[jinojohnt]

I think this is a practice by 'almost' all dealers. Most cars have their odometers cut-off till they are given to the customers.
For the benefit of the vehicle buyers, we need to start a thread titled "Vehicles used for Test Drive" and start posting pics of vehicles given to us for test drives and also details such as (temp) registration number, Engine Number and Chasis Number.

[mallumowgli]

Originally Posted by ph03n!x

Again, the car was not 1,85,000 KM on the clock when it was bought. The complainant, Mr. Mukund Reddy, has apparently used it for 1,85,000 KM, in spite of the car's defects / shortcomings - which shows that the car was not a lemon. At least that is what I infer from the quoted article...

OOPS. I must have been hallucinating when i wrote that. Obviously a car with odo at 1.85L would have been junk already!!

[skanchan95]

This is ridiculous!!!! What were the judges thinking?? What is the guarantee that money did not exchange hands? These big car companies, they can stoop down to any level to see that their image is not tarnished!!!!!
After all these years, the compensation amount is a cruel joke on Mr Reddy.

[noopster]

I think this is good for the owner: the 2 lacs may not mean much in absolute terms after 12 years of attending hearings and getting adjournments and what not but it's a great precedent in this country of ours where getting justice in the consumer courts is a rare occurence. It will certainly help the cause of Harish (Skoda case), skanchan95 (Hyundai i20) and many others on these forums and elsewhere.

Just curious why Mercedes allowed this to drag so long and in the end have an unfavourable result that will only vitiate their brand image! They should have settled 12 years ago. It would probably have cost them a lot less than 2 lac not to mention tons in goodwill.

[download2live]

Thats way too light a punishment. An exemplary punishment was the need of the hour. We need some examples to be made.
Look at it this way: If I was a dealer I will now know that I can sell any junk to customer. If he has a will, time and money then after 12 long years I might have to pay peanuts.
The odds are now heavily stacked against the customer.

I am sure some money has changed hands behind the screen.

[CoolFire]

As many others said, the key factor is the discout that was offered. To my knowledge, they sell these cars after disclosing the truth and give huge discounts for them. It is another matter that the invoice is sometimes at full price and discounts are given as direct refund.

I know of many who purchased premium cars like these and sold off after 1-2 years, actually at a profit to unsuspecting used car buyers

[the VTEC guy]

I think this will not be the end of story for the owner as well as Merc and dealer. Both may fight it out till supreme court I guess. Spend lakhs more on the fight but not settle on the 2 lakh compensation.

[madan80]

The apex forum also refused to order replacement of old car with new one, saying, "It is not a case of a vehicle suffering from such manufacturing defects as would make it unusable. Admittedly, the vehicle has already been used for over 1.85 lakh km."

It would be rather shortsighted to go on one particular article. The forum has directed the dealer to pay the compensation. From what has been written in the article, it appears that the consumer has still used the vehicle- and that MBIL attended to the issues without charging the customer.

though such practices should be condoned - we should not jump to conclusions on the guilty parties without throughly examining the facts.

Ideally- the consumer should have pushed for a new car replacement from the beginning itself and have not used the vehicle. But after having used it for 1.8L kms over 12 years, expecting a new vehicle is asking for too much. (again - IMO)

[NetfreakBombay]

Originally Posted by madan80

Ideally- the consumer should have pushed for a new car replacement from the beginning itself and have not used the vehicle. But after having used it for 1.8L kms over 12 years, expecting a new vehicle is asking for too much. (again - IMO)

I guess customer would have asked for replacement in the beginning, but this escalation chain:

1. Dealer
2. Company
3. District Forum
4. State Forum
5. Apex Forum

Took 12 years to complete. And user had no option but to keep using the car he had.

[akj53]

Originally Posted by Fornax

Looking at the case, as presented in the article, the compensation given is fair and appropriate. The company/dealer has made up for the defects by repairing & replacing where required. The 2-lakh comp is likely towards the fact that a similiarly aged/condition vehicle would have been 1/2-lakh cheaper, thus the complainant has been wrongly over-charged. Law does account for inflation, but tell me how much does an 4-lakh OTR 2004 Indica DLS cost in 2011? Apart from inflation the volume growth has ensured stability of unit prices in cars.

Also, given that the vehicle was company owned, the depreciation (read tax benefit) would have given the owner another 3-4 lakhs in tax-savings.

Originally Posted by ph03n!x

Again, the car was not 1,85,000 KM on the clock when it was bought. The complainant, Mr. Mukund Reddy, has apparently used it for 1,85,000 KM, in spite of the car's defects / shortcomings - which shows that the car was not a lemon. At least that is what I infer from the quoted article...

Sad to see such observations. Few basic points come to my mind:-

1. Customer booked and paid for a new car and the dealer gave him a used car in garb of a new car. So first of all it becomes a case of 420 - cheating. I think this is a criminal activity and not a civil one. Dealer should have been tried for cheating in first place.

2. All demo cars are sold to dealers at discounted rate by the manufacturers. Dealers are supposed to sell them separately at a used car price, clearly specifying the age, milage and usage to customer before sale. I have seen such cars being advertised in U.K., with above details at a substantially low price and and people buy them without any issue. It is the duty of the manufacturer to check its dealers for malpractices and penalise them. If they fail to do that, they should also be tried by the court as a party to the crime. MBIL can not be absolved only by repairing the car free of cost. What about the act of cheating???


3. Customer can not be faulted for running the car for 185000 kms. The case dragged on for 12 years due to judicial delays and not due to customer. It was an open and shut case which could have been decided within 2-3 hearings. Why the customer should be penalised for this.

Our laws are tilted towards the criminals. Judicial system has become rotten. Till the time these are rectified and speedy justice with heavy punishments for criminals are laid down, people will continue to be cheated and harassed like this.

[SankalpDesai]

Very sad to hear about such malpractices being operated by none other than Mercedes Benz. The issue is not about judgement (even though it raises severe questions for the fine being imposed on the dealer and the company) It is about the way a truly trusting customer was taken for a ride by the dealer (during the sale) and the company (during the case) for a full 12 years.

Also with reference to the post of Mr. akj53, i can't help but think, Is there something wrong with us Indians? Similar cars are bought and sold in western countries on a daily basis. But they are legitimate sale and not fradulent ones as in question. The dealer, if not the company, would have been aware of the state of the vehicle before the sale was made and despite of representing a company like MB, he went ahead and sold it. What a Shame!!!!!!!!

This reflects poorly on the conscience of people in each and every trade, no matter the status of themselves or the brand they are associated with.

Be careful my dear friends.

[esteem_lover]

Originally Posted by San Phrangmung

The fellow fought for twelve years and the court offers a 2k compensetion! What he deserves is a brand new top end Merc.

Please go through the article again.

Originally Posted by ph03n!x

Again, the car was not 1,85,000 KM on the clock when it was bought. The complainant, Mr. Mukund Reddy, has apparently used it for 1,85,000 KM, in spite of the car's defects / shortcomings - which shows that the car was not a lemon. At least that is what I infer from the quoted article...

Eggzactly. From what i learnt from Trans cars, this car WAS used as a demo for a handful of customers (how many bought a E class in chennai in 1998 before this reddy guy) and had scratch marks on 2 doors, one fender and the boot, so these morons decided to give it an overcoat instead of a full paint job. And this was not done in their own place but was outsourced. Only the paint job was the problem with this car and the consumer forum judges have gone through every detail and hence awarded this compensation, practically there was nothing wrong with the car, not even a clutch or suspension issue which would be the most obvious ones on a very used merc.

Originally Posted by madan80

though such practices should be condoned - we should not jump to conclusions on the guilty parties without throughly examining the facts.

Ideally- the consumer should have pushed for a new car replacement from the beginning itself and have not used the vehicle. But after having used it for 1.8L kms over 12 years, expecting a new vehicle is asking for too much. (again - IMO)

Totally agree with you madan.

[ph03n!x]

Originally Posted by akj53

Sad to see such observations.

You have quoted me out of context there - here is what I had said in the last page:

Originally Posted by ph03n!x

The judge refused to give a replacement for the car because the owner used the car for 1.85 Lakh KM - at least that is what the article states. Moreover, we do not know the terms of purchase - it was purchased on a company's name, was it purchased with a good discount? We know that the dealership / MB controlled the damage with the complete repaint and replacement.

That said, a Rs. 2 Lakh compensation is a joke. A joke on someone who fought without giving up for 12 years. I hope Hareesh vs. Skoda does not go this way - difference being Hareesh's Skoda is unused.

I agree - the punishments doled out by our honorable (?) courts do not act as a deterrent for malpractice at all. It in fact gives a hope for wrong doers - that they can get away with whatever with a minimal punishment.

And no, the dealer is pretty much there and how.

Hope you didn't do what a lot of trollers do (read the first post and then read the last couple of posts before posting their opinion!) - the post you had quoted me on was me clarifying to someone that the car was not already at 1,85,000 KM when sold, but was used that much.

Originally Posted by esteem_lover

Eggzactly. From what i learnt from Trans cars, this car WAS used as a demo for a handful of customers (how many bought a E class in chennai in 1998 before this reddy guy) and had scratch marks on 2 doors, one fender and the boot, so these morons decided to give it an overcoat instead of a full paint job. And this was not done in their own place but was outsourced. Only the paint job was the problem with this car and the consumer forum judges have gone through every detail and hence awarded this compensation, practically there was nothing wrong with the car, not even a clutch or suspension issue which would be the most obvious ones on a very used merc.

Now that you stated this, this case somehow seems very familiar - not sure where I heard it before.

My take - the Merc sold is a good one, stood the test of time for 1.85Lakhs KM of use. But the dealer should have stated that the car is a test-drive-used car, and given appropriate discounts. I am glad that the court found fault with the dealership, and I am not glad that it happened after 12 bloody years, and the compensation was 2 Lakhs. Judgments should be swift, and should stand as a deterrent - neither of which this one is.