Horrible dealer experience- beware! - Ducati.ms

MarcoM3 · Dec 15th, 2011, 6:49 pm

Everyone,

I unfortunately have what is possibly the worst dealer experience anywhere.

I wanted to buy a 748 or 996 and after a long search, I came across what looked like a pristine 2001 748S. The bike was being sold by Unique Superbikes (Unique SBK) in Miami, so after some negotiating, I made the purchase.
The disclosed odometer reading was 14167 miles, but when I took the bike home, After a long ride, I noticed the odometer had not changed. I called the dealer and tried to get some resolution. What is even worse, the engine failed the next morning. Leo, the owner would not even consider taking the bike back and offered to buy the bike back minus the cost to repair it!
I finally trailered the bike to a reputable Ducati mechanic, had it inspected and was told that the bike was likely a lemon when I bought it, and that the engine had potentially many more miles than the disclosed number.
A new odometer cable, coolant reservoir and complete engine reduild later, all at a cost of over $4000 plus the purchase price of $5826 and not only did the dealer not help, but actually sent my registration C.O.D. For and additional $134!
His "way of helping" was to offer me a discount on the labor, if I took the bike over to his shop, which at this point was not an option for me, since the trust was not there any longer.

Yep...getting a lawyer is going to cost me even more, but I just cannot let this guy get away with. Beware, beware!

jcns · Dec 15th, 2011, 7:22 pm

sorry to hear about your experience
thanks for the heads up
did you not test ride the bike before the purchase?

DropLock · Dec 16th, 2011, 12:43 am

That does sound like a seriously shitty dealer experience on the face of it. The qn. of whether you took it for a test ride is a good one but perhaps beside the point.

Let me preface this by saying I'm in Oz but surely you have legal protections there as a consumer. Buying a bike new comes with more extensive protection however even second or third hand, whatever, you'd still have some recourse with a dealer. Did you make any enquiries as to the dealers responsabilities and your rights and put that too them before going off and spending the $ elsewhere?

A complete engine rebuild!! that's pretty full on. What did the repairer say was the cause to warrant a complete rebuild?. Maybe they saw you comming!

Did they do a compression test? You rode it home (I assume), was it blowing lots of smoke?, did you hear the bottom end bearing go or a valve spit or any other major sound that would suggest a major mechanical failure?, or when you went to start it were there no electrics?.

A lemon? I don't think so but others here with that model could shed more light on whether that particular bike was problematic.

I realise that you may have felt the dealership seemed to be dismissive but, and this is just my opinion, before going elsewhere to seek repairs I would have exhausted every avenue with the dealership including putting your complaint to them in writing, being clear on your rights and their responsabilities.

Maybe you did that, you didn't say, if you did you'd be better placed to pursue them legally than if you didn't. It is important though to ensure the dealer is given the opportunity to rectify the situation, if you spat the dummy without doing that, pursuing them sucessfully will be more difficult.

rubber duckie · Dec 16th, 2011, 1:39 am

wow sorry to hear.

reasons why i would never buy from dealers,

1, they lie
2, they lie
3, they just want their money
4, prices are outrageous
5, did i mention they lie?

they will do anything to make a sale, and not care what happens to you afterwards.

again.. why didn't you test ride the bike before hand. did you check carfax and autocheck?

this reminds me of a bike i was looking at. it was an 01 748 biposto and the guy said it had around 3k miles. i was looking at the title and it was transferred in 2009 with 11 less miles then what was on the odometer. took it for a test ride and the odometer did not move... i ran out of there like a bat of out hell.

mad · Dec 16th, 2011, 6:42 am

Hmmm. Must be more/other side to story. An eleven year old bike would have no warranty. If I sold someone a bike with full disclosure to best of my knowledge and it crapped out after sale then sorry, not my problem. Im sure you're pissed due to cost and bad luck. Everything else is speculation. "As is" is the norm for old stuff unless another agreement is made, right?

Dmitry · Dec 16th, 2011, 6:43 am

"Lemon Law" changes state by state, here in RI it's a joke, Mass next door has strict guidelines as to how many miles mandatory warranty you get based on the mileage of the vehicle.

Also there is an odometer disclosure statement, it's fraud to lie on it (broken speedometer sounds like a lie, was cable broken or missing?)

Lastly, lawyers are worse than dealers, they lie, take your money and screw...
Researching the local law, contacting dealer commission and BBB will cost you some time but almost no money. Also Google Places, Yelp, Yahoo all provide options for reviews to be left, bad rating will hurt them more than your lawyer.

MTScott2 · Dec 16th, 2011, 7:10 am

Up her you would have to have a safety check done prior to getting plates...
some sort of warantee should have been offered...
sounds like you are in for a battle , Dealership should have treated the sale better

I doubt you will get much satisfaction withthe seller , But now you should have a good running bike , which you should try to enjoy ,
Easy for me to say but try not to let this eat you up.
Do what feels right and necessary...

You had better hope the Good Mechanic is on your side with this with the court case , and keeps good documentation of all the work needed...
Good luck...

MarcoM3 · Dec 16th, 2011, 7:38 am

Quote:

Originally Posted by mad

Hmmm. Must be more/other side to story. An eleven year old bike would have no warranty. If I sold someone a bike with full disclosure to best of my knowledge and it crapped out after sale then sorry, not my problem. Im sure you're pissed due to cost and bad luck. Everything else is speculation. "As is" is the norm for old stuff unless another agreement is made, right?

Odometer fraud has nothing to do with the age of the bike. If you buy a bike As Is, this also implies that the mileage stated in the paperwork is the actual mileage. This is why the DMV form has a checkmark for "mileage is actual" or "mileage is NOT actual".

What other side of the story is there?

zvez · Dec 16th, 2011, 8:03 am

Not sure you could call an 11 year old bike a lemon as who knows what has/hasn't been done over the life of the bike.

The odo issue is a bigger deal, and I would think the dealer would be liable in some form for fraudulently declaring the mileage correct.

Chris

Quote:

Originally Posted by MarcoM3

Odometer fraud has nothing to do with the age of the bike. If you buy a bike As Is, this also implies that the mileage stated in the paperwork is the actual mileage. This is why the DMV form has a checkmark for "mileage is actual" or "mileage is NOT actual".

What other side of the story is there?

spitfire1776 · Dec 16th, 2011, 9:11 am

As of repair - was it disclosed as to what was cause of failure? There are somethings that can be glossed over with imminent short term failure, with the purpose of "tricking" the buyer. these are the only things that would constitute "lemon", as it is a state of fraud. That's really the only foot you have to stand on as far as fraud. BUT the odometer issue is different. The odometer had to be knowingly broke. As a "dealer" they would have been required to ensure the odometer was working properly in order to ascertain that the mileage is properly accurate. Also there would have to be some sort of paper trail to ensure accuracy on odler bikes (because odometers can be easily switched.) If any of that is not satified but they claimed accurate mileage then its fraud. In PA, title transfers require disclosure of mileage at time of transfer. If a odometer is swithced it must be noted, at which time the title gets a different designation, and it MUST be disclosed to a buyer as such and nothing else.