Australia Help needed!

Ducati Forum

Help Support Ducati Forum:

J

jmtservices

Joined
Nov 11, 2013
Messages
5
Location
australia
Hey guys,

my name is steve and I am new to the forum and a first time Ducati owner. I purchased my 2013 1199 ABS in August from Ducati Melbourne. After 500 or so kms after taking delivery, i noticed the front right fork leaking. I contacted the service department to give them the heads up and they requested me to bring the bike in so they can replace the seal.

Due to work and the luck of weather in melbourne, I ended up not being able to make it until the 1000kms.

I notified the service boys again about the seal and they said they would sort it out. Later on, the service guy came up to me asking if I have removed the forks. I told him that i didnt and asked why, he was telling me that the forks has signs that they have been tampered with.

I am not mechanically minded in anything to do with cars or bikes so I was shocked to hear questions like that being asked.

He later showed showed me the marks around the top half of the fork where it goes thru the triple trees, how the right fork sits lower then the left and also showed me that the top adjusters where not where they should be.

Once the service was done, he told me that they will try to make a warranty claim to replace the forks.

After 3 weeks, i called them to touch base about whats going to happen and they said that warranty denied the claim because they have been played with.

This is my first ever brand new bike, and I have saved up to own this bike, and I cant believe the lack of customer service that the service bloke helped me with. Im not after a new set of forks, Id just love the issue rectified.

The question that I need help with is how can I prove that the I didnt touch the forks? Because this issue has made me not ride the bike and makes me want to sell it.

What do I do?


Thanks in advance, Steve
 
jmtservices said:
Hey guys,

my name is steve and I am new to the forum and a first time Ducati owner. I purchased my 2013 1199 ABS in August from Ducati Melbourne. After 500 or so kms after taking delivery, i noticed the front right fork leaking. I contacted the service department to give them the heads up and they requested me to bring the bike in so they can replace the seal.

Due to work and the luck of weather in melbourne, I ended up not being able to make it until the 1000kms.

I notified the service boys again about the seal and they said they would sort it out. Later on, the service guy came up to me asking if I have removed the forks. I told him that i didnt and asked why, he was telling me that the forks has signs that they have been tampered with.

I am not mechanically minded in anything to do with cars or bikes so I was shocked to hear questions like that being asked.

He later showed showed me the marks around the top half of the fork where it goes thru the triple trees, how the right fork sits lower then the left and also showed me that the top adjusters where not where they should be.

Once the service was done, he told me that they will try to make a warranty claim to replace the forks.

After 3 weeks, i called them to touch base about whats going to happen and they said that warranty denied the claim because they have been played with.

This is my first ever brand new bike, and I have saved up to own this bike, and I cant believe the lack of customer service that the service bloke helped me with. Im not after a new set of forks, Id just love the issue rectified.

The question that I need help with is how can I prove that the I didnt touch the forks? Because this issue has made me not ride the bike and makes me want to sell it.

What do I do?


Thanks in advance, Steve
Click to expand...

You don't .
Get them to prove that removing a fork from it's triple clamps is going to make a fork leg leak .
You don't need to prove .... they need to prove that you did . Which they can't .
Get them to prove that any marks were not there when they delivered the bike .
I can't stand this shop and your not the first to have issues with them .
 
If all else fails go see the guys at Motologic get a second opinion
These guys used to work there and are all too familiar with the failure of a service department have at Ducati Melbourne .
These guys will help and can do all your servicing and warranty work as well .
Good luck .
HOME
 
Thanks Wilkson for the quick response. I could not believe the attitude that the guy was giving me and pretty much accusing me of pulling the bike apart and the problem was my fault.
 
Where is the bike?
Did they indicate it was pulled apart by them?

Delivered bikes have all the bolts (most) marked. Surely that would provide some evidence it was / was not tampered with. You'd expect the dealer to have taken pictures of that.

I'd be asking for specific identifiers to indicate tampering and how that was related to Ducati in the claim process.

Other then a second opinion from moto, I'd be asking for input from the sales guys and indicate your seeing a solicitor.
 
The bike is in my garage and has been unridden for the last 2 weeks as I do not want to ride it with this problem. No they did not indicate that it was pulled apart by them. I do not know what evidence they provided to the warranty administrator.

Another thing that made me laugh, was when i told the service guy that im going to take it further, he said 'thats fine, but we are doing whats best for our store'

Clearly he was just making himself sound like an ....., no store wants to have any problems taken further. Period.
These are the things that they showed me to say that it has been tampered with by me.
The light marks on the forks, that would have been done by 'removing and replacing the fork'
2vaniow.jpg

The red indicators are different
aucgls.jpg

The height between this fork
3304vvb.jpg

And this one.
mkhp4i.jpg


Plus, they also said that they opened the fork and supposedly there is a marker inside that wasnt lined up properly.

I still cant believe how I should have to play with a 30k bike that is brand new and under warranty. If there was anything that i was not happy with, I would have brought the bike back, not waste my time doing it myself.
 
I dont think it should have to be replaced, I only came to the conclusion that the fork is leaking because the forks are not even and once fork will be getting more impact then the other, but they said that they want to replace it.
 
And if right. Technically someone like moto could repair it, and seek cost recovery from DCM.
So check in with the www above. And have the moto second opinion.
 
jmtservices said:
I dont think it should have to be replaced, I only came to the conclusion that the fork is leaking because the forks are not even and once fork will be getting more impact then the other, but they said that they want to replace it.
Click to expand...

The difference in fork height is bugger all . It wont cause a fork seal to leak .
If the fork is marked and you didn't do it get them to replace the forks .
It must have been done at pre delivery .
 
This incident sounds very familiar with an incident that I had with a dealership in Brisbane. My incident was over a coolant leak, which I had to take into the dealership five times before it was actually fixed. During one of the visits, they broke my left fairing, which they said they would replace under warranty. NF Importers came back and said that as it wasn't a manufacturing fault, they wouldn't replace the fairing. Next thing I know the dealership accused me of removing the fairing and breaking it myself! After having a heated disagreement I picked my bike up and went to refuel it and I noticed that the fuel tank was chipped, which it wasn't when I took it in. I went straight back and pointed out the chips to which they said they couldn't do anything about it.

At this point I had enough and wrote to the Office of Fair Trading, to which I got this reply:

Thank you for your recent complaint lodged with The Office of Fair Trading against (Ducati Dealership).

I am able to advise an enquiry into the matter did not provide sufficient evidence to substantiate a breach of legislation administered by the Office of Fair Trading for which we may take enforcement action. Accordingly, representations were made on your behalf to (Ducati Dealership) in an effort to resolve the matter.

(Dealership Manager), Dealer Principal of (Ducati Dealership), confirmed that the damaged fairing will be supplied and replaced at no cost to you and further arrangements will be made to repair paint chips to the motorcycles' fuel tank.

I hope this information is of assistance to you.

If you wish to discuss this matter please do not hesitate to contact me on xxxx xxxx Tuesdays, Thursdays or Friday afternoons.

Thank you for bringing this matter to our attention.

Sincerely

In the end, they replaced both my fairing and fuel tank. All I can recommend is that you go down the same path that I did and lodge a complaint with the Office of Fair Trading. After spending that much money on a bike, you don't deserve to be accused of doing something that you haven't done just so they can get out of fulfilling a warranty claim.
 
Last edited:
PanigaleS said:
This incident sounds very familiar with an incident that I had with a dealership in Brisbane. My incident was over a coolant leak, which I had to take into the dealership five times before it was actually fixed. During one of the visits, they broke my left fairing, which they said they would replace under warranty. NF Importers came back and said that as it wasn't a manufacturing fault, they wouldn't replace the fairing. Next thing I know the dealership accused me of removing the fairing and breaking it myself! After having a heated disagreement I picked my bike up and went to refuel it and I noticed that the fuel tank was chipped, which it wasn't when I took it in. I went straight back and pointed out the chips to which they said they couldn't do anything about it.

At this point I had enough and wrote to the Office of Fair Trading, to which I got this reply:

Thank you for your recent complaint lodged with The Office of Fair Trading against (Ducati Dealership).

I am able to advise an enquiry into the matter did not provide sufficient evidence to substantiate a breach of legislation administered by the Office of Fair Trading for which we may take enforcement action. Accordingly, representations were made on your behalf to (Ducati Dealership) in an effort to resolve the matter.

(Dealership Manager), Dealer Principal of (Ducati Dealership), confirmed that the damaged fairing will be supplied and replaced at no cost to you and further arrangements will be made to repair paint chips to the motorcycles' fuel tank.

I hope this information is of assistance to you.

If you wish to discuss this matter please do not hesitate to contact me on xxxx xxxx Tuesdays, Thursdays or Friday afternoons.

Thank you for bringing this matter to our attention.

Sincerely

In the end, they replaced both my fairing and fuel tank. All I can recommend is that you go down the same path that I did and lodge a complaint with the Office of Fair Trading. After spending that much money on a bike, you don't deserve to be accused of doing something that you haven't done just so they can get out of fulfilling a warranty claim.
Click to expand...


WOW that's pretty awesome! You did some leg work and it paid off. I had no idea we have this sort of protection from the state. Luckily I haven't had this sort of issue with mine but I learned something new! Thanks for the info
 
When are dealerships going to learn that it doesn't help if you bite the hand that is feeding you. Word gets around if you don't treat your customers right... It sucks.. I lucked out and have a great dealer! Sorry to hear your given the run around...
 
1199 dreamer said:
When are dealerships going to learn that it doesn't help if you bite the hand that is feeding you. Word gets around if you don't treat your customers right... It sucks.. I lucked out and have a great dealer! Sorry to hear your given the run around...
Click to expand...

Same I have a great one as well . The Ducati Melbourne service department have a reputation for being less than helpful.
 
Ducati and its importer get away with .... like this because bike owners allow them too by giving up the chase. Start using language like Australian Consumer Law under the 2010 Act, Consumer guarantees that the importer is obligated to and get a complaint lodged to run in parallel with your ongoing discussions. I'm going through the same crap on a lesser issue but be prepared to make a stand or else sit back and cop what they dish out.
 

Similar threads

B
Overwhelmed by all the tune options - Need help please
2 3
Replies
42
Views
653
bp_SFV4
bp_SFV4
S
DB Race Mirrors - Customer Support Excellence Story
Replies
3
Views
344
stgatev
S
M
Panigale v4s please help!!!
2
Replies
30
Views
544
bp_SFV4
bp_SFV4
V
Severe issues with 2023 Panigale V4R. Need help.
6 7 8
Replies
146
Views
7K
Aussie V2 Bayliss
A
K
2016 Panigale 1299, Should I Pull the Trigger or Pass on This One?
2 3
Replies
40
Views
1K
Kruz
K

Register CTA

Register on Ducati Forum! This sidebar will go away, and you will see fewer ads.

Recent Discussions

Recent Discussions

Back
Top