Peninsular Honda sells me a *new* repainted Honda Civic 1.8 V

[GTO]

Originally Posted by DKG

As regards telling a customer a car was repainted you honestly believe any customer would accept it?

Of course NOT! We are paying for a brand new car that is expected to be perfect / defect-free. In this gentlemans case, it is not a mere one scratch repair job that is unnoticeable. The damage was obviously more than that, and the repair work to it is completely botched up (from his description).

Such a car deserves to be sold at a discount, and with prior intimation to the customer about its defects. Heck, this is a 14 lakh rupee purchase. Levi's has seconds sales for even 500 rupee denims.

I can accept a dealer being callous, but to jump to a conclusion that Honda in India does not care, that is far fetched in my opinion. They do value customer satisfaction.

Honda dealerships aren't shining stars when it comes to customer satisfaction. A majority of Honda owners on Team-BHP itself, yours truly included, have had terrible experiences with them. A majority of our ownership review reports (200+ of them) have given Honda after-sales a thumbs down. Don't get me wrong. I am a Honda fan, but of their product and not the attitude. If Honda did truly care so much for client satisfaction, they would ensure that certain standards, training and procedures are enforced upon dealerships for customer satisfaction. Skoda turned a blind eye to their dealerships and look where it got them.

Also, they would have had the courtesy of replying to this gentleman.

[DKG]

If the rectification did go beyond a scratch repainted then surely the owner can expect some justice.

Please send me through PM your VIN number and invoice date and number and I will request the south regional office to look into this.

[zoom_vroom]

Hi All
I found a blog that sounds the same story about Honda.
Beware of Honda Cars India
Venkatarangan's Blog [வெங�கடரங�கன� வலைப�பதிவ�] - Honda India and Service?
Complaint copy
http://www.venkatarangan.com/blog/content/binary/Honda%20City%20Complaint%2014th%20May%202007%20Abr idged.pdf

Sincerely i feel that if such a thing happens then one should take it to the highest level.
Did you try some Delhi numbers given at Honda Website.
Also do contact their regional office in Mumbai.
Tell them about this, keep calling. 12 lacs is no small sum,an over that its your hard earned money.
Honda Car factory telephones
0120 - 234 1313/ 1321/ 1327/ 1801/ 1806
Zonal Office - Mumbai
022 67895000 / 5001 / 5002 / 5003
Keep calling them and be stern in what you say.Show them that your not gonna give up.Anyone at team-bhp whose friend/relative works in Honda Factory in Noida,can you get the numbers of some people from Quality and Sales department.
I shall also try the same from my Dad as he is a paint consultant in many Honda anciallaries which make components for Honda and Maruti
We are there for you !!!!

[shankar.balan]

From what I ve been told by various friends in the legal profession, I suggest you contact a good lawyer and file a Consumer Court Case making the CEO/ MD of HONDA INDIA as PARTY TO THE CASE and placing all facts, photos etc on the table along with case papers/ supporting documentation/ correspondence.

Once this is done, a Legal Notice can be sent to him (the CEO/MD). If he ignores this, he will be sent a summons by the consumer court, and if he fails to act on that, he will be treated with contempt of court.

Meantime, try and get a letter explaining this, to the Editor Times of India and Hindustan Times as well. Nothing like a bit of adverse publicity.

Believe me, these are about the only things that will wake them up fast enough.

Wish you all the best.

[GTO]

Originally Posted by DKG

Please send me through PM your VIN number and invoice date and number and I will request the south regional office to look into this.

Wow! Thank you. I am sure JMathew will hugely appreciate this gesture.

[ramie2400]

4days ago just entering upon mira-road left side at the octroi,I saw 3 brand new Black Civic badly damaged from the rear bumper and side doors's and one white NHC vtec bonet crumpled during the transportation.I will click the pics this time if its still lying there,I did not came to know to which dealer it was going.So please beware on going for a Black civic.

[maddy42]

@jmmathew. You seriously deserve a replacement or your cash returned with interest plus the number of days you were without your vehicle. Dont let them try to manipulate you to give up the case. Its a really long way and all bhpians will be with you for this. You wanted a new car and you should be given one.

[ownerofazkaban]

Inspite of stiff competition from Maruti, Honda is still being arrogant.

campare this to something that Mazda did, (the cars were not even damaged)
Mazda destroys 4,703 shiny new cars worth $100 million - Boing Boing

Mazda destroys 4,703 shiny new cars worth $100 million

BTW, Please be aware of certain legal rules, I think once the matter is sub-judice you should be careful in what you pen down in public here.

[ph03n!x]

Originally Posted by zoom_vroom

We are there for you !!!!

One of the things that make me a proud BHPian!!!

[HotChillyPepper]

Originally Posted by married2speed

Just would like to know your source of information there bro'. From what I heard is that, transit is the companies responsibility. After the cars get unloaded, the dealer gets to go over the cars cosmetics and if and only if he approves, the car is his for taking. Any scratches/dents, the dealer has the option of sending the car back something, which costs the company an arm and a leg. So instead, some chose to keep the car but then get a huge discount from the company as well, like a waiver to sell that car besides the commission. However, I could be wrong too. Your thought please.

Thanks
M2S

Hey M2S,
Now a days almost all companies in India (including automobile, Home appliances etc) uses thrid party companies to manage and execute their supply chains. These companies are not under the direct control of manufacturer, so while loading from factory a shipping insurance is been registered and the if you see the insurance paper the owner of the vehicle mentioned in that is the dealer and not the manufacturer.

After the vehicle reaches the dealer he has to run a checklist to make sure the vehicle reached in perfect condition. In case of any Manufacturing defect the dealer can send the car back in the same truck. But if its a defect happened during transit, the dealer has to proceed with the transit insurance. This is the procedure at least GM follows and I believe its the same with all companies. Pls correct me if I am wrong.

Originally Posted by DKG

You trust the judiciary to solve these matters expeditiously??? I think its now well over 15 years the case is still not resolved!
.

You may not have to go to High court for this. You can very well file a case in consumer court and they have a very less lead time in taking a resolution. Obviously the manufacturer will take it further to higher levels and will take time. But fighting a case which s already in your favor is always have a upper hand in subsequent hearings.

Taking time is not a reason to stop going court. In that case there will be no law and order in our country.

Note from the Team-BHP Support Staff : Please use the "edit" button if posting within 15 minutes of the first post, instead of creating another back-to-back post

Also use "Multi Quote" option for quoting Multiple posts.

[married2speed]

Now a days almost all companies in India (including automobile, Home appliances etc) uses thrid party companies to manage and execute their supply chains. These companies are not under the direct control of manufacturer, so while loading from factory a shipping insurance is been registered and the if you see the insurance paper the owner of the vehicle mentioned in that is the dealer and not the manufacturer.
After the vehicle reaches the dealer he has to run a checklist to make sure the vehicle reached in perfect condition. In case of any Manufacturing defect the dealer can send the car back in the same truck. But if its a defect happened during transit, the dealer has to proceed with the transit insurance. This is the procedure at least GM follows and I believe its the same with all companies. Pls correct me if I am wrong.

I Hot Chilly Pepper
I've got a few more things to learn from you
1. Who gets to decide if the company will be sending the cars, using a 3rd party transport company or their own.
2. Reason I say their own is that I suppose Maruti still uses it's own trucks to transport cars, atleast a few of them for sure.
3. What happens in the scenario where the company's own transport has been used to transit cars, again viz-a-viz, Maruti and the cars get damaged in transit.

Cheers!
M2S

[shajufx]

Any news from the thread starter about the latest progress ? Hope things are in control and moving in favour of the customer ! Just curious to know the updates as I myself plan to be a Honda customer very soon !

[jmathew]

There is no favaourable response from either honda/dealer. They are still saying that they will replace the door. They dont seem to accept the other defects in the bonnet, back bumper and front bumper. I am attaching the photos of 3 defects which are very evident.

[jassi]

boy oh boy - that sure is evident - did you send these pics to Honda?? I am sure the person from honda who inspected was dealer influenced and passed a biased judgement. Get a good lawyer and show these pics as evidence to consumer court and I am sure you will win this one!! The dealer has to be kidding you if he says just the door needs to be replaced and we are done They need to give you a new car and thats it

[married2speed]

Holy Baloney!
It's about time the dealer replaced your car and gave you and accord complimentary with it. If you haven't done it till now, do so - get yourself a great lawyer and make the dealer pee in his pants

M2S