[rev_rohit]

In addition to the routes suggested by other BHPians, I would suggest you to publish this story in newspapers or news channels.
Start with a newspaper. City editions of most newspapers are quiet cheap as compared to main pages or all edition newspapers.
This would definitely put a dent in their reputation as well as in sales, on the other hand it will alert other potential buyers of such crimes.

And tell them that you will keep publishing such news in future and you would go to national news channels if your voice is not heard.

They will definitely calculate the risk benefit ratio of such negative publicity and come down to the negotiation table.

[HotChillyPepper]

G Venkiteshwara Prabhu is the one who filed the case in Kerala High court, one option is to contact him and if you and him are willing, can join as a petitioner in his case. This will strengthen the case as your fresh proofs should be a testimony that even after the issue is in high court, the dealer continue to do the same business.

You could also send a registered complaint with all proofs available (yours and older one's) to Union Transport minister Sri Nitin Gadkari to look into this matter as this case is of public interest.

Nitin Gadkari
13, Teen Murti Lane
New Delhi - 110011
Cell: +91 9821080522
Tel: 91 - 11- 23011027
Fax: 91 - 11- 23013027
Email: email@nitingadkari.org

-HCP

[fiat_tarun]

Very sad to see premium car dealers stoop down to such levels. Just today I came across this article -
http://www.mydigitalfc.com/knowledge...um-service-537 where Philipp Von Sahr speaks about the importance of service too. I'm sure BMW will step in and offer you a viable solution.

Such dealers should be sacked immediately, more so when they have a history of doing the same thing !!

[a4anurag]

Originally Posted by fiat_tarun

Very sad to see premium car dealers stoop down to such levels. Just today I came across this article - where Philipp Von Sahr speaks about the importance of service too. I'm sure BMW will step in and offer you a viable solution.

Such dealers should be sacked immediately, more so when they have a history of doing the same thing !!

They need to be sacked and their licence / permissions to setup another dealership also should be lifted out. They are in the market for business and to sell cars to the customer and not to loot / cheat customers by such unethical practices.

If premium car dealers also behave the same way then God only should help customers as not many are knowledgeable and well informed of the malpractices that happen generally. Many even don't decode the VIN before approving the deal (Not many understand what VIN is).

So it is all left to the fate of the customer when the deal is struck.

[jfxavier]

Originally Posted by yaseenar

Really disappointed with the meeting today! Me and my cousin had a meeting with the dealer today. According to the dealer, there is no difference between a 'Display' car and a 'New' car! They say that display cars are kept in a better condition than new cars which are kept in the warehouse. Funny part is that none of the employees who sold us the car are no longer working there!

I told them about the bumper and the alloys. They act as if they have no clue on what happened. They say that Bmw goes through a lot of checks before delivering it to the customer and it cannot happen! They were not willing to admit that it is their fault!

After a lot of talking they said they will repaint the bumper and alloys as if they are doing us a favor doing that. We asked for the M Kit that was originally installed in the car and they were saying that it must be sold already to someone and it is expensive so not possible. Finally, we asked for BSI extension for 2 years, they said they will discuss it and let us know.


When we were coming back home, they called us and came all the way to my apartment to tell us that they calculated the pricing for painting and it is above their budget and they are not willing to give us BSI extension. We rejected their pathetic offer and brought the car back home! Really shameless and disappointing!

Platino Classic is not concerned about solving a customer's problem but they were more concerned about their online reputation because of my post in Teambhp which according to them is already spoiled!

P.S: I got a mail from Bmw, India asking for the details to investigate.

Please communicate directly with the makers, BMW from now.
I think the matter is beyond resolution from the dealer's end.
Obviously the results of this meeting shows that they are not willing to admit any mistakes on their part.
Try to see if any of the documentations show that the car was a demo car.
Hope you have some pictures taken during delivery which shows the painted alloys etc.
In any case, the VIN check shows a clear case of fraud/ mis-information.
If it will help, I had an issue with my car and I had taken up the matter with Volvo India after talking with the dealer and got replacement of the affected part.
I think BMW will be more concerned about resolving the issue to all everyones' satisfaction than the dealer would be.

[yaseenar]

Originally Posted by jfxavier

Please communicate directly with the makers, BMW from now.
I think the matter is beyond resolution from the dealer's end.
Obviously the results of this meeting shows that they are not willing to admit any mistakes on their part.
Try to see if any of the documentations show that the car was a demo car.
Hope you have some pictures taken during delivery which shows the painted alloys etc.
In any case, the VIN check shows a clear case of fraud/ mis-information.
If it will help, I had an issue with my car and I had taken up the matter with Volvo India after talking with the dealer and got replacement of the affected part.
I think BMW will be more concerned about resolving the issue to all everyones' satisfaction than the dealer would be.

I am in touch with Bmw, India and Hoping for a positive response from them.

Originally Posted by HotChillyPepper

You could also send a registered complaint with all proofs available (yours and older one's) to Union Transport minister Sri Nitin Gadkari to look into this matter as this case is of public interest.

-HCP

Originally Posted by rev_rohit

In addition to the routes suggested by other BHPians, I would suggest you to publish this story in newspapers or news channels.
Start with a newspaper. City editions of most newspapers are quiet cheap as compared to main pages or all edition newspapers.
This would definitely put a dent in their reputation as well as in sales, on the other hand it will alert other potential buyers of such crimes.

And tell them that you will keep publishing such news in future and you would go to national news channels if your voice is not heard.

They will definitely calculate the risk benefit ratio of such negative publicity and come down to the negotiation table.

Thanks both! These will be my Plan B route in case I do not get justice from Bmw, India.

[rosh_aveo1.4]

Dude...while you handle the case and all, just go all out on media just as Rev Rohit mentioned. I mean like Facebook (add in possible BMW group in India and elsewhere and in your own wall as well and maybe if Platino classic have their own page), then to the local media (who might have taken the X3 guys case). Autocar, who publishes such incident and they are pretty massive in readership and then any possible news maker here. Just go step by step in almost every possible media outlet to publicly announce how they cheated you and how they handled the situation when you went in for the meeting.
By the way, you want help in propagating your case, I think all of us can do multiple damage by forwarding this story in all our FB accounts. It would spread like wildfire and an absolute PR horror for BMW and Platino Classic idiots.
And don't wait to do the above until you get a reply, you go ahead and make a big fuss and the legal way at the same time. It should speed up their response time or worse case scenario, just make things horrible for them and avoid potential customers from reaching out to these fools.

[Skyline GT-R]

OT: It is not a secret among Auto professionals in Kerala that Platino is a Con Dealer. They do not pay their staff salary/commission etc on a timely basis & guys work there only as a stop gap arrangement until they find something better. I have seen atleast 4 different sales managers in their Kochi showroom between 2010-2013.

I believe it is time to contact the "neutral" local news channels like Indiavision / Jaihind /Jeevan TV and make them air your story.

[HotChillyPepper]

Yaseenar,
I think that is the right approach. Before going to media / court you should try your best to resolve the matter with the dealer / Manufacturer. But document each communication for reference. After each call, insist on sending the same info on email too. Follow up until they actually send it.

I think its high time BMW should look into this matter and issue a public notice. Apart from grievance to all customers suffered loses, they should think about providing an alternative BMW dealership in Kerala before it is too late. Just because of zero confidence in Platino, there are a lot of customers in Kerala opting out Audi / Merc.

By the way, Google already indexing this thread up to 5th position including two sponsored links for search tag "Platino classic". This itself will create some amount of public awareness.

[GTO]

The VIN picture shared by you in this post clearly proves this is an October 2013 car.

However, Platino has somehow managed to get 'Jan 2014' written on the registration documents.

This is a big fraud. If you google up news, you'll see that Platino has been charged for forging the month & year of other BMWs too.

Take it up with BMW India & BMW Germany. BMW India is obviously aware of this dealer's malpractices with all the negative press. I'm surprised they haven't done anything about it yet. Unless they strictly discipline their dealerships, they run the risk of becoming another 'Skoda'. The silence from BMW India on this dealer is very, very discomforting.

[JoseVijay]

Originally Posted by GTO

This is a big fraud. If you google up news, you'll see that Platino has been charged for forging the month & year of other BMWs too.

BMW India is obviously aware of this dealer's malpractices with all the negative press. I'm surprised they haven't done anything about it yet.

Whoa! That's a startling revelation. I have never expected nor dreamt that the dealership of a luxurious brand could do this. The silence of BMW in this case is very suspicious. Are they hand in hand with the dealership to clear their old stock?

[pamiboy]

Probably. Like they say, anything goes in India (may be I should rephrase it to say Kerala). Luxury or non luxury, in the end it's all comes down to the people who are running the show which happens to be our own people. So what w'd ya expect?
They don't know what do these terms such as honesty, trustworthiness, etc mean.

[a4anurag]

Originally Posted by GTO

Unless they strictly discipline their dealerships, they run the risk of becoming another 'Skoda'. The silence from BMW India on this dealer is very, very discomforting.

They had to forge the papers to get rid of the stocks lying at their end. BMW, India could be aware of these due to the media spreading the news. If only the news reached BMW Germany, things could get going.

I am pretty sure BMW, India will not reply and give a surprised look as if they didn't know any malpractices done by Platino Classic!

Originally Posted by JoseVijay

Whoa! That's a startling revelation. I have never expected nor dreamt that the dealership of a luxurious brand could do this. The silence of BMW in this case is very suspicious. Are they hand in hand with the dealership to clear their old stock?

It is not the Brand at fault. It is the dealer who has been chosen and given the authority to sell cars of that brand. The dealer is killing the reputation of that brand by its malpractices. BMW, is silent and tight-lipped on these cases is surprising.

Maruti Suzuki will not even think for a minute if such malpractices reach their ears. The dealership is sacked and Maruti Suzuki would search for another one. These global giants must learn something from our in-house giant!

[bhp]

Originally Posted by GTO

The VIN picture shared by you in this post clearly proves this is an October 2013 car.

However, Platino has somehow managed to get 'Jan 2014' written on the registration documents.

This is a big fraud. If you google up news, you'll see that Platino has been charged for forging the month & year of other BMWs too.

I have an X1 which according to the vin number is a Oct 2011 vehicle but Navnit BMW Mumbai had given in writing (by email) that it is a 2012 vehicle while booking, and on receiving the RC card it really mentions 'Jan 2012' as the manufacturing year.

May be the vin number mentions the kit production date in Germany or there is something fishy by BMW India or the dealer that they are managing to manipulate the manufacturing year at the RTO.

[stanjohn123]

Seems like this is a con dealership with plenty of fraudulent cases against it. Why the dealership license has not been cancelled by BMW yet is beyond me.

Hope BMW India does the right thing and provides you with an actual brand new car for the money you paid for. Settling for just a repaint and wheel fix is like getting fooled the second time , so be strong and determined in getting what is fair or just drag them to court for what they're worth.