Re: Kawasaki to break ties with Bajaj for sales & service, assembly to continue though.

Yes, of course, you're right about that. Nobody saw it coming, but as a matter of common sense, I would never have paid the full amount upfront, no matter how soon the dealership was agreeing to give me the bike. I mean, that's literally the only bargaining chip we have in India with the dealerships - they'll dance to your tune till you have the money they want. So, if we're looking at this under a microscope, everyone was at a fault to some degree. Predicting it, while not possible, it could have been prevented very well.

Kawasaki products are no doubt some of the best in the world. They reek of of quality. Just wish their service - pre-sale and post-sale also do the same.

Re: Kawasaki to break ties with Bajaj for sales & service, assembly to continue though.

Typical goon-like shady business. Most of these guys are show offs and crooks (talking about the dealer himself not Bajaj), they saw an opportunity to con Kawasaki and they took it.

Kawasaki trusted Bajaj and had to pay dearly for that trust.

If the Kawasaki dealership ended up being given to Khivraj by 2015, then Bajaj still chose to deal with Satyen Karandikar after they were aware that there may have been something shady going on. I have a photograph taken on the 27th of March 2015 at the SNK Bajaj showroom at Wakdewadi of Satyen Karandikar posing with pulsar RS200s.

Lot of locals made money on that Palm Beach Kawasaki scam. Kawasaki were sitting ducks that got taken for all they had.


Trust. Kawasaki trusted in the fact that Bajaj had done their homework with Bajaj dealerships. Kawasaki and Bajaj have had a two decade or more partnership.

Virtually all Kawasaki dealerships are a 'promotion' given to an existing Bajaj dealer.

There is very little integrity with local businesses and Kawasaki were a victim. Someone saw an opportunity, saw a weakness, and pounced.

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Re: Kawasaki to break ties with Bajaj for sales & service, assembly to continue though.

Ah well. Whatever the situation, I hope Kawasaki won't let experiences like these sour their relationship with their customers henceforth.

Re: Kawasaki to break ties with Bajaj for sales & service, assembly to continue though.

What I recall about this karandikar scam is that, Kawasaki has a lien, a bank guarantee from every dealer whom they appoint. Most auto manufacturers have similar business practises.

So Kawasaki India probably didn't incur any losses due to the scam. They just cashed in on the bank guarantee that karandikar had. If they didn't ask a guarantee from Mr. Karandikar, then it's their problem, not customers.

Re: Kawasaki to break ties with Bajaj for sales & service, assembly to continue though.

Okay.

I believe this kind of 'transition phase' would take years to be effective rite ?
And till then there shouldn't be any apparent change in prices/ services/ sales etc.






I was wondering about the fickleness of our emotions.
Just a few months back we were all gung-ho and shaming Kawasaki for their legal stand over the SNK dealership scam which as 'Divyasharan' pointed out was unethical but legal.
I don't know if Kawasaki really incurred heavy loses as 'Xionite' mentioned, and hope that they were indeed insured and only that 'Karandikar' should get the short straw.



Cheers.
Happy Motoring.

Re: Kawasaki to break ties with Bajaj for sales & service, assembly to continue though.

Very OT discussion on my reply; Mods please delete the comment if it is too off topic here.

Where did fickleness come into the picture? If we were gung-ho then, we are seething now. Kawasaki fixed the issue. No need to be gung-ho about it anymore, no? Our trust in Kawasaki has been walking on thin ice for a while now, and then this decision comes to fore. The entire discussion here has been regarding the same issue, if you notice. Nobody can deny that Kawasaki products are right up there in terms of quality, that's why people still want to trust Kawasaki.

Re: Kawasaki to break ties with Bajaj for sales & service, assembly to continue though.

It's a business decision and we need to respect that. Enough head-scratching was done in the boardroom before this decision was made I guess.
What I feel is finding spares would become more difficult for Kawa owners. Love them or hate them, but one one can't deny the sheer networking strength pf Bajaj across the length and breadth of the country.

Re: Kawasaki to break ties with Bajaj for sales & service, assembly to continue though.

Only in theory though. It's so difficult to find Pulsar 200 spares in Bombay/New Bombay city anyway.

It's almost like owning a Kawasaki Ninja 250/300R.

Bajaj dealers are constantly whining about how low their margins are, and how there's always an issue of supply of spares from the company.

But, if you want spares for a Bajaj Platina, spares are easy to find.

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