[NorthernStar]

My dear fellow BHP'ians, buckle in and sit tight. This one is going to be long.

I'm a proud owner of Tata Nexon XZ+ Petrol. The car is excellent and running like a dream for almost an year but I understand that in order to buy a car from Tata you need to awaken your 6th sense and your 3rd eye at times!

The Story

I booked the Tata Nexon XZ+ Petrol on 01 April 2022 (April fool's day of all days). I live in Noida and only a single dealership operates here - Sagar Motors. The dealership has two showrooms in Noida, one in Sector - 5 and one in Sector - 63 (this will be important later). I was well aware of Tata motors' abysmal service reputation thanks to online reviews, so I made booking at both of these showrooms. In Noida, they were asking for five thousand rupees as booking amount as opposed to eleven thousand rupees that the dealerships in Delhi were demanding. The bullet dodging started during the booking itself. I made sure to not allow them to add any extra cost. I made careful note of the ex showroom price of the car and only allowed them to add 10% of the tax, 500 rupees for the fastag and 300 rupees for RTO fees. They tried a sleight of hand here and try to add some money for accessories and even miscalculated (I think deliberately), the tax to inflate the final figure that I was able to catch. I literally sat there with my phone with calculator app open and did all the calculations myself. I asked them not to add any insurance as I'd be purchasing the insurance myself. Also no accessories but since they were not offering any discount, I negotiated a free basic accessory kit which included mats, mudflaps, perfume and an idol. I paid the booking amount and was given 16 weeks of waiting time. I did the same for both Sector-5 and Sector-63 branch.

Now the fun began. I waited for 3 weeks and started pestering the dealership about the car. I also made them abundantly clear that I had made 4 bookings (in reality there were just 2) from different dealerships and will cancel my booking immediately if I receive the car from somewhere else. On 18th May (6 weeks after booking), I received a call from sector-63 that my car has arrived and I can make payment for the same. I was elated as during the time, waiting times were really high and people were being jerked around by the dealerships, even surpassing the promised delivery time with no sign of their cars. Not to mention there were price hikes every 3 months and semiconductor shortage was being used as an excuse to further aggravate customers. Anyways, they asked me to pay 1 Lac rupees and tried to manipulate me by stating that since the car is in high demand, and they have to meet their quarterly targets, they cannot hold the car for me without a partial payment being made to them. I called out their bluff by calmly stating that the first quarter has already ended on 31st March and this is May and secondly I don't believe in partial payments. I'll do a through PDI on Saturday, since I'm only available on weekends and if the car is satisfactory, I'll make the full payment on the spot. If this arrangement is unacceptable to them, I can cancel the booking and get my booking amount back since I had made 4 bookings with different dealers. Lo and Behold, they were able to hold the car for me until the weekend.

I asked the car to be parked outside in the sun and me and two other family members started the PDI. I took a picture of the VIN number of the car and proceeded to check every single control, lights, AC, everything, while my cousin checked the exterior. I had a prepared a PDI checklist beforehand so that I do not forget anything. This took us close to 2.5 hours under the sun. It is then I realized that Tata's Quality Control is an absolute failure. I rejected the car since:
- There were several paint chips, shoddy workmanship particularly in the doors and paint application
- The fuel tank lid wouldn't open. After cranking the lever from the inside 5-6 times, it MIGHT open some times, other times, it wouldn't open.
- The speaker and tweeters on the door behind the driver's wouldn't work.

I've attached a few pictures for your reference. In short, this car shouldn't have been rolled out from the factory had someone from QC actually did their jobs.





















I was relieved that I didn't pay the dealership the 1 Lac rupees they were asking, otherwise I'd have been stuck. I called the manager outside in the sun, where the car was parked and asked him to explain himself as to why he made us waste our time and what sort of PDI his team has conducted on the car upon receiving it. Obviously he had no straight answer. He still tried to be smart, saying that if I refuse this car, I'd have to wait for the next batch to arrive, which could be months away. He offered to get the issues in the car fixed if I decide to go with the car. I laughed at his face and told him that I'll not be paying for a repaired car since I've made a booking for a new car also I wouldn't have to wait for the next batch since I've made 4 bookings for the same car and I'm fairly certain that I'd be getting another one any day now. His tone changed and he promised to arrange another car for me ASAP. I asked him to hurry up, I had already wasted my time with his car and if I get a car from elsewhere, I'll be cancelling the booking. I left.

On my way back, I received a call from Sector-5 stating that my car has arrived and I could do a PDI. I told the sales executive that I'll be there next Friday. He asked me to have a look at the car at the stockyard itself which is at Sector-37, Botanical gardens which is 14 Kms away from the Sector-5 showroom. I asked the sales executive to share the VIN number which he did.

The next day, I reached the stockyard. There I saw scores of new cars, gathering dust and came to the terrible realization that:
- The car shortage is artificially created by the dealerships to increase the waiting period for the car and to get out of giving any discounts to customers.
- At least in Noida, the dealership will not share the VIN number and tracking details of the car allocated to you after you've made the booking. They'll only let you know once the car is there. You'll have no way of knowing which car is allocated to you and where is it exactly.
- Suppose the waiting period is 16 weeks, the stockyard will receive your car in 4-5 weeks. The dealership will keep holding your car. They'll prioritize customers who have agreed to pay more price to get the car early or agreed to buy overpriced accessories. Also VIP customers are prioritized.
- After your car is delivered to some VIP customer, they'll wait for some other customer to make the exact same booking as you and give their car to you. If nobody makes the same booking, the dealership makes a booking from their end.
- If they really want to mess with you, they'll increase the waiting period from 16 weeks to 19 weeks to 21 weeks, citing high demand, semiconductor shortage and other nonsense, while selling the car that was originally allocate to you to someone else.

Anyways, when I arrived at the stockyard, I provided the VIN number I received from the sales executive to the person at the stockyard. He informed me that this car has already been sent to the showroom as it was supposed to be delivered to the customer that day. I was pissed. I called the sales executive and he apologized profusely. He said that he made a mistake in sending me the VIN number and he's sending me the correct VIN number and I can PDI the car then and there at the stockyard. When I received the new VIN number, I was angry beyond words as that VIN number was the same as the one on the Sector-63 car that I had already rejected in PDI. I yelled at the sales executive, informing him of the same and he completely refused to believe that someone else has already shown that car to a customer. In hindsight, I should've known that since both the branches belong to the same dealership (Sagar Motors), they share the same stockyard and have access to the same cars. I informed the sales executive that I'm on my way to see him and I want to see my other car since there were two bookings. Sensing anger in my voice, he said that he's not at the showroom at that moment as he's outside for some personal work.

At this point I was beyond angry. Tata was the first choice for my family given how they stepped up during COVID pandemic and donated a large sum of money for relief effort but they had managed to spoil an otherwise enjoyable car buying experience.
Fuming in anger under the scorching May sun, I decided to ditch Tata and go for another car. On my way, I was contemplating the different car brands I could go for. I eventually went to MG to checkout MG Astor. The professionalism and customer service at MG was phenomenal, night and day difference with Tata. I was sold on MG Astor but they had stopped accepting bookings for the lower two variants of Astor (Style and Smart). The sales person tried to convince us to go with Super variant but it was outside my budget. Defeated, I left.

Tata's Sector 5 showroom was close to MG showroom. I had already wasted half of my day and I was drenched with sweat and boiling with anger. So I barged into the Tata showroom and Lo and Behold, found my sales executive there (the one who was supposed to be away for personal reasons). He immediately switched to damage control mode and asked for soft drinks for us. I refused to talk to him and went straight to his manager and explained the situation to him, telling him about my two bookings and the way cars are gathering dust at the stockyard. The sales executive received an immediate tongue lashing from the manager since I had taken several pictures at the stockyard of the sheer number of cars collecting dust and was on the verge of posting it online. The manager sensed the situation and dismissed the sales executive. He then asked me if I would be interested in getting a higher variant for Nexon, when I told him that it is outside my budget, he said that he can offer a discount. This was again a shocker as I was made to believe that you can't even dream of getting a discount on Tata cars due to high demand. Anyways, I refused and asked him to give me my other car. Turned out the VIN number that the sales executive had originally shared with me, was actually my other car that was delivered to some other customer that very day. I was mad and raised hell, told them that since they have wasted close to 7 weeks of my time, they better give me a car, same model, same color. The manager had seen the pictures I had on my phone, so he called all his sales executives to his cabin and checked his system for a white Nexon XZ+ white petrol. They found two cars in their inventory which were allocated to other people but they agreed that they can probably make one of them wait around for a few more weeks and his car can be given to me. The manager asked me when I would like to pay. I told him that I'd pay in full after doing the PDI and I intend to do the PDI then and there. The manager requested us to wait for an hour. The car arrived from the stockyard in 2 hours and we again spent 2.5 hours doing PDI under the sun. There were a few minor issues - One of the roof rail not sitting perfectly in place which was correctly and one very small paint chip which was touched up. I took a picture of the VIN number again and green lighted the car.

Now came the payment part, I was paying the money in cash and not taking out a loan but they refused to accept cheques, even though I told them that I could wait for the cheques to clear. I relented this time and promised to transfer the amount next day. Then they dropped another bombshell on me - I would only get one key for my car, due to semiconductor shortage the other key will be given to me in 6 months. I asked them that I want this in writing. They agreed. So after a very long day, I went home. This was 27 May 2022.
On 28 May (Saturday), I transferred the amount through RTGS. I had to chase my sales exec to verify the payment receipt but it went smoothly. The sales exec tried to pull a fast one again and said that some money still remains to be transferred, it turned out that he was not adding the 5000rs booking amount to the total, hoping that I'd forget about it. After another swift tongue lashing, he backed off. By the time, we had decided to take the delivery of the car on 02 June, so I asked the sales exec to get the documents ready by then.

On the D-day (Thursday, 02 June 2022), I called the sales exec from home that I'd be reaching the showroom by 09:30 AM and I expect both the car and documents to be ready as I have to leave for work after taking the delivery (actually I was on leave that day). He promised me that he'll deliver the car in an hour and for me to not worry. I reached the showroom and went ahead to check my car and if everything is in order. I found my car extremely dirty and not at all ready for delivery. The sales exec was nowhere to be found. I was exhausted and exasperated by the level of unprofessionalism at display. Finally at 10 PM, the sales exec arrived at the showroom. He once again received a piece of my mind but the man proved to be very thick skinned. He promised to sort out the mess in half an hour and requested us to have some tea. Oh and did I mention that the formalities with the RTO were not completed by this point? No, I didn't.

The delivery process took 5 hours to complete, I had to remind the sales exec to get me the mudflaps, mats and other stuff that was promised.





I inspected everything like a hawk. I checked if the right amount of fuel is present in the car along with other last minute stuff.
When we were about to drive away from the showroom, the sales exec requested us to give him 10/10 during his feedback and requested us to report that the delivery was done in half an hour!!

When I finally drove away, it felt like I had truly won a war.

Epilogue

I realized that since I have both the keys of the car (all I lacked was one remote), I immediately started pestering the dealership again and in three months they gave me the second remote. Basically it is just a normal remote that they have lying around with them that they just pair with your car. So all the claims the second key will arrive from the company are baloney. They could've given me the second remote on the day of the delivery but they chose not to. Go figure.
The one mistake I made during this entire ordeal is that I bought the fastag from them. My sales exec has registered my fastag with a wrong mobile number (mobile number of another one of his customers), as a result, I cannot update my details on the fastag. The tag is associated with the chassis number and I cannot update my Car's registration number on it due to aforementioned issue. The tag still works, it's just that recharging it is quite inconvenient. I might have to get it cancelled somehow and get a new tag. Oh well! seems like you can't have everything in life.


My observations:

-> In case it is not evident by now, Tata dealerships have done master level courses in unprofessionalism. They need to learn that simply offering soft drinks to customers is not considered customer service.
-> Tata motors' quality control is absolute trash, to the point where the entire department must be restructured/overhauled from scratch.
-> Tata motors is quite dealer centric and will not lift a finger to support your case against the dealerships.

My Recommendations if you have decided to buy a Tata car:

-> Make it a simple job. Don't exchange your old car with them, don't buy any accessories that they're supposed to retrofit your car with and so on. Make it simple for them, just pay the money and get the car at factory configuration, they can't handle anything beyond this without screwing up.
-> Make it known to them during the booking process itself that you've booked the same car at multiple dealerships and wouldn't mind cancelling the booking and getting the car from some other place. This would give you a lot of leverage. I took that to a whole new level and made it a point to indirectly hint to them about the other bookings everytime I went to the dealership. The dealerships have to meet sales targets and you'd be treated not so horribly!
-> Don't be a passive buyer, be vigilant, check everything twice and thrice, check every document, names, their spellings and so on.
-> Don't lose your booking slip. Keep it safe and make sure that the booking amount is accounted for in the final payment.
-> Don't pay the dealership any money before the PDI of the car, except the booking amount of course.
-> Do a very thorough PDI (Pre Delivery Inspection). This is NOT optional. If you find issues, reject the car and under no circumstances accept the car, no matter how much the dealer tries to convince you. Take a picture of the VIN of the car you rejected and keep it for reference.
-> Don't be hesitant in demanding the service that you deserve. This includes frequent trips to the manager of the dealership and chewing their ears out.
-> Don't buy insurance from them.
-> Don't buy fastag from them.

I hope my experience was entertaining to you and probably even helpful to someone down the line. I'd really appreciate your valuable feedback.

Regards
Northern Star

[shancz]

Originally Posted by NorthernStar

I hope my experience was entertaining to you and probably even helpful to someone down the line. I'd really appreciate your valuable feedback.

Thanks for that valuable insight from your well detailed and documented experience

Clears a lot of doubts I had and some more. Have experienced some of them with other manufacturers but agree with your statement that Tata truly has a masters and if I may add heading towards a doctorate.
Your observations are spot on and the recommendations very accurate.
Makes me wonder if there an option for an online order since the dealers aren't giving any discounts ? And if yes then does it allocate a vehicle and share the VIN when its dispatched from factory like it should ?

Although I still believe that a car purchase should be a pleasant experience and not a matrix style ordeal and hence the word "Tata Motors" has been deliberately avoided in our family space since decades.

[Shreyans_Jain]

It is an open secret that the car dealership model is broken. The OP correctly mentioned that all shortages are artificial and waiting periods are deliberately created to shift the balance of power away from the customer. Odd exception aside, almost all mass market cars are available for immediate delivery, providing you have the right contacts or you are willing to pay underhand premiums and buy overpriced accessories and insurance.

In this sense, the model has changed from them sweetening the deal with discounts/benefits. But ultimately, it is cartelisation, and car companies are complicit by having ridiculous booking procedures with zero transparency, and refusing to exercise control on dealers. They are also benefiting by getting away with higher priced cars and not having to offer dealer benefits.

[rakesh_r]

Thanks for penning down your experience. Tata does make some good cars, but that ends right at the doorstep of their dealership.
I recently bought a Force Gurkha. Since Force Motors being a Commercial vehicle manufacturer, I kept my expectations at bay. But the entire process left me very much happy. Although can't compare with well established firms like Nexa, everything from booking, paper work, loan processing, PDI, price negotiation, till the delivery (they did make us cut a cake and do a pooja, which i wanted to avoid though, as i don't like much attention) was handled in a very subtle manner, as i expected just here's the key, now off you go. The sales guy was kind enough to share a picture of my car kept under wraps, the night before the delivery.
The dealer did let me do the PDI to my heart's content since the vehicle was driven all the way from Pithampur, and at the same time managed to befriend the head mechie who works on the Gurkha.
The Gurkha ain't no mass market vehicle, maybe sells in two or three digit numbers per month, but the dealership experience left me very much satisfied.

[Mustang Sammy]

I feel your pain. Had a similar (not as horrendous though) experience with Mahindra dealership when I got my ScorpioN.
They and Tata make good vehicles, but their dealers are still stuck in the Truck sales era in terms of quality of service (not that any kind of customer deserves this)

[Nalin1]

oh oh that is a bad experience. Just bad luck.

I had a fabulous experience with KHT motors Domlur, Bangalore. Of course, you will find the typical Indian lethargy on display, but that is a PAN India problem, not Tata Motors.

The Nexon sells around 14,000 units a month. They have just one manual petrol test drive car shared across dealerships (like all manufacturers). But still got it down to my residence not once or twice, but three times for a test drive. The first time was as soon as I showed interest online. That was super fast and that too at almost closing time in the evening. He still came at around 6:30 in the evening!. But since it was in heavy traffic, it was not satisfactory. So I requested for another one in the afternoon which was immediately obliged. Then I made the booking and wanted a third test drive to get used to the car and that was also immediately agreed.

The third test drive was to the stockyard for the PDI. During all test drives for as long as I want. In between the sales executive got around 100 calls on test drive schedules, but he did not pester me one bit.

Unlike what I had assumed that the stockyard to be an open muddy ground with new cars dumped, KHT uses their open terrace in their service center and it is damn clean. Uncovered though, but otherwise very neatly parked. He waited patiently until I finished a quick PDI verifying the VIN, tyres, variant, external and internal pictures and a walkaround. Then returned home in the same test drive car and after reaching home, I spent another half an hour exploring the features and he was in no hurry whatsoever even though atleast 200 people walk into their showroom ONLY for the Nexon.

I booked the Kaziranga edition initially and it got allotted in just 5 days with a clear mail mentioning the VIN and all other details.

I then decided to change to the XZ+ which was done absolutely without any fuss. Only thing was that the waiting period begins once again from scratch. In about one and a half months, again a clear cut mail arrived with all the details. Everything matched perfectly without any issues. They have tieups with almost all banks and all assistance provided in a loan is needed.

Now came the same usual trick that all manufacturers are up to these days. The price applicable at the time of delivery. My SA called me and said, please transfer 40% or 50% of the amount (there was no loan) and I will give you price protection. It happened exactly as he said with no sign of anything crooked. He had absolutely no issues with insurance. Get it from wherever you want. Just before the registration he called for the insurance copy and once provided, registration done smoothly. Another person responsible for the fastag, IRA activation and delivery called me and provided me with the number. He was fine with delivering the car home or showroom delivery at any of their two delivery outlets (service center or showroom).

On reaching the showroom, the car was washed, waxed and covered neatly with the documents ready in a file and the assigned person waiting with the welcome kit. He explained everything clearly, the SA gave a quick demo, the odo read 31 kms (it should have been only 15, but 31 was because of change in delivery venue).

The car looked like how a new car is expected to be. Fastag activation was done right there and the tag pasted. I was infomed IRA activation will be done in a couple of days after KYC and that also was without any hassles.

Two negatives-

No cake as they had just started with delivering new cars at their Domlur showroom.

Very less fuel as they provide only 5 litres and I had to go straight to the bunk after delivery.

After a few days, got a call for feedback on ALL parameters and I gave slightly less than 10 on some.

That created a pandemonium . My SA came straight to my residence with a big box of chocolates and to clear the air about the less than 10 ratings. Took a selfie in front of the car with all 'issues' now resolved!.

[100Kmphormore]

That is to be expected, though i only speak to managers at TM now even if i want a test ride. The fastag error is unpardonable. Do not give the ratings they ask for on the spot.

[ferrarirules]

I recently bought a Nexon EV on March 6, 2023 from Multitech Motors, Faridabad. My experience was quite opposite to yours. The Sales executive was super helpful, he got a me a small 15k discount on the car, negotiated the insurance to the price I was getting outside and added basic accessories for free. He provided me the VIN a day after the booking and let me do a PDI before any payment. I preponed my delivery date, he obliged and the payment was made on the day of the delivery via RTGS and rest was loan disbursement letter from SBI (This was also helped by the dealership)

On the day of delivery, i told the time i will reach at and after that they were done with the delivery in an hour. I was given both the keys and there was a lady executive who had a checklist of all the things that i was given and what was pending from their end. The accessories were free but they mentioned that i will get the invoice of the same. They did send me a invoice later over email.

I think the experience varies from dealer to dealer or i should say Sales person to Sales person as well. I think if you like the car you should not let the dealership/sales experience spoil your ownership experience. There is a thread started by GTO on the same - "had-bad-sales-experience-dealer-please-do-not-eliminate-car-model-because" (Had a bad sales experience at a dealer? Please do NOT eliminate the car model because of that!)

[cdrajeevkumar]

Absolutely wonderful post to read through!! Your To-Do list is truly commendable and I’d use it when I decide to buy a car (Not Tata of course!).

[RunGaDa]

Sorry to read about the bad experience and very gritty of you to counter every fleecing move. The stories of shameless breaking of every rule in the book are growing every day.
All one middle class guy / lady wants is to buy a car for his family and would like to get it without negativity. However since laws in the country are toothless every one who pays money are given a comprehensive “feel bad factor”
For every break of rule, demanding unreasonable amounts, fooling by adding their own add ons, for every single break of rules there should be jail terms, no less. These selfish people need the lesson taught to them and in the worst way possible.

[Sridhar C E]

I took delivery of my Nexon EV max Lux edition on March 24th from Prerana Motors, BTM layout, Bangalore. I had booked the car on March 1st 2023 and the delivery happened in about 3 weeks after I cleared it in a PDI.

In 2021, I had had a test drive of the Nexon EV and was impressed, despite the lack of features like cruise control. A few fellow TBHPians suggested that I wait for a while till the inbuilt niggles sorted themselves out. So I decided to wait.

My experience with Prerana Motors was very good. In fact, sometime in January 2023, I went to the Kropex dealership in Sarjapura road ( 2km from my home) to enquire and ask for a test drive. I was put off by their sales person's ignorance of not even knowing the battery capacity of the Nexon EV. The promised test drive was taking too long, with one lame excuse after another.

In the meanwhile, my son, an NRI was visiting in February and I wanted him along on the test drive. I contacted Prerana Motors BTM layout and wanted to look at the grey colour Nexon EV. I got a call back from a sales associate ,Ramesh. He told me that they didn't have a stock of grey colour Nexon EV but if I wanted to just see the colour, they had a grey Punch being delivered that same day. So I went and saw the grey car.

I told Ramesh to arrange a test drive on Feb 23rd, when I knew my son would be available (he was coming on a 2 day visit from London). Ramesh agreed.

On the 23rd when I called Ramesh in the morning at 9 am to confirm that he was bringing the car across at 2pm, I was in for a shock. He said he was at his native place on an emergency. Could I wait for a day or two? I totally lost it and gave him a bit of my mind. I reminded him that my son was in town only for 2 days. Ramesh apologized and said he would arrange something. In a short while, a colleague of Ramesh's called and confirmed that he would get a test drive car by 3pm.

So we had the test drive and decided to book a white nexon ev max.

After some follow up from Ramesh I went across to the Prerana BTM layout dealership and paid the booking amount of ₹ 21k. I was told that the maximum wait time would be about 4 weeks.
Ramesh couldn't offer me any discounts or freebies and was quite ok when I told him that I would buy insurance on my own (their price list quoted ₹.1,09000 for insurance).

Around the 18th of March Ramesh called to say that my car had arrived at their stock yard and could I come for a PDI the next day? He drove me to Nelamangala (50km.away) the next day and post the PDI, I paid the remaining amount.

My car was delivered on the 24th at the promised time with the pageantry of cake cutting, handing over a key, etc. The Fast tag activation happened in front of me . Overall,.a very smooth experience.

I had to follow up a couple of times for the Z Connect activation but that wasn't a big hassle.

[raptor_diwan]

Finally, someone said it! In my opinion, there always seems to be a fake shortage created to take control or demand rights from customers. When I booked my Nissan Magnite, the way the sales rep handled it was really unacceptable. The waiting period was increased, and we were forced to take an extended warranty along with Gold care to get delivery on the upcoming date. If not, they would give the car to someone else who is ready to pay, and we would get the car next month. It was the worst experience nowadays in dealerships, and this has to stop somehow.

[Fdtheman]

Thanks for enlightening us on your poor experience with the Tata dealership. I can only imagine your frustration and hope that I never experience something like this.

Tata and Mahindra need to do something about their dealers and their customer centricity approach as that contact point will drive away their future customers.

I couldn't agree more with you about MG's customer service. It's just unbelievable when you compare it with the others. I was in the first batch of Astor bookings and was absolutely vowed by their customer service approach...right from the Test Drive to booking to taking delivery of my Astor.

In fact 2 days after taking delivery my Sales advisor visited my residence and asked me for feedback regarding the car and whether I need a refresher on all the ADAS features etc. of the car. They then take a selfie along with you and the car which they have to send to their management to prove that the customer visit was done in person.

Am not sure if this was done only because I had booked in the first batch of 5000 cars or if it's done for all their customers. But I have never experienced this level of service when buying any of my previous cars.

Even the service center staff are completely customer service oriented and I have never had any complaints about the service center.

Hopefully someday TATA and Mahindra dealers take a leaf out of other car manufacturers customer service and give you the wow experience you look forward to when buying a car.

[Doonite]

Originally Posted by NorthernStar

They found two cars in their inventory which were allocated to other people but they agreed that they can probably make one of them wait around for a few more weeks and his car can be given to me. The manager asked me when I would like to pay.

I was all all up in arms with you against Tata and it's dealerships while I was reading the post and then came this. It comes off as extremely hypocritical that you would blame the dealerships for allotting your car to other people who would pay extra / get accessories/ or are VIP's. But, you don't have a problem doing the same to another innocent person because it favours you?

Tata dealerships are infamous for pulling these stunts and so are the other brand dealerships. But, to me, this post and the way you finally got your car, left a sour taste in my mouth. I mean no offence, i called it like i saw it.

P.S I'm not a Tata fan boy.

[Drdriver]

Similar experience with me buying my Tata Punch from Jalandhar. It is my first car and the buying experience made me regret buying a Tata car. Though driving it immediately flipped my mind but I swore to never talk to the sales executive and anyone else from the dealership once I've driven off the lot! I deliberately booked the base model so they could not force accessories down my throat and aftermarket stuff done well works good imho (sometimes even better than what factory provides). Thanks for the step-by-step procedure on how to deal with a Tata dealership. I'll use this when i change my car. The products are good. Yes, there are some QC issues but otherwise the cars are wonderful to drive and own. The dealerships are so woeful in customer service, Tata could very well open an online portal and just home deliver vehicles like an online marketplace at this point and it'll still be better than the hassle of going to one of their dealerships.

I must point out though, my father is not having an ounce of such horrid dealing while buying the same car from Ahmedabad. Something about the work ethic and unprofessional behaviour of Northie sales executives doesn't sit right