Metro Ford suck!! They totalled my Fiesta while testing EDIT: WON the case in court!!

sandeepmdas · 18th July 2006, 19:20

Somewhat OT. (Let me stay away from commenting on Topic, as we need to hear something -other than silence- from the Metro Ford guys too...)

A balance sheet thats printed in red ink..
A series of failed models..
A service network that is inching close to that of Fiat's, as far as professionalism is concerned..
Looks like the judgement day is fast apporaching for Ford, isn't it?

spadival · 19th July 2006, 12:40

If the case is settled in favor of shivasuma, It would be interesting as to what Metro Ford is going to do with the "repaired" Fiesta... Most likely they will try to palm it off to an unsuspecting customer as a new car.

naveendhyani · 19th July 2006, 13:07

very interesting observation spadival. even i think they will sell it to some unsuspecting customer. seniors, in the west what do u think the car company wud have done? scrapped the car or sold it to some unsuspecting customer? in my opinion the court should order to scrape the car so that this vicious circle ends then & there, ny opinions.

nitinhegde · 19th July 2006, 13:34

Even if you get a new car,I am sure that the dealer will pass on yr car in the seconds market as a relatively new car...with some minor depreciation..so,the dealer is not going to loose much except the cost of repairs of your car ! + minor depreciation..
So,ensure that you screw their happiness and straighten them...make the dealer realize that how much business he would be loosing by this publicity if he refuses to budge....Tell him that you have already posted this on Team-bhp,Media etc..
ALL THE BEST....

suman · 19th July 2006, 13:36

Quote:

Originally Posted by spadival

If the case is settled in favor of shivasuma, It would be interesting as to what Metro Ford is going to do with the "repaired" Fiesta... Most likely they will try to palm it off to an unsuspecting customer as a new car.

It is a registered vehicle (pretty old registration series I would think) so how would they go about doing that unless they tampered with -

1) the VIN (vehicle identification number)
2) the actual registration per se?

What they could do is sell it off as a used car in good condition and try to recoup their losses

shivasuma · 19th July 2006, 14:10

Thanks to Naveen for the information. TV18 website worked and I have submitted my complaint through their website.
As far as my "old" car goes, the service manager wanted me to swap it with their test drive car. The test car had done about 7000 kms and I flatly refused to accept it. He also came up with various other proposals( wherein I would have been screwed no matter what, and they would have minimum damage). I just told him to give me a new car + compensation or stop wasting my time and that I would see him in court. The manager even went to the extent of saying that the case would drag on and it would be wise on my part to accept what they were offering. I told him I was willing to wait however long it would take.

Now they have gone ahead and repaired the car(without my permission) and are saying there is nothing wrong about it and it is as good as new. The registration number of the car is KA-05-MD-1973 and its a platinum color fiesta.
I told the manager that I had written to Autocar(I am a subscriber), posted in this forum and others. His reply was these things happen with other car dealers also and it won't affect them. He had 100 customers who were happy with their service for every one who was unhappy.

Like I said earlier he offered me a new car but I had to pay about 1.1 lakhs for it. I didn't accept that offer. He went on to say about how they were taking a hit for me and how badly they wanted to retain me as a customer and all that B.S. The ridiculous thing he said was that the accident was no ones fault. Till now I haven't heard from him and looks like I will see him in court on Friday. Hopefully I will see something positive on that day. I will post updates on this.

Suhas

condor · 19th July 2006, 14:13

Quote:

Originally Posted by naveendhyani

.. in the west what do u think the car company wud have done?

the accident would have to be reported before it can be repaired. Accidents, insurance claims go on record. These details are available in a public database like carfax. check carfax.com - a report will even have number of registered owners, running etc. So before you buy a used car, you would have checked for such information, so there's no way such information would have been concealed.

If the service person was testing the car, he wouldnt have been doing too high a speed - may be 5-10mph above posted limits. Any accident that the tester causes would go on his record, and he wouldnt want that to happen. So chances of damage during testing would also not be too high. I wouldnt let my insurance be used for the claim, so it would be with the service dealer. But interesting question is what would one do about the reduced value of the car. In case of a write-off [repair value being higher than the replacement value], this wouldnt have been a problem.

shivasuma · 19th July 2006, 14:19

hey GTO. Thanks for the help. I will get in touch with you if I need anything. If I foreclose my loan, I would have to pay 3% of the loan as additional charges. I am claiming that also in my law suit saying this wouldn't be the case if Metro Ford hadn't screwed up royally. I am totally disgusted with Metro Ford's attitude. They act like they are doing me a favor in all this.

serious_maniac · 19th July 2006, 14:45

Hurt them where it hurts most...

A few people should go to Metro Ford separately - take a test drive discuss a deal and then walk off the deal showing this thread or indicating your case.... they will begin feeling the heat within 3-4 days...

We have many people in this forum only who should be able to help you in this..

~maniac

Surprise · 19th July 2006, 15:41

You did right thing. Your firmness will surely win the case for you. Good that you got the complete photo's & damage reports accessed, which is going to help you out

Quote:

Originally Posted by serious_maniac

Hurt them where it hurts most...

A few people should go to Metro Ford separately - take a test drive discuss a deal and then walk off the deal showing this thread or indicating your case.... they will begin feeling the heat within 3-4 days...

We have many people in this forum only who should be able to help you in this..

~maniac

few addition:

Check about this issue with their sales person sitting in their office in front of the potential customers

Hope Metro Ford rep is not reading this thread as guest

naveendhyani · 19th July 2006, 16:18

when u win the case send a copy to all the leading motoring magazines, news papers & news channels. hopefully some of them will run the story & this case will get wider coverage.

pawan_pullarwar · 19th July 2006, 17:05

you should post the same in local news paper in hydarabad. It will hurt them more. This post is spreading fast, I got your post in paliousergroup@yahoogroup.com. I am forwarding the same to my friends who works in Hydarabad.

clevermax · 19th July 2006, 17:11

Dear Suhas,
I'm extreamly sorry and really shocked to read what happened with your car.
Anyway, let's hope for the best, I am very eager to know what happenes on July 21st. Please keep us updated...
Best Regards,
Clevermax

suman · 19th July 2006, 17:15

Quote:

Originally Posted by pawan_pullarwar

you should post the same in local news paper in hydarabad. It will hurt them more. This post is spreading fast, I got your post in paliousergroup@yahoogroup.com. I am forwarding the same to my friends who works in Hydarabad.

He already had a post on this on the Fiesta group in yahoo, that was a good three months or more ago.......what I'm really surprised about is that Ford as a company would actually allow a dealer to so blatantly take you for a ride.

Tell me something Shiva (pardon me, perhaps you have answered this earlier) - hope you approached the right Ford guys in your area? I'm asking because I had a pretty good response from the Ford Office in Delhi when I was having delivery issues with my Fiesta. They actually rapped the dealer on the knuckles on a conference call for providing misleading information to me....so I'm pretty surprised that they are sitting back & doing nothing.

Sorry if it sounds like I'm sermonising but just wanted to make sure you've approached the right people. Sometimes, getting through to the right people may be a problem as a lot of the junior guys try to set up stumbling blocks but you need to use a trick or two to get through......

clevermax · 19th July 2006, 17:23

Quote:

Originally Posted by serious_maniac

Hurt them where it hurts most...
A few people should go to Metro Ford separately - take a test drive discuss a deal and then walk off the deal showing this thread or indicating your case.... they will begin feeling the heat within 3-4 days...
We have many people in this forum only who should be able to help you in this..

Yes, I really feel that we must do this... I am all prepared to do this myself. May be I'll call Metro ford for a test drive tomorrow. Then after few days, I'll refuse to buy a fiesta, quoting this incident.

18th July 2006, 19:20	#16
sandeepmdas Senior - BHPian Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Varkala Posts: 1,538 Thanked: 2,491 Times	Somewhat OT. (Let me stay away from commenting on Topic, as we need to hear something -other than silence- from the Metro Ford guys too...) A balance sheet thats printed in red ink.. A series of failed models.. A service network that is inching close to that of Fiat's, as far as professionalism is concerned.. Looks like the judgement day is fast apporaching for Ford, isn't it? Last edited by sandeepmdas : 18th July 2006 at 19:23.
	() Thanks

19th July 2006, 12:40	#17
spadival Senior - BHPian Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Melbourne, AU Posts: 1,773 Thanked: 26 Times View My Garage	If the case is settled in favor of shivasuma, It would be interesting as to what Metro Ford is going to do with the "repaired" Fiesta... Most likely they will try to palm it off to an unsuspecting customer as a new car.
	() Thanks

19th July 2006, 13:07	#18
naveendhyani BHPian Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Melbourne Posts: 542 Thanked: 9 Times	very interesting observation spadival. even i think they will sell it to some unsuspecting customer. seniors, in the west what do u think the car company wud have done? scrapped the car or sold it to some unsuspecting customer? in my opinion the court should order to scrape the car so that this vicious circle ends then & there, ny opinions.
	() Thanks

19th July 2006, 13:34	#19
nitinhegde BHPian Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: ~ Posts: 242 Thanked: 91 Times	Even if you get a new car,I am sure that the dealer will pass on yr car in the seconds market as a relatively new car...with some minor depreciation..so,the dealer is not going to loose much except the cost of repairs of your car ! + minor depreciation.. So,ensure that you screw their happiness and straighten them...make the dealer realize that how much business he would be loosing by this publicity if he refuses to budge....Tell him that you have already posted this on Team-bhp,Media etc.. ALL THE BEST....
	() Thanks

19th July 2006, 14:10	#21
shivasuma BHPian Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Bangalore Posts: 872 Thanked: 468 Times	Thanks to Naveen for the information. TV18 website worked and I have submitted my complaint through their website. As far as my "old" car goes, the service manager wanted me to swap it with their test drive car. The test car had done about 7000 kms and I flatly refused to accept it. He also came up with various other proposals( wherein I would have been screwed no matter what, and they would have minimum damage). I just told him to give me a new car + compensation or stop wasting my time and that I would see him in court. The manager even went to the extent of saying that the case would drag on and it would be wise on my part to accept what they were offering. I told him I was willing to wait however long it would take. Now they have gone ahead and repaired the car(without my permission) and are saying there is nothing wrong about it and it is as good as new. The registration number of the car is KA-05-MD-1973 and its a platinum color fiesta. I told the manager that I had written to Autocar(I am a subscriber), posted in this forum and others. His reply was these things happen with other car dealers also and it won't affect them. He had 100 customers who were happy with their service for every one who was unhappy. Like I said earlier he offered me a new car but I had to pay about 1.1 lakhs for it. I didn't accept that offer. He went on to say about how they were taking a hit for me and how badly they wanted to retain me as a customer and all that B.S. The ridiculous thing he said was that the accident was no ones fault. Till now I haven't heard from him and looks like I will see him in court on Friday. Hopefully I will see something positive on that day. I will post updates on this. Suhas
	(1) Thanks

19th July 2006, 14:19	#23
shivasuma BHPian Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Bangalore Posts: 872 Thanked: 468 Times	hey GTO. Thanks for the help. I will get in touch with you if I need anything. If I foreclose my loan, I would have to pay 3% of the loan as additional charges. I am claiming that also in my law suit saying this wouldn't be the case if Metro Ford hadn't screwed up royally. I am totally disgusted with Metro Ford's attitude. They act like they are doing me a favor in all this.
	() Thanks

19th July 2006, 14:45	#24
serious_maniac BHPian Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Bangalore Posts: 211 Thanked: 220 Times View My Garage	Hurt them where it hurts most... A few people should go to Metro Ford separately - take a test drive discuss a deal and then walk off the deal showing this thread or indicating your case.... they will begin feeling the heat within 3-4 days... We have many people in this forum only who should be able to help you in this.. ~maniac
	() Thanks

19th July 2006, 16:18	#26
naveendhyani BHPian Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Melbourne Posts: 542 Thanked: 9 Times	when u win the case send a copy to all the leading motoring magazines, news papers & news channels. hopefully some of them will run the story & this case will get wider coverage.
	() Thanks

19th July 2006, 17:05	#27
pawan_pullarwar BHPian Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Pune - Now in Munich, Germany Posts: 778 Thanked: 129 Times	you should post the same in local news paper in hydarabad. It will hurt them more. This post is spreading fast, I got your post in paliousergroup@yahoogroup.com. I am forwarding the same to my friends who works in Hydarabad.
	() Thanks

19th July 2006, 17:11	#28
clevermax Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Tvm/Amsterdam Posts: 2,086 Thanked: 2,640 Times View My Garage	Dear Suhas, I'm extreamly sorry and really shocked to read what happened with your car. Anyway, let's hope for the best, I am very eager to know what happenes on July 21st. Please keep us updated... Best Regards, Clevermax Last edited by clevermax : 19th July 2006 at 17:25.
	() Thanks