Skoda dealer sold off the Slavia I booked without even notifying me

The salesperson said, "Sir, you really expected that by paying Rs 11,000 you could hold a Rs 15 lakh car forever?"

BHPian predatorwheelz recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

A Short Background

My trusted 2018 Safari Storme, Sable, went at 6 years and 94k kms. Priorities had changed, and I needed a new car. A petrol sedan it was to be.

Had a restricted budget, and started to look for OTR options around the 13L mark. Unless you go for absolute base models, not many full-size sedans except the Ciaz in that range. Then I came across the March 2023 advertisement of Skoda, where they were promising "benefits up to 2L on the Slavia and Kushaq". Spoke to my friend Sugata (bhpian Altocumulus) who owns a Rapid 1.0. He directed me to a guy from a Skoda dealership. So the process started.

The Good

The guy was extremely receptive to my needs. He said they had a 2023 Ambition 1.0 MT model in stock and offered me an upfront 1,40,000 discount on the car. With this and BH registration (I'm a banker, so qualified for BH) the OTR came to a mouth-watering 12.88 lakhs. Moreover, this car was in Crystal Blue. The original launch color of the Slavia, which I find very distinctive. I was told this color is being phased out and Lava Blue (akin to the Vento Sedan) will be seen on the 24 models. It seemed too good a deal to miss. I took the VIN number from him over WhatsApp and checked the manufacturing date.

On 23rd March I visited the Skoda dealership in Safdarjung (opposite Bhikaji Cama Place) met the salesperson and placed a Rs 11,000 booking amount for the same car. The booking receipt categorically mentioned "Ambition 2023 MT C.Blue". Some extra discount in the form of freebies was roped in. I was delighted, here was a car I genuinely aspired to, in my restricted budget.

My own bank doesn't offer car loans, and I wanted pre-payment (without penalty) options. So I asked them if I could go with a nationalized bank. The salesperson introduced me to Mr Dharmendra Malik, their finance executive. Dharmendra in turn, arranged a meeting with a representative from PNB, and the required documents were provided.

I was still apprehensive about buying a 2023 car standing in the stockyard. So I asked the salesperson if I could see the car and do a small inspection myself. He promptly arranged a visit to their Gurgaon stockyard, and I did a full inspection of the car. It looked beautiful and without any problems.

It took a long time for the loan to get sanctioned. First I was busy with year-end pressures, and then there were too many issues with documentation. I was in regular touch with PNB and Mr Malik. The latter's attitude was nothing but helpful. He kept taking periodic updates, speaking to PNB and updating me. I kept joking with him "itna delay ho raha hai, kahin gadi bech mat dena aap log". Should have said shubh shubh.

Finally, I received the sanction letter this morning. It was an end to a never-ending effort. Gleefully called up the salesperson and said the sanction is done, can I get delivery next week?

The Bad

The salesperson seemed taken aback. Then he said, "I'll call you back in 15 mins". I was like "Hold on, what's the issue? The car is still there, right?". He said I'll call back and disconnected.

15 mins became 2 hours, so I called up Mr Malik. "What's wrong?". Mr Malik said something about how some doc is still pending with PNB. I said "I've spoken to them, banker to banker. And I have the sanction letter already. Forget the loan. Where's the car?" Malik went on about how they had worked hard to get the sanction, for which I thanked them. Still beating around the bush though.

Finally, I called up the salesperson again, and said "What's the issue? Tell me.".

Salesperson: Sir, that particular car has been sold off from our inventory.

Me: How is this possible? You had taken a booking for that particular car, right? It's mentioned in the sales contract you provided me.

Salesperson: Yes sir, but your loan took almost a month to sanction, we were under pressure to clear old inventory.

Me: Ohk. I understand. So why didn't you inform me?

The Ugly

Salesperson: Sir, you really expected that by paying Rs 11,000 you could hold a 15 lakh car forever?

Me: If I've signed a booking form with you for one particular car, you are legally obligated to inform me before selling it off to someone else. If the deposit amount seemed too piddly, you could have asked me to deposit the entire down payment (which is 22pct of the OTR amount, incidentally). Or worst case scenario, just told me not to go ahead with the loan process and you can't sell to me. How the hell did you just decide to sell off the car without my permission?

Salesperson: Sir we can do so with old inventory.

Me: Alright. Let me just remind you that the terms and conditions in the booking form say I have entered into a "sales agreement" with the Skoda dealership by signing this form. Not only is what you have done unethical, you have breached the terms of a sale agreement. Maybe I should send a lawyer's letter establishing the legal recourse in case of "breach of sale agreement by seller." Ask your bosses to read up on it.

Salesperson (in a softer tone): Sir, we don't need to do this the hard way. I'm looking for alternatives I can get you.

Me: Ohk, but I'll only settle for the same variant, transmission and (of course) price.

Since then I've received one call asking me to settle for an automatic, which I've refused. Radio silence the rest of the day.

Conclusion

Leaves me with a bitter taste in the mouth. When this company came to India, their service was managed by cheats. Now they claim to have improved their service standards, as testimonials by users like Altocumulus prove. Now the sale process is managed by cheats.

And it's not just this car. Now I'm afraid they'll find an unsold lemon from their National inventory and I'll be repenting the next 4 years. Most of all, the audacity of a salesperson to say "You think you can pay 11K and hold a 15L car forever". Maybe I should go ahead with that legal notice.

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

Most of you know I usually side with the customer (at least 80% of the time), but I have to say it this time… predatorwheelz, the dealer has to move the metal. Inventory has to be fast-moving for any dealership to stay alive and if the sales guy has to choose between someone who can pay for 2023 old inventory "today" versus someone who is waiting for his loan approval for "15 - 30 days", it will always be the former. Dealerships undergo tremendous costs just to maintain the inventory on hand (tens of lakhs of rupees a month in bank loans).

Yes, the dealer should definitely have kept communication clearer and yes, the dealer should have honoured his commitment to you. But the fact is, customers also cancel their 11k booking all the time and the dealer is left holding a 13-lakh rupee bag in the hand when the music stops.

It's the nature of the business. Purely a business transaction. My advice to anyone who really wants & likes such a particular model in the dealer's inventory = pay a larger amount and block it. Move fast. As you rightly said, it seemed to be a clean car at a mouthwatering price; hence, there will be other customers also for it. The dealer was offering such a big discount only to "move the metal".

Here's what BHPian Axe77 had to say about the matter:

Really poor form by the dealership I must say, specially given that you were dealing with their own personnel for the loan process as well. To not have any discussion with you and simply sell off the car without so much as even checking with you is really improper.

I’m not sure there will be much that can come from this but this is a good note of caution for any future customers dealing with this dealership.

Here's what BHPian L8ButV8 had to say about the matter:

Skoda customer support has always been lacking— pre & post sales. Count yourself lucky that you got a true Skoda experience before you put your money down. Our Superb is on its 4th DSG gearbox in 40k km. We had to send lawyers notes etc get the two changes done for free. The dealership has also damaged the vehicle on several occasions during service.

Please consider a slightly used Honda City or Corolla Altis, or a <50k km previous-gen Camry/Honda CRV. In my personal experience, these cars are superior to the Slavia, and will probably be more reliable with good ASS support.

Here's what BHPian sreerknair had to say about the matter:

A different perspective. I don't think the dealer did something illegal or unusual in a business. The goal of a business is to generate revenue and profit for its stakeholders, and the money received today is more valuable than the same amount received one month later.

Had you paid the full amount and the deal agreement mentions the VIN of a specific car and then the dealer sells that to someone else then there is some legal merit to pursue it. Otherwise, think of the other way where a customer cancels the booking just before registration. Many of the forum members here will be sued by dealers and all dealers will have a similar thread on Team-bhp.

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.