3 min readNew DelhiFeb 14, 2024 11:19 AM IST
First published on: Feb 14, 2024 at 10:45 AM IST
The Delhi consumer court has ordered a Maruti Suzuki car dealer in the city to pay Rs 2 lakh as compensation to a car owner after the speedometer of his brand new vehicle stopped working within 24 hours of purchase.
The complainant, Arun Kumar, who purchased a Wagon R for over Rs 4.5 lakh from a showroom in Amar Colony, Lajpat Nagar in May 2012, was shocked to notice the next day that the speedometer was not giving accurate results.
While awarding the compensation, the Delhi State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission observed that the defects in the car in the very first week of purchase point to negligence from the part of the staff.
“It is indeed true that if a brand new car gives trouble within a few years of its purchase, any consumer shall feel dissatisfied. In the present case the respondent (Kumar) took the pains to take the new car to the workshop and no doubt, this constitutes mental agony,” noted the commission in an order dated February 7.
When he contacted the showroom, the staff told Kumar that his speedometer would be rectified in three hours. However, he was allegedly informed later that his vehicle had met with a small accident while it was being taken to the workshop to fix the defect, resulting in a scratch at the bumper. The showroom staff told Kumar they required another day to fix all issues. His vehicle was finally returned on May 8 night.
When Kumar inspected his vehicle the next day in daylight, he noticed that the left side of the Wagon R was repainted, the rim portion was damaged and there were paint marks on the seat cover. The company allegedly told Kumar that his vehicle was taken to the police station in Amar Colony where the car remained for an entire day.
Kumar submitted before the consumer court that the opposite party (showroom) intentionally delivered the vehicle in the night, so that the complainant was unable to see the damage.
The complainant had requested the company to replace his vehicle and to give an undertaking that the company will be responsible for any loss faced by him due to the accident in question.
Siding with Kumar, a district consumer court in 2018 directed the car dealer to replace his car, following which the company had moved the Delhi State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission which ordered Rs 2 lakh compensation to the car owner for the pain and mental agony caused to him.
The Commission reduced the compensation to Rs 2 lakh noting that in the present case, no expert opinion or evidence was filed to substantively prove the manufacturing defect.
The complainant, Arun Kumar, who purchased a Wagon R for over Rs 4.5 lakh from a showroom in Amar Colony, Lajpat Nagar in May 2012, was shocked to notice the next day that the speedometer was not giving accurate results. (File Photo) 
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