Double talking dealers can kiss my...

...checkbook good-bye.

I know that Brett is on here, and he's always been straight with me, so out of courtesy to him, I won't mention the specific dealer's names.

And if Brett feels that this thread needs to go, the moderator(s) have my permission in advance to delete it.

But I gotta get this off of my chest.

Four times in the last year I have sat with my pen poised over my checkbook, ready to purchase a 2005 FS650e. Each time, the dealer ****** me around to the point that I felt that I could no longer trust them.

The first time, the sales guy pretty much had no clue. He was eventually able to find the bike on the showroom floor, but pretty much knew nothing about it other than that it had no turn signals. He offered to sell it to me for $700 more than the advertised price on their web site.

The second dealer tried to convince me that his FS650e bikes were worth more than anyone else's, because it was from a container of AUS-spec bikes that had "accidentally" been shipped to the US, and he could personally guarantee me that Husaberg would never make that mistake again. When I verfied that his information was...ahem...incorrect, he threw a temper tantrum.

The third dealer told me that he was pretty sure that the '05 FS650e bikes that he had were equipped with 4.25" rear wheels, but he never got around to actually checking, or getting me a shipping quote.

The fourth time, the dealer replied to my offer with an e-mail that took me 10 minutes to down-load because it contained a number of overly huge pictures of the bike that had absolutely nothing to do with any of the questions that I had asked him. He didn't actually answer any of the questions that I asked him. He also claimed that his FS650e was "special" because nobody else's bikes were street legal, and his was. The pictures showed a set of cheesy aftermarket turn signals in place of the missing OEM turn signals. The bike was visibly missing other parts too.

What is it that makes these bozos think that lying to a prospective cash customer is going to improve their chances of making a sale? I'm not going to pay someone to lie to me.

Re: Double-talking dealers can kiss my...

bigbob said:

for Husabergs, I recommend MotoXotica in Vacaville, Ca.

www.motoxotica.com

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Thanks, Bob. I may give Dan a call.

supertireguy said:

How much is bike shipping to Maui?

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That's one of the questions that I'm trying to get answered.

PowerCell said:

Sorry to hear of your troubles...

But just for your information, Brett has no say as to weither a post or thread gets deleated or not. This is a privately owned and managed forum and it's the TOS that says the thing...

And I think you'd do the community a favor by sharing the name of any specific dealer that has caused you grief... just try to be honest and fair with your statements.

Also, I'd like to encourage you to take the time to add your comments to the dealers section on this website. It's there to help improve the dealer network...



Regards,

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I appreciate your comments all around. I am clear on Brett's relationship to the web site. I was just trying to be courteous.

I could be talked into posting the dealer's names. But you wouldn't need a "heads up" from me to tell you that you were being treated poorly if these things happened to you, so I'm not sure that I see the point.

I haven't hung out on the dealers section much, but I'll try to check it out.

Keith, I appreciate your comments as well.

LeFrog said:

I am pretty sure that someone will be nice enough to serve as intermediate and help you get a good bike if you still are interested in a Berg.

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Thanks, man. If Brett wants to assist, I would be inclined to accept.

Supermototeam said:

That's right, I'm just an innocent bystander
Regarding your dealer issues - I sorely regret that things like this happen, but it's not difficult to understand. When we (BMG) meet with a dealer for the first time, we kind of feel each other out, look at our respective responsibilites (they look at our product, we look at their operation), and we determine if our businesses fit well together. Personally, I look for shops who exhibit enthusiasm for the sport of motorcycling, not just an enthusiasm to "move units".

However, at no point does any sort of intelligence and/or aptitude testing of the shop staff take place. We are not in a position to tell retailers how to run their business. And I daresay that most of our dealers know a lot more than I do personally about the retail trade. But you're right, I am very concerned with the impression that any "Husaberg" representative leaves on a customer, and a dealer is a "Husaberg" representative.

I don't know who you called, or what they said to you, but obviously matters could have been handled differently. Anyone can have a bad day, a dealer can have the wrong person answering the phone, or they might simply be misinformed. I take personal responsibility for keeping dealer principals informed, but it's rare for me to be able to educate every shop employee on everything that we sell. We do our best however, and I think that anyone who has had personal contact with me knows that I am uncommonly accessable. If I am not personally available to answer a dealer's question, I or another BMG representative will to our best to follow up as quickly as possible.

Kirk, the very fact that you'd want to own a Husaberg while living on an island that bears no Husaberg dealer says a lot about you. You're obviously willing to go out of your way to own a special bike, and any dealer who you call should appreciate that. So do me a favor and email me directly, and I'll make sure that you're taken care of.

Cheers,

Brett Saunders
[email protected]

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Brett, I have tried to choose my words carefully and err to the side of giving someone the benefit of the doubt, but my perception was that there was not as much a lack of knowledge as there was the lack of ethical convictions. I felt that each individual mentioned pretty much said whatever they thought they needed to say in order to convince me to give them as much money as they thought they could possibly get with the smallest possible investment of their time.

My questions were not hard ones. I asked if the bike had a 17-digit VIN. I asked if the bike came with an MSO. I asked if the markings on the rear wheel indicated a 5" width. I asked which tires the bike came with. When I was unable to get a shipping quote from any of the dealers, I asked for the dimensions and weight of the bike in the box so that I could arrange the shipping myself. I didn't get a single (correct) answer.

I will try to find time to e-mail you directly. If you want to know a little about my situation, this may be helpful:

http://www.husaberg.org/modules.php?nam ... pic&t=3785

Thanks a lot, Brett. You're a stand-up guy.

I see that MotoXotica's web site lists '05 FS650e bikes, so I shot Dan an e-mail yesterday. If he's got a bike and we come to terms, I may take you up on your most gracious offer.

I won't be able to call motorcycleshippers.com until my next days off (Thursday/Friday).

I'll keep you in the loop.

Well, Dan has no bike.

If anyone happens to know which dealer(s) may have new left-over '05 FS650e bike(s), I'd be interested.

If it doesn't pan out, maybe I'll wait for the supposed double-overhead cam and/or street-legal '07 KTM SMR, or the street-legal variant of the Aprilia SVX550.

The street-legal Husky SMR 510 looks kinda interesting, but I think I'd want more motorcycle for the money.

If I bought a TM, I'd be afraid that I'd be left without a chair when the music stops, ala Cannondale.

I'm on a blisteringly fast, awesomely competant, dead-reliable motorcycle that has a number of qualitys that I like- It's paid for, it gets 40 mpg, and it starts every time I push the button. But I cannot ignore the fact that almost any 'tard would be more suitable for this environment.