Hello fellow Team-BHPians!
This is my first post on the forum and I feel privileged to part of this community!
I chose to post in this particular this thread because I have been chasing the Honda Jazz for the past month and a half and also keenly following this popular thread. So here is my story:
I was looking for a Premium petrol Hatchback since beginning of July. I was looking at Ritz, Fabia, Polo and i20 as the possible options. I started with TD of Ritz. I quite like the unique looks of the Ritz and its body stance but I didn't like the interiors at all! So I gave the Ritz a skip.
Next was the turn of the new Fabia. The drive was excellent as expected. I was planning to go for the top end fabia in black. However I found the interiors to be very basic and being a music lover the lack of USB and AUX in the music system, no steering mounted audio controls even in the top variant put me off. So I put the Fabia on hold and went for TD of Polo.
The interiors were slightly better than the Fabia but the lack of options in Music System was again discomforting. And the rear leg room was also a concern. But this was the best option I had, so decided to book the top end Polo.
This was when my elder brother called me up to say that there is a discount on the Jazz. So I called up Coastal Honda for TD. To my surprise the sales rep. declared that there is a whopping 1.7 Lac discount on the Jazz and they have only 2 cars remaining! I didn't waste a second, took the TD and immediately paid the booking amount of 50K for a black Select variant on 16th July. This was the last available Jazz in Goa and luckily the color of my choice. So it was a no brainer for me. It was costing me 6.28 OTR including Anti Corrosion, Extended Warranty and Road side Assistance after some bargaining.
As a feature rich car, I found it to be much superior to Polo and Fabia so this was a heavenly deal for me. The car was available for immediate delivery but my car loan was company financed and the entire process would take between 1 to 2 weeks. So there was still some waiting time before I could drive home the Jazz.
In the meantime I did a PDI of the vehicle based on the TBHP checklist. (Must say it is very comprehensive!) I was quite satisfied with the results. A few minor scratches that I could note, were promised to be fixed. However one cause for concern was that it was a Dec 2010 manufacture. I did a little bit of homework on this and decided to go ahead because I was a getting a great deal. I always adored the Jazz on road but cursed Honda for its high price tag. But finally my dream was turning out to be true. The overall response of the sales rep. was very nice and things had gone pretty smooth till now. On the dealers inquiry on the payment date, I verbally committed that it should take a little over a week for company loan to be approved. I completed the loan formalities at my end and patiently waited for the loan payment to be credited to my account.
Far from my expectation, even after two weeks the loan amount did not get credited. This was when I started getting calls from the dealership that payment is required otherwise they will sell of the car to other interested customers. There threatening words were a little concerning and I started vigorously following up with my company finance division regarding the status of my loan sanctioning. At this time the Dealer and the sales rep had started calling even more frequently and asking for a final date by which I would make the payment. I didn't have a confirmed date with me but I tentatively committed 2nd of August. I also took a tough stand and stated that they cannot sell my booked car to someone else and the contract doesn't specify any final payment date. If they wanted to sell the car off, they could do so but they should be ready to face the consequences.
As it turned out I got confirmation on 2nd of August that loan has been sanctioned and loan amount would be credited shortly. I communicated the same to my sales rep and confirmed full payment on 3rd of Aug. At around 10 am on August 3rd, I got the credit alert on my phone and immediately called up my sales rep for confirmation. I was having a tight schedule that day at office and couldn't have come out of work. So I requested the sales rep to come to my office and collect the full payment. He agreed to the same and finally I felt closer to owning my own Jazz!
At around 4 PM I got an SMS from him that the car has been sold off to another waiting customer in the morning
This was a complete shocker
I immediately called up the sales rep and bursted out at him as to how he could sell the car after I confirmed the payment date. I also talked to the sales manager and as per him, the car was sold off the day before and my sales rep wasn't aware of this development even on the 3rd August. This was totally annoying. And it doesn't end here. The dealer confirmed that he didn't know about my conversation with my sales rep that I was going to make the payment. Infact he stated, if he had known, he would not have accepted payment from other customer in the first place.
I somehow could not believe all this to be true. And I really took the case of Sales Rep due to his irresponsibility. And I checked and confirmed that the payment for my black jazz select was already received and couldn't be reversed now. I was at loss of words... I then tried to reach the GM of coastal Honda but he was on vacation and chose to not pick up my call. On my brothers advice I called up Honda One to One and registered a complaint. On my part I accepted my mistake regarding the delay in payment but the Coastal Honda was not accepting there cheap, irresponsible and criminal behavior. There was already a lot of bad blood and I decided to meet them in person the next day to prove to them that they were grossly mistaken and what they did was unjustified.
The next day, I took a day off from work and visited coastal Honda at Panjim. I took up the following points:
1. Booking amount of 50K not returned and the car sold off to someone else.
2. No advance notification on the above.
3. Car sold off after confirmation of payment date.
4. Sales rep not aware of car has been sold off and is still in discussion with me.
5. Payment received on the day committed (3rd August)
The dealer wasn't budging on the above and the sales rep too started lying. Thanks to the smartness of new gen phones, I showed them the call history of all communication. SMSs exchanged, Credit alert from my bank and proved to them that whatever happened was ultimately there fault.
I also managed to pull some strings with honda management. I have personal contact in Motor Insurance and got them to support me in a conference call with Coastal Honda and other Regional Honda Folks. The GM also joined in the call and sort of accepted his mistake. In his words, he was under extreme pressure from Honda to sell off the clearance stock of Discounted jazz and had to do what he did. But I was able to take a verbal and email commitment that the new Jazz launching on 18th of August will be allotted to me first at a price closest to the discounted price. I was already aware of the speculative news going around about the New Jazz Launch, Price and features (Thanks to TBHP). This was some good news for me and decided to accept the fate and patiently waited for the new Jazz launch.
In the meantime, I realized that going for the black color wasn't exactly sensible as the black color amplifies even the slightest of scratch marks. So on second thought I started exploring and researching about the new UT coming in the Facelifted Jazz. I then called up my sales rep and clearly communicated that I am not going for black color as of now. I will wait for to see the UT and then take a decision. And also communicated that with the background, I expect the first UT to be allotted to me.
Finally on the 18th August, when the car got launched, I called up Coastal Honda to check for expected delivery. To my shock they said that they have booked a black select for me and the black color is not being manufactured currently. It will be manufactured in 1st week of Sept! And they are receiving 7 cars from Honda - 4 white, 2 red and 1 UT. The UT being a new color will be up for display and cannot be sold as per Honda Policy. This is second time that this dealership has disappointed me.
Today, 27th August, they have displayed the new UT Jazz at a nearby mall. I went to have a look and quite liked the color. The chrome garnish and beige go well with the UT. The finish of the car remains top notch. I also got a chance to meet the GM who broke the news that this particular UT is already sold to another customer and the owner has allowed his/her car to be put on display at a city mall on request (Quite fishy)
I inquired about my case and there is no good news. The black will be manufactured in Sept. They can book a UT for me now and I will have to wait for delivery. No firm commitment. The white will be available for display soon so I can check that out...
Guys, please help me out. Any piece of advise would be appreciated.