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Old 15th October 2011, 14:23   #31
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Re: How to lose a prospective Audi customer in 10 minutes

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Originally Posted by suhaas307 View Post
Well, my research is not going to be squashed by the dealer. I'm obviously not the kind of person who would discount what I know about the car, just because I had a bad experience. I still love the Punto, and it's a great car. I just wish it isn't managed by Tata. And I will definitely not be fooled by gilb talk about any car. i'm more informed than that! It's just that I weigh dealer experiences and give it a lot of importance, and I don't buy a car solely on the basis of how good it is! I take all aspects into consideration.
Lovely post, except mine was directed at the OP and his almost-done decision to buy the audi (even the cheques were given!) not you!! I continued my message to the OP from my prev post but clearly I can now see how you may read it otherwise as well
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Old 15th October 2011, 14:27   #32
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Re: How to lose a prospective Audi customer in 10 minutes

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Lovely post, except mine was directed at the OP and his almost-done decision to buy the audi (even the cheques were given!) not you!! I continued my message to the OP from my prev post but clearly I can now see how you may read it otherwise as well
Oops! I get it now! Was under the impression that it was for me!

Sorry about that. But yeah, I agree with you. You've got a great point! Cheque given and everything, maybe he should have reconsidered his decision, or tried to get the attention of someone with credentials in the showroom, before taking the leap!
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Old 15th October 2011, 14:49   #33
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Re: How to lose a prospective Audi customer in 10 minutes

What happened to Androdev's wife and kids is very much possible in any premium car dealership in the country.

Sad thing about the premium car dealerships in India is that apart from the ones in 4 metros, the others enjoy a great level of monopoly. If I live in Pune and want to buy an Audi, I have no choice but to buy it from Pune dealer unless I want to do some jugaad and show residential address in Panvel or somewhere in Mumbai territory.

I hope that with increasing sales volume these "territories" will be abolished and one will be able to shop around.
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Old 15th October 2011, 14:59   #34
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Re: How to lose a prospective Audi customer in 10 minutes

Update: To give credit to Audi, pretty much everyone in the sales dept called me including the senior folks this morning and they want a 2nd chance. (In their speak: we apologize, what can we do to set it right?) I would say the turnaround time in attempting to resolve the issue has been pretty impressive.

There is nothing that they can do to make it right. We just have to ignore the glitch and proceed with the purchase. Like an earlier post mentioned, I don't want to ignore my homework and research. I will let them know on Monday - unless they are reading this thread.
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Old 15th October 2011, 15:20   #35
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Re: How to lose a prospective Audi customer in 10 minutes

The A4 is a car that you clearly have your heart set on, and I swear that I'd take a flamethrower to the dealership if my loved ones were treated with such disdain. The question has to linger after an experience like that; if they can be so shoddy pre-purchase, will the ownership experience be much better?

That Audi has called you back and done everything in their power to try and compel you to give a second chance is a massive credit to the dealership. Do give them that second chance. If they fluff their lines for a second time, you know you should look elsewhere for the A4 without any guiltiness at all. Unless you have a massive guilt complex
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Old 15th October 2011, 15:42   #36
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Re: How to lose a prospective Audi customer in 10 minutes

Just reminds me that on my trip to Singapore, we were put up in the hotel (Grand Copthorne Waterfront, Havelock Road) that had Maserati showroom (Hong Tseh Motors) on it's premises on the ground floor, our coach just finished parking when the whole busload of 'Indian' tourists just made a beeline with their luggage (even before checking in; don't get to see such showrooms in India that often, neither would we go in search of it, hehe) into the showroom, some with strollers going precariously close to the polished and gleaming Gran Turismo and Quattroporte parked there. The guy in the showroom was just petrified and just asked us to take it easy and then just 'ushered' us out. Not that any of us were going to 'book' a Maserati or even buy one of it's branded luggage or T-Shirt.

Last edited by Durango Dude : 15th October 2011 at 15:44.
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Old 15th October 2011, 16:01   #37
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Re: How to lose a customer in 10 minutes

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If i were the sales manager, i would fire that sales guy,
You don't need to fire an auto sales guy; they switch jobs every 8 months. (Average turnover rate in India according to FADA magazine)
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Old 15th October 2011, 16:33   #38
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Re: How to lose a prospective Audi customer in 10 minutes

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I do get the feeling that I am making a big deal of out it,
To be frank, I think you are. Same thing happened to me here - http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...apointing.html - I feel it's a heat of the moment decision that you have made when your wife and kids met you after the experience at the Audi showroom.

I guess the best option is - talk to your wife and let her know that this is the best deal - explain to her that the incident could be a one-off. I am sure she will understand

Then go with your heart and get the A4.
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Old 15th October 2011, 17:42   #39
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Re: How to lose a prospective Audi customer in 10 minutes

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- The TD car arrived. It was dusty, had bird feces all over it, plenty of leaves and marks all over the car. the alloys were scratched.

- The TD official insisted that the seat-belt be tied by extending it via behind the front seat, for our convenience!

- The car hadn't been given a service for God knows how long! It's condition was poor. Some of the knobs were broken inside.

- The TD official insisted that we will get 16-20 km/l in the city.

- He reluctantly allowed us to take it for a few extra kilometers. We had barely drive it for one kilometer and he wanted to get back.

- He said that he will come back with the Indica Vista diesel, which according to him, is a much better car in every aspect!

- He spoke to me in a rude manner. He never gave us straight answers.
Yea thats not acceptable at all . We had a similar experience when we went to check the Optra and Manza while we were car hunting. And the dealership experience really put us off. On the other hand the toyota experience was excellent and hence they got our business. But what I was trying to say for the benefit of the OP was that unlike in our case he was already set on buying this particular car and not just "considering it too" kinds.

Also with Fiat its a double edge sword. I would still say that majority of customers don't even consider Fiat today. And a handful of them like you and your friends who love Fiat for its cars are put off by the dealers .
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Old 15th October 2011, 18:00   #40
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Re: How to lose a prospective Audi customer in 10 minutes

Andro - STOP. Make a BIG deal of it. Why?

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.

Let them make you an offer. If in the final big picture you get yourself an additional sweetener then what's the harm? Close your eyes, think of your perfect gujarati seth and think like him! (gujaratis are the most eminently practical folks i've met - hence that example!!)

PS: Don't bother if the salesman gets fired as a result (he wasn't going to be around for longer with that kinda behavior anyways).
PPS: IF the above strategy works, I'll pm the address where to send the cheque
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Old 15th October 2011, 18:09   #41
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Re: How to lose a customer in 10 minutes

Everybody deserves a second chance.
Got my A4 2.0TFSI few months ago amd am loving it.
Perfect size for the city and a joy to drive!
Like you said maybe you sent the cheque a little too early!
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Old 15th October 2011, 18:15   #42
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Re: How to lose a prospective Audi customer in 10 minutes

Well for starts, why dont you just go and give Mr. deputy a piece of your mind ? Him not opening the doors apart, he probably deserves it ! Good day or bad, they are employees of a luxury marquee so IMO they are expected to be hospitable at all times since they are well aware of how much a customer spends on their product. If they are not up for it, they could just let their colleagues handle it.

@androdev
Trying NOT to sound pompous , you might have some idea of what a package the A4 is through my ownership review .
So even i would suggest , dont let this 1 off experience spoil it for you and your family .Besides, since all of the top level management has reverted , i guess they do bother after all. At the same time, you could keep options like the passat open. It really is a fantastic car the passat and offers a lot more than the equivalent A4 at the same price.
Having said that since its a heart decision to go for the A4, make sure the fellow concerned gets a piece of your mind so that hopefully it would not be repeated again and should be smooth sailing there onwards.

Good Luck with your decision

Last edited by PlatzdaTurbo : 15th October 2011 at 18:18.
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Old 15th October 2011, 23:50   #43
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Re: How to lose a prospective Audi customer in 10 minutes

Off topic, from purely a drivers perspective, how did you find the A4 (FWD) when compared to your 5 series?
On the topic, why cant you to go to another Audi dealer ( Bangalore must have more than one I guess) ?
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Old 16th October 2011, 01:05   #44
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Re: How to lose a prospective Audi customer in 10 minutes

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PPS: IF the above strategy works, I'll pm the address where to send the cheque
No such hope my friend - I cant ask for discount as that will make my case less credible :-) But I will think of something that will make it look like they earned the deal.

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Originally Posted by divinedoc View Post
Everybody deserves a second chance.
Got my A4 2.0TFSI few months ago amd am loving it.
Perfect size for the city and a joy to drive!
Like you said maybe you sent the cheque a little too early!
Yeah, I hope it will work out. We are kind of getting over it.

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Originally Posted by PlatzdaTurbo View Post
Well for starts, why dont you just go and give Mr. deputy a piece of your mind ? Him not opening the doors apart, he probably deserves it ! Good day or bad, they are employees of a luxury marquee so IMO they are expected to be hospitable at all times since they are well aware of how much a customer spends on their product. If they are not up for it, they could just let their colleagues handle it.

@androdev
Trying NOT to sound pompous , you might have some idea of what a package the A4 is through my ownership review .
So even i would suggest , dont let this 1 off experience spoil it for you and your family .Besides, since all of the top level management has reverted , i guess they do bother after all. At the same time, you could keep options like the passat open. It really is a fantastic car the passat and offers a lot more than the equivalent A4 at the same price.
Having said that since its a heart decision to go for the A4, make sure the fellow concerned gets a piece of your mind so that hopefully it would not be repeated again and should be smooth sailing there onwards.

Good Luck with your decision
I must tell you 2.0L TDI is no 3.0L quattro, so you are banned from praising A4 Kidding, but yeah as I have discussed with you earlier I like the car.

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Off topic, from purely a drivers perspective, how did you find the A4 (FWD) when compared to your 5 series?
On the topic, why cant you to go to another Audi dealer ( Bangalore must have more than one I guess) ?
Only one audi, one bmw dealer here. Merc is just opening a 2nd one.

Very controversial question, I am not an expert to comment on cars in these segments A4's main weakness is CVT - even a straight line dash won't thrill you as it lacks that distinct rev-change-clicks (3K - 2K - 3K - 2K, you know what I mean). I tried weaving (not a rash one) the car and it was just OK not very slick. I did not try cornering and braking. I have a sense that I will grow to like this car - I knew I was comparing with 5.

5-Series is (even my 520D!) J.O.Y. Driver's delight. It is a train that can weave!
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Old 16th October 2011, 12:56   #45
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Re: How to lose a prospective Audi customer in 10 minutes

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.
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