[acsandeep]

Since you have finalized the A4,let me become first one to congratulate you,so which exterior+interior combination you will be going for?

[suhaas307]

Great to see that you've finalized your decision.

The A4 is a great car. I've always liked it. And the thing about it, is that it will age really well. It looks fantastic, drives like a dream and is pretty comfortable. Audi might be looking to replace it soon though, and the other Germans have caught up, especially BMW.

But that's the thing about German cars. Even if you buy the previous generation, you aren't left with an outdated car. Japanese cars make you feel that way. German cars somehow always retain their charm. I'd still buy the old 3-Series if I had the moolah, despite the fact that the new 3-Series is just around the corner in the Indian market.

All the best, drive safe and always buckle-up!

[Vid6639]

Originally Posted by noopster

Androdev- since you've already made up your mind all the best with your A4 purchase and wishing you many happy miles. When we were shopping for the Vento, we visited 3 different VW showrooms (Downtown Mumbai, Vidyut Pune and BU Bhandari also Pune). We had an absolutely shocker of an experience at the Vidyut showroom but ironically it was the one we had to book from eventually (same reason you said, territorial things and BUB had yet to open when I booked). The reason I stuck with my booking was that the folks at VW Downtown treated us VERY nicely- the SR really bowled my wife over which is a smart strategy also the BUB guys were excellent- very child friendly and impressive in general.

So I went ahead and now I have the luxury of choosing where to service my car- chances are it won't be the same place I bought it!

It's shameful though, how car dealers treat customers with utter disdain- forget an apology, I will never even get an acknowledgment from the Vidyut guys that they screwed up in their pre-sales experience- utter indfference to the customer seems to be their motto. Sorry for the rant, and hope it isn't considered offtopic.

OT: I think I need to have a word with the Vidyut Showroom guys in Pune. If they are going to use my name they better provide the best service out there.

[Deep_Shri]

I played the scenario in my mind Androdev. I cannot advise you on what you should do. But here is what I would have done if I was in your situation. I would have written a long email to the showroom with a copy to Audi telling them that I will not buy the car and not recommend to anyone either, asking for immediate refund and categorically stating that my family was mistreated in the showroom which is the reason I changed my mind after paying an advance. My rationale:
1. Happiness of kids is more important to me than my own happiness. It appears that your children were made to feel unwanted. Insult begets retribution. I am not a follower of "koi baat nahin maaf kar do...hota hai".
2. Children were denied the experience to sit and get a feel of the car. They would have become emotionally detached. I strongly believe that children have a strong sense of fairness given their purer emotional state. The extent of joy if I would buy the Audi would be dampened for them. I will live with a car which gives me less pleasure but which my kids and wife decide to be a better choice.
3. I do not agree (sorry to fellow posters opining otherwise) that a car made ready for delivery cannot be allowed to inspected. This would have been acceptable if the prospective owner was present to take delivery. If not, the car would have had a host of workers milling in and around it making it ready for delivery and the process could have been repeated assuming your kids just took a mud bath and then wrestled on the seats. This I am sure was not the case.
4. Insensitivity to a prospective customer has a tendency to increase after the prospective customer becomes a customer.
5. You were not present at the time of the incident. Emotional impact is difficult to understand. I would have left the decision to my youngest child. Trust me, if you did the same, you will get a very strong and honest view.
6. Regardless of what my personal emotional condition is, I have no right to vent it on unsuspecting customers and spoil their day. My problem is my problem.

Just my two cents.

Cheers!

[androdev]

Originally Posted by Deep_Shri

I played the scenario in my mind Androdev. I cannot advise you on what you should do. But here is what I would have done if I was in your situation. I would have written a long email to the showroom with a copy to Audi telling them that I will not buy the car and not recommend to anyone either, asking for immediate refund and categorically stating that my family was mistreated in the showroom which is the reason I changed my mind after paying an advance. My rationale:
1. Happiness of kids is more important to me than my own happiness. It appears that your children were made to feel unwanted. Insult begets retribution. I am not a follower of "koi baat nahin maaf kar do...hota hai".
2. Children were denied the experience to sit and get a feel of the car. They would have become emotionally detached. I strongly believe that children have a strong sense of fairness given their purer emotional state. The extent of joy if I would buy the Audi would be dampened for them. I will live with a car which gives me less pleasure but which my kids and wife decide to be a better choice.
3. I do not agree (sorry to fellow posters opining otherwise) that a car made ready for delivery cannot be allowed to inspected. This would have been acceptable if the prospective owner was present to take delivery. If not, the car would have had a host of workers milling in and around it making it ready for delivery and the process could have been repeated assuming your kids just took a mud bath and then wrestled on the seats. This I am sure was not the case.
4. Insensitivity to a prospective customer has a tendency to increase after the prospective customer becomes a customer.
5. You were not present at the time of the incident. Emotional impact is difficult to understand. I would have left the decision to my youngest child. Trust me, if you did the same, you will get a very strong and honest view.
6. Regardless of what my personal emotional condition is, I have no right to vent it on unsuspecting customers and spoil their day. My problem is my problem.

Just my two cents.

Cheers!

Deep_shri, What you describe is exactly how I felt on that day! After going over the incident again and also after hearing from the sales person who messed it up what I realized is, there is no rudeness - it is just that he didn't make any attempt to make wife and kids comfortable in that place - generally, wife and kids are always used to 'special treatment' everywhere.

It just boils down to this one interaction (the best I could gather and without any bias):

Wife: "Can I see see this car (one of the color options we want to pick)?"

Sales person: "Could you please keep the kids away from the car as this is due for delivery?" (Politely. Kids are 4yrs and 2yrs and pretty hyper)

Wife: Takes the kids away from the car and comes back alone to see the car. "Can I see the car now?" (Already pissed that instead of getting the 'special' treatment they are used to, this guy is actually asking her to keep the kids away. This may seem insignificant to men - but mothers are very touchy when it comes to kids.)

Sales person: "Sorry mam, this car is due for delivery. Could I show you some other car?"

Wife: "Ummmmmmmmmm... OK sure" (read: I don't care any more!)

If this happened when someone comes to the entrance to receive you, offers you a seat/drink and has a small friendly chat, you know the works - then the above conversation won't look that bad.

To keep it short, I would not call this an insulting experience (wife says it is but agrees not a deal breaker) but just a clueless sales person (he says he was polite and helpful.) Got lot of calls from Audi Bangalore and they sincerely apologized (never tried to justify what happened) and offered to come to our house with the car and also meet my wife to apologize in person.

How do I feel about this? I was never 100% sold on this car - basically I am really really confused about which car to buy and one fine day I told myself (speaking to few friends helped) there is no perfect car and I just have to pick something that ticks all my requirements.

My perfect car would have been Merc interiors-quality+panoramic-roof, BMW engine+transmission and Audi space+pricing :-)

[ankurvirmani19]

I think you should give the sales person a chance to prove himself. Also, this may be a chance for you to get a pretty good deal with out of way discounts and services.

[Deep_Shri]

Hi Androdev:

Wife: "Can I see see this car (one of the color options we want to pick)?"

The salesperson was briefed about the visit and the choice of colour was indicated in advance. So...instead of the following line

Sales person: "Could you please keep the kids away from the car as this is due for delivery?" (Politely. Kids are 4yrs and 2yrs and pretty hyper)

The response was not an answer to the question. The question was can I see the car. The answer was more like GO AWAY and take your kids away. This was more like a response to an 'intruder'.

He could have said...Welcome Ma'm. Please have a seat. Actually, this car is ready for delivery so you and the children will not be able to inspect it [completely]. We have another car of the same colour though.

I will not buy the argument that given his profile (knowledge, skill) he should be given the benefit of doubt for articulation. An Alto salesperson may still have a better chance to claim benefit of doubt.

Wife: Takes the kids away from the car and comes back alone to see the car. "Can I see the car now?" (Already pissed that instead of getting the 'special' treatment they are used to, this guy is actually asking her to keep the kids away. This may seem insignificant to men - but mothers are very touchy when it comes to kids.)

I would not call it 'special' treatment. This is 'proper' treatment. Am sure a red carpet with trumpets and elephants showering rose petals etc. was not expected. This further shows that the objective of the initial response to get the children away and to not respond to the question. So, it will not be an exaggeration to state that the moment he saw children he was apprehensive and his first response was to get the area clear of them...hence 'intruder'.

Sales person: "Sorry mam, this car is due for delivery. Could I show you some other car?"

Wife: "Ummmmmmmmmm... OK sure" (read: I don't care any more!)

To keep it short, I would not call this an insulting experience (wife says it is but agrees not a deal breaker) but just a clueless sales person (he says he was polite and helpful.)

"Not a deal breaker" = you want it so for your happiness I will ignore the insult.

Got lot of calls from Audi Bangalore and they sincerely apologized (never tried to justify what happened) and offered to come to our house with the car and also meet my wife to apologize in person.

What does this indicate? Mixed messages. If he was polite and helpful then what was the need to apologise? So, if he was polite and helpful isn't all this apology drama just a ruse to extract your money? And if the apology is genuine, the cause was real too.

It is upto you now to accept the apology or not.

Best regards,

[androdev]

The not-so-good service experience made me pause and reconsider my decision. Decided not to go ahead with the purchase considering the mixed reaction at home. I might just wait till the new 3-series is launched.

[noopster]

I am glad, Androdev. These guys will not feel the pinch till we as customers vote with our wallets. I a making a call to schedule my first service for the VW right now, at BUB and *not* the dealer I bought it from, Viddy's namesakes

Also, if you want a 3, there are massive discounts running on the outgoing model so you may want to look at that well. Check akshay1234's thread!

[diffsoft]

Originally Posted by androdev

The not-so-good service experience made me pause and reconsider my decision. Decided not to go ahead with the purchase considering the mixed reaction at home. I might just wait till the new 3-series is launched.

Hmmmm...... What a way to lose a customer I wish some of the Audi senior management read this to know the opportunity loss due to poor sales / pre-sales experience. Even if their engineers produce the world's best car.

Cheers,

[iFuel]

Originally Posted by androdev

The not-so-good service experience made me pause and reconsider my decision. Decided not to go ahead with the purchase considering the mixed reaction at home. I might just wait till the new 3-series is launched.

And that to me sir is just THE right thing you did. I just went through the whole thread and read each and every post. I am surprised that some people will want to ignore this and their family's disrespect, even if it was not so obvious and still go with their decisions, the world sure has changed and people have become materialistic.

A bad sales experience is a bad experience in every possible manner. I cannot accept an apology and persuasion there after to buy from them or the brand. The people are the face of the brand, if those are the kind of people they hire, then that speaks much about their brand.

What do you expect, go to Audi and see their CEO take me through the sales experience? It is the sale guy who is hired and trained to do that and follow the brand's values, vission, mission and ethics. That reaction and disrespect from the sales guy is what tells me what the brand is all about.

And this is my personal opinion: some of the replies made me feel like, someone just slapped your family knowingly and said I'm sorry and let me buy you a chocolate and all you want to promote is 'one off incident, let us forget it and still go ahead with the buying decision'. Seriously

[autobahner]

Originally Posted by androdev

The not-so-good service experience made me pause and reconsider my decision. Decided not to go ahead with the purchase considering the mixed reaction at home. I might just wait till the new 3-series is launched.

Hi Androdev, read your posts from the start and really i do symphatise. Being an A4 owner myself i can put myself in your shoes and analyse. First impression from a dealership does leave a mark, irrespective if your purchase is for a 800 or an A4. However, if i was in your place i would have worked this to my advantage, A4s are not exactly breezing out of the showrooms like freshly baked cakes and every sale counts, you could have really squeezed the dealership into giving you a deal of the lifetime and would that not have been a sweet revenge for their truly dispeakable behaviour, but maybe thats just the gujju in me speaking. I do wish you all the very best for any of your future acquisitions, Audi or otherwise. Cheers.

[nowwhat?]

Originally Posted by phamilyman

Here's another spin on it - now that Audi will SURELY bend over backwards to win you over (some of us can helpfully mail this thread to them - opinion is clearly divided about going back to audi). So the way I see it - Audi will HAVE to throw in some upfront sweetener to win you back. Drive some additional discount - tell them clearly that you need your pound of flesh to reconsider the A4 because your wife is pissed.

I agree with phamilyman.

Here's what I would do. When the Sales Manager calls, I will tell him that my wife want me to buy the BMW 3-series (CE or other something priced may be a lakh or two lower) and unless Audi gives a good price, I wouldn't be able to convince her.

Alternatively though not ethical at all, if I am sold on the car I might take my family to Kerala and check out the Audi dealership there. If everything works out, I would save a couple of lakhs in road tax.

[phamilyman]

here is another question i had -

if you look back to the Bentley purchase thread - it clearly mentioned how they presented several cars for TD. Now with all those cars being pretty much limited in number, surely the car one buys has already been touched/felt/TDed etc by another person.

What's the big deal, really?

Of course, I would personally draw the line at the the TD - but just highlighting a clearly subpar experience for a much higher segment car. Unless the bentley folks had a TD mule of even the limited edition car - which beats business sense imo.

[sandeepmdas]

Originally Posted by nowwhat?

Alternatively though not ethical at all, if I am sold on the car I might take my family to Kerala and check out the Audi dealership there. If everything works out, I would save a couple of lakhs in road tax.

Actually, I was about to post the same opinion here yesterday..

IMO, this is an option that you should consider very seriously; while I don't know about the entry tax etc of KA, buying the car from KL or TN is very much an option.