I recently read that chandigarh has the highest car per person rate in india, but sadly the dealerships here aren't that good as you might expect, specially the lower middle segment dealers for cars and almost all motorcycle dealers. My recent purchase of a Hyundai i10 got me into contact with various dealers in and around chandigarh, i hope you benefit from this information.
1. GENUSS MOTORS, VOLKSWAGEN
Just about the time i was going for my purchase, polo was going to hit the market. Its reputation preceded it, so i had to give it a try.
The showroom isn't huge but it feels cozy. Just as i entered i was greeted by a smart sardarji who had me seated properly when i inquired about polo. He went back, brought the brochure and then sat with me explaining all the features and differences between different models. Then he took me to each modal, one by one, in increasing order of price, making me sit in the car, letting me get a feel and explaining the product side by side. Once we were done with this, he offered me a test ride.
Here i would like to mention that Genuss motors were the only people who actually "offered" me a test drive, everywhere else i had to ask for it, not a small thing.
The courtesy level shown by the salesman was the best in my experience.
So we went for the drive, the drive was good. At one point i tried to get into a bad road to test the car's suspension setup, here he intervened and took me to a road which was 100 times worse than the road i had chosen, surprisingly flattering.
We got back, he prepared me a bag with a poster of Polo along with the paperwork etc neatly folded in an envelope.
Some of you may think that this is expected of Volkswagen as they are a very very big company, i beg to differ. They are also selling a product in the 5 to 6 lac range, at least to me, its all about courtesy, knowing what to do and what not and simple respect. It takes nothing to show these human values, i don't know why some others skip these, its neither beneficial to them nor to us, i have no idea why.
I eventually did not buy the car, first of all because there was a huge waiting period spanning months, plus i did not like that car that much, maybe i was expecting too much, but somewhere that car failed to be that Polo which i had imagined.
VERDICT: LIVES UP TO THE EXPECTATIONS FROM A VOLKSWAGEN DEALERSHIP, IN EVERY POSSIBLE WAY.
2. DYNAMIC MOTORS, CHEVROLET
Another new car in the market was Beat and with its ad campaign showing it as a racing machine rather than a tiny hatchback, i surely went to check it out.
The dealership is good, so are the salespersons. Nothing remarkable in negative or positive except one thing, i had to wait a whole day to get the test drive of Beat, reason? The owner of the dealership had taken it for some personal work, at least that is what i was told.
Now that is not very inviting but anyway i hung around and got the drive at 6pm, which was a disaster. The car is nothing it says it is, at all.
There is no other choice as far as buying a Chevrolet car is concerned in chandigarh, this is the only dealer and there seems to be no plausible reason to say its not good, although there isn't any to say its good either.
VERDICT: BUY A CHEVROLET FROM HERE, THERE IS NO CHOICE EITHER AND ITS OK.
3. PRESTIGE HONDA
The Jazz, costliest hatchback available, good reason to check it out, plus its a honda.
Dealership is nice, although seems a bit crowded. The sales person was very smart and courteous, although he exuded some sort of vibe which made me feel sympathetic for him, not that he said to me that his targets are not being met or he will be fired or something, he made me feel to buy the car for his sake, without saying anything, he was so humble.
I don't like such situations, they hamper your decision making ability. I made myself strong and went on. Got a test ride, he let me take it out from a jam packed car park and drive wherever i liked. Got back and parked again, got the brochure and price lists neatly in an envelope, went on.
The car isn't worth 7 lacs, not in this world.
VERDICT: VERY GOOD PLACE TO BUY A HONDA.
4. BHAGAT FORD
Another new car, Figo, very competitive pricing and filled with features, had to check it out.
Bhagat Ford was never in my good books, after that incident in which cars serviced from there got stolen within a month with duplicate keys made by the mechanics. I don't think the management had any hand in that, but their workers are their responsibility, so were the thefts consequently.
Anyway i went on, had to wait for around 20 minutes before anyone came to heed me, which was in part because of the already huge number of people wanting to know about Figo plus their carelessness.
Finally got the information, couldn't get the test drive as they did not have any test drive vehicle. So went out.
The very next day the sales guy started calling me about my decision. Now that i think is a bad move, customers should be given time to think, atleast 3 days, don't hog them like you are desperate to sell this one.
VERDICT: IF I HAD TO BUY, I WOULD GO TO SALUJA FORD, FOR NO REASONS EXPLAINABLE.
5. SALUJA FORD
Test drive of the Figo brought me here.
The place is cramped, very cramped, plus the road building on its front gate wasn't helping matters either. I went in, instantly got a sales guy, told him straight i want a test drive nothing else. Got it, the car is good, for its price its a gem.
The guy looked hell bent on getting me to buy it today only, not a good thing, i think he was new.
VERDICT: A LITTLE ROUGH AROUND THE EDGES BUT I WILL TAKE IT.
6. BERKELEY AUTOMOBILES
Swift, the most notable car in the segment i was looking and one of the strongest contenders, brought me to Berkeley.
The dealership is huge, plenty of space and nice infrastructure. People are very cordial. My sales guy was sort of an amateur, i didn't mind that much. People care about you there, trust me, so much that even if you get out of the comfort of your chair to check out some other cars you are immediately called back to sit comfortably and not loiter around because it feels like you are not being listened to.
I recently went there to give an interview for the post of sales executive too, that was also a very pleasant experience.
The test drive was good, didn't like the car that much mostly because of visibility problems and its size.
VERDICT: BEST PLACE TO BUY A MARUTI SUZUKI. DON'T GO ANYWHERE ELSE.
7. JOSHI TATA
Although i have always hated the indica for its downmarket quality, its sheer value for money was enough reason to make me go check it out.
The dealership is very very small and the effect is more pronounced with fiat also sharing the space. Its chaos anyway, nobody knows where anyone else is, i had to wait a good 10 minutes before someone came to help. Sales guys are best described as ok. Wanted a test drive for the petrol version, was not available, had to go with the diesel instead. The car was a disaster too, as expected.
My test drive was cut short by the sales guy because there seemed to be not enough fuel in the vehicle, annoying.
Got back, got the brochures and got going, nothing here.
I got a call back from them 2 months later saying they had a petrol test drive vehicle now.
VERDICT: BAD PLACE, BAD CAR.
8. HIND TATA
Hind motors, one of the biggest dealerships of bajaj and tata under their belt, went there to give another chance to vista petrol.
The place is worse than a government office, they are better these days. It fits perfectly the image of a decaying govt. office, old chairs and other furniture covered with older files, fat and old babus sitting on place of sales guys, ask anything and you will be referred to someone else after a fixed gap of 15 minutes and the process will go on until you shout to get your answer.
They also did not have the petrol version.
VERDICT: AVOID IT AT ALL COSTS.
9. CHITTOSHO MOTORS, MARUTI SUZUKI
Its in mohali, so it was my first stop for checking out Swift.
Its difficult to reach, the road looks like it faces 2-3 earthquakes daily. The place itself is not that bad, a big cramped i would say. The staff is good, my sales guy was again, like berkeley, sort of naive. No swift test drive vehicle available. They said you could take the test drive of Ritz as it has the same engine.
I have no idea how in god's name they could compare ritz and swift, not just compare but equal them and present one as the substitute of other. Anyway i declined their offer, got the paperwork and went on.
VERDICT: NOT A BAD PLACE, PEOPLE LACK COMMON SENSE THOUGH.
10. CM MOTORS, MARUTI SUZUKI
Its located in ropar, on the way to my home, so i dropped buy to check it out, in case it was good it could be a good location to get my car serviced from.
The place is good, lots of space, the staff is nice too. The sales guy told me that he had worked at chevrolet and hyundai as well before here.
Again the same stupid problem here, no swift available, go with the rest. This time i tried to feel how it feels to do such a stupid thing.
The car is not bad at all, having the engine of swift and removing its visibility issues, its a good buy, a bit cramped on space for sure.
Got back, got the papers and went on.
A few days later got the call from the guy asking about my decision, i told him it was i10, he seemed very dejected, i could not help. Next day i got a call again, some guy saying he is a sales guy from CM and wanted to meet me at home, i told him that i had already made my decision known to the other guy, this did not stop him, he was almost begging, saying that there could be action against me if i don't come to your place, i said i don't want you to come why would there be any action? Finally he relented when i said i will tell anyone who calls me asking about you that you visited me and tried your best. Hell of an ordeal.
VERDICT: FOR PEOPLE LIVING FROM NANGAL TO ROPAR, NOT A BAD CHOICE AT ALL.
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