[Turbanator]

they are offering me a free teflon coating with the door replacement (Here comes in the sweetener you mentioned).

Please advise me on whether I should accept their offer or should I stand on my resolve to get the car replaced?

Insist Dealer to show Original Invoice of Renault , you will know approximate date of arrival at Dealership after adding transit time . If its a recent manufacturing , chances of anything major apart from Door looks less ( which could have happened during off-loading ) . You can also ask regional sales office of Renault to do a joint inspection to ensure there are no surprises at later date

Ask Dealer to accept his mistake & tell you clearly and honestly , what actually has happened with this Car so that you can enjoy peacefully after Door is changed .

[Kshitizag]

Originally Posted by HotChillyPepper

In my opinion since the vehicle is not registered yet, you still have a fair chance of getting a replacement. I would suggest don't register it by due date, you may end up paying a small fine after the due date, but that will give you some time to work on this issue.

The reason I think of this option is from the thread I think you still don't know the amount of damage the vehicle had apart from the door and back quarter panel. First you can get it assessed by an Insurance surveyor, possibly from the insurance company your car is insured. Try to get details of the vehicle had any claim using chassis no in a friendly manner (if required use some contacts).

Also you mentioned of some contacts in Renault India, use them to check the history of the vehicle using VIN number. In either of these checks, if you get some proof of an accident repair, there is no way Renault can deny your claim.

As a last method, you can tell them that you will write the whole story on the car and park it in front of the showroom.

HCP

Thanks for the suggestion regarding the registration. What could be the penalty amount for registering the car a bit late?

I did had my contacts in Renault India check up the history of the vehicle using VIN number. Surprisingly, there weren't any. They must have kept it off the records (these people have seasoned themselves for such acts).

I like the last method you mentioned.

Originally Posted by Turbanator

Insist Dealer to show Original Invoice of Renault , you will know approximate date of arrival at Dealership after adding transit time . If its a recent manufacturing , chances of anything major apart from Door looks less ( which could have happened during off-loading ) . You can also ask regional sales office of Renault to do a joint inspection to ensure there are no surprises at later date

Ask Dealer to accept his mistake & tell you clearly and honestly , what actually has happened with this Car so that you can enjoy peacefully after Door is changed .

I had the dealer pull out form 22. The date of arrival of the car to the workshop was around second half of August and they sold it to me on 19 November 2014.
Apart from off loading, the car for delivery is driven from all the way from Gurgaon, where they are off loaded, to the dealership in South Delhi, there is quite a possibility that something might have happened while it was in transit.
There is a rare chance that the dealership will accept their mistake, although they agree that the door is repainted, because if they do, then its a clear case of fraud and cheating to which they would have admitted.

[Reinhard]

So all the staff at the dealership upto the GM level, is either of the following -

1. Colour blind
2. Idiot
3. Plain shameless

Pick your choice to decide the reason why they took so much times to notice the differences in colour that a a museum mummy would notice in a second.

Really sorry to hear about your ordeal. A hard earned million rupees spent on a dream car, not returning the initial bliss. First of all, if the registration is not done yet as I seem to understand from the posts - make sure it doesn't get registered. Once registered you'll face a lot of headache to find your way out of it.

Do not budge from your stand of replacement. The thought of "I could see the paint change. What if anything else under the body was also damaged back then?" will deprive you of the enjoyment and peace of mind for a long time to come. If the dealership doesn't give in, you may as well initiate legal proceedings or approach the consumer courts.

Also - for every next communication with them in person OR on phone - make sure you record each word being said. The simplest and most useful feature of smartphones. Any single line where they accept it was a damage that they tried to hide - will come handy in your arguments.

[arnabchak]

Very Sad to see this happening to a Bhpian who is more aware about things related to the automotive world as compared a lay man.

It was a grave mistake on your part as well to take teh delivery of a car in a dark surrounding.

After shelling out almost 10 lacs, it is imperative that you do a PDI in detail. All the tools are available here. Just surf and take.

This is a case of complete ignorance on your end and sorry Bro, but you are to blame here!!

[fiat_tarun]

Sad to see that this has happened to you, but I honestly don't see the car being replaced. Since they have offered to 'replace' the door, I think you should take it. Car replacements rarely happen in our country and when it does, it's usually for major mechanical issues.

You could probably ask for some free accessories / extended warranty for the trouble caused. Even going the legal way will not get you a new car.

[drvhplyevraftr]

Originally Posted by Kshitizag

What could be the penalty amount for registering the car a bit late?

I think it is a very nominal amount and also I think it would depend on
state to state. In my case, I am going to register my car today, few days
after the temporary registration expired and I am told that I will have to
pay Rs 200 as penalty according to my RTO agent. I am registering the
car in Hyderabad, Telangana.

[scorpian]

Dear friend,
Believe me this type of cover up happens in almost all dealership!
You should have outright refused to take delivery and maybe then it would be a total different ball game.

Having worked for a premier dealership i can assure you that such cover ups are all part of the game.If you see what happens in used cars you will be astonished.I am myself a owner of a car which has its odometer tampered,its only a year later when i joined used cars segment did i discover what actually was the mileage of the car.

Apart from that please fight for what's rightfully yours,its your hard earned money,have the car inspected by a good body-shop,any good body-shop will identify if any work has been done on the other areas and that shall give you a clear idea as to what actually happened to the car.

At the end of the day,after replacement of the door if the doubt lingers in your mind you will always have a bitter drive.

Best regards!

[Sheel]

Have you involved Renault India into this? Please shoot them a mail and provide a link of this thread.

[JASMEET MATTOO]

This dealer in discussion (M/s Sprint Motors ) is really responsible for 90% of the awful experiences of Renault customers.

I have come in contact with them various times as my wife owns a Renault Duster which was purchased from their Gurgaon showroom. They are not able to resolve simple problems and come up with the most atrocious and abominable replies. When you visit their premises, it actually feels that nobody knows anything that's happening below their nose - clueless about any process lapse.

I have made quite some noise by sending emails to their central complaint center. The thing has helped me most getting my issues resolved is when I have made noise on social media like twitter and facebook. They really escalate these cases. I would suggest you to keep a pressure from all sources - specially the social media as that's the place they will market their new cars.

All the best and please keep the thread updated.

[deepfusion]

Very sad to learn of the shamelessness of Sprint motors.

One word about Sprint Motors, (their Gurgaon showroom). Shameless. I can say that with absolute conviction. It is due to their attitude that I did not even take the test drive of Fluence. Wrote the car off my books completely.

Pls take up the matter immediately with Renault India, since these showroom people will try and make sure to waste a lot of your precious time and patience.

In my case, I contacted Renault customer care, narrated my experience, and some regional sales manager called me and thereafter dropped by at my home, just to pacify me. Horrendous sales experience.

Hopefully, you will get help from Renault India.

I shall search and give you the no. of the person. Wish you all the best.

[Kshitizag]

Originally Posted by arnabchak

It was a grave mistake on your part as well to take teh delivery of a car in a dark surrounding.

After shelling out almost 10 lacs, it is imperative that you do a PDI in detail. All the tools are available here. Just surf and take.

This is a case of complete ignorance on your end and sorry Bro, but you are to blame here!!

It is my fault. Especially when I had pointed out the overspray of clear paint, I should not have taken delivery. But after multiple assurances from the Sales Manager, I gave in to his word. He would have sworn to his life to sell that car to me at that point of time (these people are trained to lie).
My purpose of sharing this at team bhp is to share my experience and the question I am raising here in this thread is:-
1. What can be done to curb such malpractices by dealership?
2. What should be the next step of action when you find out that you have been cheated?

Originally Posted by fiat_tarun

Sad to see that this has happened to you, but I honestly don't see the car being replaced. Since they have offered to 'replace' the door, I think you should take it. Car replacements rarely happen in our country and when it does, it's usually for major mechanical issues.

You could probably ask for some free accessories / extended warranty for the trouble caused. Even going the legal way will not get you a new car.

I feel that getting a replacement though not impossible but would require a lot of effort and time. Kindly suggest on what all can I negotiate with the dealership, if I agree to get the door replaced?


The car came with a 2+2 year warranty. They are offering me Teflon coating as of now.

[AkMar]

Originally Posted by Kshitizag

Although, they are entertaining my calls and offering me a door replacement from a brand new vehicle which they (I guess) would pass on to someone else who might/ might not notice the defect in the door. Also, they are offering me a free teflon coating with the door replacement (Here comes in the sweetener you mentioned).

Please advise me on whether I should accept their offer or should I stand on my resolve to get the car replaced?

I would definitely advise you to reject the offer of door replacement from a new vehicle ASAP. If not you, the poor owner of the other new Duster will be fooled. That is not the way it should be. The dealership will DEFINITELY pass on the repainted door to someone else. Ask them what they would do with your old door. I am sure they would struggle to find a reply.

Mere teflon coating is too less as a compensation for their attempted fraud. If at all you decide to stick with the current vehicle, push for a hefty compensation.

[shinuak]

Originally Posted by Kshitizag

Kindly suggest on what all can I negotiate with the dealership, if I agree to get the door replaced?





The car came with a 2+2 year warranty. They are offering me Teflon coating as of now.

Not sure if the below would work or if you are ok with this.
Instead of replacing the door, and in the process indirectly conning another unsuspecting buyer (as mentioned by a fellow bhpian), i would suggest to ask for a credit note or cash for twice the cost of door replacement and teflon coating. Use this in future to finance your service costs etc. Asking them to refund your insurance is another option. Again, all these are just my random thoughts and may not be worthy enough to compensate your bad experience and loss.

[arnabchak]

Originally Posted by Kshitizag

1. What can be done to curb such malpractices by dealership?
2. What should be the next step of action when you find out that you have been cheated?



I feel that getting a replacement though not impossible but would require a lot of effort and time. Kindly suggest on what all can I negotiate with the dealership, if I agree to get the door replaced?


The car came with a 2+2 year warranty. They are offering me Teflon coating as of now.

Dear Kshitizag

Mistakes happen and it is a learning for us. So dont worry and let bygones be bygones.

Now, to answer your queries:

1)What can be done to curb such malpractices by dealership?

We have to take the onus here as it is given that if dealers are given a go, they will try to cheat in most of the cases. Few dealers are brutally honest though but they are a rare find.

We have to do the following:
1) Once booking is confirmed, push for the VIN no.
2) Once VIN is allocated, check the manufacturing date and other car related important details online.
3) Go to the stock yard and check the car being allocated to you in person. Any anomalies can be easily found here.
4) Once all the above are done, on the D Day, do a complete PDI in broad daylight and only once convinced about the cleanliness and the car hygiene and all other aspects of the PDI, take a delivery.
5) Bring home your pride and happiness and enjoy for many years

2. What should be the next step of action when you find out that you have been cheated?

Every showroom/dealer has an escalation matrix.
Probably the escalation matrix is as below:

Beyond this, then you can approach the Company officials directly
----------------------------------------------------------------
Showroom Director/Proprietor/Head
|
AGM/DGM/GM Sales
|
Asst. Manager/Manager-sales
|
Sales Consultant/Executive

You will have to follow the protocol and directly meet and mail to the senior management of the showroom in the first case.

Try to approach at least the AGM level. GM would be ideal with a cc copy to the Director elaborating in detail the nature of the complaint and other relevant details. Pictorial will be an added benefit.

If no resolution is offered, approach the company officials directly through mail and calls.

Last resort would be a legal notice to the dealership with a copy to the company HQ in India.

Pls. bear in mind a complete replacement of the car is unheard of in India. So at best, they can replace the part/repaint etc.

What can you request:

1) Door is being changed.- OK
2) Teflon Coating- OK
3) 2+2 Warranty- If charged, ask for a waiver
4) Under body Treatment
5) Second Year Insurance Waiver/ Discount

[SaurabhSaran]

In their first act of delivering a car with re-painted door was unethical. Secondly, just in case if Sprint Cars actually needs to repaint any car body part in the body-shop then this is the color match/quality they will offer?

Don't know what Sprint Cars is doing and taking so much of time to solve the customer's concern from whom they have taken about a million rupee.