u/car_beku

Last weekend, I went for the PDI of a Kushaq Monte Carlo 1.5 TSI. During the inspection, I noticed an issue with the steering scroll buttons. The buttons were functional, but one side didn’t have the proper tactile “click” feel — it felt mushy/worn out.

Initially, the dealership claimed that this is how the buttons are designed: “left side is clicky, right side is softer.” But when I told them I already own another Kushaq and both buttons feel perfectly normal in mine, they acknowledged the issue. They said they’d fix it and asked me to verify it before making payment.

That same day, I also asked whether they had any other Kushaq Monte Carlo in the same color/variant in stock. They clearly said this was the only one available.

Two days later, I called for an update. Suddenly, they said another identical car was “in transit” and would arrive at the stockyard that same day, and they would allocate that vehicle instead.

Today I went to inspect this “newly arrived” car.

Before I reached the stockyard, the salesperson called and said the car had only arrived that morning, and because of frequent power cuts they couldn’t complete their dealer PDI/software updates. According to him, none of the 8 cars received that day were fully updated yet, and hence the sunroof was not working. He asked me to come the next day so they could “enable” the sunroof after software update/PDI.

Now I have a few doubts:

1. Is there actually such a thing where the sunroof remains disabled until dealer software unlock/PDI is completed?
2. I know about speed/RPM locks during transit mode, but I’ve never heard of sunroof functionality being disabled. The roof control button illumination and inner controls were working, but the actual sunroof wouldn’t operate.
3. The car also had EPC light and Check Engine Light glowing on the dashboard. They claimed both would disappear after software update/internal PDI.

I then asked them to show me any other newly delivered cars that also had this “pending software update” issue and non-working sunroof. Initially they refused, saying those cars were parked elsewhere in the stockyard. After I pushed further, they pointed to another vehicle undergoing PDI but said they couldn’t switch it on because the battery was charging.

There were more suspicious things:
* Front and rear windshields had different batch numbers, while all side windows matched.

* Only 2 tyres had visible DOT codes; the other 2 tyres and spare wheel didn’t.

* The car had similar rainwater/slush marks as the first car I inspected.

* It definitely did not look like a car that “arrived this morning.”

* The VIN sequence was older than the previous car I had inspected earlier, which made the “new arrival” story even more doubtful.

At that point, I told them I wasn’t convinced about this vehicle and asked for the original car instead, provided they fixed the steering button issue.

Now comes the most bizarre part.

The salesperson said they would only take the first car to the service centre for fixing after I paid the full ex-showroom amount. When I refused, he asked me to at least pay ₹5 lakh “to show commitment” so they could proceed with repairs before delivery.

I refused again.

Then I asked if they could at least show me the original car once more since we were already inside the stockyard. Suddenly, he claimed he needed fresh approval to show the vehicle because the previous approval from 4 days ago was “no longer valid.” He also said the stockyard manager had already gone home and nobody else could authorize it.

At this point, I told him:
“If you show me the previous car right now, I’ll immediately make the advance payment.”

Magically, within seconds, he agreed and made a call (or pretended to make one) to arrange access.
Then he asked ME for the VIN of the previous car because he “needed help finding it.” I pointed out there were supposedly only two cars of this exact variant/color combination, so why couldn’t he just check his system? He still insisted I share the VIN, which I did — and suddenly the car appeared immediately.

Honestly, the entire experience felt extremely dishonest and manipulative.

TL;DR:
* First car had steering button issue.

* Dealer denied issue initially, later agreed to fix it.

* Suddenly “new” car with same variant + color appeared after they earlier claimed no other stock existed.

* New car had non-working sunroof, EPC + check engine lights, mismatched glass batch numbers, suspicious tyre markings, and signs it had been sitting in the yard for a while.

* Dealer kept giving inconsistent explanations and avoided showing other vehicles for comparison.

* Asked me to pay full ex-showroom amount / ₹5 lakh advance before fixing issues in the first car

Would you still continue with this dealer after so many inconsistencies and red flags, or would you walk away and go to another dealer entirely?
Also if I still go with this dealer, which car seems safer bet?