[furyrider]

Originally Posted by sridhga

Again, I can buy insurance on my own as I have an agent in the family. Would this again reduce the dealer's interest in my business?

It depends on how you negotiate the deal with the dealer. When I purchased Carens back in 2022, the dealer was upfront about insurance. If I wanted an early delivery (which I got), I had to take insurance. If I were to wait until my allotment, I was free to take insurance from outside. I know this sounds like arm twisting by the dealer, but it was me who approached them to skip the queue.

Coming to my experience on getting an early delivery. I booked Carens on the day prices were announced. Needless to say, there was a long list before me. I was given around 2 months of wait time. I did not check with the dealer at all during the first couple of weeks. I just got a hello message from the sales advisor assigned to my booking introducing himself. 2 weeks in, there were rumors that Kia was hiking prices from the next month and it could be substantial. I called the SA couple of times. He politely declined my requests stating that my vehicle is not even dispatched, and that he could not do anything to expedite it.

One fine day, I visited the showroom and asked him if he had free inventory. I would pay for the vehicle on the same day (no loan). He still said, it was not possible. I asked him to check with his manager and let me know if anything changes. He calls me 2 days later and said that there was a vehicle ready for delivery in a different colour, but I had to make the payment as soon as possible. It was on first come first serve basis. I asked him about PDI. His manager calls me, introduces himself and tries to push for payment stating that PDI and all can be handled later. I politely declined his request for payment without PDI and further negotiations hit a roadblock.

One hour later the SA calls me and invites me over to the showroom so that we could close this deal. Given that there was an imminent price hike (he said it was to the tune of 50K ex-showroom), he asked me to settle the deal before the end of the week if I were to take advantage of the introductory price. I still insisted that I will pay only after seeing the vehicle. I visited the showroom later that day. The first question the SA and his manager asked me was how fast I could release the funds. Somehow, in the back of my mind, this sort of pushing was raising some questions. I felt suspicious that they were trying to push a display vehicle as brand new. I asked them what their offer was. They pulled the price chart, highlighted the amount I had to pay and that was it. No discounts, nothing over the quoted amount either. Accessories and warranty was optional. However, insurance was part of the deal. They would not back down on that front. I asked them to show me the vehicle and if I was happy, I would release the payment right away. They assured that the vehicle itself is a new launch and that there was no scope for them to sell an old vehicle as new. I still stood my ground. They excused themselves, after some calls, asked me to accompany them to the yard. However, there was a catch - I had to transfer some amount the same day if my PDI went well. Fortunately, the car was not a display vehicle (except for the driver seat area, rest of the vehicle was untouched) and was brand new. I was asked to check the vehicle as much as I want to, but was not allowed to start the engine or test drive it.

We returned to the showroom, they gave details on their account numbers, etc. I asked them if the vehicle was part of dealer inventory or if they were selling one allocated to someone else. The SA showed me an excel containing details of their inventory and mentioned that it was booked by another customer who declined to take delivery. I still probed into it since I refused to believe that the dealership was this helpful. The SA brought in his colleague who showed me some conversations in WhatsApp. Apparently, someone pre-booked this and later, when prices were announced, booked the top variant. They refused to take delivery of this particular variant. I transferred them some amount, but owing to restrictions to how much I could transfer to a newly added account, I had to wait a little while before I could release the funds. I was given 2 days to clear funds. 3 days later, the vehicle was home.

On the day of delivery, while signing the documents, the SA mentioned that there were 2 other customers ready to take delivery. However, both had to take confirmation from their respective financiers. Since it was towards the end of March, the dealership was eager to close the financial year with their books in green. Since I promised to pay them upfront, they chose me over them.

On a side note, I got so carried away that I completely forgot to mention that I was exchanging my old car. When I informed this to the SA after I went home, he quickly arranged for someone to inspect it from the dealership. However, they asked me to treat this as a separate transaction and money will be credited to my account directly. The resale value of the old car would not be deducted from the invoice of the new car. I had to pay for the new car in full. I got the sale value of the old vehicle 1 day after taking delivery of the new one. Strangely enough, this transaction was from a Maruti TrueValue dealership.

[drsachin]

Originally Posted by Virtualaman

The power dynamic shifts completely in the favour of the dealer, once payment is made before PDI. Most dealers will be extremely hesitant to allot another car and instead offer to rectify / remediate any defects.
You don't want to be in that situation, EVER!

Ofcourse it's a risk but you have to do risk reward calculations.
Anyway power dynamics has already shifted since 2020 into the hands of dealers and car manufacturers. Thanks to huge demand and ever increasing prices. Ask those who waited for their favourite car delivery for as much as one year and seen 3-4 price rise in between and in the end settling for other non desirable options.
My brother brought XUV700 after waiting for almost a year and in between saw three price rise.

Had I waited in case of Windsor there would have been three losses
1. Price rise of 50000
2. Potentially Loosing on 1lakh subsidy from UP government.
3. Loosing free 1 year charging offer.

So I took a calculated risk. So I present an option of similar cost benefit risk to others.

[SR-71]

Originally Posted by ManiE

I have observed many dealers don't agree on carrying forward the NCB from an insurance from the older car to a new insurance for a new car. The owner in both these cases should be same and carrying forward NCB can save substantial amount on the insurance.

The dealers have no control over this. Even after the insurance is issued, you can submit the NCB to the insurance company, and they will issue you a cheque for refund on a pro-rata basis. This is based on first-hand experience.

[Grand Tourer]

Originally Posted by drsachin

My last experience with hyryder tought me how to deal

2. Use the booking time to look for a decent bank for loan disposal. Engage with atleast 2-3 banks and negotiate for cheapest interest rates. And ask them to provide pre approved loan letter. In my case I managed to get pre-approved loan from both IDBI and PNB bank. IDBI at 9% and PNB at 8.75% green EV car loan. Presently even government banks are very aggressive with loan disposal. Always engage with banks who are ready for loan disposal in just 2-3 hour or at max 1 day after pre approval. Most banks would be ready to send lower staff to your work place even at far of distance to complete paper work( Dealers are happy for early deliveries to buyers who have ready arrangements for finances).

You have to be careful here when doing this as if there are enquiries into CIBIL multiple times, this can affect the Cibil score. This happen to me as the dealer went ahead with 2 to 3 banks during my waiting period and without my permission. The last bank that was contacted by the dealer contacted me and told me that since my CIBIL lost a few points it's had a small impact on the score. It was not drastic but when keeping these scores well above the 800 mark, the stupidity of the dealer to start enquiries and getting thr pre-approval letter at multiple banks can have such impacts.

I confronted the dealer and they were aware of what they did and the impact. Their excuse was to make sure they keep the approval quick that i get the car asap. When i had to wait for 8 months and still no car, in the 7th month, they lied to me telling me the car is scheduled to be dispatched from the factory and tried to apply for the loan again just to make sure they show me that some activity is happening and the car will soon be delivered. I ended up canceling the booking after being a customer with this dealer for close to 11 years and several cars for me and the family. How one stupid and desperate move by a sales person and his team leader can ruin a lifetime relationship with the dealership. I eventually moved to another dealer closeby and got my next 2 cars from them with absolutely no hassle and as per commitment.