Ken, you were alot nicer to that dealer than I would have been... Hope that they respond favoriably to your letter and situation.

 

Way to go Kends! I strongly agree with you!

 

Sounds to me like your beef is mainly with te dealer. Sounds like your dealer has caused most if not all your problems . It seems to me that bombardier is using dealers already in place,dealers selling other brands . They are not owned by bombardier . Also selling only about 10000 units a year does not compare to say a new car manufacturer that is in the millions. So the relationship between bombardier and it's dealers cannot be the same. In other words bombardiercannot be responsible for what a dealer or say a mechanic did to your quad, it's not their fault it is the one that did the bad work or shoddy work Go after the dealer the onewho is responsible

 

 

#1 Dealers don't seem to pay for good mechanics or 2 there to cheap to send them to the courses offered by the manufacturers. It's time for the industry to realize this. I suspect my second opinion over my first. The point is it seems to be worse to take your quad back to the dealer to get it fixed without having to take it back for the problems they cause. They only seem to make it worse. No matter what we drive I blame the dealers more than the manufacturers.

 

Kellys300EX & BEAST450,
I agree with your observations to a point. The dealer caused 90% of the problem, but we are dealing with an issue of two different dealers. The dealer that allegedly performed the 10 hour service was a different one than the one that "repaired" the quad after failure.

More importantly, the water pump seals were installed incorrectly at the factory, not by a dealer. I fully understand that seals wear out, but in this case, when the coolant seal failed the improper installation forced coolant into the crankcase instead of the intended path of through the weep hole an out of the motor. It was a small error that caused a costly outcome for me, the consumer.

Until Bombardier allows shops other than their dealers to repair their vehicles under warranty they have a distinct responibility to the consumer to make damn sure that the dealers they have, do the job professionally and with a reasonable level of quality control.

As far as the quanity of units sold, it is relative. Car maunfacturers sell many more units granted, but through many more dealers. Some of the very best customer service comes from the smallest of companies, bigger is not necessarily better. Commitment to quality customer care is not a size relative ambition.

It has been over two weeks since I sent the letter of my dealer complaint to Bombardier and as yet there has been no contact from them. If they feel justified in the process that I experienced or not, contact and response is not an unreasonable expectation.

I AM going after the dealer, out of prinicple. But for the same reason I am setting the record straight on my experiences with Bombardier. It is not my intention to bash Bomb, but the truth is the truth no matter how dis-pleasing it may come across.

I truly am happy that you and most others have not had a similar experience with your DS, and most likely you won't. I love the machine, I just don't love MY ownership experience.

 

Great letter, incredible story!
Do you have so little free time that you couldn't do it yourself?? Not bashing at all, if this had happened to me, I would have taken the bike back from them (with some insults, of course) and done the repairs myself (and you seem to be competent).
My bikes have never seen a dealer, warranty? what's that?

I had the same problem than you, but on a 125KX bike. It took me 3 months to find out the problem. The seals were not the wrong ones, but simply worn, allowing very little coolant to reach the engine oil...then more, more and more...and it finally ended with a milky oil (at that time, I didn't know what that meant). In 10 minutes, everything was fixed.
I really feel good about automatically saying "NO" to any warranty, and "proud" of being able to do all the job myself. It's not really a matter of cost, but more that I want to know how it works, I know what I do, I take decisions myself (I decide about what has to be changed or not), and most of all, I know how things happen when they go wrong.
Oh well, another incredible story that makes me feel bad for you quad owners that do not have enough time or enough knowledge or enough confidence (the usual question : "will I be able to put it back together?"), I feel mad about the incompetent dealerships, and I feel good for me, who have NEVER EVER brought any of my bikes to the dealer (and yes, they work great).

Bombardier HAS to hear you!!! One thing if you want to prove that your dealer is not competent. Find a lawyer (or similar) that will testify that you are bringing (it would be better if it wasn't you) a defectuous machine, knowing what the problem(s) is(are). Then, when you get it back, the same lawyer should see and testify about how the machine has been given back to you. Then you go to the court and say "they do not know their job". If you include a problems in your brakes, you can even say that they gave you an unsafe machine. Make them disappear from the map!

 

Zorro,
That is what I did, I only wish I had made the original attempt(s) at repair. It really is a simple machine from a technology standpoint. When I made the final repair I had a very good friend of mine, a master automotive tech, help me in order to get his insight on what the problem(s) were.

I completely agree on warranty. If anyone is comfortable with working on their own machine and has the time to do so, extended warranty is a waste of money. In my opinion the manufacturer's warranty is valuable to protect the consumer from catastrophic failure in the event of a manufacturing mistake or an engineering miscalculation.

The only reason I took the DS to the dealer for the repair was because when I called them and explained my symptoms to them they stated that since my warranty had only just expired Bombardier would likely take care of it in the event that it wasn't a case of abuse or neglect. Unfortunately, abuse & neglect was exactly what they had in store for me.

My DS is fixed and running better than ever. No thanks to the dealer or Bombardier.

 

I agree with te fact that atv mechanics or motorcycle mechanics are in most cases about three steps down from auto mechanics at least around here. So i would never let anyone touch any of my machines warranty or not . With the s****y atv mechanics it leaves te deales trying to cover thier mistakes . But my point is , it's not exclusively Bombardier dealers . I never seen a just a Bombardier dealer ,the one in this town sells yamaha,kawasaki,and about 4 other brands They stand behind them all the same -poor

 

Were we ommitted?I just saw this am that BombCo. was here 1/31.Would a member capsulate any areas concerning the company's consumer affairs dep't or just getting the machine to start?As far as winning a race,wonderful.Now please help me get mine started.