New motorbike - Dealer couldn't repair and manufacturer not helping

[aura.palmer]

Hello everybody,

I'm writing to ask you what you think I could do in this situation.

I apologise in advance for the long post, but it's a very long story with many details so I thank you for your patience in reading this.

 

1 months ago I bought a motorbike from an official Peugeot dealer, that was the beginning of the nightmare.

 

1) the bike arrived several weeks later, there were always delays and I had to chase them because they did not inform me

 

2) once the bike arrived, the wrong number plate was put on -

I was asked by the dealer 2-3 days later to take it back for number place replacement as he swapped it with another one by mistake.

 

 

Later on this year when my road tax renewal has arrived I have then found out I was registered as the owner for 2 vehicles:

mine and another one (first number plate I was put on)

 

3) On the day I picked up the bike for the first time in the shop,

the bike kept turning itself off at every traffic light

- took it back and dealer said he didn't adjust the idle before selling it, he then did and it was ok

 

4) I had a crack on the front mudguard, which I only noticed 2-3 days after the purchase,

I asked it to be replaced and they never did, they conveniently forgot about it - eventually I gave up

 

Later on a mechanic points out the back mudguard is practically rubbing against the wheel because the hook was broken,

he repairs it with wire but doesn't keep it and asks for the replacement part as it came out like that from the factory - no part received

 

5) 11 days after the purchase the motorbike starts leaking petrol,

I call AA, they take it to the garage and replace a cracked fuel pipe and a leaking fuel filter

- leaving the bike parked outside at the end of the reserve with barely any petrol in for me to ride it to the next petrol station

 

7) Despite me not being instructed about oil checks etc (I was told I didn't need to check oil levels

and that would be checked only by a mechanic during the routine service),

 

 

after about a month I decide to check the oil level - stick comes out dry.

 

 

I think I must have got it wrong so I take it back and ask to have a oil check.

One of the mechanics just fills it with oil, doesn't say a word and says here you go.

I ask what happened, he said nothing it's safe to ride away, there's oil.

 

6) the bike doesn't start in the morning, regardless of hot/cold weather, once it's been parked for 2-3 hours it doesn't start

 

 

I take it back, they first say there's nothing wrong with it and return it to me.

I take it back again, they adjust the idle again.

 

 

I take it back again, they change the spark plug and say the battery is fine so they can't see a problem.

Still the problem isn't fixed,

 

 

I take it back again and they change the automatic choke and ask me to come back if it still doesn't work

- by then I just had lost hope.

 

 

The problem persisted but I didn't go back, I just lived with it and said to myself I was going to take it another dealer.

 

7) I had been there at the garage at least twice a month for the first 6 months.

I have asked when's the next check due and they say 5000 miles (my meter is in km though)

 

8) The bike gets stolen, no big damage just the ignition had ripped cables,

the bike was pushed along the street then they couldn't start it so they just left it there

(I guess that not being able to start the bike in the morning saved my bike on this particular occasion)

 

9) I ring the dealer asking if he could fix my ignition by soldering the cables back,

as he asked for £120 for the new part and it was gonna take time to order it

(other dealers I contacted were selling it from 60 to 80 pound)

 

He said the soldering can get complicated and I might end up having to pay 120 for the labour anyway (5 cables? really?)

and started mumbling away something along the line that he wasn't sure if it was possible

because the back of it is plastic and it melts, etc. etc. he wasn't really convinced he could do it but he ended up saying he could at least try.

 

 

I was happy with try and I need the bike for work

I ask him if he had time that afternoon,

he said yes but not too late

- I said to him I could take 2 hours off work and head there around 4pm,

should take me an hour so should be there at 5pm.

He said it's fine.

 

 

I asked him 2-3 times because my employer back then wasn't really happy about giving me 2 hours off

if he was gonna at least try to solder it back I would have come otherwise I couldn't afford to go there,

not have it done and then having to take more time off which wouldn't have been possible for me at the time.

He said he was going to at least look at it and try so I went.

 

 

Got there around 5,15-5,20pm (shop closes at 6pm but sometimes I see them opened for a bit longer),

he said I could leave the ignition there and he would have taken a look at some point another day.

I pointed out I couldn't take any more time off to pick it up and that I asked him several times if he could do it on the day

but he was adamant that no, I was 15 mins late, the shop closes in 40 minutes so he couldn't possibly solder 5 cables.

 

 

I then ask for the wiring scheme so I can solder it myself and he said he didn't have it, but I could google it

- that's what I had been trying to do but I couldn't find it online either.

 

 

I asked him to just tell me how the cables had to be soldered back (in what order) and he said he didn't know

he would have googled it himself but if it's not on google he would have waited until another bike of the same model came in

so he could check the wiring and solder it back, so he didn't exactly know when it was going to happen.

 

I start freaking out,

I said that he was wasting my time and I was in huge distress and that by the way the bike still didn't start in the morning

after and he said I could take the bike there and they can have another look.

 

Happens that I had talked to another dealer who said he knew exactly what the problem was,

and given the past experience with this dealer I decided to trust the other one.

 

I have said to this guy that no, I wouldn't have left the bike there anymore because they don't know what they're doing,

they messed everything up from day 1 and instead of showing a little bit of respect and appreciation for my patience

by fixing the ignition they were bold enough to say that no, 15 mins late I'm not even gonna look at it. I said I would never come back.

 

10) I end up buying the part on ebay and fixing the ignition myself

 

11) I take it to the other dealer because it still didn't start in the morning,

they notice the spark plug was the wrong one for that bike,

they replaced and it got a bit better but still would struggle to start

 

12) The other dealer also notices a weird noise in the piston, says the piston was worn and was getting too small for the cylinder

- I ask him if he could be a damage that was caused by riding it without oil for a month,

he said yes and he also added he wasn't going to do anything about it because he didn't want to get involved with Peugeot

for a human error that somebody else did, as it would be difficult to claim it under warranty.

He says the engine will die all of a sudden sooner or later.

 

But it was still working I used it as it is.

 

Yesterday evening the bike turns itself off in the middle of the street on the way home and doesn't start anymore.

Looks like flat battery, I charge the battery put it back in but same thing.

This morning I try again, same thing - I call AA and take it to the original dealer where I bought it so I can also explain what the other dealer said.

 

The guy I had spoken to before as he sees me leaves the shop (found out today that he is the owner)

I speak to one of the mechanics said he was going to look at it, I go to work prepared to come back there at 6pm when I finish.

 

20 minutes later I receive a phone call from the owner saying I just left the bike there and legged it,

I explained I spoke to his mechanic and he said he was gonna look at it.

 

 

He said that since I said I wasn't going to come back then he doesn't want to fix my bike so I must go and collect it now

because he's pushing it out on the street and once it's out of his shop that's entirely my problem

- plus the warranty is not valid anymore because I didn't service it,

so he wouldn't have done any work on it anyway.

 

I say.. what service?

I asked you and you told me next one 5000 miles,

I'm 3000km behind.

 

 

. well, apparently there were 2-3 services in between that I wasn't made aware of.

 

 

I was actually told 5000miles was the first service I had to do,

now.. I never owed a NEW bike so I didn't really know when you're suppose to service it.

 

Then the guys starts shouting at me I ask him to please don't shout,

he's adamant it's out of warranty and also that he doesn't want to see my bike in his shop

he's pushing it out.

 

 

I said I was gonna make a complaint with peugeot.

 

I do..

I call customer service at Peugeot,

explain the whole situation to them and

they say that unfortunately since the service is explained in the manual

and service book (that I was NEVER given by the shop but the shop is denying it) the warranty is not valid.

 

As for the guy's manners he can't do anything because Peugeot don't impose any standards for the level of service

of their dealers so they can conduct the business like they want, and if he wants to be rude then he can be rude and Peugeot is not responsible.

 

As for the lack of oil from the start, he said that no written proof is there,

he will deny it and it is just my word against his so they can't do anything to help me.

 

I picked up the bike called AA and had to transported back to my home.

The mechanic from AA reckons the piston got thin and bent, so when the bike runs for 3 mins,

the piston gets bigger, jams in the cylinder and the bike turns itself off.

 

 

When the piston cools 10 mins later the bike starts again but as soon as it gets hot it jams again.

Only his opinion anyway he didn't look in the engine.

 

Now, at this stage what can I do?

 

 

 

I was thinking of claiming under the sell of goods act,

trying to prove the bike was not fit for purpose from day 1

and the services received was insufficient, but can I prove it?

 

When I went back to the shop today I set my phone on recording,

so I have a conversation with me and the mechanic where he apologises saying it wasn't up to him to fix it

or not and I asked him if he remembers I was always there and the bike was broken from day 1 one I bought it, he said yes I know.

 

I wonder if I could use it as a proof

(I feel guilty for the poor mechanic though),

but I doubt that I can because I didn't warn them I was recording.

 

Any thought?

[dx100uk]

you are going to have to use edit post icon

and put some sentencing & line spaces in that

else no-one is going to bother reading a great block of text

 

 

sri too big to attempt to do this time of night.

 

 

dx

[ssparks2003]

To be honest I don't think there is much of a claim here, Ok you could claim for the mudguard bracket but after that its pretty much down to you / actions by a third party. the garage is not liable for your lack of care in adding oil to the engin and they are not responsible for the action of the thiefs. while they don't sound the best or most pro-active dealer on the planet its not grounds for a refund.

[aura.palmer]

the garage is not liable for your lack of care in adding oil to the engin and they are not responsible for the action of the thiefs. while they don't sound the best or most pro-active dealer on the planet its not grounds for a refund.

 

sure for the thieves, but the oil wasn't my lack of care. it was sold to me as 'ready to be riden away' but the bike had no oil it. how am I supposed to ride away a bike without oil in?

that's my point.

any vehicle is sold in a condition that lets you ride it or drive it away from the shop, if they give me the keys and tell me there you go take it home I wouldn't expect there is no oil in it.

that lack of oil (until I found out) caused engine damage.

[BankFodder]

There could be a basis for some kind of claim here if it is planned carefully. However, apart from being a complicated story, you haven't help yourself by telling us that this stall started one month ago. There is clearly a typo. Can you sort this out please so that we can understand what you're saying.

 

Second thing is that it would be useful to have a proper chronology – and simply saying one day later and then 11 days later and then later after that blah blah blah, is not very helpful. It would be more useful if you can give us a bullet pointed chronology using dates so that we don't have to work out the time in relation to the other time blah blah blah.

 

Also, if you can get rid of all the narrative about mumbling etc.

 

I'm asking you to condense this down to the facts in chronological order in bullet pointed form and then we can have a look.

 

Clearly it is complicated by the theft.

 

Well done on recording at least one call. I suggest that you record all your calls in respect of this – and in fact a respect of anything for that matter.

 

Then we can have a look at it.

[ssparks2003]

sure for the thieves, but the oil wasn't my lack of care. it was sold to me as 'ready to be riden away' but the bike had no oil it. how am I supposed to ride away a bike without oil in?

that's my point.

any vehicle is sold in a condition that lets you ride it or drive it away from the shop, if they give me the keys and tell me there you go take it home I wouldn't expect there is no oil in it.

that lack of oil (until I found out) caused engine damage.

 

Sorry, my reading of you initial post was that you had not checked / topped up the oil; and not that it was dry than a camels crack to start with, in that case i do think that you may have a claim for the engine damage.

[citizenkain]

you say this is a Peugeot motorcycle,Ive only ever seen their mopeds on the street,is this a two stroke moped you are talking about? what is the model type? You do know that two strokes have a separate mixer tank for the oil they burn with the petrol?

[Conniff]

I think it's virtually impossible to comment unless a proper timeline is drawn up ie the date of purchase and the dates on which the problems appeared.

[aura.palmer]

you say this is a Peugeot motorcycle,Ive only ever seen their mopeds on the street,is this a two stroke moped you are talking about? what is the model type? You do know that two strokes have a separate mixer tank for the oil they burn with the petrol?

 

v-click 50cc 4 stroke

[aura.palmer]

I think it's virtually impossible to comment unless a proper timeline is drawn up ie the date of purchase and the dates on which the problems appeared.

 

ok i will do later when i come back from work

[aura.palmer]

you've got a point ok..

I will post a comment later with the timeline when i come back from work.. i will try to jot down some dates that are more or less accurate I have the cracked fuel pipe because I have a text from AA on that day

 

Will post later.. thanks a lot!