NCDRC directs Mercedes Benz to pay Rs 2 lakh to customer for defects

Apex consumer body NCDRC has dismissed Mercedes-Benz India's appeal against a state commission's direction to pay Rs 2 lakh to a Chandigarh resident for constant defects in the luxury car he bought from the company four years ago. The National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) upheld the Chandigarh State Commission's order relying on an expert report by three professors of Punjab Engineering College who said the problem in the vehicle had not been removed.

The commission's Presiding member V K Jain said the vehicle in question was a Mercedes which is expected to run smoothly as the owner paid Rs 37 lakh for it. "In these circumstances, the grant of compensation only for Rs 2 lakh cannot be said to be excessive or unreasonable by any standards considering that the vehicle in question was a Mercedes vehicle which was expected to run smoothly without giving much trouble to the owner he has spent as much as Rs 37 lakh for purchase of the vehicle, and it had been troubling the complainant right from the time it was purchased, developing one snag or the other," the commission said in a recent order.

According to the complaint filed by Prince Bansal, he had purchased Mercedes CDI 220 for Rs 37 lakhs on September 17, 2015, and within a few days itself, the car was inspected for defects. The car was taken to workshop multiple times leading to the replacement of its sunroof and to seal the frames of the doors.

The state commission had on July 13 last year requested the Principal of Punjab Engineering College to constitute a team of experts to check the vehicle and submit a report.

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