[no_fear]

Saw this thread....

Dealer apathy is a well known phenomena in India. As other members have mentioned, best bet is to directly contact Honda. If Honda India is on twitter, tag them and explain the issue. There should be a company support hotline that you can reach out to.

When it comes to parts, dealers are often at the mercy of the manufacturer. Your dealer is not being pro-active. The radiator fan unit is very generic and the same part can be found on other Honda bikes like Xaos mentioned. It should not be hard to source this. Ask your dealer to source it for you, or better yet, just find it yourself, get it installed, and then deduct the amount from the service bill.

That cardboard tab that was inside the radiator fan - I assume that the packing cardboard for the radiator unit. Whoever took the cardboard out, yanked it, and the piece tore off remained stuck inside. This is my speculation.

For smoke billowing - that was your coolant overflowing and evaporating. This will happen as the bike engine heated up due to the radiator fan not working.

Ask the honda service guy to flush the coolant and add it back when they the change the fan.

[Govind]

@mrgawde,

Sorry to hear the issue.

I think BigWing being a premium brand working on Honda philosophy should value a customer much better way than what has happened. They should rectify it free of cost, as it is their problem; and provide you a loaner bike until the brand new bike is in runnable condition. Please escalate and that will help to include such items into their delivery checklist.

Normally, the post-delivery checklist should address all similar issues and no such problems are expected from a Japanese breed whether it is a premium bike or not. Having said that, I had a similar experience when I took delivery of my RX135 in 2000. They delivered without the 2T oil, which is to be filled into a separate tray and I missed to notice. Fortunately identified within a few minutes after starting and moving the bike!

/Govind

[wheeledwanderer]

Looking at this, I have written off Honda from my list of purchase for the future. If this is the case with CB300R imagining what happens with Africa Twin kind of bikes (which is not highly populated in the market!)

[Arun_S]

Sorry to hear about your Ordeal.

Honda's customer response has become bad over the years, When i got my Unicorn, when i raised a complaint in Honda Website about dealer service, they would call me in matter of minutes and the dealer would immediately respond on that.

When I got an Activa for my father, their response was nothing great to write about when i raised a complaint about dealer providing a faulty part.

Regarding faulty parts shipped from factory, shock absorber failed in my Unicorn, got a new one and that was a defective piece.

[RT13]

Yikes!! I mean, a piece of cardboard is just bad luck I suppose but the response is atrocious! And here I’ve been considering the 300R and the larger Hondas mainly for the sheer peace of mind. So much for that I suppose.. In the end it really does depend on the dealer.

You definitely shouldn’t be paying a single pie for it. Having said which, it seems a simple fix and it really is a lovely package of a bike. If you can get it sorted then just ride it like you stole it. Hondas are built like tanks and this seems an aberration just stemming from carelessness rather than product quality.

Hang in there.

[marcussantiago]

Over here in Delhi, a friend of mine wanted to upgrade to a Honda CB350. So the three of us went to the showroom in Gurgaon. He has an RE Meteor, my friend and I on Kawasakis.

Every bike parked there was a CB350, no bigger bikes at all. So that was the first strange thing.

Then, on talking to the salesperson for a test ride or information, all he said was that we can only book and buy the bike. They literally do not offer test rides at all, you're supposed to just buy it blind. All you can do otherwise is look at the bikes on display in the showroom. And yes, the salesperson was totally serious.

So... yeah. That was the Honda experience for me and my friends. Not great.

Honda's strategy for superbikes:

Step 1: Make it impossible and/or painful to actually buy a Honda superbike, leading to low sales
Step 2: Complain that "nobody wants to buy a superbike in the Indian market" using low sales figures as proof (Honda actually said this many years ago when KTM was new and on the rise)
Step 3: ???
Step 4: Profit!

[low_rider]

As a general rule that I follow in India, both for car and bikes - If it can't be serviced at an FNG, don't buy it. ASS operate on a "sell and scoot" model. All, and I mean all from a small two wheeler brand to a uber luxurious 5 cr+ brand operate in a similar fashion.

Hence, the sales figures for RE. Hence the exit for HD.

[pach]

I will rule out Honda as my next bike. More than part availability and mistake during the delivery its the attitude of big wing that is shocking.

[contact.nitin7]

just wanted to check do we have anyone here who can help us connect some one up higher in HONDA?

I mean this has to end, this is such a callous behavior from their end, and this story is NATIONWIDE the same, Be it here in Delhi NCR, or anywhere, I am a part of the Honda forum that exists on whatsapp, and people across India have similar problems.

Is there no way we can reach to the management and tell that what was BIG WING when established and what it promised.

The attitude has to change.

[mrgawde]

Update:

The service lead called me stating that he has read this thread. Further mentioning I was wrong to blame Honda Big Wing for the incident as I had no proof that the piece of cardboard could have been left in there by any chance as all the bikes are given thorough inspection.
Has anyone been given deliveries where the bikes inspection was lackluster?

It was mentioned that the invoice sent to me was a 'proforma invoice' which is basically an estimation with room for negotiation, as far as I can see I am not negotiating the payment of reparation and the fact that this is on the table means it is assumed I am at fault even if not directly stated.

It was mentioned that the case was taken seriously with follow ups on the parts since the beginning itself. The case was then escalated internally around a month later and then escalated via email from there. Clearly there is no weight to the word escalation. The argument is that the part is not readily available and needs to go through an authorisation process before it is shipped, this 'authorisation' took them 1 month. The order was in 'pending'/'backlog' since a month, that means the part was either not available and pending or available and not authorised. Considering this is a new model i don't see how the parts can be scarce.

A point raised by the community was sourcing the fan from another model or another dealer, to this point it was said that they are not authorised to go through any other channel and they must source it from the Delhi HQ.

Finally, they got an 'ETA' for the (reordered)fan that will come at the end of this month (30th Sept). On 10th September I was told that this particular part was ordered redundantly in advance and it would not take more than 3-4 days to arrive. With regards to the first broken shipment, apparently the new part coming in broken is another unfortunate event that could have happened in transit but for sure Honda Big Wing again isn't to blame. Maybe it's my karma then.

I spoke about a refund but for this I need to visit the head of sales in their office and bring this up. Will provide an update on this in a few days.

[shancz]

Originally Posted by mrgawde

1. Further mentioning I was wrong to blame Honda Big Wing for the incident as I had no proof that the piece of cardboard could have been left in there by any chance as all the bikes are given thorough inspection.

2. It was mentioned that the invoice sent to me was a 'proforma invoice' which is basically an estimation with room for negotiation,

3. It was mention that the case was taken seriously with follow ups on the parts since the beginning itself. The case was then escalated internally around a month later and then escalated via email from there.

4. The argument is that the part is not readily available and needs to go through an authorisation process before it is shipped, this 'authorisation' took them 1 month.

5. A point raised by the community was sourcing the fan from another model or another dealer, to this point it was said that they are not authorised to go through any other channel and they must source it from the Delhi HQ.

6. Finally, they got an 'ETA' for the (reordered)fan that will come at the end of this month (30th Sept).

1. So if I have a bad experience with Honda BigWing then who should be blamed ?
They need to explain how that piece would've lodged in under normal riding?
We're waiting for their explanation for both these questions.
Also if they think that this is what Honda thinks then they should get an official mail stating the same.
That would bring some clarity on what "Delhi HQ" thinks.

2. The issue isn't with the amount but the attitude and the clearly non-premium experience.

3. Again, a customer waiting for over a month for parts to arrive and them going incommunicado is fine by their standards for "premium" experience?

4. Authorisation process for what? They are billing it to to you to start with(proforma invoice) so Honda BigWing has to "authorise" what parts a customer can order?
Please correct me if I am wrong.

5. Why should a customer care about a company's internal process? That's between the dealer and Honda BigWing.
The customer either gets a good service or bad, that's it. This case is clearly the latter.

6. Honestly it seems that the dealer and Honda BigWing have a done you a favour by bestowing the honour of owning a Honda BigWing

Unfortunate and would love to hear what Honda has to say on this ordeal. If they don't or confirm the same then I am skipping any HMSI(Honda Motorcycles and Scooters India) vehicles going further.


OT :
On a lighter note Karma starts with a K

[amvj]

This is all very worrying and reduces the confidence with the brand.

Meanwhile, I sent one email to the customer care for my case as stated earlier, but instead of getting calls or reply from customer care, I got a call from the dealer. The dealer again explained that they are expecting parts and will let me know once it arrives. It looks like it is hard to catch higher level Honda officials on this or they are reluctant to listen to their customers.

[Peterf]

Originally Posted by mrgawde

Update:

The service lead called me stating that he has read this thread. Further mentioning I was wrong to blame Honda Big Wing for the incident as I had no proof that the piece of cardboard could have been left in there by any chance as all the bikes are given thorough inspection.
Has anyone been given deliveries where the bikes inspection was lackluster?

Mr Gawde, you sure have the patience of a saint, listening to the crap being given to you by this supposedly Premium brand. I myself was treated with apathy when I visited the Big Wing Gurgaon showroom. Looking at your thread I am glad that I went for a meteor instead of cb350.

And Mr Service lead, if you are reading this thread, can you explain how a cardboard piece can get stuck there. Honda Big wings will soon be clipped by customers if this attitude remains.

[VijayAnand1]

Grief stricken is a word that'd surely be an underrated one mrgawde. First off, glad that you're safe. A new bike, a potential fire hazard or worse a bike tha could have been incinerated given the wrong circumstances. The floor mat attitude, crappy consumer laws, lackluster attitude, have all been against the Indian consumer

Though this is prevalent with most brands here in India, it does seem to be more upheld with niche brands, right from spares downtime, poorly trained professionals, communication discrepancies and what not.

Apparently them reading this thread, as per your dialogue with them is precisely why threads like these are important in letting a dealership wala know their own shortcomings.

You are in no way entitled to pay a single rupee for a fault that wasn't yours in the first place. Pre delivery check is an entitled jurisprudence by the dealer. The fact that a cardboard has been stuck could have been easily noticed if the required procedures were carried out to satisfaction.

Let me stop it at that.

Good luck to you, hoping all goes smoothly and do share updates.

Cheers!
VJ

[Xaos636]

Originally Posted by mrgawde

Update:

The service lead called me stating that he has read this thread. Further mentioning I was wrong to blame Honda Big Wing for the incident as I had no proof that the piece of cardboard could have been left in there by any chance as all the bikes are given thorough inspection.

The argument is that the part is not readily available and needs to go through an authorisation process before it is shipped, this 'authorisation' took them 1 month.

Thats a load of bull crap from the Honda Bigwing Dealer. Once you place the order in the Honda system, you will immediately get a response and a PO# indicating the order was placed. If the ordered parts are unavailable in India and has to be sourced from abroad, it takes anywer between 15 days to 45 days for it to arrive and that will be notified to the dealer from Honda, immediately. 1 month for authorisation at this day and age is a delaer tactic because they have ran out of excuses.

You mentioned about proforma invoice and stuff, can you provide me the details of the same? The part(Fan) costs a mere ~₹100 as per my source and I don’t understand why is there a talk of who pays this amount. If at all coolant is required, you might need a liter which is ₹240.
Honda service will only use Honda genuine spares, fair enough. Why dont you walk into a normal dealer, get the part, give it to the Bigwing mech and ask him to fix it then and there ? Its just a matter of 100₹ and a little effort and why do you want to wait till 30th of September, especially when they have never fulfilled their commitments till date !

I remember once when a Bangalore service made me wait for 2 hours to adjust my CBR250R chain, and incorrectly charged full amount for chain clean even without cleaning it. A mail to Honda made them come to my home(even though I asked them its not required) with cleaner, paddock etc. the very next day and did their job to my satisfaction. I wonder what happened to those days. Usually Honda does put their staff to work if customer raises a grievance. Not sure what happened here.