Pathetic experience: Renault Benchmark Motors at Juhu, Mumbai

When we asked him, he said that they had influenced the RTO and managed to register the car without Insurance.

hvishwanathan recently shared this with other BHPians.

We happened to have a very bad experience with the Renault authorized showroom in Juhu, Mumbai. My brother-in-law, a doctor by profession, booked his first car, a Renault Kwid with the dealership in December 2020. The car was scheduled to be delivered in January since he wanted the registration to be done in 2021.

A week before the delivery of the vehicle, the sales person from the dealership called him stating that he needs to visit the RTO and sign some papers and his presence in the RTO is a must. My brother-in-law hails from Madhya Pradesh and has been living on rent in Mumbai since the last couple of years since he is practising in Mumbai. He has had no issues in the past with regards to residence proof because his registered rental agreement is accepted as a local address proof by all authorities. The dealer asked him to pay Rs. 7,000 saying he has to pay the RTO officials and without which, his agents might not be able to get the registration done. He also mentioned that my BIL (Brother in Law) needs to visit the RTO again for meeting the RTO agent. At this point my BIL called me and asked me if this is a standard process. When I went on a conference call with him and the dealer, I questioned him asking him why this process was being followed. He said it is a standard process. When we told him that we are sorry and we cant keep visiting RTOs and it is his job to get the paperwork and the registration work done since we are paying him the charges he had quoted as per his initial quote, he said he will try. After some time, he said he has managed with the RTO officials and we can collect the car the very next day, which was a Sunday (10th Jan 2021).

On the day of delivery, things were smooth initially. We were explained the details/features of the car, the aarti/pooja was done, and when the paperwork was given, we were told everything except insurance was there and that they will give us the insurance the next day. We were reluctant and said we will not take the delivery without insurance. They made us wait for almost 2 hours and they were clueless on how to handle the situation. We insisted they give it written on their letterhead that if anything happens to the car, they will be responsible. They said they cannot give that in writing. They said they can only provide on a plain A4 size paper, a letter stating that if any cop catches us and fines us for the insurance, they will bear those charges. Things were very fishy and we were kept in the dark as to what the real problem is. They said they will provide us the insurance the next day.

Also when we were about to leave the dealership, we saw the battery light blinking. How come a new car which has run 31 km has the battery light on ? The service person checked the car but didn't have any clue as to why the light was on. Didn't they check this during their PDI?

The next day, the sales guy sends us the insurance copy. To our horror, we saw that the insurance was dated 11th January. When we spoke to the dealer, he was clueless and he said he will check and get back to us. Till date, he has not called us or informed us on why they kept telling us a lie. If the car was registered on 8th Jan 2021, how was it registered without valid insurance? When we asked him, he said that they had influenced the RTO and managed to register the car without Insurance. So our car was being driven around without insurance even before delivery? And what if there was a mishap on the day we got the delivery and got the car home? What if it was stolen? All these questions in our head but the dealer had no answer.

I would highly recommend reconsidering buying a car from this dealership who does not value customers sentiments and a feeling that its the customer's first car. The whole experience has left us in such a bad taste.

Thanks to hvishwanathan once again! Check out BHPian comments for more insights & information.