Sunday, May 18, 2008

Shopping for Wheels?

Loyal readers are probably aware that we bought a car a couple of months ago. Somebody requested that I post our car buying experience in India. How did I miss that? The experience was definitely blog-worthy .... so here it is!

Buying a car in India is very different than buying a car in the US. The fact that every major manufacturer (ranging from Hyundai to Rolls Royce) has a dealership out here and cars have turned from luxury items to necessity, there is a huge market out here. Couple this with the service orientation of Indian businesses and you have a car buying experience that you would cherish.

Once we had selected the make/model, we called the two major dealerships in town. A sales representative was at the doorstep of our house within 24 hours with a car for a test drive. I test drove the car around the house after which we were given a complete run-down of features, costs etc. ... at the house! Auto dealers making house calls! Visit to the dealership may actually be optional. We went just to check out the different colors etc.

After we had decided the exact car we wanted, the negotiations were done on the phone. All paperwork was brought to my office to be signed off and the car was delivered at home with a red ribbon tied around it!

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

That was unbelievable experience buying a car...nothing like in the US..that too in New Jersey :)

Radman said...

oh my god. thats service.