[byomjeet]

Everything siad and done, whats the way forward? Whats the solution? How do we get a relief from such things?

[hrman]

Have been following this thread. I don't think anywhere it mentions about the dealer not accepting the mistake. They have even come forward and provided three options to the harassed customer.

Im not for a minute taking away what the customer has gone through or how he should be compensated for this. VW must take ownership and suitably compensate.

But, IMHO, it should be an understanding arrived at by both the customer and the dealer and closed amicably. Lets not talk about how much money someone is spending on advertisement or how the social media will work.
Social media is always there. But the primary aim for now must be to reach a settlement.
Its only when all the solutions offered by the dealer are not acceptable, that it should ideally be escalated and publicized to the media.

[aghosht]

Originally Posted by hrman

Its only when all the solutions offered by the dealer are not acceptable, that it should ideally be escalated and publicized to the media.

I believe that's exactly what has been done by the customer!

[kch82]

I think you have a very good case and should take recourse under law. Engage a good lawyer and sue VW's ### off !!! And when you will be awarded the compensation (which you will) claim for the legal expenses as well.This is unacceptable behavior by VW and such companies should taught a lesson to treat the Indian market with respect.

Do not think..just sue...

Originally Posted by kch82

I think you have a very good case and should take recourse under law. Engage a good lawyer and sue VW's ### off !!! And when you will be awarded the compensation (which you will) claim for the legal expenses as well.This is unacceptable behavior by VW and such companies should taught a lesson to treat the Indian market with respect.

Do not think..just sue....

4 years back, my friend's civic AT was mishandled by the Honda workshop. One thing let to another...bailable warrants were issued against the owners of the workshop and a senior official of Honda. End result the car was purchase back by Honda at the original price. Took a lot of time and effort but the end result was worth it.

MODS NOTE: Please use the EDIT or MULTI-QUOTE buttons instead of typing one post after another on the SAME THREAD

[vkaul1]

Originally Posted by vb-san

I had a similar experience a few years back. Our Ikon was sent for routine service, along with repainting the front door which had a minor dent. When I went for collection I noticed that there is a bit of paint sprayed on the front windshield, and some scratches. The Service Manager examined the damage, and quickly admitted that it was a mistake from the workshop. Immediate next day, they replaced the front windshield FOC. No cover-up or arguments whatsoever.


That’s more of a public perception I guess. Never experienced that personally

+1 to that. Not sure what has created the perception & hence maybe the resultant poor resale. During my 6 years with the Ikon I continued with the Ford workshop even after the warranty period just due to their fantastic service & responsiveness to the requests. Never was there a time when something that was not needed they tried to sell to me in a service, the costs were reasonable & of course you were getting company genuine parts

[praveen_n]

Originally Posted by kch82

I think you have a very good case and should take recourse under law. Engage a good lawyer and sue VW's ### off !!! And when you will be awarded the compensation (which you will) claim for the legal expenses as well.This is unacceptable behavior by VW and such companies should taught a lesson to treat the Indian market with respect.

Do not think..just sue....

I do not believe customer will be able to file a case aganist VW.They can only file a case aganist the dealer as its the dealer who smashed the vehicle.

[kch82]

Originally Posted by praveen_n

I do not believe customer will be able to file a case aganist VW.They can only file a case aganist the dealer as its the dealer who smashed the vehicle.

As per law, you can have a shot at establishing a principal - agent relationship and make the VW a party to your complaint/case. I am not saying this will guarantee a result, but it is def worth a try. I saw that with Honda - as described in my post.

[the_joker]

I think you need to bring this to the attention of Volkswagen, not just Volkswagen India. Try posting it to their facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/volkswagen

[Vara]

Originally Posted by BoeingDriver

I once test drove an Passat from Chennai. The worst thing that could happen is to break down during an TD. Had to catch an auto from the spot .

You know, I suddenly burst out laughing reading this and my family was looking strangely at me.

I was actually researching to buy a new car and VW was one of the considerations. Well, reading this, one less car to break my head about while choosing. I struck VM off the list.

[Agarwaka]

Originally Posted by hrman

Have been following this thread. I don't think anywhere it mentions about the dealer not accepting the mistake. They have even come forward and provided three options to the harassed customer.

Im not for a minute taking away what the customer has gone through or how he should be compensated for this. VW must take ownership and suitably compensate.

But, IMHO, it should be an understanding arrived at by both the customer and the dealer and closed amicably. Lets not talk about how much money someone is spending on advertisement or how the social media will work.
Social media is always there. But the primary aim for now must be to reach a settlement.
Its only when all the solutions offered by the dealer are not acceptable, that it should ideally be escalated and publicized to the media.

I disagree on the point regarding the dealer being forthcoming - as has been mentioned, a copy of the FIR was shown only after 10 days. Additionally, while the accident had occurred on 16th, they didn't inform the customer until the point where they had no option but to. There are options and then there are reasonable options - keep in mind that eod, the owner will have to drive an 'accident' car, which will substantially reduce its resale value as well. Additionally, it would be remiss to ignore the fact that an option provided by the dealer was not only unethical, but illegal as well.

[tazmaan]

There is an article in TOI today saying Skoda has put some senior executives on probation owing to poor sales.

Now if only Skoda and VW could understand making good cars is not the only thing that can make a car sell, service is equally or more important. Skoda and VW should put all their dealers on probation and replace them if need be and focus on improving service. The sales will follow.

An average car with good service will easily out sell a good car with average service.

OT: I gave my Innova for 1st service yesterday, I got bill of INR 0, free pick up drop and the car was super clean from both outside and inside. I kept getting sms on every step of the service. Brilliant!

[GTO]

Originally Posted by vineetsh08

I am supposed to have a firm offer by today evening or tomorrow in the first half.

Remember, we're waiting for a positive update .

No followup post, hence I presume that you guys are in the process of bargaining. Don't let go any less than you will be happy with. The VW dealer has goofed up; the dealer & VW, both, are responsible. They better bend over backward to end this matter to your satisfaction.

[VW2010]

No followup post, hence I presume that you guys are in the process of bargaining

Same here. I hope there is a settlement in this case and anything that goes to court can be taken for granted as "settlement to your grandson" and avoid the legal method.

Be flexible enough as well as rigid enough as GTO pointed. At the end you have to be happy with the final settlement.

[evilshantanu]

Waiting eagerly for the news on this. Hope you guys reach an acceptable agreement on this.

[k_nitin_r]

Despite the lack of ethics by the VW dealer, I think the OP should try to mitigate the losses and try to figure out a way to reach a settlement. As long as there's a replacement Innova provided by the dealer, the OP doesn't have to get a rental vehicle, so that's the most immediate issue taken care of. The next issue is to get a vehicle - if the dealer can provide a fair value for the vehicle and continued use of the Innova till a new vehicle is delivered, that would work out as a possible solution. The option of getting a second hand vehicle sounds fair, except that the owner should not have to pay any difference in value - perhaps the OP can pay for the registration if the odometer reading of the director's vehicle is lower but nothing beyond that.

Although going to court would bring the malpractices of the VW dealer to light, for the owner of the vehicle, this would mean a very long time before the issue is resolved and the Innova would probably have to be maintained by the owner during this time.