tell me what you think.... bad customer service or is it just..... me?

[lugnuts]

ok here's the deal a fellow rider and racer that some of you may know (i'm not going to mention his name yet I will let him chime in) is having a really bad time with his 2006 suzuki lt-r450  it has now blown 3 engines in a very short time all 3 failures have been major top end failures and now top and bottom end need done. our local suzuki dealer each time has blamed it sand entering the engine through the air filter. even though there is no sand visable in the intake or cylinder first time they charged him 3700.00 to replace the top end (complete stock) put on new everything it lasted a month then it blew up returned it to dealer they tell him sand again and warranty wont cover that and charge him to replace top end again. I think around 900.00 with giving him a 50% discount. when they picked up the bike it would not start so he brought it to me I repaired it so it would start and now 3 weeks later boom it locks up while driving across a parking lot at the track not even running it hard!! he brought me the quad on friday night I pulled it down to find the cams scorn and the head dry (no oil up there) piston scuffed and cylinder scorn and rod bearing locked up. now I don't claim to know everything but I am a master certified advanced level technician for chrysler and have been for 18 years and its clear to me that there is a oil presure problem in the engine and thats why it keeps blowing up so his dad tells me to fix it that he is not going to return it to west coast power sports anymore they have wasted enough money there.

at first i'm ok with that. to me its no problem.  but then I start thinking about it. here is someone thats spent so much money paying the dealer to repair this bike and it still has the same problem as the first time! they claim the district manager for suzuki has been there and declined and voided the warranty. so I called the dealer today and asked them for the history on it because I really think suzuki should be made aware of this. I told the service writer that the engine has locked up and it has major dammage she agreed that suzuki should give a second look at this so she gave me the number to suzuki customer service I called them and spoke to nathan there what a jerk! he tells me that suzuki has no problems with there 450's and that it does not work this way to have suzuki support a dealer needs to call there dealer rep. not customer service I explaned to him what was going on and he was like to bad sorry for his luck. when I asked to speek to his boss he told me that he was the "end of the road" but just for the sake of looking into it he would call west coast power sports and speek to them and call me back because I am requesting that the dealer factory rep. contact me so we can set up a time when I can bring the quad in for him to look at. at any local tampa suzuki or kawasaki dealer because I think it's time for suzuki to warranty a new engine for this quad. well I never heard back from him today and can almost guarantee I never will.

now I own 4 2006 suzuki atv's and now that I see there way of customer service I doubt I will ever buy another. is it just me or do you think that suzuki need's to do something for this kid? his bike has a stock engine no mods to engine at all it has a pipe and air filter thats it for mods.

ok i'm done for now but this is just bad business for suzuki IMO

steve

[Turboderf]

you know i had kinda the same problem with honda went throw the dealer and ran out of help called 1800 honda and talk to a few people that could not help me i also ask the have a talk to a factroy rep. they dont have one so i fixed the engine myself and cancel the warranty got back 731.00  iam also a ase master tech for toyota / lexus for over 20 years and the last 6 years i work for myself... the car dealers will offer help you if you were out of warranty or had no service histroy.. in todays would customer service sucks

[yunt2ride]

I would call the factory again today to see if you get Nathan again. Chances are that you won't get the same person twice. If its him, hang up and try later. Then if that didn't work. I would get their address, pack up that junk (and I mean the whole quad) and send it direct mail with a letter decrsibing the issues and to call me when it arrives. If you never even see this quad again, it sounds like you would be better off. For $3700, you could almost go buy another quad. Maybe do a search on suzukis website to see who the CEO is and send him a letter. If you could get his address, send the quad directly to him. Here is a link that may help.


http://www.suzukicycles.com/Inside%5FSuzuki/ContactUs.aspx

[Young Gun]

What dealer is it?  Posting the name of the dealer on here sure will give everyone a heads up, and get revenge on them by decreasing their sales

Do what is hip today, sue em'

[eldiablo64]

as expensive as these things are they should be covered by the lemon law just like cars and trucks but I doubt if they are.

[lugnuts]

the dealer is west coast power sports on us19 in clearwater

no I dont think lemon law covers atv's

look's like I will order his parts from alba and just fix it then he can sell it and get something better

[TRX450R_Racer]

Suzuki customer service sucks at best. When the 05 models came out with the manesium clutch cover and they were cooroding we put an 04 cover on my friends quad to prevent damage. When the recall came out we were like cool they will reimburse us. NOT! They told me what they told you. Sorry about your luck, we will do it again for free but no reimbursement. I was also told the buck stops here. I told him that Suzuki customer service sucks and I was going to sell my Suzuki and never buy another one.

[HVYHLR53]

ATVs are not covered under the Lemon Law, but you can sue Suzuki and the repairing dealer for breach of Warranty Contract. Unless Suzuki and the dealer can without any doubt prove that it was owner or maintenance neglect, they have no chance of winning the case and will have to refund all moneys paid out plus attorneys fees.

Dealers get incentives from the manufacturers for keeping warranty claims low, hence the reason for turning warranty issues into customer pay. Plus there customer labor rate is higher then the rate they get paid from the manufacturer for warranty work. SO by making the customer pay for the repairs they are making more money and also looking good with the manufacturer. It works the same way with car dealers as well.

My suggestion would be to send a certified letter to Suzuki and the dealer, keep it very short and sweet but letting them know that you are serious. Maybe say something like:

Dear Mr. Suzuki,

Please take this letter as my last formal request for help with my issue. I recently paid for 3 engine rebuilds that were supposedly not covered under the factory warranty that came with my factory ATV. The dealer blamed both failures on "sand" entering into the intake. To this day nobody has shown me proof of such allegations. At the time of this letter I have $xxxx.xx into repairs and am asking for your help with this situation. I hope we can come to a resolution as I would not like to be forced to hire an attorney.

Sincerely,

Bob Smith



The letter should catch someones attention higher up on the ladder because the idiots that you have been dealing with are not going to be the ones opening the mail. If the letter doesn't get you anywhere, pay an attorney to send the next letter.

[greenmachine]

#1. Your friend should have been more savvy & removed the aftermarket air filter & reinstalled the factory one. This would have helped in this case. If the factory a/f is defective, they could blame it.

#2. West Coast obviousley has tards in there for mechanics.

#3. please tell us it wasnt a k&n filter with no outerwear.

I have been in the small engine repair business for 12yrs now. Scoaring is from lack of lubrication & or sand/dirt ingestion. If it is sand, there would be clear evidence of it in the sump. Also, sand scoring usually wont cause overheating as in the metal blueing.
I would not let this go unless your friend just has more money than sense.
Good Luck. I have never met an honest Motorcycle dealer, ever.
Nowadays, they hire anyone with tools.

[Ida_Mann]

do like the lady does with the "Discount Tire Co" tire and throw it back through their window.

Id@

[AmericanRobster]

These power sports dealers really have crappy customer service. My dealer where I bought my truck has been great to me.

[lugnuts]

#1. Your friend should have been more savvy & removed the aftermarket air filter & reinstalled the factory one. This would have helped in this case. If the factory a/f is defective, they could blame it.

#2. West Coast obviousley has tards in there for mechanics.

#3. please tell us it wasnt a k&n filter with no outerwear.

I have been in the small engine repair business for 12yrs now. Scoaring is from lack of lubrication & or sand/dirt ingestion. If it is sand, there would be clear evidence of it in the sump. Also, sand scoring usually wont cause overheating as in the metal blueing.
I would not let this go unless your friend just has more money than sense.
Good Luck. I have never met an honest Motorcycle dealer, ever.
Nowadays, they hire anyone with tools.

I dont see any reason why a aftermarket filter should void a warranty
and it does have a outerwear cover on the filter with enough oil on the filter to oil 10

it has major sighns of high heat in the head the cams are darkened and turning brown in the cam caps
I never have got a call back from suzuki or west coast power sports they are going to act like this because they really dont care they got there money and for what this kid and his father has spent I could of built him a full extra yosh engine

[greenmachine]

The general consensus on K&N filters are that they will let sand thru. Everyone agrees on that. The mechanic made his recommendation to his service manager probably based on the fact that the unit had a K&N & it was an easy escape of responsibility.
 I would contact an attorney. Your opinion as a certified technician would be used as expert opinion. They would have to prove their findings or refund your friend.
I am sure you could also contact any machinist or metalurgist for opinions as well.
Did you have to replace the oil pump?

[Mrs.Nightbreed]

Doesn't sound like sand to me, at least not the last time. If the head was dry it isn't getting oil. Sounds like the oil pump may have trash in it or the plastic gear may have broken or lost a tooth preventing it from turning... When you pull it apart take out both oil pumps (there is one on each side) and take them apart and check for scratches and trash and check the plastic gear.. I would replace them both to be safe.

It sounds to me like a certified letter is in order or keep calling the corporate office until you get someone hat that can help you. I would try to give them the benefit of the doubt for the first probelm but it sounds like there has been an oil pump issue from day one and their mechanic missed it.....

[94Hardbody4x4]

He should call the Suzuki Headquarters (wherever that may be). Dealerships sqirm when the head honcho becomes involved. You seem like you know more than this kid about motors. If I were this kid, I'd bring you along as a second opinion as to why the motor blew and argue their reasoning.

There is two sides to every story but it sounds like he's getting screwed.