[tadukuttan]

Originally Posted by ram_hyundai

if you have not paid for it the dealer has paid for the car and as a car lover we should respect the machine who ever owns it. ram

Now Ram, that is a really great thing to say.

But, I am really disappointed that you did not feel it was necessary for the dealer to respect the paying customer by giving him a new car which was not used for test drives. Going back to your previous example, the big showrooms are using 400+ customer cars for test drives at any point of time, driven with care or otherwise. Why do you think that is fair? It is not like the dealer gives discounts for cars used unofficially for test drives? Or is it that the customers who haggle most get the unofficial test drive cars?

Is it not a good practice to call and inform the customer that the car he had booked by paying the full amount has arrived? Is that not respect too?

[jkdas]

Originally Posted by tadukuttan

Now Ram, that is a really great thing to say.

But, I am really disappointed that you did not feel it was necessary for the dealer to respect the paying customer by giving him a new car which was not used for test drives. Going back to your previous example, the big showrooms are using 400+ customer cars for test drives at any point of time, driven with care or otherwise. Why do you think that is fair? It is not like the dealer gives discounts for cars used unofficially for test drives? Or is it that the customers who haggle most get the unofficial test drive cars?

Is it not a good practice to call and inform the customer that the car he had booked by paying the full amount has arrived? Is that not respect too?

Thadu, I doubt if all car company ask teh full amount to be paid when you book car. MSIL says its 50k but the dealer wants the full amount. Imagine how much they can get on interest for a VDi @ 5.5lac. VDis take almost a month to deliver.

[esteem_lover]

Originally Posted by jkdas

If the car was used for couple of kms I guess I wouldnt mind.

I have seen car being driven down to Trivandrum from Cochin etc to be delivered! Imagine the case of those owners who bought that car. I have seen Logan being driven at 3 digit speeds from Cochin to Tvm.

My cousin's scorpio was driven from bangalore.

[tadukuttan]

Originally Posted by jkdas

Thadu, I doubt if all car company ask teh full amount to be paid when you book car. MSIL says its 50k but the dealer wants the full amount. Imagine how much they can get on interest for a VDi @ 5.5lac. VDis take almost a month to deliver.

Give as little money as possible upfront. The lesser the money the dealer has, the more interest they have in delivering the car, and collecting the rest of the money from you. 50K works fine in most cases, even if the dealer initially tells you that is not enough.

For that matter, even if I am buying furniture/tv, or anything else I cannot take it then and there, I would simply say, will leave the money/cheque at home, please deliver and collect the payment. In most cases, that avoids the need to place multiple calls to the seller to deliver goods.

Give all the money away, and the sales representative you were dealing with might suddenly become a bit too "busy", or they might "forget" to deliver?

[ram_hyundai]

hey tadu ,

all i meant was a test drive is not a bad thing at all but it has to be done properly.not like the customer who pays full amount dint deserve to get a new car.jk, just imagine the amount the dealer looses by putting the full amount with the manufacturer wherein the person who is going to take the vehicle is only paying 50000 rs .it comes to about 5000 rs per vehicle sold.
ram

[chawrevakil]

Friends,
I must share here that at Divekar Auto, dealers of mistubishi motors, I took TDs of diesel and petrol lancers. Both had their odos not working. Even I could not know what was my top speed when I drove.

[PatienceWins]

Originally Posted by ram_hyundai

first of all let me suggest here that test drives are not ripping a machine.we are on public roads and more than your safety you have to keep in mind others safety too.so a test drive is usually a ride of the desired vehicle along a route wherein you encounter potholes humps,dips,curves ,u turns.etc to have a feel of the car to how it behaves in the natural road conditions.along that trip you can have a feel of the seats and controls of the car as to how comfortable it is to reach the a/c switch or how many speed controls for the wiper etc.more over i strongly feel that no sales guy should encourage any people taking a test drive to blast off at full speed whatever the case maybe and it is not right on the side of the guys who take a test drive to blast off in the test drive car too.if you have not paid for it the dealer has paid for the car and as a car lover we should respect the machine who ever owns it.

ram

Anyways, giving customers car for test drives is totally unacceptable. If I ever find a dealer doing that, I will never buy cars from him. We pay money to get a new car, not a car being tested by many. Its the responsibility of dealer/ manufacturer to have the facilities in place. Even if the dealer requires 1000+ cars for TD all across the state, its his worry.

[Jaggu]

i think in this particular case the car is new and not used since the dealer took the pain in washing it after getting it from the yard? Quick glance at the plastic covers that come from factory or the floor well trims (check all the 4 sides) will reveal if it indeed was a test drive car.

[LLL]

I think a lesson learned from this is to take the car as early as possible and not tell them a drop dead date. Your delivery date has to be today (even if it may sound impractical).

Also, do the dealers let a customer inspect the car before registration?

[zoomingbhat]

Originally Posted by esteem_lover

My cousin's scorpio was driven from bangalore.

Skoda's in mangalore are driven from Bangalore delivery.They remove the odometer wire unless its a laura in which its not possible to do so.Imagine the state of the car in those ghat section,with the underbody scrapping etc .

[mithun]

Don't trust the Popular guys...That's the only warning that I can give !

When Swift was launched, Indus Motors(Cochin) once gave me a customer's car which was meant for delivery the very next day as the TD car(with the odo disconnected !).

[amohit]

Originally Posted by ram_hyundai

all i meant was a test drive is not a bad thing at all but it has to be done properly.not like the customer who pays full amount dint deserve to get a new car.

I disagree...If i am paying for the new car I deserve to get a new car....not a TD car. If dealers have problem having 400 TD cars, they can atleast have honesty enough to tell a customer that they have an unmarked TD vehicle which has done xx kms and is available at a discount of Rs xx.
But what the dealers do is, disconect the odo and at time of delivery polish the car and dispose it as new.

Whats wrong in the whole episode is not the act of selling unmarked TD car...but the act of covering it up!

just imagine the amount the dealer looses by putting the full amount with the manufacturer wherein the person who is going to take the vehicle is only paying 50000 rs .it comes to about 5000 rs per vehicle sold.

thats no excuse to make customer suffer.
Neverthless...atleast for maruti dealers, I have never seen them asking for more than 25-50k as downpayment.

Regards,

[benbsb29]

Originally Posted by amohit

Neverthless...atleast for maruti dealers, I have never seen them asking for more than 25-50k as downpayment.

Mohit, you should try the same thing specifying the car you want to buy is a Swift VDi. Then see the difference, when it comes to booking amount.

[ram_hyundai]

guys ,
let me specifically clear a point here.i am not supporting the act of giving a customers car for test drive.i was just enumerating the details and facts from a dealer side.thanks guys,

ram

[amohit]

Ram,
Please dont take it otherwise. I appreciate your view point. We are having a discussion here(and not a fight)...and any healthy discussion has multiple viewpoints(otherwise its not a discussion).

Now coming to the topic under discussion,
I really dont understand this practice of (almost)all the dealers
1. Trying to sell a unmarked TD vehicle as new.
Dosen't the company provide atleast 1 TD vehicle(of every model and not every variant) per dealer/city?
If not how does the manufacturer expect dealers to sell the model..without a TD? If yes then why dont they do so? Why do they use new customer vehicle for TD?
In case they are using cus vehicle for TD, what I understand is that the "Incidental Cahrges" that every delaer charge for each vehicle sold, has these costs built in to it...so why cant delaers sell those TD vehicles openly at a discount(since there investment on TD vehicle has been saved!). I am sure that there will be lots of takers for such vehicles.


2. Trying to push a transit damaged vehicle as new(after covering up).
Arnt these damages covered by insurance? What are the manufacturer's policies in this respect...i am sure they wont have documented that for a vehicle damaged in transit...paint it up and sell it as new! ?

3. Clear defination of booking amount:Why dosent manufacturer send the vehicles on credit...if it expects the payment to be made in advance....why dosent it publicise it...why is it that dealers have to bear the additional costs.


Would appreciate if you could enlighten us on how things work...

Regards,