[Dry Ice]

Shocking!
How many kms had you clocked till now?

Whenever the approvals are in place, I wonder what the dealer will do with the returned car, sell it to someone else as new?

[Guderian]

Hi Janjua,
Have been following your thread since you got home your Thar.
Sorry to be putting up my first post here when situation has taken a terrible, terrible turn.

The entire episode reeks of a very cavalier attitude of the Executives of the company, M&M in this case, who were charged with the responsibility of getting basic processes completed with the RTO authorities which apparently hasn't happened. Unfathomable as to how could the company 'sell' a vehicle in a territory where it doesn't have the basic clearances/code passed from the authorities. Ultimately the blame rests solely with the company and its senior management for playing around with its customers.

Folks may wax eloquent about the company/dealer having accepted back the vehicle (after so many days of usage etc) and refunded the amount paid in full, my view is that it was good in their own interest they did that, as they did not have any choice. What about the mental agony and trauma the entire episode caused to you and the family - besides the social embarassment ?

And for folks who are passionate about products that they acquire from the market after much research and care - it can be a gut wrenching experience to return it after bonding with it over a period of time if use. Ask me who feels terrible when a simple electronic item is returned to the manufacturer due to a defect after just a couple of days of usage. Even if a new piece/different brand is offered - there is a vacuum and a sense of loss. And to think that it occurred with a near living thing like a much loved vehicle is indeed terrible.

Unbelievable and this from an organisation that has over 65 years of experience in the business and talks about going 'truly global'.
Oh the shame of it all !

Heartfelt condolences.

[Janjua]

Originally Posted by Dry Ice

Shocking!
How many kms had you clocked till now?

Whenever the approvals are in place, I wonder what the dealer will do with the returned car, sell it to someone else as new?

I had clocked 7300 Kms on my Thar.
The dealership told me that when the approvals for getting the Thar registered are in place, they will offer to sell the vehicle to me first. If I don't take it, then they will sell it to whoever is interested.

Originally Posted by Guderian

Hi Janjua,
Have been following your thread since you got home your Thar.
Sorry to be putting up my first post here when situation has taken a terrible, terrible turn.

The entire episode reeks of a very cavalier attitude of the Executives of the company, M&M in this case, who were charged with the responsibility of getting basic processes completed with the RTO authorities which apparently hasn't happened. Unfathomable as to how could the company 'sell' a vehicle in a territory where it doesn't have the basic clearances/code passed from the authorities. Ultimately the blame rests solely with the company and its senior management for playing around with its customers.

Folks may wax eloquent about the company/dealer having accepted back the vehicle (after so many days of usage etc) and refunded the amount paid in full, my view is that it was good in their own interest they did that, as they did not have any choice. What about the mental agony and trauma the entire episode caused to you and the family - besides the social embarassment ?

And for folks who are passionate about products that they acquire from the market after much research and care - it can be a gut wrenching experience to return it after bonding with it over a period of time if use. Ask me who feels terrible when a simple electronic item is returned to the manufacturer due to a defect after just a couple of days of usage. Even if a new piece/different brand is offered - there is a vacuum and a sense of loss. And to think that it occurred with a near living thing like a much loved vehicle is indeed terrible.

Unbelievable and this from an organisation that has over 65 years of experience in the business and talks about going 'truly global'.
Oh the shame of it all !

Heartfelt condolences.

Thank you for the kind words, Guderian.
Yes, things ended badly in my case.
But sincerely, I don't think M&M are really bothered even now. They were selling the Verito since it's launch even though the vehicle was not approved (they got approval on the day I returned my Thar). They are also selling the Scorpio M2Di, which is again not approved for registration.
It was a traumatic experience brimming over with mental agony. I did not have a good experience with M&M at all and I don't think I will buy any of their products in the near future. M&M needs to work hard to improve the overall quality of the working of their company. Now their vehicles are selling because there is no other alternative in the market, but once some other company comes out with similar niche products, M&M's sales will nosedive.

[Janjua]

Originally Posted by Mpower

Have they said why its not approved? This is the first time I've heard of a truly bizarre situation like this. We need consistency in decision making across the country.

M&M says that the Punjab STC insists on registering the Thar under the 'Commercial' vehicle status since it is a 7+1 seat vehicle. Since, Chandigarh follows the policy of Punjab, hence the Chandigarh Administration also refuses to register the Thar.

[SPIKE ARRESTOR]

It is not a 7+1 vehicle, it is 6+1 vehicle hence -> Not commercial.

Spike

[getsurya]

M&M,
this is a very bad way to manage customers. Firstly the product is old wine in new bottle(yeah might be the wine is mixed up as well) and to top it, you put a customer through lot of strain. NOT DONE AT ALL!

[swiftnfurious]

This is BAD ! Could feel your sadness & frustration. Just want to check with you whether Anand mahindra / any high M&M official responded to your mails? I just tweeted about the incident to Anand Mahindra. I have seen him responding to some issues & taking action. Lets keep our fingers crossed. I will inform you if I get a response.

[Parm]

Isnt Mahindra stuck in a similar case in USA with its Scorpio Pickup truck??

[Guderian]

Originally Posted by Parm

Isnt Mahindra stuck in a similar case in USA with its Scorpio Pickup truck??

Hi Parm,
That is an arbitration proceedings filed by a distributor/M&M - the ruling of which should be out by this month end or early first week of Sept after which M&M is hopefull of sending out the Appalachian (its proposed moniker for the M-HaHa engine pickup - 140 BHP etc) into the US market.

[Spitfire]

Oh man of all my year of following automobile related issues.

This makes it to the top 5 most bizarre.

WOW!!! Mahindra and our government and not the least the dealers in India.

God save the consumer.

Heartbreak for the owner. Feel really bad for the kids. That first picture makes me feel they will miss it more.

[mac187]

Shocked.

Never thought such a thing can happen these days. You think you have seen it all, this will make you feel lost.

For all the testing the ARAI does before homologation, why can't there be a directive to all RTO to register vehicles under mentioned categories?

If a Thar can be registered as MM540 then whats stopping anyone from registering a import as Indian car and getting away with taxes?

*head reeling*

[Parm]

Janjua saab, any update on the matter?

did M&M did anything after you returned the Thar back to the dealer?

[wanderernomad]

Could the Thars with the CH numbers not be spotted? I mean if someone has been able to register a Thar in Chd then there IS a way. I shall keep my eyes peeled and if I see a Thar with CH number, will pass on the info. Meanwhile, whats the status now? Has the issue been resolved and the Thar offered back to you?

[chiragh_bir]

I just saw this post and my frist reaction was LOL

I got the first delivery of Thar in north India. The car was running on temporary number for months and after repeated calls to the M&M Dealer M/S Goel Motors in Mohali, i got no response in getting a permanent number. My father filed a case and there has been warrant issued against the owners of Goel Motors.

Originally Posted by Janjua

I had already prepared my case file to the Mohali Consumer Forum.
One, Mr Pardeep Gupta of Sector 9, Chandigarh won a similar case against Goel Motors on the 16th of July 2011. The court had fined Rs50,000 to Goel Motors and also directed the dealership to refund the cost of the vehicle. That Thar is also parked on the 1st floor of the dealership.
Since, M&M agreed to take back my Thar and to fully refund my money, I thought it prudent to end the matter there rather than go to the court.

Janjua Sir, This was our Thar. I got the first booking done for the car without even thinking twice and paid full money for an early delivery. M&M is ABSOLUTELY hopeless.

Originally Posted by wanderernomad

Could the Thars with the CH numbers not be spotted? I mean if someone has been able to register a Thar in Chd then there IS a way. I shall keep my eyes peeled and if I see a Thar with CH number, will pass on the info. Meanwhile, whats the status now? Has the issue been resolved and the Thar offered back to you?

There is no Thar in chandigarh with a CH registration. There is one car and that person just has the number but it is not registered. He purchased that number for himself and thats why has it on his car.

Also Janjua Sir, Did you get your money back? Those pricks haven't showed up at a single court date. Nor have they paid the refund.

[wanderernomad]

Purchased the number for himself? Are numbers not allotted to a car? If that Thar has a number which is not reflected on the RC is it legal?