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Old 24th July 2017, 17:32   #1
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Lockdown & strike at DSK Toyota, Pune

Big thanks to Rohit Bhatia for sharing!

Quote:
I own an Innova Crysta 2.4 GX (bought on 5th Jan '17) after reading through reviews on Team-BHP (my automotive bible).

There is a lockdown / strike at DSK Toyota's Hadapsar service center since 15-20 days as the entire DSK Toyota group apparently looks to be in trouble.

My vehicle is due for the 5000 km service and mails to Toyota's customer care are of no help. Waiting period with the only other Toyota dealer - Sharayu Toyota - is at least 45 days !

Thought of sharing this news with fellow BHPians.

I'm attaching a few pics I clicked last week during my visit to the service center as I was not able to get through DSK's customer support & service advisors.
There are two similar complaints online - link 1 & link 2. What's cooking?

Lockdown & strike at DSK Toyota, Pune-20170719_121504.jpg

Lockdown & strike at DSK Toyota, Pune-20170719_121509.jpg
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Old 24th July 2017, 19:19   #2
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Re: Lockdown & strike at DSK Toyota, Pune

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Originally Posted by GTO View Post
What's cooking?
Financial trouble within the DSK group seems to be the popular opinion.

I guess it came out in the open after his accident and then the murmurs in the city got only louder after his Facebook video.

Long story short, the group seems to be in a financial mess, and even their flagship showroom in Model Colony, Pune barely has any activity (or cars).

DSK Benelli has AB Automottive in the name (AB being name initials of a popular personality in Pune).

I hope the delay in adhering to service schedules will be acknowledged and understood by Toyota because of this mess.

Last edited by libranof1987 : 24th July 2017 at 19:22.
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Old 24th July 2017, 19:46   #3
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Re: Lockdown & strike at DSK Toyota, Pune

Something similar happened with Ludhiana Dealership last Year. Maybe due to limited margins at Dealership things are not that rosy. Guys who have expanded into multiple branches or bought a large Real estate and have some other liabilities are the one which takes the hit. However Toyota arranged the sale of few locations of this particular dealer to another dealer in the vicinity and now everything is fine.
I am sure Toyota takes this very seriously, it's just that they will first try best to find an existing dealer willing to pick assets and liabilities of defaulting dealer than going with a new one so this delay.

Last edited by Turbanator : 24th July 2017 at 19:47.
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Old 24th July 2017, 19:52   #4
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Re: Lockdown & strike at DSK Toyota, Pune

I got this news item that was published a few weeks back. It seems they are into some financial mess.

http://punemirror.indiatimes.com/pun...w/57583494.cms
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Old 25th July 2017, 10:59   #5
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Re: Lockdown & strike at DSK Toyota, Pune

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Originally Posted by libranof1987 View Post
Financial trouble within the DSK group seems to be the popular opinion.
Damn. Sucks though that Toyota owners have to suffer for this. I won't be surprised if some choose to send their cars to Mumbai dealers; who will wait for 2 months for an appointment?

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Originally Posted by Turbanator View Post
Guys who have expanded into multiple branches or bought a large Real estate and have some other liabilities are the one which takes the hit.
Reckless expansion driven by loans has killed so many good groups.

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Originally Posted by sukhoi30 View Post
I got this news item that was published a few weeks back. It seems they are into some financial mess.
A quick google search does show a lot of people who haven't even gotten money for their FDs from DSK .

Toyota must be working hard behind the scenes as this is a company that has always excelled in after-sales.

Trivia: Our first Toyota review was of a Fortuner picked up from DSK Toyota.

Last edited by GTO : 25th July 2017 at 11:00.
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Old 25th July 2017, 11:10   #6
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Re: Lockdown & strike at DSK Toyota, Pune

Quote:
Originally Posted by GTO View Post
Toyota must be working hard behind the scenes as this is a company that has always excelled in after-sales.

Trivia: Our first Toyota review was of a Fortuner picked up from DSK Toyota.
Toyota is too big to be affected in the long run, but this development might have a catastrophic impact on the future of Hyosung and Benelli brands in India.

Both these brands are represented in India through a partnership with the DSK group.
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Old 25th July 2017, 11:40   #7
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Re: Lockdown & strike at DSK Toyota, Pune

After seeing this thread immediately asked my Bro-in law to schedule an appointment with the other service center available and as expected, he is not even able to get through. I did this assuming a delay time of around 45 days but now not sure what will happen. Sending it to Mumbai for a service seems too bad an option but looks like that is the only way out now but am sure the load on most of the dealers in Mumbai would reach a record high because of this problem. Infact not only Mumbai but any other place within 100-150 kms from Pune will have this problem.

Hope Toyota does something to get this sorted out at the earliest. Seems unrealistic but they can run the service center (not the entire dealership) till the issue is sorted out or have the other service centers run in shifts 24*7 to cater to the increased load
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Old 25th July 2017, 12:00   #8
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Re: Lockdown & strike at DSK Toyota, Pune

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Originally Posted by GTO View Post
Reckless expansion driven by loans has killed so many good groups.
True.

Recently, Sai Sakshi Ford, Pune shut shop due to financial trouble. Viraaj Skoda (owned by the same group) might reportedly meet the same fate.

The common factor in these cases? Investments in real estate.
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Old 25th July 2017, 18:57   #9
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Re: Lockdown & strike at DSK Toyota, Pune

Yesterday I traveled on NH4 from Belgaum to Pune. Their Kolhapur & Satara showroom is on the highway. I noticed that there was not a single car in the showroom for display. I believe this trouble should be affecting many cities.
I feel sad for DSK Toyota group & customer as well. I am sure cabbies will be affected most.
While many dealerships just paste a stupid sticker or a radium name of their dealership name, DSK Toyota used to put a nice chrome plated name. I feel this small attention to detail surely helps to maintain the look of the car.
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Old 25th July 2017, 20:57   #10
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Re: Lockdown & strike at DSK Toyota, Pune

Being associated with vehicle dealerships due to the nature of my job, here's some trivia from my end.

As far as I have heard, Toyota has cancelled DSK's dealership and will be announcing a new dealer for Pune soon. The process for the recruitment of the dealer is ongoing at Toyota and there are two groups which have made to the final shortlist. Expect an announcement in a fortnight.

Also, might not be true, but there is also murmur in the industry that DSK group wanted to sell off their properties where Toyota dealerships are located (Yes, they own all the properties) for a cumulative amount of 50 crores but they couldn't secure a buyer.

The employees at DSK Toyota have not received their salaries and this is the reason for the shortage of manpower. Similar incident happened to Pandit group also and they had to close down their Tata heavy vehicles dealership since there were some financial problems and the employees had not received their salaries for close to 6 months.

The closure of Hadapsar service center is just the start and I hope Toyota assign the new dealer soon to atleast cater to the service center first.

Quote:
Originally Posted by libranof1987 View Post
True.

Recently, Sai Sakshi Ford, Pune shut shop due to financial trouble. Viraaj Skoda (owned by the same group) might reportedly meet the same fate.

The common factor in these cases? Investments in real estate.
Sai Sakshi Ford had to shut shop for mainly two reasons. One being, they were not able to remain afloat since sales numbers were low and secondly, the new entrant, Dhone Ford, strategically has better locations for dealerships. About Viiraaj Skoda, let me assure you, they are not at all shutting shop in the near future.
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Old 26th July 2017, 11:01   #11
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Re: Lockdown & strike at DSK Toyota, Pune

People in Pune with Toyota cars are in a big soup. DSK is Toyota's biggest dealer in Pune and has a very good reputation in terms of service experience. My Liva diesel's 90K service is due and they are not in a position to give me a date for that. The other dealer Sharayu Toyota is not even picking up the call.

I thought about Altis as a possible upgrade from Liva. And nobody is able to give me even a test drive in Pune for Altis. DSK has only a display piece available in their model colony showroom, but test drive is not allowed on that. I wonder what would happen if my vehicle needs some sudden repair. Hope Toyota sorts it out soon.
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Old 26th July 2017, 12:39   #12
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Re: Lockdown & strike at DSK Toyota, Pune

While there are a lot of dealerships where the group has earned a lot of money and then lost it all in real estate the situation with DSK is a bit different.

DSK group originally rose to prominence due to its real estate projects. The dealership came after the DSK real estate business was already a large empire and not vice versa.

Sadly here, the dealership seems to have borne the brunt of issues plaguing the parent company. Its really unfortunate that one of Toyota's best run dealerships in India has had to meet this fate. As an area sales manager with a rival car manufacturer I remember being in awe of DSK Toyota's HR practices, process adherence and customer care initiatives. They were probably Pune's best run dealership and I dont think there's anyone who has been able to come close to their level of operational efficiency.
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Old 26th July 2017, 12:50   #13
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Re: Lockdown & strike at DSK Toyota, Pune

I've been hearing these rumors for the past 1 year and it came to a head in Apr 2017 when I wanted to buy some minor spares for my car. The people at the counter actually suggested I visit the other Toyota Dealer in Pune. I refused and had to pay an advance for parts that cost only Rs 1K each.

I understand Toyota is directly running/controlling the dealership.

They've been my go to ASC (only Bavdhan) for more than 11 years and each visit to them has been excellent. They even won the best dealer in the world award back in 2004/05 and I too have rated their at a 10/10 in the customer feedback form.

It is regrettable to see the DSK group and DSK-T reach this impasse. But then I guess overambition can lead to one paying a heavy price and businesses collapsing like a house of cards.
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Old 26th July 2017, 13:34   #14
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Re: Lockdown & strike at DSK Toyota, Pune

Quote:
Originally Posted by GTO View Post
What's cooking?


Many people connected to automotive and real estate industry could see this coming head on after a video went viral. Toyota car owners were told to commit advanced timelines for getting their cars serviced. Routine consumables like Air filters for the ever popular Innova wasn't in stock and had to be on back order. Employees were laid off from various departments and some people I know haven't received salaries for about 4-5 months now. They've jumped ship to newer dealerships from FCA, etc.

DSK group is in big financial trouble. No matter what the owner puts up as a cover up for the mess. My cousin sister bought an apartment in one of his mega township in Talegaon near Pune. The project has stalled and there are no signs of possession. Similar situation prevails in almost all of their businesses. The stock on BSE also shows a downward trend and is predicted to end up being a penny stock.

What happens to DSK's Toyota chain would be worthwhile to see considering the fact that they have almost all of Western Maharashtra under their belt for 3S on Toyota cars.

Last edited by moralfibre : 26th July 2017 at 13:38.
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Old 26th July 2017, 14:15   #15
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Re: Lockdown & strike at DSK Toyota, Pune



In this video, D S Kulkarni himself explains that he withdrew money from the DSK Toyota arm to repay fixed deposit holders in his real estate projects.

Watch the whole video, it is a hilarious account of how a 1000 crore real estate business is being run.
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