[gmalik30]

I am dead against buying a VW or a Skoda and inspite calling them 5 times each that I need to buy the passat/octavia/superb the sales person did not call. On calling them and insisting that I need to speak to the manager he claimed that they only have the diesel version of the superb and not the petrol. For octavia I would have to wait for at least a week. I am surprised that people still claim that customer is the king. I would view it as automakers are the kings but I am sure the customers would have the last laugh in times to come.

[Yamahead]

My exp with automobile dealerships-
1. Khivraj Motors, Chennai, Adyar outlet- Sales guy was super-prompt, provided me a test-drive, gave me a quotation with all applicable discounts and was patient with all my queries. June 2011.
2. VW Chennai- opposite Express Avenue mall -Condescending attitude put us off. We really wanted to buy the Polo Tdi CL. June 2011
3. Hyundai dealership near Taramani- seems they wanted to sell only to IT company staffers and gave us an inflated quotation to top the thing. TD was not even offered.- June 2011.
4.Sundaram Honda on Mount Road- no Jazz for sale. Polite chappies.- June 2011
5. Chevy on Mount Road ( beside Honda) - very polite, very patient, matched the On-road price of Alto K10 to try and sell us a Chevy Beat. If it not for the claustrophobic interiors and the small rear, wifey would have bough it.- June 2011.
6. Zedex Nissan, Patparganj Ind Area, East Delhi- very young salesman, eager to please,offered me TD,gave me the hidden offer of 2013 model XE Diesel with 90K discount. Decent chappies- June 2014.
7. Renault Gurgaon- chalu-types sales guy,prices were discussed but special diwali offers were NOT disclosed in full. Offered me a TD on a saturday( 5 working day week), then silence for a month, called me end of the month and asked me IF I have already bought another car and seemed relieved at the prospect of me not having finalised anything. - Oct 2014.
8. VW Gurgaon- saw the TD car below my office, typical smart-ass sales guy tried to impress upon me the greatness of a 3-cylinder petrol engine. Later that week he got my number from my close pal who has bought the new Polo and called me up and offered a TD at my convenience. - Oct 2014.

Total write-offs- Honda opposite Mother Diary, Patparganj, East Delhi- entire sales team were busy trying to sell a City to a bunch of "shady-looking but obviously carrying cash in jhola" group and royally ignored me. Point taken, I didnt look like a could afford a City. No one with a crutch ( after a knee surgery) looks like he can drive a car. Forget TD, no one gave me a look.
Skoda- not even Ferrari/ Aston Martin dealers should have that attitude. Standard across all dealers in Chennai, Kolkata and NCR.

Best part : Sales manager at VW,Mount Road who politely hinted to me and wifey ( since we went to the showroom in our saturday casuals riding a Yamaha Rx100) that his 6 lacs Polo is beyond our affordability, came to know from his SBI contacts that we have finalised on Alto and CAN afford a Vento judging by combined take-home salary( which was obvious from the salary slips submitted along with the SBI loan documents) came over to meet me in office with a TD Polo and some VW-branded gifts and wanted me take a TD before actually taking the Alto. Discussed this with wife ( the prospective owner) who promptly called up the VW guy and asked him to curb his supercilious attitude and treat people with a bit of dignity next time they came to his showroom on a bike.- June 2011.

[somitra1981]

I went to a couple for showrooms for test drives this weekend, here’s what I found

Renault – I wanted to check the Duster AWD. Test drive vehicle was not available for the day as it had gone out for some event.

VW – I wanted to try out the Polo GT TDI. The test drive vehicle was not available with the dealership. SA offered me the Polo TDI as it has the same 1.5 litre engine with a lower output. They did have the Polo GT TSI for test drive. SA called me up again today morning offering the Vento TDI for test drive as it has the same output as the GT TDI.

Hyundai – I wanted to check out the Elite I20 Crdi. The test drive vehicle had gone out and did not return for almost half an hour.

Conclusion – No test drives possible despite visiting three different show rooms

[Eddy]

Originally Posted by Eddy

You don't feel the pain till it happens to you. So on a Saturday evening me and my wife had this experience:

Conversations between SR (sales rep) and Me

• Competent Motors, Dwarka
  

SR - Swift diesel test drive car not available.
Me - Ok, can we drive the petrol instead. My wife actually wanted to check the driving position.
SR - No petrol drive also. TD car refuses to start.

• Deep Hyundai

SR - No test drive
Me - Why ?
SR - Car is not available, its gone for servicing.
Me - Why on a weekend ?
SR - Obviously

• Astro Ford

SR - All cars are in the garage, but there is no driver to take them out.
Me - Let me do it
SR - No, its a slope and we can't allow you to get the car up

• Ring Road Honda

With the above experience, I specifically called the showroom to confirm if Amaze D was available for a TD. The lady confirmed, so I landed up at the showroom. Butttt.......
I gave them a piece of my mind and left.

---------------
Four on four - I wonder how car companies can afford such sales strategy in times like these !

Add Magic Auto, Dwarka to the list of dealers who did not offer a TD when I went to the showroom. Hence I was promised a TD at my home (1.5 kms away from the showroom) but they failed to land up because their "driver was not available".

Man, what shoddy sales practices !

[carmayogi]

Hi guys,

This is a personal experience that I suffered this past weekend in Bombay. It highlights both a bad dealer and a poor company attitude.

I went along with my uncle on Saturday 22 August to look at the S-Cross and the Creta to replace his ageing Swift Vdi that's over 1,00,000 km in Bombay, hence battered beyond belief. At Maruti, we were treated normally, offered beverages, given a test-drive and basically all details were answered. The car was also quite impressive, barring the 1.6 pricing.

Next stop, Pramukh Hyundai, Prabhadevi. Walk in to a moderately busy showroom. The Creta SX+ is on display but no SX(O). Fine, no problem. Walked around the car, etc for 10 minutes and nobody came to attend to us. I actually spent time with another group of people and we tried out seat configurations, etc. Finally went to the desk to get attention, got a sales woman. All she did was lean against the car parked next to us and blankly responded to our questions about the car with no interest, nor with any apparent knowledge. All she did was read from the brochure. Now it gets interesting.

Conversation:
Me: "What's the waiting like?"
Dealer: "6 months, but if you give us a booking amount we can see"
Me: "Isn't the booking based on who booked first?"
Dealer: *blank*
Me: "We want a Test Drive."
Dealer: "NO! Company hasn't given TD car."
Me: "What? You want us to spend over 15 Lakh and no test drive??"
Dealer "Demand is too much, company has told us to sell without TD"
Me "Well, the Swift had 7 month waiting but TD was always available."
Dealer: *blank expression*

I then called a friend who has booked the car to ask if he has tried it. He says that a TD was organised for him. I turn back to the dealer.

Me: "Well?"
Dealer: "He's booked the car, that's why we organised a test drive."
Me: "So you have a car? Or are you using a customer car for test drive?"
Dealer: *blank*
Me: "So basically, I need to put down money before you will consider me for a test drive???"
Dealer: "Sir, please understand the situation and don't make any complications." That has got to be the most ridiculous sentence I've heard in my life when it comes to sales. I was completely amazed by this attitude. We left.

It is truly horrible that the number 2 company in India has a dealer who couldn't give two hoots about a genuine customer who has come 10 kilometers to see a car. It's even worse that the company isn't supplying test drive vehicles. Whether it's overbooked or not, it is the basic right of a customer to get a test drive. You can even have a Nano to try. There's absolutely no excuses and I encourage all Bhpians to boycott any dealer who demands money first and service later.

[quickdraw]

Interesting thread, i'll add some of my recent experince.

VW Delhi - Got in touch via their website who referred me to some dealer, who never gave me a TD of the Jetta. I ended up driving a friends Jetta and we bought one recently. Needless to say it was not from that dealer.

Bird BMW - Seem like decent chaps, but didn't have any 1 Series in stock.

Deustche Moteren - Decent sales and finance guys, they were a haphazard in their organisation but did try to please.

Volvo - The Delhi dealer for some reason has hired a young chap who is a uber dude and treats his customers in his own funny childish way. Fortunately I did end up going to the dealership and the sales guy there was extremely great. I ended up test driving all the vehicles there (except the SUV) the only reason I didn't go for it was because the V40 Design was out of my budget and no discounts were being offered. And no attractive finance schemes like BMW.

[alpha1]

Originally Posted by carmayogi

It is truly horrible that the number 2 company in India has a dealer who couldn't give two hoots about a genuine customer who has come 10 kilometers to see a car. It's even worse that the company isn't supplying test drive vehicles. Whether it's overbooked or not, it is the basic right of a customer to get a test drive. You can even have a Nano to try. There's absolutely no excuses and I encourage all Bhpians to boycott any dealer who demands money first and service later.

Blame the consumers for such a situation.
The way people are going crazy over Creta is unseen (perhaps seen earlier for Swift and Dezire). It almost appears as if people are sitting on Rs 15 lakh pile of cash, ready to "invest".

Since most customer are ready to pay the booking amount without test drive, Hyundai as well as its dealers have little incentive to keep a vehicle.

[MSC]

This is the most common excuse by Sales Executive from almost every car brand. Most of the time they think that person coming in for enquiry of any vehicle is just coming up for a free joy ride in the name of test drive.
What makes it stupid is that the showroom people say that we don't have the car X for test drive but we have car Y available for test drive. If you are looking for small hatch, I wonder how a test drive of sedan is going to help you out.

[V.Narayan]

I am sure each of us has some interesting anecdotes on this topic to share. Here are four from my side including one straight from 1965

Volkswagen, Frontier Auto, Vatika Centre, Mehrauli-Gurgaon Road, Gurgaon:This was around 2010 or maybe late 2009. Went there for a test drive of a Beetle. They had an attractive yellow Beetle. I told them if the TD goes off well I'll buy today. Went there cheque book in hand. VW's answer was sorry it is not VW's policy to allow test drive's of the Beetle. On probing further the sales manager said it is such an inconic car (I think he meant 'iconic') that it sells without test drives. All my requests went unheeded. Now, I don't look like a young 'un or rookie by any stretch and I'd gone there with my cheque book and yet they said sorry no test drive. I could not believe the arrogance of VW and the inoculation they have given their dealers. I think their policy is "No Test Drives Please We are Volkswagen" - with apologies to the authors of the famous play 'No Sex Please We Are British'. That was the last time I have stepped into a VW showroom. I have narrated this incident elsewhere on Team BHP so please excuse the repetition.

Mercedes, T&T Motors, Golf course Road, Gurgaon - 2014: Went there for two drives of the E class. The first time I went wearing my company's workshop uniform looking quite the technician myself (or so I think). Despite not looking the part of a prospective E class buyer T&T were courteous & helpful. TD was arranged in an hour. No fuss over time taken in the test drive. While anecdotes of Mercedes' poor A.S.S. abound at least my TD experience was positive.

Volvo, Swede Auto, Gurgaon, 2014: I had visited them four or 5 times already and done a TD on the V40 and XC60 a couple of times each. Then I won some raffle at a charity event that Volvo had sponsored and was allowed a TD of any one of their cars. Long story short they gave me the XC60 for a few days (with a driver from their side) and that gave me the opportunity of driving the car over my daily routes each day. It was the perfect test drive. Net net I booked the XC60.

Standard Herald, Ooty/Coimbatore 1965: Cannot recall the dealer. My father was buying the Herald which was available off the shelf as opposed to the Premier/Fiat 1100 which had a waiting time. This was to be his 2nd car and the first I could remember. Excitement was unabated.The dealer sent the test car to our home for 3 separate test drives in which I as a 5 year old hopped in each time and chomped on the toffees the sales executive thoughtfully brought along (good lad I still remember his face). The way the Herald's bonnet opened up hinged upfront was the most exciting thing for me and I told my Dad this was the car for us (because of the bonnet). He took my advice and bought it!!

[Wildy]

A couple of days back, I went to a VW sales showroom. They were lazy, Nobody offered me to sit there or not even some water. It was almost like an atmosphere we usually find in a Govt. Office. When I was about to move out an SA came to me and enquired why I came there.

Me: Well, Iam interested in Polo and would like to have a test drive both petrol and diesel versions.

SA: When are you planning sir?

Me: It depends how I like the car in the test drives.

SA: Sir, We don't have test drive cars now

Me: When are you going to get one?

SA: I'm not sure, when can we hold one. (His attitude was like, he was doing a favor to me by selling the car.)

Me: Alright. (Prepared to leave)

SA: Sir, Gimme your details.

ME: No, Its waste of time. I no longer interested in Polo. (I was already impatient on their treatment and their attitude in the showroom, as there was no respect or any politeness in their conversations).

[dhruvritzed]

I had my worst ever experience with a showroom for a test drive this Sunday, started with me having a thought​ of test driving a Renault Kwid AMT as my dad really liked the car's looks and I found the drive to be good enough too when I drove it before.
Now I don't say every Renault showroom is like that, I had a good experience with the one in North Delhi, just called the noida guys up because they were close to my place.
Turn of events-
Sunday 2nd July 1pm- I call up Renault Noida to request them to send a TD car to my place, I immediately get a call back that I'll be sent one by 3pm
5:30pm- no one turns up, I call the sales guy 7 times but he doesn't pick up, I call up his showroom, they say he's left and would be there any time.
7pm- he calls me to say that he went for a TD after he left the showroom and the car refused to crank up after that, I said damn you, let it be.
Monday 3rd July- the sales guy starts calling me up from 10 AM when everyone in the world knows people go to work on a Monday morning and have a week to plan for.
1pm- I'm able to pick his call, he says I should arrive home early for a TD, I say OK just because he's trying to cover up for his mistake.
7pm- again same story from 5:30 to 7, doesn't pick up calls, no response.
Messages me that petrol tank got empty in the TD car and he cannot come.
Wednesday morning 5th July- again lots of calls to which I respond I'm no more interested in the car, I tell him clearly I don't want to talk to his senior that he insists.
His senior calls me later and says he'll come personally right now to which he has to be told that the customer is not free all day, he says he cannot come on weekends as he has prior commitments.
I laugh it away, telling him I'm sorry sir, Don't​ need your car at all
Now the best part, the guy who played the TD games starts calling me up incessantly when I'm on an important call and just refuses to stop calling, ok fine.
Now when I finally pick up, he says" aur sir Kya haal hai"
Kab karenge test drive??"
I have just one thing to say.
I know the Kwid is a champion​ product, I know it's better than the alto but then I also know why their losing market sheen and why sales are down from 10k.
One thing, there's nothing that can replace maruti in the low cost segment, just nothing, period.

[vishy76]

Originally Posted by dhruvritzed

I had my worst ever experience with a showroom for a test drive this Sunday, started with me having a thought​ of test driving a Renault Kwid AMT...

It's really sad to hear of your experience. To be brutally honest, most European car makers have a long way to go before getting upto Indian and Japanese dealership standards. Europeans make good cars, no doubts, but A.S.S and pre-sales is one place where they torture you like a prisoner.

I think you should give the car a second chance. Find another dealership if possible, or try to escalate things to their sales manager. Don't reject a competent product just because some idiot didn't bother. After all, it is the car you have to live with, not the sales manager.

Regards,
Vishy

[CarLoverJosh]

Originally Posted by vishy76

It's really sad to hear of your experience. To be brutally honest, most European car makers have a long way to go before getting upto Indian and Japanese dealership standards. Europeans make good cars, no doubts, but A.S.S and pre-sales is one place where they torture you like a prisoner.

Regards,
Vishy

Would like to differ from your opinion here, when I test drove the Octavia, Rapid and Octavia TSI, the sales manager himself whole heartedly agreed to bring the cars over not showing any arrogance just because we couldn't finalise the car. Infact, he even kept in touch and would never bother me unnecessarily. He recently quit Skoda and the new RM was as good a fellow as the older one. Me having owner a Rapid can definitely vouch for the fact that not all workshops and dealerships have the same rip off the customer attitude. It's just that Skoda has developed a reputation which they haven't been able to leave behind even though they have improved a lot Not sure about Volkswagen though. Also, my BMW X3 ownership and been extremely pleasant and warm. This covers both the premium as well as the mass European brands. No offence intended.

[amitoj]

The subject probably needs to be toned down, IMO. First of all, it was not really a test drive, given that you never actually got to driving a vehicle. Secondly, it was unprofessional of the dealership at best, but not so horrifying to have caused any trauma to you!

[Rajeevraj]

While the experience is definitely disappointing and not what one would want to be subject to, I guess this would be a 'regular day in the office' for majority of the customers looking to purchase a car. Bad dealerships and Sales Advisers far outnumber the good ones in my opinion.

Also, most dealerships will not send a TD car to the customers place on weekends- Especially if it is top selling model and they have only 1-2 TD cars. Weekends see a lot of walk-ins to the dealerships and sending a car for TD will adversely impact the experience of people walking in.

If you do like the car, give it a chance and please try a different dealership. Hopefully things will be better.