My hopes shattered, my dream of owning a Punto sabotaged by RF Motors, Cochin

[GTX007]

Dear fellow bhpians, sharing with you all my agonizing experience of booking Fiat Grande Punto MJD E+ and waiting, waiting, and still waiting........

My association with Fiat dates back to 2003 when I bought a Fiat Palio 1.2 which I currently use. All through these years I had no complaints about my car nor the company whose name I use to uphold to everyone. Being a hardcore Fiat fan I was damn sure that my next vehicle will also be from the same family. Waited for the Linea, but it was a bit steep for my budget. Then came the sibling, saw her on June 16th, was mesmerized with the sheer beauty of the car, fixed that this would be my car. Took a TD and I was totally impressed.
So booked a Bossanova white Grande Punto 1.3 MJD Emotion on 1st September 2009 at RF Motors, Cochin. I chose the dealer over Concorde Motors because RF Motors, Cochin was nearer to my town. Gave a cheque of Rs.50,000/- to the sales personnel and he smilingly gave me a receipt.
My loan was processed quicker than I expected, also I could arrange some additional funds. So planned to upgrade the model to Emotion Pack.
Called the sales guy, passed the information to him about upgrade and informed him that DD for full settlement is ready and I can make the payment any day.
From here on starts my war with the dealer.

26th Sept: Dealer giving information that the car will be punched and loaded from the plant in a few days. Also he agreed to the Corporate Discount of Rs.9000/- for which I was eligible.

30th Sept: No contacts from the dealer's side. Rang up the sales guy and he gave an excuse that no load has yet been dispatched from the plant. Also the sales guy now comes up with another issue that Corporate discount cannot be given since I had booked the car in my spouse's name. Some heated arguments followed, I called up the Manager, he was not ready for adjustment in this regard.

2nd Oct: No news from the dealer. Regular version of excuse, "Sir, cars are not yet loaded".

4th Oct: After me raising voice and making a scene at the office the Sales Manager commits that vehicle will be delivered by 9th of October.

9th Oct: No communication from the dealer. Rang up the Manager, he says, "Sir, sorry for the delay, your car is in transit, it will reach in another 7 days."

10th Oct: I came to know from Team-bhp about Diwali offer of free insurance + extended warranty. The sales guy was giving a version that there was no such offer.

11th Oct: I rang up the sales guy to ask the VIN no. He says that there is a Diwali offer which I had mentioned and due to this cars are not being loaded from the plant!
I was shocked to hear that, asked him then what was your manger lying to me the other day. Then he says that his Manager has resigned or rather ABSCONDING.

12th Oct: I was so depressed about the prospects of me getting the car. Rang up Mr. Mangesh of Service Department. He patiently listens to my problems and asks me to contact Ms.Vishakharani of the Corporate department. I divulged the whole script to her. She gives me a guarantee that the problem will be resolved at the earliest.

14th Oct: No further developments. Rang up Ms.Vishakharani again twice or thrice, she makes a statement that the problem is being attended.

15th Oct: My calls to Ms.Vishakharani is interrupted by another lady official. She gives another set of lame excuses which no customer can tolerate.

16th Oct: My calls to Fiat Corporate Department are not picked up which I presume is a deliberate action from there side.

I am so distressed by the whole episode. First I felt the dealer was cheating me, but now I feel the company is equally ignoring customers. The dealer guy is just a dumb instrument. He has no answer, just a word that "Sir,we will give you the vehicle". When ?????? He doesnt know.
I have kept the DD with me and untill now I have only paid the booking amount. So I am not completely ruined in financial terms, but I exactly don't know what next. Whom should I contact in Fiat India Ltd. ??
My father is against the idea of changing the dealer. He says that drama will be same there too. He is insisting me to change the vehicle.

Fiat has paid me for being a loyal customer. I still believe that Punto is a state of the art product. But it is at present being killed by such irresponsible and unreliable dealers.

Fellow bhpians, I humbly seek your help in resolving my problem ....

[aarenes]

GTX007 - this is foul play from the dealer.

Suggestions
- Use Email: I did not call up Fiat Customer Care. Instead used email (documentary evidence). Guess that will get them going faster.

- Corporate discount: They are correct. They cannot provide a discount using your employment proof if the car is on your name.

- VIN #: I was given a VIN # within 2 days of my booking amount clearing. That was solace enough that a car had been alloted to me. My sales guy kept me in the loop when it was arriving at the stockyard for a pre-delivery inspection.

- Silver Lining: Fight for the Diwali discount since it has been introduced now. Its a great one. They ought to compensate you for all the delay they have done. Also, you should be eligible for a loyalty bonus.

[GTX007]

Thanks aarenes for your suggestions. I had already given a mail to service@fiapl.com and also dropped a mail at the CEO desk. The Fiat Corporate Department has confirmed that they have received my mail. But they are too cruel to customers, yesterday I rang up Ms.Vishakharani, hold on the call for 15 minutes. Another official interrupts and says she cant attend your call.
I am fed up with calls after calls. Now as a last resort I am sending a final mail to Rajeev Kapoor. Want to know what is his answer to my agony.

[kuttapan]

Send an email to Mr. Rahul Jadhav. Will PM you the email id. Don't lose hope yet, it can be resolved.

I just wish you had done some research on t-BHP before putting the money down at RF. You would have known that Concorde is a better deal and that RF is a rotten apple.

[idea1979]

This is sad. But not new.

Got few questions

How urgent is your car (punto) need?

If urgent, whats point in fighting/resolving it. I understand your punto urge/love but probably something better is waiting for you (no offence to punto owners/lovers)

No doubt, you will get it resolved, but what will happen to service through same dealer. It is really difficult to interact with same dealer throughout your car tenure after such experience.

Hope he Is not only dealer available in your town.

I waited for punto launch for long, however dropped my plans (after TD and service feedback research) considering its service review.

So take your call. All the best.

[GTX007]

Thanks kuttapan for your help, I never knew RF was such bad a dealer. The point is Concorde is at Nettoor, one has to go a long way negotiating all the heavy traffic, this was the main reason why I chose RF. Also RF acclaims to be the only dealer for Fiat 500 in Kerala. Anyway I am paying the price for my stupid decision.
I will contact Mr. Rahul at the earliest. Thanks once again for your help.

Dear idea1979, Punto is a lovely car, but it is now getting perished in the hands of the irresponsible and fishy dealers. I had a plan to change th car, but I don't have many options other than i20 and Ford Fiesta, the problem is my heart is still on Punto.
I wont get the free service done at RF, I will approach Concorde, according to my knowledge free service is provided by Fiat and not by dealer.

[somebodystopme]

Why dont you ask for a full refund for your booking amount from them, if not full then find out how much will they deduct. Take that and book Punto from some other dealer. It makes no sense going for another car because of bad experience at dealership.
Go to the showroom and make all loud noises. Ask them in to give you in written by what date car will arrive else full amount to be returned, if they refuse to give you in return ask for a full cash back right away or 1 or 2K less. Make noises and get your work done.

[nandans2005]

GTX,

This is atrocious. I pity you man.

Please take back the entire booking amount and approach Concorde.

Dont take anything less from the booking amount, why should you and for what fault of yours, take more for the mental torture you have undergone.

Dealer is not dumb instrument, he is the representative of the company to the people. There is a famous saying> The citizens are like the ruler! so you can understand as much.

All said and done, i wish you a speedy recovery from the mental agony you are undergoing.This is bad and very unprofessional on the dealer's part.

[WhiteKnight]

Here is what you need to do.

Walk into the showroom to cancel the booking. Talk to only the bigshots- no salesmen should be talking to you. If the dealer has any sense, your issue would be resolved and the car would be delivered, may be even the same day (Magic!!!). If they don't, get the money and escape.

Good luck

[.anshuman]

No need to run after them anymore, just cancel the booking and negotiate with some other dealer. I am sure you can get ready delivery if not in your city try other cities.

I got ready delivery of a Punto booked on someone elses name, reason i negotiated with cash on table.

[sdp1975]

Cancellation amount is 1K in B'lore ( concorde ). They too should charge something around that figure. I'd suggest cancel it and book it with some other dealer.

[clevermax]

It took me exactly one month to get the Punto. I am also a Palio owner like you. (retro 1.2)

You can probably speak to the sales manager of RF to cancel your booking. They should take care of you getting the car very soon. Though I had delays in getting mine, they communicated even where the car currently is, by tracking the location of the transporter truck.

IMO, you shouldn't change the car only because of this. It is the same happening elsewhere too. Think about the waiting period of Swift VDi. You can probably change the dealer if it becomes really necessary. In this case, I'd suggest you wait for a little longer. When I faced delays, I never got angry and blasted at them, instead I asked reasons to substantiate the delay and they had to explain the exact reasons for that. In fact, they accepted that there was a delay from their side to bill the car from Fiat, after I made the booking.

[BaCkSeAtDrIVeR]

Here is something I had refrained from posting on this forum so far.

I have had a distasteful experience with RF motors when I booked an Indica Xeta, which I never purchased. For some reason, I was feeling that these people were not honest, and had insisted that I will not make any down payment till I see the car.

But wifey went ahead and paid 2K advance. When 2 weeks waiting did not yield any information on vehicle delivery, (1) wifey put her foot down and insisted on her choice - WagonR (2) I was unable to justify Indica going by the dealer experience. (there were several other factors too.

The sales lady @ RF, who had insisted that the advance is refundable in case the booking is cancelled, did a volte face when I asked for definite information on booking status, or a refund. She gave me neither, and I never bothered to go back again.

[finneyp]

Thatz a bad experience!
Dealer looks like a crook, RF Motors offlate has a negative report at T-BHP.

You can either:
1. Escalate it to Fiat India CEO (will pm his mail-id to to you)
2. Cancel the booking at RF Motors & book it at Concorde Motors.

[SkyWalker]

I recommend you cancel the booking and move to another dealer. There's no point in continuing with a dealer who has no respect for the customer. Record all further telephonic conversations with them, and use email to ask for firm dates.

Escalate to FIAt at the earliest and provide this thbp link too. Express your extreme displeasure in the way you have been treated.