Cars24 Sold Me A Volkswagen Polo Involved In 2 Accidents: Start-Up CEO; Cars24 Wins Case
A car is an important purchase decision for many. Due to the financial advantage it offers, people are increasingly opting for used cars these days. Pre-owned car purchases can be risky, as a wrong choice can make you put your hard-earned money on a faulty or damaged product. Pre-owned car brands such as Spinny or Cars24 usually sell inventory that are less prone to failures, damage and have a 'clean' track record. In a recent shocking incident, Cars24 allegedly sold a Volkswagen Polo to a startup CEO from Bengaluru, which he says, was involved in serious crashes previously.
Arun Kumar B, the founder and CEO of GRIT Manpower Pvt Ltd, a human resource provider based in Bengaluru, is the person involved in the unfortunate incident. He shared the details of the same on Linkedin, mentioning Cars24's official handle.
He says that he bought a pre-owned Volkswagen Polo from Cars24, after being assured by their team that all cars sold through the platform are non-accidental (as long as they aren't labelled otherwise) and have been sourced after rigorous quality checks.
Soon after the purchase, Arun found out that the car was previously involved in two major accidents, and had had insurance claims of Rs 3,68,501 and Rs 1,15,758, with the car value being 5.5 lakh rupees.
Further inspections also revealed that the airbags were replaced as well. This meant that the Polo that he put his money on, had had significant past damage. This is a departure from the quality levels claimed by the Cars24 platform. The CEO says that he is now left with a vehicle which he would not have bought if only he knew the complete history.
Through the LinkedIn post, the CEO sought an immediate addressing of his concern and a fair solution for his situation. Branded used car platforms such as Cars24 often charge a slight price premium for the added trust and reliability that their products bring to the table.
Transparency, integrity and customer trust are thus of supreme importance for them. This incident raises questions about the same and how the brand chooses to arrive at a solution, would speak a lot about its attitude towards buyers.
Does Cars24 Sell Accidented Cars? The Truth Behind It
As it turns out, the platform does sell cars that have been involved in accidents. The accident history will, however, be explicitly disclosed to the buyer before making his purchase decision. The platform offers car history reports that provide details of service and accident histories of the vehicles listed. Although these aim to provide transparency to the buyer, several customers have reported discrepancies between the actual condition of the cars and what's shown online.
The Platform's Vehicle Evaluation Process
As per the official website of Cars24, rigorous tests are conducted on vehicles at the time of procurement. The inspection process they say, is fair and thorough. An objective standardized report is prepared on every vehicle that is to be procured. It includes details like the condition of the car, damages, accident aftermath, and more. The documents are also verified.
Technicians use modern tools to assess the exterior, tyres, engine, transmission, and electricals of the vehicles. The website further says that detailed checks are also conducted on the steering mechanism, suspension and brakes.
Considering these, it is hard to believe that a customer ended up buying an accidented Polo (assuming it wasn't disclosed prior to purchase). Many including us look forward to seeing how the brand will handle the grievance. Cars24 is in fact, a big name in the used car retail space...
Cars24's representatives reached out to CarToq, and made the following submission:
The case filed by Mr. Arun Kumar B (the buyer of the Volkswagen Polo from Cars24) has been disposed off by the district consumer court in favour of the respondent (Cars24).
Mr. Arun Kumar has countered this by stating that he's dissatisfied with the consumer court's verdict and that he's appealing the judgment in a higher court.
