revtothelimit - motorbike forum

Bike dealers are certainly an odd breed.

I've just pulled MrsTaff's bike out of its storage bag and noticed the dealer logo on the numberplate, my first thought was 'thank fuck they shut down'. Despite buying quite a few bikes from them I was never really happy with the service that they offered and they always looked to make an extra couple of quid here there and everywhere.

I'd be going in to have a chat with the boss man and explain to him exactly why I'm taking my business elsewhere, he can take that any which way that he wants.

I worked for a while at a Kaw/Yam/Ducati dealership. Not sure what was going on behind the scenes, but one day a Ducati truck showed up & removed all the bikes & parts. Owner of the place didn't know they were coming...There was some drama...

Bigjawa wrote: Fri Jun 18, 2021 3:26 pm Hint?

Charlie's bois.

Skub wrote: Fri Jun 18, 2021 6:28 pm

Bigjawa wrote: Fri Jun 18, 2021 3:26 pm Hint?

Charlie's bois.

Agreed, shower of shite. I had problems with the GPZ500 I had off them, couldn't be arsed to sort the carbs under warranty so I had to do it myself.

Just remembered, mate was looking a 650GS and they were a load more expensive than Allan Jeffries, so we headed over to England, bought one, brought it back and then the locals refused to do the 1st service, BMW paid for the bike to go to a local independent instead. Then the bike developed hot starting problems and had to go to Charlie Blurt for a shitload of warranty work. I think BMW eventually took it back as unfixable.

ZRX61 wrote: Fri Jun 18, 2021 4:49 pm I worked for a while at a Kaw/Yam/Ducati dealership. Not sure what was going on behind the scenes, but one day a Ducati truck showed up & removed all the bikes & parts. Owner of the place didn't know they were coming...There was some drama...

Bloke got a Kwak franchise took off him in similar circumstances, fair enough but when a bloke who bought a bike off him took it to another dealer, they tried holding on to it as it had been sold and Big K hadn't been paid by the dealer or something like that. I think the police were called so they guy could get his bike back and it all get legal very fast.

I remember peering into the workshop of the shower Skub is talking about and seeing a sporty Ducati, maybe a 999, with no engine or swinger, leaning against the wall with its arse end propped up on an oil drum under the mudguard.

Bigjawa wrote: Fri Jun 18, 2021 6:56 pm Bloke got a Kwak franchise took off him in similar circumstances, fair enough but when a bloke who bought a bike off him took it to another dealer, they tried holding on to it as it had been sold and Big K hadn't been paid by the dealer or something like that. I think the police were called so they guy could get his bike back and it all get legal very fast.

I remember peering into the workshop of the shower Skub is talking about and seeing a sporty Ducati, maybe a 999, with no engine or swinger, leaning against the wall with its arse end propped up on an oil drum under the mudguard.

This was back when 916's were just released. Friend walked in there one Saturday morning & couldn't get the owner to put the fucking phone down to make a sale. No one else there got commission on bike sales & we weren't even allowed to talk bike sales.
After about 20 minutes he walked over to the owners desk, waved about $15,000 cash in his face & walked out the door. He picked up a new 916 later the same day from Pro Italia in LA.
There was another customer who used to drop by every few weeks to check when his Ducati mirror would show up. First time I spoke with the guy it had been on back order for over a year. He still hadn't got it 6 months later.

One dealer I had the misfortune of knowing was siphoning money off the dealership(s) to fund his sidecar racing. He was the manager, not the owner, and the first owner he stiffed had been muttering for ages that money was disappearing, but everyone thought it was just the owner being his usual arsey self. Dealer/manager then moved towns to manage another dealership and continued siphoning off cash to fund his racing.

One of the people who worked with him also had their suspicions and decided to watch him cashing up one night. This person hid themself so they had a clear view of the till, but the manager couldn't see them. He was counting out the notes and putting them into 2 equal piles, one for him, one for the dealership. He'd been doing this for years. God knows how much he had siphoned off.

This was the twat I bought my LC (and later my VFR) off. I was never notified about recalls etc, but I'm sure they were claimed and then flogged off on the side. Once he'd been given the heave ho things improved quite dramatically.

We had a business here that specialized in taking Z1's & the like on consignment for export to Europe & Japan. Dozens of people never saw any money or their bike again.

It's quite straight forward :
Assuming you have receipts for the deposit or an order form with T&C's on it - from the dealership.
Drop the Dealership General Manager a line - do not E mail - and sent it registered post - outline the basic problem and give them 7 days to reply.
on 8th day if still unsatisfied then ask for the deposit to be returned as per agreement
Allow 5 days for refund to get to you - cleared funds.
If this fails then instigate a charge back on the debit credit card u used - but tell them you're doing it first

Walk away and purchase elsewhere.

Keep copies of all correspondence for future reference. Ducati Uk ( and the MD ) are quite approachable but will initially refer u back to the dealer - you have to give them an opportunity to sort it out first. Again of this fails then go back to Ducati Uk and relay information. Technically they wont get officially involved - your sales contract / agreement is between you and the dealer but it won't fair well as they have several ''customer satisfaction'' targets to hit.

DO NOT post anything further on any social media site or mention the dealer further. It does not bode well with all parties and can be used against you.

Alas this situation is quite common in the bike industry ( and whole retail sector ) - sales staff do not ''sell'' these days and decent customer service is out of the window - but at the same time today's customers can be very hard work and ill informed. It's especially hard at the moment where demand for popular models is so high and buyers are queuing up - but certainly no excuse for poor service.

A friend of mine had arranged to test ride a certain brand new adventure bike ( that's just come on the market ...) this week. Time all sorted - but the bike was stinking and wouldn't initially start. He stayed for a bit then got fobbed off - they said ''ride it but don't turn it off''. He didn't want to risk it so walked. If they'd done their job properly, bike was mint / fueled up running etc and actually ''sold'' it to him they'd learnt he had £5 K in this pocket as a deposit and wanted to buy one that afternoon.

Hope u get it sorted

Cheers all for the feedback so far...

"As for buying - I have only ever bought from Ducati at On Yer Bike, or Forza Italia at Silverstone. FI ( if the still exist) were brilliant"

Forza closed a few years ago sadly... My old housemate used to work next door to them about 20 years ago, I bought my 748SP from them back in 2002, my housemate having told me what had just arrived next door the one day and that I needed to come check it out!

Shame Baines Racing don't sell new bikes, as Geoff's a real nice guy (and also a keen cyclist) and my mate worked for him for a number of years...

Anyway... I still haven't decided what to do yet... I put a deposit on back before Christmas speculatively to guarantee my place in the queue and a demo ride as soon as one was available. Here we are, 6 months later, and I've not had any correspondence is my main issue. If said dealer doesn't need to chase £20k sales or show some common decency to punters who've ponied up a deposit in advance, then it does say it all as many have you have pointed out...

Thing is, my local KTM dealer is shit too... They're 15 miles away rather than the Ducati dealer being 1 mile away, but they are just awful. The dealer I bought my KTM from is superb, but the problem is, I've had to use them far too many times annoyingly because KTM's electronics reputation precedes them... It's had to go back 3 times already to fix electrical gremlins, and that's a 160 mile round trip each time! I can deal with that once annually for a service, but it's got boring having to do it so regularly, especially as there's no way to make the journey interesting as it's just about all motorway!

Mostly I just want the test ride... I need to decide whether it's what I want or not. I'll be honest, I put a deposit down expecting it to be more of a Sports Touring bike like the previous Multistrada and my SuperDuke GT, but Ducati have definitely gone more down the Adventure bike route with it. That and apparently the fuel economy is MT-10 bad, and even with a 22L tank it barely manages 150 miles on a tank!

"I'd keep the KTM.

Seriously though a dealer having a shit reputation doesn't appear to impact on their sales much at all."

To be honest, when the KTM is working as it should, it's an incredible machine! It's the perfect blend of sensible tourer and bonkers super naked, and the right hand cruise control aside (fixed on the Gen2) I can't think of any way I'd really improve the riding experience... Well, maybe a slightly more comfortable seat but that's subjective anyway). The Gen2 is apparently a better bike (cruise now on the left) but I'm not sold on the looks or the extra cost you're paying for it to be honest. I'm intrigued to try a Gen3 when they come out later this year, as it looks like it will have a linkage driven rear shock and improved ergonomics, although I don't expect the looks to have been fixed sadly! 2yr warranty runs out on mine in 7 months though...

As for dealers with shit reputations still managing to sell bikes... It certainly doesn't hamper them at all... Their social media is full of bike sales on a daily basis!

"I worked for a while at a Kaw/Yam/Ducati dealership."

One not too far from me had their dealership pulled from under their feet a few years ago, literally overnight I'm told. Paved the way for my local dealership anyway!

"DO NOT post anything further on any social media site or mention the dealer further. It does not bode well with all parties and can be used against you."

Noted... Cheers.

What happened then ?