| Author | Message | ||
     Anonymous |
OK Need some opinions. I took my wheels off the bike and delivered them to the local HD/Buell shop to have fresh rubber put on. Long story short they charged me $104 and managed to scratch BOTH wheels. Spoon marks mostly, but a nice chip in the rear. I'm trying to do the right thing here and not be an A$$, and they have offered me two options: 1) A new set of wheels at cost. OR 2) A $200 Gift card. Mind you the wheels were not perfect when I tool them in, A small scratch on the rear, ad dinged up the spokes on the front with the brake caliper, my own fault. So, What do ya think? I'd like the new wheels so I can set up a pair for the track, but I still don't have a warm fuzzy for being well taken care of here. $104 is a LOT of cash for swapping our rubber, and I'm only up $94 bucks and a tire change for my scratched wheels if I take the gift card. I'm thinking I should ask for more... | ||
| Thumper74 |
Why? If they give you new wheels, you're getting NEW wheels. Your wheels were not new when you took them in. It's not THAT much money, IRON PONY charges about $60 for both and they aren't a dealer. I say that the wheels if you can keep your OE ones, be happy and stop trying to get something for nothing. | ||
| Wolfridgerider |
1) A new set of wheels at cost. That isn't free.... | ||
| Dnchevyman |
whats the price difference between retail and cost on the wheels? they already had defects when you brought them in bud..... thats the only thing. if they were show room condition, id say ask for more. buuuuutttt.. they werent. so now all you have is another scratch on them... so id be happy as it is if i were you. take the 200 gift card.. youre up 94 dollars and spend that money on repowdercoating the wheels... | ||
| Xl1200r |
or touch them up. Why is this an anonymous post? | ||
| Thumper74 |
Whoops. Sorry, I need to work on my reading comprehension. I say ask them for wheels to make it right and be pleasant about it. | ||
| Miamiuly |
At least they are working with you and your wheels were not perfect to begin with. A little high for having the wheels brought in for sure but I think it is up to $45 per wheel off the bike around here at the jap bike dealers. Either option sounds kind of reasonable, of course the gift card costs you nothing and cost them probably half of face value while thm getting you the rims at cost costs them nothing. Maybe you could arrange to just get cost plus 10 or 15% on all your future parts and tires (not service.) That would be sweet, I miss my employee discounts from past shops, long ago. Maybe they have a preferred customer card (with discount rate on it) to make it official. Or have them set it in the computer with your account so that it applies the discount automtically no matter what parts guy you speak to. | ||
| Thumper74 |
I like the discount idea! Think of how much money you could potentially save if you perform all of your own work | ||
| Anonymous |
XL I'm staying Anoy so no one forms the wrong opinion of the Dealership, Last thing I wanted to do was smear a dealer who form the above posts is doing well. I know they won't do the discount thing, we've discussed it before. Sounds like the court of public opinion says the dealer is being Fair and Just... | ||
| Naustin |
$200 gift card is very fair. | ||
| Ratbuell |
If the dealer is willing to admit they damaged the wheels, you're ahead of the game. Most (unfortunately) don't, and that comes from endless lines of customers claiming incorrectly that "that scratch wasn't there when I brought it in" and hemming and hawing to get something for free after their drunk buddy dropped his bottle opener on it the night after it was serviced (not a stereotype - an actual story). If you're looking at absolute dollars, go for the wheels. You'll "save" more than the $200 gift card at cost versus retail on 2 wheels. One thing to consider is, did you carry in your own tires, or source them through the dealer who did the work? Many dealers now are adding surcharges to customer-carry parts, not only to cover the loss of profit from not selling the parts but for any possible liability down the road should the part (that the dealer put on but did not supply, thus did not have any control over) fail for some reason. High marks to you for posting as Anon and not flaming anyone. Sounds like both you and your dealer are keeping a level head about it. | ||
| Etennuly |
I to would take the gift card. I agree that if it were brand new and or show bike quality I would argue it further. If nothing bad had happened, you would have spent the $104, so with that in mind you are still getting $200 back. The same thing happened to my '05 City-X at the purchasing dealer on the first rear tire change. They replaced the rim no questions asked, but the bike was 6000 miles from new, it was spotless, and they promised me before hand that it could not happen on their new tire machine. So they let a rookie put it on. | ||
| Azxb9r |
If the damage is only cosmetic, take the gift card. I think they are being reasonable about the situation. | ||
| Jramsey |
Since you didn't buy the tires from them take the gift card and get some good tire irons and do them yourself in the future. | ||
| Bartimus |
Wow, I had the same thing happen here in Phoenix. When I pointed out the scratches to the service manager, he had both wheels pulled and re-painted. No charge to me. This was a set of nuclear blue wheels from my '98 S1W. That particular service department stood behind their work, good or bad. I appreciated that, and still my bring business there... | ||
| Microchop |
So you get new wheels at cost, and they scratch them the next time you get new rubber! Learn to accept the chips now, take the $200. Be happy that next time you won't have a reason to be peaved if they add another scratch. | ||
| Ironken |
On the rare occasion that I take any of my equipment in for service, I expect that it is returned in the same condition that it was brought in (plus repair) unless I'm otherwise advised. I had a NEW F-250 'stroke and needed the tires rotated. It had Weld wheels (in perfect condition). I asked the service advisor if they could do the job without damaging the wheels. He said yes. 3 wheels were scuffed. They bought me 3 wheels. I have a side business. I do the job that I say I will do. If there is a risk of damage, I advise my customer of that and let them make the call........ | ||
| Ducxl |
I once inquired to my Buell dealer as to why they charge $90.+ to mount/balance my wheels that i bring in. Their response to me was exactly: "in the event we damage a wheel we can replace it" It doesn't HAVE to be a wheel.If you bring in your "Ultra Classic" and they scratch the paint,you'd expect them to replace or paint the part...yes? | ||
| Metalstorm |
I'd be stoked with the $200. Though I probably wouldn't have made a big fuss to begin with. Back when my wheels (gold/amber) were mint I obsessed over keeping them in excellent condition. When they eventually got small scratches & chips from tire changing it was like a blessing. I no longer fret over my wheels. I just enjoy the ride. "They" say changing tires on powder coated wheels is challenging. I hear painted wheels are even more of a challenge. I wouldn't know, I've never tried my hand at tire changing but I know that if I did my own tires there would be many large & deep gouges instead of a couple tiny scratches & micro sized chips. Fortunately my current dealer is very cool. As long as I have the tires and the wheels are off the bike I can pop in whenever and they are much more careful than any other place I've been to. Though I understand completely that sh@#t happens and sometimes a small scratch or ding is unavoidable. They don't even charge me (technically speaking). They only ask that I donate $40 to the lunch fund. So I make my donation to the fund and slip $20 to the guy that does my wheels because he deserves a little extra for taking good care of me. | ||
| Bikertrash05 |
I would say gift card, but what is there to buy at a HD shop? I guess it could cover the already overpriced service. What is the price of the wheels? cost vs msrp? | ||
| Metalstorm |
That $200 would buy me enough oil, filters & gaskets for four or five services.  | ||
| Paulxb12r |
I would ask for no charge on the tire change + new rims at cost. As said before rims at cost don’t cost them any thing and you should not have to pay for work they F up. But that’s just me. | ||
| Deadduck |
I'd ask for the 200 dollar card and new rims at cost............or they could pay for some powder coat at the shop of your choice. Simply my .02 of course. that's why I prefer to scratch up my own rims. I figure I've saved enough in changing fees to pay for the powder on my rims. | ||
| Newfie_buell |
I'm with deadduck, Take the $200.00 gift card. Wheels depreciate and the $200.00 offer is good. | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
Look at it this way, you can have your wheels powderdoated any color you want for about $200-300. If you take the $200 gift card, you end up buying stuff that would have cost you cash. You can use the cash to have your wheels done in the color of your choice. I'd say they are being reasonable. The other option would be to take the deal on the wheels at cost and give yourself a second set of wheels. I have three sets and the extras make tire swaps very convenient. I can have my tires swapped out when convenient and have them waiting when I need new tires. Just a few minutes and I am ready to ride again. Otherwise, you have to remove them, swap tires, and reinstall them. That probably will completely eliminate a day of riding. I can swap out wheels in less than an hour any time I need to. Right now, I have a set of track tires on my spare set. It allows me to save those tires for the next track day without having to swap tires on and off the rims. Again, just a thought. | ||
| Deadduck |
and a good thought it is. I could use some extra rims. | ||
| Azxb9r |
That $200 would buy me enough oil, filters & gaskets for four or five services.  |
