Vehicle buyers taken for a ride!

KARTHIK P / TNN / Aug 3, 2007, 00:00 IST

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Automobile showrooms in the city have no qualms about charging higher registration fees. Look before you pay.

Automobile showrooms in the city have no qualms about charging higher registration fees. Look before you pay
A glance through the price quotation of permanent registration fees and handling charges hung in automobile showrooms in the city will surely raise eyebrows.
The RTA charges for registration are Rs 15 for temporary registration and Rs 160 for permanent one for two wheelers and Rs 400 for four-wheelers.But city showrooms charge from Rs 1,000 to Rs 1,300 for two wheelers and Rs 2,500 to Rs 4,000 for cars .
Taking note of this, the officials of RTA issued an order four years ago that allows only a few authorised showrooms to issue temporary registration certificates.

Also, the showrooms are not supposed to collect money for permanent registration. In a meeting in May this year, it was made mandatory for all the showrooms to display the official charges for the registration prominently but none seem to pay heed to it.
As the showrooms were flouting these rules, the RTA issued show cause notices. Says joint transport commissioner of RTA, B Venkateshwarulu, "We have issued notices to six showrooms in the city, seeking explanation for charging exorbitant registration fees."

However, many people do not mind paying the amount to save the ordeal of going though the painstaking procedures of getting permanent registration. Says SB Rajsekhar, a bank employee who recently purchased a car, "The dealers in fact are doing us a service for which they are charging extra. Anyway, it is not a compulsion and people are free to do the registration on their own."
However, Venkateshwarulu differs on the issue. "It is a matter of infringement of the law and the showrooms cannot do so. I request all the citizens to approach the RTA directly and avoid middlemen," he appeals.

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