Negligence or Fraud?

[jas23]

Had my bike serviced last month at the dealership (where I don't usually go). When they gave me the invoice they said, "oh, by the way, we had to replace a broken electrical coil". I asked what they were referring to and asked to see it. They showed me this



It's the electrical cord connecting the spark plug. As many of you know, in Scarabeo 200s this is accessed through the panel in front of and below the seat hinge.

I asked them how the rubber casing (yes, it's rubber - check yourself) would have cracked like that, and the sales rep suggested it was probably weather corrosion. As we know, this area of the bike is not exposed to the elements. Moreover, my bike is only 2 years old and is stored indoors in winter. When I held the broken cord and tried to squeeze it in half, the casing would not break. He tried it too, and said "see, it's very stiff." In fact, it was very pliable. It's new and was in very good condition. No amount of bending the casing will break it, so how did those "cracks" appear?

In fact, they're not cracks. They appear to be cuts. In this picture, the cord is in its natural curvature that it would be in if it were in its place on the bike, connecting the spark plug to the power source. Notice where the "breaks" occur: in the concave parts of the curves. In other words, in places where the casing is not stressed at all.



At the time, I paid for it (the only other choice they offered me was to put the broken cord back on!) but obviously took the broken cord with me. I showed it to several others, including my regular mechanic who told me that this simply doesn't happen. It's not weather corrosion and even if it was, you would not find this on a two-year-old bike. He agreed that the cuts appeared to be cuts rather than breakage, and that they occurred in the areas of the casing least likely to be stretched or stressed.

I was considering suing, but at the very least am engaging the help of the local consumer protection agency here. Any thoughts, opinions on this? Are there any lawyers on the board?

[tomd]

To make matters even worse pull back the boot on top of coil the wire runs thru .....unscrew the wire it should come out lefty loosey righty tighty if it unscrews they/you could've just replaced the wire maybe even the fancy braided type (yes they make nice braided Hi tension cable in many sizes) This is a terrible over charge that you had to pay the 200 beo is not even old enuff model to have this problem Yet the stoopid china built thing started model life i believe in 07 my 01 italian made beo is running on its original coil n wire with an extreme bend in from factory and the wire looks new n shiny Doh

[tomd]

It will cost wayy more money to fight the service dept Vs paying the bill and they know this youd have to hire an expert to say that they were cut by a irwin utility blade etc blah blah blah U kno the deal youre just Fakd

[Buckeroo Bob]

Looks stinky fishy to me.

[ispud]

I think my local Ford dealer pulled a similar scam on me with the air cleaner on my Escape. When in for service they brought out the scungiest air cleaner I had ever seen - I paid to have it replaced, but as time goes by I am more and more certain that they showed me the wringer they keep under the desk for fish like me. Really bad thing is that I found out latter is that another shop was "supposed" to have replaced it a month before when they did the 30k mile service. I called them and they assured me if I had been billed the work was done.

A good mechanic that you can trust is invaluable!

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[tomd]

No doubt I never waste tyme trying this with people It just doesnt pay off in long run I like to Keep customers Not run thru Em my people have been with me 10-20- 25 years So i need not take on new customers till their kids grow up my shop etc Its actually easier on me and my shop as I need not advertise etc which is costly and I dont want NEW people

[Bill Adams]

the 200 beo is not even old enuff model to have this problem Yet the stoopid china built thing started model life i believe in 07 Doh

Get used to it. China just became the #2 economy in the world surpassing Japan. Speaking of Japan, I can remember not too long ago when Japanese products were soundly criticized for their poor quality. Now we're praising them just like we'll be praising Chinese quality 10 years from now or maybe even sooner. Hey, how many years has it been since a motor scooter was made in the U.S.?

[ispud]

yes, but we don't have to like it! Good show to watch and I may have the name wrong, blah - it's somehing about pickers - 2 guys in a truck traveling the back roads of America and searching through piles of junk saved by hoarders all over the place. They find all sorts of cool stuff that WAS made in America at one time - those were the good old days.

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[mkjeeves]

ispud-

Don't the guys on that show turn right around and sell the stuff to some "Americana" collector at 5 times what they just paid the crazy old guy in the sticks for it?

Not much better than the bait and switch that started this thread!

[tomd]

Yes but they agree to pay for the shiet Doesnt matter that they found or bought it for less or nothing Then youd have to say same for antique dealers etc Cuz I buy low and sell hi doesnt make one a crook

[Southpaw56]

Boy, how deviated can a thread get?

JAS23, you should challenge Mr. M? (at vespa?) with your suspicions. My '08 spark plug wire is fine no matter what the chinaphobes here say. What did the folks at Capitol think? Did you show them the wire?

Now I know how desperate they (Vespa) must be. Have you looked at the Vespa 300 they're trying to pass off as new. Everyone in the place has been driving it and the trim is falling off.............Wow!
I would say consider it a lesson learned. Even filing a suit would probably cost more than you could ever get back.

Time for a Honda or Yammie or anything else!!

Sp56

[ispud]

yes - they do turn a profit - from what I see I am amazed they can stay in business. But my comment was about the past manufacturing history of the states - I love seeing that we were capable of building all sorts of things at one time - and the quality was good. I for one will pay for quality, but I am finding this to be a minority opinion in the marketplace. So we get the cheapest everything.

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