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New Haven Power Sports Did not warranty my cracked exhaust pipe after purchasing my bike within 30 days New Haven Connecticut
In May of 2005 I purchased a 2005 GSXR600 from New Haven Power Sports in New Haven, CT. Approximately a month after I purchased the bike with about 800 miles on it, my chrome exhaust pipe started to crack without any discoloration.
I brought the bike back to New Haven Power Sports and explained the situation to the service manager. He stated that I needed to make an appointment to drop off the bike so a Suzuki representative could come down and look at the chrome pipe, which I did. The following day I called to see what they discovered and what the outcome was. The service manager stated the Suzuki rep had cancelled and I would need to reschedule my appointment and drop the bike off at another time, which I did. I picked up my bike and made another appointment as directed. I dropped off the bike once again, and again called a day later to find out what the outcome was and again I'm told the Suzuki rep had cancelled.
Once again, I picked my bike back up and made a 3rd attempt for another appointment and dropped off the bike. This time I went there in person to see what had happened. Once again they told me the same story about the Suzuki rep canceling the appointment. Every three weeks I would drop my bike off to be inspected and each time the result was the same. I was being told the Suzuki representative had cancelled. At this point, with my patience running very thin so I got the owner involved and reminded him about my cracked exhaust pipe. Since he was familiar with my situation from the beginning, he knew all about it. He told me that he was on my side and it wasn't his fault but rather Suzuki kept failing to make their appointments.
He told me to call Suzuki customer care center and explain what was going on with my exhaust pipe. He also stated that when Suzuki would contact him to discuss my bike, he was going to confirm that my exhaust pipe had in fact cracked and without any discoloration.
Eventually the Suzuki customer care rep called me and said they had spoken with New Haven Power Sports and they (New Haven Power Sports) had indicated that the pipe was not cracked but rather it was discolored. Obviously a contradiction of what the owner himself had told me. At that point, I was very upset and called the owner of New Haven Power Sports. Having been a good customer of the store, I felt I was owed an explanation. He must have finally become fed up with the situation as he told me; how am I going to send this pipe to Suzuki when it's discolored and not cracked. They are not going to warranty it.
I advised him that the pipe was in fact discolored at this point but ONLY because I had continued to ride the bike with the crack since they kept canceling appointments on me. Of course the chrome pipe would be discolored at this point. I had put several thousand miles on it while waiting for New Haven Power Sports to address the situation. Had they addressed the problem up front as I was told they were going to do, the pipe would not have been discolored. The pipe eventually became discolored but only where the chrome was cracked from the beginning. That crack (as originally reported) made that spot the weakest point and that's where it started to discolor.
While I was on the phone with the Suzuki customer care rep, I was told that Suzuki NEVER sends out anyone to inspect items under warranty but rather rely on the shop the item was purchased from. In the rep's words; the dealer is our eyes and ears and Suzuki will replace or repair an item under warranty if the dealer indicates they should. New Haven Power Sports had lied to me all along about the Suzuki rep coming down and did nothing about addressing the issue. At this point, it's safe to assume they felt I would just go away.
I feel it is my duty to make others aware of this gross lack of customer service and hope I can prevent others from having to deal with the same situation. Had I been dealing with a reputable organization all along, the chrome exhaust pipe would have been replaced right away as it was clearly cracked and not discolored, as I had pointed out in the beginning. Instead, I was lied to, given excuse after excuse, and eventually am now riding a new bike with a damaged chrome pipe due to New Haven Power Sports.
To make matters even worse, I purchased a $499.00 Under Tail for the same bike over the summer. When the light came in, the option of lights I had selected was wrong. I have been waiting since last summer for the light they supposedly ordered and I had paid for but never received.
There's more!! I had purchased a $500.00 Suzuki GSXR Shoe Helmet from the same outfit because I was told they were giving me a great deal since I was such a good customer. Granted, I didn't do my homework here but shortly after buying the helmet, I found the same one at another shop in Wallingford, CT for $250. Some deal they give their good customers!!
Do yourselves a favor and avoid New Haven Power Sports. There are many other shops out there that care about their customers and provide the same (or better) products at a lower price and WITH the customer service to support the sale. I've learned my lesson!! I hope you don't make the same mistake I did!!
Dennis
naugatuck, Connecticut
U.S.A.
1 Updates & Rebuttals
Jodi
New Haven,Connecticut,
U.S.A.
This Motorcycle is Warranteed by American Suzuki Motor Corp. USA for ONE YEAR
#2UPDATE Employee
Thu, March 02, 2006
On April 6,2005 Dennis Viveiros purchased a 2005 Suzuki GSX-R600 from New Haven Powersports. Approximately two months later he complained of a cosmetic crack on the underside of his exhaust. We did not see any defect but tod him we would show it to our Suzuki Service Rep. out of good customer service. The Suzuki Service Rep. did cancel the appointment and asked us our opinion on the pipe. Dennis told us to tell Suzuki it was cracked. While we like to keep good customer relations, we told him we couldn't LIE to Suzuki because if they wanted the part and found no problem existed, the cost would go back to us.
As an option, we told Mr. Viveiros to call Suzuki directly. Suzuki customer service replied that this was not a defect in workmanship as stated in their warranty policy. The motorcycle has been crashed and the pipe is discolored and still shows no sign of a crack.
In the last 35 years, we have sold over 20,000 motorcycles to happy customers, unfortunately we have not been able to appease Mr. Viveiros. He has thus stated that he would make our lives miserable over this problem. He even went to the trouble of posting signs on our street saying we ripped people off at our store, which we feel is defamation of character.
A Suzuki motorcycle 12 month factory warranty covers each Suzuki to be free from defects in materials and factory workmanship, subject to exclusions, obligations and limitations. If an eligable defect is found, the needed repairs will be performed at no charge to the customer for parts or labor. The warranty does not cover damage to the vehicle that is not due to defect, such as damage caused by accidents, carelessness, misuse, abuse, unreasonable or improper vehicle operation, such as intentional burning or spinning of the rear tire, shifting gears w/o use of the clutch, operation of the vehicle with the front wheel aloft or overheating the vehicles engine by operating the the vehicle in incorrect gears for vehicle speeds. The warranty also does not cover damage to the vehicle from use of chemical cleaners, improper storage, or normal wear during normal vehicle operation. The customer must operate and maintain their on-road motorcycle in a normal manner, following the recommendations described in the vehicles owners manual. Suzuki reserves the right to deny warranty coverage if the vehicle has not been properly maintained.
Mr. Viveiros' motorcycle is warranteed by American Suzuki Motor Corp., U.S.A., NOT New Haven Powersports. He had and still has the right to take his complaint to ANY authorized Suzuki motorcycle dealer in the USA! Ultimately the final decision on any warranty replacement or repair is made by American Suzuki Motor Corp.
The motorcycle is still under factory warranty
until 05/05/2006. I suggest Mr. Viveiros contact American Suzuki Motor Corp. in writing (he seems very fond of writing) along with detailed pictures or the actual part itself. That is the only way it seems that he is going to get resolve to this complaint.
Unfortunely there will be nothing we will ever be able to do to appease Mr. Viveros.