Re: Ford Figo : Official Review Dear BHPians,
With "Mixed Emotions", I would like to share that I have booked All New Figo Titanium Diesel Ruby Red model. It will be delivered soon.
Let me now describe in details what I mean by "Mixed Emotions":
Emotion-I: Disappointment & Enlightenment
My wife has been big fan of previous gen Honda Jazz. So we wanted to buy Jazz as our first car. We were eagerly waiting for new Jazz launch. But the package came as a disappointment to me, though my wife liked the design very much.
I convinced her with all my skills against buying new Jazz. As usual I was successful.
If not Jazz then what..? Swift was a big NO from both my mom and wife. Both were tired of looking at white Swift on every road of every city. So only request from both was- It should NOT be a "Maruti" and "White".
I started looking for available options. At the end of exhaustive research, I stumbled upon New Figo Diesel. Team-BHP's official review made me a lot more confident about my choice. To be honest, I felt like discovering what I was looking for. So many thanks for such a wonderful review.
Emotion-II: Excitement & Happiness
I truly loved the car for its powerful engine, excellent space and attractive price. Titanium model had every feature, especially the safety, I was looking for. Finally my wife liked Ruby Red color. So that's how I finalized my car, with no second choice.
I visited almost every Ford dealership in Bengaluru. I selected Cauvery Ford, as it had overall better customer satisfaction ratings. The dealer assured me that the desired model will be delivered by 4th week of December. So I booked the car on 5th December, 2015. SA offered Free Insurance, Essential Kit and Car cover. I wanted to add few accessories so requested him to keep me informed well in advance about delivery date. Everything went well and everyone in my family was excited and happy about new car.
Emotion-III: Frustration and Shocker
To my surprise, I did not get any response from Cauvery following the booking. So I called up to check the status. I was told that vehicle is getting ready and it will be delivered in December itself. Few more days passed, it was 3rd week of December, but dealer did not have any clue about the vehicle. I requested them to speed-up the processing. At the end of the 3rd week, dealer communicated that, the car will be billed by end of December and I need not worry about anything.
On 21st of December, I again called the dealer to check what has been the progress so far. SA had no clue about the car, manager did not know what SA was talking about. After couple of hours, I got call from sales manager, "Sir, your car is not available. We have Trend model available. You can take that car. But no offers will apply. If you want Titanium Ruby Red, we cannot guarantee when it will be delivered, earliest could be February-2016. None of the current offer will apply and prices may increase by 15k-20k. So if you want, take the available car. Else you can cancel your booking. We can refund money in 10 days."
It came as huge shock to me. On top of that attitude of the sales manager made me lose my cool. I did not hear a single word of apology from him.
Emotion-IV: Tiring fight
I decided to talk to senior executives at Cauvery. He at least agreed to the mistake and monetary loss of around 40k that I might have to bear because of the mistake, but said that he can't help me as it's lapse from Ford India and not Cauvery. So he suggested me that, I should either pick up Trend model or take my money back.
On 22nd December, I lodged complaint with Ford India Customer Service Department. In 24 hours I got follow up call from their inspection team. They came to conclusion that I'm not co-operating with dealer by not taking the Trend model. I clearly said, "I need ABS and height adjustable driver's seat in my car. Trend does not have this feature. Secondly if I'm paying for the car, I will choose what I want to buy." Ford India did some more inspection, found lapse in the processing of my request (They did not share any details with me about what exactly happened.). Final response from Ford India was, "We will surely take strict internal action against the dealer. We can’t give any details about what that action will be. But either you will have to pay additional cost as per 2016 pricing or cancel the booking."
The only objection I had was regarding the timing when dealer backed out from his promise of delivering the car. It came at the last moment, when I could not opt for any other dealer or brand, as everywhere it was almost end of sale. I felt this practice of locking up the customers with fake promise and then forcing him to pay more money for a mistake which customer is in no way responsible for, is in every sense fraudulent. I proposed to Ford India that I'm ready to accept technical reasons for delay in delivery. I have no issues waiting couple of weeks more. But the additional cost needs to be paid by the entity responsible for the lapse.
The response I got was-"Sorry sir, we can't do that."
I was shattered. I experienced how vulnerable consumers are in India. I explored many other options, including the legal too. I had most of the communications about delivery promise in written format. So thought I can approach consumer court.
The entire experience was tiring and I had given up hope of getting the car I loved. 2016 model was expected only by February end. I did not want to let down atmosphere of excitement in my family about my new car. So decided to go for Honda Jazz SV model. I convinced again my wife for buying Jazz. I started my enquiry with Honda dealers. At the same time opted for cancellation of Figo booking on 28th December. I got email reply from Cauvery, "Once the cheque is ready, we will get back to you."
Emotion-V: Miracle and cautious happiness
I did not hear anything from them for next 3 days. I mailed back asking for status of cancellation. I also called Ford Customer care regarding the same. There I got to know that Cauvery is trying to retain me as customer and has not processed my cancellation request. Another shocker, but with hope of getting the car I so badly wanted to own, with the same color, at the same price. But till then I had completely lost my trust on Cuavery Ford. I asked them to provide to provide VIN. It is- MAJGXXMTKGFM37812. VIN suggested that the car was manufactured on 23rd November, 2015. Everything looked fine but with some unanswered questions in mind- "What exactly happened with the car which was supposed to be delivered to me?", "Where on the earth, did they get the car, which was not at all available? (VIN suggests it is manufactured in Gujrat plant)"
So I finally decided to go with the car. Till this time, my wife had done her own research and was herself confident that Figo Diesel is the best car. I was not required to again convince her against Jazz and for Figo.
So, coming to the final part now-
I will be visiting the showroom tomorrow for PDI. I'm really happy that I'm getting the car. But would like to be cautious taking into consideration the entire experience. That makes me have "Mixed Emotions".
Thus would like to request guidance/suggestions/word of caution from fellow BHPians for PDI as well as taking the car delivery. Also do you see any possibility of future trouble from dealer regarding the service?
P.S.: Team-BHP PDI check list suggest to greet dealer and SA with smile. I’m really not sure, if smile will be my first expression after entering the showroom tomorrow more than a month after booking. |