| Author | Message | ||
     Barker |
Long story short. Did some work to the bike. Its not running right. Just like it ran when I need a TPS reset with the Race ECM upgrade. So I call Bumpus Harley to get a TPS reset. They tell me +/- 3 weeks to look @ the bike. So I call Appleton Harley. They say they can do in a week. So I take in to appletons service dept. (45 miles, 90 round trip.) Week and one day later I get a call. "Its fixed! come and get it." I drive all the way up there. They say, "your air box has holes it it. Thats why it was running bad." I said "no way It has had holes in the air box for a while now and no problems." He said "It runs great! after I tape up the holes" So I take it for as spin with tape on my airbox and it runs like crap. Take it back and tell them its not fixed. And they need to reset the TPS. The "buell tech" said I cant to that with the Race ECM. I said Yes you can. then I left. 3 days later, today. They call and say the "buell tech" broke-off your idle adjustment cable. "YOU need to buy another one. and we dont have it in stock. So far we have got 3 hours in it." Which comes to $220 a broke $15 part they want me to buy and the bike still runs like crap. What should I do? Do I have the right to go up there and tell them to fix the part they broke and they pay for it? Do I want the "Buell tech" touching my bike again. Is it fair to ask them to give me the bike and the part and I pay them nothing? I am so pissed I need some advice. Before I do something stupid. | ||
| Court |
Something doesn't jive. . . . as we say in my business . . "JDLR". Appleton has a stellar reputation. If they screwed something up, I have a very difficult fathoming that they'd not quickly straighten the situation out. Have you spoken to them? I've yet to see one of these situations where doing "stupid" things helps a bit. I've yet to see one where communication doesn't resolve it. I'd be on the horn with Andy ASAP. Politely and concisely explain the serial order of events. Play to win. Court P.S. - why is this not posted in the Appleton HD/Buell sponsor area? | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
Don't know what to tell you. That's why I stay away from Appleton HD. At this point you are kinda stuck. You are in for the labor for sure. The part is a minor expense. I hate that they broke it and won't cover it, but the expense is minor. I have no problems with Bumpus regarding the 07 airbox, Race ECM, and Race Pipe. They give me no grief. I would give them the chance to do get it right, but I would try to negotiate with them on the labor. There is no reason it should take that long to to a TPS reset. One hour of labor is robbery. Paying their tech for training is a little extreme. You might email ChadHargis here on the board and see if he would be able to do a TPS and idle reset since he has the software. Prompt service that sucks is worse than good service you have to wait for. Avoid Appleton HD in the future. | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
Court, Different Appleton. Evidently they grow 'em dumb here in TN.  | ||
| Wolfridgerider |
Appleton TN. I had to look it up because I knew the one in WI would be hosing you like that. TPS rest = 15min. that is if the bike needs warmed up. | ||
| Barker |
Sorry its not Harley-Davidson/Buell Motorcycles of Appleton, Appleton, WI It is Appleton Harley-Davidson, Clarksville, TN Yes I have talked with them they want $220 to walk away from it. Or $15 + 220 + what ever else labor. I did not try to negotiate or talk with them I said, "Well I need to think about what I am going to do.I will call you back." P.S. they also "lost my seat" | ||
| Barker |
Emailed chad he said "come on over!" I replied to him, that I dont know where he is. He didn't respond so I took it to Appleton. | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
Impatience is a beyotch, my friend! | ||
| Ryker77 |
pay with a credit card, then file a chargeback. File a complaint with Buell, BBB, and Magistrate court. I highly doubt they actually spent 3 hours work on the bike. Or even three "book" hours. | ||
| Barker |
Clarification, They did not lose my seat. Quote from the service liaison: "You never had a seat on the bike when you brought it in." So I guess Im going to go up there and pay $220 for B.S. get the bike back still running like crap but with a broken idle adjustment cable and no seat. Please for the love of god dont do any business with these idiots. | ||
| Barker |
what is a chargeback? | ||
| Sshbsn |
At least they haven't reached the point where they are saying, "What bike?" I'd definitely get in touch with Buell! Court can probably help too, and his advice is very good: it took me years to learn that losing my temper only hurt myself. | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
Chargeback = Disputed credit card charge. A lot harder to do than you think. You dispute the charge with the credit card company, and the CC company acts as liason for the dispute. Option two would be to pay by check and then stop payment. You'll get into an ugly pissing match, but at least you won't have any money or finance charges on the hook. I say take your licks, get your bike back, and never go there again. Court might be your only hope of resolution beyond that. I just didn't get a good feeling from the tech folks when I was there. It was a combination of "we don't know much about Buells" and "we really only work on "real" bikes". | ||
| Reepicheep |
While Court can no doubt be of help... I would call Buell customer service *first*. I had issues with a local dealer a few years back (not F&S or Aces and Eights) and Buell CS was able to clear it up quickly while I was on the phone. It sure sounds foobar... | ||
| Djkaplan |
If I was Appleton in Wisonsin, I'd be pissed at Appleton in Tennessee It might be a good idea to edit the title of the thread. (Message edited by djkaplan on June 06, 2007) | ||
| Sshbsn |
I didn't mean to volunteer Court, although he seems to have "skills." But definitely call Buell! Maybe after that, if nothing is resolved, contact Court and see if he will take your case. Kind of like Perry Mason... | ||
| Daves |
Geesh, you got my attention! I was about ready to go fire up the Expedition and drive to Wisconsin to slap someone around! Glad to hear it WASN'T Buell of Appleton WI. Sorry to hear any dealer would treat a customer that way. | ||
| Glitch |
It might be a good idea to edit the title of the thread. Done | ||
| Ryker77 |
Pick a very BUSY Saturday morning. A cause a huge scene. Inform very customer in the store about your broken idle and lost seat. Do this as long as able. Next move is to pay up. But relocate across the street or just drive circles around the dealership with huge signs. At some point they will have to question is the lost sale of a 20k chrome couch worth 200 bucks in bogus labor charges. They know they did wrong. | ||
| Barker |
Well I thought about and with all the stress in my life right now I dont want get into a fight. I went up there talked with them and realized they were not going to be able to fix the bike or come down on the labor charge. I paid. $217.90 to get my idle adjustment cable broken and they found the seat that "I did not have on the bike when it came up" Still no TPS reset. I will buy and replace cable myself, and hopefully I can get in touch with chadhargis to reset the tps for me. I just want my bike running, I have missed 4 weeks of riding. I dont want to waste any more time with idiots. If I feel like it, I might ride up on weekends and hold up a sign "Dont buy a bike here, ask me why." but me riding my bike on the weekends sounds like more fun. Thanx 4 yall's advice. I need to stop stressing out and go out to my barn and get to work on the bike. Sorry that I did not clarify the stealership in question. | ||
| Sshbsn |
I'm sorry to hear it turned out costing you so much $$, but you're right, better to get on with life than to pursue a vendetta on your weekends. I'd still call Buell on them though... | ||
| Cowboy |
Next time you have dealings with a dealership that is not Buell friendly take a pocket recorder with you and get the employe to state his name and send a copy of the recording to Buell. I have made a couple X bosses let thier milk down with a tape recording. | ||
| Reepicheep |
Agreed... write it up clearly and objectively with as many names and details as possible, send it to Buell. Drop it in a mailbox, never go back to that store, and move on with your life. $200 is noise compared to ways you could be living your life. I think walking towards the light is a good decision. | ||
| Djkaplan |
No matter how good a dealership is, they are just not going to please everyone, all the time. I know your pain and made the same decision to just move on - it was the best decision I could have made. I let go of the whole vendetta thing, too. It just wasn't worth the effort. Plus, it would have kept me from enjoying the friendship of people associated with the dealership... which is more important in the long run. | ||
| Court |
Hahahahaha. . . welcome DaveS . . . I was waiting for that and had visions of pieces of Andy being scattered all over Cheeseville. Matt, drop me a note with your name and phone number. Totally solvable dude. I'll call and explain. Follow the light. Court | ||
| Court |
By the way . . . don't waste your time playing silly credit card games, stopping payments, making a scene or threatening to sue . . . Play to win, not get sucked in. Be as honest in your dealings as you expect others to be. | ||
| Chadhargis |
Matt, sorry about the non-response. I had to rebuild my computer and lost your message. Not intentional at all. I'm more than happy to help you get your TPS reset. I'm leaving town on Friday morning and won't be home until late Tuesday night. So if you can do it today or tomorrow, then give me a call. I emailed you my number. If not, it will have to wait until next Wednesday. Appleton's (TN) didn't impress me when I visited. I do my business with Bumpus. The owner, Tom Bumpus, is a Buell guy. I've done a couple of track days with him, and he's not just a pencil pusher. He's a real rider who will go above and beyond to help you. I remember joking with him about denying my warranty since he knows I do track days. He just laughed and said, "Hell, bring it in we'll fix it...unless you throw a rod or something."  The service manager there has been really helpful too. His name is Steve. | ||
| Buellshyter |
Sounds like the service department doesn't want to see you or any Buell. Total incompetence...gotta love they tried to say you rode it in there without a seat...lmao | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
Be as honest in your dealings as you expect others to be. Agreed. Part of that equation is understanding when you simply aren't dealing with a square shooter. Case in point. I bought an item off of ebay that was not as advertised. I emailed the seller. No response. I waited. No response. I only got a response from him when I contacted ebay fraud. Sometimes a third party is necessary because both sides are not interested in doing what is right and honest. It is at this point you must decide if it is worth the hassle to battle the scumbag or walk away only wiser. | ||
| Buellshyter |
I bought an item off of ebay that was not as advertised. It wasn't a carbon fiber part, was it? |
