[suzuki san]

Hi Guys,

An update for you all.
Today, Vitesse have replaced the 9 month old Maxiss tyres with new (1 month old) Apollo Amazer 3G tyres. I could not get Yoko's in the correct size and the TBHP tyre expert said Apollo's were OK, so....
I also fitted original Maruti alloys at my cost.
That's the end of that part of the story.
As regards the sale date being 7th. Jan instead of 26th. June they have given me an official letter stating the correct date of sale and that the warranty will be valid till 25th. June 2015 and then the extended warranty for another 2 years after that.

I have now decide to put this whole episode behind me and enjoy the car
Regards,
SS

[Chetan_Rao]

Good for you!

Get the paperwork sorted for your long-term peace of mind, and enjoy the car. Glad this episode is ending well.

[MetalBuff]

Just got to know that S.K. Motors. now occupies the premises which previously housed the Vitesse fellas. Would anyone know the reason for this change?

Cheers,
-Shivang Gandotra

[nowwhat?]

When I read the travails of suzuki san, I was instantly transported back to 1995.

That is the year when I bought my first car, a brand spanking new Maruti 800 which I made the mistake of ordering through Vitesse. Back then of course there was no Team-BHP, no recourse to cheating dealers and no PDI.

When I placed the order, Vitesse told me that since there was a backlog for the Maruti 800, I would have to wait some 6 to 9 months. Other models such as the Maruti Omni van were available right away but the 800 still had a wait list.

Some four months into the wait, Vitesse called me out of the blue and informed me that they had a car and whether I could come across to their Worli office immediately. There they showed me a car on the floor of their showroom with tinted glass windows and asked me whether that car would suffice for me. At that time, I had no idea of the concept of display car or demo car and didn't know I was being taken for a ride. They asked whether I am fine with the tinted windows since it wasn't sunfilm but actual tinted glass and if so I must pay Rs. 10,000 extra. They then said this was an AC model which costs Rs. 20K odd extra since it was a powerful 1.5 ton AC. So much pressure was put on me that day that I acquiesced and bought the car.

Unpleasant though the whole interaction was, at least I was happy that I finally got my car and had somehow skipped the long wait. But the very next month I was disappointed when my relative visited our flat with his brand new Maruti 800 which had a completely different look and more features. That was when I found out that I had been scammed. Vitesse had wanted to display the new Maruti 800 and had sold off their showroom car to me not once mentioning about the new model. I found out that this relative had booked his car after I did. The car itself was more than 6 months old. The AC stopped working in a few months and has been unrepairable ever since. It took me 4 years to repay that loan.

Vitesse is back to its dirty old tricks. One experience with them was enough for my lifetime.

[adit mishra]

Originally Posted by suzuki san

Hi Ethanhunt and Suhas,

Thanks for your responses.

I got a call from the General Manager of Vitesse yesterday. Basically a "consolation" call is what I would term it. Anyway, they are not willing to give a set of new tyres or anything else. All he would offer is that they would take off the tyres and send them to the makers to see if there are any faults. We all know what the answer to that will be. I have had dealings with tyre companies before and only in the most exceptional cases will they agree to a manufacturing defect.

I had written to one of the bosses in Maruti but as of now, no response.

I agree with what you said - I should have insisted on the getting the VIN and checked it myself. Anyway, once bitten, twice shy. The lessons I have learnt are :

Lesson No : 1 : Do not deal with Vitesse again
Lesson No : 2 : Do not trust a car dealer - new or second hand. Take everything they say in writing. Seriously!!
Lesson No : 3 : Do one's own "due diligence" before buying a vehicle.
Lesson No : 4 : The most important : Follow the TBHP checklist when buying a new or second hand car.

I hope that prospective new buyers will take the advice above.

Kind Regards,
SS

This is a very ignominious issue. Maruti should give the customer a new vehicle. Only hope that they had not used it for test drives. Its a long time now but still the customer must have lost faith in Maruti. The dealer and his team must give everything in writing. If possible, before buying a car a customer and the dealer must sign these papers before the Notary. Such practices will give the customer a right to speak in case something goes wrong.

[suzuki san]

Hi Guys,

You might not believe this but I am still having some minor issues with the car. Every time I go for servicing I have to carry the original letter that was issued by Vitesse giving the sale date of the car as records give the older date.
Even though I have written to Maruti three times to change the date in their records they have done nothing and now do not even bother to send me the standard "corporate" type reply.
I get calls that my service is due when it's not etc. etc. but now just ignore it all.
I am very, very disappointed with the lack of response from Maruti especially as I am a hard core Maruti fan. Even now I own 4 Maruti's but have started thinking about looking elsewhere for my next car - not because of the whole "sale date" episode but because of the total lack of response.
What is one supposed to do if one had a genuine problem and then got no response?
Even Tata Motors responded within 48 hours (Surprise! Surprise!!) when I raised a query on the new Nano I bought and the regional manager followed up with me till I was satisfied.

"Nowwhat" really sorry to hear about your episode with Vitesse. I am glad to see the back of them but realistically, are the other dealers any better??

Regards,
SS