received your complaint and can confirm that Mahindra South Africa Head Office is aware of the matter and is currently reviewing it. We’ve also received confirmation from the dealership that the vehicle was re-booked for the 29th of April. A member of our Customer Care Team will be in touch with you shortly. To assist us in looking into this further, please send us the following details: - Dealership name - Full name and surname - Vehicle model - VIN number - Contact details (email and phone number) Thank you for your patience as we work to resolve this. Find the Problem
		· It will come in substack first. Like this poor performers: https://saegezahn.substack.com/p/the-most-terrible-customer-service/comments
		· Mahindra India helped me. I will send them the thread with your unbeleavable STUPID answers anoying customers. ·
		·

The check on the Indian Webpage ended with this result:

That’s what I wanted to know. So easy!

Feedback welcome: franz.reinisch@maint.at
(maint stands for "Maintenance"
We did Aircraft Maintenance Solutions for 30 years, so we know (nearly) all about maintenance
and Complaints Management