[vikramv007]

This balance 1.66L or 10percent will be the tax amount, insurance and registration charges which will be paid only on the date of registration so basically the company has received the full payment for the car. You have every rite to ask them to show you the car.

[sumeethaldankar]

I think what should have been done was to tell them that you have the cheque/DD with you but before you hand it over to them you will like to inspect the car.Ideally the dealer should have agreed,let you see the car in his stock yard and on the same day after all is ok receive the balance payment from you vie the cheque/DD.
Frankly though all dealers are same I have had lousy experience with Solitaire's service.

[amtak]

Dear Sawnilrules,

If I was in your position, I would do the following:

1. Ask the company to get involved as it is eventually their money which is struck.
2. Create a ruckus within the company through the transport cell to ensure that the car is delivered quickly.
3. You are already using the social media, so would recommend connecting with some journo who may be keen on writing a write up on dealers. Share your story in news papers.
4. Black list this dealer from your corporate dealings.
5. If asking for a refund, ask for it with interest as they don't want to sell the car to you when you are willing to buy it.
6. Last resort is lodging a police complaints for false promises and asking for money for Goods and Services that were never delivered.

However, take into account the legal cousel's support from your company.

[Jeroen]

Originally Posted by a4anurag

The agreement and all needed documents come into picture once the dealer and customer have done the PDI. Once the customer is satisfied, the full payment is made after which all documents are signed and delivery is taken.

Anurag.

Thanks Anurag,
What's a PDI?
So do I understand correctly you don't sign anything when you actually agree to buy the car with certain options, colour, at a certain price/discount, that doesn't get written down at all?

In all countries I've been purchasing cars you sign some sort of purchasing agreement, detaillling all of the above. And it will stipulate the exact delivery conditions, payment terms etc. It's legally binding and neither party can pull out easily unless there is a serious default on the part of the buyer or the seller. If anything it prevents unpleasant surprises.

I once ordered a (company) Audi, we filled out all the paperwork and when I came to pick up the car a few months later, it was the wrong colour. I could just refuse the car and get a full refund.

Jeroen

[SDP]

Originally Posted by Jeroen

So again, how does it work in India? When you purchase a car in India don't you sign some sort of agreement that also stipulates the payment scheme?

Thanks
Jeroen

The attached receipt in the first post.... that's all you get in India when you book the car. It would have some mention of cancellation charges and possibly nothing else.

You keep on getting such receipts as you keep on making partial payments. At the time of delivery, there is a legal/financial document - the invoice. That's it.

[sawnilrules]

Originally Posted by gsurya

1. When I bought my Aveo, I paid 100% for it, got delivery 7 days later.
2. When I bought my Sony TV, I paid 100% for it, got my piece delivered from warehouse. Was faulty. They replaced it.
3. When I bought my refrigerator, ACs, washing machines etc.. its always 100% payment up front. The unit just comes home.

So its not new or surprising, frankly.

But yes Arya Honda could have been more polite with you, but threatening to use this Team-BHP forum to 'spoil' their name couldnt have ended well.

Thanks Surya,

I am very well aware that you need to make 100% payment before you get the delivery, I have 3 Honda City's (all 3rd Generation), 1 Accord, 1 CRV, 1 BMW 530d, 1 Skoda Laura, 3 air- conditioners, 3 LED's etc, etc... All of which were delivered to me after making 100% payment.

But here, I am not talking about Delivery, all I am saying is allot the car to me, let me inspect the vehicle allotted, take to balance 10%, and you do the registration, off I go with my car.

PS- My company is going to do the insurance for the car, and not the dealer.

Did you really pay 100% money before any dealer allotted the car to you in past?

[Dry Ice]

I bet he would have been a different man before the new D-city was launched. I wonder why success goes to their heads so quickly! I mean, they have obviously seen bad times just a few months back. Agreed situation is improving, but that doesn't mean you take a customer for granted. So much for being a buyer's market!

swanil, I would advise you to explain him clearly what you want - that you cannot let them register anything on your name unless you see and approve it - coz well, you gotta sign the registration docs, don't you? Majority of the funds are already with them, so I wonder what the problem is. Maybe they don't have a car to provide you and all they are trying is to buy some time with such tactics.

[gsurya]

Originally Posted by sawnilrules

But here, I am not talking about Delivery, all I am saying is allot the car to me, let me inspect the vehicle allotted, take to balance 10%, and you do the registration, off I go with my car.

PS- My company is going to do the insurance for the car, and not the dealer.

Did you really pay 100% money before any dealer allotted the car to you in past?

For my Aveo, dealer got the car in his yard & got the VIN. He called me & asked me for balance payment, I gave the cheque. He took some signatures on forms to get RTO registration & insurance done.

He called me a week later saying car has arrived at dealership. I inspected it, found a couple of issues like door beading, which they fixed promptly & I drove off.

Yes, I didnt care to ask him to inspect the car at the yard before I made the full payment, for me inspection was when it arrived at the dealer showroom, If I found issues, I would have just rejected it there.

[sawnilrules]

Thank you for your comments and support fellow motor-heads. It means a lot to me. Just an further update, I have already escalated this issue to Honda guys through their email id of customer.relations. Additionally, I have also mailed to the owner of Arya Honda/Shaman Mercedes Group. I am expecting a revert from them at-least minimum by today EOD.

Just to add, as I remembered, Insurance of the car will be done by my company and not the dealer. The same was being communicated to him from day 1.

[speedsatya]

Just mail your feedback to customer_relations@hondacarindia.com
They are usually prompt in their response .

About Honda car dealers , yes they are useless . The Mangalore dealer is an exception , but I have sworn my next car definitely wont be a Honda nor do I plan to keep my Amaze beyond the warranty period .

[yogeshnagpal]

Nilesh,

Shaman cars and Arya Honda have their Facebook page too.

Simply put in your complaint there and tag Honda Car India as well.

The marketing guys do not want a bad reputation for their company, no?

Looking at the Facebook complaints, I'm sure they'll come running to you.

Holding back an allotment for 10% is simply silly!



-Yogesh.

[sandeepmohan]

Originally Posted by sawnilrules

Do you make 100% payment to a dealer before the dealer allots the car or before you see the car in person???

No.

In my case, no advance payment of any kind was done or even asked for. I was given the VIN without even putting down a booking amount. Off course, I was buying a car nobody was buying. It is possible the dealer was also desperate to sell a car and was willing to go any lengths to get my business. I did not feel this way when interacting with the dealer though. They were flexible and wanted to be honest. In fact; the dealer showed me a excel spreadsheet with around ten or so cars in their stock yard. Model, color, fuel type, variant and vin information of all the cars was there for me to see. I could pick any. When I narrowed down on the car I wanted, it so happened they had it sitting in the back yard of the showroom. I was given the keys to take a look at it too. All this without even putting down a booking amount. With this level of transparency, I finally went ahead with the booking amount which was a small sum and the dealer let me go through a full pdi. It was only after this did I hand over my down payment and then the demand draft from the bank. It is rare to come across a dealer like the one I had.

[NetfreakBombay]

Originally Posted by Jeroen

I once ordered a (company) Audi, we filled out all the paperwork and when I came to pick up the car a few months later, it was the wrong colour. I could just refuse the car and get a full refund.

In this case too, dealer is happy to give refund.

Just a case of "Seller's Market". Since demand is higher than supply for this particular model, seller is not bothered.

[sawnilrules]

Originally Posted by Raghav_K

I have made 100% payments at Hyundai before, but that's only because I knew someone from the showroom well.

My uncle recently got a Hyundai and he made a token advance of 10k, and rest when the vehicle reached the dealer. So I guess it's not uncommon to ask for 100% payment before.

My question is, what prevented you from paying the remaining amount, when you had paid the previous installments, that too from a dealer who couldn't come personally to collect the advance cheque from you?

Hi Raghav,

Sorry, I missed your comment, hence responding now. When I asked my company to pay INR 9.82 Lacs, SA had told me that the car is ready to be dispatched from the factory and should anytime reach here (dealer stockyard). As normal process, you keep some amount pending with you so that as a customer you can first check the car physically and then instruct the dealers to send the car for registration and upfront pay whatever remaining balance is. After the disbursement of the amount, I was expecting a call back to tell me the VIN number of the allotted car, and hence therefore when can I come to make balance payment. No-body called up, so I call up to check and this is when the real drama unfolds.


Meanwhile guys,

Following is the scripted response I have got to my mail from Honda...

Dear Sir/Madam,

This is in reference to your trailing communication.

We sincerely regret to learn of your feedback.

We are understanding the details of the matter from our dealership. We request you to kindly bear with us till then. In the meanwhile,we are advising our dealership to get in touch with you.

For any further concern/query you may please write back to us or let our Honda One 2 One representative hear from you at 1800-113-121 or 011-39898918.

Assuring you the best of our services at all times.

Regards,

Axxxx
Customer Relationship Management
Honda Cars India Ltd., Greater Noida


I had also marked a mail to owners of the group, following is their response.

Dear Mr Sawant,

We will be getting back to you shortly on your concern. Apologies for the unpleasant experience that you have had.

Regards,
xxx


Thankfully, atleast the mail was acknowledged by them.


Meanwhile, an hour ago, my colleague gets a call from Sushant, obliviously Sushant/Girish are probably unaware of happenings around. He wanted a mail from us stating "Please allot a car to us without balance 10% payment, as it is my company policy to get the Engine Number/Chassis number to release balance payment." Further he states "Sir, If you get me the letter/mail, I will give allot the car to you, this is what Girish Sir has told me to tell you".

[StrangeWizard]

Originally Posted by sawnilrules

....

Nilesh,
That's quite a bad experience you have had. No dealer can behave rudely and it doesn't matter whether it is a 3 lakh Alto or a 10 lakh City.

Since you have already emailed all the biggies at Arya Honda and Honda India, hope you get a quick and satisfactory resolution soon.