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On Team-Bhp we have seen quite a few cases where the dealer has cheated and delivered a used car, repainted one, TD car etc. We have seen Skoda, GM and latest to the list was Honda. On reading jmathew’s thread about his repainted Civic, a small question came to my mind. Is it better to buy your new car from a car dealer whom you know or directly approach a showroom?

We have bought three cars till date, a Fiat in 1989, Hyundai Santro in 1999 and latest one is 2008 Maruti Swift Vdi. In my case all three cars have been bought through a dealer we know from past 25 years.

Car Dealer: These guys are in this industry for a long time. They know each and every showroom guys in the city. What I feel, just because these guys have that “pehchaan” the chances of you buying a ‘lemon’ reduces infact it is zero. The showroom guy won’t do a stupid thing and break a good relation which has been maintained from past so many years. All your documents processing, registration, loan etc is done by the same guy. I can choose whichever insurance company I want, whichever finance company I like etc.
In my case, I just gave the cheque and required documents. I didn’t break my head over a single thing. As soon as the arrived at the yard, did the pre-delivery inspection. And within few days car was ready for delivery. The car costs the same, no extra money to be paid anywhere. Plus no headache, no constant phone calls required and most important peace of mind.

Company Showroom: These are company showrooms. People can TD the car, bargain hard for the price or freebies. Finance and insurance options are of dealers’ choice, if someone tries to go against them, dealer starts to act funny and behaves like he is doing a favor by giving us the car. And most importantly, you might get a lemon. Chances are dim but still a chance. After that a legal battle begins. No matter what end result is, it certainly takes away the charm and excitement of a new car. Atleast I think so.

So a small question – Would like to buy your car through a car dealer or from a company showroom?

Priyank, I have seen the Car dealer(even Bikes) thing only in Mumbai, Havent heard of such dealers in Pune nor in Bhopal(M.P.) not sure which other places you have such dealers.

What is the difference between a car dealer and a company showroom? I thought they were one and the same! Please enlighten us gurus!

I guess, multi-brand shop refers to a Car dealer whereas single brand shop refers to a Company Showroom.

Correct me if wrong in my interpretation.

SumitB: In Mumbai there are Dealers which do no have showroom something like the M.A.S.S. which do not belong to a showroom & are independent yet authorized by Maruti.

They accept booking for Bikes\Cars(you have different dealers) & give delivery they essentially book through an Official showroom only but have some internal jugad & hence get you vehicles quickly & at times cheaper too.

F50: See there arent many who know, so I guess this just might be limited to Mumbai & may be a few other cities.

So this setup works like a DSA of a finance company? A big DSA generally works like a multi-brand dealership wherein they have various models ready for delivery and work on behalf of a financial institution! They have their own setting with the authorised dealers and get considerable discount and deals and the customer does not pay anything extra. Works as an all-in-one solution with all services under one roof. I have seen such DSAs in Karol Bagh in Delhi.

I had this thing in mind but wasnt aware that car dealers wont be present in many cities.

I think till mid-1990s these were quite popular in Mumbai. A new car is launched, many reputed ones will the car for display the same day of the launch. I remember going for Peugeot 309, Tata Sumo, Fiat Uno, Maruti 1000, Zen etc. As and when the showrooms opened these guys reduced to few. One with good network are still in the business.

Have seen this in Kolkata. Quite a few used car dealers also run a new car business.

But then, I wonder if they have tie-ups with all the different car companies/showrooms. I've normally seen them dealing in Hyundai, Maruti, GM and Tata cars. Mostly small cars. Chances are that someone paying 10L+ would surely want to go to a showroom.

I would buy from a showroom.

Are there any 'Company Showrooms' in Bangalore?

I think "Company Showroom" in the context of this thread refers to a company authorised showroom and not necessarily a Company Owned and Company Operated showroom.