Red Baron, any experience?

[Street Gerbil]

Dear folks,
does anyone have any experience dealing with Red Baron in Auckland?
Can they be trusted in pre-purchase inspection?
Thank you!
SG

[SpankMe]

http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/showthread.php?t=10060

http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/showthread.php?t=8343

[dawnrazor]

you might want to try doing a search on them in the forums, as I remember there was a long bitter indepth lambasting of the baron not so long ago - it put me off for life.

[Forest]

Avoid at all costs.

You might get a good deal. However as my father once said to me: "Son. You can find a clean looking biscuit in a rubbish bin - but do you really want to look for one in there?"

[McJim]

Bad news travels faster then good news - I've had nothing but good experiences from Red Baron.

[jtzzr]

Iv`e bought too bikes from RB ,got no gripes with the sales , finance , accesories guys, but the workshop well umm,not too great in my opinion,had a bike that kept jumping out of second gear, so took it back and told them the story, and the service manager told me I wasn`t putting it into gear properly, and I thought maybe he`s right ,so took it away and it kept doing it, so took it back once again , then they said it was dentent springs in the gear box and they said they changed them,I don`t think so ,cause the bike kept jumping out of gear and would find a false neutral,so I thought Fu@k this I want another bike , and ended up buying another bike ,at a pretty good price ,so was kinda happy , but this bike misses and farts occasionally , so took this one back and they said it was the idler jets,Wrong,it still does it , well it did till I put some carb cleaner through it, will see how it goes, but my advice to you mate take it somewhere else to have a pre-inspection,cause the workshop ain`t too crash hot.Good luck to you.

[imdying]

Iv`e bought too bikes from RB ,got no gripes with the sales , finance , accesories guys, but the workshop well umm,not too great in my opinion,had a bike that kept jumping out of second gear, so took it back and told them the story, and the service manager told me I wasn`t putting it into gear properly, and I thought maybe he`s right ,so took it away and it kept doing it, so took it back once again , then they said it was dentent springs in the gear box and they said they changed them,I don`t think so ,cause the bike kept jumping out of gear and would find a false neutral,so I thought Fu@k this I want another bike , and ended up buying another bike ,at a pretty good price ,so was kinda happy , but this bike misses and farts occasionally , so took this one back and they said it was the idler jets,Wrong,it still does it , well it did till I put some carb cleaner through it, will see how it goes, but my advice to you mate take it somewhere else to have a pre-inspection,cause the workshop ain`t too crash hot.Good luck to you.And that saga about sums up what you hear about RB... they appear to import shit, and do as little as possible to help support them after sales. I agree that you only hear the bad stuff, but when you hear it time after time...

[Fishy]

I used to work there years ago, I was staff and got stuffed around when trying to buy a bike from them so i went to the opposition..... that sorted that out!. I would never buy a bike from them now.

[Lou Girardin]

They got roasted to a crisp on here.
But then, I thought Colemans were great.
Who knows? Maybe they're all great until you need help.

[andrea]

nah no problems with RB, but ive been told there interest rate is high.
hmm i think they got sick of me going in every few years and saying i was going to get my learners and going to get a bike from them, but after i finally did get my learners after um i think hmm fark ive forgotten say 8 years maybe, they were so happy hmm.

[Toast]

Mike in service has always been really good in my experience. Geoff is really on to it too. I bought a bike there and said it felt gutless. They probably knew that I didn't know shit, but offered to stick it on the dyno for free as a guide to whether or not it was missing a bit.

Had a couple of bikes inspected there, one of them my own (for the prospective purchaser)...in the 20 mins or so they picked up pretty much everything.

Pre-purchase inspections are usually fairly short remember, so don't expect them to find every area of wear deep within the engine. If it's running a bit off, they should be able to tell you though.

[Macktheknife]

Do a search but the short answer is......
they are crap. Go down and see Mike at Mt Eden Motorcycles, he will sort you out. 5 mins around the corner.

[SlashWylde]

Do a search but the short answer is......
they are crap. Go down and see Mike at Mt Eden Motorcycles, he will sort you out. 5 mins around the corner.

I second that.

[SwanTiger]

We have taken both of our Hyosung motorcycles to Red Baron for their first services and have not had any issues arise from doing so. The decision to use Red Baron was due to the dealership we originally purchased the bikes from being unable to schedule a service date that suited our time frame.

I haven't experienced their sales department, however while browsing their bikes on the show room floor my impressions were what I expected after reading some of the horror experiences shared on this forum.

I'd say they could be trusted with a pre-purchase inspection and a second opinion never mortally wounded anyone, except maybe an ego or two.

[Swoop]

I have bought gloves, lid, etc from them. The sales guys in the parts (upstairs) area seemed really good. Helpful and not pushy.
Cannot comment on the bike sales/service areas though.

[Maha]

Took a bike for a test ride in July out of RB, and when i got back the sale's dude didnt have alot say or try to make a sale, he just said, ''wadda ya think''?....then walked away, like we did soon after, went to Holeshot and bought a Triumph....the guy at Holeshot was awsome for the whole time i was there, its the third bike i have have purchased from them...:2thumbsup

[ManDownUnder]

Bad news travels faster then good news - I've had nothing but good experiences from Red Baron.

Ditto... 10 chars

[Hellraiser]

Took a bike for a test ride in July out of RB, and when i got back the sale's dude didnt have alot say or try to make a sale, he just said, ''wadda ya think''?....then walked away, like we did soon after, went to Holeshot and bought a Triumph....the guy at Holeshot was awsome for the whole time i was there, its the third bike i have have purchased from them...:2thumbsup

Personally i like sales guys that just leave you too it, nothing worse than being mobed by the sales staff. I usually know what i want before i buy it anyway. I listen to other peoples comments on bikes and equipment and then go check out the world wide web for further info.

I buy all my bikes from RB why because i walk in there say i want that bike and then come back and pick it up that afternoon or get them tp drop it off.

I have heard just as many horror stories about the other shop in akl execpt spectrum for sum reason

at the end of the day get 2 opinions

[Maha]

Personally i like sales guys that just leave you too it, nothing worse than being mobed by the sales staff. I usually know what i want before i buy it anyway. I listen to other peoples comments on bikes and equipment and then go check out the world wide web for further info.

I buy all my bikes from RB why because i walk in there say i want that bike and then come back and pick it up that afternoon or get them tp drop it off.

I have heard just as many horror stories about the other shop in akl execpt spectrum for sum reason

at the end of the day get 2 opinions


What you say is so true, thats why i shop at Holeshot, i was trying to spend $11-12K on a bike and the RB guy didnt want my money as bad as someone else. Most people could faults in most bike shops, but RB is the one that most talk about, i have a mate that is buying a K6 1000 of them and was ment to pick it up last weekend, but 'they' didnt have it ready, will be other 10 days....AYE?. ''fuck off, cya''..... if you are happy with them Hellraiser then thats cool mate, im sure plenty are!

[The_Dover]

RB don't sell K6 1000's, unless it was a poof's 1000.

[Maha]

RB don't sell K6 1000's, unless it was a poof's 1000.

Ah fuck, you shop there too dont ya?......:lol:

ps: they have K6 there for $16.995......''said friend'' was going to shop at Colmans dont know why he didnt?
maybe because SARGE left.....:whistle:

[The_Dover]

bugger me, they do.

is it an import or NZ new? how many k's for that price?

[Maha]

bugger me, they do.

is it an import or NZ new? how many k's for that price?


Dont know, but im going to to wash my scooter and take it out to dry it somewhere.......(wow that was random).....:whistle:

[placidfemme]

Dear folks,
does anyone have any experience dealing with Red Baron in Auckland?
Can they be trusted in pre-purchase inspection?
Thank you!
SG

Red Baron do a semi-alright pre-buy inspection. But they have alterier motices a lot of time time... I've had some very bad dealings with them in the past, so wouldn't recommend them at all...

[Pogo2]

I brought a new scooter off them last month.

Initially impressions were very poor. I was the only one in the shop and hovered around the scooter for about 15mins before anyone would come near me (yeah I know its a SCOOTER thing right:( )

Tried to get info out of them but the guy did not even recall the length of warranty that came with the bike plus a whole lot of other basic info a good salesman is supposed to know. Walked out of the showroom in disgust. Total opposite to excellent service at Scooter e Motion. But at the end of the day it came down to $$$ and regrettably had to buy it at RB. Wasn't much movement in final price but I did want it. Always thought I would never buy anything of RB and am still much of the same opinion.

On the same note most bike shops want to sell you want they have rather than asking questions about what your really want/need.

Regardless of all of the above I am really happy with the scoot and the dealing with the service dept at RB.