[clevermax]

I'd put a larger share of the blame on the buyer for what happened. This looks like an intentional 'mistake' from the dealer's end, after they sensed the lack of vigilance from the buyer's part on the paperwork. They probably tried to push another car which may be lemon.

Never ever do the following:

1) Sign empty papers.
2) Sign paperwork without reading up, at least the important fields.
3) Release loan amounts to the dealer without you (or a trusted associate) doing a PDI on the vehicle assigned to you.
4) Succumb to dealer pressurizing you to go for another colour.


If you are deciding to buy a car, it is a good idea bring all these points upfront to the sales guy. It will give them the impression that you're definitely not their guinea pig (to sell a lemon).

[Palio_2005]

Originally Posted by d-g-p

While a genuine mistake on part of employees in dealership cannot be ruled out altogether, it is important to note that only a rare customer would purchase a car these days without even a physical look or a photograph. The rare occasion it happened, the unsuspecting customer was in receiving end. This situation is indeed fishy. I suspect, at the minimum this could be a PDI rejected car or a car which someone backed out of purchase at the last moment. The second scenario is not so grave. If it had a defect or damage and the dealership actually intentionally did it ? It is actually a win win situation for the dealership if they can get away with some minimal freebies or discount. And they found a unsuspecting customer for this ?? Serious breach of trust. And the colour is a big deal for most Indians.
Yes, not doing a PDI was a big mistake. No doubt about it. Most if not all, dealership are in hunt for unsuspecting customer to dupe with unsold inventory of whatever reason.

I have never conducted any PDI on any of my cars. But yes I do ask for a photograph at most.

[furyrider]

Since the car is already registered on the OP's name, I would say swallow the bitter pill and take delivery. Also, since other members have expressed concern that the dealer might has deliberately registered a 'lemon', get the vehicle inspected through and through before even touching it. If this is a genuine mistake, ask for freebies like extended warranty, service package (not sure if Nexa has one), or accessories of your choosing.

Of course, the OP could always fight it out with the dealer, but a part of the blame lies on the OP too for not performing their due diligence before signing off the paperwork. Fighting it out with the dealer will be a long and arduous task and without the right connections, the OP will probably have sleepless nights for a good couple of months.

If the blue vehicle is in top shape, I would say take delivery and consider this a lesson learnt the hard way. If you really find the vehicle to have some sort of defect like re-paint, etc (like the Skoda a member posted recently on this very forum), fight it out with the dealer.

[UD17]

Blue color is also looker in Grand Vitara. There is no point to be adamant for the car color when you know mistakenly its already registered in your name. Best case scenario, you should bargain with the dealership for their mistake and get some additional sweetener, be it extended warranty or free service packs or any accessory. Hope they will oblige.

[na_agrawal]

Originally Posted by GTO

All I can say is, please double-check the documentation you sign on, don't ever sign on blank forms & do your PDI! Better than the shock you get on delivery day.

Avik drops!

A similar ordeal was faced by my dad's friend back in 2011-12.

News spread in the office like a wildfire of his XuV500 booking (I think that variant was advertised as the one with tiger tooth grill!?!). It was one of the first 7 seater SUVs to land in my dad's humble office of about 50 executives. Everyone wanted to feel how different a home grown, over engineered, Mahindra behemoth would taste from their mundane looking Uber cool i20s and Santro zip drives...

Fast forwarding we all knew he booked one in PEARL white as he always cribbed about how difficult it was to maintain his black Esteem. Come his final day, the day of delivery, the unveiling day, the cover was.. er.. well uncovered and boom! There was his XUV500 in all its glory in PURPLE

The SA mistook the pronunciation from pearl to purple and yet again he was with another difficult to maintain color.

Later when we asked about this, he laughed it off by saying Kismat hi kharaab hai I'm destined to spend half of my life polishing every panel.

I know everyone won't accept a situation like this with such open arms, but post reading the headline, this incident just occurred to me so thought of sharing this here.

-cheers
NA.

[Jaguar]

Other than replacing the car at the dealer's cost I can think of a few possible alternatives

1. Ask for a fat discount and extended warranty.
2. Dealer pays for a 3M wrap and RC endorsement for the color change.

[d.j]

Court case, no not at all! and, I am Sure! this too is a good one, take it as a kismet connection and enjoy the car, keep it crisp and shiny you will forget all and love it more as time passes, best of colors can look bad against a well maintained simple white. Its grey to blue, both are close friend kind colors, agreed, white to purple would be a tough one,

Go for it! get the car home. Cut a “human” deal with the dealer not too pressing for the employee. Treat yourself with a long drive and don’t miss to add the pictures here! wishing you best of miles!

Regards/DJ

[Mustang_Boss]

One of my friend owns a nexa Blue car.

After washing it and cleaning it on every sunday morning, The car starts to show dust.

I was very skeptical about this color on my new car and hence only insisted on Metallic Grey and bought it in this color.


The Blue is the sweetest color & a Looker on Vitara, but when it comes to Maintenance, its a pain. I hope OP was considering maintenance and has booked Grey color. At this point, i want OP to sit back, relax and give the situation a second thought and act accordingly. This is a Brand new color. The only grouse is with the color, which again is a good one though, but just not as per his expectations.

It would be prudent to give it a serious second thought as there is nothing wrong with the vehicle itself. See it in Blue for an hour or two and then decide.

I would say, get a ceramic coating and a jopasu duster for the frequent cleanups. Seek extended warranty/2nd year insurance as compensation and close the deal. This would be an amiable Win-Win for both parties.

[RijuC]

If the car colour mentioned on RC Book is Blue and you got the Blue colour car, accept it. Blue looks very good and cool for this all new Grand Vitara than the grey shade. This grey is not like dark granite grey that I have on my Swift.

Blue Grand Vitara looks much better than the Grey colour, no doubt. This is kind of BMW Blue.

[adwaith]

Legal remedies are limited in this case. The legal principle Caveat Emptor is squarely applicable here. It means "let the buyer beware". The duty lies on the buyer to ensure everything is in order and carry out due diligence before purchasing the property or goods.

Unless any misrepresentation or fraud can be proved on the part of the dealer there is very little that can be done, but even that I'm not sure will bear any fruit.

Originally Posted by clevermax

Never ever do the following:

1) Sign empty papers.
2) Sign paperwork without reading up, at least the important fields.
3) Release loan amounts to the dealer without you (or a trusted associate) doing a PDI on the vehicle assigned to you.

These are some very basic but essential things to keep in mind while purchasing anything whatsoever, not just cars.

[vj123]

Dealer might have done this intentionally but OP has his own share of responsibility as well.

Even if he was unable to visit the stockyard, he could ask for pictures or done a videocall with his sales person to make sure the basic things checked out and there wasn't any damage on a significant purchase like this. There is no reason to put the entire blame on the dealer and he should move on with what he got.

[Col Mehta]

Sorry to hear about your experience.

I say, first ensure that the car doesn’t have any defects - it’s quite possible that the dealer handed you a rejected/accidental car. Once you are 100% sure that the car is all good, push for a reasonable compensation (extended warranty/accessories/service vouchers etc). While I understand the colour is an important factor, I won’t lose my sleep over it and instead get the best out of the situation and enjoy the new car.

[Sran]

People are put through so much stress in day to day life that even a cheating is being told to be gulped down as merely a bitter concoction.

Fault lies with both, and I am surprise that how careless a car buyer can be, along with the dealer principle. The first step to check was when buyer was given the booking receipt, the colour is clearly mentioned there. Second when you are making the final payment, visit the showroom, even if one does not perform a PDI, one generally looks at the car, buyer failed to even do that. Sleepy buyers do not get sympathy from me.

Now the cheating/negligence has happened, it happens, but with a Maruti seller is highly unlikely. Buyer must have the booking receipt, and going by dealer's reply

The dealer has assured that they will get me my grey Grand Vitara, but they have no specific timeline. Meanwhile I am paying for insurance and car loan EMIs on a vehicle that I don't even have! Please help.

he is readily accepting his fault and is ready to mend it. The problem is what to do with EMI. As the dealer has agreed to change the car, buyer should ask them to clear the loan in full with pre-payment penalty. The insurance can be cancelled within a timeline(upto 14 days). Sit with the dealer and discuss how to proceed with RTO charges.

Now if the buyer is ready to do all the legwork, there is no reason to believe that the problem wouldn't be solved. If not, take the delivery with all PDI done, ask for compensation in cash or kind (extended warranty) plus whatever they can think of.

[gupta_v_kr]

If the booking receipt mentions the correct car colour then its the responsibility of the dealer to get the car replaced. We had a similar situation in 2009 when a Maruti dealer in Kolkata delivered a repainted car which was registered in our name. We forced the dealer to de-register the car and deliver us a new car. You will need to be persistent to get the car replaced but if the color is not a big deal, leave aside the hassle and enjoy the ride.

[sgmuser]

Very strange incident. The registration forms should mention the color umpteen times while signing I presume.

Btw how about wrapping and some goodies like extended warranty etc.