Ford Fiesta - Factory Sale

danlalan · 6th November 2006, 21:18

JUSt buy a brand new car.

nitrous · 6th November 2006, 21:45

Oh....its called 'proxy bidding'. Very smart of Ford.
I hope there are no dumb employees who bid more than the car's worth.

Mpower · 6th November 2006, 23:36

Are they letting you inspect the car closely and TD it? If you have to just look and buy then its risky. I'd say start as low as possible...3 lakhs should be OK.

elf · 6th November 2006, 23:49

Note - the sale is on an "as is where is basis". Which means that they have / shall have absolutely no responsibility towards the vehicle at all, especially after it's sold to you, & you have to make the payment if yours is the winning bid.

To put it into perspective, on an as is where is basis (this may be a little extreme, but)
1. You bid is the winning one in the auction.
2. You're really happy now. You haven't even paid for the car yet, but you walk over to it & try to start it.
3. The car doesn't start.
4. You get mad & walk away & refuse to take delivery.

You're still bound to make the full payment of the bid amount to the seller (Ford, in this case) & purchase the car, & any court will uphold the seller's right to demand money from you, due to the sale being on an "as is where is basis".

roms · 6th November 2006, 23:59

MADBULLRAM,
Please stay as away as possible from that 2800kms done Fiesta.I was in a similar situation as you are right now when I wanted to replace my 1.2 Palio with a 1.6 .
I was asked to have a look at this "factory sale" by someone at Shaman Fiat(Mumbai dealer).Factory sale is done by most manufacturers for two reasons:-
1) Sell cars which have been used by company executives and employees to anybody willing to bid and buy them.The cars are mostly bought by in house employees and the company's dealers who have a second hand cars division as well.These are cars which would have clocked a decent amount of kms and are driveable/ownable.Most employees and dealers go for these since they know that if a car has done some 28000-30000kms or some decent mileage and seems to be in good condition,chances are that the car will go a long way.
2) To get rid off pre production models which undergo rigorous testing within their campus and are also given as test cars to auto journos and the like.These are cars which would have clocked anywhere between 30 - 5000 or so kms in 3-4 years.
I had my dad's trusty old mechanic alongside at this factory sale.Saw a lot of cars of the 1st type-cars having done anywhere between 15000 kms to 50000 kms.I liked a few cars including a 28000 kms done Siena Weeked 1.6 .Although the exact condition could not be judged since you only get to start the car, my mech thought the car seemed decent enough.Hardly any dings and scratches and pretty well kept.So I thought to myself,the car seems good,its a lifestyle car,has a 1.6 engine that I am looking for,plus I have to bid for it.And you can bid as many times as you want.So maybe I'll bid low,say anywhere between 1-1.7 L and hope that I win it.
While thinking and still browsing through the lot,I came across a bunch of palios kept separately.None of these employees were interested in bidding for these cars.I wondered why.Anyways,saw the stickers on the cars that read Palio 1.6 RST Euro3 test car,palio 1.9D Euro3 test car.There were a few Sienas as well.None of these had done more than 5000 kms.So I started a 400 kms done Palio 1.6 and all my hopes turned to misery.The whole damn thing was vibrating like crazy and the engine was sounding like a diesel.I did'nt even require the services of my mech to analyse this one.
So I caught hold of an employee and asked him what the whole funda was and why are these cars left with no one bidding for them.You wont believe and I swear this happened - he burst out laughing at me and said "Saar, if you want to learn how to make and repair the whole car and become a mechanic,then buy these cars".Some sense of humour that.He went on to say that these cars are tested on dynos and undergo hell during testing.They have to since they were made for that purpose.Its only the dealers who venture with these cars,try and refurbish them and then sell them off in the seconds market.I did not feel like buying anything from that place after that.
Thankfully,I came across an angel after a while-a well kept 9000 kms done S10 by an owner who kept it as lovingly as I would have and I did'nt think twice.
So madbullram,i sincerely advice you to stay away from that 2800 kms done fiesta,unless you are absolutely clear about the history of that particular car.If at all you want to bid, please go for the first type of cars,something that has seen the road and is not a test mule.Good luck and have patience,in my case it paid off.

prasadee · 7th November 2006, 06:19

In europe and the us all application tested cars need to be crushed with the customer as the witness. Many third party companies do appllication testing for major manufacturers. All cars including the likes of Ferrari, Maserati, Maybach, RR, are crushed at the hands of a disgusting bulldozer. This horrible act needs to be video taped and sent to the manufacturer along with the results of the application tests. It is a real painful act to watch.

In India it looks like they are trying to make money even with these cars. They should simply give these cars to the application test engineers for free. And what a job that would be.

viper · 7th November 2006, 08:53

Hi,

Firstly I would advise you to stay away. Next to the best of my knowledge it is difficult to get your hands on a genuine car as generally there is a nexus between the employees and a car dealer. The employees ensure the delaers get the cars at a steal and they get a cut from it. Normally such cars are sold through a tender process.

The term I am assuming you are all referring to is an auction which is almost always rigged.

Viper

shivasuma · 7th November 2006, 11:02

Madbullram,
I would advise you to stay off the car if they don't allow you to inspect and TD it. Since there is no warranty, if anything goes wrong, you will end up paying a bomb to repair it. The spares of fiesta are pretty much on the higher end.
If you are really keen on the fiesta maybe you could wait till next year( and save up some money meanwhile). With a lot of new releases slated next year, I have a feeling that Ford might start offering discounts. They have already started a gimmick offering the car with some ridiculous stickering job.

Suhas

carfreak · 7th November 2006, 12:21

madbullram,i think you should do what roms did-avoid it and wait patiently for a well-maintained low-mileage fiesta.the risks involved are much lesser,esp if the seller is a genuine one unlike in your case.and another issue is they are not allowing a test-drive which is bad.
if indeed you buy this car,and say for whatever reason,a small problem were to occur,you will regret you bought it.even though the problem may be very minor and it could happen to a new car too.but if it happens to one of these cars you will start harbouring suspicions and may feel slight regret you went in for this vehicle.purely psychological,i agree.

esteem_lover · 7th November 2006, 14:39

you say you can spend 4 lakhs. get an used Honda City, a far better option, i would say. Like viper said, all auctions, tenders are rigged.

madbullram · 7th November 2006, 14:50

Thanks everyone for the feedback. I had an inside contact, a reliable one, the car I had marked was used by the GM CHennai Ford and Marketing Manager and was not used for any other testing purpose. So he said I can go for it but as law anything can fail in any car just be open to the idea. So let me know see whats gonna happen, its a gamble, I am prepared for it thought its an calculated one and not some blind folded one. Also, this is provided no other dealer has an inside hand and hooks it off.,...

Esteem_lover: I really like Fiesta and fida over it, just that cant afford it right now...thats why I actually put off my idea of buying Ikon and decided to wait till I can afford a Fiesta

esteem_lover · 7th November 2006, 15:08

Quote:

Originally Posted by madbullram

Thanks everyone for the feedback. I had an inside contact, a reliable one, the car I had marked was used by the GM CHennai Ford and Marketing Manager and was not used for any other testing purpose.

Just where did the GM & MM use this car ? i thought you said these cars were unregistered & used within the campus. Also a car that has run only 2800 Km might have been stopped running due to major repairs. consider that. Also, madbullram, there is one thing in life that i have learnt. Nothing good in life comes easy. And ford is not a generous donor to give away their cars like that. i can understand that you are all ga ga over the fiesta, but that will not come cheap. i hope you understand.

Vid6639 · 7th November 2006, 16:19

Also the car might be one of the first prototypes. prototypes generally have a few features missing as they are still undergoing R&D. the car might still have issues which may have been resolved only on the final production version.

edit: oops the point has already been mentioned by roms. sorry for re post.

madbullram · 7th November 2006, 17:02

Quote:

Originally Posted by esteem_lover

Just where did the GM & MM use this car ? i thought you said these cars were unregistered & used within the campus. Also a car that has run only 2800 Km might have been stopped running due to major repairs. consider that. Also, madbullram, there is one thing in life that i have learnt. Nothing good in life comes easy. And ford is not a generous donor to give away their cars like that. i can understand that you are all ga ga over the fiesta, but that will not come cheap. i hope you understand.

They had used with the temp registrations company use for testing cars

DRC · 7th November 2006, 17:15

Reminds me of Malgudi days' road roller

.

Dude words of advice "stay away"

6th November 2006, 21:18	#16
danlalan Senior - BHPian Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: mumbai,JUHU Posts: 1,636 Thanked: 263 Times View My Garage	JUSt buy a brand new car.
	() Thanks

6th November 2006, 21:45	#17
nitrous Senior - BHPian Join Date: May 2004 Location: UAE/Lon/Madras Posts: 6,965 Thanked: 325 Times View My Garage	Oh....its called 'proxy bidding'. Very smart of Ford. I hope there are no dumb employees who bid more than the car's worth.
	() Thanks

6th November 2006, 23:36	#18
Mpower Senior - BHPian Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Bangalore Posts: 10,409 Thanked: 1,730 Times View My Garage	Are they letting you inspect the car closely and TD it? If you have to just look and buy then its risky. I'd say start as low as possible...3 lakhs should be OK. Last edited by Mpower : 6th November 2006 at 23:38.
	() Thanks

6th November 2006, 23:49	#19
elf BANNED Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Bombay Posts: 1,039 Thanked: 13 Times View My Garage	Note - the sale is on an "as is where is basis". Which means that they have / shall have absolutely no responsibility towards the vehicle at all, especially after it's sold to you, & you have to make the payment if yours is the winning bid. To put it into perspective, on an as is where is basis (this may be a little extreme, but) 1. You bid is the winning one in the auction. 2. You're really happy now. You haven't even paid for the car yet, but you walk over to it & try to start it. 3. The car doesn't start. 4. You get mad & walk away & refuse to take delivery. You're still bound to make the full payment of the bid amount to the seller (Ford, in this case) & purchase the car, & any court will uphold the seller's right to demand money from you, due to the sale being on an "as is where is basis".
	() Thanks

6th November 2006, 23:59	#20
roms BHPian Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Mumbai Posts: 641 Thanked: 26 Times	MADBULLRAM, Please stay as away as possible from that 2800kms done Fiesta.I was in a similar situation as you are right now when I wanted to replace my 1.2 Palio with a 1.6 . I was asked to have a look at this "factory sale" by someone at Shaman Fiat(Mumbai dealer).Factory sale is done by most manufacturers for two reasons:- 1) Sell cars which have been used by company executives and employees to anybody willing to bid and buy them.The cars are mostly bought by in house employees and the company's dealers who have a second hand cars division as well.These are cars which would have clocked a decent amount of kms and are driveable/ownable.Most employees and dealers go for these since they know that if a car has done some 28000-30000kms or some decent mileage and seems to be in good condition,chances are that the car will go a long way. 2) To get rid off pre production models which undergo rigorous testing within their campus and are also given as test cars to auto journos and the like.These are cars which would have clocked anywhere between 30 - 5000 or so kms in 3-4 years. I had my dad's trusty old mechanic alongside at this factory sale.Saw a lot of cars of the 1st type-cars having done anywhere between 15000 kms to 50000 kms.I liked a few cars including a 28000 kms done Siena Weeked 1.6 .Although the exact condition could not be judged since you only get to start the car, my mech thought the car seemed decent enough.Hardly any dings and scratches and pretty well kept.So I thought to myself,the car seems good,its a lifestyle car,has a 1.6 engine that I am looking for,plus I have to bid for it.And you can bid as many times as you want.So maybe I'll bid low,say anywhere between 1-1.7 L and hope that I win it. While thinking and still browsing through the lot,I came across a bunch of palios kept separately.None of these employees were interested in bidding for these cars.I wondered why.Anyways,saw the stickers on the cars that read Palio 1.6 RST Euro3 test car,palio 1.9D Euro3 test car.There were a few Sienas as well.None of these had done more than 5000 kms.So I started a 400 kms done Palio 1.6 and all my hopes turned to misery.The whole damn thing was vibrating like crazy and the engine was sounding like a diesel.I did'nt even require the services of my mech to analyse this one. So I caught hold of an employee and asked him what the whole funda was and why are these cars left with no one bidding for them.You wont believe and I swear this happened - he burst out laughing at me and said "Saar, if you want to learn how to make and repair the whole car and become a mechanic,then buy these cars".Some sense of humour that.He went on to say that these cars are tested on dynos and undergo hell during testing.They have to since they were made for that purpose.Its only the dealers who venture with these cars,try and refurbish them and then sell them off in the seconds market.I did not feel like buying anything from that place after that. Thankfully,I came across an angel after a while-a well kept 9000 kms done S10 by an owner who kept it as lovingly as I would have and I did'nt think twice. So madbullram,i sincerely advice you to stay away from that 2800 kms done fiesta,unless you are absolutely clear about the history of that particular car.If at all you want to bid, please go for the first type of cars,something that has seen the road and is not a test mule.Good luck and have patience,in my case it paid off. Last edited by roms : 7th November 2006 at 00:16.
	() Thanks

7th November 2006, 06:19	#21
prasadee BANNED Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: San Diego Posts: 569 Thanked: 265 Times View My Garage	In europe and the us all application tested cars need to be crushed with the customer as the witness. Many third party companies do appllication testing for major manufacturers. All cars including the likes of Ferrari, Maserati, Maybach, RR, are crushed at the hands of a disgusting bulldozer. This horrible act needs to be video taped and sent to the manufacturer along with the results of the application tests. It is a real painful act to watch. In India it looks like they are trying to make money even with these cars. They should simply give these cars to the application test engineers for free. And what a job that would be.
	() Thanks

7th November 2006, 08:53	#22
viper BANNED Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Mumbai Posts: 1,773 Thanked: 19 Times	Hi, Firstly I would advise you to stay away. Next to the best of my knowledge it is difficult to get your hands on a genuine car as generally there is a nexus between the employees and a car dealer. The employees ensure the delaers get the cars at a steal and they get a cut from it. Normally such cars are sold through a tender process. The term I am assuming you are all referring to is an auction which is almost always rigged. Viper
	() Thanks

7th November 2006, 11:02	#23
shivasuma BHPian Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Bangalore Posts: 872 Thanked: 468 Times	Madbullram, I would advise you to stay off the car if they don't allow you to inspect and TD it. Since there is no warranty, if anything goes wrong, you will end up paying a bomb to repair it. The spares of fiesta are pretty much on the higher end. If you are really keen on the fiesta maybe you could wait till next year( and save up some money meanwhile). With a lot of new releases slated next year, I have a feeling that Ford might start offering discounts. They have already started a gimmick offering the car with some ridiculous stickering job. Suhas
	() Thanks

7th November 2006, 12:21	#24
carfreak BHPian Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Udupi Posts: 599 Thanked: 342 Times	madbullram,i think you should do what roms did-avoid it and wait patiently for a well-maintained low-mileage fiesta.the risks involved are much lesser,esp if the seller is a genuine one unlike in your case.and another issue is they are not allowing a test-drive which is bad. if indeed you buy this car,and say for whatever reason,a small problem were to occur,you will regret you bought it.even though the problem may be very minor and it could happen to a new car too.but if it happens to one of these cars you will start harbouring suspicions and may feel slight regret you went in for this vehicle.purely psychological,i agree.
	() Thanks

7th November 2006, 14:39	#25
esteem_lover Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Madras/Py Posts: 7,556 Thanked: 502 Times View My Garage	you say you can spend 4 lakhs. get an used Honda City, a far better option, i would say. Like viper said, all auctions, tenders are rigged. Last edited by esteem_lover : 7th November 2006 at 14:42.
	() Thanks

7th November 2006, 14:50	#26
madbullram BHPian Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Chennai&Ashburn Posts: 551 Thanked: 231 Times View My Garage	Thanks everyone for the feedback. I had an inside contact, a reliable one, the car I had marked was used by the GM CHennai Ford and Marketing Manager and was not used for any other testing purpose. So he said I can go for it but as law anything can fail in any car just be open to the idea. So let me know see whats gonna happen, its a gamble, I am prepared for it thought its an calculated one and not some blind folded one. Also, this is provided no other dealer has an inside hand and hooks it off.,... Esteem_lover: I really like Fiesta and fida over it, just that cant afford it right now...thats why I actually put off my idea of buying Ikon and decided to wait till I can afford a Fiesta
	() Thanks

7th November 2006, 16:19	#28
Vid6639 Team-BHP Support Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Bangalore Posts: 17,730 Thanked: 43,474 Times View My Garage	Also the car might be one of the first prototypes. prototypes generally have a few features missing as they are still undergoing R&D. the car might still have issues which may have been resolved only on the final production version. edit: oops the point has already been mentioned by roms. sorry for re post. Last edited by Vid6639 : 7th November 2006 at 16:22.
	() Thanks

7th November 2006, 17:15	#30
DRC BHPian Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Cockpit Posts: 911 Thanked: 64 Times View My Garage	Reminds me of Malgudi days' road roller . Dude words of advice "stay away"
	() Thanks