Watch that wait..

The waiting period. Three words that have become synonymous with vehicle bookings. While manufacturers like Mahindra & Royal Enfield struggle to keep up with their demand, cars like the Ford Fiesta struggle to create any demand at all. However, one thing to keep in mind while booking a car or bike is to know that you aren't dealing with the manufacturers directly. The term “authorized dealer” may have you thinking you’re safe from being taken for a ride, but unfortunately it is a very real possibility.

Let’s take a simple incident that took place not so long ago. A friend booked a Honda CBR 250r from the authorized dealer in Malad. The waiting period was a painful 5 months, but the wait seemed worth it. The bike was booked on the 8^th of August 2012, come the 10^th of January 2013, they still had no update. One visit to the showroom and the employee responds with an eye twitching reply. “Sir it may take another 4-5 months”. So why did this happen? Well the fact is that you never know when a showroom is going to go belly up. Dealers can back out of the business at any point because of some or the other reason, but won't actually pull down the shutters.

Waiting periods range from 3 months to over a year, but the simplest thing you can do is to check with every dealer you can. By that, I mean check with 4-5 dealers in your city, even if they are very far away. Showrooms are a mere phone call away and it may be wise to go beyond just finding out about the features of what could be your new car or bike. The same friend who after 5 months was told to wait for another 5 months, is now to receive his bike 20 days after booking it from somewhere else, so you can save yourself a lot of time & agony by being impatient and making sure that you aren't the only one waiting in a queue that doesn't exist.