[sandhyab]

Congrats on the car, hope at least that the car is perfect.

Now coming to your ordeal, I read your complete post within a few minutes of your posting and the only thing that came to my mind is that, it's customers like you which makes fair haggling difficult for the rest.

Of what you have posted, it was not looking for a deal, it was pure harassment of the salesman, but I guess they deal with chaps like you every month and you were simply outfoxed in this instance. For next time remember you are doing a business transaction and not doing any favors by buying a car.

[Red Liner]

Holy lord. The number of people who played an active negotiating role for your car:

1. Your wife
2. Person 1 from insurance company
3. Person 2 from insurance company
4. Mom
5. Moms elder cousin
6. Maternal uncle.

Have I forgotten anyone? Oh yeah.

7. You (I am adult enough).

Buddy, organise your own stuff. Have you heard the adage “too many cooks spoil the broth”? There’s a reason why it exists. And now, I see that it is true. If saving money comes at the expense of peace of mind, well you be the judge of which is more valuable.

Did you go check the car out At the yard BEFORE it got registered? I don’t seem to have seen that anywhere. Looks like you did all visual checks after registration, delivered home by a driver? My god man, you drive the car home. Not some hired bloke.

The good thing is you were brutally honest in your post, hence take the advice here as a form of “life advice”. You are still extremely young by any standards. Do your own ground work for your next car...and ask every single relative to stay the hell away.

This thread needs to go to homepage. It’s awesome. And Facebook. I want access to the comments.

[mayankk]

While I agree with there being too many elements involved, it's your money, and I don't hold it against you that you wanted to save every last bit. However, you fell short in following through and getting your final deal in writing. And now you've been played. There may also be some level of "getting even" on the part of the sales people now, seeing how they know they've got you on the backfoot.
My advise would be to let it go. The more you think about it now, the more the brand spanking new shiny toy will remind you. Enjoy the car for now, I'd say.
Next time, take the offer on paper.

[dark.knight]

Originally Posted by mayankk

Next time, take the offer on paper.

The problem is that India has become a WhatsApp country these days, gone are the days of crisply printed quotations on A4 bond paper with company stamp and signature. I'm more than happy to do that but most people just write "giv quote asap" on WhatsApp.

Some retail stores tell us "we're out of ink, we'll WhatsApp you the bill later', I mean are you kidding me?!

People hail the app as the greatest thing to happen to business ever, I say it's the worst joke to happen to businesses ever, it made everything abbreviated and informal and unofficial. I can borrow someone's phone and hurt his business by sending a group text of "Urgent SALE! 80% OFF" and people will believe it.

Reading this in some way reminded me how crucial and well planned the art of the deal should be. Everything in writing as said by others, plus we get only one chance to throw our full weight on the salesmen, we should make it count. Going back again and again will get them on stronger footing.

I say the absolute BEST way to win a car negotiation game is to throw out all the variables instantly, the dosa tava coating aka teflon, the AMC, the extended warranty, all out. Start with ex-showroom, push for discounts, push for outside insurance, push for scrapping the handling cost, once that's done, ask what accessories will be given, then end it, leaving extended warranty for later. This is what I did, minus outside insurance since I didn't want the hassle.. plus we made them sweat enough on year end discounts.

[shrvenkataraman]

I got what all of you are saying.

But you're all failing to understand one thing.

No matter how we negotiated, if the dealer wasn't happy with the negotiation, he could have closed the case and asked us to find another dealer or tell us we have to pay extra.

Making us believe that he's offering something and then after payment saying that he didn't agree for it, is cheating.

What we did and what they did are in no way comparable. We negotiated and even if it is dirty, doesn't involve fraud or cheating.

For all of you asking why we don't have anything in writing, these dealership salespeople including sales lead said throughout the process that they won't give anything in writing.

If they said before we paid and loan was through, we would have found another dealer. If they weren't ready for renegotiation after getting token advance, they could have said so.

Keeping us in the dark and cheating us after delivery, I don't know how that is comparable to us negotiating with two other dealer offers in hand. After sending booking advance we never mentioned other dealers and only tried to bring the price further down. If they said clearly they weren't open to renegotiation, we would have gladly taken a choice.

I thought this forum was having people who could actually offer helpful advice. For everyone siding with the dealer without understanding how this is lopsided as a case, please ignore the thread and don't comment on how it was my mistake or whatever.

If you have any helpful comments at all on how i can get what we were promised, please let me know.

From some helpful comments i get that this is a hopeless case without any solid hard evidence but that's also because those guys never agreed to give anything in writing. Even after paying advance.

I guess we were the fools, but we were not just fooled, but the entire way they treated us was insulting enough for a first time car buyer. Those with a holier than thou attitude can skip commenting this thread saying we confused the poor salespeople. They aren't poor. They are getting paid salaries and enough hefty commissions from every deal, otherwise they wouldn't even agree to deal with us for the rates we negotiated to.

Thanks to everyone who offered helpful comments.

[audioholic]

I think enough has been said by others here, but since I had to read this in detail I have to say something I didnt understand throughout the explanation. You always spoke about final prices like 5.6L, 5.7L and so on. Did you get proforma invoices from dealers? You never gave a breakup of things and how this figure was arrived at. This is where you as well as the others in the whole story have completely messed it up. When you finalize the deal, you should also be able to have the breakup of costs memorized. The final prices each dealer quotes is never a benchmark to compare. You should always compare what Dealer A offers over Dealer B when you compare deals. For example, last week we were talking to a few dealers in town and me and dad were parallely talking to dealers. But both of us were very clear on two things - 1. What were the various elements in the final OTR price of the car. 2. What was the benefit we expected and what was given. Hence when we speak to these guys, neither do we get confused between ourselves nor can the dealership confuse us. For example, Dealer A contacted both of us and mentioned they are offering a 20k discount on the ex showroom price. We asked dealer A that they should also offer extended warranty free. Instead, it would have been confusing if we demanded the OTR price to be reduced by 30k, he could have excluded the extended warranty and offered us that price. Hence the final price was never even thought about since its anyway going to be simple addition in the end. That would have been spotted by me but maybe towards the time of the final purchase of the car.
Hence, if you negotiate, always speak in terms of the benefits than the pricing. Talk in terms of cash discounts, freebies and so instead of comparing prices. That time you will know what each dealer offers and can easily compare. Ex showroom prices must be same across everyone so you will know where the difference comes from. Now that it's all over and you have got the car you liked, enjoy the car and have a better deal next time.

[SideView]

Originally Posted by shrvenkataraman

I got what all of you are saying.

Thanks to everyone who offered helpful comments.

Two options:

1. Raise a complaint with Tata and see what happens.( They will also ask for proof etc)

2.Court case since you feel that you were cheated. Are you willing to spend money on lawyer to get this issue resolved? Is it worth the money. Talk to a lawyer.( but is it worth it? Lawyer fees, proofs, time for resolution et al and one can never be sure which way the case goes)

Good luck.


If they mentioned that they would not give it in writing it was a red flag right there. No writing means no deal.

If you think this is bad, be prepared for after sales and the n number of ways they try to scam. As a first time buyer you learn with experience.

[TROOPER]

Originally Posted by shrvenkataraman

For all of you asking why we don't have anything in writing, these dealership salespeople including sales lead said throughout the process that they won't give anything in writing.

Well there it is. The first and final red flag they waived for you to stay away.

If they said before we paid and loan was through, we would have found another dealer. If they weren't ready for renegotiation after getting token advance, they could have said so.

Again refer to the red flag. No customer would or should pay the booking amount without a written confirmation. Nor should a customer renegotiate post booking. Sorry, this may sound harsh. The dealer didn't go out of his way to cheat you (unlike many other cases on this forum). You just made it simple for him or should I say, you let him cheat you.

There's no holier than thou attitude here. You'll find a lot of threads here where members discuss of saving even a couple thousand bucks. No one is ridiculed. The ways, means and necessity of saving too needs to be justified.

Take this as a learning curve. It's your first car purchase, and hence quite an emotional and memorable one. Don't let this spoil your ownership experience.

[chaturgaurav]

Hey shrvenkataraman

Congratulations on your new car.

As far as the deal goes, I do not think bargaining for your hard earned money is wrong. But the way it was done in your case, is the root cause of the problem. Too much of back and forth, that too between multiple dealers and none on paper. Having said that, every agreement, even verbal or for that matter on whatsapp, is legally admissible in court of law (Indian legal system being based on common law) but the burden of proof lies on the person making the claim (it is you in this case). Your whatsapp conversation could have helped you, but multiple people striking the deal with multiple levels in the dealership will expose you to similar claims from the dealership over the agreement with several other people who negotiated for you. This includes your back trading after booking the car.

So I do not see you can do much about it now. Best was to strike the deal solo (could have taken advice from others, but that's it). Second best would have been to move away from the negotiations yourself and let your uncle finalize the deal, since you could not have denied him.

The most valuable advice to help you at this time has already been given above by other members - Enjoy the car and leave everything behind. Despite everything that has happened, you have still spent close to 6L on the car (and lost about 15k in the deal), so your motivating factor should be the bigger chunk that is with you - saying it again, the experience that your first new car will provide, should make you happy.

You may or may not gift chocolates to the dealership SA, but you should definitely move on!

[Latheesh]

All I can say is congratulations on your new car. It looks very good in red.

For your problem, please email it to Tata customer care/management with whatever proofs you have and wait for their response.

[sachinnair]

Originally Posted by shrvenkataraman

For all of you asking why we don't have anything in writing, these dealership salespeople including sales lead said throughout the process that they won't give anything in writing.

How does this even happen? Every time I walk into any automobile showroom of any brand (2w or 4w), the sales guy will talk about the models, offer TDs etc, and then invariably proceed towards giving me a quote with the breakup of all the heads contributing to the on road cost. Definitely they would have given you the same.

Originally Posted by shrvenkataraman

They aren't poor. They are getting paid salaries and enough hefty commissions from every deal, otherwise they wouldn't even agree to deal with us for the rates we negotiated to.

They aren't poor, but they aren't Tatas and Poonawalas themselves, who can afford to forego a few thousand bucks every month. Their incentives- incentive per sale, as well as bonus incentives for hitting targets will be a major part of their take-home pay. A little bit of incentive from the insurance guys, incentives for AMC packages, spares and accessory sales etc. also help. Also, the numbers they do are what they build their career on.
And commissions are not hefty or anything. Dealerships don't make much on the sale of the vehicle.
I've been a sales guy in an auto dealership for a very brief period.

[Engine_Roars]

Congratulations for the car.

I am a bit surprised on how so many people took so much of pain to negotiate the deal for you but none of you thought even once about getting the things in writing, and if the dealer was refusing to give anything in writing and you still went ahead with the deal, it is sheer greed of getting the lowest price for the car and nothing else.

If you don't have any signed quotation or any document, my advise is to forget this and move on. Had I been in SA's place I would have let go off this deal half way, and if I were in your place, I would still have let go of this deal as soon as I was told things were not to be given in writing.

This deal was not supposed to take place.

P.S: I agree, title is misleading and should be changed to a more appropriate one.

[greenhorn]

There has to be a first time for everything. I can't believe what I'm about to write. Bear in mind that I've been accused of being overly critical of Tata and their dealers (and I agree that I am - I think they are either incompetent or unethical or both).
Yes, it looks like you tried to be smart, but the dealer was smarter. You tried to play the game, but you got played. The invoice is the final contract. If you did not make sure what you wanted was not included in it, despite all the effort you put, you got undone by a rookie mistake. When I bought my last pre owned car, I insisted on putting all the sales man commitments in writing - the terms of the extended warranty, the commitment to paint one dent etc before I paid.

The time to raise this issue was when the invoice was given. Raising it at this point, given the history makes it seem like another bargaining tactic at your end.

Accusing the dealership of acting in bad faith after the stunts you pulled may or may not work. They might have been confused genuinely (or at least claim plausibly) that there was ambiguity due to the parallel price discussion threads you and your contacts created.

People saying the title is misleading - I think it's accurate, only that it's the dealer who had a harrowing time

[Lalvaz]

Congratulations on the new car. You wanted a Tiago and you got her. She looks stunning. Wish you many miles of safe driving with her.

Hope you did the pre delivery inspection as per the team bhp checklist. It helps in ensuring that you've got a car in fine condition. Even if you missed it then, please do it now.

Drive safe!!!

[Nithesh_M]

Originally Posted by shrvenkataraman

He then tried to distract me by saying "Sir i asked you for payment before 25th December, did you pay before that? You paid on Jan 3rd"

I said, "If your terms for the deal had changed by jan 3rd, you should have told us".

Ashok then said "Sir, tiago price has increased by 20k in January. I took a loss for you. Now I can't add AMC Gold or Ex-warranty for another 12-15k and take further loss."

I told him, "see, if the terms of the deal has changed, you should have told us before we sent the payment or closing the deal. After pursuing the deal, getting the payment and finishing RTO and everything, you can't come and say you took a loss and so we have to pay for AMC or Ex-Warranty which were supposed to be a part of the deal. If we pay for that, the total amount we are spending goes beyond the 5.8L you guys originally quoted. This isn't right. This is absolutely wrong and do we look like fools to pay 15k extra to you guys for the same product we got for 5.55L at KLN?"

Technically the dealer is right. Tata hiked prices across all cars in January. If the dealer asked you to make payment by Dec 25th to avail December discounts, you should have paid up on time.

By postponing the payment to Jan 3rd you walked into the Jan price hike.

The hike was published in the papers I think so you're not going to be able to wriggle out of that saying you didn't know.

If I were you I'd just let it go and enjoy the vehicle accepting the fact that I delayed the payment and had to pay the price for whatever the car costs in January.