Bengaluru man drives car firm to cops over less mileage

BENGALURU: Miffed about his new car's low mileage, a 52-year-old businessman has lodged a complaint against the car manufacturer. He has demanded the manufacturer either replace the vehicle with a new one or give him a refund.


The issue has left

JP Nagar

police scratching their heads as this is the first complaint they have received with regard to vehicle mileage. Shashikumar of

TMCS Layout

in JP Nagar approached the court to issue directions to police to register a case after he failed to get a positive response from the company from which he bought the car last November.

Shashikumar wanted to gift a car to his daughter on her birthday and was looking for a limited-edition vehicle to make the occasion special. He wanted his daughter to have her own vehicle when she went to her college located on

Hosur Road

. On November 30, Shashikumar visited the car showroom in Yeshwantpur and took the vehicle for a test drive. The company's sales executives explained to him the features of the petrol vehicle and also assured him a mileage of 16kmpl. Shashikumar bought the vehicle thinking he was getting a good deal, especially in terms of mileage.

But problems began when he realised the vehicle wasn't giving the promised mileage. "I didn't realise what was happening until my daughter started asking for more money to buy petrol. That's when it struck me that something was amiss. On checking, I found the vehicle's mileage was just 5kmpl," said Shashikumar, who paid Rs 26 lakh for the vehicle.

Following this, Shashikumar made multiple visits to the showroom and sent mails to the company's head office, but in vain. The employees at the showroom told him that the vehicle would give a mileage of 16kmpl only on free roads like NICE Road and highways. "This wasn't true and I filed a complaint with the court, which directed police to file an FIR," he added.