They could have killed me

[triple7]

Help guys, what should I do? I bought the R high bar kit with uly bar warmers for my 08 1125R. The instructions which came with picturers of cable rerouts before and after said to have a certfied tech do the work. After making an appointment with them 3 weeks in advance I took it to Beartooth Harley/Buell 120 miles from my house. I arrived at 9am when they opened the doors, they rolled my bike out 7 1/2 hours later at 430pm! They handed me a bill for $457.00. Then when I took the bike to roll it out the handle bars wouldnt turn all the way in either direction. I looked and the throttle cable had been bent in a 90 degree and my wires were stretched out. The cables had not been rerouted at all. I showed this to the guy at the service desk and he said, ya, dosent look right. I said didnt you guys follow the pics on the instructions? He said what pics? The ones I handed you. The ones laying on your desk. He said, oh, dont worry about it we will fix it right and you wont have to pay for the fix. I said are you kidding me. Now I have to drive 120 miles back home with no bike then back again to pick it up. He said Ill talk to the higher ups and see if we cant get you some gas. Am I wrong to be really really pissed? What if I would have rode it and found out about their mistake on my first hard turn or swerve. Or if the throttle would have stuck wide open on me. What do you guys think I should do? Or what would you have done? By the way I havent paid them yet either.

 

[firebolt020283]

I would be expecting to get it free after them having to redo it and you having to go back up there or at least at a highly discounted rate. Or they should be giving you some free something for wasting your time.

 

[Bolt]

I'd say this is time for them to take REALLY good care of you!
As straight& calm as you can look the boss man in the eye & explain the peril THEY put you in. In addition to your extra time/driving to&fro. It sounds like shody work-you been screwed so far,this is an opportunity for them to make it right!
Once they've responded with free fixing and a profuse amount of ass licking-call it good.
Don't immediately attack them unless it's called for-otherwise you give them an excuse to be ********& justify being uncooperative.

 

[triple7]

I called americansportbike.com and the mechanic said he was a slow mechanic and he could do that job in 3 hours maybe less. 7 1/2 hrs was rediculous and that the mechanic sounded incompetant. But now how do I trust my bike after they have had it? How do I know if things havent been damaged I cant see like electrical wires ect? They were suposed to call me when they fixed it right. No call yet but I'm wondering what the responce will be.

 

[upthemaiden]

Call to the better business bureau? That's messed up. I've had way more than enough trouble from the last place I bought a new bike. It was more than enough to make me never want to buy a new bike again. I'd rather know it was my job to fix something if something went wrong, instead of relying on someone else. The first time I dropped my bike off at the last dealership for a routine warranty problem, I showed up 1 day after they told me I could pick it up to give them the extra time. When I showed up that hadn't even touched the oil leak on the engine, and my messed up footpeg was just laying on their workbench. After that I never dropped my bike off again. I would make an appointment, ride my bike there, and sit in their showroom until they fixed it. It was a BMW/european dealership, so there was more than enough expensive BMWs and Ducatis for me to touch and play with just to drive them a little crazy on the side. They hated me and I figured me being in their high class show room would be enough motivation for them to hurry up what they were doing to get my out of there. Who needs an angry customer standing outfront of their shop trash talking the dealership/bikes to potential customers??

 

[Thaloc]

Man that really sucks. Your in a ****** situation here, as far as my experience has been with HD Mechanics in general, most dont have alot of respect for the Buell brand and its almost a waste of their time if they aren't working on a $40K HD. There are exceptions among them but...

Id say be straight up with your concerns to the General Manager of the store. Most are set up like GM>Shop Manager>Techs... Instead of routing your concerns thru the techs/shop managers and letting them put their little spin on it.

Good luck man!!!

 

[dave_xb12r]

I would have them take everything back off and not pay them a dime. That is total BS.

 

[Buellysses]

I'm not a lawyer, but I don't think there is really anything you can do besides have them repair their work free of charge. It's not like you can sue them because a product they sold you (their "service" is a product) was defective, and had the potential to cause harm. Had you fallen over or had been injured because of it then you may have had a case.

Also, since there was no estimate given you really have no room to bitch about the price, and really they don't HAVE to do anything to reimburse you for your wasted time. Now, a company that was concerned about their customer SHOULD do something about it. I'd say paying for your gas would be a reasonable offer.

As others have said... **** HD. =)

 

[konarider94]

it was a mistake that you noticed right away so its not like it was that huge of a danger. the 120 mile trip is an inconvenience for sure, i dont think the situation warrants a freak out or call to the BBB. If they are unwilling to fix their mistake then i would be angry but the fact of the matter is, is that mistakes happen. They happen in every industry and in every aspect of work, whether it is accounting, service jobs, manufacturing, automotive repair, etc. Its all about how you handle a screw up, because they can and do happen.

i would ask them to make it right or return it to the way it was. in addition i would request a discount for the trip or request that it be delivered to my house. And unless its riding season where you live, the extra time is really not a big deal if you think about it.

 

[Midnight82]

I'm kinda with Buellysses here.
Not a ton they can do but appologize.

I think you could go the Dave_XB12r route and ask them to undo the work they did and get a refund as leverage. Then they'll probably just come back and offer you a % back.

(that's how I got my dyno and tuning for 75% off when I raised a stink about other botched service)

 

[RT Performance]

ok here in michigan any repair over 50 dollars you must give the customer a written estimate.
did they tell you the labor was going to be 475?
that seems unreasonable they have a labor guide for accessory just like repairs i wouldn't pay a Pennie more than what it say's it takes.
I would also contact the general manger express you concerns and question the bill(calmly)
if he is not doing what you expect then contact bbb and your state licensing board. ONLY IF THEY ARENT TRYING TO HELP YOU.
The state can make the shops life miserable even if they didn't do anything wrong been through it on the other side a few times and it sucks.
everything i see is 2 to 3 hours

 

[triple7]

So the fact that they KNOWINGLY brought my bike back to me in a manner that could cause bodily harm due directly to the work they preformed and failed to inform me of such, seems deceitful and grossly negligent. We are not talking about putting in the wrong air filter. The fact that this could have gotten me hurt or worse and they didnt have the slightest care or concern PISSES me off!! Its like taking your car in to get the brakes worked on and they forgot to tell you they cut the brake lines before you took off. In my opinion not being able to turn the bars all the way or a kinked throttle cable is the same thing.

 

[triple7]

Do you think they would take my new parts off and put my old parts back on (with care) for (free?) Oh ya, they stood there and looked me in the eye and PROMISED me they would call me today to let me know what they were gonna do about my bike which they still have. No surprise--- no call today!!!

 

[konarider94]

you really think they knowingly screwed up your bike? mechanic 1 said "yea we really screwed up his bike." mechanic 2 said "yea dont worry about it though because it will kill him the first time he rides." you clearly have your mind made up so idk why your are asking the forum what you should do. idk maybe you should burn the place down because mistakes are unacceptable. people should be perfect all the time.

 

[browland]

Come on triple is venting... had it been my bike I would be t-totally pissed as well... and no we can't be perfect or perfect all the time, but as a business you can own up to your mistakes. As well as give 110% to make sure not only that you correct it in a timely manner, but ensure your customer that you are sorry. You do as much as possible to ovoid mistakes (especially when your work has a bearing on someones safety) and keep trust in a client to ensure future business. Triple if I were you with this treatment I would raise hell.

 

[triple7]

Kona, do I think they were out to intentionally hurt me - no. Do I think they intentionally mean spirited damaged my bike - no. Do I think after they were finished with a project they didnt understand in the first place, and obviously knew they did it wrong when they rolled it out, but were either to lazy or just didnt give a crap cuz it was a Buell to fix it, hopeful I would just go away quietly and fix it myself? YES!!! Do I think their lazyness, (not reading the instructions) who cares about this one Buell rider attitude (they havent called me back yet like they promised) incompetance (not taking care of a obvious problem when they rolled it out) could have caused be bodily injury? YES!!! Yes I understand it is not a perfect world. My wife acidentally bleached my new Buell shirt - Im out a shirt, you accidentally put diesel in your gas engine - your engine dosent run, someone accidentally makes the controls on a motor vehicle faulty - people get hurt or worse. See the difference? If you were flying to the states from the islands, would you want these kinds of guys with these kinds of attitudes working on the controls of your plane? How would you feel if it would have been your loved ones bike and they would have gotton hurt? - (oh well, nobodys perfect)

 

[faseljd]

One point that would concern me is would you really want that same mechanic to ever touch your bike again? I know I sure as hell would make sure that guy never touched my bike again.

 

[Thaloc]

I would say that giving your bike back to you in any shape that could cause it to crash is not right. I doubt they did it on purpose but, they should for sure make it right by you.

I mean, I remember getting a flat on one of my low pro tires on my car, i took it in to see if it could be repaired. They tried to plug the hole with silicon, and it still had a slow leak, and they were seriously not going to let me back on the road on that tire, cause if it blew out omw home i could sue the shop I just took it too for repairs.

Same think when I took my Buell in to get the exhaust replaced due to a crack. My rear brake pads were thin and they didnt want to let my bike leave the shop for the same reason. Maybe its only here in WA state, but shop are held accountable for the vehicles that leave them.

 

[triple7]

RESOLVED, YEA!!! See they could have killed me - resolved thread