[chet1376]

Hi All,

This is my first post on Team BHP.

I have been eagerly waiting to write on this forum and was waiting for the day I'd own the Vento and share my experience with you'll.

Now that I am the owner of a VW Vento Highline Petrol.. here goes...

Firstly, thanks to Team BHP for helping me finalise on the Vento. The Test Drive and Review by GTO was fantastic, the article was detailed and amazing pics.

After almost 2 months of research on the net, test drives of the Hyundai Verna, Honda City, I finalised on the Vento. Today, I feel every bit of it was worth it and feel I have made the right choice.

I was one of the elite few who were presented the keys at Lalit Ashok, Bangalore. It was quite a surprise, never expected to get the keys to my car in this manner. Felt on top of the world, being one of the first to own the Vento in Bangalore.

But, the excitement and good experiece was short lived.

The next day, I drove down to the showroom at Magrath Road and found skeletal staffing, on a Monday morning! probably HANGOVER from the party the previous night!!! The Sales Consultant I was interacting with, was not to be seen even at 11 AM. Inspite of repeated telephone calls for over an hour, he was not contactable, his mobile was switched off.

The very same person had called me numerous times the previous couple of days and insisted that I come down to the showroom at 10 AM sharp, and submit all required documents so that I could get delivery of the vehicle ASAP.

I was attended to by another Sales Consultant, who took some time to figure out what was the status, as he was not familiar with my file. I submitted the documents and completed the formalities.

Then, the missing sales guy, has the audacity to call me at 12 noon and tell me that he was unable to come to work as he slept late after the party at Lalit Ashok. So much so for Customer Experience.
While I was at the showroom, thought I'd finalise on the accessories, so that it could be fitted on the car before delivery. But guess what!!! the only Accessories Consultant was not in the showroom even at 12 noon ( another case of PARTY HANGOVER!!! )

The bitter experience did not end there. Since then, he started avoiding all my calls, no courtesy to return my calls / reply to my messages. I had to make no less than 20 calls in 2 days just to confirm when I could take delivery of the vehicle. Finally I had to speak to the Sales Manager, who promised he would ensure delivery of the car on Wednesday( 29th September) at 4PM. Finally a commitment, but one which I didnt believe.

Considering the punctuality of these guys, I reached the showroom at 4:30, but not before informing the Sales guy that I would be delayed by half hour.
The agony continued...
The new Sales guy I was put onto, asked me to wait, as he had to do a couple of test drives. Finally after a good 30-40 mins, he started the paperwork for the delivery.

While that was being done, thought I will finalise on the accessories. Finally the ONLY Accessories Guy was actually there!!! Guess what!!! - there were no accessories for the VENTO - Out of Stock, not even mud flaps and floor mats. I fail to understand how can VW deliver a 10L car with no mud flaps and floor mats, and give flimsy excuses like the floor mats are out of stock. He actually told me that he had only 5 sets of floor mats which were sold out. Is this the kind of stocks to maintain when the showroom delivers at least 10-15 cars a day. Again, after speaking to the Sales Manager, I was given some UNIVERSAL MATS - cheap plastiky mats as a stop gap till the original mats arrive.

Coming to the PreDelivery Check and Orientation, it was done in the service area ( amongst all the cars lined up for service and repairs), with no lights. I had to request for the lights to be turned on coz I couldn't see a thing - it was already 6 PM

Finally after the PreDelivery check and orientation, I was given the Warranty Booklet. The Front Page of the booklet states
NEW VEHICLE WARRANTY TERMS 'POLO' 1.4 !!!! When I quizzed the guy, he sheepishly tells me that they have not received the new Warranty Booklets for Vento from VW..says tht the this will hold gud as the Chassis No is mentioned inside. I ask - IS THIS ACCEPTABLE !!!


Finally I was given delivery of the vehicle. To be frank, never felt that I was taking delivery of a new VW car, felt more like I was driving my BRAND NEW CAR out of a OLD FILTY GARAGE. I was not given any Car perfume, no Idol, no TIssue Box at the time of delivery - some basic freebies which anyone wud expect at the time of delivery, especially on a VW and when you have paid 10L for it.

Overall not a very happy experience.

[SDP]

Sales-rep not being there on one day is understandable.
But not having stock of standard accessories for a newly launched car and the overall lax attitude of the showroom is really alarming.
You should write to VW-India about your below-par customer experience.

PS : Welcome to the forum and congratulations for the new Vento!

[sylvan]

Who is the dealer? Also, could you please post the cost breakup?

[download2live]

Not acceptable for a 10L car. Period.
But then buying a car in India is never a easy process. But you did the right thing by posting it here.


Where are the pics? Is this going to be your ownership thread or you will start a new one?

Have seen only white vento till now in pics. Hope yours is of different color.

[manikjeet]

These VW dealer thing they are doing us a favor by giving us our car.

anyways congrats and happy driving

[ampere]

I can see your plight. I at least hope they resolve these issues, once the deliveries become more stabilized.

It better be a new car syndrome (though it should not be like that), rather than dealership issues. Else we land up into another after sales and dealership problem, which we are very familiar with!

[hyper-VTEC]

i plan to buy a petrol vento some-time next year, but reading these posts make me nervous. Hope VW does not go the Skoda way, like siblings

[nandans2005]

Hey Chet,

Congrats on the new vento! Try posting some pictures.

By the way , what made you decide on vento Vs a City ?

[umeshnair]

Hi all, I own a Jetta 2.0 TDi Comfortline. My overall experience with VW dealer (in Trivandrum) is different, but as I understand it, the accessories for Vento is not yet fully available with the dealers! So my suggestion is...hold on...you have got yourself one of the best cars in that segment, in a couple of month's time you should be getting all accessories that you need.
And congrats again on the new car. Happy and safe driving.

[Dippy]

VW better sit up and take notice of this. This is nothing but lack of professionalism on their part. Whether you buy a 10 lakh Rupee Vento , a 50 lakh Touareg or a 4.5 lakh Polo, you are buying a new car and the best buying experience is expected.

I suggest you write a strong letter to VW India and anyways I'm damn sure they will be watching this thread.

On another note, I walked into the VW dealership in Mumbai the other day. I just stood inside for 15 min and not a single sales person attended to me or even asked me what i was looking for. I just walked out of the showroom.

[sachinj12]

@ OP,

Don't let this one off experience mar your joy of owning a new car. Forget and move on, try a different dealer for the accessories.

Congrats on the car and drive safe.

Pics and detailed report awaited

Originally Posted by Dippy

you are buying a new car and the best buying experience is expected.



On another note, I walked into the VW dealership in Mumbai the other day. I just stood inside for 15 min and not a single sales person attended to me or even asked me what i was looking for. I just walked out of the showroom.

If this is their attitude towards the customer, god save VW!!

[S350L-E240]

Proves that balance is very important in life, it's one thing to spend so much on ad's but I think word of mouth is a better publicity and spending on better dealer ethics could do a lot more for VW India rather then ad's which are a talk of the town.

The dealer in Ahmedabad are ok to deal with if you know them or else I know of no positive opinions either on them.

[nowwhat?]

Originally Posted by chet1376

While that was being done, thought I will finalise on the accessories. Finally the ONLY Accessories Guy was actually there!!! Guess what!!! - there were no accessories for the VENTO - Out of Stock, not even mud flaps and floor mats. I fail to understand how can VW deliver a 10L car with no mud flaps and floor mats, and give flimsy excuses like the floor mats are out of stock. He actually told me that he had only 5 sets of floor mats which were sold out. Is this the kind of stocks to maintain when the showroom delivers at least 10-15 cars a day. Again, after speaking to the Sales Manager, I was given some UNIVERSAL MATS - cheap plastiky mats as a stop gap till the original mats arrive.

I had read an account of the Vento handover ceremony in Bangalore. In that function where Neeraj Garg handed over the keys to a few customers, it was mentioned that none of them received rubber mats or mudflaps -- basic necessities -- because the Vento ones hadn't arrived in Bangalore yet.

If that is the reality, I don't know why VW Downtown must fabricate a story that 5 other people got the same thing you didn't. Why can't they simply speak the truth and apologize to the customer? Why should they make the customer feel that he is underprivileged by fate or booking date or whatever other reason?

I have seen VW Downtown deliberately misleading customers when all they have to do is own up.

Originally Posted by chet1376

Coming to the PreDelivery Check and Orientation, it was done in the service area ( amongst all the cars lined up for service and repairs), with no lights. I had to request for the lights to be turned on coz I couldn't see a thing - it was already 6 PM

After a 2 hour long wait which was solely the fault of VW Downtown, I just took the car and drove out of there.

Originally Posted by chet1376

Finally after the PreDelivery check and orientation, I was given the Warranty Booklet. The Front Page of the booklet states
NEW VEHICLE WARRANTY TERMS 'POLO' 1.4 !!!! When I quizzed the guy, he sheepishly tells me that they have not received the new Warranty Booklets for Vento from VW..says tht the this will hold gud as the Chassis No is mentioned inside. I ask - IS THIS ACCEPTABLE !!!

I too have received the same booklet for my Polo 1.6. I am OK with that so long as the same warranty terms apply.

Originally Posted by chet1376

Finally I was given delivery of the vehicle. To be frank, never felt that I was taking delivery of a new VW car, felt more like I was driving my BRAND NEW CAR out of a OLD FILTY GARAGE. I was not given any Car perfume, no Idol, no TIssue Box at the time of delivery - some basic freebies which anyone wud expect at the time of delivery, especially on a VW and when you have paid 10L for it.

Overall not a very happy experience.

Hey I got a VW Downtown tissue box!

Honestly I don't think these knick-knacks are a big deal. I never expected anything and was pleasantly surprised by the tissues and the glass bowls.

I am more worried with going to our dealer for after-sales-service. Thank God the service interval is only once a year.

Even then I am very apprehensive about this one aspect. However I am reassured due to my interactions with VW and feel it may all still work out.

In the end, we have to realize that you and I are the guinea pigs for the scores of Team-BHPians out there. These are early days to form an opinion of VW as a brand.

[chet1376]

I have attached a pic of the Warranty Booklet. nowwhat? , you seem to be ok with the booklet as long as the warranty applies, but does this hold good legally? The make and model mentioned is different from that of the Chassis No mentioned inside.
Anyways the dealer has assured me that he will change the booklet once the new ones for the Vento arrive.

[chet1376]

The Warranty Booklet says its the New Vehicle Warrranty Terms for the Polo 1.4. The Chassis No mentioned inside is that of a 1.6 Vento. God forbid, if there is a Warranty issue with the car, with this hold good legally?