[SixPistons]

Sour Experience, Bad taste - Universal Hyundai sold a repainted car as new | Never buy a Hyundai

Note:
This will be a rather long post. I will try to sum up nearly 3 months of correspondence with Universal Hyundai, HMIL. Took me a few days to compile all of this. I will omit tangential/less relevant information. Nevertheless, I want to cover specific details here of the matter here. I find it very important to share with other members in this fora of how big corporates like Hyundai and their dealerships behave with customers and how much a customer has to be patient to even get their matter heard/handled/evaluated in any way. Also, how the Indian consumer is at a disadvantage in the new car market where the automobile manufacturer just does not care what their dealership goes on doing in their business, even if it is to fool the consumer.

I also followed the Team-BHP checklist in the PDI. I was not thorough enough, so I got scammed.

Just as excited I was about buying this car, my excitement was short lived. Within the first two weeks I felt a few times that the right rear door exhibited a slightly different shine. One of those days, I found small paint bubbles on this door as well and a tiny scratch along with something that seemed to be covered up under the paint. The scratch is very hard to catch under a camera and so were the bubbles. However, they are visible under fine light to the naked eye.

I initially wrote it off as an over reaction. After considering few options, I visited AJ56's 5C Car Care in Gurgaon to speak of Ceramic Coating on April 29. We talked at length about various ceramic coating options available, automotive paint thicknesses on different automotive vehicles etc. Based on the information I could find about paint protection coatings before I visited the dealership, I evaluated a few options, diligently explained by him.
I finalized my product and I thought it would be interesting to check out paint thicknesses on various panels of the i20. I mentioned this panel to him and that something felt off about it, so was it normal or something to be worried about with respect to the coating.

To my surprise, after looking at the paint for just a few seconds, he informed me that door is manually repainted. Then he checked the paint thickness on this door and confirmed that this door's DFT level was way off the rest of the panels. It showed average thickness level of 180/190 on this panel, going up to 240 in few areas. This reading hovered on other doors around 120-150 range. He then went on to show that the surface had significant marks on the surface.

We took this to the dealership a few days later, and asked for a confirmation that we had indeed been sold a brand new car. We spoke that day with Mr. Munish Sharma. He kept saying it is a brand new car. However, when we asked for a written confirmation that the car had not been tampered with until the point of delivery, he said could not give such an undertaking.

I got a call from Mr. Gaurav Arora the next day (the sales Point of Contact throughout the process). He kept telling me how Hyundai does not allow the dealership to furnish such an undertaking saying they have sold a brand new car. He kept asking me to arrive at some middle ground, go speak with the detailer and have another expert.

A few days later, I wrote to Hyundai and lodged an official complaint. This was first half of May. It took 15+ days to arrange an initial inspection of the car. On June 02, Mr Vikas Gupta from Hyundai visited the Dealership's service center to inspect the complaint. At first he found it hard to observe the issue we had mentioned. However, once we pointed out the signs on paint work of the door, the roughness of the surface, the over spray visible at various points on the door, the scratch and bubbles, he agreed that somewhere something did seem off.

We were informed that he will share findings with Hyundai and Hyundai will communicate with the dealership on the steps ahead. Hyundai will not directly communicate with me. Perfect ploy to frustrate the customer into submitting to your suggestions. Unfortunate outcome, given the trust one places in a big company.

This was friday evening. On June 04, Sumit Singh (GM, Service at Universal Hyundai) called me and asked me to come to a settlement to talk about a settlement. They offered polishing and finishing on that door, to which I said no. He asked me to meet the dealership and possibly a settlement can be arrived at. I made it clear I wasn't interested in any such offers.

After a few days I followed it up with Hyundai about the service ticket. I connected with Mr. Vidhya Shankar, Territory Parts and Service Manager. To my surprise, I was informed that they will not at all be communicating directly with me at all and they have directed the dealership to settle the matter. All my communication will be done via Dealership, but they will speak with the dealership once if this matter has not yet been taken up.

That's like putting the customer aside and saying boss you have bought the car. Your problem is no longer my problem. You will get some of my attention since you are pushing. But that's about it. You still need to resolve with the dealership.

As I pushed this matter to be taken up more seriously over the next few days, I was greeted by Mr. Tovind Sharma, VP at Dealership along with Sumit Singh at my Home on June 19. In this visit, they did not deny the problem. They acknowledged that there has been some issue with the car.

They said they are clueless about where the issue came from(I find it hard to buy). As a solution, they however offered some sort of extended warranty and the door being repainted/replaced along with Finishing. Note, this door has already been repainted. There is not a clue of what other repairs the car has been through or what other problems remain.(Especially because since in July I have started facing a Battery Alternator issue as well and the dashboard sound makes me feel like I am driving a car from the previous century). A long conversation went on and we asked for a complete analysis on the car by Hyundai as we can no longer say that the car is new anymore. They agreed and told me they will set a date soon.

Two weeks went on and not a single communication was received from Universal Hyundai. I finally shot back and email summarizing the June 19 conversation and asked about why there has been no communication. I also included Hyundai Sales and Service emails along with few other people in this email. Their service center reached back out saying that it will be planned soon and not to worry. NO explanation about the radio silence. A few days went by. All they could say was the person who will further inspect the car is currently not available at Hyundai.

Another problem with leaving entire communication with the dealership instead of communicating themselves is that statements like this from dealership cannot be trusted after it is coming after two weeks of radio silence.

Finally as this went on for quite a while, the dealership offered on mail the first time, as a goodwill gesture, to repaint/replace the door with a new car door. But on email, they have been trying to prove me liars for the last 2 months. Change of heart now

I complained again to Hyundai in late July about the lackadaisical attitude of the dealership on what they had promised and urged them again to involve themselves as the dealership had time and again proven untrustworthy. Since their last meeting more than a month back, they had not been able to arrange a technician visit from HMIL and couldn't communicate for 2 weeks that no one is available on Hyundai's end.

It is clear, meanwhile, how Hyundai is taking dealership's side by completely withdrawing from a case of such gravity and asking the customer to sit along with a sub par product.

After twice complaining to Hyundai and repeatedly asking them to look into the matter, finally on August 03, HMIL sent for Mr. Ashish Rathi(Area Sales Manager) along with Mr Jeetender Singh Chouhan (Customer Relations, I think) to visit and evaluate the case and facilitate a conversation. They outright cancelled any value to the DFT readings. (Ah, amazing). It felt like they were trying to discredit other aspects of the matter as well somehow. They stuck to how HMIL's process involves them directly communicating with the dealer on how to resolve the matter. This time, after hearing the matter, HMIL's folks redirected the matter to me: I had the car for a month after which I reported this complaint, so I could've got the car repainted outside due to a scratch and returned to them saying I got a repainted car. My blood was boiling at this point. I told them that there is one issue visible but there are possibly many other hidden issues in the car, simply because it has already been tampered with at some point and there could be n number of issues that I may face in future so I should get a new car when I paid for a new car. They said they will still consider the case that I had mentioned and planned for a paint expert visit at the Dealership on August 05, Saturday.

In this visit, We explained to the Paint Expert our Findings. He could not spot the issue on his own. We had to explain each and every one of our findings. He took some images of the signs of repaint, chipping and rust marks on the Bonnet. Thereafter, he informed that he will share his findings with Hyundai only and not the dealership and they will do what they wish to do. (I strictly do not believe that) Thereafter, lined up the car to deal with the Alternator Light Issue on the Instrument Light Panel.

In this meanwhile, the owner of the dealership happened spoke with us on this matter. We explained to him the entire matter, he sweet talked, he offered us two options:
1. A door replaced from a demo car in front of our eyes, Paint Protection Film(Not getting that, no), Extended Warranty from Universal Hyundai(Not useful since I am mobile).
2. The above did not inspire any confidence in the car. So he suggested getting the car valuated, splitting the difference from new car price 50-50. For something that was in no place my wrong doing, I find this hard to accept.

The owner did not deny that there has been an issue somewhere.
In fact, after the HMIL visit, neither did the Service guys or the dealership VP deny that there has been an issue somewhere before the car was delivered. They said they could not identify the matter, since they internally procured the car from another dealership and then sold to me. HMIL originally sold the car to Frontier Hyundai and then Universal Hyundai procured the car from them when I made the booking.

One thing is amply clear from all of this. Customer is important till the money comes through. Then it is all a dealer's arena in case of Hyundai.

Other Issues that have developed over time:

• Within first 200 kms of drive, I could hear a constant rattle on the driver's side door whenever the car was driven on even a slightly rough surface.
• Battery light comes on anytime. No issue identified with the Battery or alternator so far. The OBD scanner shows code U012D00. Requires further diagnosis. A visit is planned for this coming Saturday.
• Paint chipping off from Driver's door, bonnet. There are signs of rust on the bonnet chip offs. There is no surface dip at the cracks on these two panels.
• There is a weird noise from the dashboard when switching the car on or off and when the ac turns on or off.

All together, I have already faced 3 months of Pain in following this up with HMIL, the dealership and the visits to the workshop, mental agony and wasted time. I would strongly suggest no one to ever buy a Hyundai car, especially since they do not care about their customer at all and in fact, they are supportive of whatever the dealership may do.

I am yet to chose way forward. I am inclined towards going the legal route despite the fact that it takes time. The last 2 options presented by the dealership are definitely not convincing. Especially, when a brand new car in its 5th month of ownership is marred with all these issues. I also don't see why any customer should take a monetary hit because of the Dealership's carelessness/wrongdoings when they aren't even denying the presence of the repaint issue anymore. Something just does not sit right here in taking any of the above two options.

I would like to bring this forward to the community now for their note and opinion.

[SumitB]

This post comes just in time when, after a lot of dilly-dallying, I was about to transfer 14 big ones to Karma Hyundai in Noida to get the exact same variant/color for my wife!

Sorry Hyundai, and thank you SixPistons, I'll now reconsider and only after inspecting the vehicle with a microscope, will I part with my money.

To assist you, I will also be writing to Hyundai today, referencing your post, and asking them to hold on or even cancel my booking for the time being.

In the meanwhile, if you have any specific email ids on which I can send emails referencing to your post and cancelling/keeping on hold my booking, I'd be more than glad to do so.

Originally Posted by SixPistons

Sour Experience, Bad taste - Universal Hyundai sold a repainted car as new | Never buy a Hyundai

[SixPistons]

I think you can reach out to to crsales@hmil.net
since you have not transferred the whole amount yet and neither has anything else happened so far, I think you can just go ahead and cancel the booking.

About referencing the post, Thanks for mentioning this. I do not think anything major would happen though. I had never thought this would spiral out and become a nightmare, Hyundai was always my favourite mass market brand and this car a personal favourite.

[SumitB]

Originally Posted by SixPistons

About referencing the post, Thanks for mentioning this. I do not think anything major would happen though. I had never thought this would spiral out and become a nightmare, Hyundai was always my favourite mass market brand and this car a personal favourite.

Thank you for the mail id. I thought there were a few specific people in HMIL who were looking at your issue but nonetheless, I will mail on their listed mail id.

I know for sure that companies like Hyundai and Kia take customer feedback very seriously and incidents such as these does scare them. It is not necessary that everyone who is in the market is going to post here. Even one cancelled booking, as will be in my case, will make them sit on the edges of their seats and will also dent sales. The dealership will also get brickbats. So I don't think this will not matter.

Hopefully, you'll get a satisfactory resolution soon. As for me, I am done with the i20 for now.

[SixPistons]

Oh, I’m sorry about that. Regarding the email ids, there is a few email ids of the territory sales and service managers. The only communication happened from those emails when they emailed me the initial Service Request ID.

The following folks’ email ids from Hyundai are available with me right now:
1. ashish.rathi@hmil.net
2. JITENDERSINGHCHAUHAN@hmil.net

These seem relevant to the matter.

I wish this matter was taken seriously from the start. They have lost a potential repeat customer.

[greenhorn]

From what I know cars getting damaged in transit and in the yard are fairly regular occurrences with several dealers (there was a thread by a dealer here who presented their predicament edit : https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/india...repainted.html (As an automotive dealership, how do we deal with a new car which is repainted?)) and ideally this is something that should have been caught during PDI. Practically it is your problem and there aren't much solutions open to you. I know it sounds unfair, but given the current market, that's just how things are. Dealers have all the leverage. Please do fight for what you are owed, but given the state of consumer protection and judiciary in India, don't have high hopes

[SixPistons]

At this point, I am surprised at the gall of the dealership to be able to say this. Even after acknowledging the product delivered was not up to the mark, they have the support from Hyundai that they are able to get away with an issue such as this.

And Hyundai, with a customer buying such a premium car, expects the customer to be okay with getting a sub par product and take the hit for everything.

After the last visit by their paint expert, in which I was the only one informing him of the problems instead of him spotting them, and me telling him to check out rest of the car for other issues, I just want to find out who and what Hyundai Motors India really stands for.

A dealership carrying out dishonest business by covering up damages, selling a car as new and stalling communication with a complaining customer, or the customer who spotted the dealership’s scam and is facing even more issues than the number of months they have had the car so far.

[MinivanDriver]

Cars can get cosmetic damage during transport and handling. What should a dealership do about it? To me, it looks like a fair thing to do for the dealer to restore it to factory finish and offer it to the buyer. However if the dealer does not bring it back to factory finish, as seems the case here, the buyer is absolutely with in rights to contest that.

[Joeboy]

I had worked in a Maruti dealership for a few years a long time back and I have seen with my own eyes many new vehicles that were damaged during transit, while unloading or damaged in the yard being repainted and sold to customers hoping that the customer would not detect it. I remember one case where the roof of a wagon R was damaged as a tree branch fell on it while it was parked in the dealer's yard. The dealer repainted the roof and sold the vehicle. Now this customer was a lawyer and he somehow found out that the roof had been repainted and wanted a replacement car however the dealership did not agree. The customer threatened that he would go to the court and sue the company and he also had contacts in high places. After this the dealer was forced to take back the repainted car and gave him a another new car. So this in nothing new as it happens at the dealer level in almost all dealerships.

[Bhodrolok]

Originally Posted by MinivanDriver

Cars can get cosmetic damage during transport and handling. What should a dealership do about it? To me, it looks like a fair thing to do for the dealer to restore it to factory finish and offer it to the buyer.

What? If they do pull such a stunt, the least they can do is inform the buyer and hopefully provide a discount.

[abhishekjoshi84]

Originally Posted by MinivanDriver

Cars can get cosmetic damage during transport and handling. What should a dealership do about it?

Dealership cannot get it back to factory finish. Painting setup at dealer workshops is not equivalent to factory setup.

Problem here is the lies (includes suppression of facts) to the customer, not the actual damage.


Here is my two cents on what dealers should be doing though:

1. Make sure there is transit insurance for vehicles not yet registered. Not sure if dealers buy it or not. Most probably they do for shipment from factory to stockyard but not for transit from stockyard to showroom?

2. Provide this information to the customer. That there has been a modification in the after it left the factory. Probably offer a suitable discount too. If customer accepts it, then claim insurance for the discount amount. If customer does not accept it, order a new vehicle for them and offer the same car to other customers (may be someone who needs early delivery may accept it at a discount).

3. If no customers agree to take it, claim insurance for full amount. Insurer should sell the car as second hand vehicle and pay up full price (value from second hand sale + difference from original price) to the dealer.

[sgmuser]

I am surprised at the attitude of Hyundai (now) and then (when they were new). This is clearly a case of cheating; the customer who is parting his hard earned money for a product that is damaged and now just because he had signed this sale contract he need to run between pillars and poles to make sure he gets justice. How bad is this system? The seller is sitting pretty even though he cheated, still got the money with profits and still getting full support from Hyundai. We need to simply replicate US system of Legal at least when it comes to Consumer Laws. This need to stop. Then I don't want to even talk about the mental agony these middle class people - us has to go through.

[Maverick Avi]

Not at all surprised. Happens with all dealers. They know that most buyers are not so detail oriented and would not spot minor irregularities in new cars. So they just pass off damaged cars as new. If someone does fight back then they are ready to come up with some negotiable solutions. And it's not about Hyundai. You could end up in this mess with Maruti or Toyota too.

I had had a similar experience when a demo car was allotted to me post paying up entire amount. Thankfully I was able to identify it during PDI. What is more surprising is the way they go about negotiating. The entire team is pretty relaxed during the entire episode as if its their daily routine. I would not have the courage to look into the eyes of a customer had I been sales rep in such situations. But these folks are just so thick skinned.

Well, these are lessons learnt the hard way. Am sure that odd looking door and paint chips are not worth a good night sleep. Now that it's done, I would suggest to negotiate the best possible solution ASAP and get over with it. Next time you would be a tough customer to con.

[nikhilck]

We live in an imperfect world. I urge you to not take this to heart too much. There are more important things like family, friends, piece of mind etc… time is running out as you stress. Try to focus on what’s truly important. Try to see the big picture.

I understand your pain. I’ve been conned too. In fact I get conned regularly because I’m not a tough negotiator. India is a tough place to be.

Remember that this is not your fault. Don’t beat yourself up. Keep your head up high. You didn’t cheat anyone and you tried your best to sort out a messy situation. Take care.

[funkydude]

I recently bought a Hyundai Alcazar in the month of June'23. The car was at the stockyard, and I had explicitly requested/asked the dealership not to bring the vehicle to the showroom (for display) as I would first inspect/do the PDI myself.

On a fine day, I decided to walk into the showroom (Nimbus, Noida) with my mom as we wanted to test drive the Hyundai Tucson. To my surprise, I noticed a new Alcazar on display.

I could see a few kids and customers getting in and out of the new car, banging the door and the boot open.

Immediately called my sales advisor and asked him for the details of the car allotted to me. The SA was a smart chap and could figure out that I had noticed that the car allotted to me was on display at the showroom.

Without any further discussion, I asked for the Sales GM and made it very clear to him that I would not accept this car and that I needed the delivery of the new car on the date as asked. Else would be escalating the concern.

Within 24 hours a brand-new Alcazar was arranged from another showroom in Janakpuri, Delhi (I guess). Inspected the car and completed the PDI.

I haven't faced any trouble since then and the delivery process was also very smooth. Service experience has been below average with Hyundai.

During the 1st service, they somehow managed to break the rear bumper reflector lock and I could only notice this after I parked the car at my garage. Not a big deal though as this can be easily repaired/fixed. Never escalated this issue as I know they would put the blame on me.

Hyundai needs to be more customer-centric than dealer-centric.

Would not recommend Hyundai as the customer service and support from Hyundai dealers/workshop have been an unpleasant one for me.