This is my first time to log on, so please bare with me. We purchased a Kawasaki Bayou 4 x 4 in 12/00 for our childrens Christmas. First thing we have ever paid cash for! About 6 weeks after, we had to take it to the shop. It was leaking oil. After 2 weeks I called to check on it. I was told that it would be 2 - 3 more weeks before the parts would be in. The main seal was leaking and they had to tear the motor down completely and replace all seals. I was furious. My husband works hundreds of miles off so I had to take care of this by myself. The next day, I called the Manager and told him not to order the parts. This machine was only 2 months old and I would not accept a new machine with a re-built motor. I am sure there are lemon laws for ATV's. He informed me that the lemon laws are different than that for automobiles. Needless to say, he got on the phone that day and had the parts delivered immediately. Three weeks ago I had to once again take this atv in because it was leaking in the rear end. The mechanic called me yesterday and said there was NOTHING wrong with the machine. "It" (? I guess a seal) had water in it. He slapped my hand and indicated that it is very important to always check the fluids and not to take it through water. EXCUSE ME! I paid good money for this machine and 9 times out of 10 my 13 year old daughter or my 7 year old son or my 65 year old father in law ride this atv. It has NOT been mishandled or mistreated in ANY way shape or form. I get home this afternoon and where the atv is parked under the carport has a huge puddle of oil!! A naked eye can see where the oil is leaking. I am going to take it back tomorrow. I need some influence on this. I have a very bad and short temper. My first thought this afternoon was to call my Lawyer. I am still pondering the idea!!!! Please Help!!!!![img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-mad.gif[/img]Text

 

If you bought it from a dealer than they should be giving you either a new quad or paying for all of it. If they don't then I suggest your lawyer if you can afford it.

 

I forgot, don't mention ever that a 13 or 6 year okd was riding it. The punk-a$$es in Washington say you have to be 16 to ride an ATV with an engine size over 90cc's

 

Thank you so much for your reply. I did buy it from a dealer. Late last night, I got on it to move it and it would not go into reverse. I really struggled with it. Finally, I backed it out of the carport and then the stupid thing would not go out of neutral! Wish me luck, I am going to load it up now and take it in. I am really nervous, I am so hot headed. It is going to really hard for me to keep my mouth shut. I am sure the Manager is out today. All they have working up there are young guys. Which they know more about the machine than the Manager/Owner. Yes, I am going to contact my lawyer on Monday.

 

Yes I would fight this to the end! A new quad should not fall apart like this, and if the dealership is not cooperative, I would definetly suggest contacting your local BBB, TV news "problem solvers", or the national Kawasaki hotline (not sure on the number). Make sure you state that you want a NEW quad not a totally rebuilt one that could fail at any day. Also, be sure to save all your receipts from the repairs, etc for proof. This sure is a PITA for you, and I wish you the best of luck getttin this resolved!

I have a 94 Kawasaki Bayou 220, and it has been bulletproof since the day I bought it 4 or 5 years ago!

 

Just playing Devil's Advocate here, do you allow your daughter or son to ride this quad unsupervised? If so, how can you be sure that they are not abusing the quad, then not 'fessing up to it. I'm not accusing your children of anything, as I do not know them, but if they are not experienced (and even if they are), they could do alot of damage to a machine in a short period of time. Quads are by no means indestructible, and should ridden with care and the limitations of the machine in mind. Keep in mind, if the unit is out of warranty, the dealership/manufacturer are under no obligation to fix and/or replace anything at no cost to you. Typically, a lemon law would only be applicable if it is a pre-existing condition (while still under warranty), and the unit has to be serviced repeatedly for the same problem. But, if you're being pushy with the service department where you bought the quad, you're probably not going to get very far. It may very well seem unreasonable to you that a new quad has these problems, but, as I stated before, if it's out of warranty, it's your problem now, not the dealership's. Look at it from their point of view. After that quad left their showroom, they have absolutely no idea how the quad was ridden or maintained, and for that very reason, most new machines have a very short warranty period, usually 30 days.

Just a suggestion: Lose that "very bad and short temper" before you walk in the door at the dealership. Otherwise, they're going to have you pegged as soon as you walk in, and you'll get less cooperation than drunken bum who walks in off the street and says he wants the fastest bike in the store!

 

Sorry it has taken me so long to get back in touch. For the record, No, my children do not ride unsupervised. Our house sits directly in the middle of about 32+ acres and my in-laws live on top of the hill. My children do not ride alone. In the past, my father in law has ridden with my son and "let him drive" so to speak.
Having previously been in business for myself, I do understand the dealers point of view. However, this "dealer" was so rude and disrespectful to me that I have made up my mind to fight this thing to the end!!!!!!!
I was advised to go to him personally and point blank ask for a full and complete refund. I did so to no avail. He informed me that he did not have the money to refund me at this time. He questioned me as to "who" advised me to do such, was it Kawasaki? "No", I replied. "I have done what I was told to do, if you cannot give me my money then I would like for this to be put in writing". I sat in his office while he put my request on paper. He walked out of his office, made a copy of the documentation, handed it to me and walked out! He never said, "let me help you", "we can somehow resolve this", "kiss my %#*!" or anything!!!!!! So, I quietly walked out, got in my truck and called my lawyer!!
It was mentioned in the letter that he would "entertain" the idea of "trading" this atv in on one that would better serve my needs! He recommended THIS ONE!!!!!!!! What do we do that would justify a larger atv? This was on a Monday, and my warranty went out on Friday. Every time I would take the atv in for repair, it would come back in worse shape than before. The owner himself tried to tell me to turn the reverse ****, pull up on the gear shifter and "goose" it a "little" to make it go into reverse. He then said he would get his people to change the reverse cable and adjust the clutch. EVERY time we take it in, he has to adjust the clutch! Is this madatory? The clutch does not slip, and we have not had trouble with the clutch!!
Excuse me!!!!!! It took us 10 years to finally make such a big purchase. We were probably the last family on earth to buy an atv. It has NOT been abused or even used that much. We have approximately 60 acres that we have to keep fenced off for horses and cattle. Nine times out of 10 this machine has been used to take us from field to field to mend fences, catch horses or haul garbage to the road for pick-up. There is no reason for me to be out an additional $7,000. for lawyer fees. I CANNOT afford it! But, this transaction has been mis-handled from the beginning. I do not know if this guy was offended because a "woman" had a little knowledge of my legal rights and mechanical knowledge. I will have no pity on him. MY family is out more than $5,000, we have no bike and we have no Christmas gifts to show for last year!!!!!!!

p.s. Kawasaki was no help either. They said that it was at the dealers discretion to refund me or issue me a new atv. Which a new one was not mentioned until I asked for a written documentation.

 

shouldn't your name be "upsetmarriedmom"? I was a bit confused about that from the begining, but didn't ask.

 

Sorry to have given the wrong impression. I AM married. However, my husband works out of St Louis Missouri and we live in Mississippi. Therefore, he is gone approximately 10 months out of the year. I have to play mother and father most of the time.

 

i cant tell you about kawasaki because i never had a warrenty problem .
but i had the same type of trouble with a yamaha.
the engine siezed up after the third ride! the dealer and the factory were very dissapointing. i demanded a new atv but they refused ,saying that they would only rebuild it. i argued with them till i was blue in the face, i did not pay full price for a rebuilt atv,i paid for a new one. the only thing that they did for me was to express ship the parts to a local dealer so it could get fixed sooner. it still took them 3 weeks to fix.when i threatened legal action they gave me the adress of their legal dept. and said they could no longer discuss the matter with me. so be prepaired to get the cold shoulder if you tell them you will take them to court or get a lawer.
anyway - from what i hear- a lemmon law does apply to any titled motor vehicle, that has had the same problem, 3 times, within the warrenty period, but i dont know if each state is different .
what i can tell you for sure is that any problem that that is covered under warrenty that you had before the warrenty expired, and is still existing, they are obligated to fix it !
stick to it! stay on them ! be a pain in their *ss!
you would be suprised how much attention a loud , angry customer in a busy showroom gets !
good luck , and keep us posted [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]