[PioneerNB]

Sub-Dealership under consideration: Fortune MotoCorp, Hinjewadi, Pune.
Main-Dealership: Mahindra First Choice.

Synopsis: My friend bought a Tiago JTP registered in Coimbatore(JTP factory location) in Pune in June 2020. He was given a guarantee by Mahindra that the number transfer and all formalities will be done as soon as possible. The same is still pending, the number is still of TN, and every time the car is taken out it's fined. Mahindra supposedly did not renew their contract with the dealership and now both are blaming each other to fulfill the promise of transferring the vehicle: I am seeking advice on what options to explore. this is learning for all community members and internet users on getting a second-hand car.

1. We are trying to go via a third party to help transfer the vehicle and asking the dealer to pay for the same(the dealer picks up just one call of the hundred calls we make) as no one is taking responsibility for getting this sorted for the buyer
2. Try to give a police complaint against the dealer and Mahindra as they have cheated us. We have 3 JTP’s in Pune with the same issue of number transfer from the same dealership.


The curious case of second hand Tiago JTP in Pune and a Team-BHP thread (Tata Tiago JTP : Official Review)

My friend purchased the Tiago JTP, at the same time when the JTP thread had an active conversation of Pune having 2 Tiago and 1 Tigor JTP on sale from Mahindra's first choice. All the vehicles are sold and are presently running around Pune with a TN number plate. The Mahindra first choice people are blaming the dealership and the dealership is no longer having a contract with Mahindra and have gone into electrical two-wheeler business and are not responding to calls and texts.
My friend has managed to create a group of the 3 JTP owners who are in a lul to get the car registered so they can take out their vehicles and not be treated like thieves by the traffic police. Time and again it brings the same question: if reputed brands like Mahindra are not able to sort out transfer issues hassle-free, then why bring the product in from a different city? And then what is the customer in India? Why are they taken for a ride every time?

Seeking your humble advice on getting this sorted.
Note: we do know the process of how to do it- the question here is how to make Mahindra/ dealership do it. As we were assured that Mahindra will do it, We do not want to pay more to move the vehicle back and forth from Coimbatore to Pune and deal with the hassles of RTO which was promised by Mahindra. Now we are seeking another agent to do it- but the dealer is not paying up/ ignoring calls. it feels as if we are obliged to him.

[gkveda]

Dealers just need money. There ends the matter. They don't have any ethics or customer centric attitude. And Mahindra will be least bothered to address this concern because it is not their main business.

You can go to consumers court to sort this out if you have any written agreement that the dealership will take care of ownership transfer process? Else, Legally, it is owner's responsibility to do the ownership transfer. So, if the dealer or broker raises his hands, you can not catch him to get it done.

When the sale is interstate, usually it requires the buyer to pay the road tax to the state where he resides. were you aware of this when you purchased the TN car? Did you agree to pay the tax for Maharashtra ? And Have you paid the money to dealer? If you have already paid money to dealer for this and if you have receipt for this item, you can still go to police and file a cheating case against dealer.

One more point is, ownership transfer requires documentation on NOC from the sellers Location(coimbatore) RTO. Have you seen and received all the documentation required while handing over of keys and purchasing? If not, probably that is why dealer is not taking the responsibility of ownership transfer.

[PioneerNB]

Thanks Gkveda for your time on replying:

When the sale is interstate, usually it requires the buyer to pay the road tax to the state where he resides. were you aware of this when you purchased the TN car? Did you agree to pay the tax for Maharashtra ? And Have you paid the money to dealer? If you have already paid money to dealer for this and if you have receipt for this item, you can still go to police and file a cheating case against dealer.

The deal was all inclusive for all the JTP's the dealer sold. Dealer assuring that he will get all things sorted in due time. They wanted to check if the market in Pune was good enough to sell the cars or they would have sent it to some other location. But its been a joy ride after that- car is parked at home and we are just calling calling and calling.

[deep_bang]

I think the question is whether there is explicit mention that the documentation transfer formalities will be completed in any of the agreements. If yes, you have a case. If no, I think there is not much point in pursuing the issue and get it done yourself.

[Rahul Bhalgat]

Originally Posted by gkveda

You can go to consumers court to sort this out if you have any written agreement that the dealership will take care of ownership transfer process?

Did you agree to pay the tax for Maharashtra ? And Have you paid the money to dealer? If you have already paid money to dealer for this and if you have receipt for this item, you can still go to police and file a cheating case against dealer.

One more point is, ownership transfer requires documentation on NOC from the sellers Location(coimbatore) RTO. Have you seen and received all the documentation required while handing over of keys and purchasing?

Originally Posted by PioneerNB

The deal was all inclusive for all the JTP's the dealer sold. Dealer assuring that he will get all things sorted in due time. They wanted to check if the market in Pune was good enough to sell the cars or they would have sent it to some other location. But its been a joy ride after that- car is parked at home and we are just calling calling and calling.

The points raised by gkveda are very pertinent. If you answer these questions point by point, the due course if action will be evident.

• Do you have the NOC from Coimbatore RTO? If not, did the dealer agree to obtain the same?
• Did you pay the amount for MH road transfer tax to the dealer?
• Do you have a written agreement that the dealer will transfer the car with his efforts and no extra money?
• And the agreement(s) have to be in writing. Verbal assurances cannot be proven in the court and mostly it shows the assurances are given just to clinch the deal, with an intent to back out, right from the beginning.

[GTO]

Originally Posted by PioneerNB

Note: we do know the process of how to do it- the question here is how to make Mahindra/ dealership do it. As we were assured that Mahindra will do it, We do not want to pay more to move the vehicle back and forth from Coimbatore to Pune and deal with the hassles of RTO which was promised by Mahindra. Now we are seeking another agent to do it- but the dealer is not paying up/ ignoring calls. it feels as if we are obliged to him.

Time is money!! Since June 2020, the 3 owners have already spent 1.5 years on this matter. Cut your losses, pay yourself for the transfer work and get it done. Better than continuously living with a headache + police hassles + potential insurance issues.

Go ahead and enjoy the car. Don't let a moron dealer or an unsupportive Mahindra Frustrated Choice destroy your ownership experience.

[PioneerNB]

Thanks, Rahul, Deep_bang answering your queries:

Do you have the NOC from Coimbatore RTO? If not, did the dealer agree to obtain the same?

Answer: The first choice assured us to get NOC done, they were checking where the cars find buyers as it was a JTP(a market dud). Fortunately, they did transfer the vehicles to the owners' name in Coimbatore itself(by falsifying address etc. I assume as the owners have no link to Coimbatore)

Did you pay the amount for MH road transfer tax to the dealer?

Answer: Deal was all-inclusive.

Do you have a written agreement that the dealer will transfer the car with his efforts and no extra money?

I think the question is whether there is explicit mention that the documentation transfer formalities will be completed in any of the agreements. If yes, you have a case. If no, I think there is not much point in pursuing the issue and get it done yourself.

Answer: Fortunately 1 owner has the bill mentioning the transfer will be borne by the first choice, my friend has just the attached bill from the post

And the agreement(s) have to be in writing. Verbal assurances cannot be proven in the court and mostly it shows the assurances are given just to clinch the deal, with an intent to back out, right from the beginning

- totally agree with this, I think my friend got carried away by the sweet deal

Time is money!! Since June 2020, the 3 owners have already spent 1.5 years on this matter. Cut your losses, pay yourself for the transfer work and get it done. Better than continuously living with a headache + police hassles + potential insurance issues.

GTO, what you say makes sense. But is this fair, if Mahindra's first choice can do this how can we trust anyone at all. The only saving grace is the vehicles have the owners' names updated.

As my friend works through to admit the loss and proceed to empty his wallet and time to get things sorted- I hope this thread can educate others on the long run

[anjan_c2007]

Having read about your ordeal, I believe the three similarly affected owners are in contact with one another. You can explore options to jointly file a FIR in the same police station under the jurisdiction of which this dealer's outlet is/was located. Firstly, with all your papers the owners need to jointly call upon the Dy Commissioner of Police under whose jurisdiction the police station falls. The traffic police fine receipts can be shown to him and Xerox copies of these can be filed in the FIR.

And if this clicks, there's no better pressure upon the defaulter other than complying with the procedures and orders from the police. Based on the FIR, the police will file a charge sheet in the competent Magistrate's court that will be defended by the public prosecutor. The three buyers can jointly engage their own lawyer here who along with the public prosecutor will argue the case. And in criminal cases, the accused is required to appear before the magistrate during every hearing. Or else, he can be arrested and produced before the judge.

I think this is enough to shake the hell out of the cheat, who has presumably renamed :-

Mahindra Frustrated Choice
to
Mahindra Frustrated (by) Cheat!