[UmangThaker79]

I write to this forum with sheer anguish post the mental harassment that a Mumbai based Kia dealership - Shreenath Kia, has put me through pre-delivery. It might be helpful to also look at how dealerships are ensuring that customers suffer. I have had a horrendous experience since the day I have booked a Kia vehicle. I dread and curse my decision to even consider Kia over a certainly more prominent and established player.

Details: Name Umang Thaker. Booking No – B20210****. Vehicle No: MH47 $# 61*5.
Complaint Ref Nos:
1-74463462
1-75229584
1-76025518
1-76300063

My plaint:
1. If the car has not been handed over to the owner, the responsibility of keeping the vehicle in good order rests with the dealership. Any damage of any kind to the vehicle should be owned by the dealership or the OEM.

2. On 22nd July, which was the date of delivery and I was supposed to collect the vehicle, I got a call from the dealership (Vikram Solanki) saying there was accidental damage resulting in some scratches to the vehicle and we will rectify it and give it. Please do not get your family today. Further, Mr. Punit Khirsagar was confident that all parts would be removed and new parts would be used as replacements.

3. What they called minor scratches were full blown dents and damage to the rear door, logo unit, bumper and left side rear door panel. The entire car was covered in minute glass pieces - all over the car and inside the window panels as well (pictures attached).

4. The next day, when the car was examined by the workshop engineers, they confirmed that no replacement was possible as the entire body of the car is one piece.

5. I clearly told them that I do not want a damaged vehicle which is repainted and refurbished. Yet, without consulting me, they began the repairs.

6. On 27th July 2021, to add insult to injury and to my rude shock, Mr. Derrick Goveas, VP, says, and I quote “In my 20 years of experience, I have seen many such instances and since the registration of the vehicle is done in your name, we can’t do anything. This is not our fault as we did not damage the vehicle intentionally. You see the vehicle on Tuesday, 27th July and you will not be able to see the difference.”

7. I asked him, why I should accept a refurbished vehicle instead of brand new vehicle when I was not at fault. He had no answer.

8. The Shreenath Kia representative called us to the showroom on 29th July 2021 and simply rubbed more salt into our wounds by saying that there were minor scratches which we had been rectified and I will not even come to know. When I asked about the compensation that he had spoken about on the phone, he said they would give the car a complementary ceramic coating.

9. For all the damage, delay and mental harassment at the hands of the showroom, the compensation of a ceramic coating is not acceptable at all.

10. I have paid upfront for a brand new vehicle and today the dealership is forcing us to accept a refurbished vehicle and in spite of 4 complaints (ref numbers attached), no resolution has been offered.

Finally. when Kia employee, Mr. Deepak Tyagi, called 19 days of my first complaint, he spoke to me through Derrik Goveas. He didn't have the courtesy to call and hear my side of the story. He was pre-meditated in taking the dealership side and justified the ceramic coating as the compensation.

Chronology of Events:

1. Booking – B202102607 on 18-01-21
IMPS/101714117682/SBIN0004650
Variant – Seltos HTX Plus AT 1.5 Diesel- Automatic
12-13 weeks waiting period given in writing. Rs.
25,000 transferred to Shreenath Vehicles.

2. Delivery update - 05-03-21
Telephonic chat with Mr Vikram Solanki - "We cannot provide any update as we do not get delivery schedules. 12 weeks are not over yet."

3. Delivery update - 18-04-21 or 20-04-21
Telephonic chat with Mr Vikram Solanki - 12-weeks were over now, "We cannot provide any update as we do not get deliver schedules."

4. Model discontinued - 20-05-21
Telephonic chat with Mr. Vikram Solanki - "Sir, the model that you booked is discontinued. You will have to pay 20,000 extra for new logo and some features." There was no official communication from Kia Motors.

5. Delivery Update - 29-05-21
Telephonic chat with Mr. Vikram Solanki - "Will check with my manager and let you know on 31st May. Again, we do not get delivery schedules and cannot commit the date of delivery."

6. The correct development was, "model discontinued", but the email smartly said new features and new logo added. Hence, pay extra - 09-06-21
E-mail from Vikram Solanki with the new price list and new features. Again, no mention about the fact that Kia Motors had discontinued a model for which they had bookings. Very unprofessional on the part of the OEM and the dealership. How could the model be discontinued? If so why were the bookings taken? Basic courtesy is to at least service the ones already booked and then discontinue it.

7. Alternate Model - 12-06-21
Seltos HTX Plus old model was offered and on 17th June 2021, a grey colour car was offered. I politely declined it since I was told that I would get the car of my choice very soon.

8. Vehicle allotted - 09-07-21
E-mail from Shreenath - "Congratulations, we have allotted you a vehicle. Pay in full by 12th July or we will give it away to the next person in queue."

9. Actual Delivery Date - 22-07-21
Pre-defined date of delivery - Call from Vikram Solanki and Punit Kshirsagar - "Car has met with a mishap. A glass door has fallen and shattered into your car. All old parts will be removed and new parts will be added. We will send the car to the workshop and update you if parts can be replaced." There was damages all over the left side and rear of the car (logo unit + bumper, side door + rear panel + dents on the roof). My instructions were crystal clear, "Wait for my instructions before doing any repair work. I want a brand new vehicle as that is what I have paid for."

10. Ref No 1-74463462 on 22-07-21
Complaint call to Kia Customer Care. The call attendant records complaint – vehicle damaged while still in custody of Shreenath Kia, Malad. No revert from Kia Motors.

11. In person meeting - 24-07-21
Derrick Goveas says, "It's unfortunate. As a matter of fact Such things keep happening. We have already started work on the dents. My stand, "I want a brand new vehicle as that is what I have paid for." No solution is offered at this stage yet.

12. Ref No.1-75229584 on 26-07-21
Complaint call to Kia Customer Care - A damaged and refurbished car was offered instead of a new vehicle. Complaint passed on to service team. Kia service representative from Shreenath Andheri calls and says he will redirect to the complaint to sales team. Still awaiting a revert from Kia Motors.

13. 2nd in person Meeting on 29-07-21
Derrick Goveas, Shreenath Kia says, "We wanted to offer you compensation but as you know margins per vehicle are very low, we cannot offer anything. Please look at the refurbished car. We have already spent enough money. As a goodwill gesture, we will give you a free ceramic coating." They called me to discuss the compensation and under that guise, simply pushing an old agenda, "See the car. You will not even come to know that there was any accident."

14. E-mail from Derrick Goveas on 30-07-21
Derrick Goveas, Shreenath Kia - "Due to unforeseen circumstances, there was a heavy downpour of rain with heavy winds. The showroom glass door shattered and splinters of the glass happened to fall on your car, which left scratches of glass on your car. All small scratches have been removed post polishing."
For the first time the Shreenath representative acknowledged that there was damage to the vehicle. Puts the onus back on the client – "take the vehicle or we will not be responsible for the delay."

I feel very harassed by the dealer and also regret my decision to choose an OEM which clearly sides with the dealership since it has received the full money. I am already paying the EMI and have paid upfront. I seek advise from the forum on my next steps.

Regards

Umang Thaker – an unfortunate KIA customer.

[Y@SH]

Sorry you have to go through this ordeal, I had a bad experience with Shreenath too , you can read it here (Pathetic sales experience at Shreenath Kia, Mumbai)

On the delivery day my sales executive informed me that the color the color I ordered and paid for is not in stock !! He was pushing me for a white car they had in stock.

Even their Service center is pathetic at Andheri, I had sent my car at 9am for just the first service and they assured me car will be ready by 4pm. However they only started working on it post lunch and I got my car back at 7pm! Im not even talking about the pushing for the extras at the service center (underbody coating , 3M coatings, wheel alignment and all) , also Alloy care on the car which has steel rims!!

I don't think they can offer a replacement, since the car is already registered but what they can do is offer a repaint of the car along with Extended warranty or free maintenance pack as a token of apology

[AkMar]

Sorry to hear about your experience. While such things do happen, the way in which dealer responds is important. Here since the car is already registered, a full replacement might not be possible (I am not sure, experts can clarify). However the dealer & Kia have been extremely unprofessional in communication. "we have already spent enough money", "margins per vehicle are very low we cannot offer anything" is something they should never tell the client come what may. I believe there is some insurance taken by dealers also for the period before delivery.

They should have been frank in their communication. Starting repairs without consent of customer is also a mistake. I believe an honest repair job of the car without cutting corners, a good discount and/or free extended warranty (specifically covering the repair job against corrosion/paint issues in addition to regular extended warranty) would be one of the good options to close this grievance.

Frequency of complaints about Kia coming out on the forum are concerning.

[drsnt]

Since you are already paying EMI and there's no major damage, I think you should press for compensation from the dealer and settle the matter. You also need to find if the dealer claimed any insurance for repairs and if your car history would show body repairs, if yes, then and use them to your leverage. Lastly, if the dealer is not relenting then the only way would be to take the legal route, which I am not too confident that you will get a resolution very soon. You can haggle hard for non-monetary compensation like 4-5 yr AMC etc. Other members may like to pitch in.

[Goldenboy]

Really unfortunate that this has happened. This is one of those 1 in 1000 incidents that can happen to anyone.

I feel the dealership and Kia could be much more professional and accommodating in their communication. Talking about low margins is absurd!

One question, does the car truly look new after the restoration/repairs? If they do not relent, I strongly recommend you push for a free warranty and service package for the longest possible duration as partial compensation.

[ishlinea7260]

Sorry to hear your ordeal. A new car buying experience should not be marred with such events.

I had a similar experience during delivery of my Seltos, though the damage was far less substantial.

The driver side door pad had a blue pen tick mark, most probably from the time service personnel did their PDI. Needless to say I was not happy, I brought this to the notice of sales staff who called up the car cleaning personnel.

They tried using different products but the mark didn't budge , they even used petrol/diesel to rub it off but the mark stayed as is.

I was told that you can take delivery today and we can rectify it during first service.
I politely declined and told them I have paid for a new car ,I want a new car.

Immediately the took of door pad from a similar model in their stockyard and replaced it.

Happily we took delivery and went home. After few days I noticed that there was a ever so slight dent on the silver/red cladding of the front bumper. Thinking it got damaged while parked in the mall, I shrugged it off.

But when I checked the delivery pics I saw that the mark was visible albeit slightly.
I brought this matter to the knowledge of my SA who in turn asked me to share pics and draft an email. I received a call later that they have ordered the part and I can get it replaced as per my convenience.

I would like to say that my Sales advisor was very helpful during the entire process and I even gave referrals to the dealer and SA.

[Mr.Boss]

Dealership could have completely hidden this incident and pushed the delivery by a day or two blaming the RTO and other paper work or missing keys or what ever it is. Instead they took the right channel to inform the customer about the mishap - I appreciate (hope everyone will do)

From customer's perspective paying for a brand new vehicle and getting a repaired one for no mistake of ours will be painful, but the event here is 'accident' and that's bound to happen. Even after all the sentimental feelings it's a piece of metal & material. Once the vehicle is registered, it belongs to customer though the actual delivery happens later. Asking for a new vehicle post registration (especially for this minor damages) will not workout.

Spoiling the relationship with the dealer is not worth for this damage IMO, you are supposed to visit then at least twice in a year for scheduled maintenance and repairs, only the relationship could help you during future warranty claims and other repair jobs.

Though there is no guarantee that you may or may not face similar situation with the same or different dealership during warranty claims, but the probability of making the situation worse is higher when the relationship is spoilt.

Settle for a ample compromise / compensation and move on.

Make sure the accident repair is registered somewhere with their liability to get the consequential failures in future.

[gkveda]

If you have not signed the delivery note, you should demand a new car. Let the dealer decide what he wants to do with the damaged car. You saw only external damages and may make a judgement that damages are small. Who knows what parts are damaged internally? You are saying glass pieces were seen inside. Who knows if there was a head on impact? I am not scaring you. But, trying give possible scenarios.

You can go to consumer court and get the case settled with full refund. When we purchased Activa in 2010, there were some issues found just before delivery. We never took the delivery and escalated to CEO of the dealership. After 1 month fight, we got another new vehicle. They sold the first vehicle after repairs through used vehicle dealer and got our signatures on form 29 and 30.

[iamahunter]

Its clearly not your mistake, but its not the dealer's mistake either.

However, it has happened to your car, on the dealer's end, even tho it was by accident.

I agree that the dealer should have been cautious and careful, but accidents happen un-announced.

Here, there is one factor that is in your favor that you have not collected the car and have not signed the "Delivery Note".

Try to push the dealer for replacement of parts instead of just the ceramic coating.

[SolidusSnake]

Why after registration, your vehicle was lying at Dealership? What is the registration process in your city? Here in Delhi registration is the last process that happens on delivery day and right after registration, we drive out the vehicle from dealership. If their is any damage to the vehicle, we can simply refuse registration and ask for refund after deduction of cancellation charges.

[nitishk]

go to twitter, start a twitter handle, tag everyone in KIA plus some news outlets. Get your family and friends to retweet. See how fast they come up with a resolution.
It really doesn't matter if its not the the dealership's fault only thing matters that you have paid for a new car and its not your fault.

[RavSam]

Even if the car is registered they should re-register it or register it in their name since in NO WAY you are obliged to take the delivery until you sign the delivery form.

It was painful for me to see two very minor scratches on my car before delivery, one on the instrument cluster and one on the fuel lid opening switch near the door. I just would not have accepted THAT bad condition of the car.

[AZT]

To think there must be so many instances of minor scratches / dents where the showroom will get a detailer to correct and new owner will never be the wiser.

@OP I'd suggest finding out if you can correct all the scratches, etc. from a reputed place outside and tell dealership this is the cost. They should be fine to cover it. If not, do it yourself and enjoy your car. It sucks this happened to you but as others have mentioned, legal route is gonna be a pain and just long drawn out.

Thanks for posting. Will definitely avoid Shreenath dealer and also tell all fam and friends if they plan to buy Kia.

[drivingmelody]

Originally Posted by AZT

Thanks for posting. Will definitely avoid Shreenath dealer and also tell all fam and friends if they plan to buy Kia.

Sad to hear about this harrasment.
Will also do the same. One of my friends was planning a car from them. I have forwarded this link.

[vinu_h]

Please refuse to take delivery of the car. You have adequate photos, that's a good start. Please take videos as well. Introduce a lawyer into the mix and you will surely see the resistance from the dealer waning.

I was upset when my car was not wiped down properly at delivery, but, a dealer trying to pass off a damaged car as a new one is just not acceptable.