[ashwinsid]

Snippet from my side.

There will be a new Volkswagen Showroom at Palace Cross (between Ford and Mahindra showrooms, next to Opus). More detailed location is from Cauvery Theatre, drive towards Mount Carmel College, take left (dont go above the flyover), on right hand side you find a big building with Ford and Mahindra Showrooms. Between these two showrooms is where Volkswagen dealrship is being started.

MODS: Please advise if this is in the wrong section.

[kannan666]

Yes, I have seen this showroom while passing by on that road, have not seen any cars inside though but that was some time ago, has the dealership opened now ? Thought that the only dealer in Bangalore for VW was Elite Motors on Hosur Road.

[crackingride]

Originally Posted by ashwinsid

There will be a new Volkswagen Showroom at Palace Cross (between Ford and Mahindra showrooms, next to Opus).

More critical is where the workshop is going to be!
If it continues on Hosur Road, can you imagine the distance between buying and servicing!

[ajmat]

Look like the India Garage group have the franchise

[swift8847]

I has been to the Ford showroom today and saw the banner of the upcoming showroom. No ideas as when this is going to open.

[Dose]

Originally Posted by ajmat

Look like the India Garage group have the franchise

From what I searched on Teambhp, the India Garage group has a bad reputation for service. I have read about a Mahindra rollover and a Ford crash (Metro Ford) and Mahindra owners saying service is "pathetic". So, if India Garage is already so bad now, it may treat its VW customers who are spending somewhere between 15 and 65 lakhs in the same poor manner. Is my assessment fair or unfair? Are there any teambhp members who are getting good or excellent service from dealers owned by India Garage?

What about Elite Motors? Any complaints about their VW service?

[14000rpm]

Originally Posted by Dose

From what I searched on Teambhp, the India Garage group has a bad reputation for service. I have read about a Mahindra rollover and a Ford crash (Metro Ford) and Mahindra owners saying service is "pathetic". So, if India Garage is already so bad now, it may treat its VW customers who are spending somewhere between 15 and 65 lakhs in the same poor manner. Is my assessment fair or unfair? Are there any teambhp members who are getting good or excellent service from dealers owned by India Garage?

What about Elite Motors? Any complaints about their VW service?

The new showroom is officially open. India garage does have some bad air about their service but eh, if you gotta go buy a VW, you're definitely gonna go there.oh yes there is elite motors too but then what if you had a tussle there!!??

[diffsoft]

What I could gather is that the entire group of India Garage / Metro Ford / Southern Motors dealership belongs to the VST Group. VST Group is a well established group of firms with a listed firm called VST Tillers and a tie-up with Mitsubishi.

VW at Palace Cross also belongs to them. Elite Motors belongs to the PCH group which owns Dakshin Honda.

In any case I find it difficult to imagine a dealer can be worse than TAFE - forgery, deceit et al.

Cheers,

[ajmat]

Originally Posted by diffsoft

VST Group is a well established group of firms with a listed firm called VST Tillers and a tie-up with Mitsubishi.



In any case I find it difficult to imagine a dealer can be worse than TAFE - forgery, deceit et al.

Cheers,

They are an old world dealer. Having met a few of the family, let us say that they lack the aggression to compete and maintain high standards like Maruti, Honda, Hyundai. They could have had those dealerships for the taking as they have the land, capital etc.

[diffsoft]

Originally Posted by ajmat

They are an old world dealer....... that they lack the aggression to compete and maintain high standards like Maruti, Honda, Hyundai. ..

Now that you mention, seems very true. I once had to manage an old world dealer and a new world one in FMCG in the same area. The old world dealer had capital but expected the principal to do everything while he would count the cash. The new world dealer ( a newly minted entrepreneur graduate from REC / NIT) had not much capital but terrific enthusiasm and would be keen to sell more and more. Would come out with ideas that I could take back to HQ.

Guess who took over from whom? Alas, it is not so easy to replace car dealers unlike soaps and shampoo dealers

Cheers,

[Rajeevraj]

Digging up an old thread. Just got an SMS from VW Palace Cross indicating that they have achieved sales of 10,000 units (and thanking customers for the same).

From this thread, looks like the showroom opened in August 2009. So that's 10,000 cars in 7 years, ~1500 per year, ~120 per month and ~4 per day on an average.

[tharian]

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj

Digging up an old thread. Just got an SMS from VW Palace Cross indicating that they have achieved sales of 10,000 units (and thanking customers for the same).

From this thread, looks like the showroom opened in August 2009. So that's 10,000 cars in 7 years, ~1500 per year, ~120 per month and ~4 per day on an average.

4 cars per day is a good average for a VW dealer.

However, the service centre locations is an issue for customers.
My sister picked up her Polo last August from this dealer and her residence is around 6 kms away.

The location of the service centre are in each corner of the city and I am not in favour of pick up and dropping of the car.
They should have at least one located in the central area for convenience sake.

[ajmat]

Originally Posted by tharian

They should have at least one located in the central area for convenience sake.

Getting land in the middle of town for 200 cars is becomnig an issue. Much cheaper to employ drivers for pick up /drop or use Uber. Considering I need to visit once or twice a year, it is not an issue

[tharian]

Originally Posted by ajmat

Getting land in the middle of town for 200 cars is becomnig an issue. Much cheaper to employ drivers for pick up /drop or use Uber. Considering I need to visit once or twice a year, it is not an issue

Yes, there are options like you mentioned.

But what if (I hope not) , I need to visit them and be there in person for some unscheduled work which may lead to repeat visits. That is when travelling to one of these centres becomes an issue.

If I remember right, VW did have one service centre some where in the city and was closed.

For now, using their pick up/drop option is the solution.

[Rajeevraj]

Originally Posted by tharian

Yes, there are options like you mentioned.

But what if (I hope not) , I need to visit them and be there in person for some unscheduled work which may lead to repeat visits. That is when travelling to one of these centres becomes an issue.

Agree. If you get into unscheduled work with multiple visits, it becomes a nightmare. In general all the 4 service centers are always overloaded. You typically need to wait a week to 10 days for an appointment. Distance is an issue for me. For me the closest service center distance wise would be Elite Motors on Hosur Road. I don't prefer to go there. VW Whitefield is also at a similar distance and although it is not my first choice I have gone there a couple of times. Experience has been ok, but it is an overloaded and crowded center. The Service Manager said they are helpless and are unable to handle the volume. They apparently run a night shift also now.

I visited Palace Cross Service Center at Heserghatta once and found it better than the Whitefield. Unfortunately it is way too far (~1.5 hours drive one way with no direct public transport option). For a regular service it was manageable. If I have an unscheduled repairwork which entails leaving the car in the work shop, I would want to leave it in Palace Cross, but not sure how I can manage multiple visits if needed.

VW definitely needs to expand the service network in Bangalore.