[RaghuVis]

I got the idea of this thread while talking to a relative who works in a dealership(VW) after the Kushaq Release. The conversation went like this.

Me : Did you see the price of Kushaq?
Him : Yeah. What do you think about the pricing?
Me : Not happy. I think it a bit too steep.
Him : Yes it is on higher side but not too much. the 1.5 DSG will be a delight to drive. The best one in the class and even one above.
Me : But I would not trust your DSG be it in Skoda or VW. Totally problematic.
Him : Where did you hear that?
Me : Just see how many threads are there in team-bhp.
Him : Oh team-Bhp. That site is crymongers delight
Me : What? Those are genuine customer reviews, not like the one you guys pay and do it.
Him : Oh Come on. That site is just a bunch of people who are self centric in nature.
Me : Well, I am a member of that site and you know I am not self centric.
Him : What! You are?! How did you get it?
Me :

Quite often we have heard how OEM's or dealers read our reports and act on it and how team-bhp has been very influential for the common man. But seldom we hear what they really think of us bunch. Have you had any first hand experience of such kind? Please share.

Note to Mods: I searched a lot but could not find any thread which directly dealt about this. Please Delete/Move if this is unnecessary.

[DicKy]

Don't know about dealers. From what other members have said, saying that we are from TeamBHP gives us respect from dealers.

But on social media platforms, there are many people who brand TeamBHP as group of snobs, biased, elites, show-offs, over enthusiasts,

But engage with them or dig further, it's just a story of sour grapes. They are just pissed that they didn't get the membership even after rmultiple tries.

[Chugh_H]

Interesting topic, I'm curious myself to know what do dealers / OEMs think of Teambhp. Especially interested in knowing what product and service managers think, the forum is quite vocal on aspects they manage directly. What did Ford think of this site when they saw GTO asking forum members to source a car for test drive? Must be a nightmare for some of the employees.

I became a member not long ago, and I'm definitely not actively writing my views or opinions. But I still have a Teambhp tshirt and a couple of stickers on my car.
I've seen some people getting noticeably conscious when they are aware I'm part of the forum. Last time I went to get a car wash, the owner tried and make me feel extra special, had a good conversation and gave me an extra discount. I recently visited a few showrooms and could clearly see the Tatas taking a step back as if they hate me already, skoda being nice (guess they are nice to everyone anyway). The ford sales lady was blunt, "Sir aap ko to pata hoga ford and maruti mein kya fark hai, aap ko kya explain kare?".

[ABHI_1512]

Not many dealers are aware of Team-BHP even. Many tier 1 and tier 2 cities might have dealers who are well versed with the site but anything beyond, not many know, even with the spread of internet. Even in the cities, one will only find some enthusiastic salesperson who knows about the site while others are oblivious of the same.

There are many car dealers who are not impressed with many authentic user reviews that are posted in Team- BHP and that somehow percolates down from the dealer principal to the salesmen even. But having said that, there are many who genuinely think about reviews and take care to keep that into account while selling the cars.

We are members of this site because we love automobiles and the associated things that come with it. The dealers are there to sell their products by any which way they can. It’s no secret that they will want to keep their profit margin, doesn’t matter whether the customer is a member of Team-BHP or not. But yes, I would expect members of this forum to get good deals from the dealers only because many from the forum already know how to not get fooled by them !!

And as for the social media sites, trolling has become a disease now, so ignorance is bliss

P.S- Many dealers/ service centers do give some leeway to members of the forum in the hope that they would promote them in the forum, not withstanding the fact that genuine feedback is always promoted in the forum anyways.

[ramnaresh_2000]

True story:

Me: I am looking for price list of Creta.
SA: Sure sir, this model has sunroof blah blah blah.
Me: Yeah I read the review on TBHP.
SA: oh ok, so I will not waste your time on explaining the features, I will get you the best quotation and will arrange for TD.
Me:

Next story:

Purchased 4 Yokohama tyres on tyremarket.com website, documented everything from day 1 in TBHP. After receiving the tyres I updated in the forum then the SA from tyremarket.com called me and thanked me for the positive review posted on TBHP. I was shocked because I did not tell anyone about this. He was a fan of the page and I got the best service I could imagine (back of his head he knew if this order is screwed, I would post on the forum).

Also met many people who never heard of the page and now blame me because they are adicted to the page

Overall I can confirm if someone is an auto enthusiast or is in the auto industry, they are lying if they say they are not aware of TBHP.

[achyutaghosh]

Whenever i have mentioned to any auto dealer or for that matter, any stakeholder in this space about Team-BHP, all i have got is respect, admiration and a hint of jealousy too, in case they had not been able to join Team-BHP.

This forum is hugely respected in the auto fraternity. Everyone knows about it. I count myself lucky to be part of Team-BHP, and each day, i look forward to the selflessness, knowledge, experiences and the occassional humor of fellow members

[AamodB]

Team-BHP is held in high regard by dealerships atleast in NCR. I had posted my test drive impressions of the T-Roc in 2020 (booked but didn't buy) and within a day the SA asked me if I had posted a "review" on Team-BHP and if I could possibly take it down since he had organised the test drive prior to VW's go-ahead. I didn't have to delete it in the end since the dealership found the review to be positive/ good press.

That does show that if not the OEMs themselves, the dealers definitely keep an eye on the website since it's one of the best ways to share experiences, good or bad, which directly affect reputation and thereby sales from that dealership in particular.

[Jeroen]

When we lived in Delhi I knew a number of car executives who were based in Delhi as well. Both Indian as well as non Indians. Used to bump into them all the time at embassy parties.

I was also a member of a couple of “round table type of groups”. Just business folks getting together for a meal/drink and to exchange experience from different industries and or markets.

None of those folks, and it included several C types and a CEO, were even remotely aware of TeamBHP at the time. Maybe things have changed? I am not sure how the outside worlds looks at a forum such as Team BHP.

I can tell you my experience in other parts of the world. Most car manufacturer do not seem to be taking online forums very seriously. That is just my perception. Having had interaction on behalf of Jaguar, Mercedes and Alfa Romeo forums.

Some might support local brand clubs. But even then they tend to be very picky. Alfa Romeo never ever supported more than one Alfa club in any country. And even that support was minimal. Jaguar USA was hopeless.

I just don’t have the insights, but if I had to take a stab at it: Car forums are just way too small a group of people to make any meaningful impact for most manufacturers.

And because they (the Internet forum members) are enthusiast they simply don’t represent, in most cases, a good reflection of the vast majority of car buyers either.

Why would you spend time, energy and budget on non meaningful groups on the internet?
Almost all cars are a product for the masses. And the “masses” tend to have very poor representation towards manufacturers.

Jeroen

[PYSO]

I have wondered about this often

Does wearing a TBHP tee shirt or having TBHP stickers on your car, while visiting showrooms / service centers, lead to better service? Anyone has any such experiences to share?

[andafunda]

The Sales Head at the Honda dealership where I bought my car is an auto enthusiast himself. He is a silent member of the forum and reads almost all posts / reviews. He recognized me from my posts / queries on the Civic thread and had all answers ready. I got a competitive bid from another source but I was convinced that I will only buy from him after the first conversation itself.

But people like him are in the 1% minority.

During my search, I spoke to the Sales Head at a Hyundai dealership for the Tucson and from the looks of it he didn't even know what a car was. The Tata dealership people couldn't even spell BHP.

[mvadg]

I have TBHP Keychains, but no dice. Surakshaa MASS is/was a favorite of Tbhpians, but they will not acknowledge openly that TBHP members could make / break their reputation. Most businesses don't want to have a personal connect with you, makes it harder for them to cheat. And TBHP is a real pain for their bottomline - I used @Leoshashi's post to get out of an expensive driveshaft replacement, which they were trying to push instead of just replacing the CV boot.

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/techn...ml#post5014405 (Driveshaft / Axle Maintenance)

[GTO]

We are brutally honest with our reviews (official & ownership, both). Plus we have many threads openly lambasting the OEMs, dealers and other product / service providers. As a result, 50% of the industry people I meet respect Team-BHP, while the other 50% hate Team-BHP. There comes a point when you really don't care about what others think & I feel I reached that stage a couple of years back. That being said, every OEM - 100% of them - are daily readers of Team-BHP. Even the ones that detest Team-BHP are regular readers because - end of the day - more than BHPians, it is their own customers talking. The day you stop listening to your customers is the start of the end of your organisation.

As long as we know we are doing the right thing, we'll keep pushing .

[wittycat]

I have always found being a T-bhp member automatically makes the sales guy a bit nervous. I mean a member and not a follower of the forum. I have been specifically asked if I were a member or a follower by the sales person of dealerships. Keeps them on their toes and no unnecessary sales pitches.

[Cyborg]

Originally Posted by GTO

As long as we know we are doing the right thing, we'll keep pushing

Well said GTO! As long as things are done with honesty, integrity and dedication to the cause, there is no holding Team-BHP back. There will always be haters and nay sayers for people/teams/mediums who speak the truth. Forget, ignore them all.

Forza Team-BHP!

Cheers

[Cavityavenger]

Team-bhp is an absolute must if you are a car enthusiast. The information shared here, along with reviews and personal experiences shared are a great resource to keep us all informed and up to date with the latest news.

From my personal experience, I had a sub-par experience with a Mercedes Benz dealer regarding a service issue and in desperation, I had asked for help on this forum and within 48 hours of posting the complaint, I got a call from the GM of the dealership offering to resolve the issue.

After the issue was resolved, I was also asked if I could take down the complaint thread from Team-bhp as it reflected poorly for newer potential customers. I was surprised that MBenz was aware of the post on team-bhp, but I politely refused to take the post down and instead offered to write a follow-up post letting folks know how MBenz finally resolved the issue to my satisfaction.

Additionally, I feel that sharing ownership/service/discounts at various dealerships helps us accurately assess and navigate the car market and more people should come forward to share their experiences at various dealers.

There's no doubt that car manufacturers, dealers all keep a keen eye on these forums to judge public sentiment and get feedback, so keep posting folks...!