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I bought a Hyundai i10 asta -new model from Hilton Hyundai, Trivandrum on 19th November 2010. At the time of purchase I was told I would get an 'exchange bonus' of Rs 10,000, an offer from Hyundai for customers exchanging their old cars for a new Hyundai. This bonus was to be paid by cheque some time after the purchase. Accordingly, the sales representative came to my house about a week later and collected photocopies of the sale document of my old car and the registration certificate of my new car.
Around January I called the sales manager at the dealer, there having been no news of a cheque. He assured me it takes a few weeks and would soon be coming.
In February I rang and emailed customer relations at Hyundai. They promptly registered my complaint, gave me a complaint no. and went back to sleep.
Today (March 26th) I rang them again and was again reassured they would look into the matter.

The i10 is a nice little car to run around the city in and I would have bought it, offer or no offer. But to promise an exchange bonus and make you beg for it does not make for good customer relations.

Any suggestions?


(Moderators: if this has been discussed elsewhere before, please delete this. I searched for 'exchange offer' and 'exchange bonus' and could not find a similar thread)

this is incorrect practice on the part of the dealer - possibly I would go so far as to say "sharp practice"
normally in a trade in situation the agreed 'exchange/loyalty bonus' amount is knocked off from the price of the car itself.
this has been my experience in the past.
I hope you have documentary evidence of their "promise" so that if you need to take action, you have some proof with you.
10k may not be the end of the world, but in my mind, a promise made to a consumer has GOT to be honoured!

This is someting new to me "issuing exchange bonus cheque"!!! When I purchased my punto, there was an EB against my Alto, and Rs 10000/- was adjusted against the price, never heard dealer issuing cheques after purchase. Go hard at the dealer and make sure till the time they don't issue the cheque you don't leave the showroom, thats what I can think of. Polite complains will not do.

Its really sad to see Hyundai making customers run after their own money which they rightfully deserve:Frustrati. Have you mailed to the Hyundai authorities with the complaint no reference?

Fortunately for me the exchange bonus promised by the dealer was promptly paid within one week of car delivery when I had gone to collect the RC copy. I remember having put the exchange bonus in the quotation form which Ford dealer had prepared and I guess this was considered in their records. Hence the prompt handing over I guess.

Well, adjustment against the price of the car happens only when sold via/to Hyundai Advantage / the dealer. When you don't want to sell the car, and instead transfer it to a relative or sell it outside for a better value or such, within generally a one month radius, the "transfer certificate" document of sorts, when submitted to the dealer, will entitle you to a cheque of the exchange bonus amount.

Usually, if the bonus is offered by the dealer, it's adjusted against the price of the car. And when its a manufacturer bonus, that payment is sent via cheque. Of course, there are some exceptions, but this is generally the procedure.

What I'm not happy about is that, it's been over 4 months and you have yet to release the 10K bonus.

Absolutely, a commitment is a commitment....however large or small. I suggest following up with the Hyundai service number, and perhaps dropping a stinker email or two.

You may need to check with the dealer to see if they have forwarded the EB request from you to Hyundai. When I bought the Getz in late 2006, the dealer promised me for Rs. 10000 Exchange bonus even without exchanging my old car with them. I received the EB cheque directly from Hyundai promptly in a month after the delivery of the car.

I think it may not be a false promise. You may need to double check with the dealer first.

Very sad, i had got the cheque quite timely, try talking to the sales guy who sold the car. The process was they needed me to give the RC copy of the old car AFTER i sold it, with the new owners name there to get my bonus. They go and tell hyundai that the customer sold it to them and they sold it to someone else i think to claim exchange bonus. Not sure if its a miss at the dealers end

I think it was a manufacturer's bonus where you are supposed to recieve a cheque. The same had happened when I bought the Fiesta and we got the exchange bonus cheque within 3 weeks.

I doubt if there wil be any benefit of sending a stinker mail/calls to Hyundai's customer care. They hardly care. You can definitely go to the dealer and make a noise about it.

When I bought my Punto, there were no discounts announced for the MJD 90HP variant. The SA said that he will try to get me Corp Discount (12K) and free extended warranty (5K). When we went to pick up the car, he told us that both the discounts have been approved and the dealer will issue a cheque within a few days. I got the cheque for the entire amount (17K) in about 10 days' time.

When i bought my Logan in Sep 2007, the dealer had promised an exchange bonus.
Now, even though I wasnt willing to sell my old M800, the dealer showed it on records that I had given up the M800 in fvaour of a new Logan (to be shown to the company)

An immediate adjustment of Rs. 20,000/- was made against payable amount. I still have both cars with me!.

Guess its entirely unto the dealer to handle such things.

Ditto with me. got an exchange bonus of 20,000 for the Zen while purchasing the ANHC, and was adjusted against the payable amount. Funny thing is, I was actually willing to sell off the Zen, but the sales rep said don't worry, its a mere formality. I also still have both the cars.

IMO the exchange bonus is not offered by the dealer but by the car manufatcurer. So the cheque should come from the manufacturer.

Thanks everybody for the comments and suggestions.
I was told at the time of purchase that I would get a cheque from Hyundai

It is possible that the dealer or somebody at the dealership has not passed on the papers to Hyundai.
Thanks, GTO. I have sent emails to Hilton and Hyundai. Again.

Exactly!

I faced a similar problem with KTC Hyundai, Thrissur a couple of years back - the car was for my friend.

Had to bombard Hyundai with mails and after around 4 months, got the cheque along with several calls from the dealer, sounding vaguely like apology :D