[Car_Therapy]

Happy to read a distressful post into a happy ending. just for the further clarity - Could you please confirm if there are giving the entire amount as a refund (inclusive of RTO, insurance etc.) Also, did they offer you a replacement?
And, if you took a car loan, then are they helping it pre-close it with fore-closure charges?

Thanks in advance.

Originally Posted by sln

Hello Everyone,

My experience with buying Tata Safari car has been unbearably painful and of loss.

[safariLove]

Originally Posted by sln

Resolved

Hi all,

I am elated to give a Good news!!

It's good to hear that the dealer has accepted the refund.
Kudos for your patience and strong will to go through that grueling feeling for a few weeks.
Would be interested to know what steps you took apart from posting over here.
Did someone from Tata got involved or was it only with the dealer.

[sudeepg]

Originally Posted by sln

Resolved

I feel like I am just unlucky and I still believe this is a rare case and we shouldn't generalise it. This is also a proof that they are listening to the issues and ironing them out. Pretty sure Tata Safari will come strong among its competitors.

I would also like to thank Team BHP, fellow BHPians, my family and everyone, who supported me during this ordeal. Can't describe it in words.

Originally Posted by vj196

But your resolution post somehow sounds otherwise. Like other members, I too have my skepticism around its genuinity.

Agree that there are folks at the dealers-end or OEM-end that genuinely want to help you, but are tied because of corporate hierarchy. But the post seems to be giving them more credit than they deserve.

The sudden change in tone of OP post resolution sounds like a deal with the dealer to close the issue amicably on social media. That could have been one of the conditions I assume. While that is fine and we should accept it as an agreement to get OP his rightful resolution with our own assumptions. I'd think anyone who goes through this ordeal would do the same.

I have been watching Tata Motors services for a while and I cannot say that they have improved one bit. My experience yard stick is Maruti service.

As a result, I have never ever suggested Tata Motors as a brand that someone should put their hard earned money into. It would be just a sensless decision to plonk in your hard earned money into a product where the company has no ownership of customer issues. They can try some PR stunts with some rich folks who are vocal about going local but doesn't do anything to change perception of a commoner like me.

I actually frown upon Tata Motors for their service quality so deeply that I don't even read in complete all of our Team-BHP reviews about their products. It is just an absolute NO as a brand for me.

[Guna]

Good to see a happy end!

Originally Posted by sln

I feel like I am just unlucky and I still believe this is a rare case and we shouldn't generalise it. This is also a proof that they are listening to the issues and ironing them out. Pretty sure Tata Safari will come strong among its competitors.

If you genuinely feel so, you might consider another Tata car. Would you?

[Quicksilver85]

Congratulations to you on a personal front for escaping this horrible new car ownership experience and getting a full refund!
I am sure closing this thread on a good note was part of the deal you struck with the dealership/TaMo or maybe it was your goodwill, I will leave it you

Now that you have your full refund, Would you repurchase a Tata product or which other product have you shortlisted now?

[ZenMaster]

Originally Posted by sln

Resolved

Hi all,

I am elated to give a Good news!!

After meeting with Mr. Vijay Bhasker Raju, the CEO of Select Cars, as a rare case they have agreed to refund the full amount of the car. I am grateful that he understood our plight and agreed to help our cause. Despite being busy, he gave a considerable amount of time to address our concern. He explained to me in detail the refund process and assured me that he will make the process smooth and resolve everything related to this.

I would also like to thank Mr. Saravana, Sr.General Manager - Service Operations. I was in distress and definitely wasn't easy to handle at times, but he was patient all the time and tried to help me. His handling my case, I must say is luck, most just give up.

.

None of these guys especially the CEO is doing you a favour. Its literally his Job to address your concern. "He didn't take time out of his Busy-ness to address you, you are his business" and so is the other Service Operations guys.

You absolutely made the right decision by taking the deal for the refund and we are all happy that you get to walk away from this without losing much of YOUR hard earned money. This means that you don't have to deal with them any longer.

Credit to you for pursuing this with force and all those who played a role behind the scenes (especially Team-BHP) to put pressure on the dealer/OEM.

You also did the correct thing by posting this flowery message here. You did right by your deal.

Everyone here knows exactly what is happening, and you know that we know too.
Nothing is lost on us.

Happy motoring.

Our matra shouldn't be Vocal for Local.

It should be Vocal for Good Quality Local.
If Maruti can do it in India with Indian suppliers and Indian workers, then there is no excuse for Tata.

[Sidban85]

I will wait for OP to actually get the money back, since right now, it is just a promise. Wondering how hassle free the actual process will be. Maybe that will not take its own tthread on TeamBHP.

Overall, I will continue to avoid Tata Motors for these horror stories and Mahindra for their non acting airbags. I always suggest the same to others as well.

[mjkaushal]

Originally Posted by TROOPER

Dear sln, as a fellow Tata owner, I can completely empathize with your emotions. Picking a Tata car is akin to a lottery, ranging from a good experience to downright atrocious to what you are facing.

Now coming to your dilemma. Let me blunt, Tata group as a whole has no values, ethics or humanity. And this thread shows. They have, are and will milk all the goodwill of whatever JRD Tata stood for. And we have enough people in this country to keep falling for the PR game over and over again.

Next point, my only two cents is, get a PDI done or a proper check up from a reliable mechanic, to ensure the car is mechanically sound and the safety elements like airbags etc are not throwing errors. Post that, try selling off the car. Bear the loss. Maybe it's easy for me to say, but it is what it is. Either that or swallow the bitter pill and continue using it.

Coming to consumer courts, I have no clue, so can't comment. But what I do know is, these people are not good people, and us winning a case isn't going to change them, when the loss borne by them would be worth a foreign business trip. Chump change for the inhuman executives. I have experienced and heard enough about the 'Tata' way and they aren't changing anytime soon. The culture in that Pune factory is rotten to the core. So go ahead with the courts if considerate damages is expected on consulting with lawyers, but don't expect an apology or any regret from these apathetic clowns.


Edit: wow. congratulations sln. Wishing you peace and happiness. I stand by my words though, if the clowns from Tata are reading this

I agree to most of your points that you have mentioned . In my opinion , most of the times, the dealers are to be blamed to all the issues with the vehicle. They are supposed to do the proper PDI and deliver it . Is'nt it ? How many of the people would be well versed with the cars or Teambhp fans.
I with trapedition decided to buy a Nexon as one of my replacement cars, went ahead and bought it. As everyone mentioned, did the PDI personally and found some minor niggles - which were promised to be fixed before delivery - but you know what happens .

The same niggles were fixed during the first service. The vehicle is superb in all respects and really a tank to drive . There's a lot of improvement in fit and finish departments, but overall its a decent buy being Indian. It all depends on how we interact and handle the service advisors . I've had a plesant experience so far inspite of hearing some outrageous and funny reasons for some of the problems.

Again I agree it would be bad miss , if someone gets a lemon The dealership attitude should greatly improve and the parent company should also pitch in the same to create the brand built with so much reputation and trust. A few individuals in the frevor of making quick money should not be coming in way of building a great brand like Tata.

In the end, all in all, its a happy ending and the entire amount being refunded.

Cheers.

[digitalnirvana]

Ritz Carlton employees, all of them right from the front desk, have a substantial amount of money they can budget for the customer. NO QUESTIONS ASKED. Just to Make Things Right.
We learnt this in our management classes.

Till the time TaMo can't get things Right First Time from the factory floor, they might need to think of empowering after sales and service management with such a budget. To Make Things Right for the customer. At whatever cost.

Because a customer will never ever forget how you made them feel.

And they will vote with their feet and walk away.

Please TaMo, from an ardent fan of Telco and TaMo, please do the right thing and embrace customer centricity.

[NT_GT]

Originally Posted by Mystic

OP was unfortunate to get a one in a million lemon car and all the other cars in the same batch are OK.

It is not one in a million. It is more like one in a hundred. Only around 10k units of the facelifted version has been sold so far. So, it can't be 'million'.

[gopa99]

It seems pretty clear that the full refund was part of their marketing budget to reverse the bad name this incident had brought and better late than never was the clear strategy behind this. I feel sorry that the aggrieved customer here writes good words for a brand he was sulking all these weeks with the news of the refund, and the verbatim reeks of insincerity; its an unfortunate end to a customer saga with a product quality and best not seen again.

[ron178]

It’s very relieving sln that your case was resolved. It was long overdue.

Sure, your case was rather extreme, but getting a lemon happens (no matter what manufacturer). But in a case as bizarre as yours, issuing a refund or replacement out of goodwill is the least the manufacturer must do and that’s where Tata failed you and frankly a lot of people who were beginning to gain trust.

At least you had the support of many on your side (I myself have had multiple people text me this thread over the past few weeks!), but not every customer can — picture someone who bought a car out of their retirement money. That would not be a happy ownership. Screwing up a ground-level issue like customer satisfaction while making big plans for expansion and technology just comes off as a little too ambitious.

[Voodooblaster]

Originally Posted by sln

Resolved

Hi all,

I am elated to give a Good news!!

Select Cars, as a rare case they have agreed to refund the full amount of the car.

explained to me in detail the refund process and assured me that he will make the process smooth and resolve everything related to this.

Glad that the issue is getting resolved to your satisfaction

Please ensure that RC is also transferred from your name at the earliest possible timeframe. Only then will it be final closure

[discoverwild]

Originally Posted by gopa99

I feel sorry that the aggrieved customer here writes good words for a brand he was sulking all these weeks with the news of the refund, and the verbatim reeks of insincerity; its an unfortunate end to a customer saga with a product quality and best not seen again.

Though a bitter experience for SLN, he was always writing positively about the cars. Please don't slight him saying he's putting in good words now because he's getting his refund. That's totally unfair. The quote below was even before there was any sign of resolution to this damned issue. About praising the dealer CEO, I guess SLN was just being polite as he has been throughout the ordeal.

Originally Posted by sln

I know many people here want to hear a favorable outcome, because most of us here are Tata fanboys including myself.
Please don't give up on Tata, my case could be a one in a million.

I'm happy that your case has been resolved, SLN. Only wish it had been more proactive and compensatory to your ordeal. Tata should learn to handle grievances better and quicker and also reign in its errant dealers.

[TaurusSHO]

Imagine moving mountains to fight for what's right and then you succeed but that includes conditions like blaming yourself for being "unlucky" and speak in favour of the said party that made this whole mess in the first place! It's pathetic. While the resolution is in favour of the OP, I would've liked a bit more stand on what's right.

One thing is clear though, steer clear of this said dealer and never do any business with them. And Tata desperately needs to up their QC game.