I, Aman Chitkara, purchased an Avenger 200CC from the Kirti Nagar, New Delhi outlet on June 28. The vehicle registration number is DL 6S AC 6375 and the chassis number of my vehicle is MD2DGJMZZSCC17616 and the engine number is JMGBSC16675.
I wish to register a complaint against Bagga Link Service Ltd and Bajaj Auto Ltd. for customer harassment, repeated negligence, misinformation, and substandard product quality on the basis of the following issues and encounters with the aforementioned companies.
Within two days of my purchase, the fuel tank cover on my bike had developed a crack and some scratches on the fuel tank itself were revealed on the following day. I suspect that these scratches on the fuel tank were glossed over initially by the polish applied, at the time of delivery. I had also conveyed the same to Ms. Juhi from the Vasant Vihar pro-biking outlet during my first feedback call, and she suggested that it would be best to consult Mr. Charan Singh (Service Engineer, Bagga Link) at the Karol Bagh service outlet. In addition to that, the bike also required certain adjustments with the gear and clutch for which I approached Mr. Charan Singh. He dismissed the scratches and the crack on the fuel tank cover as usage related issues, and denied any manufacturing defects or handling practices prior to delivery that could’ve caused the scratches or the crack. However, he adjusted the play of the clutch and the gear lever to abate that gear shifting problem temporarily.
I availed my first free service from the Kirti Nagar service outlet on July 19 after running a total of 512kms. The crack on the fuel tank cover had worsened since then, and bubbles had also appeared on it. When I saw that there were another four bikes at the service station which had a similar crack at the same position on the fuel tank cover, I approached Mr. Bhan (Service Engineer, Bagga Link) who in-turn had a word with Mr. Subramaniyam (GM Service, Bagga Link) who was also incidentally present there. I was told by Mr. Subramaniyam that the problem could indeed be with the manufacturing of the part, but they would confirm that and get back to me within one week when an engineer from Bajaj would be able to verify the same. I did not receive any calls from Mr. Bhan or Mr. Subramaniyam regarding this, and I myself had to approach Mr. Durgesh (Manager, Bajaj Pro-Biking) who got the fuel tank cover changed at the Karol Bagh outlet sometime in the last week of July.
On the evening of August 13 when I was on my way back from Gurgaon, the bike stalled after several startup attempts. I called Mr. Durgesh and he suggested me to wait for 5-10 min and restart the bike after that. Despite of these intermittent starts and stalls, I could not manage to run the bike for more than some 200-300mts. I eventually had to drag my bike some 5km from IIT gate till my home in Lodhi Road. I also registered a complaint with the customer care center the same evening and spoke to Mr. Subramaniyam on the following day who assured me that somebody from the Okhla service outlet would reach my place the following day to inspect and repair the bike. After several days of trying to contact Mr. Subramaniyam and the people at the Okhla service station, Mr. Rajeev, a service mechanic at the Okhla service station finally reached my place sometime in the third week of August. They drained the carburetor and reset the idling rpm and said told me that the problem had occurred because of some water or dust particles that had clogged the fuel line. The same problem occurred on August 23 when I was in Chitranjan Park. I approached a local mechanic who after thorough inspection told me that the problem was with the T-valve that must be replaced.
I took my bike to the Okhla service station on August 29 where they replaced the T-valve of the bike citing manufacturing defects. On the same day some abnormal sound from the front wheel also occurred, which I duly reported to the person in charge of my bike. Upon inspection, he told me that there could be a problem with a certain pin above the disk calipers in the disk brake assembly, or the disk itself could be warped. When I asked them to replace this part, I was told that since this would take quite a lot of time, I should get this fixed on the day of the bike’s second service. Upon further persuasion, they eventually agreed to fix the problem, and said that it could be resolved by putting some washers in the disk brake assembly that would prevent any fouling between the disk the suspect pin in the assembly. I refused to this proposition, and insisted upon replacement of the part. Eventually, they told me that the problem was fixed and it was a case of some dust and grime that was caught up in the assembly.
On my way back from Okhla, I heard some louder noises from the front wheel that were of a similar nature. On the following day, the problem had intensified, and unsure of the nature of the problem, I phoned Mr. Subramaniyam on the following day who told me that somebody from Bagga Link Karol Bagh would come to place to take my bike to the service station.
Again, after a wait of two to three days, my bike was finally taken to the Bajaj Service Station. After several days, I received a call from Mr. Rohtash, Service Engineer from the Karol Bagh service station who informed me that the bike had been completely and thoroughly inspected and it was ready for delivery. He told me that there was a problem with the bearing on the front wheel which had to be changed. As proof, I requested a letter from Bagga link stating the problems encountered, the parts replaced and that the bike now had been repaired completely. I was denied out-rightly by Mr. Subramaniyam that such a letter could not be furnished. Later on I was however provided with a customer satisfaction report which stated the parts which had been replaced. This letter however mentioned that the DGSE assembly had developed a nag, and there was no mention of the wheel bearing anywhere. The fuel tank cover which had developed a crack again had also been replaced, in addition to the rear fender and the speedometer cable. I was also told that Mr. Sachin (ASM Bajaj), Mr. Rohtash (Service Engineer, Bagga Link) and Mr. Subramaniyam had personally test driven and inspected the bike and no problems owing to manufacturing defects would occur in the bike again. I have proof for this assurance which I could produce upon request. I eventually received my bike and the customer satisfaction report on September 5 when the bike had run some 1246km.
On September 21 I took my bike to Karnal, which is some 150km away from Delhi. I noticed some noise from the drive chain, and just to avoid any untoward incident en’route Karnal, before leaving, I got my bike inspected and fixed by a mechanic at the Kirti Nagar service station who said that the problem was because of a lack in lubrication. On return, the same noise from the front wheel and a jarring noise from the drive chain were noticed. I somehow managed to return to Delhi, whereupon I revisited Mr. Subramaniyam on September 26. He delegated the bike to Mr. Bijendra (Service Engineer, Bagga Link) for further action. This time again, he took responsibility for the problem citing manufacturing defects and got the entire front wheel assembly including the disc, and the tire changed. I also reported the noise from the drive chain which he said had now been fixed.
During my visit to Karol Bagh on September 26, I asked Mr. Subramaniyam to replace my bike entirely or refund the full value as even after several attempts at fixing my bike, the same problems had resurfaced and my confidence in the bike had reached to an abysmal low. I was unsure if the bike could endure any long distance journeys in the future. I planned to take other journeys out of Delhi again, which was my main impetus towards buying this bike in favour of others. Mr. Subramaniyam said that a replacement wasn’t under his authority; however, he assured me a meeting with Mr. Gaurav Bagga on September 28 who could look into this matter.
On the 28th, I received no calls or revert from Mr. Subramaniyam or anybody else on his behalf. I visited the Karol Bagh service station again on Monday and met up with Mr. Durgesh and Mr. Sachin to talk about the replacement of my bike with my brother, Vishal Chitkara.
Upon this visit, the drive chain was readjusted and Mr. Durgesh said that this slack in the chain was the main reason for the noise. He also added that the drive chain should be adjusted every 500km, within which period it should not be required again. I was again assured that the bike is completely fit and no further near term maintenance should be needed. At this point, the bike had run for some 2062km.
At the time of writing this email, the noise from the drive chain has resurfaced, and a local mechanic has advised me to get the chain replaced entirely, contrary to Mr. Durgesh’s opinion that only some minor adjustments would be required every 500km.
The handle lock on the bike has also dislodged from its seat and must be reinserted every time I must lock the vehicle.
I’m highly disappointed with the quality of service provided to me at the authorized service centers and more importantly with the quality of products that have been fitted into my bike. I fail to understand why, even after repeated diagnosis by reputed engineers, management and mechanics alike, such problems resurface within every couple hundred kilometers. It has been just about 3 months since I purchased the bike, and I’ve visited Bajaj service stations on at least 8 separate occasions. It is even more appalling that there have been such varied diagnosis from different people at Bagga Link and Bajaj and that these parts repeatedly under-perform, and fail within their prescribed life time even after repeated assurances which have more often than not been hollow and inconsistent.
Date of Purchase: June 28 from Kirti Nagar.
I've also attached the satisfation vouchers give to me on these three separate occassions.
I demand immediate replacement of this bike or refund of the full value of the bike under the aforesaid circumstances.
At present the company, I'm in touch with Mr. Pingley (Service Director, Bajaj Auto) who denies all claims for replacement and has further refused to accept all previous instances as manufacturing defects and the says that all replacements previously made were for problems that were "subjective in nature". This however, is contradictory to the statement by Mr. Subramaniyam (GM Service, Bagga Link) who had accepted all that all defects originated during actual manufacturing.
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