[darklord]

Thiruvananthapuram: The brand-new car you have been eyeing to buy may not be new at all. At least four automobile dealers in Kerala have come under scanner for selling year-old vehicles as if they were just out of factory.

The Motor Vehicles Department has suspended the trade certificate of these dealers after checks revealed that they have duped customers at Kayamkulam, Mavelikkara and Kottayam. They have been issued show-cause notices.

The police have registered cases against the dealers for fraud and forgery.

http://english.manoramaonline.com/ne...es-as-new.html

No names.

[Mr.Boss]

Subsequent examinations revealed that the dealers had forged papers to pass on old stock as new. The vehicles claimed to be from the December 2016 or January 2027 batch but they were actually made in the beginning of 2016

2027 in the quoted text is typo (against 2017)

Happy to know RTO is keen on paper work and also they are capable of identifying the forged documents.

In this era where most of the crowd is with smart phone and access to internet, how did dealer entertain such foul activity? Decoding the VIN will reveal the actual manufacturing date.

PS: I hope the authorities will dig out any such actions in past. If found red handed, what will the compensation / fate of such cases?

[Jeroen]

So how does this work? At least in theory I would think any car that is sold for the first time to a customer could qualify as a “new” car. Whether it sat of the dealers forecourt for a day/week/month/year, it still qualifies as a new car. As opposed to a second hand car, i.e. meaning somebody else owned it.

In Europe/USA if you buy a car out of the stock of a dealer it would quality as new, no matter what. If during the time a particular car was in storage an updated model had been made available, obviously the dealer will have to inform you. Technically, it would still be a new car, just not the latest model.

So what/wchih law are these dealers actually in breach of?

Jeroen

[deetjohn]

Originally Posted by Jeroen

So what/wchih law are these dealers actually in breach of?

The Registration Certificate of a vehicle in Kerala has two dates:
1) Date of manufacture (which is the actual date of manufacturing from the factory)
2) Data of registration (date of registration in customer' name at the RTO)

So, it is not possible to dupe a customer with an old vehicle which has been lying in the yard over here. But uninitiated customers would normally know only after the registration is complete. Most doesn't even know about VIN to use it.


In the incident reported, it looks like the four dealers forged papers to pass on old stock as new.

Quoting from the article:

Officers smelled a rat when they found some least-selling categories of vehicles with 2017 make. Subsequent examinations revealed that the dealers had forged papers to pass on old stock as new. The vehicles claimed to be from the December 2016 or January 2017 batch but they were actually made in the beginning of 2016.

A clear case of fraud! They should be made to pay compensation to the customers. Pity Manorama doesn't want to name the dealers and risk advertising revenue.

But, we don't have that fear over at T-BHP. Hope someone from that side of the state (Kayamkulam, Mavelikkara and Kottayam) can call out the dealers and add to this thread.

[lurker]

names of dealers are mentioned here

http://www.newindianexpress.com/stat...d-1585227.html

SG Motors: Yamaha: Kottayam
TVS Motors: Mahindra: Kottayam
Meenathu Motors: TVS bikes: Mavelikara
AST Motors: TVS: Kayamkulam

6 dealers in Chengannur
4 dealers in Aleppy have their licenses cancelled. Names of these worthies withheld.

[IshaanIan]

Originally Posted by Jeroen

In Europe/USA if you buy a car out of the stock of a dealer it would quality as new, no matter what. If during the time a particular car was in storage an updated model had been made available, obviously the dealer will have to inform you. Technically, it would still be a new car, just not the latest model.

So what/wchih law are these dealers actually in breach of?

Jeroen

Apart from the technicalities of registration, there's also the fact that if a car has been sitting idle, rubber parts like the tyres, bushes, brake pads, all tend to go hard and develop cracks especially in the Indian heat (I can't imagine several of these cars sitting unused in some open lot through the summer). Things like the battery start to bulge, brake discs could warp etc. The Indian conditions are pretty harsh and majority of these dealer lots are not where you'd want to see a car sitting around for more than a week. Besides, in India no one cares about ethics either. Some of these cars could even be test drive cars, display cars or even have just been taken for a joyride by employees all with the odometer disconnected/disabled. At the end of the day, it ought to be made clear what the customer is paying for and in such cases, the customer should be given an opportunity to negotiate and not have to pay full sticker price.

[darklord]

Kerala MVD has introduced an app to help identify the year of manufacture and a pdf guide to vin decoding .

Thanks to Mr. Benoy Varghese, Motor Vehicle Inspector, RTO, Thrissur.

The MVD page with the links:
http://mvd.kerala.gov.in/index.php/faq

The links themselves:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/d....vehicle&hl=en

http://mvd.kerala.gov.in/images/mvd/docs/2017/VIN.pdf

[Yeldo]

If the dates of manufacture were tampered with, then this is a very clear case of fraud. And if the MVD detected it on its own, then that is very smart and citizen friendly work indeed.

But, seeing this, I am left

Originally Posted by lurker

names of dealers are mentioned here

TVS Motors: Mahindra: Kottayam

I don't understand this part.

Last week, I made an inquiry to the Kochi branch of this dealer looking for a S8 7 Seat Side Facing Mahindra Scorpio. The salesman offered me a 2016 manufactured vehicle out of ready stock. He also offered me 2016 prices, and was OK when I asked if I could do a through PDI if I go for the vehicle.

So one branch is honest whereas another is not?

And I felt that TVS have improved by leaps and bounds since their Fiat dealership days inspite of having a near monopoly in the M&M dealership in Kerala.

[supremeBaleno]

Originally Posted by deetjohn

Pity Manorama doesn't want to name the dealers and risk advertising revenue.

Exactly my thought after reading the newspaper.

Originally Posted by lurker

...Meenathu Motors: TVS bikes: Mavelikara.

Thanks for the link with the dealer names. Menethu Motors is just 1.5km from my home & from where we bought our Scooty Pep+ many years ago. A small outlet with indifferent service & staff - not suprising they were upto this kind of stuff.

[sandeepmdas]

Most (in fact, ALL except one) of these dealers are minnows when compared to TVS.
The fact that TVS is included in this scam, and that too at a time when Its Kerala operations are managed by a veteran of selling Maruti cars since 1984 - Mr. Thomas Stephen, who previously headed Popular Automobiles - is shocking. One must remember that no junior staffer would attempt such a breach-of trust ops without the consent and silent nod of the top management.

It is like the movie, the Matrix.

Their front-end presents a picture of sheer corporate identity and slick no-nonsense in the form of white-starched collars and cuff-links. But It is actually still powered by the same greedy crony capitalism. In many a country, both the corporates and the public want less red tape and less regulations because that means quicker and better service at a lower cost. In India, we want less red tape and less regulations because we can cheat and rob the others in quicker and better ways.

[supremeBaleno]

Originally Posted by supremeBaleno

Menethu Motors is just 1.5km from my home & from where we bought our Scooty Pep+ many years ago. A small outlet with indifferent service & staff - not suprising they were upto this kind of stuff.

I was passing by & saw that it was business as usual at Menethu Motors. No punitive action for indulging in fraud practices ?