[predatorwheelz]

A short Background

My trusted 2018 Safari Storme, Sable https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-...m-2-years.html (Sable – My 2018 Tata Safari Storme EX. EDIT: 40,000 km and 2 years) went at 6 years and 94k kms. Priorities had changed, and I needed a new car. A petrol sedan it was to be.

Had a restricted budget, and started to look for OTR options around the 13L mark. Unless you go for absolute base models, not many full size sedans except the Ciaz in that range. Then I came across the March 2023 advertisement of Skoda, where they were promising "benefits upto 2L on the Slavia and Kushaq". Spoke to my friend Sugata (bhpian Altocumulus) who owns a Rapid 1.0. He directed me to Jay Auto. So the process started.

The Good

Mukesh was extremely receptive to my needs. He said they had a 2023 Ambition 1.0 MT model in stock, and offered me an upfront 1,40,000 discount on the car. With this and BH registration (I'm a banker, so qualified for BH) the OTR came to a mouth-watering 12.88 lakhs. Moreover this car was in Crystal Blue. The original launch color of the Slavia, which I find very distinctive. I was told this color is being phased out and Lava Blue (akin to the Vento Sedan) will be seen on the 24 models. It seemed too good a deal to miss. I took the VIN number from Mukesh over whatsapp and checked the manufacturing date.



On 23rd March I visited Jay Skoda in Safdarjung (opposite Bhikaji Cama Place) met Mukesh and placed a Rs 11,000 booking amount for the same car. The booking receipt categorically mentioned "Ambition 2023 MT C.Blue". Some extra discount in the form of freebies was roped in. I was delighted, here was a car I genuinely aspired to, in my restricted budget.





My own bank doesn't offer car loans, and I wanted pre-payment (without penalty) options. So I asked them if I could go with a nationalized bank. Mukesh introduced me to Mr Dharmendra Malik, their finance executive. Dharmendra in turn, arranged a meeting with a representative from PNB, and the required documents were provided.

I was still apprehensive about buying a 2023 car standing in the stockyard. So I asked Mukesh if I could see the car and do a small inspection myself. He promptly arranged a visit to their Gurgaon stockyard, and I did a full inspection of the car. It looked beautiful and without any problems.





It took a long time for the loan to get sanctioned. First I was busy with year end pressures, then there were too many issues with documentation. I was in regular touch with PNB and Mr Malik. The latters' attitude was nothing but helpful. He kept taking periodic updates, speaking to PNB and updating me. I kept joking with him "itna delay ho raha hai, kahin gadi bech mat dena aap log". Should have said shubh shubh.

Finally I received the sanction letter this morning. It was an end to a never-ending effort. Gleefully called up Mukesh and said the sanction is done, can I get delivery next week?

The Bad

Mukesh seemed taken aback. Then he said "I'll call you back in 15 mins". I was like "Hold on, what's the issue? The car is still there, right?". He said I'll call back and disconnected.

15 mins became 2 hours, so I called up Mr Malik. "What's wrong?". Mr Malik said something about how some doc is still pending with PNB. I said "Ive spoken to them, banker to banker. And I have the sanction letter already. Forget the loan. Where's the car?" Malik went on about how they had worked hard to get the sanction, for which I thanked them. Still beating around the bush though.

Finally I called up Mukesh again, and said "What's the issue? Tell me.".

Mukesh: Sir, that particular car has been sold off from our inventory.

Me: How is this possible? You had taken a booking for that particular car, right? Its mentioned in the sales contract you provided me.

Mukesh: Yes sir, but your loan took almost a month to sanction, we were under pressure to clear old inventory.

Me: Ohk. I understand. So why didn't you inform me?

The Ugly

Mukesh: Sir, you really expected that by paying Rs 11,000 you could hold a 15 lakh car forever?

Me: If I've signed a booking form with you for one particular car, you are legally obligated to inform me before selling it off to someone else. If the deposit amount seemed too piddly, you could have asked me to deposit the entire down payment (which is 22pct of the OTR amount, incidentally). Or worst case scenario, just told me not to go ahead with loan process and you can't sell to me. How the hell did you just decide to sell off the car without my permission?

Mukesh: Sir we can do so with old inventory.

Me: Alright. Let me just remind you that the terms and conditions in the booking form say I have entered into a "sales agreement" with Jay Auto by signing this form. Not only is what you have done unethical, you have breached terms of a sale agreement. Maybe I should send a lawyer's letter establishing the legal recourse in case of "breach of sale agreement by seller." Ask your bosses to read up on it.

Mukesh (in a softer tone): Sir, we don't need to do this the hard way. I'm looking for alternatives I can get you.

Me: Ohk, but I'll only settle for the same variant, transmission and (of course) price.


Since then I've received one call asking me to settle for an automatic, which I've refused. Radio silence the rest of the day.


Conclusion

Leaves me with a bitter taste in the mouth. When this company came into India, their service was managed by cheats. Now they claim to have improved their service standards, as testimonials by users like Altocumulus prove. Now the sale process is managed by cheats.

And its not just this car. Now I'm afraid they'll find an unsold lemon from their National inventory and I'll be repenting the next 4 years. Most of all, the audacity of a sales person to say "You think you can pay 11K and hold a 15L car forever". Maybe I should go ahead with that legal notice.

[BlackPearl]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[Axe77]

Really poor form by the dealership I must say, specially given that you were dealing with their own personnel for the loan process as well. To not have any discussion with you and simply sell off the car without so much as even checking with you is really improper.

I’m not sure there will be much that can come from this but this is a good note of caution for any future customers dealing with this dealership.

[Kosfactor]

One errant dealer should not stop you from owning a vehicle of your choice! Many have in the past few years have had to deal with errant dealers with respect to vehicles that had long wait times and tons of bookings. So it's not something you should worry too much if the vehicle is worth it.

Was the booking done for a specific VIN number of the vehicle that you had seen and negotiated the price?

[ABHI_1512]

A true blue breach of faith case, the dealer and it’s personnel could have done better for sure. Of course, the dealer saw its own end of the stick and got rid of the stock at the first instance without showing the basic courtesy of informing you. I would say, forget the dealer and move on. Going after the dealer with legal recourses will only result in heartburn and waste of time for you. Give your heart a break and go for the car, just from another dealer. Who knows, may be you might get a better deal too !!

I do agree that the Sales guy could have shown the decency to at least be apologetic for his behaviour. Thats the least the guy could have done. In recent times, these things have happened to too many guys I know and that’s the sad part !

[L8ButV8]

Skoda customer support has always been lacking— pre & post sales. Count yourself lucky that you got a true Skoda experience before you put your money down. Our superb is on its 4th DSG gearbox in 40k km. We gad to send lawyers notes etc get the two changes done for free. The dealership has also damaged the vehicle on several occasions during service.

Please consider a slightly used Honda city or Corolla Altis, or a <50k km previous gen Camry/honda CRV. In my personal experience these cars are superior to the Slavia, and will probably be more reliable with good ASS support.

[saket77]

Originally Posted by predatorwheelz

Mukesh: Sir, you really expected that by paying Rs 11,000 you could hold a 15 lakh car forever?

This is enough to take your business elsewhere.
I’ll share exactly the same scenario (but not the same bad attitude) with Victory Honda Ranchi. I booked City top variant by paying Rs. 11K. The variant and colour combination was not available with the dealer. Just on the basis of my mail confirmation, they picked up the car straight from the factory and brought it to their yard in 12 days. They shared the VIN when they picked the car from the factory and before it was loaded for transit. They were even fine with me doing my PDI once the car reached dealer’s stockyard. They never asked for even a penny until I completed the PDI and asked them to proceed for registration.

Also, in your case, they already had the car in their inventory and in my case, they picked a new car from Honda factory. I strongly suggest you to get your car from some other dealer.

Also if I may ask, the insurance and registration cost breakup shared by your sales rep seems pretty low for a car costing 13L. How’s that possible?

[swiftnfurious]

Originally Posted by predatorwheelz

A short Background...


Conclusion

Leaves me with a bitter taste in the mouth. When this company came into India, their service was managed by cheats. Now they claim to have improved their service standards, as testimonials by users like Altocumulus prove. Now the sale process is managed by cheats.

And its not just this car. Now I'm afraid they'll find an unsold lemon from their National inventory and I'll be repenting the next 4 years. Most of all, the audacity of a sales person to say "You think you can pay 11K and hold a 15L car forever". Maybe I should go ahead with that legal notice.

When did we start using "Skoda" & "Ethics" in the same line . This dealer doesn't deserve your business and if you are soo keen, try to find a similar deal from another dealer please.

[sreerknair]

A different perspective. I don't think the dealer did something illegal or unusual in a business. The goal of business is to generate revenue and profit for its stakeholders, and the money received today is more valuable than the same amount received one month after. Had you paid the full amount and the deal agreement mentions the VIN of a specific car and then the dealer sells that to someone else then there are some legal merit to pursue it. Else think of the other way where customer cancels the booking just before registration. Many of the forum members here will be sued by dealers and all dealers will have a similar thread in team-bhp.

[superblover]

Originally Posted by saket77

Also if I may ask, the insurance and registration cost breakup shared by your sales rep seems pretty low for a car costing 13L. How’s that possible?

It's a BH registration where registration is only given for two years initially and needs to be extended as and when required. That's why the lower registration cost.

[sgmuser]

What has happened is a blatant refusal to honor the signed sale contract. There are two ways to go from here.

Go for a legal route but before that you have to clearly describe what you want exactly. If they are ready to cope up with that, then this can be simply settled. But if you are really upset and punish with the legal modalities, then, that is completely understandable but it might cause lots of stress and loss of time in the due course. I am against this.

Second option, I would prefer, personally, to make the best out of this mistake made by the other party, and amicably resolve, so that I make sure my car purchase is more pleasant. Negotiate further and settle for the car you may want and happily enjoy your new drive. They might throw in some goodies and just take it.

They should have informed you before selling it off or they should have given 2-3 days of time to make a decision before selling it off. End of the day, what they have done is wrong.

[Freespirit27]

Originally Posted by sreerknair

A different perspective. Else think of the other way where customer cancels the booking just before registration. Many of the forum members here will be sued by dealers and all dealers will have a similar thread in team-bhp.

Customer will be sued by the Seller for cancelling booking, that too when the option was never given to the buyer here. That is rich! The entire concept of pre-booking, booking keeps the onus on the Seller. Most booking amounts for that reason are fully refundable, else what is the point in investing in a 'purchase' on dealers terms. This, with the available info, is a clear case of poor business ethics where the customer has been in touch and the dealer has breached on an agreement and in poor taste.

[edunata]

Indeed a very unprofessional approach from the Skoda dealer. But I think this is very common among the dealers.
The area of concern, in my opinion, is the service from the banks. It took one month to approve a loan. You yourself being a banker cannot agree with the terms and conditions of your own bank and the nationalised bank took its own sweet time to approve the loan. So, if a banker himself faces this problem..... what would be fate of 'mango peoples' like us

[svsantosh]

Originally Posted by predatorwheelz

It took a long time for the loan to get sanctioned.

1st Red flag.

Me: If I've signed a booking form with you for one particular car, you are legally obligated to inform me before selling it off to someone else.

Nope. sorry. I am sure there is a clause that states 'within a reasonable period of time' - which is the biggest grey area in any such agreement. Wont hold water in the court of law.

Mukesh: Sir we can do so with old inventory.

Mukesh is wrong, they can do with any inventory, new also. Your ownership is transferred to you only when the ACTUAL Invoice is generated in their system. Even disbursement of loan from the bank to the car dealer does not mean you own the car. The dealer has the right to refund the loan to the bank saying the bank was late and the car is sold off.

Me: Alright. Let me just remind you that the terms and conditions in the booking form say I have entered into a "sales agreement" with Jay Auto by signing this form. Not only is what you have done unethical, you have breached terms of a sale agreement. Maybe I should send a lawyer's letter establishing the legal recourse in case of "breach of sale agreement by seller." Ask your bosses to read up on it.

Unethical, Unprofessional, Stupid, Silly, Absurd - all yes.

Illegal - No.

You have a loan approval letter ready, find another dealer/car to spend it on and enjoy your driving moments. You are fighting a loosing battle here, more so, an unwanted one.

You never owned the car in the first place.

[Hayek]

A disappointing outcome, but I can’t blame the dealer here. Every organisation faces pressure to book revenues before a year end. And if processing the loan takes time, that is not the dealer’s fault. I do agree that a sensible sales guy would have adopted a more deferential tone while dealing with the customer and perhaps could have given a heads up. But I don’t see anything morally or legally wrong in what the dealer did, especially if some other customer was happy to pay up earlier. Frankly, we all pay booking amounts - and the company can even withdraw the model and refund the booking amount before delivery if it so chooses to do. It is ultimately the customer’s job to arrange financing, not that of the dealers