Metro Ford suck!! They totalled my Fiesta while testing EDIT: WON the case in court!!

shivasuma · 25th July 2006, 15:27

Hi Prashanth, Naveen,

Metro Ford did say they would change the parts with new ones( but never mentioned the monocoque). The parts they were willing to change were the radiator, AC condenser, the front bumper, the suspension setup, the transmission housing. But after my dad saw the entire damage and the engineer's report he didnt want to take a chance. Also, the fact that Metro Ford tried to save their asses instead of coming clean with what happened pissed us off. They have accused us of being non-co-operative. Basically the fact was that they would come up with the same deal everytime and we didnt want that. Also, they would discuss things and when we made a proposal, they would vanish for weeks together saying they would look into it and then suddenly come up with the same old proposal. Like I said earlier, the last time we met, the service manager asked me to cough up 1 lakh for the new replacement car. I really couldn't afford nor was I willing to and said the same to him. He said he would talk to his management and get back to me. That was more than 4 weeks ago. I still haven't heard from him (even if they didnt agree they could have told me so).

Suhas

P.S: My dad is even more pissed than I am with their attitude and their baseless charges against us (rather than reply to our charges against them, they took a shot at our characters in their defense statement). He wants a new car + compensation for everything we went through.

naveendhyani · 25th July 2006, 15:50

shiva i completely agree with u in ur demand for a new car & never have i felt u should accept the repaired car. but sometimes rules & loopholes can b exploited against us. just in case the judgement goes in their favour u should atleast apprise the court of the fact that a monocoque cant b repaired. if its damaged & u survived it has solved its purpose & a new one should b fitted in the car. monocoque is like a helmet with crumple zones. once the crumple zones are gone it no longer is useful.

s.prashanth · 25th July 2006, 16:05

Quote:

Originally Posted by shivasuma

Hi Prashanth, Naveen,

Metro Ford did say they would change the parts with new ones( but never mentioned the monocoque). The parts they were willing to change were the radiator, AC condenser, the front bumper, the suspension setup, the transmission housing. But after my dad saw the entire damage and the engineer's report he didnt want to take a chance. Also, the fact that Metro Ford tried to save their asses instead of coming clean with what happened pissed us off. They have accused us of being non-co-operative. Basically the fact was that they would come up with the same deal everytime and we didnt want that. Also, they would discuss things and when we made a proposal, they would vanish for weeks together saying they would look into it and then suddenly come up with the same old proposal. Like I said earlier, the last time we met, the service manager asked me to cough up 1 lakh for the new replacement car. I really couldn't afford nor was I willing to and said the same to him. He said he would talk to his management and get back to me. That was more than 4 weeks ago. I still haven't heard from him (even if they didnt agree they could have told me so).

Suhas

P.S: My dad is even more pissed than I am with their attitude and their baseless charges against us (rather than reply to our charges against them, they took a shot at our characters in their defense statement). He wants a new car + compensation for everything we went through.

one lakh for a new car worth it, it is nothing but the road tax and fresh insurance, this is the same you have been asking for, let them close the old account (loan), you get back the down payment you made(insist on it) add the lakh they are asking for and take a new car , you will actually profit from it as you will get new car and lesser loan amount this time as the car will fetch you atleast 6 lakhs

shivasuma · 25th July 2006, 17:01

Prashanth,
Sorry I made a mistake in explaining. They are just going to give me a new car, no getting back the down payment I made on the old car or closing the loan. Basically, I will be paying 1 lakh extra on top of what I already paid for the old car. I will not get any profit (nor do I want any). Hence I didn't agree to it.

s.prashanth · 25th July 2006, 18:32

yeah but you will get a car with no hypothication right, so those might just be the intrest costs, if not tell them you will pay only the intrests cost of the vehicle

Ram · 25th July 2006, 20:53

shivasuma:
I Wish you the very best
and hope that you get a new car.

This should teach all dealers much needed lessons!
1) That if they are at fault, they have to make retribution.
2) That the aggrieved and not the guilty decides the price!

In business you make a profit most of the time, what with margins, commissions and the obscene profit on both genuine and spurious spares.
But you also deserve to make loss, especially when you have been careless.

They could have insured their business against accidents.
The insurance company would have squeezed them hard, to prove that it was indeed an accident. They would have had to answer their insurance company, on why the driver was driving so fast and carelessly.

If they haven't heard of insurance, this is a good time for them to pay the penalty and learn!

Otherwise, God knows how many more hapless consumers could suffer the dealer's anthem:-- If all goes well, I make a profit. If there's a mishap you pay the loss!

shivasuma · 26th July 2006, 09:49

Prashanth,

Thats exactly where the catch is. The service manager did not mention anything about my loan. Imagine I end up paying 1 lakh for the new car. What about my loan? What will happen to the repayment? Metro Ford is obviously not going to pay for it. I am already paying interest on the loan.
Like I said I cannot afford to pay 1 lakh, so how am I going to pay off the loan(and not to forget the foreclosure amount)? These things were not discussed because Metro Ford never got in touch with us after the last meeting.

Finally the amount I will end up spending assuming that Metro Ford would only give me a new car and nothing else = 8.5 Lakhs + 1Lakh(interest on loan + foreclosure) + 1 Lakh on the new car = 10.5 lakhs approximately. It doesn't make sense to me.

condor · 26th July 2006, 10:37

Suhas, you had a car on loan, and you were paying the installments. Due to this incident, if the car is replaced, you still have a car, and you still need to take care of the loan. Now the problem is that the two cars are not the same, and you will need to close the old loan immed. It is tricky, and tough on you too. Is there any way you can get the bank to transfer the loan - as a special case, or if they can give a new loan on this car which you can use to pay off the loan on the old car ?

shivasuma · 26th July 2006, 12:01

Hey Condor,
I talked to the bank and they said transfering is not possible. Thats where I am stuck. Also, the Metro Ford guys said they could talk to the bank guys and see if thats possible. But I haven't heard from them yet. If I take another loan to payoff the previous one, I think I will be paying more than double the interest((new loan = old loan + foreclosure/interest of old loan) + interest on new loan). I will talk to the bank guys again once I get something from the consumer court(like say a request for stop payment until case is decided, don't know whether that is possible but no harm in trying). But I guess until then I will have to pay EMI.
The whole process is sometimes confusing and frustrating but I have had enough(with Metro Ford) and something has to be done.

Suhas

shivasuma · 26th July 2006, 12:44

Hearing adjourned to 7th August.

condor · 26th July 2006, 13:09

Suhas, check with your lawyer to see if the court can put in a word to the bank, considering the situation. Hope something works out for you.

manson · 26th July 2006, 13:09

you think you can add mental stress, and other damages you may have suffered due to the car not being available all this while.

other damages could be in the form of " could not fetch client, so transaction could not be carried out, hence x amt of damages, someone late to somewhere as he had to travel by rick, late fine paid y amt, missed a train/flight, damages suffered for conveyance charges and missing a meeting, so one more transaction failed, z amt of damages"

manson.

condor · 26th July 2006, 19:34

It's actually a procedural thing here. But not an impossible situation. A loan is given to a person, for a car. The car is under hypothecation to the lender till the loan amt is paid off, basically as security for the loan.

Under normal circumstances, the loan has to be paid off, the hypothecation cancelled, and then can be transferred to some one else. In this case, if the car is replaced, it is not because of Suhas' fault. So he shouldnt be put in the lurch for procedural issues. It is not that he is refusing to continue to service the loan.

Rules need to be there, but exceptions need to be made, too. The bank just needs to take congnizance of the situation. Hope they do - as a matter of customer service, atleast.

lsjey · 1st August 2006, 17:57

It is very disheartening to see adjournments, in consumer forums. It just tests the patience and the staying power of a consumer.

It only plays in to the hands of the dealers and manufacturers.

Offtopic: I think this has to do with the growth that is happening. Not enough quality people to staff all positions in manufacturers end.

lsjey

shivasuma · 8th August 2006, 10:09

The judge had asked us to give a statement regarding some clarification. Did it yesterday. The next hearing is in 2 weeks(21st Aug). Their lawyer approached us and asked us what we wanted for an out-of-court settlement. And for the millionth time we told them what we wanted. he said he would talk to his clients and get back to us. So should know in a weeks time if they agree or not.

25th July 2006, 15:27	#76
shivasuma BHPian Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Bangalore Posts: 872 Thanked: 470 Times	Hi Prashanth, Naveen, Metro Ford did say they would change the parts with new ones( but never mentioned the monocoque). The parts they were willing to change were the radiator, AC condenser, the front bumper, the suspension setup, the transmission housing. But after my dad saw the entire damage and the engineer's report he didnt want to take a chance. Also, the fact that Metro Ford tried to save their asses instead of coming clean with what happened pissed us off. They have accused us of being non-co-operative. Basically the fact was that they would come up with the same deal everytime and we didnt want that. Also, they would discuss things and when we made a proposal, they would vanish for weeks together saying they would look into it and then suddenly come up with the same old proposal. Like I said earlier, the last time we met, the service manager asked me to cough up 1 lakh for the new replacement car. I really couldn't afford nor was I willing to and said the same to him. He said he would talk to his management and get back to me. That was more than 4 weeks ago. I still haven't heard from him (even if they didnt agree they could have told me so). Suhas P.S: My dad is even more pissed than I am with their attitude and their baseless charges against us (rather than reply to our charges against them, they took a shot at our characters in their defense statement). He wants a new car + compensation for everything we went through.
	() Thanks

25th July 2006, 15:50	#77
naveendhyani BHPian Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Melbourne Posts: 542 Thanked: 9 Times	shiva i completely agree with u in ur demand for a new car & never have i felt u should accept the repaired car. but sometimes rules & loopholes can b exploited against us. just in case the judgement goes in their favour u should atleast apprise the court of the fact that a monocoque cant b repaired. if its damaged & u survived it has solved its purpose & a new one should b fitted in the car. monocoque is like a helmet with crumple zones. once the crumple zones are gone it no longer is useful.
	() Thanks

25th July 2006, 17:01	#79
shivasuma BHPian Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Bangalore Posts: 872 Thanked: 470 Times	Prashanth, Sorry I made a mistake in explaining. They are just going to give me a new car, no getting back the down payment I made on the old car or closing the loan. Basically, I will be paying 1 lakh extra on top of what I already paid for the old car. I will not get any profit (nor do I want any). Hence I didn't agree to it.
	() Thanks

25th July 2006, 18:32	#80
s.prashanth BHPian Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: bangalore Posts: 365 Thanked: 85 Times	yeah but you will get a car with no hypothication right, so those might just be the intrest costs, if not tell them you will pay only the intrests cost of the vehicle
	() Thanks

25th July 2006, 20:53	#81
Ram Senior - BHPian Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Singapore, Mumbai, Nagpur Posts: 2,166 Thanked: 222 Times View My Garage	shivasuma: I Wish you the very best and hope that you get a new car. This should teach all dealers much needed lessons! 1) That if they are at fault, they have to make retribution. 2) That the aggrieved and not the guilty decides the price! In business you make a profit most of the time, what with margins, commissions and the obscene profit on both genuine and spurious spares. But you also deserve to make loss, especially when you have been careless. They could have insured their business against accidents. The insurance company would have squeezed them hard, to prove that it was indeed an accident. They would have had to answer their insurance company, on why the driver was driving so fast and carelessly. If they haven't heard of insurance, this is a good time for them to pay the penalty and learn! Otherwise, God knows how many more hapless consumers could suffer the dealer's anthem:-- If all goes well, I make a profit. If there's a mishap you pay the loss!
	() Thanks

26th July 2006, 09:49	#82
shivasuma BHPian Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Bangalore Posts: 872 Thanked: 470 Times	Prashanth, Thats exactly where the catch is. The service manager did not mention anything about my loan. Imagine I end up paying 1 lakh for the new car. What about my loan? What will happen to the repayment? Metro Ford is obviously not going to pay for it. I am already paying interest on the loan. Like I said I cannot afford to pay 1 lakh, so how am I going to pay off the loan(and not to forget the foreclosure amount)? These things were not discussed because Metro Ford never got in touch with us after the last meeting. Finally the amount I will end up spending assuming that Metro Ford would only give me a new car and nothing else = 8.5 Lakhs + 1Lakh(interest on loan + foreclosure) + 1 Lakh on the new car = 10.5 lakhs approximately. It doesn't make sense to me.
	() Thanks

26th July 2006, 10:37	#83
condor Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Speed-brkr City Posts: 16,161 Thanked: 16,599 Times View My Garage	Suhas, you had a car on loan, and you were paying the installments. Due to this incident, if the car is replaced, you still have a car, and you still need to take care of the loan. Now the problem is that the two cars are not the same, and you will need to close the old loan immed. It is tricky, and tough on you too. Is there any way you can get the bank to transfer the loan - as a special case, or if they can give a new loan on this car which you can use to pay off the loan on the old car ?
	() Thanks

26th July 2006, 12:01	#84
shivasuma BHPian Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Bangalore Posts: 872 Thanked: 470 Times	Hey Condor, I talked to the bank and they said transfering is not possible. Thats where I am stuck. Also, the Metro Ford guys said they could talk to the bank guys and see if thats possible. But I haven't heard from them yet. If I take another loan to payoff the previous one, I think I will be paying more than double the interest((new loan = old loan + foreclosure/interest of old loan) + interest on new loan). I will talk to the bank guys again once I get something from the consumer court(like say a request for stop payment until case is decided, don't know whether that is possible but no harm in trying). But I guess until then I will have to pay EMI. The whole process is sometimes confusing and frustrating but I have had enough(with Metro Ford) and something has to be done. Suhas
	() Thanks

26th July 2006, 12:44	#85
shivasuma BHPian Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Bangalore Posts: 872 Thanked: 470 Times	Hearing adjourned to 7th August.
	() Thanks

26th July 2006, 13:09	#86
condor Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Speed-brkr City Posts: 16,161 Thanked: 16,599 Times View My Garage	Suhas, check with your lawyer to see if the court can put in a word to the bank, considering the situation. Hope something works out for you.
	() Thanks

26th July 2006, 13:09	#87
manson Team-BHP Support Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Bombay Posts: 3,956 Thanked: 4,271 Times View My Garage	you think you can add mental stress, and other damages you may have suffered due to the car not being available all this while. other damages could be in the form of " could not fetch client, so transaction could not be carried out, hence x amt of damages, someone late to somewhere as he had to travel by rick, late fine paid y amt, missed a train/flight, damages suffered for conveyance charges and missing a meeting, so one more transaction failed, z amt of damages" manson.
	() Thanks

26th July 2006, 19:34	#88
condor Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Speed-brkr City Posts: 16,161 Thanked: 16,599 Times View My Garage	It's actually a procedural thing here. But not an impossible situation. A loan is given to a person, for a car. The car is under hypothecation to the lender till the loan amt is paid off, basically as security for the loan. Under normal circumstances, the loan has to be paid off, the hypothecation cancelled, and then can be transferred to some one else. In this case, if the car is replaced, it is not because of Suhas' fault. So he shouldnt be put in the lurch for procedural issues. It is not that he is refusing to continue to service the loan. Rules need to be there, but exceptions need to be made, too. The bank just needs to take congnizance of the situation. Hope they do - as a matter of customer service, atleast.
	() Thanks

1st August 2006, 17:57	#89
lsjey BHPian Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Chennai Posts: 441 Thanked: 990 Times	It is very disheartening to see adjournments, in consumer forums. It just tests the patience and the staying power of a consumer. It only plays in to the hands of the dealers and manufacturers. Offtopic: I think this has to do with the growth that is happening. Not enough quality people to staff all positions in manufacturers end. lsjey
	() Thanks

8th August 2006, 10:09	#90
shivasuma BHPian Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Bangalore Posts: 872 Thanked: 470 Times	The judge had asked us to give a statement regarding some clarification. Did it yesterday. The next hearing is in 2 weeks(21st Aug). Their lawyer approached us and asked us what we wanted for an out-of-court settlement. And for the millionth time we told them what we wanted. he said he would talk to his clients and get back to us. So should know in a weeks time if they agree or not.
	(1) Thanks