| Author | Message | ||
     Midknyte |
"If you can not resolve this in a reasonable fashion with the dealer, maybe you should demo some of their HD's, rev them up to redline, shift without the clutch...and show up once or twice a month to do it to various bikes... not that it would help anything, but it would make me feel better if I thought I was being screwed." There is no evidence that your bike had been abused. SO not the right thing to do. And what kind of service would you expect to receive for your pride & joy when you need to come back and get anything at all done? "come on you laid down 10 grand and didn't look at the bike." This is ultimately where the problem lies - get over it and move on... | ||
| Imonabuss |
Be nice to the dealer. You did get a discounted price, and maybe he thought you knew about the mileage. Don't bet on it having been abused, and whatever you do, don't listen to R1Dyna, who is a flaming jerk. Be a reasonable guy. You took delivery, and signed paperwork that shows mileage on the bike. The dealer holds the cards, and I'll bet if you are nice to him, he'll be reasonable back. Walk in throwing a tantrum, and expect the worst back. | ||
| R1DynaSquid |
Thanks for the vote of confidence EB. Where did I ever say not to be reasonable? Dont bet on it being abused?? It was a demo, I have never seen a demo yet that wasnt flogged half to death. Kinda funny, the only time you come out of the woodwork is to attack me. Oh well, whatever floats your boat. | ||
| R1DynaSquid |
Oh yea, Be nice to the dealer? It's Bumpus & they have a long history of screwing Buell owners over. | ||
| Bluey |
My New bike said only 8 mi. on it It actually had 14!!! No biggy though....rides fantastic!! | ||
| Alstroker |
OK guys. Just got back from the dealer and heres the story. Turns out the guy who actually sold me the bike was the owner Scott Bumpus himself. They all knew what was going on. It is their standard business practice. When I appeared in the door the Notary Public, Michelle had that look in her eye like...(Oh no, he's back). I told her that this bike is not new. She said, "Yes it is new." I said, "Not with 137 miles on it." I told her that the bill of origin didn't match the mileage either (it said it had 69 miles). She said that was just her mistake. She tried to get rid of me by saying she couldn't get a hold of Scott and he would have to resolve this. I said, "This is going to be resolved today." She next put me off on their sales manager Chip. I told him the story and he said my bike was fine and that all of the buells and most of their harleys had been demoed under supervision. He didn't deny that the bike had that mileage, he just tried to make excuses for it. Sure enough, I checked the 4 remaining buells that were on the floor and they all had significant tire wear. He said he could not do anything without the owner Scott being there and suggested that I come back in Monday or leave the bike if I wasn't satisfied. I said, "Tell you what, I will leave the bike here and everything that you gave me and I will call the bank and make sure that they stop payment on the check." I was never told about this high mileage and the sales manager agreed that I should have been, but other than that they were completely unwilling to do any thing about it. He claimed at the price I paid, that reflected the mileage on the bike and that was actually below their cost. (BS!) Scott Bumpus is supposed to call Monday but frankly I hope he doesn't. The check payment will be stopped, they will have their bike and I will shop somewhere else. And for all you guys that think people should just suck it up and bend over and take it up the *** because their not swift enough to catch every crooked skeem going, then I say more power to you. As for me, I will not take it! I am going to call them on it. They are not going to take advantage of me! I was nice but firm the entire time. I didn't raise my voice but I talked straight. I brought a friend along as a witness and nothing got out of hand but they were unwilling to work with me. Hard lesson learned. | ||
| Wyckedflesh |
As in Bumpus H-D I take it... Al, sorry your having to go through this. Bumpus has been mentioned on this board in negative light quite often. | ||
| Mr_cuell |
Sounds like you handled a bummer of a situation as best as could be done. Good move on the cancelled check. I didn't realize that was an option in the situation and hopefully that will work out well. I am glad you just didn't accept it and always feel like you got deceived. | ||
| Dresden |
I bought my XB9R from Memphis Bumpus a year ago for $7500 fresh out of the crate. I was going to get a blue one, but it did not start, so I got a white one, and I have been happy. | ||
| Alstroker |
I wish I would have asked you guys about dealers first but it really didn't occur to me. I have heard the horror stories about some H-D dealers but I didn't realize how bad it was. IMO it was very dishonest what Bumpus pulled no matter how you look at it. I am not looking to get tricked into anything. I wanted a brand new bike. The price was what I was willing to pay for a brand new bike not a demo. By the way the first price he quoted me was almost $11,000; definitely not demo money. They knew what they were doing. This method of sales saves them money. The dealership doesn't have to purchase demo bikes this way. Demo bikes are hard to sell even at reduced prices so they just demo all of their bikes spreading the mileage around and then call them new. The unsuspected customer comes in and buys one never thinking that it has been ridden by 20 different people before. I have already got the stop payment on the check in motion. I called a friend of mine that works at my bank and she told me that I had every right to do what I did. There is a 3 day grace period on vehicles if you change your mind. She said it would be no problem to stop payment first thing Monday morning. She took down my info and said she would take care of it. I also talked to her husband (rides a harley). He said he wouldn't have stood for it either and that I did the right thing. His harley had 0.4 miles on it when he bought it. Anyone know of a good dealer in TN to deal with? I'm a little gun shy on the buell now. I really like the bikes. They seem great for real world riding in the twisties. I just don't know. | ||
| Odie |
Don't hate the bike because of the dealer. I had a bad experience and absolutely love the bike. Things worked out in the end. Still get the bike because once you ride it you'll be hooked!!!! | ||
| Reepicheep |
Just a (now barely relevant) data point... I have taken two unsupervised demo rides on XB's. Plenty of leans through the turns to scuff the tires, but I treated the bikes gently. Not just because I respect other peoples property and appreciate the chance to test drive a bike, but because I am not that familiar with the characteristic of the bike and don't want to be in over my head without realizing it. I am sure there are all sorts of horror stories about things witnessed on test rides, but probably far more that don't become stories because people ride nicely. If it were me and I was getting it, I would have looked closely for signs of abuse or damage, been happy to get a good deal and appreciated the fact that the dealer even lets people take test rides, and taken my cool new motorcycle home to enjoy for the next decade or so. If I was really worried about "bad breakin", I would have asked the dealer to give me something in writing that would warranty the bike against excessive oil consumption for the first 5000 miles of ownership. I would not worry about it at all if the policy of the dealer is that demo rides were supervised. | ||
| Deerhunter17 |
Tough call on the demo thing. I too took an XB12r on a demo ride before I bought one, and was tame in the same respect as reepicheep, I respect others property, and was not familiar at all with this machine. Yet there are those who could poss run the crap out of em. You made the right call for you Al. You are the one who laid down the $$, and your the one that will have to live w/ the deal. Don't want to start a (hopefully) long term relationship out on a sour note. BUT, the bikes are great, don't give up on one due to the lousy dealer | ||
| Outrider |
You made the right call for you That summarizes the issue very well. Others may have reacted differently but in the end it is whether or not you can live with the deal you negotiated. Too bad you didn't get a chance to meet with your salesman, the owner, to reopen negotiations before you slammed the door. As it was his deal, he was the only one that could have "made things right" for you. | ||
| Aa5ch |
I hope you don't regret stopping payment on the check before giving the dealership the opportunity to make an adjustment. A decision like that would have to some from pretty high up the food chain and couldn't be made on the spot. Given Bumpas' track record as reported on this and other forums, it doesn't seem likely that they would do much for you, but it would have been interesting to see how they responded. Now, you have pretty much poisoned the water with that dealership...or you could argue that they poisoned it by not being up front with the mileage disclosure.  I'm left wondering if you experienced buyer's remorse and used the mileage issue as a rationale for reversing your actions?  Like I mentioned earlier I paid MSRP and took possession of a "new" XB which had 60 plus miles on it, an abused rear tire, f*ckered suspension settings, and tires over-inflated 10 pounds....I was so dumb my primary concern was not getting a free tee shirt or cap. They shouldn't have given me the bike in that condition; however, I shouldn't have accepted it in that condition either.  I think the next time I make a bike purchase, I'm going to take my wife along to ensure that I don't let the details go overlooked because I am on an emotional high about the purchase.  Oh...I forgot the postscript... I enjoyed my Buell for several thousand miles before selling it to try something different. Other than replacing the rear tire a bit earlier than I thought was appropriate, I had no trouble with the bike. I had some squirrely handling issues that were resolved as a result of searching the BadWeb and finding some better suspension settings. (Message edited by aa5ch on August 09, 2004) | ||
| Glitch |
on an emotional high 'Bout sums up the whole ordeal. | ||
| Blublak |
Hmmm.. If you were closer, I'd say give Frederick Buell/h-d a call in Maryland. Those guys seem very positive and when I got my bike from 'em, it had like 1 mile on it. They only sell demos that are marked as such (they even had a really good deal on an 'S' that had been dropped on a demo, but that was after I'd gotten my 'R'. Hope you don't blame the brand for the dealer. There are good ones out there, and the bikes are awesome rides.. Later. | ||
| Prof_stack |
Hey Alstroker, I'm pretty sure a whole lot of people want to hear today's installment of your saga! Maybe the bad publicity thrown your dealers' way made for a good resolution? Quick comment on demo's: I ride a demo bike in the manner I would want someone else to ride mine. How's this for a demo?: I filled the XB12S tank after 50 miles. Dang thing didn't quite take a gallon! | ||
| Deerhunter17 |
Blublk, .. HD of Frederick?.. Thats where I bought my 12R this past June. Sales is great, but I'm not too thrilled w/ the service dept. My 12 had 50 miles on it when I purchased it, and we went thru the entire dealership searching for one w/ fewer to none, but it did'nt exist. But hey were ( Obviously ) up front about it, and I did have the choice to take it or not.... 2450 miles later, I'm still excited! Al, don't wait too long, .. you need to find a decent dealer and get on board...seat time cures the ills  | ||
| Alstroker |
Hey guys, here's an update on the saga. Scott Bumpus never called today. I figure he's not going to bother with it and just let it go. He hasn't lost anything. He's still got a bike to sell. I don't regret stopping payment at all. I was extremely worried that I was going to be stuck with a bike that I was unsure of. I don't think Bumpus was going to work with me. He made it clear when we made the deal that he would take no less than $10,000 for the bike. No matter how much he discounted it I would not have been happy with a machine that strangers had put 137 miles on, but that is just me. Some people would not have been bothered by that and that's ok. We all have to make our own choices. I personally think that the proper way for a dealer to conduct themselves is to provide designated demo bikes that are later sold as such with an appropriate discount. If they are upfront with people then that's fine. I still like the buell. It is a unique bike in design and function that fits me to a T. I am an engineer and fabricator/machinist by trade so I can really appreciate the engineering and accomplishment made with this machine. Every time I go into a Jap dealer I look around and also marvel at the technology but they are all the same with just minor differences. I am sure they are fun to ride but they just don't do anything for me and in the end that is why there are different brands of bikes. Everyone can choose what is best for them. | ||
| Kevinfromwebb |
Al, good luck on finding a dealer you can work with. They're out there, sounds like you just found the proverbal bad apple dealer... Don't give up on the Buells, I've got a 12R and really like the low end torque... Kevin | ||
| M1combat |
Talk to Daves in Appleton Wisconsin. I live in AZ and bought my 12R from him sight unseen. It had 3.4 miles on it and as far as I can tell the TPS and idle was set perfectly (I'm at 5000' elevation so I had to bump the idle up about 20-40 RPMs). The bike showed up in perfect condition shipped by a guy that does nothing but deliver bikes all over the country. Class "A" deal. Thanks again Dave. | ||
| Court |
I'm still dying to know how you got out of the place without knowing the bike had 137 miles on it. One of the ugliest and most difficult to resolved Buell Customer Service cases I have ever handled involved a "knowledgable buyer" (many would know his name and the Guggenheim hired him to maintain bikes in their possession) who bought a 1997 S3, thinking it was a 1998. Throughout the entire process of trying to get this guy happy, I am wondering how the heck never never noticed that the very things that attracted him to the 1998 (EFI) were not present and that the bike, title and about everything they laid in his hand said 1997. I think the dealer player a role in this and knew, when he came to get a "new Buell" that they were selling him a 0 miles, untitle NEW 1997. This, to me, was the intersection of cagey dealer and unaware buyer. Don't overlook details. Court (who was thirlled to have been elected to sort THAT mess out!) | ||
| Daves |
Alstroker, Could I interest you in a trip to Wisconsin? Give me a call I have a new(I'll check the miles!) Black 12R on the floor. Dave 1-866-757-1651 | ||
| Davefl |
Court, I may be wrong but every '98 I have seen has a carb but the '99 models have EFI. The seat,the dash,and the top end (pistons and heads) were the changes from '97 to '98. | ||
| Mr_cuell |
And Court - why was it a mess? Without knowing the situation, my first reaction is to think mess? No mess - you go to the guy, who is apparently well connected and able to do much to improve or smear the Buell name, and you say, "Mr. Customer, this transaction has not gone as you hoped - what we can we do to make it right?" and then you do what he wants, which was probably to take back the old bike and give him what he thought he was buying. Was it more complicated than that (thats a real question, not a leading, trying to be a wise-••• question) | ||
| Alstroker |
Court, I just simply didn't look at the odometer. You have to turn the key on to see the mileage. When the bike was running I was too busy listening to it to notice anything else. Believe me I have learned my lesson. Daves, Sounds tempting. I wish you were closer and I am sort of partial to racing red also. | ||
| Turnagain |
once you go | ||
| Alstroker |
Oh, your teasing me Turnagain! | ||
| BadS1 |
Al I live in Wisconsin and does Dave now,but at the time he was in waterloo Iowa.I bought my bike from him,stand up guy.(your welcome Dave)lolI'd say talk to dave and see if he can work out a deal and get that bike shipped to ya, and maybe he can make that bike turn red for ya,hell its just a plastic swap.  (Message edited by bads1 on August 10, 2004) |
