Petrol prices are escalating at an unpredictable pace and the common man is the one who is suffering the most. Consumers who somehow afford a petrol car, as they avoid spending another lakh on a diesel model, are not regretting their decision since the price of petrol per litre is skyrocketing.
To protect petrol buyers from such a price hike, Hyundai came up with an interesting and helpful program last month. The Hyundai Petrol Price Lock Assurance Program is a scheme wherein buyers going for petrol variant of products such as Hyundai Eon, Hyundai i10, Hyundai Santro, Hyundai i20, Hyundai Accent and Hyundai Verna will get relief from petrol price hike for the next seven months. But the discounted price scheme was valid on models purchased till May 31st. So now the scheme is obviously closed.
Now Maruti Suzuki, the leading car manufacturer, has started a similar yet unique campaign called ‘Maruti Suzuki Petrol Price Hike Protection Scheme’. Unlike Hyundai’s scheme which lasted for 7 months only, Maruti’s scheme safeguards petrol variant buyers till May 01, 2013 or a distance of 12,000 km. Alike Hyundai, Maruti’s scheme also has a purchase deadline which is June 30, 2012 so if you buy a petrol Maruti before this very date you will be guaranteed the benefits of the petrol price lock assurance scheme.
As per the initiative the company will refund the extra money paid by the customer in any petrol price increase up to Rs. 10 above the price as on May 01, 2012 (Prices were close to Rs. 65 as on May 01, 2012). Another catch in the scheme is that only the original buyer of the car can claim for the refund and if the car is sold to a second buyer within the eligibility period, the scheme would become inapplicable.
The scheme is valid on models such as Maruti Alto, Maruti Alto K10, Maruti Zen Estilo, Maruti Wagon R, Maruti Ritz and Maruti A-Star. When one purchases a vehicle before June 30, 2012 he or she will be given a copy of a certificate that contains all the terms and conditions while the original copy will be retained by the respective dealership. After the completion of 1 year the customer will have to produce the copy of certificate to the dealer along with the requisite details. They will calculate total discount amount taking in account factors like ARAI certified fuel efficiency, odometer reading and hike in petrol price. Of the total amount calculated, Rs. 1000 will be paid by the dealership while the rest by the Maruti Suzuki to the customer. This surely is interesting to see how car makers are coming up with schemes to help out buyers and promote their petrol cars which are selling much less now when compared to diesel cars.
