[MarkivSkoda]

Originally Posted by Knightrider

Thanks for sharing this experience. It is indeed painful. Salute to you for getting the issue resolved in your favour.

Just a coincidence that there is a Blue colored Slavia 1.5 DSG listed on Olx in Pune with BH registration. Wondering if it is the same car.

Just checked after reading your comment, its the same car! The scuff plates I had installed are still there.
Looks like someone is going to be duped again! I just hope they check the number on google or on this forum before going ahead with the purchase. There is 0.001% chance that the reseller would be open to next owner about what had happened as they have kept the price more than at what we were sold that car.

[ranjith_cbz]

Originally Posted by iron.head

Extremely sorry to say this but IMHO this is just too overkill. If I would have been in this scenario, I would have wanted to ensure that this was just a paint job and not a structural repair. If it would turn out that this was just a paint job, I would have requested for a proper repaint as the first repaint could have been a rushed up job and lived with the car. Some freebies from the dealer and that’s it.

The automotive industry has been hit hard with the covid and ultimately the dealers are also just people. Unless I would have been at a severe disadvantage, a paint repair is a no big deal. It’s easy for the car to need paint jobs anyway given the traffic conditions we have in our country.

Strongly disagree with this empathetic reasoning and sentiment towards dealerships. If your suggestion is to accept repainting of a new car before delivery without a fuss then i wonder why cars have to be painted at factory in the first place? Maybe cars can come just assembled at factory and painted at dealerships as they too have paint booths, what say?

If there is one among few industries which fully exploited Covid pandemic to their benefit then it is Automotive industry. They fully utilised the constraints in supply vs demand to jack up the prices to record high profits and dealers too didn't leave any stone unturned to fully monetise every aspect of car sales. High booking amounts, inflated insurance, mandatory accessories and high handed take it or leave it attitude. This industry esp in India for lax consumer protection laws did every trick in the book to cheat customers and earn a quick buck.

I don't know if "dealers are also just people" argument is justified to straight-up commit fraud and get away with it.

[Kickdown]

Originally Posted by MarkivSkoda

Note: Owner is my dad. Intention of writing and sharing this experience is not to ask for any further compensation in any form but just to make everyone aware of the facts so that one can be careful while dealing with premium brands like Skoda India.

Boy oh boy! That's some serious shit you had to pull through apparently because of some silly bird shit. Kudos to you for sticking to your guns and dragging the dealer to their knees . Akoya will think twice before pulling a fast one on some other customers now. Hope they have learnt their lessons.

Come to think of it, its the dealers more than the manufacturers who are responsible for making or breaking a brand. This is case in point. Whatever little goodwill Skoda was trying to build with 2.0 has taken a beating because of the dealer's stupidity .

[JediKnight]

Congratulations!!! Great outcome. In fact the best outcome I have seen on this forum. Full refund and even a compensation of 1.5 Lakh on top of that. Many poor souls have to live with much more shoddy products and waste their time/energy and money chasing around. I think your contacts as you said at "the highest level in Government of India" did the trick. An average joe like me can hardly dream of such a result.

[rsjagtap]

Kudos to your persistence!

I wonder how many have been cheated till date in similar situations without them knowing it.

Sitting on information is the worst thing any brand can do.

Thank you for sharing. Even if one might not have the level of flex you have, at least we know what can be done. Or how to tackle it.

[Knightrider]

Originally Posted by MarkivSkoda

Just checked after reading your comment, its the same car! The scuff plates I had installed are still there.
Looks like someone is going to be duped again! I just hope they check the number on google or on this forum before going ahead with the purchase.

Thanks for confirming. Members and readers of this forum - please beware of the Blue Slavia currently listed on Olx in Pune with BH registration. It is the same car being discussed here.
So, the dealer is now trying to sell it off through a 3rd party used car agent.

[Torqueceptor]

Hats off to you for sticking to your principles. I am not sure I would have gone through with the fight on account of sheer lethargy, hesitance to take them on. It really is amazing how buyers are always supposed to be on their guard and be ready to fight these mighty organizations on basic customer service. Unfortunate that this was the VAG Group again though.

[Maverick_4662]

Not sure of the list price but if the used car dealer is selling the at 1-2 Lakhs off and being transparent about the repainted panel would make for a great deal IMHO considering there's nothing actually wrong with the car as such and is in brand new condition. The panel can be repainted properly from a good FNG for a fraction of the savings. For reference, the BMW dealer here in Trivandrum charges 15k per side panel for a repaint.

[yashg]

28 Sept to 11 Nov. Man that's one a half month of mental agony and stress.

Originally Posted by MarkivSkoda

7-13 Oct 2022 - We had to mount pressure on Skoda India through our contacts in VW India, VW AG Germany and Govt of India (from the highest level).
...
1 Nov 2022 - We had to escalate the issue again through the Govt of India.

What would happen to a customer who doesn't know any higher ups in car companies or government?

It is really a sorry situation. You were lucky that you got refund and compensation.

[maverickxx2006]

Slight denting/re-painting is very common at dealer end and this is understandable as scratches etc might happen during transit etc.

Throwing serious malfunctions under the carpet is certainly unacceptable = lemon.

At least I haven't seen a case where dealer has fully refunded after RTO registration just over a paint job issue.

The dealer should have transparently explained the situation, here they failed.

Dealer making a full refund that too by Skoda is unheard of. Would other manufacturers would have done same like Maruti, Hyundai, Tata etc?

I surely think Skoda is improving and are trying to protect customer interest, its the dealer that need to improve.

[poloman]

I had to read the original post multiple times to believe what I am reading is, right? What was the 150,000 compensation for? Can someone explain? Is this based on the order of a competent authority like a court? People commenting here supporting OP are supporting extortion. The dealer messed up by hiding the fact that the car has been repainted. But to compensate that for a registered car, he gave full refund. Now what is this compensation all about?

Then once you read the owner details, from the suffix after his name one can easily understand what might have transpired. It only underlines one thing, only high and mighty can have their way in this country, a poor Joe wont even get the roughness on the paint attended to, forget the refund or compensation.

Originally Posted by Knightrider

Thanks for confirming. Members and readers of this forum - please beware of the Blue Slavia currently listed on Olx in Pune with BH registration. It is the same car being discussed here.
So, the dealer is now trying to sell it off through a 3rd party used car agent.

Sir. the car is having only a panel painted, not in any serious accident or not reported to have serious mechanical issues. What is the dealer supposed to do with the car in your learned opinion? If you try to buy a used car after testing with a paint meter, you wont be able to buy one.

I can see that the car has run 2000KM, So the owner had a decent run in 30 days as well and got 150,000 in cash.. What a deal ...!!

[saket77]

Originally Posted by Knightrider

Thanks for confirming. Members and readers of this forum - please beware of the Blue Slavia currently listed on Olx in Pune with BH registration. It is the same car being discussed here.
So, the dealer is now trying to sell it off through a 3rd party used car agent.

If the dealer sells it at a reasonable price, I would say its a great deal. What anyway should the dealer do with the car? The car is already registered; so there is no way it can be sold anywhere except the second hand market- And I don't see why he shouldn't.

[AkMar]

Good for the OP who managed to get a resolution. Full refund plus additional amount for a repainted panel is too good.

However, this will always remain a one off case. The key here being "government pressure". Laymen who do not have the ability to put government pressure will always have to be content with repainted panel assurance from dealer that it is best quality job (which is unlikely), and some freebies if they are lucky.

Playing devils advocate, is this a case of penny wise, pound foolish? Agreed that the dealer is at fault for not disclosing the work. But apart from the repainted panel there did not seem to be any other issue with the car. If the work done by dealer was not satisfactory, OP could have asked to get it done at a place of his choice with dealer bearing the costs, OR asked dealer to redo the job with someone from Skoda to certify it, and take the offer of ceramic coating (again from his preferred place, not dealer).

Apart from the paint, if the family had really liked the Slavia then I wonder if it was worth it going for full refund. There was the option of a replacement car also.

Anyway, again glad that the OP got their intended resolution.

[AZT]

I hope every dealership and car manufacturer reads this and can avoid this fiasco by just offering an up front cash discount and being honest. I'd take the car if they knocked off 50k - 1l upfront and drive home happy.

[SideView]

Originally Posted by MarkivSkoda

Just checked after reading your comment, its the same car! The scuff plates I had installed are still there.
Looks like someone is going to be duped again! I just hope they check the number on google or on this forum before going ahead with the purchase. There is 0.001% chance that the reseller would be open to next owner about what had happened as they have kept the price more than at what we were sold that car.

Edit:Sorry i dont see the amount to be greater than 20.6L which you got as refund.

Or are you trying to convey after registration etc it would be a higher amount. (Not sure how the used car rates are calculated and if it is all inclusive)

Originally Posted by Knightrider

Thanks for confirming. Members and readers of this forum - please beware of the Blue Slavia currently listed on Olx in Pune with BH registration. It is the same car being discussed here.
So, the dealer is now trying to sell it off through a 3rd party used car agent.

Mods: Please update thread title, the whole chapter isnt closed yet. Skoda dealer is trying to resell the same vehicle at higher price.