Elite Ford (Bangalore) refuses booking without buyer guarantee of in-house insurance

Rajeevraj · 30th November 2015, 18:33

Update on this: Went ahead with the booking via Metro Ford. Smooth process and no drama on insurance (at least for now). Expecting the car in 4-6 weeks (Friend looking for 2016 registration at the minimum). They have also offered an excellent offer on the Alto which he is selling

Unfortunately no update from Ford on the fiasco with Elite Ford nor has there been any contact from Elite Ford. That is disappointing since that was the primary purpose of escalation. Shifting the booking to another dealer did not really need any recommendation from Ford.

hybridpetrol · 30th November 2015, 18:51

It is a known factor that, if we get the insurance or loan from the dealer, some % of amount is going to the dealer.
However, just to have peace of mind at the time of booking, many buyers never mind these small losses on their part, as this saves some additional time invested in doing the home work.

For a new car, there is already a number of bookings which the dealer has to cater to.
In this particular case mentioned, probably the dealer doesn't mind losing a customer who wants to get his own insurance, because he wants to make money with all the buyers. Actually may be the dealer sees this as one less trouble.
Days will come, when such arrogant dealers will sit with empty shops.

Rajeevraj · 29th January 2016, 16:03

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj

Update on this: Went ahead with the booking via Metro Ford. Smooth process and no drama on insurance (at least for now). Expecting the car in 4-6 weeks (Friend looking for 2016 registration at the minimum). They have also offered an excellent offer on the Alto which he is selling

Unfortunately no update from Ford on the fiasco with Elite Ford nor has there been any contact from Elite Ford. That is disappointing since that was the primary purpose of escalation. Shifting the booking to another dealer did not really need any recommendation from Ford.

There was finally a closure on this. Updating here for completeness.

As mentioned above, after the fiasco at Elite Ford, the booking was done at Metro Ford. Color choice was Blue and if there was a December 2015 car getting available, white was acceptable. There was no update till end of December and when the SA was contacted around Jan 1st week, he said there was no December AT available and we can expect a Jan manufactured vehicle by end of Jan. After multiple follow ups (The SA never proactively called), the SA said that a white car has been allotted and is on the way. When told that Blue was the color of choice, he came back with white is the 2nd choice. After a few back and forth, decided to go with white provided we could get some offers. Asked for offers and the dealer said that no offers were possible on the Jan manufactured AT and did not budge from that stand. My friend did not want to compromise on color without any benefit, so said that we do not want the white and asked for the Blue. For that the response was that it will take another month or more and there was no commitment on delivery. In addition, the promised exchange value on his Alto also took a great drop (even accounting for the year change).

This was the limit and he walked out of Ford and into the showroom next door and book the car that his heart wanted in the first place- The GT TSI. Since his use case did not demand a TSI kind of car, he was kind of on the fence and going with the next best with respect to performance, but the dealer attitude tipped him over to the GT.

Overall a disappointing experience with Ford dealers. Starting with Elite refusing the booking without in house insurance and then Metro Ford promising a car quickly with good offers thrown in to then backing out of the deal and not even able to provide a car of the requested color choice or a clear timeline for the same. It is not as if the Figo is selling in huge numbers. As of today the numbers are poor compared to segment leaders and it would help if Ford dealers were more proactive in retaining customers. My friend is already a Ford Customer and a Ford fan (owns the previous gen Fiesta diesel) and Ford lost a repeat customer due to the dealer attitude.

Need to see the experience with VW Palace Cross- VW dealers are no saints either.

30th November 2015, 18:33	#16
Rajeevraj Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: Bangalore Posts: 4,607 Thanked: 17,685 Times	Re: Elite Ford (Bangalore) refuses booking without buyer guarantee of in-house insurance Update on this: Went ahead with the booking via Metro Ford. Smooth process and no drama on insurance (at least for now). Expecting the car in 4-6 weeks (Friend looking for 2016 registration at the minimum). They have also offered an excellent offer on the Alto which he is selling Unfortunately no update from Ford on the fiasco with Elite Ford nor has there been any contact from Elite Ford. That is disappointing since that was the primary purpose of escalation. Shifting the booking to another dealer did not really need any recommendation from Ford.
	(2) Thanks

30th November 2015, 18:51	#17
hybridpetrol BHPian Join Date: Jul 2015 Location: Coimbatore Posts: 703 Thanked: 903 Times	Re: Elite Ford (Bangalore) refuses booking without buyer guarantee of in-house insurance It is a known factor that, if we get the insurance or loan from the dealer, some % of amount is going to the dealer. However, just to have peace of mind at the time of booking, many buyers never mind these small losses on their part, as this saves some additional time invested in doing the home work. For a new car, there is already a number of bookings which the dealer has to cater to. In this particular case mentioned, probably the dealer doesn't mind losing a customer who wants to get his own insurance, because he wants to make money with all the buyers. Actually may be the dealer sees this as one less trouble. Days will come, when such arrogant dealers will sit with empty shops.
	(1) Thanks