I have pictorial proof of VIN and other car parts with me. I guess they cannot sell the car to someone else in the interim. But, you never know.
BHPian vikingslayer recently shared this with other enthusiasts.
Hello everyone,
I recently purchased a Tata Nexon XZ+ from a dealership in Delhi. The car was almost 50% self-financed and the rest was covered by the bank. I completed the PDI and was quite satisfied with the car.
According to my VIN inspection, the car was manufactured in September of this year.
I made the advance payments and got all the receipts for the purchase.
The SA promised me delivery by the 9th of October, however, due to bank holidays, the payment could only be disbursed on the 10th of October along with the R.O.
Come 11th of October, I receive a call from the TL of the Tata Dealership who “regretfully” informs me that the car will be “re-billed” because of non-payment of GST on their part and hence I need to wait for at least 1 week for delivery with HSRP.
“Re-billing” sounds dodgy and I lost my temper and gave him an earful and asked how come the dealership can stall my purchase despite the payment being made in full. He chimed in with some B.S that “Tata dealerships have this unique policy of rebilling if the purchase was made in the first week of the month. He said, “he has previously worked with Maruti, Toyota, and the rest of it and only Tata has this problem”.
I quickly rebutted him if mine was a special case, and if no one has ever purchased a Tata car during the first week of the month and he kept on harping on the same old tune.
I also lambasted him and the SA for keeping me in the dark about this whole GST fracas whilst paying the booking amount and advance down payment. I told him that I’ve taken pictures/videos of the car during PDI and that if there is anything amiss, I will call upon the bank to nullify the purchase and am not paying a single EMI whatsoever.
The TA replied that “we’re not sure if a customer will indeed make a purchase despite paying the booking and advance amount, hence we waited on the GST payment”. “What if we paid the GST and you (the customer) backtracked on your purchase?”.
I asked the TL, SA and CRM to mark me an email citing the reason for the delay and give me a final deadline. They did send me an email with the deadline now shifted to 18-19th of October. (Notice how they haven’t been able to confirm an exact date).
I warned the TL again that any mess up or delay by even a single day will mean I call the bank and end this deal. I have shared the emails with my bank RM and apprised her of the entire situation.
So, my fellow BHPians, my question is do you also smell something fishy here? Am I being taken for a good long private jet ride? Please advise on possible recourses.
Update 1:
I have pictorial proof of VIN and other car parts with me. I guess they cannot sell the car to someone else in the interim. But, you never know.
Should I wait until 18-19th October and then decide the future course of action if indeed they deliver the same car to me with everything intact?
I enquired about the same during my conversation with the TL. He said he can ask the SA to do a live video call if I have any doubts about the car’s legitimacy.
I too think there could be some sort of malfunction that impeded the delivery but am not sure.
Can they change the VIN? I have the bills where the engine no. and VIN are mentioned. I also have pictorial evidence of the same.
Can they somehow forge it?
Just as a heads up, the car has been parked in the showroom since before the day of PDI. Or, so I have been told.
While I can vouch for the truthfulness of this statement for at least the first few days, am not sure if it remained inside the showroom during the recent downpour.
Incessant Delhi rains during the last week could have played spoilsport in their open stockyard/service centre which is adjacent to the showroom.
Again, during the PDI the car seemed fine. No botched paint job, body work etc. was visible. The engine didn’t make a noise upon start. Checked the batteries, and inspected the tyres (manufacture date), windows et al. everything seemed “normal”.
Wonder what’s the mystery behind this delay.
Update 2:
Yes, that’s what he means (billing between Tata Motors and the dealer). So, I visited the dealership again yesterday for a “second” PDI.
It’s the same car, with everything intact. Same VIN, engine number, and all the rest of it.
I’ll get the car tomorrow morning with HSRP.
I still can’t figure out if this was a genuine issue or some sort of Fugazi.
Here’s what BHPian akg7091 had to say on the matter:
This does NOT sound like a genuine issue. I have a feeling your car got damaged post-PDI and they are just covering it up while waiting for some part to arrive that they couldn’t swap with any of the other cars they have in stock.
Here’s what BHPian speed79 had to say on the matter:
Non-payment of GST is pure BS. GST for a sale in October month will be paid by mid of November. There is something seriously wrong. Maybe the car has been sold to someone else for a premium.
Here’s what BHPian thanixravindran had to say on the matter:
The car that you saw would have been billed to someone else and sold unless you can go and see the car in person. The dealership is holding onto your money as working capital. The GST story is ridiculous. Most likely you will be allocated another car once in stock. Please immediately escalate to TATA with payment proof and VIN number originally allotted to you and get a car delivered.
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