Suhas Manjunath booked a Skoda Rapid 1.6 MT Black Package at company dealers, Vikayak Skoda in Bengaluru. This car, in a Candy White color scheme was booked on 14th October 2016. The price was settled at Rs.11.8 lakhs and a down payment of Rs.20,000 was paid.
On 18th October, the buyer got a further demand for Rs.30,000 for preparation of the proforma invoice to block the car. The amount was paid and loan was approved. The dealer confirmed delivery on 26th October though the Rapid was delivered to Manjunath on 31st October 2016.
Manjunath had agreed to buy the Skoda Rapid but settled for the Black Package edition from Vinayak Skoda where he was told that they had only one car in stock. However, following delivery and on closer inspection Manjunath found that the price of the car on the document was not the same as the price quoted by the dealer. The dealer had put the ex-showroom price as Rs 9.24,740 instead of Rs. 9,72,617, a difference of around Rs.48,000. The said documents also did not mention the car as Limited Edition or Black Package.
The buyer then questioned the dealer who called him back on 2nd November as there were some public holidays in between. The dealer offered a debit not of Rs.67,605 but Manjunath did not accept the amount though the same was accepted by the bank while the dealer also edited the tax invoice and sent a copy where the “Black Package” was clearly mentioned
Closer inspection followed and several discrepancies were found in the actual car booked and the one delivered. The headlamps flash and high beam were found to be not working. A visit to the showroom on 27th December saw the issue further in a controversy as the service center found the regular headlamps were working properly while the projector headlamps, which are a part of the black package failed to function. It then dawned on Manjunath that the dealer had changed around some parts and passed off a Skoda Rapid as a Black Package Limited Edition model. A check of the VIN of the car on the MySkoda app also showed that the car was a regular version and not the limited edition.
A consumer case was filed and a long battle ensued. In the interim period, the company also tried to deliver a new car to Manjunath which he rejected stating that the car had deep scratches on its exterior. It was only at the start of this year that Skoda finally handed over a brand new Skoda Rapid Black Package edition with Manjunath inspecting and finally taking delivery of on 23rd March 2019. Both parties filed a document on 27th March stating that the issue was settled.
