[danlalan]

OUCH....thats an arrow straight to the heart...Brand New car...Brand new dent...And they want to repair it, Which means REPAINT, Which means no matter what you do on earth the colours of that body panel and the rest of the car will never match...Will always have a little dull look in that area.
Tell the moron at the Show Room you want it REPLACED.

[ravibhat]

Sorry to read this thread and felt bad. Very unfortunate things happens at dealership. When give the car for servicing we can't be with the car but when we visit dealership for minor issues like this its better if we are always inside the car when they test drive the reason i saw many stories like this.

I do understand including myself most of the times we will be waiting in the service station instead of going with mechanics for test drive.

Another reason for accidents during test drive is in India every city is being crowded so doing test drive is nightmare. Now a days Every car manufacturer/dealer has tough competition resutling less profit margin, so there are lot of cheap/bad knowledge mehcanics and service advisors so I feel we car owners should take extra care in every possible manner. This suggestion is not related to this thread but thought of putting this hereitself

I hope monday you will receive car with door replaced.

Regards,

Ravi.

[kamy450]

Oh thats a very sorry state to read all this. GM is very concerned about its Brand image right now i am pretty sure that if you insist you will get another new car. You need to approach right person for the same it is none of your fault Car was suppose to precheck and given to you if there was something loose of faulty part then it is Serious QA issue where you have solid ground.

Do give it a try with solid attitude.
Good luck.

[iTNerd]

I can understand your fury! On such an auspicious day, its the worse thing to happen... That is my greatest worry buying a new car.. one can't be so sure in giving the keys to the service guy for test drive... I just can't trust anyone else, be it service guys, friends or family.. so complete NO NO for test drives request/requirement.. I have to be on the driving seat and others have to be on the passenger seat.. I hope you get the car to its original factory condition..

[1100D]

Dont sit idle. Take it to GM and afer that to the consumer court. India Automobiles in anycase does not have a good reputation, we know this from long back. Maybe their employees keep changing but not the management. We have had some bad experiences with them from much earlier.

[ankit.jhamb]

i m really sorry to hear what happened to your car .IMO send some letters to GM head office and ask them to get the damaged part replaced ..if possible get the car changed ..i know it is a time consuming process but why should you compromise by getting YOUR NEW CAR painted at workshop..i think that the senior members at T-BHP must be having email add of GM OFFICIALS ..

[Zappo]

shuvo, I know this hurts. I know mate. My sincere sympathies to you.

Now coming back to the practicality. Look at it this way. Nowadays streets are just minefields. I know its difficult to accept but then probably hyderabad and its traffic puts that numbness in your mind. I have learnt it here over the years. Think this way (if you can) 'it could have happened even if I were driving and then I would have had no one to blame either. Or if I would not have noticed it before driving off. Here at least I have the consolation of knowing that some moron did it and there was hardly much I could have done about it'. I know its a poor consolation but at least lets you to get things off your chest.

About the car, well, there is really not much that can be done now that the car has been registered and delivered to you. For a dent on the door they won't replace the car for sure. So that leaves only the repairing option. You can definitely ask them to replace the whole door. But then that will also mean a locally painted door as they do not come pre-painted. Moreover fitting a new door by hand may many a times mean that there are alignment problems. One the other hand if they have a good workshop they can do a fabulous job where you or anyone else will not even be able to make out the damage ever. I have seen the kind of denting painting work they can do with modern machinery and the color matching they do.

Just tell them that you will not take delivery if it can be made out that the door was repainted. They will get the message and ensure that the work is done to perfection. Anyhow with mettalic colors they do not do a localized paint job. They will paint the whole door. At least that is what they do when they are not paying. Let them do the same now.

Let us know how it goes. Cheer up mate. It all happens in a day. You are not alone. Almost all of us have had road skirmishes have got some panel or the other dented-painted at one time or the other. So do not worry and feel sad. We all have been in this boat at one time or the other. Right mate?

P.S.: About the guy who took it for TD, that bugger anyhow has his plates full either ways. He was not sounding confused or lost. He was trembling from inside and that is why he was coming out confused. They are going to chew him up for lunch and dinner. He will probably end up having a salary deductions over the next three months or more even if he does not face any other action. At his level that is a massive punishment.

[horsepower]

I am sorry for what you experienced. Hope they rectify in properly. And see to it that they do not claim the expenses from the insurance company.

My dealer did this when he broke the windshield while repairing the car.

[johy]

Man it sure hurts to read about this mate. I am shocked. I think like someone already mentioned ask for a door replacement. What about the Airbags thing - do you think anything faulty there? You could take GM to the consumer court, but I guess it will make you just bitter and take away a lot of the fun from owning a fine machine.

Best wishes..Do update us on developments mate.

Don't take me otherwise, but you know very often a very dear precious buy does get scratched, torn, and dented - perhaps it is to ward of the evil eye. Who knows. It has always happened with me - with my first pair of Levi's or even my WagonR (got a dent within 3 days) - but touchwood things have been fine since then.

[DieselFan]

I ensure that I am in my car when the TD is done. I will drive myself and simulate the problem. If the accompanying mechanic insists that he drives I warn him to be careful. Once you warn them then they are extra careful.

In addition during TD one should switch of the AC/radio and bring down the windows.

[Saurabh M]

I fully sympathize with you..It feels terrible when such a thing happens to a brand new car..that too due to sheer callousness of the TD guys. India Automobiles never had a good reputation...write to GM. I feel this should be escalated.

[vrooooooom]

@shuvd - Jeez man. I can understand how bad it feels. But you are really lucky that you saw it when you were at the A.S.S. Ask them to replace the door. Don't go for a touch up job. I have seen how recklessly these people drive inside that small area with hundreds of cars inside. Its high time that they pay for it.

[shuvd]

Thank you guys.

I'm going to ask them to replace the door. As Zappo said, its unlikely that they'll replace the car for a dent on the door. Saw another platinum metallic Magnum at the workshop. Will tell them to get the door from that poor thing. As many pointed out, it would be tough to match the paint job. Going to the workshop first thing tomorrow. Lets see what happens.

They were extremely vague about the "check airbags light". Going to take that up with them as well along with the funny reply they gave me.

I've been driving in India long enough to know that you just cannot keep a car unscratched for any period of time. Sure, it could have happened while I was driving and the feeling would have been worse. But, it was their callous attitude that got me p*&@^% off. "Lag gaya hai, malum nahi kaise"!!

Took a 300kms drive on the NH6 in the Silver Bullet. Felt much better.

[nura]

Originally Posted by shuvd

On asking what was wrong, I got a very vague answer. "Kuch loose tha sir, abhi theek hai. Gadda mein kudake bhi dekh liye hai. All ok"

This kind of an answer may mean -

• They don't have a clue what was wrong. They fiddled around & the problem was solved. Only time will tell if it has been solved permanently.
• They have probably replaced a component or two but don't want to tell you.
• They may have merely disconnected the warning light to show you that everything was fine.

I think you are entitled to ask them to give you the details of the repairs carried out in writing.
I am not sure if GM has a branch office in Kolkata. I know Maruti & Hyundai do. It may be a good idea to get in touch with GM, Kolkata Branch & ask one of their engineers to have a look at your car.

[austere_sly]

Hope for the best when you get your car back on monday.