[topedgemonk]

There have been instances of dealerships taking cars waiting for delivery to give test drives to prospective customers. The cars will be driven to the prospective customer's place by a driver from the dealership who (in general) rips it from the word go. No running in, nothing!

Even if the dealer has a demo car, it may not be available when the salesperson wants it, and with so much competition, customer will switch to another dealership if he does not get a test drive on time. So they take whatever car is available.

You have every right to seek an explanation for the unwarranted use of your car. Maybe you should also put up the name of the dealership here so that we all know. After all, thats the whole purpose of having a forum.

Man move on and its time for something to know about car because you are the 1st one to buy 1.2 punto therefore your inputs here will be much of use for others who wants to buy 1.2 punto.
PS. I have allredy read your story on other forum.

[rajinibm]

@ vnabhi
Took delivery of the car as getting a replacement once its registered in your name is impossible I guess!
Also had to look at the angle of my wife -- this was her day and her car so gave in!Her happiness mattered!

@ suman
When I went for a test drive, they gave me the td on a black punto and I was told it was to be delievered that evening!When i said this to the manager there,he said that black punto was his and I was amazed and asked him would you give your own car to all customers for td!!!!obvious silence after the question!

@ sawyer
Yup would be doing all my future sevices with concorde.FIAT has been intimated of the same!

@ rudrah
the pics will be up in max a day or two

@ fast elegance
FIAT -- no words to praise them.Rajeev Kapoor personally has mailed each of his members to follow up on this case.But the dealers have their own style of working!

@ Paglagoru
Yes taking things written down in letter.Should have it soon.

@ shivshankar
I have asked for the logs but nothing has been forthcoming!PDI I know was not done before delivery as they themselves said they would do it the next day and yes it has been a big learning experience!

[prince_pervez]

I don't know whether to be shocked or sad at your ordeal man. I totally understand you and your wife's position and the dampened excitement.
Anyway man. No point in worrying about the 100 kms. Enjoy the car to the fullest.
You still have the ANHC, don't you ?

[amit]

The odo reading does not worry me as much as this:

Originally Posted by rajinibm

The car is totally covered in dirt and it looked like it was just coming out of some storage yard!I was like -- oh man!! and the guys at the dealership were very cool and said, take the car now and tomorrow morning drop it back, we shall clean it and give it back to you!The interiors and expteriors of the car were totally dirty!

That attitude is just not pardonable! Which age and world are these guys living in! Please give us the name of the dealer as it will help Chennai guys to avoid them. The best way to punish such dealerships is to hit them where it hurts the most.

Then i took a round of the car and i noticed a deep gash (scratch) on the rear bumper!I showed this to them and again they said we will have it made up when you give us the car tomorrow.

Many cars have scratches on them after they make the journey from the factory to stockyard to dealer showroom. Many buyers don't see the car before delivery day so we don't know about this. I worked at a GM dealership in Toronto, and new cars had scratches which were reworked all the time.

I feel you should let the 127kms on the odo go. You have taken delivery of the car so there is not much that you can do now. If it's any consolation, my Palio S10 came with 90kms on the odo but what a car it turned out to be! Absolutely flawless. My SX4 had about 78kms but it could be because the dealer was located in Worli while most of them have stockyards outside city limits. That is the reason why I bought my Punto from Navi Mumbai rather then Powai. If the car is working well and there are no problems then there shouldn't be any problems right?

Do take up the issue of poor delivery expereince strongly with Fiat. Please don't let off the dealer easily on that part.

I always wonder why we take so much pains to complete the run in procedure because most dealers rip the car's badly anyway before registeration.

[mnhegde]

Congrats friend. Great choice. Post some interior and exterior pics of your car. That was an unpleasent experience you had with the dealership. please name the DEALER. Such dealers are bringing a bad name to the company. Enjoy the car . Any future additions (accessories) planned for the car??

Have fun , Drive safe.

[rajinibm]

Originally Posted by sajands

First of all Congrats on owning a FIAT Punto

Is there any update on the deep scratch on the rear bumper, what does the dealership or FIAT got to say about that.

Waiting for pics of your new car.

Cheers,drive safe and have loads of fun.

Thanks a lot!

The scratch was made good!It was repainted/polished and given back during delivery the next day!

Pics will be up tomorrow pakka!

[VEA]

It is possible that you car had been given for test drives or the car they showed you day before the delivery date was different. It explains the dirty interiors inside. These things, though quite unacceptable, happens very frequently at dealerships. But they usually cleans the car inside out, repairs the dents and hands over with a warm smile. What made you go wild is the arrogance of the dealer to the extend of handing it over without even cleaning it properly. It is highly unlikely that the dealer will issue a letter accepting warranty over the companies policies. They might give an explanation for the ODO reading. If the car doesnt have other problems, its better to forget the episode and enjoy driving the car. Going after it will only make problems worse.

[rajinibm]

Originally Posted by kuttapan

Lastly, you should have asked compensation from FIAT/Dealer for causing so much grief to you. This would have worked like a charm before taking delivery(Read the Xenon thread by memo), but now, you are at their mercy.

And finally , what prevents you from naming the dealer?

They did offer compensation which was sunfilm/body cover and seat cover!But does it matter?

Originally Posted by prince_pervez

I don't know whether to be shocked or sad at your ordeal man. I totally understand you and your wife's position and the dampened excitement.
Anyway man. No point in worrying about the 100 kms. Enjoy the car to the fullest.
You still have the ANHC, don't you ?

I got the ANHC just close to a month ago so surely have it yet!

[beejay]

At the outset, I am really sorry to hear about this. I know how you feel. I feel even more agitated that these guys sweet talk you into buying and once the sale is through take you for granted. Do not let go off this and keep mailing the customer care.
You should have taken the letter before taking delivery.
Who was the dealer?

Rajini,

horrible experience...i must say.

First of all, this episode is very hard to believe....will any dealer have so much audacity to do such things with the car from a buyer who has paid in full?

You shouldn't have NOT taken delivery of the car man...why did you take it all...is there any mistakes from your side--just confirming..

I wouldn't have at all costs taken delivery of the car ! come what may !

why did you take delivery of the car if you took, before the letter was given, what had you drafted in this letter...i feel this episode is LITTLE bit half-baked...what was the letter supposed to have had.

i feel its ok, if the ODO is 100 KMS absolutely, as such there is no HARD AND FAST RULE THAT it should not be 100kms..

by the way..what is stopping you from namimg the dealer ? you will help our guys from approaching them to buy a car...isnt it a noble cause ?

Would you mind clarifying all these please ?

[McLaren Rulez]

Please name and shame that dealer. Or better still I'll give you an idea. Show that idiot manager this very thread on a laptop and ask for a ton of freebies in exchange for even considering witholding the dealers name. Play dirty and blackmail him to the max. You've got the right to, no matter how conscientious a man you are. You can always reveal him later and its a no compromise situation for you. I assume the reason you haven't already revealed him is because you're doing exactly that. Good luck and most importantly, congrats on the car.

[rajinibm]

@ amit
True seth!You know if they would told me on my face the first day, your car ran so much for such and such reasons I probably would have accepted it and moved on.But the fact that they lie so blatantly on your face makes you just so agitated!

@mnhegde

The dealer is TAFE -chennai on anna salai!
Accesories planned are a: music system - looked at the kenwood 6539/hamburg mp68.Though not decided yet.Xenos gave me a offer of HU @ 7k with bluetooth.Speakers rear and front at 3.5k.Rear sensors and remote locking all put together for 18k as iw ould be their first 1.2 punto customer!But havent decided yet as Xenos is not something I am confortable with!

@ VEA
Its only the dealers who make you what you are and they way you behave.They nees lessons in customer sensitivising!

@beejay
Should have the letter with me max in a day or two.

[Gilead]

Rajini, congrats on the new car. Really looking forward to the review.

You really ought to put up the dealer's name here. You would be doing your fellow Chennai-ites a big favor. Was it TAFE? The other two are supposed to be just incompetent and not this shady.

[wildon]

“Even if you put a dog’s tail in a pipe for 10000 years, it won’t become straight”. You know what I mean, don’t you?

Stay away from FIAT India, if you want piece of mind.