Quote:
Originally Posted by Abhishek_Nikam Which dealer did you consult with. |
Crystal - Baner
Since this is nearest to where I live, I selected this one for the test drive (request submitted online). They contacted me but were unwilling to arrange a home visit, rather asked me to visit the showroom. On visiting them, they never noted my name etc., just gave a few minutes of overview on Seltos and straight arranged a test drive, post which there were no further talks and no calls later either. I wanted to check Sonet Diesel AT too, so I later registered another test drive request. This time I received a call over which they asked for test drive OTP but never arranged a test drive. Later they called for a follow-up and when I told them that they never arranged a test drive only, they said they have showroom renovation in progress. I wasn't interested in this dealer any more then. I did leave a feedback on the link that follows a test drive mentioning "this test drive never happened" - apparently Kia never look at it.
Aman - PCMC and
Dhone - Hadapsar
A request for Sonet test drive was entertained and they did a home visit too, but were not ok with zero accessories, and totally against outside insurance.
Aman - Nagar Road
The sales executive had recently joined and our initial overall experience was quite good, except that the consultant was giving incorrect info (Sonet was 4 star rated on safety as per him). We were given test drives of Seltos as well as Sonet. They did a home visit too. We finally booked Sonet with them, since they were ok with zero accessories and outside insurance. Another reason was that the consultant had told us that we could get a Sonet sooner than Crystal since Crystal has huge number of bookings, and backlog. However, once we booked, there were no follow-ups / updates, and I had to constantly chase them for updates, or our sequence number in their queue, to which their standard response always was that they had already told us it had 6 months waiting officially.
Meanwhile, we continued looking for availability at other dealers (even outside Pune) and even alternatives to Sonet.
Crystal - Tilak Road
Visited them just to check if they were any better, but no - they were only interested in getting an instant booking during our visit. They never called back for a test drive, neither for a booking!
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Crystal - Baner (again!) and Aman - Nagar Road
Later, I received an unexpected call from Crystal Baner - the consultant was new there and probably took over from the very first that was assigned to us (who had apparently left the job). The new guy straight talked business, which is what I liked. He told me about each variant that was in-stock, was ok with no accessories and outside insurance, and even invited for a yard visit. However, they didn't have the variants we were interested in. So he insisted I make a booking, and promised he'd try his best to arrange it soon. It was for Seltos, given the chances of it being available sooner than Sonet.
Thinking that may be Aman Kia too might have something interesting in stock, I called them. They told me about one (which was not our primary choice), but the condition was that I would have to take accessories and insurance from them. This completely changed our outlook about them. What if when our originally booked Sonet is available, Aman Kia put the same condition, going back on their words? (We do have those commitments from them on the Whatsapp group though).
Few days later, we decided to change our booking with Crystal Baner to Sonet. The thought behind this was that we were willing to stretch the budget for Seltos only if it was instantly available. If we had to wait only, we'd rather do it for Sonet. Informed the consultant about the change and also posted on the whatsapp group. There was absolute silence after this (same as Aman Kia). I had to constantly follow-up. Carens was launched, so we visited Crystal Baner for a test drive. Asked the consultant for updates on the Sonet booking, but he had none. I told him I never received a new docket for Sonet booking. He confirmed that he had changed the booking to Sonet. After a few weeks, we received an email about updates on our booking, and no surprise - it was still reflecting Seltos with a sequence of 20+ in queue! On enquiring about why the booking was not changed, the TL called me, but had no excuse for why the booking was never changed. Told them to cancel the booking - posted on whatsapp group as well as on email - there was no acknowledgement. I called at the showroom - the receptionist said that the TL would get back to me - he never did. Finally someone from their customer care confirmed that the cancellation had been noted and was in process. I am still waiting for the refund.
During just another follow-up with Aman Kia for what was in-stock, they had a Seltos. I made up my mind to go for it. Told the consultant to share VIN, which checked out fine. So I requested for a yard visit. He tried to discourage me for the same stating that the vehicle would be in a very dusty condition. I insisted I would still do a PDI at the yard and instantly make the payment after. He told me the location of the yard. I was about to start from home, but he calls me and says that his boss does not agree for a yard visit. I told him that I am ok even if he gets the vehicle to the showroom for the PDI, to which he said that I need to discuss with his boss after a couple of hours since he is currently busy. I never received a call after that. It has been a week!
Now what if when our originally booked Sonet arrives, Aman Kia deny a PDI for that too?