Beware of Incompetent Unethical Dealers

[ElectricFJR]

I have been trying to buy a '16 ES since the pricing was announced in February. I first contacted my local Houston Yamaha dealer that I have done a lot of business with and they told me that they did not have one allocated to them for some reason (they thought it might be because they still had two '15 ES's in stock). I then called an Austin area dealer the first week of March that told me they had one coming in that was not spoken for that I could have so I made a deal and gave them a deposit. After waiting patiently for over 2 months and regularly calling and getting the run around from the dealer about no information available from Yamaha, I called Yamaha Motor Corporation Customer Relations in California and the FJR product specialist that I spoke to looked up in their system and told me that the dealer did not even have one on order. He also told me about their "preorder program" that enables a dealer to order a presold bike if they have taken a deposit and it will ship with priority over dealer orders for just stock in 1 to 2 months. I called my Austin area dealer and confronted them about this and they finally admitted that they never ordered the bike nor did they have one coming in from the initial allocation--they just thought that they could find one at another dealer and make a trade. Wrong--not right now with this bike being in high demand. I went ballistic and told them that they were pathetic liars and totally incompetent and unethical and that they just wasted 2 months of my time. They refunded my deposit and I then went back to my Houston dealer and told them about the preorder program which they were not aware of (not sure why Yamaha doesn't make sure that their dealers know about this program). They contacted their Yamaha rep and confirmed that this was possible by simply filling out a special form with my name it and proving that they took a deposit. This has now been done and Yamaha tells them that the bike will be delivered sometime in June. I got a deal very close to what D&H is offering and managed to buy locally which was always my preference (and they gave me a reasonable trade-in on my '13).

This has been pretty frustrating and I just wanted to give everyone a heads up on how to get one of these bikes in the most expeditious way. I do not want to disparage the Austin area dealer on a public forum but feel free to PM me if you want to know their name so you can stay clear of them.

 

[rushes]

I hate dealers.

I think they're just trying to make money off of us...

 

[NTXFJR]

^^^Lol, I don't know where you got that idea....^^^

Sorry for your troubles Electric, best of luck to you with your new choice. Like you, I preferred to go with a local, my deal wasn't as sweet as D&H, but factoring in airfare and all the other incidentals, it wasn't that much more imo. It took them 4 weeks to get mine in.

 

[bigjohnsd]

I hate dealers.I think they're just trying to make money off of us...

They aren't in business just for the fun of it!

 

[Pterodactyl]

John, I'm pretty sure you told me that part of becoming a Yamaha dealer was taking a vow of poverty. Are you now saying that you fibbed? Say it ain't so...

 

[Bugnatr]

I went through the same **** with a Sacramento dealer back in 05 when Yamaha had the stupid deposit program back then. Dealer ****** up my order after waiting 2 months plus to get a new 05. Lucky for me I found a slightly used fully farkled 04 and saved money over a new bike.

There are good dealers and lousy ones but it really sucks when they flat out lie to you, no need to run a business that way.

 

[El Cajone]

You might check to see if you're entitled to any freebies if you pre-order. I pre-ordered my '16 in January in Vancouver

and I got it at the beginning of March, pretty much on time. My freebie was a Yamaha FJR bike cover (which I don't

really need) and because the saddle bags were late in arriving, Yamaha Canada gave me a rather nice Yamaha racing team watch.

 

[Queensland Ken]

My dealer ordered a new AE (a ES in USA) for me before I rang him back to change the order for one.

Bought the 1st one in Australia

Mind you Mr Yamaha in Australia told me on the Tuesday that they are not going to import them, told him I'll will buy a Trophy, lol lol lol

The bike was released at the Brisbane show that Thursday.

 

[mcatrophy]

...Mind you Mr Yamaha in Australia told me on the Tuesday that they are not going to import them, told him I'll will buy a Trophy, lol lol lol

...

Was that Mr Yamaha himself, or a Yamaha dealer who also sold Triumph, and had a Trophy sitting on his floor that he couldn't budge?

Not that a dealer would ever, ever tell you a porkie.

 

[Laser Dude]

I went to a large dealer in the area for my first visit there. I was in the area on business and thought I'd stop in and check them out. Huge dealer. I walk around, don't see any FJR's. I look and look and can't spot any (or anyone that cared that I was looking around). As I was about to leave, a guy came walking by and asked if I needed any help. I said "I was looking for your FJR's, but I didn't see any, did I miss them?". He said "We don't stock FJR's, they are a specialty bike. We can order one for you, but we just don't stock them". Then he proceeded to tell me the same story every dealer I've ever been to in any state tells me "We're the largest Yamaha dealer in the state".

So the largest Yamaha dealer in the state doesn't stock 1 FJR, ever? I didn't realize I had a "Specialty bike"

 

[Queensland Ken]

Was that Mr Yamaha himself, or a Yamaha dealer who also sold Triumph, and had a Trophy sitting on his floor that he couldn't budge?
Not that a dealer would ever, ever tell you a porkie.

He is the contact head honcho when you send a "contact us" email. He is rather high up in head office, maybe below the general manager.

He Once I did have a business contact details on 1 of many emails.

The conversation on the Tuesday was via a phone call 1 on 1.

I had a 3 month old Trophy that was crap, the most unreliable bike, 9 faults with that time. Still had my 07

Then the engine started to sound worse than a diesel on each ride.

Even offered to ride down to Melbourne for the tech bulletin recall.

So I had to find a dealer that sells Triumph and Yamaha.

My mate, who lives in Tamworth, was visiting such a dealer, when I rang him and we made a deal right there and then for an A

Then ordered an AE for me.

I was hoping and praying that the Trophy would make it the 500 km ride down, somehow it did lol lol

 

[Madmudder]

I hate dealers.I think they're just trying to make money off of us...

Making money is one thing, but taking a deposit and doing nothing for it is not business, it is deception!

Not a good idea if your planing to make a living doing business!

 

[AdamK]

Here's a good incompetent dealer story. A buddy of mine picked up his new 2016 ES, rode it the 4 miles home and put it in the garage for the night. Woke up the next morning and found a puddle of brake fluid under the rear caliper. When he pushed the rear brake pedal fluid oozed out a funny looking hole in the caliper. He sent me a pic and I couldn't quite figure out what I was looking at until I went out to the garage and looked at my new 2016. Turns out they snapped the bleeded off the caliper! There were a couple of other scratches in the caliper and the banjo. Talk about a possible lawsuit!!

 

[bigjohnsd]

Adam, bleeding the rear brakes is not part of the normal setup process. I hope he brought this to the dealership attention as it is likely that his bike was freight damaged.

That said, the tech doing the setup should have caught this issue.

 

[Queensland Ken]

bigjohnsd is quite correct.

The mechanic who assembles the bike has a final assembly check box to fill out and submits the paperwork back to Yamaha, should have picked that up.

Part of the process also involves logging into Yamaha's intranet site, to register the bike on their records, my 06 wasn't.

 

[AdamK]

It looks like it was broken when it was removed from the crate. Something damage the caliper, the banjo and sheared off the bleeder. Maybe a fork lift?? I can't think they assembled it and ran it into something without noticing. If it were done at the factory they would have seen the leaking fluid. This dealer uses an offsite assembly contractor.

 

[Queensland Ken]

The rear of the bike is fully assembled in the create while the front calipers are zip tied up into the frame of the bike for support.

I would jump up and down and swear at them severely, it's even worthy of an written apology and a letter to Yamaha.

Would have occurred after the final inspection, maybe ????

 

[lonerider]

I would be sure to get good closeup pictures before turning it back to the dealer...

 

[AdamK]

I have a copy of the video showing what's left of the bleeder oozing brake fluid as the rear brake is applied. The buyer has been on the dealer pretty hard and has also contacted Yamaha USA.