Bimal Motors - Indemnity clause before test drive

[viper_711]

My wife and I are contemplating buying a new B segment hatch and decided to make use of the Sunday to take test drives. We test drove the Palio SDX at Concorde motors and the I-10 at Trident Hyundai. Last we went to Bimal motors, Indiranagar for a test drive of the Swift.
Having read about the SX4 accident incident which turned nasty for a fellow BHPian sometime last month, I was a bit wary of Bimal motors. the sales representative was courteous and said a test drive will be available after we fill a form. I asked him what was this form about and he brushed aside the query with a " just a formality...DL number etc..."
On seeing the form, I noticed a clause at the bottom conveying that in the event of an accident, I would have to make good the damages.

I asked why this clause? Isn't the car supposed to be insured? He said sure it's insured but you still have to bear the cost! I argued - what if someone bangs into the car from the back? His reply - you still have to bear the repair cost.
At this point I said " thank you but no thank you" and walked out.

The Tata and Hyundai dealerships did not even ask for the DL.
I've had a test drive at Mandovi motors (another Maruti dealer) earlier and they never gave me any such form to sign.

Is this a fair trade practice? I do agree that any dealer reserves the right to check whether a prospective customer is holding a valid driving license. I don't agree with the indemnity clause to make good all damages in the unfortunate event of an accident.

I think this reflects badly on Maruti Suzuki.

What I would like to know from fellow BHPians is that have you experienced this in any other parts of the country or with other dealers?

[Samurai]

Once bitten, twice shy.

No, it doesn't reflect on Maruti Suzuki, just the attitude of Bimal Motors. Are they willing to give such undertaking everytime a customer gives the vehicle to them for service?

[Jeep]

Why did you go to Bimal even after knowing about them in this forum.

They are out for me forever. Their unethical ways have been exposed.

I test drove an SX4 at RNS motors about 3 months back and all they asked for was the DL. Also, I had to sign the feedback form after the test drive.

[lamborghini]

Was never asked to sign such a thing. Even when I went for a TD of the 523i, I didn't sign any such form. After the TD, i was made to sign a form for both, the BMW TD and the Camry TD but that was more about the quality of the TD and information about the car model that I desired.

[gods-envy]

forget Bimal, try RNS or even Mandovi or something.
As far as I know, RNS seems to be a safe bet.
They are a nice bunch of people. (give my friend's car for service there)

[Dolphin]

You did the right thing by walking out of there. How did you manage to get the photo of the form? Didn't he object?

[finneyp]

Pathetic attitude by Bimal! We should boycott them!

As Samurai said, will they sign a similar Indemnity clause when their customers give their car for service?

Recently, when I took a TD of Palio MJD, the dealer just asked my DL.

[khan_sultan]

Boycott Bimal and spread the word around about these rascals(sorry for strong language but Bimal does deserve that). I agree with Samurai -- will they sign an indemnity clause before we give our vehicle for servicing?

PS: I have never been asked for even a DL in the number of TD's i have done. However, i will be very careful now.

[WhiteKnight]

Bimal!! Ha, it's been 2 years since I walked away from those guys. Stay away if you wish to avoid trouble

[sanjayatarizona]

This is a first i have heard of and really pathetic. Screw these guys completely by word of mouth and contacts in other fora..

[Orion_80]

That clause is ridiculous.. Would it be legally valid in case of an accident? I mean in case an accident happens due to no fault of ours, and we refuse to pay for the damages, can Bimal use this document against us in court?

What about the money he gets from the insurance company? Will that not cover the damages?

[amtak]

What if the sales representative is driving the car and Mr. X is the to be customer? In case, the salesman bangs it or some other vehicles bang the car, who bear the cost? Would they say that the accident happened because Mr. X wanted to take a testdrive?

[bblost]

There is nothing wrong with what Bimal is trying to do.

They think and maybe some lawyer advised them to do this.
Slowly (I hope its much faster) they will realise that the number of cars being sold is getting lesser. When people connected to them check with the market they will realise that they have become a pariah.
This will bring them to their senses and hopefully they will recover for the better before they close down.

When its Maruti with atleast 3 or more dealerships in every major city. Such an attitude will not work.
God save those car makers who have only one dealership in a city/state/region.

[theodore_ftw]

Hmm...Interesting. Never heard of this one before! Great pic of the form though. Any idea if MUL knows about this practice taken up by this dealer? Maybe someone should intimate them about this and see what kind of response is received! Hoepfully this dealer would eventually learn about the loss in business due to this practice but then again at the end of the day it just leaves a bad taste in your mouth knowing the things some people do.

[viper_711]

He gave me the form and I simply pocketed it!