[throttleking]

Guys, I am hearing all the feedback and suggestions. Thank you so much and do share more thoughts. In the mean time let me clarify few things. Vehicle is not yet registered, because i wanted urgent delivery, I decided to take it home without registration (good thing). I dont want to compromise on anything (specially colour) and of course quality. Moreover, my banker had given them the Delivery Order, i asked them to stop the payment.

[GTO]

Glad you saw the defects, even if at the nth hour.

Treat this like a blessing in disguise. The Merlin is only days away. Buy the latest! Remember, that's going to have far improved ride and handling

[Blue Thunder]

Originally Posted by throttleking

... i asked them to stop the payment.

This is a good thing in your favour. Please cancel the order entirely and back off from this dealer. Even if they try to sell you another 'new' Safari, one can never be sure.

[esteem_lover]

Originally Posted by drpullockaran

Tell them you might be interested if they give you 4 lakh discount.

I would go further and demand 50% off, then only can TK buy this car and sell it for level price and then start looking for another car. There is no way he is going to own this car.

Originally Posted by drmohitg

Isn't the car already registered in your name? I was under the impression that when you take the delivery the registration procedure has already been done by the dealer and full payment made.

As long as TK has not filled the RTO forms, he is safe, but if he has, then he has a huge problem on his hands. But from his narrative, the dealer was asking him to take the white/silver safari, that means he is still clear of that commitment.

[highway_star]

I recall an interesting incident where someone was able to get a Tata dealer to replace his car. This was narrated by the gentleman himself some years back during a speech at my college. I have forgotten who he was, and cannot vouch for the veracity of the story. Still, I am writing it here because it is funny.

This person had purchased a Tata car. When it was delivered, it had lots of dirt all over the inside. He accepted the delivery at the time. After taking it home, he took a vacuum cleaner and collected all the dirt in a bag. He also made a video of the process. He sent a parcel containing the dirt and the video to Ratan Tata. In a few days, the dealer himself came to him and replaced the car.

[Enigmatic]

Originally Posted by throttleking

Some more gas from them, vehicle has come Dhule so the 352kms run, while booking I was told it is available in Dapodi pune. Now he says, sir no other vehicle with Black colour is available in stock, and the production of Safari is stopped. Why don’t you take White or Silver, they are available and they look good too. All useless conversations. I left, and told him I am not going to call. You call me when you have the neat and clean vehicle ready for the delivery. Exchange of few sorry notes from them and we came back disappointed. Look at the following pics. Please advise us on way forward and how to deal with these guys.

Throttleking you have done just the right thing by not accepting the delivery of the product . You have all the rights to not accept the delivery of the same . I am not a lawyer but a second year law student and here is what i feel about the situation , hope it helps :-

Firstly the dealer has committed FRAUD with you on the following grounds :-
1) As it is apparent from the pics , he has sold you a defective vehicle which further reads 325 Km's on the Odo and the speedometer has also been disconnected. This means that it falls in the category of FRAUD according to the Indian Contract Act 1972 .
Section 17 defines "Fraud" .It means and includes any of the following acts committed by a party to a contract, or with his connivance, or by his agents, with intent to deceive another party thereto his agent, or to induce him to enter into the contract.

Further Section 17(1) :- States the suggestion as a fact, of that which is not true, by one who does not believe it to be true.

Section 17(2) :- The active concealment of a fact by one having knowledge or belief of the fact.

As the dealer was trying to mislead you into a contract of buying a defective vehicle which he knew to be defective , he is committing a FRAUD.

Further you are not bound to accept the delivery of the vehicle just because it has been delivered to the dealer for delivery to you as :-

Section 41 of the Sales of Goods Act 1930 , speaks about Buyer’s right of examining the goods . Which states the following :-

1) Where goods are delivered to the buyer which he has not previously examined, he is not deemed to have accepted them unless and until he has
a reasonable opportunity of examining them for the purpose of ascertaining whether they are in conformity with the contract.

As on your inspection , you found the car to be defective , you have not accepted the good and have all the rights to reject the same .

Do not let the dealer take "Undue Advantage" of you . Unless and untill you as a consumer will not take a stand , the dealer will go on to make a fool out of some other unsuspecting buyer as well .

[mayankjha1806]

This is real sad to hear, i am sure it must have been hard on you. You should draw happiness from the fact that you are in a position where in you can walk away without much trouble, as the bank has not paid its portion yet.

My advise is do not jump onto another offer from this same dealer, go to some other dealer if you must buy the same safari or else preferably wait for some more time and buy the new Safari getting launched.

[vinjosep]

This is one of the worst nightmares coming true for a car buff - being sold a lemon! I hope you have taken a note of the VIN number which might come in handy going forward.

Considering the imminent launch of the next gen, might be prudent to wait for it as recommended by others here. This whole incident might be a blessing in disguise. The signs have spoken !

[amitoj]

You did the right thing by walking away from this deal. Others have already suggested what to do. I dont think you should compromise on the choice of your color though. You are the customer, after all and you are paying for the car.

One more thing. If you have the VIN number of this one, can you please publish it here? Might help others, in case the dealer tries to push this car to someone else.

Cheers,
Amitoj

[throttleking]

thanks a lot for very important suggestions guys. Yes i had taken the VIN on the day I booked Safari. Here it is mat403715bnk13245. I will be going to the dealer today, will speak to their higher-ups.

Damn it was horrible experience to come back without a vehicle. Those sweet boxes are lying there, and nobody is eating them at home :(

[libranof1987]

Originally Posted by throttleking

Damn it was horrible experience to come back without a vehicle. Those sweet boxes are lying there, and nobody is eating them at home :(

On the slightly bright side, at least you weren't stuck with that vehicle. The fact that you noticed it before delivery and that it wasn't registered yet gives you hope.

IMO, no matter how the dealership guys resolve this issue, I feel you should escalate this to Tata.

That vehicle is surely not going off to the scrapyard; it'll be sold to someone less attentive. And would be only morally correct to inform Tata of how the dealer is operating.

[vivekkp]

Its good that you rejected this car. Now we have lot of cars to choose from this segment. You can probably check out tata merlin, Skoda Yeti or even the new XUV500.
cheers

[throttleking]

Originally Posted by condor

Wonder what has happend to the rear door - both corners have been re-painted ?

No, only the rear right corner is painted, and looks like damaged in transit and no accident. And no, i will not take any other Safari if it is not Black

Originally Posted by a4anurag

What all formalities, paperwork have you finished with and what work is left before delivery?

Except for final disbursement from Bank and RTO registration, everything is completed.

Originally Posted by Enigmatic

Do not let the dealer take "Undue Advantage" of you . Unless and untill you as a consumer will not take a stand , the dealer will go on to make a fool out of some other unsuspecting buyer as well .

Enigmatic, thanks for providing insight into legal aspects.

Originally Posted by GTO

Treat this like a blessing in disguise. The Merlin is only days away. Buy the latest! Remember, that's going to have far improved ride and handling

Originally Posted by vinjosep

Considering the imminent launch of the next gen, might be prudent to wait for it as recommended by others here. This whole incident might be a blessing in disguise. The signs have spoken !

Wait for the new Safari was endless, until we saw some clear pics yesterday in Merlin thread, and it is more apparent that it will be available for soon. I will try to see if we can get the new one, but if we dont, no regrets as we love the current Safari too. Just that i need a neat and clean delivery.

Originally Posted by theMAG

If no traction happens within some logical timeframe with the dealer, you might want to involve the Tata Regional Sales Manager directly.

Originally Posted by libranof1987

That vehicle is surely not going off to the scrapyard; it'll be sold to someone less attentive. And would be only morally correct to inform Tata of how the dealer is operating.

How do I reach out to TATA, any specific mail id?

[comfortablynumb]

Originally Posted by throttleking

How do I reach out to TATA, any specific mail id?

For starters, try this Tata Motors Customer Support :: Complaint and customercare@tatamotors.com.

Cheers,
Vikram

[amit_mechengg]

@throttleking ,

you are right. they may easily sell it off to unsuspecting / non technical customer.

you can very well take the advantage of this situation. as they say there is no production ask then to deliver the very first Merlin to you.

i know you love the current safari, but please believe me the new Merlin is altogether a different ball game.