Dealer sneakily swaps my XUV700 tyres between PDI check & delivery day

I have waited for 10 months to take delivery of my brand new SUV.

Thanks to Manoj Elangovan for sending this in. Heartfelt gratitude for sharing it with other enthusiasts via this Team-BHP share page!

Dear Team-BHP,

Request help from the valuable Team-BHP community to resolve this issue at the earliest.

After waiting 10 months for my XUV700, which I booked on Day 1 - 07 October 2021; I was given the good news on 4 July 2022 that the vehicle has reached the dealership's yard.

As part of PDI, I took a video of the car with VIN details and the exteriors. The car came shod with Bridgestone Ecopia EP850 tyres (235/60 R18)

Satisfied with other checks during the PDI, I released the loan payment and proceeded for vehicle delivery by 11 July 202.

On arriving at the dealership around 4 pm IST, I was shocked to see that the vehicle now had MRF Wanderer (235/60 R18).

From PDI:

At the dealership during delivery

Also, the car had paint chips and rough patches in the rear boot door which they have promised to fix.

When I encountered the dealership manager regarding the same, they are in firm denial that there wasn't any tyre change. However, my sales advisor acknowledged and agreed in their presence that during PDI the vehicles were shod with Bridgestones.

I have reached with the CEO of Zulaikha Motors Chennai as well as the Area Sales Manager, Mahindra and have reported the issue and shared the video and photos of the same.

They have promised verbally and over Whatsapp that they'll give me a proper resolution on this latest by Wednesday - 13 July.

Awaiting the same.

Since I had my family waiting long since 4 pm. Proceeded to take car delivery by 8 pm IST. Made sure to point out the issues in their delivery acknowledgement slip.

God knows what else people can change between PDI and delivery. Given the incident, I'm sceptical of everything else on the car.

Mahindra, If you are reading Team-BHP, please take note of things happening for your flagship product.

Screenshot from PDI video showing Bridgestone tyres as attached.

Are dealerships authorized to swap car body parts at their will? Does Mahindra have an audit on what tyres the cars are sent from the factory?

More questions but a restless and anxious new owner here.

Regards

Here's what GTO had to say on the matter:

What the dealer did is pathetic and it was perhaps done on another customer's preference for the tyres your car came with, so they just swapped.

However, between the two brands, there is nothing to choose. It's not that one is wildly superior to another. My suggestion = don't let this dampen your spirits because you have bought an absolutely terrific SUV with your hard-earned money. Take the car and as a sweetener to the entire situation, drive straight to a tyre shop and swap to even better tyres than these two .

Shit happens. We have to adapt to it.

Here's what BHPian harish11128 had to say on the matter:

Hi Manoj,

Thanks for sharing this. I also have a booking with Zuleikha Motors Chennai. Looks like I have to be extra careful while taking delivery.

I was offered a vehicle by the SA yesterday(somebody else cancelled it). But SA didn’t agree to a PDI, so I rejected it. He said they received a communication from management yesterday to not allow PDIs at the stockyard anymore due to some recent incident. I assume it’s due to the issues observed by you.

It wouldn’t be a surprise if they prohibit video/photo during PDI, if such a thing happens during my PDI, I would definitely take it up to M&M management.

I see that you have taken down your PDI video now. Would you be able to provide us with the latest updates from the dealership on this?

Here's what BHPian condor had to say on the matter:

Hi Manoj,

While the swap isn't ethical, I think the Wanderers may be a (little) better than the Ecopia's. While I have stayed away from Bridgestone and Goodyear, I have at least considered the Wanderers.

Since the tyres on your vehicle are also new, and you will get the applicable warranty, I suggest going ahead with the Wanderers.

On the other question, swapping parts is not ethical, especially when there is damage. in such cases, they need to get new parts and replace the same.

Here's what BHPian VinsWagen had to say on the matter:

I have no comments on if MRF ones are better than Bridgestone or not. It is immaterial and irrelevant. The dealer is not supposed to change anything after the PDI, without letting the customer know. Period!

It is a breach of trust and ethics. Removing the tyres, whichever brand it is, is a strict no-no. Yes, it's a sad truth that such practices are rampant - most businesses keep away from such practices only when there is a fear of consequence. This has to be reported and the practice curbed.

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.