[pahwa]

I had a similar experience about a month back. A friend of mine booked a Tata Nano at KHT motors Bangalore and was offered some good discounts and accesories. My friend is a novice when it comes to cars and I suggested him to go through the Team-BHP PDI checklist before sending the car for registration. He made full payment for the car and in 3 days, KHT motors called him to visit for PDI. He texted me the VIN number which translated to Oct 2012 manufactured vehicle - being sold in July 2013

He immediately rejected this vehicle and meanwhile I also joined him at the dealer showroom. The sales girl kept on insisting that 'It does not make a difference'. They were even ready to write the vehicle as 2013 manufactured one in invoice and registration card. The dealer claimed to have arrangements with RTO to do that. We still insisted on a 2013 vehicle. Now came the real surprise - we were asked for another 23k INR because the price given to us was for a 2012 vehicle, ofcourse without we being told the same. When we asked for a refund of full amount on account of their cheating - we were told that 10k INR would be deducted as KHT motors considered it a booking cancellation.

This is when our patience gave up and we decided to call police. In few minutes two policemen were there at the dealership and we explained them the whole matter. Fearing loss to reputation with the policemen arriving there and a scene being created for 10k INR, KHT motors representative asked us to come next morning and collect full amount.

More than anything else that surprises me is - Dealers have arrangements with the RTO to register old vehicles as current year. The dealer mentioned some additional cost to do this which he was ready to bear as well. No wonder, we did not wish to be associated with a dealer who follows such malpractices and we decided to walk away with our money.

[noopster]

Pahwa,

Have moved your post from the Aveo scam thread to here since I think it deserves its own thread. This is indeed shameful behaviour from a dealer and our members need to be aware of it.

I think you did absolutely the right thing by involving the authorities- it doesn't matter that the amount involved is "just" 10,000/-. It is a clear case of fraud.

I hope you or your friend highlighted this issue to Tata Motors management. The Tatas have a reputation for ethical business practices and it would be interesting to see how they deal with this.

[zoombiee]

You should talk to Aadit who is management of KHT. He is proactive on many fiat forums and seems a very helpful guy.

[pahwa]

Originally Posted by zoombiee

You should talk to Aadit who is management of KHT. He is proactive on many fiat forums and seems a very helpful guy.

Hi Zoombie. We did try to speak to the management and ask for face to face contact or phone numbers. We were denied for both options. That is when we decided to call in the police who were surprisingly helpful. Two policemen turned up within 15 mins and even offered us help for lodging a FIR for cheating if KHT motors does not return 'full' amount next day.

Originally Posted by noopster

Pahwa,

I think you did absolutely the right thing by involving the authorities- it doesn't matter that the amount involved is "just" 10,000/-. It is a clear case of fraud.

I hope you or your friend highlighted this issue to Tata Motors management. The Tatas have a reputation for ethical business practices and it would be interesting to see how they deal with this.

Thanks Noopster!

KHT Motors informed us that they escalated the whole matter to Tata Motors and requested for a full refund or 2013 car at the same price which was turned down for Tata Motors. As suggested, we will escalate to Tata Motors formally from our end and bring these malpractices to their notice.

The sales girl's argument still makes me laugh - "We did not promise or write a 2013 manufactured car for you in the booking form". Well, to me this may be something that should be discussed in Jan/Feb. Isn't that a default assumption in July/August?

Originally Posted by pahwa

we were asked for another 23k INR because the price given to us was for a 2012 vehicle, ofcourse without we being told the same.

They should have mentioned in writing that the discounted price quoted was for 2012 car. Otherwise, this amounted to cheating the customer only. It is unbecoming of the multi-brand dealer KHT Motors, who deal with FIAT and Chevrolet brands too in addition to TATA Motors.

[pyrodrive]

Its a shame. Cheating can't be tolerated. You did the right thing.
Tata certainly can do without any negative publicity at this point, with their sales tumbling and industry downturn. These dealers are not doing brand tata any favours.
Glad your friend got his money back. Having a BHPian buddy surely helped him !

[HillMan]

Originally Posted by pahwa

As suggested, we will escalate to Tata Motors formally from our end and bring these malpractices to their notice.

really appreciate that you guys did the right thing by not associating with the dealer. Who knows that could have been a Lemon or a demo car. Anyways few dealers stoop too low and spoil the face of their parent company. They must be reported in every which way.

You knew the VIN decoding, else your friend would have fallen for it.
I am sure, they will find some other prey.

However, Tata isnt at fault and Nano is a great car. You should approach another dealer and not take this experience to be a spoiler.

[arun_josie]

Originally Posted by pahwa

More than anything else that surprises me is - Dealers have arrangements with the RTO to register old vehicles as current year. The dealer mentioned some additional cost to do this which he was ready to bear as well. No wonder, we did not wish to be associated with a dealer who follows such malpractices and we decided to walk away with our money.

I think this is common among all the dealers, at least I came across this scenario couple of times,

- One of the Hyundai SA told me that they pay around 6K(without customers knowledge) to RTO to register old vehicles as current year

- Similar offer was made by VW dealer to my friend when he bought a Passat, but he declined it.