Warrenty claim but had to pay the labour costs

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  • Bugger
    Bugger
    11 years ago

    Went into a well know Melbourne ( Dandenong) dealer shit yesterday with dyna front engine mount issue,(heavy vibration at slow speeds and idle) bike is still under warrenty.

    I was told the mount had been replaced under warrenty but I would have to pay the 1 hour labour cost of $130 which was lowered to $124, the mount cost was $140

    This is a very common Dyna problem, why replace the part under warranty and charge the labour to the customer. Has anyone had this problem

    with warrenty claim before.

    If I had of known this before hand I would of just brought the mount and fitted it myself and not spend all day there wasting my time.

    Theres a service bulletin out about Dyna  front  engine mount vibration.

    I was told that HD Aust would not cover labour cost.

  • allde
    allde
    11 years ago

    ^ What Hmmm2 said, if it's under warranty, labour is covered under the warranty.

    If HD Aust won't help you take it further up the chain, I'm sure the ACCC would love to investigate this rip off.

  • Geoff3DMN
    Geoff3DMN
    11 years ago
    It doesn't legally matter that HD "won't cover labour cost" because the claim is from you and against the dealer. If you don't get anywhere with HD Australia then take the dealer to small claims, don't let the buggers get away with this sort of stuff or it'll start to happen more and more.
  • clarkie
    clarkie
    11 years ago

    fuck that,go back and demand your money back its warranty and it costs you nothing to rectify a warranty issue,have never had to pay for any warranty issue on bikes or cars before,that is bloody theft by deception in my book.

  • Bugger
    Bugger
    11 years ago

    Im going to ring up HD Aust, I think the dealer is double dipping, I went to HD web page last night it said there not taking emails.

  • 98superglide
    98superglide
    11 years ago
    Sounds more and more like the contempt with which Apple treat their customers. Ive gone through 2 macbooks and my ipad is a disgrace. Im doing warranty stuff at the minute, lost all holiday pics etc. there was a good article on this scenario the week in smh. Basically, apple had to extendend their warranty by a court order to reasonable period. They did this cos they had to. However....they did not inform any customers, and staff were told not to advertise or discuss with customers. Harley is getting so far away from its original customer market and ethos its crazy....i kow its all com,ercial desicions etc, but when does it stop? When does the average bloke cop a break? Bloody ridiculous.
  • beagle
    beagle
    11 years ago

    I'm thinking this may be the dealers doing. I've had several items replaced under warranty on my dyna and the dealer didn't ask for any labour costs. They also shaved the front motor mount, which is a correction for some vibe issues, when it was in for another job at no charge. I ended up buying my own front mount (yep $140) after the threads were slowly being stripped on the original, from being taken on and off a few times. Made a 5mm filler plate where the mount fits the frame, reinstalling it mounted to the frame first, using longer bolts, then fixing it to the motor side last and this cured a lot of the vibes. You can see clearly outta the rear view mirrors on idle. I was going to get rid of it at one stage from the vibes coming in at freeway speeds, and go back to something else, but I've had 9 HD's, 8 of them rubber mounts, over the past 20yrs and they sorta get into ya system a bit. The 80" and 88"motors were a bit less lumpy than the long stroke motors used today though.. With the right gear it's a half hour job, but on harley dealer time it'd take a good hour, by the time ya factor in going for a crap, having a coffee and scratching yer arse, but not necessarily in that order. I'd be talking the the dealer principal about your concern at the charge first, then copying him in on your formal complaint to HD if it isn't resolved. No point in getting emotional about it though, just state your concerns about it and ask if this is a dealer or moco policy. I would then hit them up for a credit against future service work in lieu of a refund, if all else fails. Keep it all in writing, along with any replies, so you have a documented case history should you lodge a small claim for it. Good luck....

  • Bugger
    Bugger
    11 years ago

    I have rang HD Aust for a explanation there getting back to me, when I don't know?

    I have rang the office of fear trading, they said to get back to them when I hear back form HD ( with in a reasonable time) if I don't hear from them to get back to the office of fair trading anyway.

    No point talking to the dealer I have done so. The service manager was present, I had to pay or they would hold my bike at ransome.

    I was the one that told them that the mount was touching the frame but they still had to do all the checks, so 1 hour labour $130 which is about the going rate for one hour of street sex.

    They fitted the new mount to the bike before they told me.

     They could of shaved the rubber mount as in the service bulletin M-1324, which Im glad its a new mount because the old one my of stretched

     I have the old mount, I asked to keep it.

    I have had problems with the mount bolts caming lose before with a top end vibration shortly after there dodgy first service.

    I had a warranty claim very early after getting the bike on a co2 sensor was replaced no questions asked or labour costs.

  • Fe883
    Fe883
    11 years ago

     By reading the story, I have a strange feeling the said Dealer is doing a dodgy.

    If Warranty was to prevail, there would be no labour charge whatsoever. There is a Bulletin & test/repair procedure in place.

    I deal with warranty claims on a daily basis (car trade) & in the event of a warranty claim being made the original part that is removed, should be tagged & kept for a (HD Std time) period of time then either destroyed or shipped back to the USA for inspection. Seeing it is a Bulletin then they would send batches back to see if the newer versions are still failing.

    The part should never go to the client (in a warranty claim).

    If they get Audited (which they will in due course) then they are missing the part & will have to cough up for it.

    I hope it goes well for you mate.

    Cheers.

  • Bugger
    Bugger
    11 years ago

    Unless this issue is resolved by HD Aust or the said dealer by the end of this week and I don't receive my money back I'll be putting it in the hands of the office of fair trading on Monday.

    Just noticed on the work shop invoice its only got the mount listed and not the labour cost, they gave me a option of which one I wanted to pay, both were in a few dollars of each other.

    I paid $124.75 with discounts the lesser option, the money dosent bother me but there scam dose.

    I smell a Rat

  • Wimbo
    Wimbo
    11 years ago
    There's a new law in Australia which I think is fuking bullshit but its a fact.
    Relative to how much you pay, you can say that you feel the bike should be good for five years or whatever you think is fair and that if not, the Importer should cough up the money to cover the problem under warranty.
    In other words, if its a major problem out of warranty you can take them to court and win.
  • Retroman
    Retroman
    11 years ago
    If the bike is under 2 years old then you have to pay NOTHING ! No if's buts or maybe's

    Over 2 years old then there's a grey area as big as the Pacific

    I had a warranty rear wheel bearing where I paid for the bearing ( $60 ) but the dealer did the install ( loads of $!!)

    Bike was 3 by then of course...
  • the_mongrel
    the_mongrel
    11 years ago

    Yep! 12 months is not the end, if the item that failed would be reasonably expected to last more than 12 months.

    Consumer protection is easy to get too. Fair Trading will look after you, and surprisingly, they are pretty quick.

     

    You know what surprises me though... How many people work in retail, and have NO IDEA of the law.  They try and stand firm, thinking their "No Refunds" policy is their right.  Know your rights and wave them with a big stick.

  • Bugger
    Bugger
    11 years ago

    The bike is just over 16 months old 24,000 klm, when I asked why HD warranty would not cover the labour the dealer said its wear and tear.

    I have no prove that it was HD warranty only what the dealer told me, theres no paper work with anything that said replaced under warranty.

    until I hear from HD Aust

     

    For all I know the dealers replaced the mount, got the mount money back out of me, the mechanic is on minimum wage, it didn't really cost them $130 in labour more like $30 but they used this scam to get there mount money back and its cost them zero.  

    My be there was No HD warranty claim made by the dealer.

    The mount would of only cost them around $50 to $80 add $30 labour = around $100 to $120 full recovery of cost. ( I was charged $124.75)

     

     

  • Bugger
    Bugger
    11 years ago

    I had a good look at the old mount today, its showing wear marks where the mount has been touching the frame probably for quiet sometime.

    There should be a 30" feeler gauge gap between the rubber mount and the motor mount frame.

    The good news is the bike has never run better with less vibs and better handling and feels more responsive.

    I also noticed the 2 bolt holes that go through the top of the mount are much larger due to the vibration of the bolts or the mount grinding the bolt holes larger making the engine sit lower on the mount which is causing the mount to fail.  (They didn't even look at it)

  • the_mongrel
    the_mongrel
    11 years ago
    Hi Bugger,

    Stay at them mate. This is not something you should have paid for.

    If it turns out that HD Aus back you and the dealer tried to scam you, they should be named and shamed so they don't get anyone else's money. The mods might not let you do it, but if you are proven to be scammed, PM me the dealer name so I know never to visit.

    Good luck mate.
    Cheers
    Mongrel
  • the_mongrel
    the_mongrel
    11 years ago
    Ahh... Valid point Allde. :)
  • Bugger
    Bugger
    11 years ago

    Looks like Its going to be sorted I had a meeting with the service manager on Friday, will know more by the end of the week.

  • mickjen
    mickjen
    11 years ago

    I just had some Warrenty work done on my Bike and did not have to pay for anything

  • CliveRand
    CliveRand
    11 years ago
    I have just had a bit of a run in with my dealer, my bike was less than 2 weeks old when I noticed paint coming off the fuel tank and it smelt like fuel was coming out somewhere (and it was) The dealer said No probs we will order a new one and replace it, early March. I was told 4 weeks for it to arrive, I was good with that. 6 weeks later I went to see how it went only to be told the tank needed to be sent back to the USA and they would send a new one, could be 6 to 8 weeks more before they would know what was going on, so I phoned Harley Australia, and they immediately called my dealer and spoke to the service manager, and when they asked what was going on hey told H-D Aust they had it under control and the tank was ordered last week. H-D Aust called me back and told me it will take 3 weeks for it to arrive, if not, let them know and they will arrange for it to be dealt with. Hope that sheds a bit of light on things for you, Oh and a bit of an extra thing after H-D Aust got in touch with the dealer the dealer informed me they had another tank they could put on the bike to keep me going, before the phone call they had nothing they could do for me, so as everyone here has said go get em you don't need this shit.
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