[RahulNagaraj]

Thanks to Manoj Elangovan for sending this in. Heartfelt gratitude for sharing it with other enthusiasts via this Team-BHP share page!

Dear Team-BHP,

Request help from the valuable Team-BHP community to resolve this issue at the earliest.

After waiting 10 months for my XUV700, which I booked on Day 1 - 07 October 2021; I was given the good news on 4 July 2022 that the vehicle has reached the dealership's yard.

As part of PDI, I took a video of the car with VIN details and the exteriors. The car came shod with Bridgestone Ecopia EP850 tyres (235/60 R18)

Satisfied with other checks during the PDI, I released the loan payment and proceeded for vehicle delivery by 11 July 202.

On arriving at the dealership around 4 pm IST, I was shocked to see that the vehicle now had MRF Wanderer (235/60 R18).

From PDI:





At dealership during delivery



Also, the car had paint chips and rough patches in the rear boot door which they have promised to fix.





When I encountered the dealership manager regarding the same, they are in firm denial that there wasn't any tyre change. However, my sales advisor acknowledged and agreed in their presence that during PDI the vehicles were shod with Bridgestones.

I have reached with Mr Prakash, CEO, Zulaikha Motors Chennai as well as Mr Narayan, Area Sales Manager, Mahindra and have reported the issue and shared the video and photos of the same.

They have promised verbally and over Whatsapp that they'll give me a proper resolution on this latest by Wednesday - 13 July.

Awaiting the same.

Since I had my family waiting long since 4 pm. Proceeded to take car delivery by 8 pm IST. Made sure to point out the issues in their delivery acknowledgement slip.

God knows what else people can change between PDI and delivery. Given the incident, I'm sceptical of everything else on the car.

Mahindra, If you are reading Team-BHP, please take note of things happening for your flagship product.

Google Photos URL for PDI video

Screenshot from PDI video showing Bridgestone tyres as attached.

Are dealerships authorized to swap car body parts at their will? Does Mahindra have an audit on what tyres the cars are sent from the factory?

More questions but a restless and anxious new owner here.

Regards

[condor]

Hi Manoj,

While the swap isn't ethical, I think the Wanderers may be a (little) better then the Ecopia's. While I have stayed away from Bridgestone and Goodyear, I have at least considered the Wanderers.

Since the tyres on your vehicle are also new, and you will get the applicable warranty, I suggest to go ahead with the Wanderers.


On the other question, swapping parts is not ethical, especially when there is a damage. in such cases, they need to get new parts and replace the same.

[harish11128]

Hi Manoj,

Thanks for sharing this. I also have a booking with Zuleikha Motors Chennai. Looks like I have to be extra careful while taking delivery.
I was offered a vehicle by the SA yesterday(somebody else cancelled it). But SA didn’t agree for a PDI, so I rejected it. He said they received a communication from management yesterday to not allow PDIs at stock yard anymore due to some recent incident. I assume it’s due to the issues observed by you.
It wouldn’t be a surprise if they prohibit video/photo during PDI, if such a thing happens during my PDI, I would definitely take it up to M&M management.

I see that you have taken down your PDI video now. Would you be able to provide us the latest updates from dealership on this?

[r24x7]

Originally Posted by harish11128

...not allow PDIs at stock yard anymore due to some recent incident. I assume it’s due to the issues observed by you.
It wouldn’t be a surprise if they prohibit video/photo during PDI, if such a thing happens during my PDI, I would definitely take it up to M&M management.

It is grossly absurd that a customer be denied a stockyard PDI prior to registration.

Is it too much to ask that we are being allocated a proper car? No wonder it's the seller's market running today. I hope the tables turn around very soon.

I also think the video has been taken down for showroom must have asked/forced OP to.

[SideView]

Originally Posted by harish11128

Hi Manoj,

Thanks for sharing this. I also have a booking with Zuleikha Motors Chennai. Looks like I have to be extra careful while taking delivery.
I was offered a vehicle by the SA yesterday(somebody else cancelled it). But SA didn’t agree for a PDI, so I rejected it. He said they received a communication from management yesterday to not allow PDIs at stock yard anymore due to some recent incident. I assume it’s due to the issues observed by you.
It wouldn’t be a surprise if they prohibit video/photo during PDI, if such a thing happens during my PDI, I would definitely take it up to M&M management.

I see that you have taken down your PDI video now. Would you be able to provide us the latest updates from dealership on this?

Ridiculous! Tweet it out to Anand Mahindra.
This is setting a dangerous precedence. Do not accept any vehicle without PDI, if not at stockyard then atleast before the delivery and do not sign on anything without doing this.

[driver52001]

Go with the Wanderer for now if you had planned a tyre change straight from the showroom. If not, give them hell. Do tag Anand Mahindra on Twitter directly, upload the PDI video. A little social media noise goes a long way and might even get quick resolution.

[Sandegov]

Don’t think I can suggest anything to you but here is what I learnt from my car purchase - cars very often come to yard with all kind of damages during transit - minor to major to no damages, the dealers internal pdi team and the yard managers get the repairs/parts replacement done as may be needed and prep the car for delivery and the buyer is not involved in any of it. Now how much of work is done is never disclosed to the consumer and there is very little we can do about it. This is the sad reality of how things work behind the scene. Most of the time the defects/damages we catch during our pdi are minor things that got slipped from their end or a result of service personnel’s mischief/abusing it during their use.

[VinsWagen]

I have no comments on if MRF ones are better than Bridgestone or not. It is immaterial and irrelevant. The dealer is not supposed to change anything after the PDI, without letting the customer know. Period!
It is a breach of trust and ethics. Removing the tyres, whichever brand it is, is a strict no-no. Yes, its a sad truth that such practitices are rampant - most of the businesses keep away from such practices only when there is a fear of consequence. This has to be reported and the practice curbed.

[Pashin]

Do you know the manufacturing month/year of the Bridgestones as well as the MRFs? Nevertheless, it is best to get down to the real reason for swap. Were the tyres balanced after the swap? Dealers these days are giving manufacturers a bad name due to their shady practices.

BTW - Congrats on the New buy and please don't let this experience hamper your celebrations

[ngnidhi]

Hello There,

I have been going through all the threads recently on every new car delivery that has been posted. I am surprised and intreguied to understand that the PDI is such an important part of the new car accquisition process.

I should say I have been lucky till now that which ever car I booked, I just went to the showroom on that day and drove it out. Never checked what tyres were mentioned and what is being delivered. I have been fortunate I should say that i have not found anything lacking or not working in any of the cars I picked up.

Infact only now when I have booked a new car and the delivery being the middle of next month I have been seeing some threads which has set me thinking

Can the good folks here let me know the following

1. How to.accquire a VIN number?
2. Why is it important?
3. What are the main things to do in a PDI? ( I did download an excel.sheet from Team-BHP itself, it is so exhaustive that it exhausted me by just going through it)

I have booked a Skoda Supereb , L&K from PPS .

I have a 2014 innova and almost have sold my 6 yrs old beauty Chevy Cruze albeit with a heavy heart.

Look forward to.some support here

[gultajkanwal]

hi Rahul,

you should highlight this on Anand Mahindra's twitter handle. he is very active and takes strong cognizance of such issues. the dealer would be in the docks for this. specially when they are officially denying it. what left the manufacturer is what you should get as that's what you have paid for!

Also i feel its not about the brand or the inferiority or superiority of the product but about the practice which needs to be highlighted. i don't know why here in India we just cant accept and follow with a simple apology, goes so much further. Most consumers are just looking for sincerity and genuineness and not monetary benefit.

[bullitt1]

Irrespective of which tyre is better, once the PDI is done, nothing is to be changed in the car, its a clear breach of trust. Customer has every right to inspect before delivery. Unfortunately, as I have personally experienced majority of buyers are not aware of pdi or do not do, as such the dealers take advantage and create a ruckus for the few who do.

[GTO]

What the dealer did is pathetic and it was perhaps done on another customer's preference for the tyres your car came with, so they just swapped.

However, between the two brands, there is nothing to choose. It's not that one is wildly superior to another. My suggestion = don't let this dampen your spirits because you have bought an absolutely terrific SUV with your hard-earned money. Take the car and as a sweetener to the entire situation, drive straight to a tyre shop and swap to even better tyres than these two .

Shit happens. We have to adapt to it.

[KANNURAN]

Originally Posted by VinsWagen

I have no comments on if MRF ones are better than Bridgestone or not. It is immaterial and irrelevant. The dealer is not supposed to change anything after the PDI, without letting the customer know. Period!
It is a breach of trust and ethics.

You NAILED it. The core of the discussion here is NOT tyre quality. It is the basic lack of business ethics, which might lead one to suspect WHAT ELSE may have been swapped.

I had a similar incident a few years ago at a VW Dealership in Calicut, when negotiating a top of the line Vento on display. The salesperson (supposedly) went to meet his superior and came back with an unbeatable offer: that he would swap the alloys+tyres from the displayed model, with the ones from a lower spec one, and give me a 10K discount.

In an instant, the TRUST factor vaporized and I never turned back again.

[jkrishnakj]

Originally Posted by VinsWagen

I have no comments on if MRF ones are better than Bridgestone or not. It is immaterial and irrelevant. The dealer is not supposed to change anything after the PDI, without letting the customer know. Period!
It is a breach of trust and ethics..

Exactly right. Breach of trust.

How would one even give their cars for service with this dealer? How could one know that their parts haven’t been taken away and replaced during service with another car? I would not trust this guy.

Whilst I agree that there isn’t much to do between the two brands of tyres, if I were the OP, I’ll look for a different service centre.