lowpr0fi1e
Husqvarna
B Class
So I have held off on this post for a couple of months to make sure I wasn't just overreacting.
I ended up buying my TE630 from bow ridge sports and just wanted to share my experience of how the transaction went.
Initially before I went into view the bike I e-mailed the store to ask a couple of questions about how long they had been dealing husky's for and what kind of inventory they kept as in Canada they are quite a niche and not widely known and serviced, I also asked about financing as I have only been in the country for 3 years. To this I didn’t receive a response within 2 weeks.
As they were the closest dealer I figured regardless it would be the best place to purchase because of any warranty and servicing issues.
First I spoke with one of the sales guys, and I am pretty sure as soon as they heard the I had an accent they figured that I wasn't going to give them a commission so they stood there and provided no info on the bike until I asked who could speak to about finance.
When I spoke with Byron the owner he was great with trying to help me out with organising finance he really wanted to help me get the bike, I know it was a sale for him, but he seemed quite genuine.
After I filled in the credit app I went back out to talk with the sales guys to ask about getting some aftermarket parts and some new armour and again I hit a brick wall....either they didn’t know or it was a hassle to look up the pricing. To this I responded that I would ask again when I was buying the bike, then left.
With a bitter taste in my mouth at this stage I probably should have just cut my losses and found another dealer, but again I was in contact with the owner who was really quite helpful, so I just figured that my gut feeling was due to the sales staff
Initially I was denied the first round of finance with a bank due to being a temporary resident, kindly Byron offered to apply with their second tier finance provider, who I was happy to speak with to see what kind of plan they were willing to offer. About 2-3 weeks later I was approved and provided with the terms, which required me to get:
- Additional life insurance on top of my current life insurance $81.49
- Micro DOT DNA on the bike $199
- Finance fees 1 - $299
- Finance fees 2 - $225
- Interest over 12 months $694.71
+ GST that was not displayed on any documentation provided, but included in the displayed repayment.
This was a total finance requirements / charges of $1535.35 on a $9700 bike.
When I weighed up the benefits of keeping the transactions and finance in Canada vs. paying on my credit card in Australia and including the exchange and interest charges, the credit card option was substantially cheaper, so after about a half dozen calls between the dealer and the same amount to the 2nd tier finance provider I decided that it would be worth the risk in transferring the money from Aus.
By this stage I received a call from Byron on a Wednesday saying that they were PDI'ing the bike, which at this stage I told him I didn't think I was going to use finance, but rather fund it from my AUD account, but I would more than likely be in on the weekend to pick up the bike.
After transferring the money to my credit card to buy the bike, I went to Bow Ridge on the Saturday excited to pick up my bike.
When I arrived I told Byron that I wanted to pay for the bike $2k on my CAD debit card and $8k on my AUD credit card (full retail Inc. GST) the look on his face was amazing. The response was "If you are paying by credit we can't wear the transaction fees", I said that I guess I am not buying the bike this weekend then. His response was that it had been dragged on long enough and that to finalise it he would split the credit card fees.
At this stage I was pretty disheartened, and felt like I was now being an inconvenience....not really how you want to feel when you're spending $10k on a new bike....
I accepted with one of the worst feelings I have ever had and processed the transaction thinking that once I had the bike I wouldn’t have to deal with Bow Ridge anymore after the purchase.
Once I had processed the 2 payments I was sent down to the workshop to get the bike and receive a once over on the bike.
When I asked about getting the tool kit and manuals for the bike the mechanics went looking.....about 5 mins later they returned and took the seat off and realised that the PDI (told that it was done on the Wednesday) had not actually been done, along with this there was some scuffing on the rear guard, when I asked, I was told that it was just some residue that they would clean off.
I was asked to come back in an hour while they completed the PDI....I went my car to vent my concerns to a friend that was there and then out came Byron to give me the requested manuals. At this stage I told him that I had no faith in their dealership and that I wanted to know what was involved in getting a refund as I didn't think I wanted to purchase from their dealership. I explained all of my concerns and his response was that I had not called after speaking to him on the Wednesday to confirm that I was going to be there on the weekend, otherwise he would have checked that the PDI had been done, he also mentioned that he had spent a lot of time trying to organise finance with me and that we should just continue the purchase and he would make it right.
By this stage I decided that I just wanted to get the bike and cut my losses with the dealer. After going to try and calm down with a coffee for an hour and returning with another friend that had a trailer to pick up the bike I went in to get the key and make sure the PDI was done, I was given the tool kit along with an axle spanner (not sure if this was them making it right?). It was at this stage that Byron asked me who was picking the bike up and I explained that it was somebody at the company that I worked at (our company spends about $50k a year with Bow Ridge), then I was offered anything on the clothing wall (I picked a hoodie worth $180)
After pushing my bike over to the trailer as I didn't want to ride the bike for the first time when I was really p!$$ed off I figured that I would only have to return there once more to get the 1k service which they tech told me that they would take it out of break in mode.
So, 1,000km later I booked it in for the first service and took it back, leaving it overnight as I was told that for them to check the valve clearance they would need the bike the day before so the engine was cool. I left the bike for the night and called the next day around 2pm to make sure that it was going to be ready. Off I got to pick it up and pay the 280 something dollars for the first service, not a problem as I figured the first service was worth it for the warranty and for them to take it out of "break in mode"...After picking it up I realised that "break in mode" was maybe taking the factory break in oil out(which I had to top up as it was below the empty mark in the first week).
At this stage I was pretty bitter, but I figured I would just cut my losses and wouldn’t have to deal with them again, then I decided to do the power up mods to try and open up the power on the bike. When I opened up the air box I realised that it looked exactly the same as it did a couple of days before after I had taken it off-road for the first and only time before taking it in for a service. Realising that the service didn’t even include a 2 min air filter clean it hammered in that I will NEVER go back there again unless my warranty requires it.
After an hour of writing this post I kind of wish I hadn't started as it still to this day (over a month later) still leaves a bitter taste in my mouth just talking about my experience with Bow Ridge.
OK, atleast I feel better having verbalised my experience, I just hope it helps somebody else if they ever consider them.
I ended up buying my TE630 from bow ridge sports and just wanted to share my experience of how the transaction went.
Initially before I went into view the bike I e-mailed the store to ask a couple of questions about how long they had been dealing husky's for and what kind of inventory they kept as in Canada they are quite a niche and not widely known and serviced, I also asked about financing as I have only been in the country for 3 years. To this I didn’t receive a response within 2 weeks.
As they were the closest dealer I figured regardless it would be the best place to purchase because of any warranty and servicing issues.
First I spoke with one of the sales guys, and I am pretty sure as soon as they heard the I had an accent they figured that I wasn't going to give them a commission so they stood there and provided no info on the bike until I asked who could speak to about finance.
When I spoke with Byron the owner he was great with trying to help me out with organising finance he really wanted to help me get the bike, I know it was a sale for him, but he seemed quite genuine.
After I filled in the credit app I went back out to talk with the sales guys to ask about getting some aftermarket parts and some new armour and again I hit a brick wall....either they didn’t know or it was a hassle to look up the pricing. To this I responded that I would ask again when I was buying the bike, then left.
With a bitter taste in my mouth at this stage I probably should have just cut my losses and found another dealer, but again I was in contact with the owner who was really quite helpful, so I just figured that my gut feeling was due to the sales staff
Initially I was denied the first round of finance with a bank due to being a temporary resident, kindly Byron offered to apply with their second tier finance provider, who I was happy to speak with to see what kind of plan they were willing to offer. About 2-3 weeks later I was approved and provided with the terms, which required me to get:
- Additional life insurance on top of my current life insurance $81.49
- Micro DOT DNA on the bike $199
- Finance fees 1 - $299
- Finance fees 2 - $225
- Interest over 12 months $694.71
+ GST that was not displayed on any documentation provided, but included in the displayed repayment.
This was a total finance requirements / charges of $1535.35 on a $9700 bike.
When I weighed up the benefits of keeping the transactions and finance in Canada vs. paying on my credit card in Australia and including the exchange and interest charges, the credit card option was substantially cheaper, so after about a half dozen calls between the dealer and the same amount to the 2nd tier finance provider I decided that it would be worth the risk in transferring the money from Aus.
By this stage I received a call from Byron on a Wednesday saying that they were PDI'ing the bike, which at this stage I told him I didn't think I was going to use finance, but rather fund it from my AUD account, but I would more than likely be in on the weekend to pick up the bike.
After transferring the money to my credit card to buy the bike, I went to Bow Ridge on the Saturday excited to pick up my bike.
When I arrived I told Byron that I wanted to pay for the bike $2k on my CAD debit card and $8k on my AUD credit card (full retail Inc. GST) the look on his face was amazing. The response was "If you are paying by credit we can't wear the transaction fees", I said that I guess I am not buying the bike this weekend then. His response was that it had been dragged on long enough and that to finalise it he would split the credit card fees.
At this stage I was pretty disheartened, and felt like I was now being an inconvenience....not really how you want to feel when you're spending $10k on a new bike....
I accepted with one of the worst feelings I have ever had and processed the transaction thinking that once I had the bike I wouldn’t have to deal with Bow Ridge anymore after the purchase.
Once I had processed the 2 payments I was sent down to the workshop to get the bike and receive a once over on the bike.
When I asked about getting the tool kit and manuals for the bike the mechanics went looking.....about 5 mins later they returned and took the seat off and realised that the PDI (told that it was done on the Wednesday) had not actually been done, along with this there was some scuffing on the rear guard, when I asked, I was told that it was just some residue that they would clean off.
I was asked to come back in an hour while they completed the PDI....I went my car to vent my concerns to a friend that was there and then out came Byron to give me the requested manuals. At this stage I told him that I had no faith in their dealership and that I wanted to know what was involved in getting a refund as I didn't think I wanted to purchase from their dealership. I explained all of my concerns and his response was that I had not called after speaking to him on the Wednesday to confirm that I was going to be there on the weekend, otherwise he would have checked that the PDI had been done, he also mentioned that he had spent a lot of time trying to organise finance with me and that we should just continue the purchase and he would make it right.
By this stage I decided that I just wanted to get the bike and cut my losses with the dealer. After going to try and calm down with a coffee for an hour and returning with another friend that had a trailer to pick up the bike I went in to get the key and make sure the PDI was done, I was given the tool kit along with an axle spanner (not sure if this was them making it right?). It was at this stage that Byron asked me who was picking the bike up and I explained that it was somebody at the company that I worked at (our company spends about $50k a year with Bow Ridge), then I was offered anything on the clothing wall (I picked a hoodie worth $180)
After pushing my bike over to the trailer as I didn't want to ride the bike for the first time when I was really p!$$ed off I figured that I would only have to return there once more to get the 1k service which they tech told me that they would take it out of break in mode.
So, 1,000km later I booked it in for the first service and took it back, leaving it overnight as I was told that for them to check the valve clearance they would need the bike the day before so the engine was cool. I left the bike for the night and called the next day around 2pm to make sure that it was going to be ready. Off I got to pick it up and pay the 280 something dollars for the first service, not a problem as I figured the first service was worth it for the warranty and for them to take it out of "break in mode"...After picking it up I realised that "break in mode" was maybe taking the factory break in oil out(which I had to top up as it was below the empty mark in the first week).
At this stage I was pretty bitter, but I figured I would just cut my losses and wouldn’t have to deal with them again, then I decided to do the power up mods to try and open up the power on the bike. When I opened up the air box I realised that it looked exactly the same as it did a couple of days before after I had taken it off-road for the first and only time before taking it in for a service. Realising that the service didn’t even include a 2 min air filter clean it hammered in that I will NEVER go back there again unless my warranty requires it.
After an hour of writing this post I kind of wish I hadn't started as it still to this day (over a month later) still leaves a bitter taste in my mouth just talking about my experience with Bow Ridge.
OK, atleast I feel better having verbalised my experience, I just hope it helps somebody else if they ever consider them.
What were they expecting putting an unguarded header pipe on this bike? Even with the pipe wrapped up in exhaust wrap it is still hot enough to continue to melt my riding pants. I have a CF header guard on order but this is not something that should have to be added to a bike right out of the factory.
Don't regret trading the Aprilia for the 511 at all.