A half-truth is worse than a lie.
I was misguided by the sales staff at the dealership level. They didnât have the booking quota. Bookings were forwarded manually to the company and were subject to approval before assigning the booking number and tentative delivery date. Moreover, I was told that the newly launched Swift will be handed over to me in the exchange program in 15 days. When I handed over my vehicle, this time was extended to 60 days by the dealership.
Yes, I am well aware of the Suzuki key to key exchange program as it will be my third or fourth car exchanged in this program since 2019.
There were two aspects in my case that went very wrong i.e. at the dealership level and the approval stage.
First of all, the newly launched Swift isnât available in the exchange quota. Normally, Suzuki allocates a certain number of cars from its monthly production into the exchange quota. That is why other cars are readily available or within a few days. Swift isnât in the production stage yet nor it is roadworthy due to the pending endurance test or the official go-ahead.
So in this situation, the procedure for the newly launched Swift is a bit different for the key to key exchange.
1. Bring your old car for an evaluation at any authorized dealership.
2. After an evaluation and locking a fair deal, you will have to pay the difference amount (in the form of cash or pay-order) and handover the car to the dealership or;
3. Since the newly launched Swift isnât in production and may take some time to be delivered in the exchange program, you have an option to hand over the documents of your car and the difference amount to the dealership and keep using your car. The dealership will send your documents and payment to the company for approval.
4. Once your case is approved, a booking number will be allocated to your case (this practice is not followed in normal key to key exchange program i.e. the allocation of the booking number).
5. Whenever Suzuki will start the production or delivery of the newly launched Swift, priority will be given to the exchange customers over the normal booking cases. In short, the only way to get the early delivery of the newly launched Swift is in the exchange program.
6. For those who have kept their old vehicle with themselves in step 3, their cars will have to go through the evaluation process again at the delivery time of the newly launched Swift. Based on the evaluation, condition of the vehicle, market price, etc. they will have to adjust the difference amount again.
Terms & Conditions:
1. The car that you wish to exchange in this program must be registered in your name.
2. The new car will be invoiced in your name as well.
3. You cannot exchange a bank leased or financed car in this program.
Link: https://www.suzukipakistan.com/Certifiedcars#prod-tab-CAREXCHANGE
What is an approval before the booking?
To stop the so-called investor mafia from booking the vehicles in bulk amount or repeatedly, Suzuki has started verifying each booking request before allocating the booking number and tentative delivery date. Even if you have made a previous booking within 6 months, you wonât be allowed to book another vehicle. Unless you have a valid reason to book another car and the previous car that you have booked is still in your name and use.
To clear all these doubts and questions (as I was very anxious and frustrated), I visited the Suzuki Regional Office in Lahore yesterday. Despite the lunch break, the concerned officials at the regional office gave me their time to explain everything to me and sort out my issue.
Truly impressed by their professionalism and dedication level, especially for an individual customer.
