Help me decide - Dealer is selling me a car that I had rejected in the first place.

[hdi_pro]

I had booked tata indica vista on 2nd Feb .The dealer told me that delivery would be done in another 2 weeks.Suddenly on Feb 11 he called
and told me that the car has come . I went to the yard,noted the engine chassis no(which proved very useful later on) and saw that the car was dirty and scratched up.I immediately rejected the car and told him that I will pick the next one immediately after coming from the truck.

Then I called him twice every week and asked him about the status.He would tell me(everytime I called him) that the next shipment is coming on or at holi.So on March 14 he told me that the delivery has come and I can come see the car .I went with him and did the PDI on that car.The first thing that struck me that was that Tata Symbol(just above the front Number plates) was all rusted,THe back doors were not closing and back bonnet was not closing.Apart from that I was satisfied with the car.Then I specifically asked him whether it was new car or the same old car that he showed me on Feb12.The dealer told me that this is just coming straight from the truck(and he showed me a truck that was standing in front on the dealership).Unfortunately I had left the engine chassis no of the car I had inspected on Feb 11 at home.I told the dealer that I will take delivery of this car in 4 days and left the dealer ship.I also noted the Engine chassi no for the new car

Finally I came back and was preparing the documents required for registration.During that time I was astonished and angry to note that the Engine chassis of the new car and the car I had rejected on Feb 11 are just the same.So dealer has basically lied straight and tried to sell me the car that I had rejected in the first place.

Now my family are saying to me take the car (as it doesnot have any obvious flaws except the minor flaws).However my contention is that ,if the dealer can cheat to such an extent,then we should either cancel the booking or wait for a new car.



What should I do?

waiting eagerly for your inputs.

[Red Liner]

Reject and ask for your money back, and go to a new dealership. Write straight to tata, and dont back down unless your booking is transferred. This dealer will give you a tough time.

[Archish]

Originally Posted by hdi_pro

I went with him and did the PDI on that car.The first thing that struck me that was that Tata Symbol(just above the front Number plates) was all rusted,THe back doors were not closing and back bonnet was not closing.Apart from that I was satisfied with the car.

You where satisfied with a rusted car whose bonnet and door does not close? But you rejected a car with dirt and scratch? And in the end you find the both the car to be same.

If it were me, then I would walk into the showroom's manager or MD's room and given him a piece of my mind for cheating me and trying to gimme a car which i dint want. But, most of the cars are scratched and dirty when they are transported. But i feel bonnet and door not closing a serious issue. If they have another in the same color and model u want then make sure they you a new car. Or if it would take time and you cant wait, then make sure they rectify all the problems before u pay and take delivery.

Btw, what is the name of this dealer?

[aaggoswami]

1) Cancel the booking, get the money back. He is seriously trying to sell you a TD vehicle or lemon. Think about the A.S & S. support he will be offering (if you visit do servicing there ).

2) Write to Tata about all the issues and inform them about attitude of dealers. But dont expect some positive replies and/or actions.

3) Although a bit personal, but dont come under family members pressure here. If you accept this car, there might be more intensified negative consequences like poor reliability, repeated visits to dealer for sorting out probelms, etc.

I wonder what Tata is upto:
First, " Protest against Tata Motors ", then tsk1979's Safari problem and this thread where an innocent customer was almost sacrificed due to unscruplous practicies. Tata must not get away with impunity.

[gemithomas]

Here is what you need to do.

Call up the salespersonwho showed you the car and ask for the number o the marketing manager. Talk to him and tell him what you have gone through. ASk him for numbers of someone at TATA that you can talk to. If possible shoot a mail to all related email ids you get. Hopefully he will try to negotiate with you when he sees that you are not someone who he can fool so easily.

Here you have 3 choices which you will have to make
1. ASk for repayment of booking amount and cancel booking and escalate with TATA.
2. NEgotiate for some good discounts for accepting a car that was scratched (repainted), rusted and where the doors/boot does not close properly.
3. Tell him that you need a new car and stick to it. Else cancel booking and escalate it up with TATA.

[hdi_pro]

First of all thanks a lot for all your replies.After a lot of discussions and thinking,this what I have decided

a) will not accept the car offered.Instead I will ask dealer to order a new car.This decision is based on the following factors

-There is no one other than the dealer in Noida area and I will not be able to register the car if I buy the car in delhi/gurgoan in a legal manner(atleast I will not be able to do the registration by myself)
-I will take the car directly from the Truck ,so that minimal time is spent on the dealership
-I have spent a considerable amount of time researching,negotiating and I am really not mentally willing to spend the same amount of time researching ,dealing with the other dealers in delhi

b) Will not go to the dealer for ***

will go to shah motors instead

c) Change the sales rep
Purely cosmetic I agree,but I would not be able to deal in sane manner with a person who lied straight at my face.

d) Escalate the matter with Tata

Got the no of Tata relationship manager .will be doing it shortly.However I dont think nothing much will happen

This is what happened at the dealership today

I went to the showroom and told dealer in a polite manner that the dealership is a cheat and asked for a refund.he argued with me for a while and finally accepted that both the cars are just the same.I asked him where his manager is and talked to him and blasted him in a polite way emphasing that they are cheating customers and asked hime why did this happen.He gave me the lame excuse that since they have car,they cannot order another car of the same colour.Then I told him to cancel the booking and refund the booking amt.Finally he relented and told me that he will place a order for a new car today and car will come in another 15 days.Finally I accepted (for the reasons stated above) and also told him to change my sales rep.(reason given was that I am not good in hindi and the sales rep is not good in English)

The dealership in question is "Automobile sterling,Noida"

-hdi

[Gautam Misra]

Hdi: IMO after being cheated you should not carry out any transactions with the same dealer and you should immediately take up the matter with TATA Motors.

Thereafter try another dealer or may be change the Manufacturer!!

In fact A.S.S is a major factor while deciding to buy a particular car.

[sfilinto]

If i were you i would cancel the booking and take my business to another dealer. at the same time i would escalate to TATA fully understaning that it may not bear any fruit.

[SS-Traveller]

Originally Posted by hdi_pro

-There is no one other than the dealer in Noida area and I will not be able to register the car if I buy the car in delhi/gurgoan in a legal manner(atleast I will not be able to do the registration by myself)

@hdi: Of course you can buy a car from ANY dealer in NCR and register it in Noida. If Sterling has given you the impression that only they can sell/register a car for you at Noida, they are trying to cheat you doubly. The dealer is duty-bound and legally bound to register your car for you before delivery, and you DO NOT need to register the car by yourself.

[joy_swift]

Really shocking to hear this in this age of cut throat competition...

I would go along with the members who said you should change the dealership...When they can lie about a new car which is a very big deal,then can lie about anything during the *** phase...

Also,pursue the matter with TATA and hope they would look into this...

I had a rusting problem in my Swift and at first,the MARUTI engineer told it wasnt in warranty...An hour of my aggressive outburst(including sayin some things like I'll post this in all the forums,AUTOCAR etc etc and also taking the engineers;s name),he relented and agreed to do that under warranty...Not sure whether that would always work or not,but in my case it worked

So be aggressive....If TATA care abt their brand,they will help you out

[vkochar]

You can register a car in Noida even if you pick the car from Gurgaon / Delhi. I do it always. The dealer will do that. Just a week back my friend picked an i10 from Gurgaon and the dealer gave him Delhi registeration.

As far as the story of your incident goes - DO NOT accept the old car at any cost.

You can demand a new car or just write in to TATA about the dealer and they will be helpful and cooperative I am sure.

[anjan_c2007]

Do not pay a paisa more to the dealer. The dealer is bound to refund your booking amount. Contact Tata Motors and write a Regd A/D (Speed Post A/D) letter telling them that the dealer is trying to cheat you.The engine and chassis nos. bear ample proof of the date of manufacture and the truck "just now" unloading the Vista is foolish.If Tata does not act against this dealer you can also send the dealer a legal notice.
Get your Vista from another good Tata dealer in the NCR.

[greenhorn]

if the flaws have been fixed, and there are no issues ( get it checked by a good mech), its not such a bad deal. Its sure is better than getting a different car with different problems. try to get some cash off for it ( 15k would be a good starting point, maybe more if you are good at haggling) , else threaten to cancel and complain.

I doubt if the emblem can rust. I dont think its metallic at all.

I am not arguing for the dealer, not am I supporting him. I'm not sure how much sucess you might have against an unscrupulous dealer, despite any action from tata on your behalf. Sometimes he might withold your entire booking amount. Nobody wants a protracted legal battle. Its just the sad state of affairs in the country

[Nikhilb2008]

Cancel the booking. There is a small chance that the dealer was mistaken, but I highly doubt it. But there is a chance nevertheless.

If he tries to cheat you now, imagine how he is going to take advantage of your car when you give it for service.

Try to find another dealer or maybe change your choice of car itself.

[anjan_c2007]

Originally Posted by greenhorn

I doubt if the emblem can rust. I dont think its metallic at all.

The Tata logo is made of engineering plastic coated with chrome like any other car today and cannot rust under any circumstances.Maybe there was some impurity that had stuck over it.