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Old 29th January 2023, 00:27   #1
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Dreadful delivery experience with Espirit Toyota, Noida

Reading about delivery mishaps is one thing like the Seltos damaged with glass and then it happening with you is totally another experience all together. Caution long and detailed post ahead. Read below to know how the events unfolded. If you have decided to read it, please do not comment “this could have happened after the delivery as well” thank you!

I am posting this here to apprise people that how simple things which dealerships take for granted can make a delightful experience of purchasing a new car can turn abhor and to make dealership owners and employees cognizant that their mistakes don’t go unreported, this era is not what it used to be back in the day when things could be easily brushed under the carpet and forgotten. I have been following the Skoda Slavia thread and another thread by the gent who owns a dealership asking for views in such cases and after my first hand experience, I truly believe customers like the one who owned the blue Slavia should fight back to keep the malpractices of dealers in check from time to time and issues be reported in platforms such as Team BHP. I do not intent to gain anything out of posting this, because in my mind that memory is past.

I would like to share my absolutely horrid experience of delivery of my Toyota Glanza CNG from Espirit Toyota Noida Sector 8, Uttar Pradesh. My experience with them went downhill pretty quickly after making the complete payment. The whole sales and delivery team was full of malice and had early intention of cheat, scam and wash their hands off the prime responsibility of delivering a car without damage. I could really sense from all those present in the delivery area that day, representing primarily Esprit Toyota and then Toyota Kirloskar at large that this was a common practice at their showroom, happening every other day. No regret, no apology, no customer delight just plain shoddy services.

It was mid December 2022, I was looking to purchase Toyota Glanza CNG as Toyota was publishing ads with ready delivery in newspapers. I called all 3 dealers in Delhi for availability of required model and color choices. Other 2 dealers mentioned no cars are expected in December but booking can be made and car can be delivered early January. Espirit Toyta had an Insta Blue Glanza G CNG incoming towards end of December, with so called loan not approved tactic of a customer it was allotted to. We made the booking by paying ₹ 11,000, I had not visited the dealership at this instance. They insisted on getting the insurance and loan through them only. I received the call from Sales Advisor that car is expected in few days, few days went by I received the call that car has arrived you can come for formalities and payment.


24th December 2022, we reached the dealership Espirit Toyota Noida, met the Sales Associate, Sales Head and spoke about ₹ 10,000 benefits mentioned in newspaper for Toyota Glanza and Maruti Suzuki’s offers on Baleno CNG providing ₹ 10,000 cash discount and ₹ 10,000 exchange bonus. I was not offered anything at that point and my information of ₹ 10,000 cash discount was shrugged off by both. I ignored the callous attitude as ₹ 10,000 wouldn’t make much difference since I was getting the car without a waiting period (luxury these days). In some time the Sales Head offered me a 3M package which includes New Car Paint Protection, Under Body Protection, and Internal Panel Protection for ₹ 14,301 which I politely refused as these were not required by me. The attitude of Sales Head was impudent with a take it or leave it attitude, which I ignored. (More revelations about this on first service)

Dreadful delivery experience with Espirit Toyota, Noida-1.jpg


Next was insurance, which again I mentioned to them was pretty high of ₹ 45,000 for a Glanza, they informed me we offer exceptional facilities linked with insurance and I obliged. Before making the down payment and signing loan documents we asked to check the car, did pre-delivery inspection of the car on the floor above which was the storage facility and everything with the car felt in order, I had carried Team BHP PDI check list. After checks down payment was made and loan documents signed.


They offered ‘generous’ ₹ 5,000 worth of accessories, my original choice was just to go for auto dimming IRVM which is the only accessory I felt missing in the otherwise loaded G variant. If they would have quoted higher amount for it exceeding ₹ 5,000 I was ready to pay the remaining amount from my pocket. I was informed that Auto Dimming IRVM is out of stock, I informed I can get it fixed later in subsequent service. I was then informed Auto Dimming IRVM has technical issues and can’t be provided. Maruti Suzuki which has been providing the very same product for ages without even changing its shape and design for years on all top models has defect when it started providing it to Toyota? These are the same cheap tactics that I detest at dealerships. They think all customer are unaware just tell them any unfounded story and they will believe it. I ignored this as well and decided that I can get it later from 100s of shops in Delhi selling MGP products without fuss. Since now I had to choose some accessories I could only pick mud flaps, car cover, rear window sunshade and all 4 window sunshades out of the sea of chrome accessories flooding the accessories brochure. The total amount of these 4 items was less than ₹ 5,000 at around ₹ 4,000. I was then informed 4 window sunshades and car cover was out of stock, I asked them to make a formal note of these and provide me later at scheduled service. (Obviously they did not provide it in written)


Delivery was scheduled for next day, 25th December 2022, Christmas!


Following day, as soon as we reached the showroom we were quickly seated given all the papers to sign, car was covered under car revealing cover in the delivery area, big mistake we signed before checking the car again! (Key events marked as A,B,C,D,E,F)

A. Dent on driver door before delivery


Dreadful delivery experience with Espirit Toyota, Noida-2.jpg

We went to check the car in delivery area before the formal delivery procedure; as soon as the revealing cover was removed we saw there was a dent on driver door. I asked the people present there for SA to come to the delivery area, before he reached the sales head arrived and started to check the door. When the SA arrived I could read his face that he knew about it before hand, it was obvious he and all sales, delivery team were aware that there was a dent on the door but they did not find it was their responsibility to tell the customer. As if the customer is unsighted (like they were) and won’t notice it, I think that was their plan to deliver the car as is since it would have most likely happened the same morning and nothing much could be done in such short time. I refused to take the delivery of the car.

The primary ordeal starts here:

1. No acknowledgment, that a mistake has been made on their part


They behaved as if they don’t know how, why and what happened with the car. It is your showroom, you people brought the car down from your storage area upstairs, and you don’t know who nicked the door? And how it happened? No explanation was given at all. It was like a UFO came to dent the door which no one saw!

Look on the face of sales head: Why is this customer who is purchasing our cheapest car making so much fuss about a small dent? I asked him would you take a new car with a dent? The worst reply he could give, yes sir I would take this delivery, I told him I would not! After this he had the audacity to say we will make up for it when you come to service, I replied back instantly that I won’t be visiting your service center after this, then his usual show of callous take it or leave it attitude again!


2. Instead of an apology, full on circus show of arrogance


Not a single person from the whole team uttered the word “Sorry” that it was our mistake. I wonder whose mistake it was. Mine to choose to get my car from them?

In comes the “Man of the Hour” Sujit Kumar Singh, his designation being Head Guest Experience - Sales

He came there and couldn’t find the dent on the door, I had to point it to him the dent, all other staff was standing there like statues in disbelief how did this dent came to be. It was small but not so small that one can’t see it from naked eye and on this dark blue colour it clearly stands out from various angles even from far! He was, in his behaviour, again unapologetic of the mistake and pushing his stench of attitude and showing that he will correct everything, assuring us we won’t deliver you a damaged door and what not. I refused delivery of the car again, now comes the change in tone, sir car is registered in your name and you have no other choice than to accept delivery!

I would personally like to meet the person who hired him for this post and understand the parameters of the job fit. If the “Head Guest Experience” cannot see dent on door working in a car dealership I seriously doubt how can he justify his post and position. IMO he should first visit an optometrist and get his eyes checked, get the correct eye glasses and then check the cars and give his precious comments.

So continues his parrot speech we will do what we can to correct the door and calls his expert, the expert arrives in sometime, he asks this guy can what can be done, the expert with the look on this face I have told you (already before) we will have to paint this door to remove the dent. Head Guest Experience Manager spoke to me like he had paid the whole amount for my car and was getting perplexed why I’m bothering with a small dent? I paid for this car, I need a perfect car. Period. I refused the paint solution.

At this point I told the sales head, I would surely share a “very good feedback” of today’s delivery experience, instead of offering his apology for messing a very simple process of getting a car down a lift he was like where will you put our review?

Then comes their “very generous” offer from the man himself Sujit Kumar Singh, bring the car back next day and they would replace my door with another Glanza’s door, change locks, open the whole car and replace what not from another car that they had in Delhi showroom. They explained this offer to me as if they are doing me a favour by replacing the door, going above and beyond for customer service and satisfaction.

At this point I had enough, we went out of the delivery area, to discuss our options, as I understood from their school of thought that they won’t do much good and only worsen the situation, waste my time and working days. I have relatives working in the automotive industry with mass market brands and premium German brands for more than 40 years to have enough understanding of shady practices and shoddy jobs of panel painting and door replacement at dealers end to refuse them. My family members went to discuss with them, they promised some free accessories on next visit. Point being when I only took accessories worth ₹1,340 from ₹ 5,000 that was pre offered then now what accessories would they give me that I would want to accept? Obviously I had made my mind by then to not come back there again so all these were superfluous to me.

We took the delivery and went off. The experience was horrid enough that I have not seen the photos, video from delivery till date because I don’t wish to be reminded of those events, the extremely negligent people I had to deal with that day who smile before you make payment and show their true colours after payment. They were quick to give the printed picture of the delivery as laurels of the proud moment of their efforts they undertook to ruin my delivery experience.

Before we left, they put in a box gift wrapped in the backseat, it was trolley bag, what do I do with it?? Tie it to my roof as a memento that I received a dented door, another scratch that was touched up (coming up!) with subpar delivery experience from Espirit Toyota?

B. Touched up scratch on the same door

Dreadful delivery experience with Espirit Toyota, Noida-3.jpg

Very next morning, I reach to my detailer’s place to give the car for complete PPF, since it was the Nexa blue shade (called Insta Blue in Toyota) I wanted to maintain it as far as possible. They started working on the car and one of the guys working on the cars calls us in the studio shows a scratch on the same door which was paint touched up! I was furious!!! The scratch might be there on the door when we did pre-delivery inspection which was cleverly touched up, we did use the phone torch to check up the panels but clearly not thoroughly enough. Obviously the dealership would do nothing about it if I went back and I accepted what is as is.

Only if the ordeal had ended with the delivery I would have let go, not go back there and forget I purchased it from them, not write this long a detailed review for Espirit Toyota and their fabulous team.

Saga continues…

C. No information of my pending accessories

Dreadful delivery experience with Espirit Toyota, Noida-4.jpg
Dreadful delivery experience with Espirit Toyota, Noida-5.jpg

It’s been more than a month post delivery; I have not heard from them about my accessories, I’m sure it does not take 30 days to source a car cover and window shades.

But again “Best customer service”

D. Number plates


Dreadful delivery experience with Espirit Toyota, Noida-6.jpg

Number plates are made available before RC, as soon as registration is made, in Delhi plates are delivered with the car delivery as a rule. Since I took the car from Noida showroom and it was to be registered in Delhi I was told about 7-10 days for plates to arrive. My RC arrived in 5 days which means the Governmental formalities after tax payment were done. I thought they would call and tell me about the plates as promised before delivery in 7-10 days, but obviously no calls from them. I had to follow up, called up the showroom, they gave me a person’s number at showroom responsible for plates, that guy told me they don’t have plates for my number and asked me to check in Delhi showroom. Which Delhi showroom should I call? Who is the person I should ask? They had created a WhatsApp group after payment which they use to provide updates to customer about the car and other relevant details till 1st service of the car. I messaged asking about the number plates? What do you expect from 16 persons on the group from Espirit Toyota? A response? No you won’t get any. I reached out to the SA on WhatsApp and he informed me the plates are arriving, this was 17th day after delivery. I asked one of my family members to get the plates fixed. Post that I left that very helpful and efficient WhatsApp group.

Since there was delay I was planning to get HSRP look alike plates aftermarkets on the coming weekend since the HSRP portal does not allow me to order a new set on my own, so that I can start using my car for the purpose I bought it for, to drive it and not keep it as a show piece in the drive way. It was only driven 150kms, in first 17 days, my daily travel is 100kms. I could have very easily booked the car in December at another Delhi dealer, taken delivery in January with the number plate right at time of delivery. I even had to let go of taking the number I usually get for my cars as the delivery was immediate, now in Delhi you have to wait for a new series to open to get those semi fancy numbers as well.

While penning down this review I thought if I should publish it?

I thought about it and realized, they feel that they have a huge brand in Toyota as a dealership and people are lining up to buy their cars, which interestingly was the case that Christmas day, they had an Innova Hycross on display on their showroom (I guess for the first time) and people were flogging to have a glimpse of the car. This doesn’t make this dealership above a customer. In how many years does a person buy a new car? Some buy in 4, some maybe in 8 and others in 10+ years and by ruining this once in how many years experience they are not setting any charts on fire for customer satisfaction. And above this they think all customers are same, they don’t have that concept of differentiation that some customers are not your average Joe’s who overlook everything you say or do, some would point out your mistake, expect you to correct them and make up for it. I paid them in full, ₹10.8 lakhs of my money, I agreed to all their terms, but in the end I got a very lukewarm experience dealing with them. I got a less than perfect car, I did not get the accessories that I wanted or even those that I had chosen from their list, I could not drive my car for as intended because they could not provide number plates to me in stipulated time. Their Google reviews are filled with fake reviews with mostly reviews seem to be made by employees and their acquaintances with just words like “good” “very good” and 5 stars.

I even thought what could they have done to save the situation?

Told me upfront about the dent and scratch, touch up and offered some discount? NO, they never had that intention to be transparent. They already had done one touch-up on the scratch and if they had time before delivery they would have done the door dent as well. They just wanted to cheat me as a customer, they were ready to replace my door with a brand new car’s door but not tell me that there has been an issue. They were ready to repaint my old door and mate it to another car for another unsuspecting customer to buy from them. Clearly outlining what their intentions are: Hide your mistake, don’t own up to it, if caught act like nothing happened and we don’t know who did it and pass on damaged goods to some other unsuspecting customer. What is that they did for me as customer? First give a poor experience and second not make up for it in any reasonable way!

E. Before leaving out of the showroom I only asked one thing from them, business card of this man. I was expecting that they might not give this as well, considering all previous instances, but they did, surprise!


Dreadful delivery experience with Espirit Toyota, Noida-7.jpg

F. 1st free service, obviously did not go to Espirit Service for their fabulous customer service


Dreadful delivery experience with Espirit Toyota, Noida-8.jpg


Went to another dealer, there saw adverts of Toyota apps, went thorough it while first service was going on, lo and behold another scam by Espirit Toyota! Remember the 3M package I had declined, they billed it to my car, definitely got the amount claimed from Toyota Kirloskar.

There was nothing done to my car of the things as outlined in the bill and the package on the car on the day of delivery. When I had declined this and got the take it or leave it attitude from the sales head. I guess the 3M package would have been done on Sujit’s personal car, maybe one of the reason he could not see the dent, too blinded by the 3M exterior package’s performance that all dents are gone.

After my poor experience I would just like to call out, especially this guy (if he has now got spectacles to see dents/read texts or maybe he is just too blind by his sheer arrogance) and the entire team that messed up the car delivery and subsequent responsibilities a quote from a very famous movie of our time.

The internet's not written in pencil, it's written in ink


Signing off with a picture of my car post PPF and detailing, don’t look too closely you will be able to see the dent!

Dreadful delivery experience with Espirit Toyota, Noida-9.jpg

Last edited by yogiii : 29th January 2023 at 00:29.
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Old 29th January 2023, 04:32   #2
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re: Dreadful delivery experience with Espirit Toyota, Noida

Sir, let me first congratulate you for your new car and had this been launched a year back would have bought this instead of WagonR.

I have lived in Ghaziabad half of my life and i can assure you this attitude is not new, have experienced this first hand in Ghaziabad as well as Noida and it's not limited to car showrooms and let me assure you even if you were buying an Innova you would've received the same treatment from these chaps. I have also experienced good customer service but it's rare in both these parts and I don't know why, it's one of the reasons I delay any purchase and prefer to buy it from Delhi. Even bhpian Mayankk had a sour experience when he booked a Hector from MG Noida.

Also I think with Toyota partnering up with Maruti they have laxed their attitude towards customer service.

BTW did you share the same on feedback call, which we usually get after delivery.

Last edited by revvharder : 29th January 2023 at 04:35.
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Old 29th January 2023, 07:06   #3
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re: Dreadful delivery experience with Espirit Toyota, Noida

@Yogii first of all congratulations on your new car. I am from Chandigarh and have been renting out in Noida for the past 20 years. I can understand and corelate the pain you must have gone through. I know I might get a bashing in the forum for sharing this but my experience across Delhi NCR has been very very negative and more or less the same irrespective of Noida, Ghaziabad, Delhi or Gurgaon. It seems to me that every dealer/person out there in Delhi NCR is trying to milk you of your hard-earned money.

This is an incident which happened with me approx. 15 years back when I was owning a Zen. Had gone to FastTrack in Noida to get my car serviced. I had told them that there was a noise coming probably from the chassis and would like to be looked into and wanted an estimate for the same. I was given an estimate of 18K for the same which I declined.

I regularly drive to Chandigarh and so took my car to the MAS in Chandigarh to get it checked. It was repaired and I was overall charged around 300 Rs for the same.

That was the last that I ever serviced any of my cars Delhi NCR. In Delhi NCR I guess the irrespective of the Car Dealership you go to experience is more or less same.
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Old 29th January 2023, 11:43   #4
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re: Dreadful delivery experience with Espirit Toyota, Noida

Had a similar experience at a Toyota showroom in Bangalore for my Hyryder delivery. Car was brought out post signing all documents and we found a scratch on the back quarter panel which all of the SAs and other people didn't notice and don't know how it appeared (obviously they saw it too late and hoped I wouldn't notice). This scratch wasn't present 2 days earlier in their stockyard when I did the PDI (I had pics of that area thankfully) After lot of back and forth and some 2 different people who were presented to me as GMs but in their business card were actually AMs for about 4 hours, walked out, refusing delivery. Only option given was they would repaint it (for free as if that was a huge privilege I was getting), and after some more negotiations got 10k knocked off the accessories that I had already purchased and got installed on original delivery date. Throughout this ordeal what was clear was that the folks at the dealership have no power to make decisions so all they would say is we will get it fixed with nothing beyond that. After almost a week got the car delivered post repainting and Fibre panel replacement and took her home. Planning to get ceramic coating done post 1st service and putting this behind us and enjoying the car now. Hopefully your ownership story will also be good post the horror delivery.
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Old 29th January 2023, 21:43   #5
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Re: Dreadful delivery experience with Espirit Toyota, Noida

Quote:
Originally Posted by revvharder View Post
Sir, let me first congratulate you for your new car and had this been launched a year back would have bought this instead of WagonR.

BTW did you share the same on feedback call, which we usually get after delivery.
Thank you! No I did not share any feedback on the call post delivery, I wanted to wait before I get my all formalities completed, RC, number plate, accessories which were never provided.

I didn't want any more headache from their side, also even if I did share my feedback I don't think it would make a difference to their attitude towards customers.
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Old 30th January 2023, 01:56   #6
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Re: Dreadful delivery experience with Espirit Toyota, Noida

I experienced a similar situation in December 2019 while buying a XUV5OO from a dealer in Bangalore, of course, transplantation was carried out in my presence after all the usual marketing and threatening gimmicks.

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/india...-buyers-4.html (What happens before you do your PDI? The innocence of new car buyers)
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Old 31st January 2023, 10:49   #7
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Re: Dreadful delivery experience with Espirit Toyota, Noida

They are a bunch a scamsters. Somehow Delhi NCR folks outshine others when it comes to the art of conning. Unfortunately in India, consumer laws are weak and getting justice is a long drawn affair.

Your experience is an eye opener for people considering dealing with Espirit Toyota. Thanks for sharing.
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Old 31st January 2023, 18:46   #8
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Re: Dreadful delivery experience with Espirit Toyota, Noida

Sad that you had to go through this ordeal. Let me congratulate you for picking up this nice little beauty. I know it has been a mood spoiler for you but please look at the happy side. Let that door dent not take away the fact that it is a lovely car that you have in your driveway. Enjoy it and bury this incident and stay away from that dealership if there is an option. Their service need not be bad like their sales but tread carefully from now on. Give strong feedback about your experience too. It may help someone down the line atleast.
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Old 31st January 2023, 21:44   #9
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Re: Dreadful delivery experience with Espirit Toyota, Noida

Had a sour experience during the delivery of my Taigun. Nothing quite as poor as the ordeal you went through.
No damage was done to the car, but it turned out that they had smoothly charged me almost 5000 bucks above the invoiced amount. Most of it was added to the registration amount. This was over and above the 900 for "RTO facilitation charges." They charged me 600 bucks for FasTag and just loaded 100 bucks balance.
All of this after flatly refusing to give me accessories for free (claiming that VW does not allow them to do so) and not budging a bit on the price.
When we found out about this at the time of delivery, the sales person played the saint, saying that this was not done by him and his job was just to sell the car. He and his manager received an earful that day.
I also gave a scathing feedback to VW. Around a month after that, the sales person called me. Apparently he was blamed for the dealership getting a poor rating from me. They even deducted something from his salary and didn't pay him any incentive for the car he sold. I found out that he left his job a few days after that.

Quote:
Originally Posted by yogiii View Post
Signing off with a picture of my car post PPF and detailing, don’t look too closely you will be able to see the dent!
Looking fab! Full body PPF?
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Old 31st January 2023, 22:43   #10
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Re: Dreadful delivery experience with Espirit Toyota, Noida

Sorry to hear your ordeal. It’s not the dealership, it’s the area. They deal with people who con them so they have themselves become conmen. My experience with Toyota in UP ( Agra/ Gorakhpur) is very different from one in Delhi. I have equally bad stories to share. Received my car full of scratches on bonnet and bumper after front windscreen replacement. Colour mismatch after a paint job. My experience even with Go Mechanic is equally bad in UP.
It’s just the area one needs to avoid. They have the “Chala hai” attitude.
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Old 1st February 2023, 04:28   #11
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Re: Dreadful delivery experience with Espirit Toyota, Noida

In NO other industry, including where the employees encounter situations which are 10x more complex, does the customer forgivingly tolerate such patronising behavior, as the car industry. Had they been honest about the mistake, letting this slide would've been much easier.

Their malicious intent is SO deep rooted, that one instantly regrets the foolishness of having ANY faith in the brand. People remember how you made them feel at ever customer touch-point.

Anyway, congratulations on the car.
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Old 21st February 2023, 15:00   #12
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Re: Dreadful delivery experience with Espirit Toyota, Noida

I visited this dealership to book my Fortuner. However, with the attitude of the dealing person, I never followed up with them. I thereafter went to Galaxy Toyota at Lajpat Nagar to get the Fortuner. Not that the experience has been outstanding!

I wrote a mail to voc@toyota-kirloskar.co.in seeking a redressal, however, the voc has simply palmed it off to the dealership, who in turn don't seem to be forthcoming. You may too write to voc if you haven't so far. I have shared the mail on the Fortuner facelift thread.

Not withstanding the above, I would disagree with the attitude problem of all dealerships. I've had wonderful experience with the Mitsubishi dealer on Mathura Road. As a customer, they have always made me feel special. And even till date when the sale of new Mitsubishi vehicles has ceased in India.

I feel that we have overhyped Toyota. As a customer, I feel that if I'm at the dealership to buy a product, the PDI should ensure that the vehicle is bereft of any defects like the problems highlighted in this thread. We are not in the market to buy vegetables, wherein we ourselves are responsible for picking up a clean piece.

I personally wouldn't have bought the Fortuner, but sadly due to some national policies the competition to this vehicle is eroded. It is felt that, hence we are at the mercy of such unbecoming attitude dealerships.
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Old 21st February 2023, 18:23   #13
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Re: Dreadful delivery experience with Espirit Toyota, Noida

Any time I am asked my opinion for a car, I always take into mind the after sales experience. Forums like these are critical to gauge this without finding out the hard way. I live in Noida and have stuck to Honda (Jazz, CRV, Civic) as we have had good experience with Ace Honda. We used to have a Skoda Laura and had to sell it within 3 years due to awful service. We were recently considering selling off the CRV for the Innova but somehow the entire booking experience with Esprit Toyota made me uneasy. The salesperson has left and I'm still following up on who to get in touch with.

I kind of feel that Toyota is simply not prepared for the increased workload. They are tackling increased sales from the Suzuki tie up cars plus the introduction of Hybrid engine. Based on the feedback i am seeing, I don't think I will follow with my booking.
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Old 27th February 2023, 17:40   #14
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Re: Dreadful delivery experience with Espirit Toyota, Noida

1 year and 10000 km with my 2022 Glanza



Hey Friends.

Preparing to write a long thread on how I ended up buying a 2022 Toyota Glanza and my experience with it, after a year.

Chapter 1 - RX 100

2019 - Finally, I decided to part ways with my 1989 Model RX100. Back in 2012, my friend who owned an RX moved to the US, and I took advantage of his departure. While the engine stood great, everything else was junk. Right from the handlebar to the fuel tank, everything. So, I took that to a mechanic and got that all fixed. I was riding the bull happily until my friend came back after 3 months. I was shell-shocked. He was slated to stay in the US for 5 yrs. I sold my Passion Pro and spent the money thinking he would not return. Luckily, he gave me time to ride the bike, till I get a new one.

I started looking for RX100 and ended up buying a 1989 Japan-made model for 15k in 2012.

I took along, a repair person from a mechanic shed opposite my office, to whom I had conversations earlier. He promised to bring the bike back to life and returned with it after 10 days. The bike was better. But, it was nothing like an RX. I lost trust in his words and took the bike to a mechanic whom I had known for years. He had a look at the bike and told me everything needs to be replaced. I agreed. He took time but returned the bike in a better condition. While it was good, I was never satisfied. Months passed, and I found another promising mechanic. This time, I wanted to restore it and he helped me do it. From then on, it became an integral part of my life. I explored my riding nature with it. After a couple of years, I found a new mechanic who tuned it better. It was then, I realized the full potential of what I was riding. Words can't express the happiness and finesse of the machine.

Chapter 2 - Parting ways with my RX 100

On May 2019, decided to part ways with my bike and buy a pre-owned car. I sold my bike to get out of my comfort zone. My colleagues, who bought cars were reluctant to drive at first and often relied on their bikes. I don't want to be like them and decided to sell the bike, so I had to rely only on my car for transportation. Never thought about the consequences and sold my bike. I miss my RX to date.

I have ridden a lot of two-wheelers - Star City, Passion Pro, Pulsar, Max 100 R, FZ, R15, Bullet, KTM, scooters, etc., But RX 100 is unique. It is an engineering spectacle like nothing else. No other bikes offered the road grip, accessibility or balance it did. The old-style suspensions were starting to affect my lower back and new-age suspensions didn't help either. One fine Saturday, a guy who messaged me for my ad, tested the bike, paid on hand and took it away. It was one of the hardest decisions to make.

Dreadful delivery experience with Espirit Toyota, Noida-rx1.jpg
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Dreadful delivery experience with Espirit Toyota, Noida-rx3.jpg

Chapter 3 - Search begins

I always enjoy the process before buying something. I think through a lot, filter and browse a lot of options, before buying one. Similar to the routine, I started browsing through used car ads on OLX, Facebook and Quikr. I was hell-bent on buying a used Alto VXI. I like the design of old gen Altos. They looked international compared to the curvy designs of the 2014-2021 Alto. I nearly found a perfect match for my need but ignored it due to the asking price. While the asking price was only 2.4 L for a first-hand Alto 2014 VXI model, I thought the price was high and didn't proceed with it.

I took a test drive of the Tiago and my better half convinced me to go for a new car instead of a pre-owned one. Along with a friend, who was also looking to buy a car, we started testing a host of budget hatchbacks - Swift, Grand i10, Santro, Wagon R and Tiago. I almost finalized Tiago and decided to book the car 2 days later.

Just a day before booking Tiago, I saw an ad for a used first gen Honda Jazz and fell in love with it instantly. I went ahead to look at the car and it was terrific. I always had a crush on first gen Jazz and this looked like a perfect match. Took my friends and advisors to negotiate a deal with the agent and things were screwed completely. 3.5 L was the quoted price. While I was ok with it, my friends played a spoilsport saying, it's a 9-year-old car and not worth the price blah blah, and the purchase didn't go through. Eventually, a convinced my wife that, a used car would help me learn to drive in city traffic and started looking for used cars again.

Chapter 4 - Hyundai I20

I always ignored Hyundai for no reason and preferred Maruti or Honda over Hyundai. Would mock someone buying a Hyundai due to their Korean nature. As fate would have it, my first car was a Pre-Owned Hyundai i20. I saw the car, test-drove it and booked immediately from Hyundai's pre-owned car division in V3 Hyundai, Tiruvanmiyur, Chennai. From a quoted price of 3.9L, I negotiated a deal for 3.5L with fresh paints on the Bumper.

I was a novice car driver and wasn't convinced about driving 15+ km on a busy evening. One of my friends agreed to drive me home. Despite differences in the bumper paint job and body colour, I took delivery of the car with a promise of bumper repaint during the first service which was honoured later. Anything and everything that happens in my life will be escorted by rain. I was born when it was raining heavily, I met my wife for the first time in the rain and it rained heavily during my wedding. On the day of delivery, it rained as usual and I was convinced due to the sentiment. My friend came on a scooter and asked me to ride that back home as he had other commitments.

The next morning, I left the scooter at his residence and spent 15 mins trying to start the car.

Driving schools are a fraud. They teach us the mechanics of driving a car and nothing else. They don't even let us start a car, to understand whether a car lunges forward or vibrates when it starts. Never knew I had to press the clutch and start the car

The next episode was about parking. My apartment didn't have exclusive car parking but decided to park the vehicle opposite my flat. However, when I brought the car home, I was wrecked to find 2 cars parked in the space I planned to park my car. Thankfully, one of the parked cars had a mobile number on it. The driver was kind enough to come down and move the car for me.

While space is cleared, I did not know how to park a car within the given space. That driver was watching all my theatrics to park the car, and offered to help me finally. Without hesitation or shame, I sought his help and everything was sorted out on the first day

Chapter 5 - Living with I20

I decided to drive the car for 30 mins to 1 hour every day until I get used to the dynamics of driving. Every morning, I will start at 6 and drive till 7. While driving was easy, parking was the toughest task in managing a car. Bumped several times on adjacent walls and water tanks.

Until I bought a car, I never cared about the time I left to office, or reached home. With a car, I would call my wife and ask her to protect the parking space from auto walas and cab drivers. Looking back, it was all fun.

I scolded myself for buying an i20 often. The prime reason behind my decision to buy a pre-owned car is to get used to driving a car in the city. Alto would have been the best bet. But, ended up buying a luxury hatchback. In my initial days, I never felt I was in control of my car. The car was so damn smooth.

Until 2020 the car was a charm. Didn't spend anything other than 3.5 L and it was so good. Come to the Covid restrictions, things started going haywire. I20 started showing its age slowly. Spent over a lakh in the next 1 year and decided to part ways.

Dreadful delivery experience with Espirit Toyota, Noida-i201.jpg
Dreadful delivery experience with Espirit Toyota, Noida-i202.jpg

Chapter 6 - Scouting and the process

Altroz was on top of my list for its looks and design. When Turbo was launched, I was sold. But, things took a turn and I ended up testing 13 cars altogether and bought a car which I didn't test throughout the whole process.

I complicate things by pondering over the top for every little purchase. I bought a Samsung Note and then Ipad & Apple pencil, primarily to pen down my opinions and breakdown for every purchase, despite knowing none of this might turn out to be true, just because I like the process of filtering, writing down my analysis and thinking about different aspects.

The first car I wanted to test drive was Altroz. Due to poor response and inattentiveness by the sales reps at Gokulam Motors - Chrompet, I skipped Tata altogether. I raised a Test Drive request at the Tata motors website, and they never bothered to check despite raising complaints. Tata's sales numbers are on the rise, only because of the change in design and mechanics of the car, rather than their sales network. After a couple of months, I went to Gokulam motors in person to test the car. Nobody bothered to attend to me for 20 mins. I lost patience and told them I am there for booking. They hesitantly arranged a Nexon petrol which was covered with dust and had a spare wheel on the front. Still, the car impressed me with its driving dynamics. But the dashboard layout, rear design and Tata’s service issues pegged me back.

Reached out to Lakshmi Tata for a test drive and they were better to arrange an Altroz test drive just before Covid's second wave. While I like the car, it scrapped the underside a couple of times. The Main put down for me was the central lock lever and implementation. Anybody can open the car while it is on the run. As I have a kid and this is a serious safety concern, I decided against Altroz.

In extreme contrast, Hyundai brought an I20 for a test drive within 2 hours, but the car offered nothing substantial from my I20. Nothing else has changed in the NA engine. Be it the responsiveness, the way it drives, or the suspension, nothing has changed except the steering response.

Honda was a different story altogether. While I had suspicion over the longevity of service and presence of the car in the market, Honda kept on pushing to sell the car without committing to the delivery, or any hint of positivity. I wanted to test Jazz CVT, but was given WRV manual

Next was Sonet & Venue Diesel. While both were good, nothing offered the space of WRV. While Magnite and Kiger impressed me with their engines and value-for-money proposition, their clutch was on the heavy side and I wasn't an automatic person.

Chapter 7 - Wild card entry

On Jan 26 2022, I decided to book Sonet or S-Cross. Took my family to SVM Kia and checked the car in person. The salesperson said, the official waiting period is 3 months, but he can deliver the car in 45 days. His lead was genuine and mentioned it could take 50 days. I booked Sonet HTK+ NA Petrol, after the sales guy and his manager gave solid confirmation of delivery within 50 days. However, the booking docket from Kia mentioned the waiting period as 5 months. There was no alignment on the waiting period mentioned in the docket, agreement with sales, or the initial information from the showroom.

On Feb 26, the sales rep called to inform me, my car would be ready next week and asked me to prepare for financials. I sold my i20 for a 50 K lesser because I need to pay the initial within the next 2 days. Come Mar 4, nobody in the showroom answered my call. On Mar 5, I was asked to wait till the 14th, as there is a huge shipment coming to their yard and I can take delivery immediately after payment. I agreed.

On Mar 14 & 15, there was no word from the sales guy. I dialled the regional manager and got a response saying, it will take another 2 months for delivery. I lost my patience and decided to walk into their showroom and hear them out. My sales rep's lead (who was genuine and confirmed to deliver in 50 days) told me there is a delay and it will take another month, which is again not in sync with the regional manager's status. At this point, I lost my cool and started calling out his outlandish commitments, and his team made me sell my car with a 50K loss. He was silent at first, and then made some calls to tell me, there is a diesel variant available which is 2.5 L more than my preferred variant and can be delivered immediately after RTO (4 days). I denied and cancelled my booking due to the way they handle customers and think we are fools.

I complained about this showroom to KIA, via email and on Twitter. The showroom manager visited me personally and apologized for all their mistakes and asked me to take back the complaint.

I got a call even last week, saying the car I had booked is now ready for delivery. They had called me 6 times till now, asking me to pay and collect the car I booked, despite returning my booking amount and acknowledging my cancellation on 16th Mar 2022. Customer service is a joke to these guys.

Chapter 8 - And the winner is...

A day before cancelling my Sonet, I casually visited the Maruti showroom in Chromepet, to check out the 2022 Baleno. I was impressed with the increased kerb weight and solidity of the car. It was late in the day and I could not test drive the car. I told him about my KIA booking and looking for an alternate car, the new Baleno's official waiting period stood at 45 days.

After cancelling my booking, I was en route to the Maruti Nexa showroom to book for Baleno. On my way was Harsha Toyota Pallavaram where I stepped in to enquire about the just-launched Glanza. I spoke to the showroom head and told him my experience about a cancelled Sonet and enquired about Glanza delivery. The car was launched on Mar 15 and I was enquiring on the 16th. They agreed to deliver before 1st Apr if I booked the top model on the same day. It was within my budget and I made a booking. As promised they delivered the vehicle on 31 Mar 2022. First registered customer all-new 2022 Glanza in TN. They invited me to unveil the car and launch the sale being the first customer. I asked the sales guy, to click photos of the delivery on my phone. But, he was stupid enough to click on his mobile, which was shaky and sub-par, eventually leading me to delete all those photos.

I analyzed my usage, thought about Diesel cars, and EVs, and booked a car I always liked, but bought a car which was never on my list. Still, I was happy about the purchase. The only nagging thought was, I bought a hatchback again than upgrading to an SUV. Me being short, an SUV would have helped a bit on potholes and road awareness due to visibility. Would have bought Brezza or waited for Fronx if it's 2023.

Dreadful delivery experience with Espirit Toyota, Noida-glanza0.jpg
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Chapter 9 - 1 year and 10000 km

This new Glanza impressed me right away with its rev-happy DNA on the city. My main requirement back then was 80% city and rare intercity highway drives.

Things took a turn after Aug, as I had to make frequent trips to Bangalore and my car is already close to 10k km.

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Things I like

I was able to reach 80KMH without even noticing it. The only thing I couldn’t get used to was the sharpness of the clutch.

I constantly drive between 100-120 on highways and pick hasn’t been an issue for me. I could see a lot of them complaining about a lack of eagerness and spirit in Maruti engines, but I have no complaints. This is by far, the best NA petrol engine you could drive on Indian roads today. I am not a pro. But for a commoner, this is the perfect hatch for city n highways. The improved build quality and stability of the new Baleno/Glanza are very much apparent till 130 KMH. It isn’t meant to drive beyond 120 in the real world.

My favourite feature is the 360-degree cam. It has helped me park in congested spaces. HUD is a gimmick, 9-inch infotainment is good, the sound system is solid, and Android auto and Apple car play are as usual.

The suspension on Glanza is excellent. It offers a tireless driving experience. I tested the latest Hyundai cars, their suspension and body roll are exactly similar to my 2012 I20. After getting into Glanza, the difference was leaps and bounds.

My personal experience with Harsha Toyota has been great. They helped me replace my front bumper and scratches with insurance without much fuss.

What I don't like
While the voice assistant was irritating at first, I switched it off to have a happy ride. Tyre noise beyond 80KMPH is very much apparent inside the cabin on highways. Overtaking on free roads needs planning. While I don't consider this an issue, it still affects me while driving.

All in all, 2022 Glanza has been a great addition and reliable companion.
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