r/CarsIndia

I recently won an Audi Q3 TFSI Premium Plus MY25 in a lottery.

After discussing the prize with the organisers, I was informed that they would provide the car at the factory price, and I would only need to pay the remaining amount (taxes, registration, and other applicable charges). They also have a special arrangement with an Audi dealership, through which the car is being offered at a discounted price.

After all the calculations, the final on-road price comes to approximately ₹47 lakh, whereas I anonymously enquired with the Audi Hyderabad showroom and was quoted around ₹62 lakh on-road for the same model.

I’ve decided not to go ahead with taking the car, as I don’t want to bear the additional tax liability associated with claiming the prize.

If anyone is genuinely planning to buy a brand-new Audi Q3 TFSI Premium Plus MY25, feel free to DM me. If the organisers allow the transfer/process to be done in your name, I may be able to help you get the car at this discounted price.

Location: Hyderabad

This is not a dealership or a commercial sale—I’m simply seeing if someone who was already planning to buy this car can benefit from the discount instead of letting the opportunity go to waste.

Planning to buy an EV and my budget is 15-18 lakh.

Daily running 70 to 100 km.

Monthly on trip 200km to my hometown.

Suggest best option or should I wait for 2 to 3 years for better EV infra.

Currently driving verna petrol 2015 passing 2030.

I need to vent and also get advice because I am beyond frustrated right now.

The backstory (so you understand how avoidable this was):

I test drove a used Hyundai at CARS24's Astra Tower, Newtown outlet on 27 June. The clutch felt off immediately — hard, stiff, not right. I wasn't about to just trust my gut and hand over lakhs of rupees, so I paid out of pocket for an independent inspection through GoMechanic. Their technician confirmed it: same clutch issue, clear as day.

I even chased down the service history myself since CARS24 couldn't be bothered to provide it, and got it verified at a Hyundai Authorised Service Centre. That part looked fine, so against my better judgment, I decided to trust that their "certified" process meant something.

It didn't.

Delivery day (5 July):

Sat around for 3-4 hours while they "prepped" the car. Before I left, I asked about the clutch ONE MORE TIME. I was told it's fine. Sir, everything is fine. Don't worry sir.

I put ₹1,850 of my own money into fuel and drove off trusting the people who sold me a certified car.

15 kilometres later, on the Belgharia Expressway, the clutch died completely. Not "felt weird" — completely gone. No engagement. I had to physically push my brand new used car to the side of one of the busiest roads near Kolkata, with traffic flying past us. We waited close to TWO HOURS for their recovery vehicle while stuck on the roadside. Then we had to figure out our own transport home — 50 km away — on top of everything else.

One hour. Fifteen kilometers. That's how long a "certified, inspected" car from CARS24 lasted.

And now the insult on top of injury:

I want to return this lemon and CARS24 is telling me they'll deduct ₹10,000-12,000 from my refund. For what, exactly? For the privilege of pushing their broken car off a highway? The failure happened on the EXACT issue we flagged before purchase, within an hour of taking delivery, under 30 km driven. I've demanded written clarification on what possible clause justifies this deduction. Still waiting.

I am so tired of feeling like the customer is expected to just absorb the cost of a company's negligence. I did everything right — test drove it, got independent inspections, chased down paperwork, raised concerns not once but multiple times — and I still got stuck pushing a car on a highway.

So, genuinely, I want to know:

Has anyone actually fought CARS24 on a refund deduction and won?

Is their "certification" process a joke, or did I just get unlucky with this outlet?

What's my best move here — consumer court, RTI-style pressure, going louder on social media, all of the above?

I'm not letting this go quietly. Will update once they respond to my written complaint. If you're thinking about buying from CARS24, take this as a warning to trust your gut over their reassurances.

TL;DR: Flagged a clutch problem before buying, got it independently confirmed, CARS24 said trust us it's fine — car broke down completely within 1 hour/15km of delivery on that exact issue. Now they want to dock ₹10-12k from my refund. Absolutely done with the runaround.