New Nomad owner and not happy

[pick187]

Okay I am very please with the bike except for a small easily fixed problem and a local Kawasaki dealer.

When I made the deal, the one I bought was not ready to run and was not "juiced" up. So I had test driven a different one. When I picked up the bike after it was serviced there was freezing rain in the forecast so I trailered it home. The trip meter showed only .03 miles. When I finally was able to ride it I found that the shifter rubbed the side of the bike. The place I bought it at is about 45 miles away. There is a Kawasaki dealer in my town so I called them since the bike is obviously under warranty. I was told that they do NOT service any bike (warranty service) that they did not sell. WTH?????? Is this normal way of doing business from dealership to dealership with Kawasaki? So I can expect no warranty service help if I am traveling and far away from home?

Should have bought a Roadstar.

[Yellow Jacket]

I would report that dealer to Kawasaki. I don't know if they will do anything but any Kawasaki dealer is supposed to provide warranty work. It's not as if he's doing anything for free, the dealers get paid by Ma Kaw for warranty work. I would visit him again with about 10 big guys wearing black suits and with suspious looking bulges under the left arm.

[01nomad]

I think they have to repair it, BUT you will be the last one in line. Anyway that's what I was told when I told them I could probably buy cheaper someplace else.

[beezer]

go back to the place you bought it. You won't need to be seeing a dealer too often after it's fixed.

[cheeseyrider]

Okay I am very please with the bike except for a small easily fixed problem and a local Kawasaki dealer.

When I made the deal, the one I bought was not ready to run and was not "juiced" up. So I had test driven a different one. When I picked up the bike after it was serviced there was freezing rain in the forecast so I trailered it home. The trip meter showed only .03 miles. When I finally was able to ride it I found that the shifter rubbed the side of the bike. The place I bought it at is about 45 miles away. There is a Kawasaki dealer in my town so I called them since the bike is obviously under warranty. I was told that they do NOT service any bike (warranty service) that they did not sell. WTH?????? Is this normal way of doing business from dealership to dealership with Kawasaki? So I can expect no warranty service help if I am traveling and far away from home?

Frustrating indeed, however, I would simply call back and ask to speak with the owner. Ask the owner to verify that this is their policy. If the owner verifies this is their policy explain that in addition to needing the Kaw warantee repair you needed to purchase full set of riding gear for two including helmets, gloves, rain gear, etc. as well as several thousands of dollars worth of accessories - which by the way, you will now be purchasing from a dealer who is willing to provide customer service. Then call Kawasaki and report the dealer. I'm sure Ma Kaw would be concerned to find that they have a dealer not willing to serivce their product.

And by the way - Congratulations on the purchase. You're gonna love your new ride!

Get a lawyer. Or talk to BD.

[rlfaubion]

Have you lQQk'd to see if it isn't something you could make right yourself unless the frame is bent? If its the frame, I'd head back for a trade.

[wanderer]

I bought my Nomad in September and about two weeks later I got a survey from Kawasaki in the mail asking all kinds of questions about what I thought of the dealer. That would be a good chance to ream your local dealer.

[rlfaubion]

PS:

Congratulation's - You'll get happy after this part is over.

[socwkbiker]

Nico, who let you put of your box?
Don't listen to him, he's off his meds.

Cheesyrider had the best advice. That should not be the normal practice of a kaw dealer.

[mercianbike]

I may be off base on this because I am trying to remember something I read some months ago. As I understand it, when a dealer receives shipment of a new bike from the distributor, he is responsible for assembly and adjustments before the bike is put on the floor to be sold. Some (most) dealers add on a charge for this set-up. If, after purchasing the new bike, an individual finds a problem with the dealer provided assembly or adjustments, a second dealer does not want to be involved because they will not be reimbursed from Kawasaki since this is not truly a warranty problem. I'm just suggesting that maybe the local dealer feels the rubbing shifter is the responsibility of the selling dealer and doesn't want to commit his resources to fix it. On top of that, there are probably hard feelings for not buying locally.

[wanderer]

I may be off base on this because I am trying to remember something I read some months ago. As I understand it, when a dealer receives shipment of a new bike from the distributor, he is responsible for assembly and adjustments before the bike is put on the floor to be sold. Some (most) dealers add on a charge for this set-up. If, after purchasing the new bike, an individual finds a problem with the dealer provided assembly or adjustments, a second dealer does not want to be involved because they will not be reimbursed from Kawasaki since this is not truly a warranty problem. I'm just suggesting that maybe the local dealer feels the rubbing shifter is the responsibility of the selling dealer and doesn't want to commit his resources to fix it. On top of that, there are probably hard feelings for not buying locally.

Don't you just hate it when the voice of sound reasoning throws water on a good flaming? LOL

[naugaman]

I have only had warranty work done, not a bad assembly job. I bought my Nomad 120 miles from where I live and take it in to the local dealer for all the service work and warranty work. Not a problem. The local dealer for me is now very customer oriented. It was not that way 5 years ago but they are now under new ownership.

Nico, who let you put of your box?
Don't listen to him, he's off his meds.

Cheesyrider had the best advice. That should not be the normal practice of a kaw dealer.


<marquee>http://www.forumspile.com/Understand-Huh-Hunh.jpg</marquee>

[dui546]

The two local Kawasaki dealerships in our area both suck. Both deal in selling all metric motorcycle brands and neither cares about service after the sale. I caught my salesman in a lie about my Nomad. He told me that he had called the warehouse and they had the one I wanted to order (2007 red/silver) in a crate that it would be shipped to them immediately. I paid the assembly fees, etc.

When I took delivery of my Nomad a paint flaw (scratch) was documented on the bottom of my right saddlebag. The salesman told me that it came that way out of the crate from the factory. I told him to order me a new saddlebag. He said it was not an option with Kawasaki because the bag itself was not physically damaged (it was only cosmetic). They had it fixed a couple of months later and it is not noticeable.

When I took my Nomad in for the first scheduled service I also scheduled the paint repair. The head mechanic in the garage told me that he specifically remembered picking that bike up from a showroom at another dealership.

I am TOTALLY HAPPY with the quality of my Nomad as it was built by Kawasaki. Unfortunately, dealerships and salesman are only as good as their individual character and you cannot trust any of them. I informed Kawasaki of my disappointment with the dealership on the Kawasaki comment form. It's been at least 6 months and I've never heard any response.

[dantama]

I've had warranty work done at two different dealers beside the one I purchased at with no problems.

[blowndodge]

Should have bought a Roadstar.


Yea, like you could afford one now!!!! Go finish watching "The Repo Man" you dipshiit!!! HAHAHAHAHAHA

Your fly was down Sunday.

The good part is, rarely do Nomads or any Vulcan for that matter need real warranty work. With basic care on a regular schedule they will run for years and years. I would prefer to even have the dealer change my oil, but at $90/hr I will gladly do it myself.

[socwkbiker]

Your fly was down Sunday.

Weinie watcher.

[ringadingh]

I have found that most salesmen will tell you whatever you want to hear, and push whatever they want to get rid of the most. A good service shop is hard to find where you can trust their work . Around here we got a new Kawasaki streetbike dealer last spring, he was a dirt bike and atv dealer for 4-5 years before that. Im not sure if I would let them work on my bike since I don't think they have much experience with the larger bikes. I do almost all of my own repairs, so it would have to be a major teardown of the engine,(since there are special tools required I don't have ) before I would take it in. If my bike was under warranty I would take it in if it required parts or diagnostics, Simple adjustments I would do myself.

[blowndodge]

[quote:1usdpjcv]Your fly was down Sunday.

Weinie watcher.[/quote:1usdpjcv]

<marquee>Is that why he kept tying his shoes standing next to me??</marquee>

[oledawg]

???It's always about the Dealer. Thats why the best price isn't always the best deal. I've bought 2 Nomads from a dealer who has the best prices anywhere near me, but I know going in that after the purchase its all mine. I don't have a problem with that as I know going in what I'm getting into. The Nomad's are pretty bulletproof and I do most of my own work, so the money I save at purchase is most important to me. And as far as Kawasaki is concerned my experience with them has not been very good. I think they make a great product but I think based on both my experience,and that of my friends their warranty service leaves much to be desired. I would not purchase any extended warranty from them as I haven't seen them honor their new owner warranty as they should. http://s2.images.proboards.com/cool.gifJust my2cw
Okay I am very please with the bike except for a small easily fixed problem and a local Kawasaki dealer.

When I made the deal, the one I bought was not ready to run and was not "juiced" up. So I had test driven a different one. When I picked up the bike after it was serviced there was freezing rain in the forecast so I trailered it home. The trip meter showed only .03 miles. When I finally was able to ride it I found that the shifter rubbed the side of the bike. The place I bought it at is about 45 miles away. There is a Kawasaki dealer in my town so I called them since the bike is obviously under warranty. I was told that they do NOT service any bike (warranty service) that they did not sell. WTH?????? Is this normal way of doing business from dealership to dealership with Kawasaki? So I can expect no warranty service help if I am traveling and far away from home?

[jussmatt]

Pick187... not sure where you're located, but most of the guys on here have given good advice (with the exception of the usuals... Nico...BD!!! Get a room!!) Anyway.. I'm very lucky where I live. I've got a great dealership that's got a salesman, mechanic, & Parts guy that have all been there for 12+ years!! I think that goes a LONG way in speaking about a dealership. When I didn't haggle about what I thought was already a good price they had on the Nomad, they threw in Helmets, jackets, and shirts free. I know they're making their money...otherwise they wouldn't stay in business.. but they're always busy and packed with work since they're known for doing good work. I do as much of the regular maintance as I can so I don't have to be waiting on my bike when a good day comes around.

http://lwlolm.150m.com/Pix/feel_silly.jpg

Your fly was down Sunday.

http://www.cracksmokingshirts.com/products/xyz_t.gif

[jeepers]

I had the same issue with Chevrolet. I purchased my truck 65 miles away even though there is a dealer only 3 miles from my house. They wouldn't deal when I wanted to buy. When I had to take it to them for a warranty issue, they told me to take it back where I bought it. After I called Chevrolet, any time I had to take it back, they were VERY, VERY friendly.

[unwind2]

I have had my bike serviced at different Kawa dealers without problems. The one and only warranty problem...one of those heat sheilds fell off the pipe...I took it back to the place where I purchased it. He took a heat shield off a Nomad on the showroom floor and put it on my bike right then.

You will love the bike...maybe not the dealer but the bike. ;)

I have not had any warranty issues with the dealers I purchased my bikes from due to the fact nothing went wrong under warranty. That being said I do have an experience to pass on. August 28 of this past year I was on my way home from New Jersey to Nebraska. For some reason I decided to take a different route,so ended up going through part of Maryland. The Nomad started running poorly about 50 miles north of Hagerstown. I stopped and called my g/f and she looked on the internet to find a dealer. Turns out the closest she told me about was Twigg Cycles in Hagerstown. I made my way over to Twigg, explained my situation to them figuring it would be the next day by the time they could look at the bike. It was already about 3 pm. Well, they had a tech just finishing another project and had him take quick look at my bike. They were able to make a quick determination as to what would get me back on the road and made the necessary fixes and I was on my way by 5:30 pm. Total cost was $133.00, there were no parts involved. If I am back their way again, I will make sure to stop in and thank them again. I was very impressed with their customer service.

[beezer]

what happened to the original poster?

[pick187]

I took everyones advice into consideration (except for the two that had some weird side conversation going). I sent an email to Kawasaki and voiced my complaint about the local dealer here. I have made an appointment to go back to the dealer I purchased it from on Sat and get it fixed.

I originally planned on having the local dealer do all of the srvicing, but now don't want them anywhere near my bike. The extra goodies I planned on buying soon will NOT be purchased there either.

The trip this Sat gives me an excuse to buy some of the extras I have been salavating over.

[gshep]

Sounds like a wise move

Shep

[misunderstood]

Wish you the best with the repair. Enjoy shopping for the goodies. http://s2.images.proboards.com/cool.gif

[bustagut]

any kawi dealer should work on a kawi bike for warranty work, but i would report him

pick187, glad it is going well for you. I think you will be extremely happy with the Nomad now that this glitch is out of the way. I wouldn't even bother letting the local dealer know what I was doing. I'd just forget they even exist.

[tomk]

I took everyones advice into consideration (except for the two that had some weird side conversation going). I sent an email to Kawasaki and voiced my complaint about the local dealer here. I have made an appointment to go back to the dealer I purchased it from on Sat and get it fixed.

I originally planned on having the local dealer do all of the srvicing, but now don't want them anywhere near my bike. The extra goodies I planned on buying soon will NOT be purchased there either.

The trip this Sat gives me an excuse to buy some of the extras I have been salavating over.

Purchase goodies only AFTER they take care of your issues - right?

[pick187]

I have been pleased with the service from the dealer I bought the bike from. Here is the email I recieved back from Kawasaki today.
__________________________
Thank you for your email which we received in this office. We understand that you are having a shifting problem with your brand new 2007 Kawasaki Nomad.

Proper new unit setup is the responsibility of the dealer who sold the unit. For this reason, and probably because he didn't get the sale, the local dealer is reluctant to work on this problem. On the other hand, normal warranty work can be performed at any Kawasaki dealer. It is only this initial setup where the original selling dealer is responsible to provide a motorcycle that is safe and ready to ride.

Thank you for buying a new Kawasaki. I hope this helps to explain our warranty policy. If you have any further questions I can be reached at (949)770-0400 ext. 2575.

Sincerely,

Kawasaki Motors Corp., U.S.A.


Tim Rice
Consumer Services

Log# 416698
_______________________________________

I liked that he returned my email, but I think he missed my point. The local dealer said he will NOT do any warranty service on a bike he didn't sell.

[socwkbiker]

Then use that phone number he gave you and let him know. The dealerships can only get better and more customer oriented if the pressure comes from corporate.