[shayne]

Originally Posted by Turbanator

I mean, how many guys who come into the category of influencers ( politicians, high-rank officials or ...?) will be looking to buy a Ducati - and that too a specific model? I understand such a rush for a LandCruiser or a Maybach but a Bike?

Don't mean to be rude but you obviously are not a biker
This bike has created a LOT of interest worldwide, rightfully so, for various reasons. There being only 50 bikes allocated to India this year which means that there is a shortage of bikes, because there are definitely more than that number waiting in line for this bike. So people jumping the queue is not such a far fetched thing as you might imagine.

[Rajiv0909]

Originally Posted by shayne

So people jumping the queue is not such a far fetched thing as you might imagine.

Originally Posted by Turbanator

What I think is happening at Ducati is they have a fixed number of bikes coming to India, and such free stocks are given to all dealers. Internally they might have a total number of bikes allocated to India for a particular variant or period( may or may not be shared with dealers). Upon receipt of booking/ advance, dealers will block that bike with Ducati(in-transit or allocation). But if, at any point, there are multiple bookings for the same bike (newer model/ high demand etc.), then either Ducati is not conveying dealers on time or Ducati India officials, instead of refusing sales

Originally Posted by Rajiv0909

An acknowledgment at the moment (that’s a start!), I have insisted that I would like to speak to someone in Ducati regarding this.

As we’re speculating the root cause behind the issue, not a word from Ducati or the dealer since the acknowledgment

In the meantime I stumbled upon this video, explains the bittersweet relationship between the dealer and OEM, coincidentally with a Ducati example

https://youtu.be/meHYBhcpdvQ

[Turbanator]

Originally Posted by shayne

Don't mean to be rude but you obviously are not a biker

Just because I am not a Ducati customer or following something happening in Ducati does not make me a better or worst rider than you or any other Ducati Fanboy.

This bike has created a LOT of interest worldwide, rightfully so, for various reasons...So people jumping the queue is not such a far fetched thing as you might imagine.

Could be my ignorance. I hope, you sort the matter with Ducati.

Edit - I called my known here, if we book today, we can get delivery in 2 months

[shayne]

Originally Posted by Turbanator

Just because I am not a Ducati customer or following something happening in Ducati does not make me a better or worst rider than you or any other Ducati Fanboy.

Neither am I a Ducati customer or a fanboy. What I am is a fanboy of bikes and I thought the comment on how someone could queue up to buy a BIKE instead of a Maybach or Landcruiser (both of which cost crores) a bit difficult to digest

[Turbanator]

Originally Posted by shayne

What I am is a fanboy of bikes

As I mentioned above, my ignorance of the demand for any particular brand/ model has nothing to do with my being a rider. You can be a fanboy of any bike, but that does not make me any less or better rider than any such fanboy. You are not rude to me but utterly wrong about me.

The analogy about the cars was because of my experience with such a scenario in that segment. I was unaware that something similar is happening or artificially created for a production Ducati model that incidentally one can get in 2 months.

[raja_ys]

Does anyone know about the cancellation policy of Ducati India incase someone books a vehicle but wants to cancel it before billing or delivery of Ducati incase of the sales experience not meeting upto decent expectation.

[Rajiv0909]

Originally Posted by raja_ys

Does anyone know about the cancellation policy of Ducati India incase someone books a vehicle but wants to cancel it before billing or delivery of Ducati incase of the sales experience not meeting upto decent expectation.

I doubt if they have a policy, I think it’s more of a negotiation with the dealer

[Cyborg]

Originally Posted by raja_ys

Does anyone know about the cancellation policy of Ducati India incase someone books a vehicle but wants to cancel it before billing or delivery of Ducati incase of the sales experience not meeting upto decent expectation.

Check your booking form/receipt of payment. Terms and conditions should be mentioned there. Cancelling a booking because of sales experience not meeting expectation is a strange one. Please could you care to explain.

After booking all that’s left is balance payment and delivery. After which you have nothing to do with the sales team, just forget them. It’s service which is a key requirement for any vehicle purchase. Don’t let the sales side deter you from getting a vehicle, just saying.

Cheers

[raja_ys]

Originally Posted by Rajiv0909

I doubt if they have a policy, I think it’s more of a negotiation with the dealer

Got some clarity:-
No refund in case the bike has been ordered from Ducati
50% refund of specified booking amount in case of bike available at Dealer
100% refund in case your finance approval from bank fails

Some special consideration in special cases like death etc
Booking amount varies from bike to bike and starting from 1 lakh onwards

Originally Posted by Cyborg

Check your booking form/receipt of payment. Terms and conditions should be mentioned there. Cancelling a booking because of sales experience not meeting expectation is a strange one. Please could you care to explain.

After booking all that’s left is balance payment and delivery. After which you have nothing to do with the sales team, just forget them. It’s service which is a key requirement for any vehicle purchase. Don’t let the sales side deter you from getting a vehicle, just saying.

Cheers

In my case I have paid full payment towards On road price in one shot and haven't taken any booking form or payment receipt. Now in case of cancellation will be losing just Rs 75000 (50% of the specified booking amount of Rs 1.5 lakh) which is bearable.

Reason I wish to cancel is:-
I wanted to clarify a few details like model availability and some charges as there was some non standard information across dealers, maybe due to a particular not having stock of a specific variant, they say production stopped or no further import etc. Clarity on front number plate and saree gaurd as dealer says Ducati doesn't provide and its legal to ride without them as these are approved CBU units. Some illegal charges being applied by some dealers. Not providing a proper bike parking, only if customer arrives in a car you are treated well. Some technical clarity on mechanical or data.

Ducati has no dedicated customer care number, no email provided nor its regional office address specified on the Indian website which gives a shady impression of this brand.

There are social media links provided and when contacted them through Facebook messenger, they simply ask me to get back to dealer without providing any answers. Its like the Judge ordering the victim to approach the accused for help. The only contact links provided are of the dealers.

Bikes may be good but do not want to be left at the mercy of dealer/dealers with a company that's not pro active towards customer care buying a vehicle is just one small part of the deal while going ahead servicing and ownership experience is the major part of associating with a brand.

[abhi_tjet]

Originally Posted by raja_ys

Clarity on front number plate and saree gaurd as dealer says Ducati doesn't provide and it’s legal to ride without them as these are approved CBU units. Some illegal charges being applied by some dealers. Some technical clarity on mechanical or data.

There are social media links provided and when contacted …….The only contact links provided are of the dealers.

Felt sorry for your bad experience raja_ys.

With regards to front number plate (holder)and saree guard, it’s true that CBU’s aren’t mandated to have them. It’s a must for CKD and locally made bikes. You can go to some accessory guy for fixing front number plate.

Handling charges are levied by almost all dealer. Sometimes it’s clubbed with RTO and sometimes separately. One can definitely ask for its reversal.

To get any information regarding product, its again same with other brands like Triumph, etc as well. Any query is directly reverted to dealerships.

On another note, have you decided on other bike?

[raja_ys]

Originally Posted by abhi_tjet

Felt sorry for your bad experience raja_ys.

With regards to front number plate (holder)and saree guard, it’s true that CBU’s aren’t mandated to have them. It’s a must for CKD and locally made bikes. You can go to some accessory guy for fixing front number plate.

Handling charges are levied by almost all dealer. Sometimes it’s clubbed with RTO and sometimes separately. One can definitely ask for its reversal.

To get any information regarding product, its again same with other brands like Triumph, etc as well. Any query is directly reverted to dealerships.

On another note, have you decided on other bike?

Hi abhi_tjet,

Number Plate:- I tried to confirm the same as your view from Ducati itself so that I don't face any harassment from Cops in future, but sadly Ducati India doesn't give a direct clarity on this, and reverts back to dealer. Now this non communicative attitude, it scares me of my future ownership or service issues going ahead to be left at the mercy of the dealers.

Handling charges:- Agree on this that all dealers try to extract these illegal charges from customers but I have filed a case against Mahindra dealer on the same issue and got favorable verdicts from Dist, State and National Consumer Forums, so can pay now and complain later to RTO for refund but looking for dealers of any brand who practice a fair trade policy. My policy is to buy a vehicle only on fair charges or else move on without the vehicle as many other dealers/brands/options available.

Other Bikes in consideration:-

Z900:- But passed on as dealer wants a handling charge of Rs 20K and he has no proper parking outside showroom.
Ninja 1000SX:- Dealer willing to sell without handling charges but Kawasaki has stopped production and coming up with a revised model by December end, some people say issue with gear ratios hampering smooth functioning of quick shifter hence the improved version.
Z900RS:- last choice as already have a Kawa.
Katana:- no bike available as yet to launch BS6.2
Hayabusa:- waiting period 3-4 months and again dealer has no dedicated parking for customers coming on bike to visit showroom.
Street Triple 765:- My best/preferred choice here but dealer insists on handling charges, so let it pass just as I previously let go of a T120 purchase for the very same reason 6 months back and settled on a Kawa. Have a option to buy the bike first and then complain to RTO after delivery and get refund back, but with the launch of the Speed 400 wondering what sort of fish markets the Triumph dealerships will turn into if these bikes are met with success (most likely would succeed going by the price) and also Truimph brand for the bigger bikes losing exclusivity of ownership.
FTR:- fear of service and entry to the showroom blocked like a warzone hurdle parked with some dusty Polaris and other cars.
F900R:- was my 2nd preferred choice but sadly discontinued while BMW Dealer agreed to sell any bike to me without any handling charges.

So with lack of choices, for now in talks with TVS dealers for a TVS100XL HD i-start variant. But here again the story is going on on illegal handling charges in a new disguise form of PDI (Yes you read it right TVS dealers are charging for Post Delivery Inspection, heights of creativity by these unscrupulous dealers to cheat customers in one form or the other), compulsory/mandatory accessories

[doga]

Originally Posted by raja_ys

Street Triple 765:- My best/preferred choice here but dealer insists on handling charges, so let it pass just as I previously let go of a T120 purchase for the very same reason 6 months back and settled on a Kawa. Have a option to buy the bike first and then complain to RTO after delivery and get refund back, but with the launch of the Speed 400 wondering what sort of fish markets the Triumph dealerships will turn into if these bikes are met with success (most likely would succeed going by the price) and also Truimph brand for the bigger bikes losing exclusivity of ownership.

Slightly elitist to be honest with there. Roughly 3 lacs on road bike is not a cheap bike in India by any means. If anything if this bike becomes a success it'd make Triumph more widespread resulting in dealer choice increasing for the end customer, superbikes included. For example, if there are 3-4 places in Bangalore where you can take your street triple for servicing, albeit with the pain of hobnobbing with the plebs, then people would be able to shun Keerthi Triumph, which would probably spur them to improve themselves!
Also, you considered Kawasaki and Suzuki superbikes and both bikes, especially Suzuki, also sells much 'lesser' models so why this line of thought?

[raja_ys]

Originally Posted by doga

Slightly elitist to be honest with there. Roughly 3 lacs on road bike is not a cheap bike in India by any means. If anything if this bike becomes a success it'd make Triumph more widespread resulting in dealer choice increasing for the end customer, superbikes included. For example, if there are 3-4 places in Bangalore where you can take your street triple for servicing, albeit with the pain of hobnobbing with the plebs, then people would be able to shun Keerthi Triumph, which would probably spur them to improve themselves!
Also, you considered Kawasaki and Suzuki superbikes and both bikes, especially Suzuki, also sells much 'lesser' models so why this line of thought?

Please correct yourself that I have nowhere used the term “cheap bikes” nor meant any bike to be so. My point is any brand that starts to sell in large volumes will start to turn out workshops into fish markets.


I do avoid high volume seller brands as it seems more of a fish market experience at workshops.
Prior to 2010 used to have very good experience at Royal Enfield workshops but once they started selling good volumes it now takes an hour and a half to get the job card and for the bike to be put up on the bay, which in earlier case during this same time we could walk out with a serviced bike.

Maybe an elitist or maybe a craver for exclusive vehicles but yes I do prefer less common vehicles.

[hema4saran]

While the booking/buying experience itself is very harrowing for the potential buyers for Ducati in India, I am not sure how the dealerships are equipped to handle the Desmo service at 30k KMs. One of a guy in my riding group need to wait for 2.5 months here in Dallas, TX for the Desmo service on his Diavel. Primary reason being non availability of the technician. The good thing is they didn't do shody work on the bike by assigning it to available mechanic and patiently waited for the properly trained technician to work on it.

I am not sure if the technicians are properly trained by Ducati in India for Desmo service. Ducati makes some of the best looking bikes. But it is the most complicated bike to work on. Any potential buyer, please be aware of the technician availability at your local dealership and see if they are trained enough to do Desmo service.

[the_skyliner]

Originally Posted by hema4saran

I am not sure if the technicians are properly trained by Ducati in India for Desmo service. Ducati makes some of the best looking bikes. But it is the most complicated bike to work on. Any potential buyer, please be aware of the technician availability at your local dealership and see if they are trained enough to do Desmo service.

Not sure about Desmo service quality here in India but so far had three services done on my Multi and every time the experience has been excellent.