Took delivery of a USED Xenon from Tata Concorde Motors, Bangalore. EDIT: Now settled

[memo45_m]

Note: I will not take any names as of now, but will if the need be.
On first look at the truck it caught my attention and I just wanted to have it even thought it was a Tata, it was hunk and butch, one notch above any other Tata I have seen. Yes I am speaking about the New Xenon.
It all started right about 2 weeks back when I saw an Ad. Spoke to my dad and surprisingly he too was interested in it, but the recent Hill Climb and the MMST P&P kept me busy and all worked out
So on the 7th of April 09, I walk in to Concorde Motors, Dairy Circle, Bangalore, It takes them About half an hour for a sales executive to even come and introduce them-selves, All said and done I ask for the TD and we get hold of the 4x4 Xenon XT, the vehicle was fully Accessorised, carrying even the canopy and nice nudge guards both at front and back, I like the feel and the compose the vehicle carries so does a Safari owner and few others, after a good TD from at least 4 people we head back to the showroom and part our ways
Head home and start talking to dad about all the details of the Xenon and he states ''So do you want the car, or are you still in double minds about it...!!!'' And I reply ''Yes'', all he said after looking at the bank details was "let’s head to the showroom the first thing in the morning."

8th April 09,
We are at Concorde Motors at 10am and the TD vehicle was not to be see nor was there a Xenon available to see when dad was there and he was to do with the pics on display and in the catalogue, so he spoke about the financial details but after about an hour of discussions he came to the conclusion the he would go with a Full Cash Payment. Yes Full cash.
And he hands over 1lk Rs to the sales executive and we end up booking a Xenon XT 4x4. And the war of words for the colour began with me wanting White or Silver and Dad asking for Red, it was finally decided that red would be the colour and I was told to make to rest of the payment when the car arrives in 10-15days.About a couple of hours later I get a call from the Sales Executive that there are 2 vehicles available and both are red and one being A 4x4 and the other A 4x2. I am told to pay the rest of the amount the following day as they can speed up the deliver process to as soon as Monday.

9th April 09,
After getting the DD done I head to Concorde Motors to finish up the process with a couple of very close friends and we are treated to the “I CARE A DAM ATTITUDE.!” And had to wait quite a while to even make the payment.

13th April 09,
Delivery Day
I was informed that the vehicle would be delivered to me at around 6pm and I have to wait as the PDI was going on. With the help of a very close friend who was a ex-employee at Concorde, we head to the Concorde stock yard to see the vehicle being washed and being prepped to be sent to the showroom, so we decide to leave assuming all will go well, only to see the car come in for the cleaning and polishing we decided to do another check of the pick-up, as we walk up to the vehicle there is some thing that caught our eyes, The new Pick-up had no seat covers, walk up and open the door only to see the floor panels by the door with full of scratches, the Seats and roof all dirty and scratches on the bed fender-lining, not enough for the eyes the front bumper had a small cut init like the ones caused by a front nudge guard, add to that a huge scratch on the back of the cab like one caused while forcefully removing a hard-top or Canopy, with a cut in the gear lever boot, and a dirty spot on the dash-board, (this spot was on the TD car that we drove just about a week back.) As for the scratches we are informed that those are during Transit.(over the phone.)
At 5pm I receive a message from the sales executive to come for the deliver by 7.45pm(Don’t you think that’s quite late to deliver a new/used vehicle).
So two of my friends and me land up for delivery and we are asked to wait as the vehicle is not yet there from the stock yard(as now they are covering up all the scratches we had previously see when we inspected at the stack-yard). By then our Sales executive introduces us to the Sales Manger, when we speak to him about the condition he say sorry sir it’s a shop soil/display car(Why was this not informed before?)
As the car arrives we ask him to look at the vehicle and tell us is this how a new vehicle looks, feels and smells, then we force him to speak to his senior, the GM and sort the issue, but the GM says ”Ask them if they are interested to take the car or leave it..” is this the kind of Attitude you give even after receiving full cash payment., knowing the vehicle is a USED one.
So we negotiate as now we know for sure that the Vehicle is a used one and accepted by the personal from Concorde.
I had to take delivery of the vehicle as I had no choice and the circumstances also were not in my favour, so we took it in writing that we would come in for negotiations the following day as 10pm was a little too late to do any sort of office/paper work.

14th April 09,
We reach Concorde by 2.00pm as we had scheduled a meeting with the GM and the sales manager to discuss on the same, as we drove to the showroom the friend of mine who was from Ex-Concorde drove to vehicle and was really SORRY about the state of the vehicle and he instantly said the vehicle was Used and Abused. By now we know for sure that this is the same TD vehicle that we had drive just A week back, So we are at Concorde and wait for the GM who is discussing something and talking about building relationships with customers and we burst out laughing.
So we step in get introduced to the Gm by the Sales manager, the discussion starts of and he puts forward the same statement ”If you are interested to take the car or leave it..” knowing the fact that he has given A USED vehicle For the cost of a new one. He very arrogantly throws around his EGO and says “If you want a new vehicle then we will get it for you in 3-4 days, but you have to leave this one here with us, we cannot give you a loner/ back up vehicle.” Even after paying in full cash. Does this not confirm that they have delivered me a used car.
If this the kind of Attitude one would throw around, even after kindly requesting them to solve the matter, Concorde Motors offers me A mere Rs 25,000 as compensation of Rs10,26,300 for selling a used car, so we decide to take the Sales Manager and the Sales Executive for a TD in the vehicle and show them the extent to which it was used, to be claimed a new vehicle, as we return the Sales manager said he would speak with his GM and get back to us on the same. They Call us back in the evening quoting Rs30,000 as the best offer.

As of now talks are on with the people from Tata on the issue, but I felt the need to put this out in the light so being a member on Team-Bhp, I would like to Share the wrong doings of Our dealerships with fellow members. [/FONT][/COLOR]

[ImmortalZ]

Dude, if the vehicle hasn't been registered in your name, you can tell the dealership to take a hike and then file a police complaint about withholding your cash. See how they react when you go in there with cops.

[Trapezio]

Originally Posted by ImmortalZ

Dude, if the vehicle hasn't been registered in your name, you can tell the dealership to take a hike and then file a police complaint about withholding your cash. See how they react when you go in there with cops.

I agree with the above. If the car is not registered yet you do not have to worry. Yes, their attitude is bad. But you still have a good chance of getting a brand new Xenon. Do a favour though. Please raise these issues with the company.

You are lucky that you noticed this. I personally know a reputed dealer who sold a vehicle which had run 1.5 lakh kms! It was used for one and a half year by the dealership. One heavy service and a good polish made it new!

[flyingspur]

Hey man I'm really sorry to hear about your ordeal. This should be viewed quite seriously by Tata, and most definitely be viewed so on this forum. We've had enough cases of used/TD vehicles being delivered to unsuspecting customers and I'm sure you will find enough support here.

A kind request, please edit your post asap and remove all the font tags to make your post more legible to the members of the forum. Thanks.

Originally Posted by memo45_m

I had to take delivery of the vehicle as I had no choice and the circumstances also were not in my favour, so we took it in writing that we would come in for negotiations the following day as 10pm was a little too late to do any sort of office/paper work.

Of course you had a choice. You should NOT have taken delivery under any circumstances, and I hope you haven't signed any papers and registered the vehicle. This will give you more options and keep the case wide open. And 30,000 compensation on a million-rupee all-cash deal? Who are they kidding?

Given Mr. Tata's rep in the industry and in society, I wonder why it's so difficult for Tata's dealerships and processes to be just as reliable / pleasant / clean. Absolutely unacceptable.

[varun.ppl]

Bro, this is the height of insanity!. I believe you should move to the press & tarnish the image of this dealer, so other come to know about it. Hit these people where it hurts the most.

Also, you can file a case with the consumer court on grounds of fraud & mental torture. These scoundrels need someone to teach them a lesson!

[tsk1979]

Call up customer care and complain about the dealer to Tata Motors. They take transgressions by their dealers very seriously and do not tolerate this.
After you call up Tata motors customer care, expect the dealer to come to your place with a bouquet of flowers and apologies.
And do not take this vehicle. Sometimes these TD guys drive with 4x4 mode on tarmac, leading to irreparable damage which shows up later only.

And 30K is pittance. When my uncle found out that the safari he was buying had been given out for TDs he got 1L worth of freebies(inclusive of 50K cash discount) on a the LX 3.0

[benbsb29]

They say Concorde is the better one among the Tata dealers in Bangalore. This incident seems to be quite opposite to that reputation.

[vineethvazhayil]

Scary proposition. Especially if the dealer manages to cover up the visible damage successfully and the customer ends up buying a thrashed car! I guess Tata is quite severe on its dealers and you should get a solution on your complaint.

[SkyWalker]

Thanks for sharing the story. I agree that it sounds like your dealership experience was appalling to say the least. But no offense, I feel there were many instances where you should have put your foot down, and you didn't. Even god help those who helps themselves.

Originally Posted by memo45_m

The new Pick-up had no seat covers, walk up and open the door only to see the floor panels by the door with full of scratches, the Seats and roof all dirty and scratches on the bed fender-lining, not enough for the eyes the front bumper had a small cut init like the ones caused by a front nudge guard, add to that a huge scratch on the back of the cab like one caused while forcefully removing a hard-top or Canopy, with a cut in the gear lever boot, and a dirty spot on the dash-board, (this spot was on the TD car that we drove just about a week back.) As for the scratches we are informed that those are during Transit.(over the phone.)

So you knew it was not in a satisfactory condition when you did the PDI. Why didn't you refuse it then and there?

Originally Posted by memo45_m

I had to take delivery of the vehicle as I had no choice and the circumstances also were not in my favour, so we took it in writing that we would come in for negotiations the following day as 10pm was a little too late to do any sort of office/paper work.

Of course you had a choice even now, you could have refused to take a delivery, or negotiated for a discount, if that's what you were looking for.

Originally Posted by memo45_m

He very arrogantly throws around his EGO and says “If you want a new vehicle then we will get it for you in 3-4 days, but you have to leave this one here with us, we cannot give you a loner/ back up vehicle.” Even after paying in full cash. Does this not confirm that they have delivered me a used car.

This is bad, but even now you have a choice. wait for 3 days and take the new vehicle, if that's what you want.

Looks to me like you are interested in keeping the car and negotiate for a bigger discount - and that's fine. Its just that you had the advantage if you had done that before taking the delivery than after.

Hope you did record those conversations, it would help you if you want to take it to TATA or go legal.

[Lu€iFer]

I am still not sure as to why in the first place did you accept a used vehicle if you knew it beforehand?
You could have cancelled the booking as the registration was not done
(i assume).

[Prithvi]

you should have not taken delivery of the used vehicle and I think people dont learn lessons. Stay far away from TATA, SAY TATA to TATA. Had a Indica and the hell I went thru with it and the dealers.

MERA BHARATH MAHAN.

[muni]

Originally Posted by SkyWalker

Thanks for sharing the story. I agree that it sounds like your dealership experience was appalling to say the least. But no offense, I feel there were many instances where you should have put your foot down, and you didn't. Even god help those who helps themselves.
.

No offense meant, but i too get the same impression. While the dealer is obviously on the wrong side of things, The mention of compensation so many times seems to indicate that you want to be compensated enough. You havent made it clear what is it that you want.

[diffsoft]

Originally Posted by ImmortalZ

Dude, if the vehicle hasn't been registered in your name....

+1, have you registered the vehicle? If not, as it seems, please do not sign any papers and take your money back!

All the best,

[shivshanker]

While the car is still in your possession, please take detailed pictures of the same preferably with some dealer personnel standing next to it. Evidence is crucial.

Also, try and post the Chassis number on our TBHP, I am sure some expert will decipher it and tell you the Manufacturing month and year.

Look for the local TML office and negotiate with them directly, this helps as no manufacturer will want adverse publicity.

The pictures and the Chassis number details should give you enough ammunition for a tough fight.

All the best.!

Cheers!

Shiva

[suman]

Memo, for the life of me, I cannot fathom why you are taking delivery of this vehicle. Irrespective of the discount they offer, you should refuse & take a new vehicle.

As for the GM, you should write to TML & make sure they roast his behind. This kind of behaviour is totally unacceptable!!