srisetty

Today, I had the opportunity to visit following showrooms in search of a ride for my wife.

• Honda Showroom on Old Airport Road
• Suzuki Showroom on Old Airport Road
• Herohonda Showroom on Inner Ring Road
• TVS Showroom on Inner Ring Road
• Mahindra Showroom on Inner Ring Road

I visited the showrooms in the above order and my goal was to find the best suitable scooter for my wife based on following criteria:

• Should be easy to handle i.e., less weight
• Should be easy to park, including center stand
• Saddle height should be reasonable, she is 5'-2"
• Useable for both of us
• Light on pocket for initial cost. Running cost doesn't matter much as it would be sparingly used
• Good resale value

First visit was to Honda showroom. As we enter, we were greeted by a sales rep (actually showroom was a bit empty) and immediately flashed the Activa brochure with another sheet of paper showing final cost and cost of accessories. As usual the waiting period was mentioned as 3 months. When asked for test drive, we were redirected to basement (service center). We promptly went to the basement to find that the person responsible for giving test drive was missing. We waited for few minutes and thought of visiting Suzuki showroom right in front of the Honda Showroom.

Now we arrived at Suzuki showroom. Entering the showroom was a bit difficult as there were hoardings on the stairs and a ramp for moving the loading the vehicles into the showroom. Shouldn't they be do it during non business hours? We managed to reach inside to get a welcome from sales rep and was glad enough to give test ride of Access. We did the test ride and now the crucial test of putting the center stand. It was quite difficult as it was a bit heavy vehicle (for my wife). The sales rep was patient enough to help her couple of times and finally she made it in 3rd attempt. Now the surprise. Access was also having a waiting period of 2-3 months. It appeared artificial as there were 10s of vehicles lined up in the showroom itself and there was hardly any activity inside the showroom. Sales rep said the he would try his best i.e., 50 days if no bank loan is involved. Overall it was a good experience in Suzuki showroom .

We went back to Honda showroom to see if the test ride is available. Things had improved and we finally met the guy responsible for giving test rides. But, that was the last good moment at Honda showroom. The guy rudely said that there is no Activa available for test ride. We asked if at least Dio is available and he again said NO. I went back to showroom and shouted at the sales rep if they are interested in making business at all. The sales rep came out to basement and started persuading his guys to get a test ride. Enough was enough and I went back to see the manager and he was busy over phone. The sales rep came back that a test ride vehicle is now available. We did the test ride and the manager came by and started saying that test rides are only for newly release vehicles. What crap!!! The sales rep said that regular test ride vehicle is having engine problem . It was a horrific experience at Honda showroom and everyone there clearly seemed to have filled stomach. No one was eager to make a deal .

Our next destination was Hero Honda showroom near EGL on Inner Ring Road. When we entered the showroom, it was in unbelievable state. I had to confirm again that it was a showroom. It just looked like a government office. There was nobody to attend us and we were just lost. There was one lady who was quietly sitting at her desk and we approached her for help. She asked us if we were going for finance. We said no and she promptly redirected us to a counter responsible for sales. That sales guy was busy and didn't even had courtesy to speak. Thankfully we found some other sales guy, who explained us the price of Pleasure. There were no brochures but there was a touch screen kiosk (but how can it be helpful for offline comparison!!!). When asked for a test ride we were redirected to other person, who rejected to offer test ride as there was no test ride vehicle. After speaking further, he said that there is no petrol for test ride! OK, it seemed to be our bad luck. He offered us to "feel" the vehicle. My wife as usual tried moving around the vehicle with the final test of putting the center stand. She felt more comfortable than Activa/Access, but didn't manage to put the stand in couple of attempts. We left the place and felt that Hero Honda has to learn a lot for selling in urban places .

We just crossed over the inner ring road to enter TVS showroom. Here is the big difference. Since we were searching vehicle for my wife, a lady approached us and explained us Wego, Scooty Pep and Streak. We felt that Wego would be more or less like Activa/Access and asked her about differences between Pep and Streak. She explained about wider tyres and all the other goodies in Streak and we were impressed. We did a test ride and my wife easily passed the center stand test too. When asked about discount, she offered us Rs.500 discount on accessories. Here I need to recall that the cost of "guards" on Scooty was around 1500 while similar ones on Activa costs around 3500. Something to note as it would add up to initial cost. Delivery was available based on color. Our choice was immediately available. It was a very pleasant experience and we left the showroom with smiling face.

Our last destination was Mahindra showroom which is at entrance of Domlur circle flyover from Inner Ring Road. It was a bit late in the evening and there was only one lady. As we were looking for Duro, she gave us the brochure and price list. Then she started asking our requirement and she said that Flyte would be better. After looking into details and test rides, I felt that Flyte was definitely better than Duro. I was glad to have listened to her suggestion. She gave us the Flyte brochure too and said that there is free insurance offer till 31st Dec. Both me and my wife were quite happy with Flyte with only doubt about resale value. In any case thumbs up to Mahindra Showroom too.

Another last point which I would like to add. TVS Showroom was small and also a bit crowded. The lady was handling another customer along with us, but never made us feel left alone.

Here is my personal rating to all these showrooms:

Honda - 3/5
Suzuki - 4/5
Hero Honda - 2/5
TVS - 4/5
Mahindra - 4/5

We didn't visit Bajaj as we were not interested in Kristal.

I hope this information was useful.

sunilg

Showroom experience approved.

very useful information there, keep up the good work.

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animeher

Nice info srisetty. Honda /HH and their babu attitude, its a regular thing. So which one will it be, Vego/Duro?

I haven't tried Vego yet, but I tried Duro. Frankly, I did not like the way the engine was growling. My friend has the Kinetic Sym Flyte for more than 2 years now, and its going strong. Mileage around 35-35. Mahindra has dumbed down the Flyte removing some features so that Rodeo will have exclusivity. For example, the dicky light is no longer there in Flyte.

Keep us posted about your final decision.

srisetty

I personally like Dio. My wife likes Scooty Streak. Prime minister is more powerful than finance minister and we would mostly buy Streak

pulsater

why dont you just buy a nano for your wife?

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srisetty

Update: I have booked Scooty Streak.

Its also about managing expectations .

I have been using cars for past 10 years. If I see over time horizon, I have reduced its usage, inspite of changing it twice. 10 years back, I used to drive car to my office 3-4 times a week. Now, it is 3-4 times in a month Two wheeler is most convenient for day to day work. Any car including nano is a no no for Namma Bengaluru traffic. We need to struggle to get parking or drive in busy narrow streets and travelling time also has to be doubled. I take my car only when I am sure to get a parking space and if its a holiday or weekend or drive with entire family. I am very happy to be using two wheelers

yellowspunk

honda service sucks ! you found the perfect word for hero honda.. it is like a govt office lol tvs suzuki and mahindra are better.. more probably cause they sell less lol

lets see how cbr owners enjoy honda service.. i own a honda shine n i can vouch for how bad their service it !!

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velociraptor13

trust me if it was me i wouldn't even bother to give 3 out of 5.Honda guys know that they will still sell the activa even if the world comes to an end.I had this similar experience when i had gone with one of my friends to book an activa.Ended up buying the flyte.Though my experience when booking the p220 was quite different,i had to stand in a Que for half hour.

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vineeth aredath

Sirsetty sir- Great initiative. And congo for the Scooty. Here is my experience, am using zma and investing a lot in ma bike only because of an authorised svc in Bangalore. Thats 24*7 motors. Opposit to BHEL. Other than Joel's garage, it is the Only one place were i will comfortably leave my bike. I think its not the matter of brand but about the management of an asvc. I've been to almost all the honda asvc in bangalore in search of unicorn's chain and sprocket but failed to procure one, their service was egregious especially hiku honda in Domlur and the one which is in yalahanka new town and the one opposit to palace ground. Atlast i managed to procure one form kerala. Next one is a Bajal asvc situated near the stadium and merc showroom. They were very polite in handling the customers but when ma bro asked for a p220 to test ride, with out any second thought they gave a brand new vehicle which was suppose to deliver on the same day to a different customer. When i asked about it, they replyed that its not an issue because the customer is not present here.... But am not saying that all Bajaj asvc's are the same, for example the one which is situated in yalahanka old town, down to HDFC Bank was way ahead in handling customers so we booked our p220f from there. So from ma personal experience i believe that these makers cant do much on improving their service backup unless it is not properly managed and maintained by someone who has got enough passion and skil like our fellow bhpian Josh sir and Ashwin sir(MD,24*7 motor)

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