| Author | Message | ||
     Duffman |
A long time ago in a garage far, far away... Episode I: The Phantom Menace I purchased my 2003 Firebolt XB9R on June 21/04 from Barrie [Ontario, Canada} H-D. It was a demo with 650km on it. Since the factory warranty had expired, I [naively] purchased a two-year "Extended Service Plan". The first summer was problem free and I really grew to love the bike. The next summer, on July 19/05 the bike broke down on my way to work. The "Check Engine Light" came on, then the engine started to run roughly so I pulled off the street into a parking lot where the engine died and would not start. The bike had only 5581km. Episode II: Attack of the Clones From a restaurant payphone I called Barrie H-D to see if they could pick up my bike. Their driver was not available so I phoned Jacox H-D which was closer anyway. They offered to pick up my bike for $100 within the hour. My bike was with Jacox H-D from July 19/05 - August 6/05. Eventually Jacox H-D replaced the voltage regulator and stator. Apparently the parts were difficult to obtain and in the end I understand that they sourced parts from other bike(s). On August 4/05 I phoned (long distance) to Buell Customer Service who were sympathetic but referred me to Deeley H-D Canada. Deeley H-D Canada was sympathetic and asked me to FAX copies of the service invoices. I was upset and frustrated at the time so I did not immediately follow up with the requested information. The Extended Service Plan covered the repairs, less deductible, for $629.40. In a goodwill gesture, Jacox H-D reduced the pickup charge from $100 to $50. Unfortunately this only benefited the Extended Service Plan, as it provided reimbursement for pickup charges. Episode III: Revenge of the Sith After finally getting my bike back on the road August 6/05 I was dismayed to find that it now had an oil leak. After my complaints Jacox H-D agreed to cover the repair costs of $94.20.  On August 25/05 I stopped for gas on the way home from work where the bike almost failed to start. I made it across the street to my home where the bike died and would not restart. It had only 6074km. Episode IV: A New Hope The electrical problem seemed to be a reoccurrence so I phoned Barrie H-D to confirm they had the parts in stock. They said they had a stator and voltage regulator, which Jacox H-D had such difficulty in obtaining the previous month. This time I used CAA (AAA) to trailer the bike to Barrie H-D where I had bought the bike. The Barrie H-D service advisor was very sympathetic and promised to restore my faith in the bike. Unfortunately the electrical problem was difficult to track down and turned out to be just a pinched wire in a harness grounding out. The stator also had a loose connection arcing. In the end there were no parts replaced. Barrie H-D had my bike until September 10/05. In a goodwill gesture, Barrie H-D gave me a break on labour costs for a total bill of $345.00.  Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back Barrie H-D contacted the Extended Service Plan but was flatly refused coverage even though it was a subsequent breakdown for a previous repair. I returned to Jacox H-D with the expectation they would cover my service costs but was flatly refused. Jacox H-D stated they would have corrected the problem had I gone there instead of Barrie H-D and suggested Barrie H-D should not have taken so long to find the problem. (It is my layman's opinion that Jacox H-D *may* not have correctly diagnosed the root cause of the stator and voltage regulator failures in the first place.) I phoned the Extended Service Plan to explain my situation but they still refused coverage suggesting that Jacox H-D should be responsible. In the end, I found myself out $345.00 and without my bike for six weeks during one of the best summers on record here in Ontario, Canada. Episode VI: Return of the Jedi Over the winter I decided I would make a written appeal to Deeley H-D Canada to intervene and correct the situation. They immediately contacted me by phone and then arranged with Jacox H-D to goodwill the 8000km service on my bike. Jacox H-D completed the service on May 29/06. Jacox H-D promised they would look after my bike if I would continue getting it serviced there. It felt good to ride away from a H-D dealer without spending a cent. I now have 10,500km on the bike and it is running very well. My Firebolt and I are now getting along famously. Don't you just love a happy ending? |
