Buying a Linea - B'lore dealer letdown!

[pranava999]

I had booked for a Linea Emotion Pack on 28th January 2009 at Prerana Motors, Lalbagh Road, Bangalore. They were non committal about delivery dates then citing that it would take 2 months. I was ok with that.

However right from the 3rd of March they kept informing that the car has been dispatched and would be ready for delivery in 3-4 days time and would then backtrack citing some internal issues and the car has not been dispatched. Finally on 18th March I got a call from the sales executive stating that the car has finally arrived and is in the yard awaiting PDI and delivery. I informed the sales exec that they can expect me in the showroom any day between the 20th – 23th (the weekend) to make the final payment and take delivery and they said they were ok with that.

However on the 23rd of March morning as committed, when I was all set to visit the dealer for making the final payment, I got a call from the exec stating that the car has been delivered to another customer. The sales lead’s rude excuse was since I had not made the final payment, and as such they cant help it and will now have to wait for another few days and can expect a delivery before 31st March.

How can a car that has been allotted to me be allotted to another customer especially without my prior consent, and it was not that I had stated any inability to honor my booking. I had the money and had committed to making a payment between the 21st and the 23rd.

They have even gone to the extent of tampering with the allotment dates by stating that the car was allotted to me on the 4th of March when I have proof of visiting the dealer on the 3rd to inquire the status of my booking (based on a call from the exec stating that the car has been dispatched and will be ready for delivery n 5-6 days) and the sales lead clearly telling me that the car has not been dispatched and is unsure when it will be delivered and that I was mislead by the sales executive who had earlier called me.

The sales lead was totally discourteous and rude and said if I can’t wait for another car then I could go ahead and cancel my booking. Can you imagine how annoying that can be, especially when you are all set to spend your hard earned money?
On raising the issue with The sales division head, who seemed smoothly polite and courteous was trying to cover the issue citing internal pressures and the inefficiency of his sales lead and promised that my car will be delivered on priority by Saturday 28th!

Fiat as a brand earned a bad reputation earlier because of its service partners and sales partners and it seems like this is again resurfacing even after a tie up with TATA motors. I hope that this is an one off situation!

Earlier (a couple of months ago) a friend of mine had booked a Indica Vista at Prerana motors only to be cheated by a sales exec who had smooth talked customers into making cash booking advances for immediate delivery and handing over fake cash receipts . Fortunately they had written evidence and Prerana had to make good and honor the booking. Seems like the management is impervious to the activities of its sales staff both in the Tata division and Fiat division

I am a brand strategy consultant and it is disappointing that a great brand (in Europe) Fiat who I was keen to give a second chance in India has disappointed me by not ensuring that its sales partners promote professionalism and courtesy.

The lack of professionalism and customer centricity of the sales staff at the dealer has really left a sour taste for me. Its so disappointing since am a loyal a Fiat fan who waited for so long for the Linea.

I so hoped for Fiat’s revival in India, but I see no hope if partners try to kill the brand with their dismal point of sales service.

Also can anyone help me out with an email id of a Senior Fiat India Marketing exec who I can contact and raise this issue directly? ANy other suggestions?


Am still waiting for my car that is in transit, and its already Friday!Hopefully Monday will be the last I will have to put up with the dealer! Wish me luck!

[throttleking]

This is not really a good experience, it kills all your excitement. my suggestion to you, dont buy a car from that dealer, cancel the booking go to another dealer, wait for some more days and get your new car. This will teach some lesson to the sales team of that dealer.

[HappyWheels]

The excitement of getting a new car will surely be damped due to these sleazy activities of the dealer. The attitude of the sales lead is not something that you need to bear! He is NOT doing you a favor. This is his work.

Would suggest that you raise this issue as much as possible. Would also suggest that you move the booking to another dealer. But then, you again have the risk of the waiting period and re-doing the negotiations and all.

Wish you luck and hope you get your car on Monday, at least.

[sanjaymugur]

best dealer in bangalore have to be CONCORDE, even when i bought my fiat palio 1.2, i had cancelled my bookings at prerana & picked it from Manipal motors, KR road, prerana have a very rude sales team , i suggest cancel your booking at prerana & book it a concorde...

complain abt the issue by sending an email to Service@fiapl.com

[VahanPujari]

I suggest not to cancel the booking hastily for that means another wait for another month.

Rather dash of complaint emails to both Tata & Fiat (visit fiat-india.com site) explaining the situation demanding immediate delivery as you've waited for 2 months now which is higher than normal waiting period. Also demand that car must be delivered by another dealer & not this dealer. Write to Fiat top mgt also (CEO corner link in website).
Do not forget to do self-PDI yourself before taking delivery.

After emailing, call Tata & Fiat H.O. & raise the issue to the highest debel levels

[SkyWalker]

Pranav - its very sad to hear a problem like this. While Linea having a waitiing period is indeed good for FIAT, treating a customer like this is real bad.

1) You might want cancel your booking and move to another dealer. I know this would mean more time in wait, so its finally your choice. Personally i would not work with a dealer who don't treat me nicely.
2) Either way write a complaint mail to FIAT Service and let them know about the way your booking has been handled and indicate your extreme displeasure.

[ravibhat]

Best way is cancel the booking, the reason even after you buy car from them there is chance that they will give you bad service. Based on past experience I can see If we set our expectations Concorde is much better dealer in Bangalore.

However I heard sometimes concorde motors service quality is not good but it might be based on few bad expereince exception which happens in any service centre.

Ravi.

[luky_13]

Concorde or Prerana they are all the same, i had bought my Linea from Concorde and had my fair share of irking experiences. You should bring this to the notice of FIAT write a letter or an email so that they are aware how customers are being mishandled. During and after your purchase FIAL and TATA Motors will call you for your feedback you can also escalate the issue using that forum.
In my opinion its FIAT now serviced by TATA, which is was catering to TAXI drivers earlier now suddenly having luxury car customers walk-in. Maybe this is sort of confusing them and most of their reactions are what would be when they deal with a bottom of the pyramid clientele.
I would also say that some of these 'malpractices' are also prevalent in dealers of most luxury brands. You can find numerous such threads on t-bhp with brands (or dealers of) like honda, ford, maruti etc resorting to them. It reflects the character of the dealership or person and not necessarily the brand.
Its basically that 'Chalta hai' Indian attitude that is in force here, with total disregard for the customer or his emotions.

[S_budhiraj]

That seems to be pretty bad gesture for the Brand (Fiat) Which is in Second innings in India and for the brand (Tata) who is Still after a decade trying to make a stance in quality Services.

But why don't your write in at CEO's Column in Fiat Website, If not the Delivery on time at least you should get some compensation for this and the Comp should be aware about the behaviour of dealers.

[Rai]

Hello,

Please bring this to Notice of Mr. Ricky Walter. I believe he is the Fiat India Sales Head. Recently he helped in one of the issue I had with my Petra with Prerana Motors. He acted immediately and took action within Hours I mailed him. Please PM me if you want his email ID.

Regards
Rai

[pranava999]

thanks a lot guys for the response and the suggestions especially on the c.e.o corner. I am in no mood to relent, will definitely escalate this, every opportunity and medium possible..
luky 13 , you are exactly right its the 'chalta hai' attitude that has infected and spread across.

[gemithomas]

Pranava, sorry to hear that the agree that the dealer has spoiled all the excitement. This is something that every dealer would do due to their sales pressures and cash flow constraints. He would always want back the money invested atlest an hour earlier. And such unethical dealers go ahead with all sorts of crappy practices not taking into consideration the fact that he is spoiling hi own long term market.

Please do put in a mail at service@fiapl.com . I'm sure fiat would take good care of your complaint and reach a solution. FIAT is really aggressive with the linea and are trying their best to improve things but such irresponsible dealers are ever ready to spoil things at their will.

And my suggestion would be to inform them that you have lost faith in this dealer and would want them to suggest you another dealer and ask them to directly take care of the delivery of your car. I'm sure you will have a good experience.

[pranava999]

Great!! tried the CEO corner...does not seem to work...on clicking submit after typing out my concern...i get a response that goes 'Please enter Proper data'. Nice!!! :(

[amtak]

Mods, can we please move this thread to dealership experiences? Pranava999, I guess you should change the dealer.

[aks_karthik]

This happened to most of the linea buyers.
From here in this forum itself,we heard atleast 4 complaints about dealers.
Fait is very good in car but veryyyyyyy bad in dealerships.
they have to take some concrete steps against dealers attitude in sales and services and to fulfil customers need.
otherwise they will be the victim finally.

complain the issue by sending an email to Service@fiapl.com. you will get a prompt response by sure.