[mayuresh]

It is really disheartening to see such thing happen.

The dealership must compensate for the entire trauma one had to go through and
also pay the cost of the suite.

It could be that there might not be a criminal intent of cheating. This might
be an operational error (and certainly severe) on somebody's part. But the way
the whole thing is being dealt with by the dealership is really pathetic and
deserves to be dealt with sternly.

[drmohitg]

Shocking and extremely funny at the same time. Shocking because this is a new low set by your dealer in Indian automobile history. And you should surely not let them get away by just delivering the car that you paid for but should also demand discounts/compensation.
Funny because I really cannot understand how foolish does a dealer consider his customers to be? This is a 10L rupee car and the buyers would be expected to have a certain level of education and common sense in this segment. So how does the dealer really expect someone to not figure out that its a different car thats been sold to him? Specially given the fact that there is such a gross difference between the 2 models such as the number of forward gears. Has the Indian buyer painted such a sorry image of himself in the eyes of Dealers across India?

[iliketurtles]

Poor show by GenNext, but good to hear Renault are more responsive. Come down on them like a house of bricks and file an FIR against the dealer. I would love to see the police turn up to arrest that GM in the midst of all his customers.

On a lighter note, you asked to be taken on a (test) ride and you've been taken on a testing ride. Don't give in until you get what is yours.

[sagarpadaki]

File an FIR and pull those dogs to the road! How dare they commit such a fraud and on top of that push you around like a beggar!? Don't leave them. This is atrocious. File a complaint against them if they dont give you a new car of 110 ps and also return you the extra charges they have levied !

My God, i had never thought the Indian car dealers can stoop to such low level.I am no words to express the amount of disgust i am feeling just by seeing your post.!

[MHG]

I have heard of dealers harassing ordinary customers, but this is the first time I have seen them messing around with a corporate buyer.

BTW I smell something funny here though. Its normal for dealers enjoying monopoly to overcharge insurance, registration, etc because they can get away with doing that most of the time. DIRECT CRIMINAL FRAUD on the other hand, especially when all the documents act as evidence against them, is like a legal suicide. I doubt a dealer could be THAT dumb, but who knows ?

[deepfusion]

Originally Posted by sagarpadaki

File an FIR and pull those dogs to the road! How dare they commit such a fraud and on top of that push you around like a beggar!? Don't leave them. This is atrocious. File a complaint against them if they dont give you a new car of 110 ps and also return you the extra charges they have levied !

My God, i had never thought the Indian car dealers can stoop to such low level.I am no words to express the amount of disgust i am feeling just by seeing your post.!

Hey Sagar, you are forgetting the compensation part. The pain of having been befooled by a car dealer, not to forget the price difference that these guys must have wished to put into their corrupt stomachs.

Nikhil, please don't let them off the hook by just an apology letter from the top management at the dealership or from Renault. Pull them to the court and let them beg mercy from you. Deal with these people like Hitler.

I suppose they must have tried to take advantage of their monopolistic position in Mumbai.

If you have a chance, ask Renault to open new dealerships in Mumbai, with differnet owners, which, in all probabilty they must be doing.


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[snkjr]

I'm sorry that you had to go through such a hellish experience. I would suggest that you get the media involved in this. Get the "story" on national electronic media. For print media the local publications have equal or more impact compared to national dailies. A compromise might feel tempting especially since it is a short cut to mental peace and allows you to pay full attention to your business, but I pray that you attach equal importance to your own self-respect and DO NOT settle for anything other than a legal solution.

A legal conclusion is what you deserve. Plus that will also help many others besides you.

The dealer took you for granted and insulted your intelligence. He is asking for some jail time.

In all fairness Renault India is not really at fault here, it's a criminal conspiracy hatched by the dealer.

[poloman]

I find it hard to believe that the dealer will have the courage to pull off a daylight dacoity like this, that too on a corporate client who was a repeat customer.

Excerpts from Team BHP official Duster review.
" The Duster's current waiting period is 3 months. Renault has implemented 3 levels of checks so that unscrupulous dealers & middle-men don't cash in with "premiums". Apparently, each car leaving the factory gate has a sticker with the customer name & VIN inside the glovebox. "

[mohandasnikhil]

So the case now has taken a new turn and one which will hopefully end the ordeal. After my mails to Marc Nassif, the M.D of Renault India on 13th September, Ganesh Rasal, the Regional Manager - West (Renault India )had called me late in the evening around 9ish and apologized and promised to have the new 110PS RXL car delivered on 14th September. I sent him a mail confirming the details of our conversation immediately, and asked him to confirm on the mail which he said he would do the next day. The following day when I didn't hear anything from him, I called him back and asked him about the car, and he cited some delays and promised to have the car delivered to me on 15th September, latest by 4pm. He also shot me an email confirming the same, but said that the car would be registered only by Monday.

On 15th September, By 4.15pm when I hadn't received the car, I tried calling Mr. Ganesh Rasal, but his phone was switched off. I immediately shot off an email to him with a CC to Marc Nassif mentioning that they had left me with no option but to file an FIR, and that I was proceeding with the same making Renault India as a party to it.

Immediately Himani Jain, the Area Manager of Renault India called me to inform me that the car would be delivered to me within an hour. I told her not to bother, because I had already begun the process of filing an FIR. After a lot of pleading she convinced me to atleast take delivery of the 110PS and then continue my fight with the dealership.

The car arrived by 5.30pm, and I took the keys to the new car and didn't sign any papers or hand over the 85PS car. I told the Sales Executive that he could take the 85PS car when he completed the registration formalities of the 110PS RXL. I also learnt that they hadn't transferred the insurance onto the new car even though all the details and cover note had been given to them long back. The dealership almost agreed to let me keep both cars, since they had no other choice.

But soon Sumit Gupta the M.D of the dealership (he also owns G3 Motors - Mahindra, Nikhil Auto - Chevrolet, Spectra Motors - Suzuki) spoke to me on the phone.
He was an extremely smooth talker and very nice on the phone and kept asking me how he could make up for the error. I informed him that I hadn't yet thought of any compensation. He requested me to let him take the 85PS car back since it was now uninsured and unregistered. I refused citing trust issues, and that I would release the 85PS car only when my new 110PS car was insured and registered. He immediately offered to buy me a new insurance policy for the new car (instead of transferring the old one). Since he couldn't register the new car, he offered to cough up a security deposit of 3lakhs in cash that I would return once all procedures were completed. I thought this was a fair enough deal, and wrote and signed a letter to him that I would return the cash when the new car was registered and I was compensated for the ordeal we had to go through. Mr. Gupta arranged the cash from his co-promoters house which is a stone's throw away from my office, and also a new insurance cover note. I handed over the keys to the 85PS car when I got
1. The new 110PS Duster
2. My refund of excess registration and depot amount totalling 14,500/-
3. The Insurance Cover Note for the new car and
4. 3lakhs in cash.

By the time this procedure was completed I had spent more than half an hour on the phone with Mr. Gupta and the time was 8.30pm. I dropped off the new 110PS Duster car in my office parking lot and headed out, and Mr. Len Curran, the Vice President of Renault India, Sales and Marketing called me. After his introduction and long apology, we had a good chat and I pointed out the problems Renault Customers were facing in terms of the monopolisation by 1 dealer in all of Mumbai (all 3dealerships are owned by the same person). I also informed him of the Depot and Registration Charge fraud the dealer was getting away with. He was quite interested and seemed keen to fix the problem and hinted at an investigation and a new dealer being introduced in Mumbai. He gave me his personal mobile number and also dropped me an email with his contact details, and told me to call/email him directly if I had any problems with our Renault cars.

So for now, things seem settled. Now need to have the car registered and seek out a compensation for the entire harassment. Any suggestions?

[rnidumolu]

Wow, congratulations to you for getting the desired car! I hope you came out of your mental agony now and be able to smile back. Good to hear that Renault India is listening to their customers.

[Phoenix_Nemo]

Good to know that everything worked out well finally for you Nikhil. But after reading the entire thread, i feel for the guy who would be handed over the 85PS model. I feel that you had a great opportunity as a consumer of a 10L car to show that we should not and cannot be taken for granted.

All the best for your new car..

[coolboy007]

Wow, thats a happy ending. All seems fine now, and kudos to Renault for pulling the leash on their dealer and acting quick. I hope this dealer gets punished though, if it was some 60 year old chap with no info regarding the car, he would have been easily duped.

Congrats on the car

[dZired]

That is indeed a great move by Renault. A very congratulations to you for getting the car you booked.

BTW, I may sound stupid, but IMHO you should not ask for any further compensation since they have handled the case quite brilliantly. This will serve as a token of gratitude to the Renault officials for being so humble and actively participating in the case in order to resolve all your issues. This may also improve your relations with the dealer which will help you during the After Sales Services.

PS: Its just my point of view. I agree the dealer should be punished for bluffing the customers, but this is what came to my mind when I read your post.

[Mik]

Alls well that ends well i guess. Congratulations on your 110PS SUV
I am really interested to know, was this an operational failure of the dealer of the highest order or was it a deliberate attempt to dupe the customer ?
P.S: I had posted this thread on renault India fb site. So far they havn't seen it/deleted it. Looks like Renault wants to set things right.

[Hayek]

Coming in late on this thread. This is a surreal experience. I was aware that auto dealers cannot be trusted but I never thought someone would try to pass off one car model as another. This is far worse than Harish's experience with Nummer Eins Skoda. The only saving grace is a relatively quick response from Renault. Wonder what they will do with the 85 ps car though - it is no longer new but I presume they will palm it off to some unsuspecting customer. Not going anywhere near Renault after this.