| Author | Message | ||
     Fasteddieb |
Brief History: I recently had my SECOND speedo sensor fail. On May 1, I sent Erik Buell a letter requesting his help in the matter. To date, that letter remains unanswered - I'm sure he's a busy guy, but some sort of reply from someone might have been nice. So, I sent the following letter to Buell: Friday, May 30, 2003 RE: Request for warranty reimbursement My 2003 Buell Firebolt, vin #4MZAX12J33340xxxx, has suffered two failures of it’s speedometer sensor. The first I had replaced under warranty at Earl Small’s HD/Buell in Marietta, GA. They did not use what is apparently an improved speedometer sensor which is now available, and it, too, failed. My Firebolt is kept at a house in N GA which is about two hours from the nearest dealers. To return the bike for a warranty repair is therefore a five-hour project, even assuming the dealer can do the repair while I wait. As such, I pulled the defective sensor, but was unable to get a dealer to exchange it for a new one under warranty without having the bike present. I went ahead and ordered one from a dealer, paying $59.06 total. This has been a LOT of effort, all generated by a defective part. My total direct cost has been the $59.06 stated, not charging for my time to remove and replace the sensor. I would like to be reimbursed this amount under the bike’s warranty. I have attached a letter I sent to Erik Buell about a month ago, hoping he could step in and save me a lot of effort. To date, I haven’t gotten a response. I have further attached copies of the receipts for the speedometer sensor and the $5 shipping charge. Please send the reimbursement check to: Edward Benson 2620 Brim Way Cooper City, FL 33026 Thanks in advance for your time and attention, Edward Benson I just received the following response:  Proper customer service, IMHO, might have included a cheerful refund, a letter of apology for my inconvenience, and maybe even a little gift. Instead, Ms. probably pleased the bean counters by saving HD maybe $30 (my guess at their cost of the part). I don't get angry (it's a really small thing in the overall scheme of things) but I AM dissappointed, and will always have this anecdote to relate when asked about Buell customer support (or lack thereof). Too bad - it would have been SO easy to do better. | ||
| Fasteddieb |
ARRRGGGHHH! Here (hopefully) is the letter:  | ||
| Att |
Please tell me that you are not surprised........ | ||
| Jssport |
Hey Blake,.... (not a flame) Read the last paragraph in that letter. ??? Did you see that ??? Buell Service personel calling themselves Harley-Davidson. They even put it on HD letterhead. Damn,... they got no respect and won't give credit where credit is due........ If the Buell Factory Service won't,... how can you expect anyone else to ?? | ||
| Fasteddieb |
My knee-jerk, gut-instinct response might be: Dear Ms. Brown, 1 )I don't care how clearly the Buell Limited Warranty states anything - I didn't even read it. I just assumed you'd want to stand by your product and help out a customer inconvenienced by a defective part, and not try to weasel out on a technicality, and 2) The "information" you've provided is, of course, of absolutely NO help to me. Then again, I probably need to take a deep breath and get on with my life. Let this be the biggest tragedy to befall me in 2003! | ||
| Darthane |
At least it was only a speedo sensor. I'm looking at a new front wheel/rotor (mucho dinero). Bryan | ||
| Ray_maines |
If it’s of any consolation to all of you, Triumph does their very level best not to ever do anything for anybody under warrantee. You should read some of the stories on the Triumph BBS I visit. Buell looks pretty good by comparison. If per chance there is any little technicality they can hide behind they will. “You say your speedometer is defective. Uummm, bummer about those after market, gell hand grips voiding the warrantee. Better luck next time, son. Don’t call us, we’ll call you” | ||
| Bykergeek |
One of the main reasons I switched from Triumph (2000 Speed Triple) to Buell (2003 XB9r) was Triumph's service and parts fulfillment. The Triumph CS would not return my calls, took forever to get parts/accessories (3-6 weeks). My dealer stopped carrying the Triumph line last yr out of frustration with them. The US distributor is 1 day away UPS ground. Buell rocks so far. edited by bykergeek on June 17, 2003 | ||
| M2me |
My gut-instinct was the same as Fasteddib's. But then I thought about it for awhile and I can see why they would not want to honor the warranty if you don't take the bike to an authorized dealer. They could start getting a lot of backyard mechanics replacing stuff that ain't broke. I can understand Fasteddieb's position and it would be nice to just say put a check for $60 in the mail. But what about the guy who replaces a cylinder head in his garage? Someboy else who replaces the rear shock in his driveway? Are they going to start honoring the warranty for everybody who works on their own bike? How would they know that the parts even needed to be replaced? I'm more disappointed that the dealer would not work with you. That would seem to be the best way of handling something like this. I can see why the mothership would not want to start mailing out checks to people who claim they have replaced a defective part. I'm not trying to say that Fasteddieb doesn't have a legitimate gripe but I can see the Buell Service Team's point too. | ||
| Crusty |
Buell Customer Service did more to help me out than every other motorcycle manufacturer / distributor combined. After Harley took over Customer Service, it went downhill, but it's still pretty impressive. Look in the Service section of this month's Cycle World to see how well Suzuki handles Customer Service. I don't know of any manufacturer that would reimburse someone for fixing their own bike. As M2me pointed out, can you imagine the legal insanity if they reimbursed one person and not another? The leeches,I mean lawyers, would have a feeding frenzy with the carcass of BMC. | ||
| Fasteddieb |
M2me & Crusty, Good points. I'm in business myself and will always try to see it from the other side as well. The dealers don't want to stick there necks out. I really assumed that Miami HD would work with me to get a new sensor in my hand somehow and worry about the paperwork later. I had the old one to give them, and I had bought the bike from them, so it seemed doable. But, I'm kind of a "by the-book" kind of guy, and it was apparently written firmly in their book not to touch any warranty issue without a bike in hand. I was was thinking about putting the broken one back in and, next time I was in for a recall or something, have them replace it and keep the one I bought as a spare. I just realized that I'm out of warranty now, so that's out. It ended up simply: is it worth a half-day or more to get this done by a dealer or just pay the damn $60 (I chose the latter) Still, if Customer Support had as their maxim "the customer is always right" and their mission was to keep the customer happy at all costs, a check in the mail should have been an option. I agree that it's reasonable for them to want to see the bike, and the can of worms opened by owners doing their own warranty work. Still, they must know the sensors are defective, and I'd think they'd want to get the improved version into owner's hands ASAP. Now, if THIS #@!$#% sensor fails, and $60 sensors become a recurring expense and aggravation, that will be something else entirely. All the major Japanese brands have dealers much closer to my N GA house, and there's no lack of exciting bikes available from them as well. | ||
| Hootowl |
Let the beating of the dead horse begin. You NEED to make a 5 volt regulator for your sensor, or it WILL blow again. See the KV for specifics. | ||
| Blake |
I am frustrated by the company's reply. But the final assessment, though it sucks, is just. The scenario is most frustrating because it involves a known defective part. You should be able to send in a defective part that is as simple as a speedo sensor and receive a replacement from your dealer without having to bring the bike in for service. I would not expect the company to reimburse full retail. Jss, Wrong topic. | ||
| Msetta |
Fasteddieb, I agree with M2me, with a decent relationship with the dealer, they really should have helped you out vs. having to go directly to Buell Customer Service. A speedo sensor is easy to replace, and with your offer to send them the defective one, that should solve the problem. While I agree that Buell could not send you the money for it, they could have offered to be a go-between you and the dealer, giving the dealer piece of mind in dealing with you. My 2 cents... Michael | ||
| Reepicheep |
Fasteddie... Send me a mailing address (my email is in my profile) and I will mail out a filter tomorrow afternoon ready to solder in place. If you are not set up to solder, I can figure something else out. Don't bake another one. Add the filter, ride the bike, and let it go. I would love to have a Buell as reliable as yours has been. BTW, the improved sensor is not *that* much improved, and does not address what I have seen to be the predominate failure mode. edited by reepicheep on June 18, 2003 | ||
| Fasteddieb |
Reepicheep, email on the way. You gotta love the web (and the people on it) | ||
| Jst |
Fasteddieb I can understand where you're coming from but I've also been on the flipside as well. I worked for a Dell authorized repair center. We have had business customers call us in to repair equipment that was under warranty only to have Dell deny the claims because the parts were removed from a non-warranted box and put inside the one with the warrantee. Guess who gets stuck with the cost of the parts? You know how easy it is to replaced that sensor? Say I'm a buddy of yours and I have a '99 Buell and my sensor crapped out. I say "Ed, How's about doing me a favor? I'll give you $10.00 to swap sensors with me and turn it in for a warrantee claim" From Buell's point of view the failed sensor could be from any bike and you're running you own business on the side. There's good customer service and there's good business. The two are not mutually exclusive but Buell or their representatives should have the right to remove the failed part from the bike. JT edited by jst on June 18, 2003 |
