- Dealerships trying to cheat customers is unfortunately a common phenomenon.
- This incident highlights how cautious car buyers need to be in order to avoid being cheated.
- But if the customers are aware and willing to go the distance, the dealerships have to face the penalties.
A Skoda Slavia owner received a full refund after getting a brand-new car with a repainted body panel. Slavia is a premium mid-size sedan that challenges the dominance of the Honda City and Hyundai Verna in our market. Known for its peppy turbo petrol engines, exquisite driving characteristics and great handling capabilities, driving enthusiasts prefer Skoda and VW products to get that driving pleasure. However, dealerships can sometimes play spoilsport trying to cheat unsuspecting customers to hide their own faults.
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New Slavia with Repainted Panel – Full Refund
The details of this incident have been shared on the in a Facebook group. As per the information shared by the owner, he received the Slavia whose left rear panel behind the C-pillar looked different from the rest of the body. He had done a thorough PDI which is why he was able to spot the difference after taking the delivery. After confirming the difference with his friends, he approached the dealership to inquire about it. The dealership rubbished the claims that the body panel has been repainted and told the owner that there was some bird landing on the car because of which they had to clean it with a cloth.
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Not satisfied with this argument, the owner approached aftermarket car houses. After taking the DFT meter reading, there was clear evidence of the panel being repainted. The owner raised the issue with the higher Skoda management and top officials. However, no one was ready to accept that the panel was repainted. To mount the pressure further, the owner had to approach the Consumer Forum and seek government intervention on the back of his connections. After a lot of back and forth, the dealership had to pay a full refund to the owner.
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Not only that, there was an additional component of compensation for the mental harassment, fraud and cheating caused to the customers with full intentions. However, it is only because this owner had connections and he was willing to pursue the matter to its logical conclusion that he was able to sequester a refund. Otherwise, it becomes difficult for the average car buyers to hold their own against the giant carmakers. We would love to hear your opinion about this.
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