[alavandar]

I have taken delivery of my Jetta High Line very recently from VW-Mountroad and got the registration done through them. My experience was good and I can definitely say that they can not be labeled "dishonest".

1. Age of vehicle - for some unknown reason Skoda and VW are aggressively selling their DSG (auto transmission) cars in India. In my case, when I inquired for manual tx, for Jetta for me, they said that manuals are not available ready stock. I kept postponing and finally booked a DSG and got the delivery as promised. Mine, I checked the chasis no. and it shows manufactured in Germany, July 2014. Booking was done before Dussera. The car was invoiced on 30 Sep 2014.

2. At the time of delivery also, they had one manual delivery on that date which was booked long ago. The sales guys were saying that manuals are not available ex stock unless they get some from Pune/ Ranjangaon (Wherever). I do not have reasons to disbelieve.

3. So, it at least appears to me that manuals would have got delivered to their yard some time after Dussera, to be precise, could be after 09 Oct, the day when I took delivery of my car.

4. For your kind info, I am not their soft customer. On the day of delivery of my car I arrived there at 4 pm and kept all of them on toe till about 9 pm, went through item by item on PDI. They had to give half tank of diesel free just because it is mentioned in PDI.

5. My advise is, Jetta is a good car and that too manual tx is smooth as silk and just take it. I went for DSG but DSGs can get problematic.

6. Issues regarding RTO not registering: We all know how straight forward our RTOs are. As I read in an article, the back log of registartion in Chennai is not only for VW but for other brands as well (except Hundai). The delays/ refusal for registration citing over load of work happened on Dussera also. The present predicament has nothing to do with VW or TVS (ie VW Mountroad) alone and is across many brands. This is not about quality of vehicle or dealership and there is more to it between RTOs and dealerships, which they will resolve.

7. The verification on net through web sites - please take it with a pinch of salt. One web site showed my as 1984 !! and they were asking dollar payment for further details. Another Indian site could give the maker and plant details proper.

8. All the best for getting a free extended warranty. I did not get but I wish you get it and free half tank diesel also !!

In my view, these guys are ok. You can take your call.

[pavanmadhini]

Originally Posted by alavandar

2. At the time of delivery also, they had one manual delivery on that date which was booked long ago. The sales guys were saying that manuals are not available ex stock unless they get some from Pune/ Ranjangaon (Wherever). I do not have reasons to disbelieve.

6. Issues regarding RTO not registering: We all know how straight forward our RTOs are. As I read in an article, the back log of registartion in Chennai is not only for VW but for other brands as well (except Hundai). The delays/ refusal for registration citing over load of work happened on Dussera also. The present predicament has nothing to do with VW or TVS (ie VW Mountroad) alone and is across many brands. This is not about quality of vehicle or dealership and there is more to it between RTOs and dealerships, which they will resolve.

7. The verification on net through web sites - please take it with a pinch of salt. One web site showed my as 1984 !! and they were asking dollar payment for further details. Another Indian site could give the maker and plant details proper.

Alavandar, thanks for the inputs. I am glad you had a better experience. Will definitely ask for the half tank diesel.

2. I agree - I don't expect them to have ready stock. I expect them to get fresh stock from the plant.

6. Absolutely. This has nothing to do with VW or Sundaram Motors. Nor am I blaming them for it.

7. VW Mount Road accepted that the car is 8 months old. What I found unacceptable was the branch manager claiming that it is an industry practice to not inform customers about the age of the car being bought and therefore, it is ok to keep the customer in the dark. This is dishonesty in my opinion, even if it is an industry standard practice. Basically, they are saying there is nothing wrong in giving an 8 months old car to an unsuspecting customer without informing him, and that is appalling to me.
(This is my first car, and my first experience with buying a new car. Very unsettling.)

[ajaypjayaraj]

What kind of industry practice is that to not tell the customer the time of the manufacture of the car he is purchasing? Means he is openly agreeing that they would like to keep such info. to themselves and not tell the customer that his brand new car is manufactured 8 months ago even when he is keen to know? Pure non sense. Selling that car is okay but denying information like manufacturing time of the car is totally unacceptable. After all, its not the showroom fellow's car, its paid by the customer. The customer very much deserves to know about the car he is paying for.

[pavanmadhini]

UPDATE: Just got a call from the Head of Division, Mr.Saravanan, after he got news of this thread. He apologized for the lack of transparency and Mr.Thirulog's superficial arguments, but maintained the stance on the industry practice of not informing the customer about the month of manufacture of the car. Apparently, only the Year of Manufacturing takes importance and my expectation levels of transparency regarding the manufacturing date is unrealistic in this industry. He attributed this on my first-time car buying experience and naiveté.
He did though guarantee that the car is in perfect condition and incase of any trouble with the car, he will personally ensure it gets sorted out. Time will tell how much this will be worth.

[mi2n]

One of the reputed GM showroom in Kolkata denied when I insisted for the VIN number of the car which was "in their yard" and supposed to be alloted to me. I walked out. But surely they have sold that car to some unsuspecting buyer. Which brings the thought if buying an old-new car (yes we have a separate thread on that too) is such a taboo, or if a dealer can really be faulted in trying to sell his inventory, which, mind you has not surpassed it's date of expiry (if there is one on cars). Or if buying a 8 month old car automatically entitles the buyer to claim a whooping discount.

[pavanmadhini]

Originally Posted by mi2n

if a dealer can really be faulted in trying to sell his inventory, which, mind you has not surpassed it's date of expiry (if there is one on cars). Or if buying a 8 month old car automatically entitles the buyer to claim a whooping discount.

Looks like it is an industry practice after all, and not something specific to the dealer.

As consumers, we just have to be extra careful. I know I will be the next time I go car shopping!

Speaking of discounts, there are huge discounts going on in VW right now. But not all these cars are old-new cars, only some models and in some colors.

[ninjatalli]

Originally Posted by pavanmadhini

7. VW Mount Road accepted that the car is 8 months old. What I found unacceptable was the branch manager claiming that it is an industry practice to not inform customers about the age of the car being bought and therefore, it is ok to keep the customer in the dark. This is dishonesty in my opinion, even if it is an industry standard practice. Basically, they are saying there is nothing wrong in giving an 8 months old car to an unsuspecting customer without informing him, and that is appalling to me.

He is just making it up. Forget industry level practice, within VW dealers across the country, we have asked for, and received VIN numbers, and validated the manufacturing date (vs delivery date) before we took ownership of the car.

I made sure my Vento was not old than a few weeks (it was about a month old) - several Vento owners on the forum who validated the same for their cars across different cities and dealers. I am sure there would be Jetta owners too on the forum with similar experience.

Now wrt to the current lot, the dealers could have old inventory and hence trying to pass the above story. Be firm, and go with your instinct. Push for a new car if you feel uneasy. Or atleast make sure the car is in perfect condition through a thorough PDI. Put this in writing before even you get the car.

[sreedotk]

Does the manufacturing month get detailed on the Registration document. If yes then there is no reason the Dealership has to hide it from the customer.

I do understand that the supposed executive car segment which would have the Octavia, Corolla, Civic and Jetta are not the fastest moving segment, hence there can be a lot of standing stock with the manufacturer.

I too am a customer of VW mount road and have found them to be pretty good in terms of service. My car has been to service with them and everytime i have had no reason to complain. They haven't wowed me but they haven't disappointed me either.

[ajaypjayaraj]

Originally Posted by pavanmadhini

Looks like it is an industry practice after all, and not something specific to the dealer.

You mean 'selling the older cars in stock' or 'denying details about it like month of manufacture to the customer'? Selling the older cars in inventory is obviously not the thing in question as long as the customer is made aware of it or atleast told to a customer who likes to know about it rather than denying it and calling it an industry practice. This is important because when they leave the cars in the yard for months, there are precautions they need to take depending on how long the car is in stand still. A customer who is paying for that car does not deserve to know the month of manufacture is the industry practice? Don't think so.

[svsantosh]

1) Looks like you missed the article "How to BUY a NEW car in India" in Tbhp, google for it. If you saw the car only "After" the invoicing stage, no one is responsible at the dealership. You have already paid for it, only insurance and road tax remains to be paid...

2) That statement from showroom 'date wont be revealed' is horse poop, also it will be addressed in (1) ^, scan VIN #, tyre manufacture WWYY, battery date, etc.

3) You still did not end up at a very big loss, a 2014 car is a 2014 car, thank you stars you did not get a 2013 car, its not that Jettas sell a 1000 a month, so one can expect 2-4 months stock easily.

Enjoy the car, post some pics. PS - Good think to avoid the DSG!

[pavanmadhini]

Originally Posted by svsantosh

1) Looks like you missed the article "How to BUY a NEW car in India" in Tbhp, google for it. If you saw the car only "After" the invoicing stage, no one is responsible at the dealership. You have already paid for it, only insurance and road tax remains to be paid...

Yes, I should have been more diligent, but with Diwali just before the delivery date, and a few other hiccups, I didn't get to see the car before invoicing. :(

Just gonna put this episode behind and enjoy the car. Hopefully, there will be no reason in the future to get back to this.

[hserus]

Originally Posted by creative420

Can a car be bought under HUF Pan Card? Has anyone here done that or know of someone who has? Please let me know as soon as possible. Need to know all the paperwork that is required. Or, can anyone here from Bangalore give me a number of any trusted RTO agent who'll have an answer to this query?

The paperwork is crazy - and trying to sell the car after that is even crazier.

If you have money in your HUF take a low interest loan from it, draw it up on a rs. 100 stamp paper as you, the karta, having taken a loan from your HUF for the purpose of buying a car, and then pay EMI back to your HUF account.

You can invest the EMI / interest in good mutual funds or similar from your HUF account, and still have the car in your own name.

[ContessMan]

Hi, I hope this is the right place to post this. First up, i'm a complete newbie coming to cars. Please help.

I'm planning to buy a Ford Classic Titanium petrol variant and after reading several ownership threads and also visiting all the Ford dealers in Hyderabad, I've been faced by several questions, which I hope the experienced people here can help me with. Here goes:

Q1: Since this is going to be the first car in my house, peace of mind is very important. Is the Classic the right choice? Usage would be mainly in the city with occasional highway drives to other states. I need a safe and reliable car which can last long.

Q2: Is the current scenario in the Ford A.S.S. (particularly in Hyderabad) better than what it used to be earlier(before the spares began to be sold off-the-shelf)? I'm talking about expenditure, maintenance and long-term usage.

Q3: Is the Classic Titanium Petrol available at all? I'm asking this because 2 dealers out of 3 said that the availability of the car is in question and they cannot guarantee delivery even after booking and it might take a month (Jan 10th 2015) to tell if the car is still being manufactured. This also raises the question of availability of spares in the long run.

I'm going for this car solely because I need a safe car for my family. Expenses in the long run are fine, but after hearing certain stories of expensive repairs of Ford cars in less than a year of purchase, I've begun to doubt my choice.

Any help and advice would be highly appreciated.
Thanks in advance.

[hserus]

You could just buy the 2014 model of that instead. The classic is a decent car but being phased out.

If you want safety with airbags, abs etc you might consider whichever VW is in your price range

[LithiumSunset]

Originally Posted by graaja

Here is the results table for the comparision I showed in the previous post. Missed to attach this one.

Bumped into this post. I am reminded of the running around in circles that I did by creating a similar weighted spreadsheet last time I bought a car.

With the scores amongst your shortlist so close to each other, which one did you buy after all?

I too am about to buy a new car, but this time I'm going to listen to my heart.