Another Red Baron Rant

[John]

*EDIT*

Sorted out - thanks everyone.

[James Deuce]

Caveat Emptor

[John]

Caveat Emptor

you suit your name, so I'm suposed to be a bike mechanic - I'm supossed to know if the fork seals are going to break on the way home, I'm suposed to know that the electrics are all fucken rusted and shit, I can get over all the plasitcs damage but you sir show no fucken compassion.

[James Deuce]

Ah! You wanted sympathy!

My mistake.

[John]

Ah! You wanted sympathy!

My mistake.

*stab* you evil evil little/big prick.

[bugjuice]

that is a bit crap, especially when you have to head back and forth from Whangarei.. You not had a word to the boss? Brake pads are easy to swap out tho, welcome to help, but it's a treck for ya

hope they come thru and help you out.. I guess one thing you might learn (and others) is not to jump in so quick. Have a good look before you part with your hard-earned

[N4CR]

I heard a similar story today from someone that bought a red baron bike and got similarly set up.... its not just an isolated case that happened to John, so it seems.

[gav]

So, how long have you had the bike for? Did you mention any of these faults when you first noticed them eg next day? Did they agree to any warranty?

[John]

So, how long have you had the bike for? Did you mention any of these faults when you first noticed them eg next day? Did they agree to any warranty?

Yes I contacted them next day about it they said they would pay for it to get fixed, I faxed the recepit to them on thursday so just waiting for them I will chase them up on monday - and also point out the electrics problems that just started occuring got really bad on friday afternoon, wouldn't start (tacho would go nuts when I pressed the starter) and when it did I'd be randomly driving along and it would die, wiggle of the right hand handle bar cable loom and it would be ok.

I guess I'll see what they say - I might havto bring it into auckland to get done or sumthing which I guess is ok.. I've had the bike about 2 1/2 weeks.

[Ghost Lemur]

My advice John

First and foremost calm down. You go to them ranting and raving and all you're going to do is get their backs up.
Secondly you're well and truely covered under the law. Bare minimum requirements of a motorvehicle sale (not private) is 30 days warrenty. You are well with in that. Referring back to the first point too, it may help, particularly if you're still steaming, to get another (older, more experienced) KBer to come with you.
You may want to consider getting another shop to go over it for a full inspection so you have all the information as to the exact current state of the bike.

Still the most important point is stay calm. Be polite. Finesse is the name of the game. That doesn't mean backing down though if they've done the dodgy. If you're going to be in Auckland, maybe pop into see Frosty. He knows his stuff and I'm sure if he's got a spare moment he'd be more than happy to look over things with you. Otherwise I'm sure there are other KBers who can.

But you go in to see them ranting like you did in your first post and all you'll get is a fight, which doesn't help you get your bike up to scratch.

[John]

yea thanks for that, Its just I've being trying to sort it out for a week or so and they are just taking there time, I think I might take your advice on it.

Cheers.

[Mr Skid]

I guess I'll see what they say - I might havto bring it into auckland to get done or sumthing which I guess is ok.. I've had the bike about 2 1/2 weeks.

They offer a 3 month warranty on their bikes. I'd recommend the following course of action:

- Work out what is wrong with the bike.
Make a list of the faults with the bike. Be specific in it, rather than "the electrics are gay" go with "the brake light isn't working" or whatever. Make it into a nice, itemised easy to read list.

- Make contact with managment
I won't go into details here, but my experiences are that after they've sold you the bike, no-one on the floor wants to take responsbility for a issue. Managment tend to be slightly more concerned with the reputation of a shop.

Explain how the bike was represented to you, and the troubles you've had. Now if they're smart, they'll want you to go tell your friends how Red Baron have looked after you. This is where the prepared list of issues comes in.

What you want to do is make it easy for the problem to go away (from their perspective). If you can give them a list of issues, such as "brake pads are contaminated with fork oil" then they know what to do to fix it up and make you happy.

- Gain commitments to a course of action
Rather than accepting a "yeah mate, sorry about that, leave it with us, we'll give you a call when it's ready" Gain a commitment from then about what they will do to resolve your issues. For example "we will replace the brake pads" and "we will have done by Tuesday" or whatever. Once they've committed to something, they are less likely to dick you around than if they'd given you an open ended commitment.

edit: and everything Ghost Lemur said. He's smart.

[John]

good call, I'm getting abit to caught up in it thanks for all the words of advice people I will sort it out on monday. cheers all made me abit happier.

[inlinefour]

I'd tell them that they either fix the blardy thing and really quick, or they will be getting the thing returned. Provided its within a certian timeframe then they have to accept it. Be assertive and once you have returned it get a Honda (PT).
Sorry to hear mate but I'm sure you have the right to return it if problems persist.

[DEATH_INC.]

Righto,listen up all you guys that've had probs with Red Baron!
My best mate works for THE OWNER in Aussie. He's a good bloke so if you have any bullshit problems with the staff over here pm me with the details and a contact no. and I'll pass it along directly to him and all going well he'll get it sorted for you.
One last point,please contact the staff here first (immediately if you have a prob)and if they bugger you around then lemme know.