[Mortis]

Hey Team BHP. Im a bit ashamed to post this topic because I should have been more careful but I need some advice as well so I thought its better to go ahead and do so.

I have a Chevrolet Beat, purchased from the Prabhadevi branch of Nikhil Automobiles on 2nd May 2011 with registration number MH-01-AX-XXXX.
Last month I had got an AC evaporator replaced under extended warranty.
This month I got a call from them saying that they were having issues processing the Extended warranty claim and asked me to confirm my reg no so I gave them the one above which is on the company fitted number plates, owners manual and insurance which I have been using for 5 years now.

I got a call back 10 minutes later saying that they have a totally different number on the copy of the RC card which they have and asked me to confirm.
I went down to the car and checked and was shocked ! They were right ! My RC card has the registration printed as MH-02-CB-XXXX ! (the last 4 digits are same)
My Chassis and engine number are correct though and match the tag on the car.
Basically for the last 5 years I have been driving around with wrongish plates and without insurance ! This has not been noticed by traffic cops also when I have been stopped for whatever reason over the years. As such I havent looked at the RC card properly and must have seen the MH and the last 4 correct digits and just skimmed over it.

What I want to know is my next steps to fix this problem.

Things that have the "wrong" number : License plates, insurance, PUC, owners manual
Things with correct number : RC smart card and a couple of tax receipts from when the was purchased.

Am I right in thinking that the RC card is OK and have to only change my plates, insurance and PUC to match the registration number on the RC card ?
The Nikhil Prabhadevi showroom has shut down and the other one just said sorry, bring the manual in and we will correct and stamp it. Is this sufficient or do they have to give me a new one ?

I should have been more careful and checked properly instead of skimming over and realized that since I live in Santacruz I should have a '02' number and come under the Andheri RTO but I just assumed since it was bought in Prabhadevi it was registered under the Tardeo RTO

Please advise guys.

Tomorrow I am going to get the insurance corrected. There is about a week left on the old policy and the new one starts from the 2nd which I just paid for and renewed 2 days ago

[Chetan_Rao]

Originally Posted by Mortis

......
Things that have the "wrong" number : License plates, insurance, PUC, owners manual
Things with correct number : RC smart card and a couple of tax receipts from when the was purchased.

......

Update/correct Insurance > License plates > Owner's manual > PUC, in descending order of preference.
Verify your RTO Tax Challan to ensure the engine/chassis number are quoted correctly. It won't have the reg# for the new vehicle.
Also wouldn't hurt to verify with the RTO who the 'wrong number' actually belongs to.

I'm also not sure you were actually 'without insurance', because companies issue new vehicle policies with reg# field on the paperwork tagged 'NEW', so it shouldn't be a deal-breaker as long as the other details are in order. Someone conversant with insurance law may shed more light.

[swiftnfurious]

Originally Posted by Mortis

...
Things that have the "wrong" number : License plates, insurance, PUC, owners manual
Things with correct number : RC smart card and a couple of tax receipts from when the was purchased.

Am I right in thinking that the RC card is OK and have to only change my plates, insurance and PUC to match the registration number on the RC card ?
The Nikhil Prabhadevi showroom has shut down and the other one just said sorry, bring the manual in and we will correct and stamp it. Is this sufficient or do they have to give me a new one ...

Better late than never. The PUC, number plates are easy to change, manual should not be a problem too. Since you just renewed, changing the insurance shouldn't be a problem either. Please make sure you sent an email at the earliest so they incorporate the change in the first instance itself.

[ShaileshHinge]

This has happened to me. The number plate on my previous Indigo was incorrect. I luckily checked it at delivery time with the receipts and got it corrected.
SO this could be a mistake by the dealers person !

[condor]

Owner's manual should be fine. You have completed 5 years with the car. You may lose out on the extended warranty claim here. The Insurance would be much more important.

PUC should be a simple case of getting a new one with the correct plates.

[Mortis]

My extended warranty is due to expire by the first of May anyways. Reliance requires me to do so in person and cannot complete this over the phone so Im going in tomorrow to complete this. Will also get new plates and PUC done tomorrow. The manual I will get edited the next time it goes in for service.

I checked using VAHAN. The correct 02-CB reg number shows the right owners details whereas the current wrong one that I have been using shows vehicle details not found.

So atleast after making these changes I should be set

[mahesh_sn]

Originally Posted by Mortis

I got a call back 10 minutes later saying that they have a totally different number on the copy of the RC card which they have and asked me to confirm.
I went down to the car and checked and was shocked ! They were right ! My RC card has the registration printed as MH-02-CB-XXXX ! (the last 4 digits are same)

You are not alone, Mortis. It's one of the common mistakes from dealers' side. Here is a related thread. I had a similar experience, just that I realized it within two days of taking delivery.

[Soumyajit9]

The correct process should be:

1) Match the VIN, Chassis No and Engine number "physically" on your car, with that on the RC. Both should match.

2) If both doesn't match, then your car is wrongly registered at the RTO, in the first place. Then you have to re-register your car with the correct VIN, Chassis and Engine no., and get a new RC. This is going to cost a fortune for a 5 year old car, apart from bribery, multiple rounds of the RTO, mental agony and what not. See, if you can get it done through any of the dealerships by paying them some money.

3) If point 1 is True, then call up your Insurance company and tell them about the wrong registration number of the car in the policy, and ask them to update. They would verify your credentials for security reasons, post which they might ask you to send an email to them and then only agree for making the change. Might require a few followups.

4) Next, change the number plate with the correct one. Matter of couple of hours.

5) Next, take it to any authorized PUC Testing center and get a new PUC done. The process captures the number plate of your car, so make sure the number plate is updated first.

[~~h]

Originally Posted by Mortis

I live in Santacruz I should have a '02' number and come under the Andheri RTO but I just assumed since it was bought in Prabhadevi it was registered under the Tardeo RTO

Thats a difficult one to miss !

I had a similar issue with the insurance papers; mix up by Modi Hyundai Goregaon; had someone else's policy for a year until I found it wrong on renewal.

But in this case, please physically match engine & chasis numbers; if thats good, correcting the rest is not as bad as you think.

[Mortis]

Hi Soumyajit. as mentioned earlier the VIN, chassis no etc all match the details on the RC card and the correct reg number shows the right details on VAHAN.

I got the new plates made and PUC done with the correct number but didnt swap as Reliance wanted me to physically visit a centre to change the registration number on the policy.
So for now until the insurance is also changed I will have to use the old stuff.
Actually I will avoid taking the car out until the matter is sorted just to be safe.

[noopster]

I really don't know what to say. I remember the registration numbers of not only every vehicle currently in the family but of every car that we have owned since 1986. You screwed up, period!

Thank your stars that you did not get in any trouble in the 5 years you have owned the car. My advice: ground the car immediately till you have the paperwork sorted. Confirm that the RC has the correct engine and chassis number details captured, correct the insurance and plates, and see if you can get the service history updated (the latter will probably be an issue, so better pray it doesn't become an issue during resale).

Once your paperwork is sorted, start driving the car around again. And for your own sake please pay more attention to detail from now on. I may sound like an old fuddy duddy but years from now when you look back on this, you'll probably agree I am right.

[Mortis]

Noopster : The process is underway already. I should have caught it earlier but I guess since the last 4 digits are the same and it starts with MH, it got skimmed over like those forwards you get where your brain can still interpret mispelled words. As such the RC card has not ever been removed or looked at other than when the car was new as it was not needed for anything. For my next car Ill definitely be taking a copy of the TBHP PDC with me !

I think the SA said they were changing my details to match the RC since thats the only way they could push through the warranty claim which is what brought the issue to the forefront. The funny thing is I had got a door replaced due to rusting under warranty around year 2 and it wasnt an issue then

[Chetan_Rao]

All the advice stuff aside, you really have some pencil-pusher in the A.S.S. to thank for not being a zombie like most others are, and noticing something was amiss.

[GTO]

Clerical error at the dealership level. Well, better late than never.

Everything else is okay and easy to update. The most important is insurance. I would think that sending them a copy of the RC book would have been enough to correct the number. But if they need a physical visit, just get it done ASAP.

Let us know about the procedure once done; might help others in the same dilemma .

[AutoNoob]

Originally Posted by Mortis

I got the new plates made and PUC done with the correct number but didnt swap as Reliance wanted me to physically visit a centre to change the registration number on the policy.
So for now until the insurance is also changed I will have to use the old stuff.
Actually I will avoid taking the car out until the matter is sorted just to be safe.

I strongly suggest that you change to the new plates even when you take the car to Reliance. It is illegal to drive without correct number plates. Your stars have been good on you till now, but don't stretch it too far.

Moreover, the purpose of physical visit is verification of chassis & engine number by the insurance agent/ staff and match with RC details. Insurance companies are quite supportive for such cases as this is not the first or last case they might have faced. And I can bet that they worry more about loosing the customer during next year's renewal.