Royal Enfield Classic 500 – A Bitter Pill to Swallow?

Hi, I’m Nasir from Bangalore and this is to put forward my case of psychological stress and mental trauma faced by booking a Royal Enfield Classic 500.

 Background: I am a die-hard fan of Royal Enfiled motorcycles and proud owner of a Machismo 350. I have been associated with “Spirited stallions” from formative days, the riding club initiated by Royal Enfield Brand Store, Bangalore. I designed the club logo myself, at zero cost. I love to tour on my Machismo 350 and even the Royal Enfield official website has acknowledged the fact by publishing my photographs in the “Picture of the week” section, several times.

Case: I had been eagerly waiting for the launch of Classic 500 in India, since its introduction in the International market. After the launch, as soon as i could manage to arrange for the funds, i went ahead and booked a Classic 500 and put my machismo on sale. Thinking that I’ll be a proud owner of the Classic 500.

Facts:

• Booking Date: 8th of December 2009.
• Booking amount: Rs. 10,000.
• Booking for: Royal Enfield CLASSIC 500.
• Booked at: Royal Enfield Brand Store, Bangalore.
• On-Road Price(at the time of booking): Rs. 1,43,000. (+ – Rs.500)
• Promised delivery date: 8th of February, 2010.

Since the day of booking, i have been eagerly waiting for the bike and have been regularly following it up with the Brand Store. I got a letter from the Royal Enfiled Brand store (dated: 9th March 2010) stating that i would positively receive the bike by the 4th week of March. Today (23rd March, 2010) i went to the Brand store to enquire about the status of my booking and i was told that by March end / April beginning, i should be getting my Classic 500.

The Issue: Today, at Brand Store, i was also told that the Price of the Bike has increased as a result of the union budget, and i would have to pay the increased price for the bike, when it is delivered. Now, why should i pay the extra amount for no fault of mine? Or is it the price one has to pay for being passionate? I booked the bike with initial booking amount, and was given delivery date of 8th February, 2010. ( before the union budget) I was clear on my terms and it’s not my fault that Royal Enfield company did not deliver the bike on the promised delivery date, ( and still there is no concrete word of a delivery date), and in the mean while the new budget has increased the price of the bike, and finally i, the customer has to bear the extra cost.

Is this my fault? If this was only intimated during the time of booking I would have prepared myself for this. The last 3.5 months of waiting for the bike, without any realistic delivery date, has given me enough mental tension and trauma, and on top of that, now i am also expected to pay a much higher price of for the bike that i loved the most. I would request someone to look in to this matter, help me and take some appropriate action, before people like me get disappointed and loose the Passion towards the Royal Enfiled Motorcycles.
Still Waiting…

– Nasir