|
|
Buyers Beware - Defective Products / Bad Business Practices
|
|
For those that do not want to read the full nightmare description of the experience we have had with this company, here are the basics. We purchased a 2016 scooter in September of 2015. Shipping, delivery, condition of scooter on arrival, time to wait for documentation to have proof of registration and license, and the accessories we purchased were only the beginning of the nightmare process. The bike then broke down within 4 days of driving and 50 miles, and here we are almost in February of 2016 (almost 5 months after the purchase). Superior PowerSports (Ridewest) is now hiding behind the manufacturer and refusing warranty items (even when we paid for an extended warranty from the shop, not the manufacturer). Want the whole story, here it is:
2016 Interceptor was purchased in early September 2015. The scooter was purchased with all the bells and whistles, including cover, lock cable, full assemble package, and extended warranties from the shop, not from the manufacturer.
It took two weeks for the scooter to leave for shipment from Industrial City. It took another week to be notified by a delivery company that the scooter is ready for delivery. We set up an appointment and waited around all day. The scooter never arrived. We called the delivery company and we were informed that the scooter had been transferred to another delivery company. We then set up another appointment with them. The bike took 3 weeks from purchase to arrive.
The scooter arrived mounted and wrapped badly to a completely rusted metal frame that sat on top of a broken palette. Note, you will need to dispose of this rusted frame yourself. It’s about 8 feet long and about 3 feet wide. Though Superior PowerSports tells you to inspect the scooter before finalizing the delivery the delivery company would not allow us to do so saying they did not have time for us to inspect the scooter.
After inspecting the scooter it was clear that Superior PowerSports (Ridewest) did not do anything to the bike to make it fully assembled (which we paid for. Pretty much everything outside of the internal components and wheel assemblies was loose. Some screws so loose they were about to fall out. The visor, mirrors, and seat were not attached as they were supposed to be. We spent hours putting things on the bike and tightening down loose items. Not very reassuring for a vehicle you need to drive down the road.
Further, the trunk, cover, and lock cable were no where to be found. I can add this into the timeline later, but I will just finish this off here. The cover and lock cable along with the registration paperwork was then sent to us from the company and 2 weeks later we were notified that it was “lost” in shipment. We did finally receive the cover and lock cable. The trunk, however, has yet to arrive (5 months after purchase).
Once the bike is received you start a process of getting the registration and licensing finalized with Superior PowerSports (Ridewest). As said above due to a “lost” shipment it took 3 weeks to receive this paperwork. We returned immediately, however it was 1.5 months from the purchase date before we had plates and the temporary registration.
Then it all got worse…
4 days into driving the scooter (at about 50 miles), the scooter broke down. Running great one minute, then choked died and left me on the side of the road. I was able to get it home with about ¼ mile runs and half hour rests.
We were informed by Gio at Superior PowerSports that this sounds like a carburetor issue and 1 month after the break down we received the new carburetor and paid a mechanic to have it installed. Another note here is that your warranty does not cover labor at any other shop other than the Superior PowerSports shop in Industrial City, even though they told us we could take it to any shop buying the warranty when we purchased the scooter.
So, new carburetor installed and scooter fires right up. I take it for several short trips knowing that with the bad carburetor the scooter would run off and on and wanted to be sure. All seemed good. I decided to take the bike about 4 miles away to the store and just before arriving, the bike choked and died, with no luck restarting at all. I pushed the scooter 4 miles back home.
We contacted Gio again and explained that this whole thing is ridiculous and the bike needs to be fixed. He then said it sounded like a bad battery. 1) The scooters run without a battery and mine would too, when it wanted to run. 2) I had the battery tested and the battery was good. Only to have Gio say again that he thinks it is a bad battery. I then talked to the mechanic that installed the carburetor and he advised it was most likely an issue of the onboard computer or incorrect wiring, but most likely the computer. I shared this information with Gio in a very detailed email. Gio then said he’d process the warranty for the computer and that I didn’t need to provide new pictures of the bike. You have to wait 10 days for the manufacturer to “approve” the claim. On the 11th day I contacted Gio who then informed that the warranty could not be processed due to pictures not being provided which all could have been taken care of 10 days earlier. So once again I took off all the bolts and took pictures of the internal of the scooter for Gio.
Long and short is that now Superior PowerSports will not authorize a warranty claim for the computer (which I found out was only $35 through a fight with Gio on the phone). They require that we take the bike to a certified mechanic to narrow down the issue. In effect hundreds of dollar to track a problem down on a brand new bike, when the most likely problem is the computer and without a new computer the mechanic will not know if that is where the problem is. Gio’s response is that this is what the manufacturer requires.
The truth is that Superior PowerSports is hiding behind the manufacturer in a covert way to not fulfill a warranty item, even though we purchased Superior PowerSports extended warranty. So we bought the computer full price. Confirmation of that order was received one week ago and we have yet to receive confirmation of shipment.
We will never do business with this company again. I urge you all to take your business elsewhere too. We have spent so many hours on this issue its not even funny. My gmail has over 70 email exchanges.
And if that doesn’t deter you.. Gio stated by phone that the parts in the bikes are cheap and they break easy or sometimes are defective from the get-go.
Beware!
|
|
|
|
Business's response - by Emily O.on 2/25/2016
|
|
Hello S.G. Thank you for bringing this to our attention. We would like to apologize for any inconvenience and frustration you experienced with our company. I am discouraged to hear of your negative experience with our company. We in no way want to make our customers feel the way you are feeling. I understand that you had issues with the shipping company that was set to deliver to you. We have been working with the shipping companies that we utilize to make sure these sorts of occurances do not become the norm. Providing excellent customer service is our top priority and when our customers are not happy, I am not happy. I would like to learn more details about your case if you are willing to discuss so that we may come up with a solution that will satisfy all parties. You can contact me at your convenience at info@superiorpowersports.com. Thank you.
|
|
|
|
|
|