Question on how warranty work is done (or not)

[usedtobefast]

For many years I've been buying used bikes and doing most work on them myself ... occasionally taking them to non-dealers, like SCC for tires or a suspension place for revalve/refresh of shock/fork.

I've recently bought a few new motorcycles and have been reading about warranty work and the treatment people get at dealerships.

So, questions:

1. So if a new ~$18K motorcycle has a "can't drive it" issue after ~6 months from purchase, would the dealership treat that as any kind of priority to fix? Or would the service manager look at his schedule, and work it in say 7 days later?

2. If a bike has a error code ... and the dealer has to check systems, replace sensors, troubleshoot, etc. ... (again under warranty) ... I assume that is all zero cost to the bike owner, correct?


These are mostly just some concerns from reading some horror stories.


I had one issue that I could see being a bit on the fence of warranty or not, but the service dept was so crappy about it all it did not leave me with any kind of good feeling.

My issue ... bought new moto (brand new), 4 months later the battery is dead. I have a battery tender, put it on if I don't ride for ~2 weeks, same way I do my other 3 motos (which one has a 5 year old battery).

I stop by the dealer where I bought the bike, talk to the person at the service desk, they starting talking about first open slot in a bit over a week, and they would need to check out the charging system, test the battery, and it starting sounding like they were going to charge me for that. Then he started talking about battery warranties and pro-rated and it might pay for part of the battery, it depends, etc.

Wow, so this is the "service" department!

I mumbled something like "let me think about it" ... then went home and ordered a Shorai battery on Amazon ... problem solved.

Thank goodness it wasn't something really wrong. And I can see the battery thing being a bit odd ... a person could have let the bike sit for 4 months with no riding/charging and killed the battery ... how did they know I didn't do that ... and the battery warranty is from Yuasa and they aren't great, etc.

But anyway, wasn't a great feeling. I assume this is just normal?

 

[kuksul08]

1. Totally depends on the dealer. A good dealer will take care of the important cases first but you have to also consider there are other people waiting too.
2. Yes, 100% covered. Assuming they don't find a way to blame you for causing the issue.

 

[mototireguy]

It would be helpful if you can name the bike year/make/models in question and which issue with which bike.

Re: the newer bike with battery issue. Does the bike have an alarm?

 

[banshee01]

I dont believe a dealer makes as much money on warranty work vs just a normal customer so dont expect them to bump you ahead of anyone.

I have had 2 warranty claims on my ducati i owned. First time was in the dealer for 30 days for a cylinder rebuild due to a dropped valve

2nd time was in the dealer for maybe a week for a leaking rear shock replacement

Both times 0 cost to me unless your warranty has a deductible

 

[Johndicezx9]

Maybe a better question is when exactly was the bike prepped before you bought it and took delivery of it....

Did they prep it at the time they took delivery of it, and it sat in the showroom, or did they prep it when you actually picked it out and did the deal?

 

[jumph4x]

I have been buying used vehicles my entire life.
3 years ago I bought a brand new MK VII GTI.

I will not be buying a new car ever again. Same goes for bikes for me.
YMMV. I do all my own work and sometimes fabrication.

 

[ScottRNelson]

1. Totally depends on the dealer.

This.

Three of the four vehicles in my garage were purchased new. All from dealers that make it a top priority to have happy customers. They won't always move you to the front of the line to fix issues - which wouldn't be fair to other customers - but they can usually figure out what the issue is right away. The good ones, like Tri-Valley Moto in Livermore, will let you have a loaner bike while they're working on yours. My attitude with that was "hey, take as long as you want." :teeth

Battery issues are just a part of motorcycle ownership. I generally won't let a bike sit for more than two weeks without connecting it to a Battery Tender. And when I have battery issues more than twice with the same bike I'm shopping for a new battery. I quit trying to find cheap battery solutions and stick with Yuasa AGM batteries because I know they are always top quality.

 

[Aware]

It's spring. All the fair weather guys are out. Service depts are busy.

 

[Blankpage]

Its a bit like asking will a girlfriend love you forever.
Dealers are like people, they're all different.

 

[usedtobefast]

For the #1 & #2 question, I've been thinking of buying a new KTM 1290 or Ducati Multistrada ... reading online ... I know people with issues spew lots of stuff, but wow, some not good stories out there. Like bike at dealer for ~4 weeks (no loaner), then get it back, ride home & realize the issue hasn't been fixed, back to dealer for another ~4 weeks.

Stuff like that makes the older UglyStrada 1000S look attractive.

My battery thing was not really a big deal, but was just surprised they were going to charge me for checking it out. And that was January time frame. And with a 1.5 week wait in Jan, I'm sure riding season waits are painful.

For the few questions on my battery issue ...

The bike is all stock, it does have a chipped key, but no real alarm system. And no added electronics. Been fine for ~5 months with the Shorai.

I'm not sure how long the bike had been at the dealership. So not sure if they prepped it and it sat for a few months.

I'm not sure how car dealers do it. Issue with new car, drop it off that day, get a loaner, seems they look at it same day, fixed in 2-3 days, off you go. Guess just more volume, more mechanics, more similar problems, more parts in stock ... not sure.

 

[Whammy]

Ive never had one of those "bring in your warranty bike and the dealer lets it sit.
Id hope warranty claims would be a priority since its their reputation as a dealer would depend on good service.
However we have seen plenty of instances here on teh barfs where that isn't the case.
Depends on the reputation of the dealership.

 

[dravnx]

Always take forum complaints with a grain of salt. A person who has a negative experience with a dealer will complain to the world, leave negative reviews all over the place and post it on a bunch of forums. They feel wronged and it's human nature. Someone who has a positive experience will tell a couple of friends.
My business is service oriented and an unhappy customer will go to quite a bit of effort to leave bad reviews. It's much harder to get customers to leave positive reviews.
A battery is considered a wear item and is not usually replaced under warranty. You could have easily roached it with a cheap battery tender. Not saying you did but that's how the dealers and man'f view it.
My last 8 car/truck/motorcycles have all been bought new and I've never had an issue getting a warranty item covered promptly.

 

[davidji]

I dont believe a dealer makes as much money on warranty work vs just a normal customer so dont expect them to bump you ahead of anyone.

From what I read, it also varies by manufacturer, and some simply don't pay the dealers enough for it.

 

[NoTraffic]

I always assume warranty work will just cover the major functions of the bike. Any consumables are out of the question (battery, liquids, pads, chain, sprockets, spark plugs). If my bike cannot function with all these in working shape, it should be covered under warranty. That's why I buy everything used.

 

[radvas]

Did you buy the bike at the same dealer you took it for service? If yes, I'd expect a little better service than that. If no... they're going to put you at the back of the line. Warranty work is low margin, and they dealer's paying retail customers will always come first.

 

[nakedape]

1. Totally depends on the dealer. A good dealer will take care of the important cases first but you have to also consider there are other people waiting too.
2. Yes, 100% covered. Assuming they don't find a way to blame you for causing the issue.

This. I transferred an extended warranty for the MTS for $60 and thought "I hope I don't need this, they will find a way to fuck me" but they did the opposite, taking care of a known fault with 0 cost to me.

Dealer is key, go spend some money there before asking for anything. Or bundle a service. I had them rebuild the sliding windscreen failure for $300 that was "forward" of the disassembly the covered repair required.

Dealer is key. Totally depends on the dealer. Pay the dealer. Dealer hold all the cards. Redundant but important...

 

[afm199]

You are assuming the problem is fixed. If there is a charging system problem, it may take another four months to manifest. And the battery and charging system should be covered by warranty at four months. Absolutely.

You should return with the bike and have a serious discussion with the manager. They should run charging tests, or you should. If there is a problem, get it fixed under warranty.

 

[dmfdmf]

Typically motorcycles come with a 12 month warranty. This is to protect you against what engineers call "infant mortality" due to manufacturing or assembly defects. After that you are on your own. It is unlikely the battery is covered since it is considered a "wear" item plus batteries can be damaged by the rider leaving the headlights on a few times or using a bad trickle charger (even if YOU did not do this) so DIY battery replacement is the way to go.

I would follow up and do a full charging test yourself (both AC and DC output) to make sure you don't have a bad stator or regulator. If the test fails then take it in and let the dealer mess with it and "find" the bad (expensive) component and replace it under warranty. If you have to take it in and the bike did not originally come with a Shorai battery then be sure to swap it out with a suitable OEM replacement or they will blame the Shorai for taking out the regulator or stator (even though that is complete BS). Also, dealerships (car or moto) are notorious for doing all sorts of non-warranty repairs or service (and charging you) before they find the actual problem. You don't get your money back for the false diagnosis.

I've never had a new bike but when I bought my current bike with 3000 miles it still had a year left on the OEM extended warranty which I never transferred. I figured that after 3 years and 3000 miles it was beyond the early portion of the failure curve but also because I'd be very reluctant to let someone else work on my bike. Not to mention the hassles and typically long turn-around times with dealership service.

BTW, extended warranties (not just for motorcycles) are fat money for the manufacturer because you are essentially paying to cover the flat part of the failure curve where failure rate is low.

 

[usedtobefast]

My bigger concern is dropping like $20K on a new bike, and then being treated poorly if an issue pops up. (The Ducati or KTM 1290 thinking)

For my battery example, that was the same dealer where I had bought the bike.

I believe the idea was ... they would do an electrical check of everything, if any of it was bad, then warranty work would cover that at no charge to me ... but if that all checked out OK, then I would have to pay for that and we would do some pro-rated thing with the bad OEM battery.

I didn't get any pricing, but figure $250 for the check then they probably want $150 for a battery, so likely case is I'd be out $325 or so. (1/2 for the battery warranty, maybe) Then I'd have another crappy OEM battery.

So I bought a $145 ish Shorai battery. And agreed I need to break out the multimeter and do some testing ... but a new bike, that isn't known to have charging system issues, doubt that's the problem.

I love the idea of a new Multistrada, but I've been reading too many horror stories! And the dealers/Ducati don't seem to be the best to deal with when issues pop up.

Maybe I'll just keep my KTM 990 another 8 years!

 

[nakedape]

I love the idea of a new Multistrada, but I've been reading too many horror stories! And the dealers/Ducati don't seem to be the best to deal with when issues pop up.

Maybe I'll just keep my KTM 990 another 8 years!

Not sure where this comes from. The internet amplifies issues beyond what they are. Ducati isn't bulletproof suzuki bandit. But they are no longer a crapshoot. Especially bought new.

To reiterate, I bought a '15 MTS at a panic sale and the dude didn't even mention the warranty, its transferability, or start before purchase! Just rolled it off the truck and thanked me. Vroom.

If you are buying new don't sweat it. The MTS is truly great. Very few bikes are NOT in need of mods to be capable, fun and reliable. Do it. The dealers are people and if you are patient and hassle-free, so will your dealer experience be.