[gururajrv]

I understand being a middle class family man, you’ve tried hard to get a comforting sweet deal like well e all done and 15k is no less. Like everyone said, it’s a confusing conversation and SA. I’d suggest like others did to solve it amicably and just enjoy the drive.

Do you really think investing so much time on calls & emails would justify for the 15k you’re trying to save? Both mentally and physically you’re exhausting yourself and screwing up the rapport.

While SA denying to have committed to his word is something that’s unacceptable which could’ve triggered you, which is understandable. However, in few instances such as this, it’s always better to let go and enjoy the moment with your car that’s in your garage through the efforts you’ve made all this while.

Good luck & congrats. Make peace with the demons trying to screw up your happiness. Rejoice, but don’t regret losing precious times with it!

[Amartya]

Originally Posted by iamwhatiam

but I'm pleasantly surprised to see that most BHPians on this thread tilt towards the latter.

Same here, and I loved the way you summed this up. Thank you.

Originally Posted by iamwhatiam

He also got some feedback on his sales technique from an unbiased forum of people who don't know him, which may very well be different from the echo chamber that families/friends can often become.
That's not a bad deal, no?

If we read OP's initial responses, they were along the lines of "...what the hell, I expected everyone to rally around me and my side of the argument". That makes this echo chamber point very important and something even I personally needed to be reminded of. Again, thanks .

[ash22]

Happy Motoring!! Drive Safe.
Getting a first car is always special and this will memory will be life long. Even you would pass this memory and experience to your next generations.
Reading your post, I see that you have done your best to get the good deal. Money is not easy and even if it’s few bugs, we can’t leave it easily.

I see here as a pure communication gap and too much concentration on discount. SA are also like us who works for salary and they have their targets too.

It is like, you tried to be over smart with SA and Atleast he overtook your smartness.

Primary failure is, Handling more that one SA and making your uncle, mom, friend involved in the purchase area.

Anyway, I would suggest you to get the AMC and extended warranty and stat charm with the new car.

[AirbusCapt]

Is it a case of biting of more than you can chew? If you cannot comfortably afford the car may be you should wait until your finances are sorted. That apart, Tata motors management will not help you in your fight against a dealer since you seem to have involved so many people and so many dealers. Besides it's always better to let go of a small amount to get great after sales service (the salesman even suggested the same).
I always honestly tell the sales staff what is the maximum I can pay for the car, and they do their best to match my figure. It is a win win and we all walk home happy.

[landcruiser123]

Cut some slack to OP! I’d agree on two things:
1. Everything must be taken in writing or official email. I’d stay away from WhatsApp chat. This should be a lesson for everybody
2. Deals should be done 1 on 1. Maybe talk to a manager while in the closing stages

Enjoy the car now. She looks amazing in red.

[iamahunter]

Brother,

• Why the Tiago?
• What was your budget?
• Any other models of Tiago, apart from the XZ?

I found the post and related conversation(between you and the dealers) very immature. I think a person of your age should have been able to handle this thing with not much effort.

Kindly remember, you are not the only buyer, there are many. "Customer is the King", and so is every other customer, like your self. A single sales person handles multiple customers at the same time, especially festive seasons and the year ends are very hectic. Sales person is a human, and we humans are prone to error. This need not be proved, just read your own post and you will notice that, you also "forgot" about the 5k booking amount and the weather strips.Its normal.

Delivering a car is a special occasion for the sales person as well, if not the entire dealership; be courteous to him. Just like this deal has left a bitter taste in your mouth, this will be same on his side as well. Being experienced the other side(I was in car sales for a while), I only wish this was dealt in a more smarter manner.

Just like whatsapp, kindly make use of technology a little more. We have emails and excel for communications/negotiations and calculations. Use them, and you just might be able to make your next deal more fruitful.
Try to involve less family members in the dealing to keep things uniform. Here, 2 sales people were dealing with 5-6 customers, for 1 car.

In the end, hope the experience was worth the little cash (15k I believe) that you are cribbing about.
Enjoy the car brother its worth Rs 5,60,000, a lot more; make peace with sales and who knows, you might just get lucky.

[gauravdgr8]

Originally Posted by shrvenkataraman

Hey Guys,

We have finally gone through with it and got the Tiago booked and delivered.
Attached the pictures below.

Congrats on the new car. It's a beautiful car in the best of the colors. Even I bought the same variant in the same color in August for my wife. I am sure you will enjoy the wonderful drive.

Reach out to the Tata Regional Manager. His/Her number would be listed in the showroom. There are different people who handle Sales/Service so be sure. They are Tata Motors employee and would solve your issue after you show the Whatsapp. Hope this helps.

Regards,
Gaurav

[tarik.arora]

Going OT again (have kind of developed this habit)

I think almost all of us have offered the same advice to the author. On top, the learnings from this incident have been repeated multiple times. Can we now close this thread? This is just a suggestion though. The author is already pissed off with his experience.
However, this thread needs to be preserved for future references. The thread is very relevant for a new / first time buyer (or an inexperienced buyer).

[Fordlover88]

Congratulations on your new car. Tiago is a lovely car & it looks gorgeous in red. Wishing you many happy miles together. I won't comment much about the deal as many fellow member's have already echoed their thoughts. 15k is a lot of amount but it is not more than your peace of mind. There were mistakes from your as well as dealership's side. So, just accept the situation and move on with your freshly acquired beauty. Take her to a roadtrip & do pen down a travelogue here.

[advenk999]

Congratulations on the new buy! The Tiago is a lovely car and you should look forward to many memory down the lane!
Yes, your post was a long read, a lot of back and forth and involvement of many a member has resulted in confusion of closing the right deal.
It should have just been you as the one point contact with the Sales chap and the manager in the loop.

A lesson learnt here is make sure that everything is in writing so that no one can go back on their word. We all are humans and all of us can err somewhere.

You have infact got a good deal man! 5.60L for the Tiago XZ is a fantastic deal. You really haven't lost anything. What you can do is go back to them and work out something amicably between the two of you and probably get some benefit here and there for you both.
Befriend the SA, look beyond the past and let go of the bitter experience. The SA can be of real help especially at the time of service! After all, after sales and service is key!
In general, most TATA dealers have known to goof up and not keep commitments on time and what they did with you was unfair in that aspect. Do write to TATA and tweet it out to Ratan Tata. He is active in his response.
Rest apart, do not really fight for who is right and who is wrong with regard to the deal. It will exhaust you in the process.
Cheers and Drive on happily man!

[Shumi_21]

Hey shrvenkataraman,

We have a few similarities

I’m 27 too & bought my first new car, a RED Hyundai i20 Asta in 2018.

I started driving in November 2017 with a pre-owned WagonR which was my first car. Like you, I am a first-generation car owner in my family & I totally understand how big of an event buying your first new car is! Everyone in my extended family, including distant relatives from my native place wanted to be a part of the process, so I fully empathize with you and your efforts to get the best deal possible.

You have already got some really “tough love” from our seasoned experts and some suggestions to what you should do next, so I will not get into that, you decide for yourself the best course of action you should take. I also had to jump through the same family hoops, with everyone in my extended family offering advice as I was still a (26-year-old!!) kid who doesn’t know anything. I am taking the liberty to offer my 2 paisa worth having been in a similar situation. Please do excuse me if I cross a line.

Originally Posted by shrvenkataraman

I said okay and asked him for account details to send 5k rupees token advance for booking confirmation.

Everything is great until here, you pitched one dealer’s offer against the other and got an offer that you was acceptable to you and paid a booking amount to that effect.

Originally Posted by shrvenkataraman

She has couple of close friends from the insurance industry who then took over the negotiation

This is where things went haywire according to me.

YOU decided that you want to buy a car, YOU chose the Tiago over other options available & YOU are the one paying the money, so why did you allow your mother’s friends to take over the negotiation? Because, they were “friends” with some car dealership owners? IMHO, it shouldn’t have made a difference even if they were friends with Ratan Tata himself! Like you said, it’s YOUR hard-earned money, hence YOU must take responsibility always and every time. No two ways about it. You should have respectfully heard your elders’ advice and made your OWN decision rather than them taking over the negotiations for you.

Originally Posted by shrvenkataraman

I told him, these are elders of my family and they have to say okay after understanding everything as I am not privy to the insurance. Then my mother took over the conversation, spoke to Naveen.

Again, shouldn’t YOU have taken the initiative to get the “okay” from your elders rather than delegating it to the sales executive? Shouldn’t you have taken the initiative to learn about insurance matters from your mother/her friends who are experts in the insurance domain?

I say this from personal experience and with all the honesty I can summon, for our elders, we will always be 10-year-old kids, who are unable to take care of ourselves. This perception only changes if we show them (respectfully) that we are capable of taking responsibility of our own lives, and it’s the small decisions (in context of our whole lives) like buying a new car, that go a long way to demonstrate that yes, we have our shit together now! I remember everyone in the family saying I was wrong to buy an i20 instead of the Baleno or any car with a Maruti badge, but now they are pleasantly surprised when they see the better build quality, interiors and chilled air con of the i20! They also happily agree that the i20 turned out to be a good choice after all.

You have bought an amazing first car, which looks absolutely HAWT in red. Check out the Travelogue section here, plan a fantastic road trip ON YOUR OWN, invite all the elders who helped you buy the car and show them what a beautiful machine you own. Even though your first car buying experience was less than ideal, you still have the chance to make your first road trip an epic one!

I will keep an eye out for the travelogue!

[sureshkishore]

Dear shrventakraman,

Congratulations on the Red Tiago. It looks stunning in red.
Great to drive too. My cousin had got the same model last year and it is been running like a dream.

We are a Maruti loyal family but the Tiago had bowled us over with the looks sturdiness and superb ICE. The celerio in comparison falls well short.

It isn't worth brooding over the discount issue, because no amount of money is worth ruining your happiness and experience of your first brand new car. The smell of the new car and the careful running in, thoughtful customisations and first family trip on the Tiago should be the only thing on your mind right now. Just enjoy the car man! Live to Drive!

[dicor]

Always use the lowest quote to bargain further and bargain hard. But never disclose another dealer's name. SAs discuss this with owners of the showroom. Dealers have an association and they don't like others selling below a threshold value.

In my case, I never take insurance from them or ask them to match the quote. You did nothing wrong by negotiating on other aspects like insurance. However, this should have been made clear in advance.

There is nothing wrong if 10 persons are negotiating with one person, but once the deal is done, it's done. Either back-off or honor your commitment.

It wasn't good that your uncle scolded him. I wish if you would have called him earlier and requested him to explain things to your uncle.

Dude, when I was reading your experience, I wanted to stop you right there tell you that you are doing plain wrong and consequences can be very dangerous. I would say you are lucky. The dealer could have provided you an accidental (refurbished) car / or car which is lying in stockyard for a long time. I am sure you have checked the VIN number.
https://www.team-bhp.com/advice/find...anufacture-vin

Fight for the last penny, be aggressive in your negotiations but when it's over, it should be in a pleasant state and should be win-win for everyone.

Now before you try to utilize every penny on insurance, please do read this
https://www.team-bhp.com/advice/no-c...nce-premiums-0

Last but not least, tbhp should have been read before buying the car and it should be your daily dose. Happy motoring.
https://www.team-bhp.com/advice/how-buy-new-car-india-0

[Magnus]

Dear shrventakraman,

Congratulations on your new car. Sad to see that the purchase of your first car, that would have normally been an occasion of pride and happiness , hasn't gone as well as you had anticipated.

Did see few posts here regarding the legal validity of the whatsapp conversation the OP had with the sales rep. That agreement though, was for 5.7 lakhs. Further to the overzealous uncle's (mis)adventure posing as new buyer, this deal was renegotiated and a new price of 5.65 lakhs was arrived at. Doesn't that nullify the legal validity of the 'agreement over whatsapp(for 5.7 lakhs)'. I believe the OP holds no evidence for what was agreed to be included in the 5.65 lakhs package that finally worked out.
Also even if we make the argument that a total of 5.7 lakhs was paid(additional 5k by mistake), 2k of that went for registration.

So, the original quote of 5.7 lakhs which included the AMC, never came to fruition.

Will the OP case hold water if he choose to take the legal route?

[chaturgaurav]

Originally Posted by Magnus

Will the OP case hold water if he choose to take the legal route?

IMO, the case should hold good if taken the legal route. The Whatsapp evidence should be admissible in court of law, but then verbal agreements/ disagreements will also be admissible. Only problem for the OP is that too many people were involved and too many negotiations. So, which direction the deal actually went, will be very hard to prove.

No respite to OP, I guess.