Team-BHP - Comedy of Errors at Indian Dealerships

I found most car salesmen to be duds on the technicalities of the automobiles they are supposed to sell. If they are cornered they ask us to talk to the service department.

So thumb rule no. 1 Never rely on the salesmen to speak about any technical aspects of the automobile.

Thumb rule no. 2 These salesmen have been trained to push the products and so they are like politicians who speak about their own good things only (may or may not be true), deriding the opponents.
So never take their words on face value! Treat these words like the election speech of the politician and vote for the party (read buy the automobile) of your choice by judgment and common sense!

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The biggest amount is usually flying. You can drive a car for one whole year or take a plane once for a long distance flight. The impact would be almost the same

Actually, much the same as the computer world.

Given the rank idiocy that seems rampant at the dealer networks one could adopt the following method whenever one intends buying a vehicle.

One does all one's research on a prospective car via the internet (using Forums/Fora like ours), various car magazines, and other extraneous methods first.

Once the choice is narrowed down to a few vehicles, one can write down a check-list of one's preferences, wants and needs from the dealer/ service network and then shortlist a set of dealers.

Use the dealer network primarily for;

1. getting brochures and price lists
2. negotiating final prices, best payment terms and best delivery dates
3. physically accessing the vehicle & test driving the same
4. asking questions about after sales service aspects like free pickup and drop, lead time for servicing, indicative costs of spare parts etc.
5. Accessorization etc can be done outside at an accessories store of choice rather than the dealer's place.

I am not sure if service center agents qualify in this topic, but a few months ago i went to Prestige Honda (Chandigarh) to get my exhaust changed. On enquiring, i was left with my mouth wide open when the service center agent said "Sir, Honda city mein to single barrel exhaust hi aata hai, even if its a VTec". i had to literally drag the guy out towards the front of the showroom where (Luckily) a OHC VTec was parked. I showed them the exhaust but still they were not convinced. Apparently they showed me the spec sheet (containing information about spare parts) which showed a design with single barrel.

I left the service center laughing and straightaway went to Harmony Honda (Chandigarh). Although they too had the same spec sheet showing a single barrel, the service agent was educated enough to know the difference. Although i did not buy the exhaust (Price quoted: 22K for the double barrel exhaust end only with a week's waiting period) but was surprised that people who see these cars day in and day out cant identify VTecs from normal cars

Accompanied an expat friend of mine in Delhi to a local used car stealership primarily dealing in Hyundais.
Friend: Can I take a look inside the Tucson that's parked outside?
Sales guy: The what?
Friend: The grey Tucson SUV (points in that direction)
Sales guy: Oh you mean Tucksun

We couldn't control our emotions and burst out laughing.

hmm... guess we should visit some Mahindra-Renault dealership, just to listen how they pronounce Renault
I guess there shall be similar problems if Peugeot comes back / Citroen comes in.
I have heard a VW owner pronounce Volkswagen with a V.

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Originally Posted by blackasta (Post 1571128)

I have heard a VW owner pronounce Volkswagen with a V.

:eek:Never thought of that... but I've also never stopped to think how the Germans themselves pronounce it!

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Originally Posted by blackasta (Post 1571128)

I have heard a VW owner pronounce Volkswagen with a V.

Well honestly I don't see a problem with that. You can pronounce it with a "V" or "F" or "W" or whatever you like. All over the world people have different accents and ways of saying things. It's OK as long as the other party can understand perfectly well what you are talking about. We don't have to say everything like the Germans/ Europeans. Afterall they can't speak our names like it should be and we don't seem to give a second thought to that.

Accent problems are acceptable, although Tuckson is not, that is lack of training. Hyundai generally has the most variations. I myself say "Hun-dye", like they say in US. But in India I have heard it as "Hoon-dye", "Hi-un-dai", "Who-dai", etc. I guess only the Koreans can say it correctly.

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Originally Posted by Samurai (Post 1572567)

yeah in my childhood we used to say PEU -GOAT(like goat). but i think it is PAJO. i heard this in Top Gear.

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Originally Posted by Samurai (Post 1572567)

Accent problems are acceptable, although Tuckson is not, that is lack of training. Hyundai generally has the most variations. I myself say "Hun-dye", like they say in US. But in India I have heard it as "Hoon-dye", "Hi-un-dai", "Who-dai", etc. I guess only the Koreans can say it correctly.

Nope, most people in the US call it "Hun-day".

Same goes for Nissan. I've heard everything from "Niss-aan", the Brit way "Nis-son" to "Nye-sun".

@tushky: Depending on where you live, it's either Poo-joe (US) or Puh-joe (Europe) but certainly not Pa-jo.

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Originally Posted by khan75 (Post 1572694)

Nope, most people in the US call it "Hun-day".

Same goes for Nissan. I've heard everything from "Niss-aan", the Brit way "Nis-son" to "Nye-sun".

@tushky: Depending on where you live, it's either Poo-joe (US) or Puh-joe (Europe) but certainly not Pa-jo.

Guess so. The ad going all around also states - its hun-day, like sun day !

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Originally Posted by khan75 (Post 1572694)

yeah you are right. i meant PUH- JOE. but i wrote it PAJO