[Lightrr]

Hi Everyone,

Just wanted to check as I am looking out for a specific color which is not available in Mumbai, the dealer is delivering the same from Goa by road. So had these few queries if i should accept it as per the dealer :

- The vehicle will be 500-600 odd kms
- What to check in PDI for these kind of delivery ?
- If i agree for the drive then what checks can be maintained at my level as a proof from the dealer so that an update is available at my end like Start Kms and end kms
- Should i force the dealer for a delivery through container as per him the car will not fit into and they deliver al by road from their MP or Pune Plant.
- Any other points to be considered ?

Note : I am in touch and spoke with the corporate team directly and the dealer is just a source of selling the vehicle.

Best Regards.

[TSI_Exhaust]

Up until 50 kms I can accept without any issues and questions asked but beyond that till 100kms strictly with some really really good justified reasoning. No more.

[Car Fan]

When I bought my Kona Electric it came with 800 km on the odo and scratches on the underside. The salesperson told me it was because it had to be driven a long distance from the railway station to the dealer, but I could not verify it and also did not believe the guy whom I did not trust.

An auto industry contact said that EVs have to be driven every 15 days or so while in storage, and that since this was a previous year model the kms could have added up. Sounded reasonable, also I could imagine many company employees also taking the car for a joyride at the factory during Covid etc.

My spouse was keen to cancel the car but I demanded and got a free extended warranty for two more years and accepted delivery at that point. Got them to fix the scratches. Am happy with the car but to be honest the dealer experience negatively affected my image of Hyundai. At that point this was their flagship vehicle.

[shankar.balan]

Dealer yards are not always in the city centre. This means the vehicle while new will tend to get delivered outside of the city by the car transporter which brings it to the city of sale. There will certainly be some amount of to and fro which will cause X No of kms on the clock, again depending on how far the dealer yard is from the showroom. Luckily in these days the vehicle no longer needs to go to the RTO for registration. And the fastag and insurance and number plates can all be fitted prior to delivery right at the showroom itself. So this may reduce the essential number of Kms. Considering all of this I would accept anywhere from 30 to a 100kms on the clock at the time of taking delivery.
This was my vehicle in Feb 2021 at the time of my PDI and while fitting all the accessories prior to taking delivery. It had 22Kms on the clock basically from the the Dealer workshop test drive, their own PDI and Quality check process. Then it read 30kms after all the accessories were fitted, registration and insurance process completed - on the delivery day while still awaiting the number plates which came 4 days later.
I think this is fair overall.

[daksh0510]

I guess anything justifiable by the dealership should be acceptable. I got my Nexon delivered with <50 kms on the odo, and I was satisfied as every other car had ~50kms. This is the usual test I advise everyone to go through, as it deciphers a fair standard for the dealership.

[bigboytoyz]

I have owned several preowned and used cars till date and here is my odo readings at the time of delivery -

WagonR - 8 kms
Hyundai Accent - 5 kms
Mahindra XUV 500 - 12 kms
Honda City - 3 kms
Mahindra XUV 700 - 5 kms

I think I was lucky enough to get good sales people and dealership until last week when I made a decision to add a EV vehicle to the garage.

Booked XUV400 EL Pro with Mahindra dealership at Faridabad, I was called in the morning to sign the agreements as the car was allocated and will be getting ready for the delivery.

I am extremely particular about the car and no scratch and dent can escape my eyes and causes me a lot of frustration as well, on Indian roads every day something or the other is bound to happen. Anyways, coming back to the XUV400 EV.

I went to the dealership with my dad and started PDI, my dad noticed that the alloys have mud and the mud guards are filled with a lot of dirt at the top portion and also lot of mud in the wheel arc. This made us look at the odo of the car, it was 127 km, this sparked a few questions from my end to the sales person while PDI continued.

127 kms odo reading made me suspicious and my head changed from a happy and excited car buyer to a detective. Sat inside the car and saw several soil marks on the roof and door panels, XUV400 has dual tone black and ivory interiors therefore it is easy for not missing out any soil marks. I came out of the car and realized there were no plastic covers or cotton covers on the seats which I have always seen on my previous deliveries, this made me more suspicious and my excitement started to exit.

Upon asking the sales person why odo has 127 kms? he told that the car travelled from stockyard to showroom, I did not agree because this was the same showroom where I got my XUV 700 and XUV 500 delivered and the stockyard of the dealer is just 10 kms away and many times the cars are dropped right at the showroom also. I asked him to show another car with same reading in the showroom across other models, he failed to get even a single key and started to ghost me. Finally, I told sales person I am not going to take this car and the booking stands cancelled from my end if there is no other car available. He insisted and pressured to take the delivery and I walked out of the showroom cancelling the delivery and asked them to process my refund.

I will never take delivery of a car with an odo of greater than 30 kms and I need to be explained and convinced about where it was driven.

[Venks_144]

Hi folks, I have booked a Kia Sonet Diesel HTX AT. The dealer in Mumbai had initially confirmed that he has white colour in stock and he can allocate the same to me.

After a few days got to know that the vehicle will be brought from another dealer in Nashik. So I asked him what would be the reading on odometer and how would it be brought to Mumbai. He replied we will drive it to Mumbai and it would be 160-200 kms. After knowing this I got into an argument with the sales guy who then escalated it to his manager. In the discussion I clearly told him that I will not take delivery of a vehicle that has done more than 50kms post a proper PDI.

He then comes back with another option of a black colour same variant and says that it would be available and driven for 60-70 kms. Personally, we do not want to go ahead with black colour citing it's high maintenance and heat absorbing properties, although not a deal breaker for us.

Any inputs on this would be helpful.

[ashvek3141]

Originally Posted by Venks_144

Hi folks, I have booked a Kia Sonet Diesel HTX AT. The dealer in Mumbai had initially confirmed that he has white colour in stock and he can allocate the same to me.

Seems like there’s some issue with the White shade of Sonet HTX (or in general).

I too have a booking of Sonet HTX D AT with a local dealer and it’s been nearly 2 months and there is no allotment yet !

It takes me by surprise that ‘white’ in general is the most readily available shade for any manufacturer and today it is the one that is the biggest challenge for Kia. Ironically, they are getting all the other shades (even the Pweter Olive) , but White.

I just had a word with my dealer and he says that they still haven’t received any allotment for the White Sonet HTX yet from Kia India.

On your point, I would suggest to wait for sometime than allowing it to be driven all the way. You never know how it’ll be driven. These dealership drivers have no respect for your vehicle. It’s a regular thing for them.

[Venks_144]

Originally Posted by ashvek3141

I just had a word with my dealer and he says that they still haven’t received any allotment for the White Sonet HTX yet from Kia India.

Which dealer are you getting it from?

[ashvek3141]

Originally Posted by Venks_144

Which dealer are you getting it from?

Automotives De Cristal , Goa. Sadly , the only dealer here in Goa.

[Venks_144]

Originally Posted by ashvek3141

Automotives De Cristal , Goa. Sadly , the only dealer here in Goa.

Let me check and get back if this is the same dealer who is opening a dealership in Thane, I may have some connects there.

Meanwhile an update, I cancelled the car from the dealer who was offering me a 150 km driven car and getting a new one from another dealer which is run only 8 kms.

[Brumby]

Its been almost a year since someone posted on this thread.

I read almost all posts on this thread and realised that while some of us are okay with high odometer reading at the time of delivery, some like me, do not accept above a certain kilometers on the odometer at the time of delivery of a new car.

I thought about it and tried to find some more information regarding the matter.

1. Ever thought what are the car manufacturers' guidelines regarding maximum odometer reading for a new car at the time of delivery.

Probably you will not find any information related to this. I tried to ask this very information from one of the leading automobile companies, however my mails and messages are either not replied to or diverted to the dealer in my city.

2. Regarding the PDI and testing of car before delivery.

Manufacturers claim that a lot of research and real world testing is done before the cars are made available for the customers, that means the hardware is tried and tested, why do we need to do a road test at the time of PDI.

The quality control at factory ensures manufacturing standards are met at the production line, and I am sure the people doing the PDI are not more qualified than the people involved in QC inspection.

Giving some margin for human error during QC, hardware is tried and tested, so what is it that the PDI team can check?
I am sure they are not checking the torque tightness of nuts and bolts or the quality of weld seams, so it boils down to only the visual inspection for physical damages during transport. So why the hell they need to drive the customers' car extensively?

3. All manufacturers give the ex-showroom price of a car, but what is the ex-showroom odometer reading?

It is not known to anyone and is not mentioned/documented anywhere. It is at the discretion of how well the dealership is equipped and what are the profit margins. A customer my be able to influence this but its 50:50.

With the boundaries of cities expanding, the stockyard rentals will become expensive and slowly the stockyards will move to distances beyond 100 km mark. So an odometer reading more than 100km will be the norm in a few years from now.

With so much construction activity going on on all roads in almost every city, the probability of damages are very high.

Dealerships of premium car makers readily agree for a flat bed transport and even delivery to home without any additional cost to the customer.

4. Indian customers want to be treated well and throw tantrums and make fuss about smallest of issues.

One of the members who moved to Europe, shared his experience buying a motorcycle, and mentioned that no tantrums of being a customer are entertained. Thats good because, this attitude comes with transparency, honesty & trust. Though I have no experience of buying a car in a foreign land, but I know for sure, that there will be no cover ups or forced selling of cars/bikes damaged in the custody of the dealership to customers.

5. Who should be responsible for the damages in case of an untoward incident till the vehicle is delivered to the customer.

All the cars are brought to the showroom/workshop from stockyard only after the total payment is made by the customer, which means the risk of damage is transferred to the customer, and no longer lies either with the manufacturer or the dealership. This simply means that if the dealer wants he can register the car in the customer's name in as is condition whether the customer agrees or not.

To make things worse, the drivers hired to drive the vehicles from stockyard to showroom/workshop are not permanent employees of the dealership and are hired on daily basis. They might be coming to the same dealership everyday, but that is by choice and zero responsibility. With the driver hiring options its even easier.

Yes there is law, but the legal way to get justice is long and with a person's hard earned money stuck, and very little hope to get justice, we just give in. This is taking undue advantage and there is no check on that, neither by the manufacturers nor by the law of the land.

So I still feel that the cars should be deliver with no more than 5-10 kms on the odometer, because that is the distance that a car might have to be driven when shifting within the premises or to/from flatbed or a vehicle carrier.

For a dealership selling a car worth 20 lakhs ex-showroom will not be much, because they do it day in day out to multiple cars, however for a customer paying about 20lakhs for a new car is a lot of money spent in a timespan of about 5-10 years. None of the dealerships or car manufacturers understand this sentiment.

Please note that I have worked on car carriers (ships) in the past and I very well know how the cars are transported and taken care of while being transported. e.g., people involved in handling cars (or even moving in the area where cars are stored and secured) are not allowed to wear rings, bangles (kadas) and clothing with exposed belts, buttons and zippers.

Only in a Toyota service center in India, I have seen that they have such standards but only a few of the people follow them.

So car makers need to set some standards regarding the maximum odometer reading at the time of delivery.

Car makers must ask for strict compliance to dealerships that no car should be driven from the stockyard to showroom/workshop.

And of course no car with any damage minor or major should ever be presented for delivery to a customer without his/her consent.

Cheers.

[arjab]

Most digital odometers have a reset option till 250 kms.
Till 250 kms odo reading, if you hold down the trip/odometer reset knob/button/lever or whatever that is there in your particular car model, the main odometer will reset to zero. This can be done only once and is also recorded in the ECU as a manual reset.
The purpose of this is many dealership stockyards nowadays are on the outskirts of major cities and transporting the vehicle to and fro for purposes of registration, showroom display & delivery etc may result in an odo reading exceeding 100 kms or so. Hence the dealer has been given an option to reset it, capped at 250 kms max.

[Brumby]

Originally Posted by arjab

Most digital odometers have a reset option till 250 kms.
Till 250 kms odo reading, if you hold down the trip/odometer reset knob/button/lever or whatever that is there in your particular car model, the main odometer will reset to zero. This can be done only once and is also recorded in the ECU as a manual reset.
The purpose of this is many dealership stockyards nowadays are on the outskirts of major cities and transporting the vehicle to and fro for purposes of registration, showroom display & delivery etc may result in an odo reading exceeding 100 kms or so. Hence the dealer has been given an option to reset it, capped at 250 kms max.

Understand what you mean, but why is it not put in the terms and conditions of sale, and why the customer's car is shifted from stockyard only after making the payment.

What is meant by ex-showroom price, if a customer has to pay the money while the car is still in stockyard.

If I understand correctly, a customer has to pay the full amount including road tax and registration before the car is moved from the stockyard to the showroom/service center.

Once all the money is paid, and since all the documents have already been submitted, the dealer can register a car against a customer's name even if he/she does not agree to it.

Why there is no clarity that if there is any damage to car, major or minor, the customer has the option to decide if he/she wants to go ahead with purchase and registration.

Why there are so many cases of customers getting repaired (mostly dented/painted) cars, or even older cars sold as new in some cases.

Isn't it a responsibility of the manufacturer to ensure that the customer gets a new un-repaired product.

Something that I understood a few hours ago is that all new cars when shifted from stockyard to showroom, have a transit insurance and in case of any damage small or big, the dealer/manufacturer has the responsibility to repair under insurance, and there is officially no provision for supplying a new car to the customer.

Cheers

[Brumby]

Following is the link from Toyota India website explaining the initiative taken by the car maker to deliver customers' cars without driving them on public roads during transit before delivery.

https://www.toyotabharat.com/news/20...-solution.html

links to other websites covering the same news.

https://www.autocarindia.com/industr...latbeds-430693

https://www.news18.com/auto/toyotas-...s-8784925.html

https://www.rushlane.com/new-toyota-...-12488456.html

And from our very own team-bhp

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/india...-flatbeds.html (Toyota cars to be dispatched to dealerships on flatbeds)

What I understand is that Toyota has very well understood the challenges and risks involved in moving cars from stockyard to showroom/service centers by driving, all done at the expense of customer, however no other car manufacturer even acknowledges the presence of such risks and are in a perennial denial mode.

Cheers