Is this an acceptable repair?

[mintyhit]

Morning All

I’ve been having a bit of an on-going feud with the dealership that sold me my bike with a leaking radiator.

Their first repair attempt was to tip a bottle of rad-weld in it and lying to me that it had been a professional job. Their second attempt on a repair has resulted in this:

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8336/8089751732_0f35f483ed_z.jpg

In addition they must have used a high temperature parts washer or an acid bath on it as the rest of that side now looks like this:

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8465/8089751660_7e3e3b2993_z.jpg

Saying I am not happy is a bit of an understatement - out of interest, how would you react if this was the standard of warranty repair you received from your dealer?

:(

[littlejimmy12]

I would be looking at the terms and conditions of the warranty.

If the repair job is does not meet the standard of repair set out in the T's and C's I would request them to fullfil their end of the agreement. Any refusal they would be getting a letter from me for breach of these terms.

simples

[LVC]

As they have already acknowledged the fault (trying to repair it twice) I would assume that you have the right to continue to demand it being fixed to your "satisfaction".

Find out the price of a 2nd hand good condition rad off ebay etc. and then suggest that an agreement is reached over the funding of the new rad - either they supply and fit or give you the funds to purchase yourself.

At the moment I would imagine that sales are hard to find for Motorbike shops and negative publicity would be most unwelcome - they have the chance to put things right and everyone is happy or not play ball in which case it'll be a name and shame job on as many bike forums as possible which trust me will damage their reputation over the hard winter months.

Good luck.

[utopia]

Their first repair attempt was to tip a bottle of rad-weld in it and lying to me that it had been a professional job.
:(

I'd be extremely pissed at that.
Not so much the radweld, though thats bad enough as its only a temporary repair, but the lying about it.
After that, I wouldn't believe anything they told me and would only accept a full replacement (which I would want to fit myself rather than have such people work on my bike again).
Their second repair has the appearance of a botch too (not that I'm an expert). I wouldn't trust that either. And after two attempts, they've had their chance and failed miserably.
I'm not sure that I'd bother chasing them with legal proceedings though, as its a load of hassle and possible expense, but I'd certainly threaten it while also suggesting the second-hand replacement as LVC describes.

[bex]

Take it to Rosso and send them the bill; they've had 2 chances to get it right already and left you bikeless for long enough while they've 'fixed it'.

[Pomp1]

Contact trading standard. That repair would not sustain the 105C your radiator gets before the fans kicks in.

[gary tompkins]

Bunch of cowboys

Needs a professional repair or a replacement radiator... end of story

Failing that chuck the bike back at them, demand a full refund and get trading standards involved

[Grumpy]

That is a unacceptable.
I would contact both trading standards to check your rights, and report the dealer as a formal complaint.
I would also suggest writing to the dealer, sending the letter registered post, giving them the opportunity to repair an acceptable standard, or replace, with a time scale specified for the work to be carried out within.
Are they a recognized Ducati dealer? If so contact Ducati and complain.
Lastly, I would post on the various forums the dealers name, if you can not obtain a satisfactory conclusion.Bad Feed back amongst the biking world can be very damaging.

[mintyhit]

Right, well I have just been on the phone to the dealer (I'll keep them nameless for now) and after a long but very polite conversion it seems their view is:

• That the leak miraculously occurred within the few days after purchase
• The repair was done as a "favour" to me rather than under warranty obligations
• The repair is suitable for purpose though it might not be pretty
• There is very little chance of them offering to replace it or have it re-cored.

The guy I spoke to said he is going to talk about with the manager though so I’ve just sent them the last of my polite emails asking them to confirm their standpoint in writing.
If I do not receive a reply within 7 days then I’ll send a formal letter via registered post and contact trading standards etc...

They are a recognised ducati dealer yes.... it is incredibly irritating that dealers do not realise the wider implications in pissing off customers. A few hundred quid to fix my issue I am sure would be worth it for positive feedback... if I have to go on forums and post my negative experiences then this is going to cost them more in the long term surely?!.. just one lost sale and all that.

:(

[Dookbob]

The first repair was a temporary one, the second an amature bodge. You want a bike that is fit for purpose, which is what you thought you were buying. Publish thier email addy on here and we can all individually mail them and slag them off, just so they know what they are risking in terms of publicity.

[He11cat]

Trading standards... Also if no joy and you have to take it elsewhere and incurr a cost small claims court , if no joy name and shame and also I would be writing to Ducati to complain about their shoddy repair ...
Go to Rosso ..

Years back my ex husband had an expensive paint job done.
It was a bloody mess .
He complained and got fobbed off.
I'm not usually feisty but I was so angry I marched down there and told them to sort it.
At first they said no so I rang Trading Standards.
I then went back told them I'd reported them and I would be Pursuing it in small claims court.
They soon gave me a full refund and I got the work done elsewhere.

Put your foot down

[gary tompkins]

Right...

Quoting your post from 4th September

Good news!

Just dropped the bike in and they are getting the radiator professionally repaired for me. It will be a welded and pressure checked by specialist.

They even gave me a lift back to the train station.

10/10 for service.

and comparing to your earlier posts - it would seem you picked up the S4RS on 22nd August. This means the radiator sprung a leak just 13 days after you rode it away from the dealers. Most dealers should give at least a months warentee on a used bike purchase, especially an officially recognised Ducati dealer on a bike of that age and value. Also the dealer has lied to you if the above quote was true. Just chucking some rad weld in or attempting a bodged repair with glue, does not amount to Quote: "getting the radiator professionally repaired for me. It will be a welded and pressure checked by specialist"

Methinks these muppets are taking the pi55 and a phone call to Ducati UK is in order :mad:

[jerry]

trading standards ,,you need a professional core repair done not a bodge , name the dealer as well as they will do the same poor service to other people if we dont know .

[mintyhit]

Yup... that was after going in, expecting an argument and getting the "no problem, we'll fix that for you sir".

I actually said when I was in there "you are not going to rad-weld or glue it are you?"

First repair = Rad-weld
Second repair = Glue

Just goes to show... :(

[gary tompkins]

Drop a PM to Slob

I'm sure he's got a contact for Ducati UK customer services if needed

If an official owners club can't flex it's muscles from time to time... what's the point of being in one?

[slob]

... after a long but very polite conversion ...

is usually a better way to get results than shouting, although not always easy.


... They are a recognised ducati dealer yes....

maybe try a polite communication with Ducati UK then?

[Capo]

Whilst a weld repair could be done, it won't look pretty as the fins will be damaged in the process.
Re-coreing is out of the question, the tubes are swaged to the cast header plate plus it is curved. Pace could make a complete new one circa £600.
The economics of it is that the cost of a replacement would probably exceed what they made on the sale, which explains their reluctance to do so, unless of course they have some form of insurance.
You might end up returning the bike for a full refund.

[nuttynick]

I would be appalled by a dealer using rad weld on my bike, it's a get you home fix not a permanent repair. As for glue!!!! There used to be an old guy just outside Canterbury who was a genius when it came to rads, he could repair or re-manufacturer anything!

[Nickj]

Old copper cores you could silver solder but ally's a pain to do much with. A skilled ally welder could probably have run a blob, it would have ended up looking rather like the glue but at least the colour would have matched and you could easily still have had the leak. Some of the fins would have died in the proces.
I'd have tried something like kseal (similar to barrs or radweld but a much more serious gloop).
The resin fix ought to be something like one of the permatex resins, works and is designed to be stable at the temperature ranges you get in radiators.

A good bodge might be clumsy or inelegant but it does the job, a bad bodge looks like a good bodge but fails as soon as you take your eyes off of it.

Anyways... they probably should fix it properly, properly in their eyes is going to be margin related and margins are tight these days.

[throstle]

I had a "service" issue with a very big and well known Ducati main dealer. I was without a bike for about 6 weeks. I sent an email to Ducati and within days I had the owner of the dealership on the phone to me. He tap danced an explanation to me, but, the result was no charge and a freebee.

[mintyhit]

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8370/8489761496_e83d39e9ab_n.jpg

Well, that only took 169 days, 15 emails, 2 recorded letters threatening legal action and no idea how many phone calls.

Astonishingly... they had to ship a radiator for me from Australia as Europe was out of stock.

All done now at least.

[Grumpy]

Whilst the time scales seem unreasonable, at least the end result was positive.:biggrin:

[jerry]

hope you can enjoy the bike now

jerry

[pegboy]

Wow that took an age, glad you managed to get a new one in the end, so are you going to name and shame??

[NewMon]

I salute your persistence! Good result.

[manwithredbike]

kinda proves the theory that radiators on ducatis are not really meant to be : )

[gary tompkins]

Glad you got there in the end but having to wait 169 days is a joke

[mintyhit]

Yes it was quite the ordeal but to the dealers credit (West London Ducati for anyone interested) once my dispute was escalated to the owner\store manager via my recorded letter they did make a very respectable effort to source me a radiator and sort out the bike.

It was the initial cluster-f*ck with the sales manager that caused all the aggravation and substandard repairs.

Take from this what you will but I am just pleased I have a bike that no longer spews coolant over my left foot. :)