[BANDHAV]

One of my seniors recently bought a Renault Duster from the Renault Gurgaon handled by Sprint Cars Pvt Ltd and I must say the whole buying experience was nothing short of disastrous.

From the very beginning they were acting very pricey, we need to follow up with them for two days for getting a Test Drive of 85 PS model. My senior wanted the grey color, base variant 85 PS combination. The dealership confirmed the availability of the same and asked to deposit the booking amount which was duly handed over to them the very next day. This was done to ensure that there is no waiting at later stage. Just for records the booking was done during Shradh (Inauspicious day according to Hindu culture) and delivery was supposed to happen during the Navratras.

We were not offered any sort of discount/freebies at all, on inquiring over phone with their Delhi branch we were offered 10 k discount on the insurance. The Gurgaon branch was not ready to pass even that to us and only after lots of persuasion got ready for the same.

My senior wanted the delivery on the 7th Oct as it was some muhrat (auspicious day and timing) he made the balance payment as well as got the bank payment done well in advance. So technically there should not have been issue in getting the car on the fixed day as the vehicle was already blocked, all payments were cleared but nope, it didn't happen. On checking with them a day before we were told numerous reasons like, vehicle is not ready, there are some issues with logistics and so on. We got the delivery rescheduled for 9th Oct (again a good muhrat). We were told that the delivery will happen around 10o' clock in the morning in case they manage to get the vehicle to showroom a day before or latest by 1o'clock. We reached there around 1 o’clock but to our horror we were told that the vehicle is yet to reach the showroom from stockyard. We were made to wait for around 2 hours but still there was no car. We finally asked them to get it delivered to our office as it was not possible for us to wait any further.

Finally at around 5.30 PM they a Grey color based model was brought to our office for the delivery but it was in a such sorry state that no individual in his senses would confuse it for a new vehicle. The vehicle was in a very poor state, it was dirty inside out, most of the cavities like the front windshield area, door handles had some white dust sort of things filled inside. The left rear door had a very noticeable dent in it. How such vehicle cleared the PDI is anyone's guess. By now we lost our patience and asked the dealership to cancel our booking and refund the money but they promised that they would deliver a another piece today only. Finally the delivery was made at around 10o clock in the night but it was still not a happy ending, we were handed over a vehicle was which was damaged during transit and mind you we were not told so, we found out this through a part requisition slip which was left inside the glove box but we were so drained out by this delivery ordeal that we took the delivery and went back home.

On bringing it to their notice we were promised by the dealership that they would try to end all this on happy note by compensating in some manner but it turned out to be another promise which they failed to keep.

PS: I wrote this as I was involved with the buying experience of my senior from the very beginning till the very delivery of the vehicle.

[coolboy007]

That is a terrible experience and these incidents really spoil the new car excitement. Do lodge a complaint with Renault India and i hope the dealer is brought to task.

Again shows the importance of a PDI, every one should do a PDI themselves before the car is registered, checking the VIN shows if the dealer is palming off an old car and the PDI brings to notice such inconsistencies.

A morale for others as well, take the team bhp pdi checklist and check your allotted car personally.

[drmohitg]

Why did you take delivery of the Second car in the night specially after your ordeal with the first car they tried to pass on to you. More so given that they were acting weird from day 1, should have been reason enough to not take the delivery of the next car without examining it properly first. What they did was wrong but I think your senior should have shown some smartness in the end. Renault would not do anything and will just ask you to contact the dealer. What are you expecting Renault to do in this case? At the most you might be able to extract some accessories from them, even that I doubt as you have taken delivery already and they didn't acknowledge anything in writing.

[Warwithwheels]

This is really sad. Has the car been registered?

[GTO]

Bandhav,

Despite the shoddy initial experience, I'm surprised delivery was accepted at night, and without the Team-BHP PDI Checklist

Originally Posted by BANDHAV

The vehicle was in a very poor state, it was dirty inside out, most of the cavities like the front windshield area, door handles had some white dust sort of things filled inside.

we were handed over a vehicle was which was damaged during transit and mind you we were not told so, we found out this through a part requisition slip which was left inside the glove box

Sounds fishy. I sure hope your senior hasn't ended up with a piece from this damaged lot.

[Dry Ice]

Really sad to hear this. Dealerships just cannot be trusted, Brand not withstanding. As other have pointed out earlier, I feel you guys should have refused delivery of the vehicle.

Once delivered and registered, it becomes a really tough job to get compensated adequately, leave aside getting a new car as replacement. For now I would suggest you to make as much noise as possible, take help from social media so that your friend gets the damage repaired FOC (first and foremost).

EDIT:
Can you please post some pics of the vehicle in question?

[neel385]

Well, the Renault story is slowly turning sour! Surprising that these multinationals in their hurry to enter a lucrative market are being so myopic! You may have a very good car in your stable, but if you cannot get it to the customer in a smooth manner, the future of the company is doomed in this country. While we are known to "adjust" for about anything, we are at the same time very particular about how we spend our (well earned) money!

[amitoj]

Originally Posted by BANDHAV

Finally at around 5.30 PM they a Grey color based model was brought to our office for the delivery but it was in a such sorry state that no individual in his senses would confuse it for a new vehicle. The vehicle was in a very poor state, it was dirty inside out, most of the cavities like the front windshield area, door handles had some white dust sort of things filled inside. The left rear door had a very noticeable dent in it.
<snip>
Finally the delivery was made at around 10o clock in the night but it was still not a happy ending, we were handed over a vehicle was which was damaged during transit

The three most important rules when buying a car anywhere: PDI, PDI and PDI.

Are you sure the dealer gave you a different car at 10PM? Did you check whether the second car had a different VIN? 4 hours is enough to clean up the vehicle and make the dent less noticeable!

[ninjatalli]

Sorry @bandhav, but your senior and you are equally to blame. I don't see any attempt from your side to take any PDI checkup of the car - neither the first option nor the 2nd option. I agree that the overall experience by the dealer & his team was pathetic, but even you guys haven't really done the basic checks.

People cursing Renault & advising complaining to the headquarters understand that the problem lies with the end dealer - irrespective of the original brand, (unfortunately) the dealer is going to be as good/bad as the rest. As @drmohitg & @GTO have correctly pointed out, agreeing to take a car late in the night was really not a good option, and now crying out foul is not really the smartest thing to do.

[vb-saan]

Originally Posted by BANDHAV

One of my seniors recently bought a Renault Duster from the Renault Gurgaon handled by Sprint Cars Pvt Ltd and I must say the whole buying experience was nothing short of disastrous.
…
…

Finally the delivery was made at around 10o clock in the night but it was still not a happy ending, we were handed over a vehicle was which was damaged during transit and mind you we were not told so, we found out this through a part requisition slip which was left inside the glove box but we were so drained out by this delivery ordeal that we took the delivery and went back home.

On bringing it to their notice we were promised by the dealership that they would try to end all this on happy note by compensating in some manner but it turned out to be another promise which they failed to keep.

PS: I wrote this as I was involved with the buying experience of my senior from the very beginning till the very delivery of the vehicle.

Sorry to say this. Your senior did not get any real help by taking a knowledgeable BHP-ian with him/her. I mean, even on the second car you noticed the damage, but still went ahead and closed the deal! Or is it that your senior will be happy with some freebies they (dealer) may offer as compensation?

What GTO mentioned above is indeed a big possibility.

[shipnil]

Originally Posted by BANDHAV

PS: I wrote this as I was involved with the buying experience of my senior from the very beginning till the very delivery of the vehicle.

Originally Posted by vb-san

Sorry to say this. Your senior did not get any real help by taking a knowledgeable BHP-ian with him/her.

The first thing I checked after reading your experience is no. of posts against your name. 797. I really don't believe during all this time you never came across a thread with "PDI" mentioned in it.

When things go wrong, people start blaming the dealership and the brand but a little precaution from oneself goes a long way in saving the heartburn later.

[DragonRider]

Originally Posted by GTO

Sounds fishy. I sure hope your senior hasn't ended up with a piece from this damaged lot.

I saw the image of this flooded stockyard sometime back on T-BHP itself, and since then I've been so wary of these pieces being handed off to unsuspecting buyers, that I've been suggesting my friends and acquaintances (who are interested in the duster) to wait for a few months. When the duster was being offered in the step-up scheme, I was getting all the more convinced in my own silly way that this must be Renault's way to clear those drenched and dried pieces and feel a little less guilty about it .
I hope things end on a good note for Bandhav's senior and the duster brings innumerable smiles to his and his family's faces.

[pahwa]

Originally Posted by BANDHAV

One of my seniors recently bought a Renault Duster from the Renault Gurgaon handled by Sprint Cars Pvt Ltd and I must say the whole buying experience was nothing short of disastrous.

Frankly, I am a bit disappointed by the fact that a BHPian got into such trap. You should not have accepted the delivery of the shoddy vehicle and escalated it through right channels.

This again emphasizes why pre-delivery inspection is a must-do. Please share some pics if you can.