Poor Bike & Poor Customer Service. Review on TVS Phoenix

This is Kumar from Chennai, I bought this bike six months ago from Ramkay Showroom, Velachery - Chennai. From day one I have been facing problems. The first and the foremost problem that showed up was handle bar shaking (felt like driving with wobbling wheels). The very next day I took the bike to Ramkay service and complained about the wobbling problem. The service contact person "Mr. Hameed" told that the problem cannot be solved before first service, and that I had to wait till first service.

After 2 weeks I took the bike for first sevice. During that period of two weeks, the wobbling problem had further developed and it was almost very difficult to drive the bike even at 40 Km/hr speed. The first service was done. It was only Oil change & water wash, and the problem was not attended at all. I checked with the same service contact person Mr. Hameed. He told that the problem was due to low air pressure in front tyre and that I should check the air pressure.

Immediately, I checked the air pressure at a nearby fuel station, It was 22 psi as far I know its OK. The next day, I contacted the service person "Mr. Hameed", he asked me to bring the bike to service center. When I took delivery that evening, I found that the wobbling had reduced a lot, but it was still there. The mechanic and the service contact person told that problem was due to the shape of the tyre, and that they had changed the tyre. Also, they told that the steering cone was adjusted, and the problem would be solved if I continue driving the bike for a week. I was not completely satisfied, but compromised temporarily.

The wobbling problem was not completely gone and the bike engine started giving vibrations. It was nightmare for me to take the bike to service center as I had to waste one full day. Second service time was due, and I took my bike to service center. The wobbling problem got amplified and it was as bad as before. In second service, I got in touch with "Mr. Janakiraman" another service contact person. I explained him about the persistent wobbling problem, and the new engine vibration problem.

When I took delivery, I got irritated from the behavior of Mr. Janakiraman. He repeated the same replies that I got from Mr.Hameed.  He went a step further and said that there was no wobbling at all and the engine vibrations are very common in TVS engines. I wrote to TVS customer care on 14-Jun-13. After a week I got a call from "Mr. Sathis." He introduced himself to be the area manager for TVS Chennai.

He asked me to bring the bike to service center. Also, he promised that the problem would be solved. I took the bike to same service center "Ramkay, Velachery - Chennai". After two days, I got a call from service center for taking delivery. When I went there, the service contact person Mr. Janakiraman accepted that the existence of problem, but I got frustrated when he said that they were not able to solve the wobbling issue. He forced me to take delivery of the bike.

I contacted Mr.Sathish ( area manager ) on his mobile, he said that he was busy and that he will get back soon. I made atleast 20 calls to his mobile. After several attempts I was able to contact him, he said that he will arrange for an inspection by a senior mechanic. But it took almost several weeks for that. I literally called him on daily basis. Finally one day, the so called senior mechanic called me and asked me to bring the bike to service center. He inspected the bike, and accepted the existence of problem.

He tried to fix the problem, but was not able to do so. He also mentioned that several customers are having wobbling, and it might ( he was not sure ) be an issue with the frame. I contacted the area manager - Mr.Sathis. First he tried to convince that these kinds of problems are quite common in TVS and that I should adjust living with that. But when I pressed for a solution to the problem, he said that I can get my bike replaced with another one.

I made up my mind for picking Apache 160 as replacement. I called Mr. Sathish on his mobile and informed him of my decision to get my bike replaced. He asked me to contact the show room where I bought the bike. I went to showroom and discussed this with the manager there. He was completely unaware of the issue, and said that getting replacement after six months cannot be done at any circumstances. I called the TVS customer care, and explained them of everything. TVS customer care should be the worst, they asked me to get in touch with the area manager - Mr Sathish.

I called him from my mobile, he was not picking the call for the past one month.  The customer care person made several insulting comments and also challenged that there is no superior to him and nothing can be done.

I regret my decision on buying this bike. My sincere advice to the forum readers: never buy this bike from TVS, especially from “Ramkay – Velachery Chennai”.