[Jaggu]

See how they respond.

But if you were sold an 2013 and was promised 2014, you should go legal. Esp since you already have a group who have already done that.

[arjithin]

Originally Posted by Jaggu

See how they respond.

But if you were sold an 2013 and was promised 2014, you should go legal. Esp since you already have a group who have already done that.

Model year and manufacturing year may be different. Typically in US and Europe model year 2014 cars start selling by mid 2013 itself.

three questions for you.
1. What was committed by dealer? Model year or manufacturing year?
2. Do you have the commitment in writing? Say your order details or emails?
3. Are there any updates that only model year 2014 got? There should be some always. Can you verify that against your car? Don't go with dealers word like color etc, but do some research yourself.

Please update us with what you find.

[Jaggu]

Originally Posted by arjithin

Model year and manufacturing year may be different. Typically in US and Europe model year 2014 cars start selling by mid 2013 itself.

I think he is referring to manufacturing date, hence he mentions the discount if one choose the older manufacturing date in the above post.

Model year and manufacturing date are different.

EDIT: Was the dealer offering discount on 2013 model OR 2013 manufacturing/production date? @yaseenar

[GTO]

Originally Posted by yaseenar

A thread in teambhp had a link to Bmw VIN decoder. I found the Chasis number of my car and entered the VIN in the site. I was shocked to see the result!

My car was produced in October 2013! I tried a few other decoders and they confirmed the date to be 9th October 2013!

It takes 1 minute to decode a VIN online. I fail to understand why you didn't decode the VIN before delivery.

Unless you have a commitment in writing, unfortunately, there is little you can do now.

[Jaggu]

Also what does your RC card say? Date of manufacturing?

[yaseenar]

Originally Posted by Jaggu

Also what does your RC card say? Date of manufacturing?

RC Card says manufacturing date as January 2014. Is it because it is CKD? the engine was imported and assembled later on?

Originally Posted by Jaggu

I think he is referring to manufacturing date, hence he mentions the discount if one choose the older manufacturing date in the above post.

Model year and manufacturing date are different.

EDIT: Was the dealer offering discount on 2013 model OR 2013 manufacturing/production date? @yaseenar

The dealer was offering discount on the 2013 model.

Originally Posted by GTO

It takes 1 minute to decode a VIN online. I fail to understand why you didn't decode the VIN before delivery.

Unless you have a commitment in writing, unfortunately, there is little you can do now.

I was not available to see the car before delivery. It all happened before my marriage so I could involve less in the matter.

Originally Posted by arjithin

Model year and manufacturing year may be different. Typically in US and Europe model year 2014 cars start selling by mid 2013 itself.

three questions for you.
1. What was committed by dealer? Model year or manufacturing year?
2. Do you have the commitment in writing? Say your order details or emails?
3. Are there any updates that only model year 2014 got? There should be some always. Can you verify that against your car? Don't go with dealers word like color etc, but do some research yourself.

Please update us with what you find.

1. The dealer offered the latest model i.e.2014. As we bought it in mid 2014, I expected the manufacturing date to be also in 2014 :(
2. No commitment in writing as I was not involved or present during the purchase.
3. I checked online regarding this and could not come across any difference in 2013/2014 models except that they had red interiors for 320d available in 2014 which was only available in 328i in 2013 but my car has black interiors.
I could not find any comparisons or added features for the 2014 model online.

[Jaggu]

In short when you expected 2014 manufactured vehicle, you got a 2013 manufactured vehicle. Model is 2014 BMW 3 series, where there is no issues.

There is a case since RC says 2014 manufactured, which is a lie

[sajusherief]

Originally Posted by yaseenar

If not, as the car is already registered, is there anything that can be done now?

My Father in law was telling me that we will file a case against them. Should we do it or talk to them asking for an explanation and possible compensation?
:

As mentioned above its normal to manufacture vehicles this year which is a next year model. But, repainted bumpers are something to worry about. You may check whether it's a used car and then involved in any accidents. File a vase if you have evidence of being cheated and go for compensation.

[rajeev k]

There is an issue with new cars being driven to run errands for the dealer and are also taken to prospective customer's places as a demo car. Many dealers disconnect speedometers so that the odo doesn't clock these drive distances. In petrol engined cars the engine check lamp will be on when speed sensor is disconnected which I have seen myself.
One dealer told me that for Diesel engined cars, this is not possible but the question as to why was not answered.
One can see many cars being driven with red dealer plates everywhere. Bumper being vulnerable, it is more likely to get scratched and could be the reason for the repainting in your car.
This rampant practice by dealers need to be curbed.

[yaseenar]

Originally Posted by Jaggu

In short when you expected 2014 manufactured vehicle, you got a 2013 manufactured vehicle. Model is 2014 BMW 3 series, where there is no issues.

There is a case since RC says 2014 manufactured, which is a lie

Yeah. I talked to my father in law who had a discussion with his friends. They say that going for a case against Bmw is useless as they are very powerful but we can use our contacts and try for a compensation.

Originally Posted by sajusherief

As mentioned above its normal to manufacture vehicles this year which is a next year model. But, repainted bumpers are something to worry about. You may check whether it's a used car and then involved in any accidents. File a vase if you have evidence of being cheated and go for compensation.

When my father in law talked about the repainted bumper to his friends what they told him is that we cannot do anything about the repainted bumper as the dealer will simply say that the car arrived from Chennai plant where it was assembled. Bmw Chennai plant/any service center has the right to repaint the bumper/any part in case the part got damaged while shipping from Germany. I will show it to a trusted mechanic in Kerala but other than the front bumper, nothing else is damaged when it was checked by Shibin(Pete's) and 3M.

Originally Posted by rajeev k

There is an issue with new cars being driven to run errands for the dealer and are also taken to prospective customer's places as a demo car. Many dealers disconnect speedometers so that the odo doesn't clock these drive distances. In petrol engined cars the engine check lamp will be on when speed sensor is disconnected which I have seen myself.
One dealer told me that for Diesel engined cars, this is not possible but the question as to why was not answered.
One can see many cars being driven with red dealer plates everywhere. Bumper being vulnerable, it is more likely to get scratched and could be the reason for the repainting in your car.
This rampant practice by dealers need to be curbed.

I hope that this is not true! It looks like my car was ready for delivery a little earlier but my family decided to receive it only on July 31st as they didn't want to risk spoiling the car before marriage day. :(

[yaseenar]

Hi all,

Today I gave my car for servicing at Bmw, Kochi. I talked to sales team head about this issue. He listened to me and asked his junior to decode the VIN. He came with two print outs. One with the details about the manufacturing. they said that the chassis was manufactured in Germany in October 2013 and assembled here in Jan 2014.

What made me feel relieved was this piece of paper(attached) where they had showed me what each alphabet in VIN/Chasis No. actually meant.

*EC* in the picture is the code for month and year of manufacture.

In my car it is *AE* which means that my car is maufactured in Jan 2014!!

They did not share the detailed information paper with me as it was for internal use.

[Turbanator]

My car was produced in October 2013! I tried a few other decoders and they confirmed the date to be 9th October 2013!

I have attached the pics and details from decoder.

Please help me on what is to be done regarding this.

First of all, Is it normal for 2014 models bought in July 2014 to be produced in October 2013?

I think VIN decoder will give you date of Manufacture of KITs which can be older than Actual Production Year of Car in case of BMW CKD's , you can find more information with dealer , ask for BMW Invoice copy - it will have both dates .

[subhro1988]

Hi all,

I was buying my first car last month and did a PDI of the car before registration and before delivery as per T-bhp checklist. However, while decoding the VIN for Maruti Suzuki, I found a minor mismatch in our T-bhp article for decoding VIN in Maruti cars. Although decode says 20th character represents the Month and 21st character represents year, the example section says,
if your 20th VIN character is L, then it represents the month - November
If your 10th VIN character is 6, then it represents the year - 2006.

I think it would be better if the example section is edited and replaced with the sentence "If your 21st VIN character is 6, then it represents the year - 2006"

[rokindotnish]

Oh my God!

Wish I had read this a week ago. I had booked a Honda Brio from "Peninsular" in Trivandrum, Kerala. I had personally gone to the yard and inspected all cars. There was a 2015 Feb made Brio and an April made Brio (Thanks to VIN thread in TBHP). I insisted the sales guy that I need the April one. All deal done and next day he registered the vehicle. I couldn't take it from dealer for a week due to auspicious reasons. When I went there a day before delivery, thunder struck. Sales guy told me that the April made model had some ac compressor issue ( a brand car parked in yard!!?) and hence they have registered the Feb model in my name. I was shattered beyond words by the breach of trust. I said I don't want this car but he apologised a lot and said since the registration is done nothing can be done. I finally agreed to take a 3 month old car for a 1 month fresh one. If only I had known that till we sign the papers we can still reject the offer.

I will spread the word to anyone who wants to buy a car, to go through this thread.

I personally don't have issues with a couple of months old car. What hurt me was the breach of trust and the audacity they showed to hide it from me till the last minute, when I couldn't say no.

Never again.

Mod Note : Please avoid typing with excessive dots.........like................this.

[rokindotnish]

Dear All,
A small doubt - As mentioned in the above thread - the CAR is Feb 2015 made. I bought it end of last month.

The dealers however have charged me the new cost wef 01-Apr-2015.

Is it right that the dealer charged me FY2015 price for the care made in Feb 2015 (last FY)?