| Author | Message | ||
     Cruisin |
It's a long story, but it's worth it. Back in June, the front cylinder on the R started seeping at the base. At first it was small, then one day there was oil all over the left side of the engine. I knew it needed the gasket replaced, as well as all the ones I'd have to take apart to get there. My garage is decent, but between work, teaching the MSF courses, and everything else, I really didn't have the time to tackle this big of a project. Then of course, as I'm cleaning up the oil I notice gunk all over the front caliper. Yup, right fork is leaking too. Great. Well, since it's about 5k miles overdue for the 10k service, I figured I'll get everything taken care of at once. Yeah, I could do most everything myself, but again, in the interest of saving time, I decided to have my dealership do it. Now, my dealership is 147 miles away. It's in another state. It's the closest one... I schedule it, I drive it over and drop it off. Gasket leak, fork leak, 10k service, new tire while they're at it, and run a power line for my handgrips, since the hands are in it. I was originally scheduled to leave it for two weeks. We decided to take a trip to Maine so I left it for three, picking it up on the way back. Fast forward to the Monday I pick it up. We're on our way back, we stop and pay for it (minor sticker shock, but I expected it). Now it's three hours later and we're home. Now there's oil leaking all over the right side of the engine (and the bike, my pants, etc). Oh, and now there's scratches on the rim from changing the tire too. Didn't notice those before. I also remember checking the mileage when I first picked it up. Seems odd that they had only put 5 miles on it. 3.2 miles were on the trip meter when I got it. Doesn't major engine work require a more thorough test ride??? Also, aren't the spark plugs supposed to be replaced at 10k? I know I called service to specify which NGK iridium spark plugs to use...guess they didn't pass the message on. So I call up and speak with the one person I know well, the sales manager. I e-mail her pictures with the basic requirement. I was polite, but firm that this needs to be made right. The bike needs to get picked up, fixed correctly, the rim replaced, and it returned to me. The next day she was in I get the e-mail asking for directions, they'll be picking it up the next day. She even offers up the candy red rims that are in stock instead (they pay for the rear, and I pay cost on the front, no labor charge). I decide to wait the week for the amber rim to match. I get the bike delivered to me - new rim, fixed right, cleaned up, and the power wire was even re-run neater with the end crimped on already. They installed the spark plugs and even gave me the difference because the power wire they ran did not cost an hour of labor. Things happen, techs get rushed. I understand why the mistakes were made. I'm not mad because the dealership did what they needed to do to make it right. They were apologetic and owned up to the issues. I've always recommended Meredith HD/Buell in Meredith NH to anyone I know. Heather, the sales manager, as well as most of the staff there, have always treated me well. I've helped out with demo days and genuinely enjoy having the customer/dealer relationship. I make sure to buy something every time I'm there, even if it's a hat or a shirt. I find out that the dealership is now sold to new owners. They are already letting go of staff. I don't all the details, but I do know that the sales manager and another manager are also let go. They didn't even give them a trial period to see how they were as employees. I'm hoping the new owners can replace them with staff that are just as good, but I think that's going to be a very difficult task. The crew that I had come to know were the reason I kept going back. | ||
| Just_ziptab |
Who was the Buell guy in parts? Me forgets. I liked that place. It was always a "destination" for a couple of hours during bike week. | ||
| Skiaddict |
+1 on Meredith HD. That's where I got my Uly and they've always treated me right. Just like you, I'm worried now with the new owners. It's a big HD dealer from Florida owned by the guy who financed the HD buy back from AMF. They don't have any other Buell dealerships as far as I know. Last time I was in there, there were no more Buell accessories...no t-shirts, no hats, nothin'. They usually have a pretty good selection. I talked to the guy that sold me my bike. He said he didn't see them discontinuing Buell, but he didn't sound convincing. I also overheard the service manager telling a kid that they may drop sleds as well. I don't mind change, but the jury's still out on whether this will be for the better or not. | ||
| Ducxl |
So drive a couple hours south to either Paramount or Precision(a sponsor here).I can attest to outstanding service.They ship me parts i haven't even ordered!! Save me all of the freebies too. A few months back there was a bueller from Minnesota(?) that was on a motorcycle trip to New Brunswick.Stranded near Meredith's Conway store,they got,basically,the finger,and lumped it with a broken isolator a few hours south to Danbury Buell where they actually got assistance. I heard Meredith Sucks | ||
| Cruisin |
Dave was the guy in parts - can't remember his last name. Had an S1 if I remember correctly, but it's been a while. They tend to move the Buell stuff around from time to time, so it's possible it was out of sight. I'm not sure about the Conway store, I've never been there, so I can't speak as to the staff there. I know it's officially a secondary retail store, so I'm not sure what they can do for service. As for Paramount or Precision - I'm already riding over two hours just to get there. It's over four to get to Precision. It looks like I may go back to Spitzies in NY. It's about two and a half hours away and the owner Dean has always taken pretty good care of me. | ||
| Just_ziptab |
Ahh! Dave King! |
