talk about a learning experience. Needless to say you not going back to that dealer

 

Wow, I feel for you. Hell of a first post.
They have your money so you won't be getting that back. Did you get an itemized list of all the parts? Don't buy anything more than what the list says . And take all the parts they replaced too. Maybe you can sell them on C'list or eBay and recoup some dough.

 

Not real sure what to say on this mater, except........
They should have never let you test ride anything.
You are not a Licensed operator.
Wonder what an attorney would say to that?

 

First of all, welcome to the forum. I'm sorry you had such a bad experience to relate in your 1st post though. I think I would check with a lawyer if I were you. Even though you signed a contract, the dealer was not blameless. He let a rider with only a learners permit, and basically no experience, ride out on a new MC. I'm sure you could find a lawyer that would look into this on a no fee unless he gets you money basis. It's worth a shot. IMHO

 

for sure, if you end up paying, take all the parts you replaced. You are entitled to them, since you have paid for them. You can sell them on ebay and make at lest half of that 1k back.

yes Id take pics of the damaged area, BEFORE, to verify what they replace, and the repair quote. While they are charging you FULL price most likely, for the damaged parts, they will be able to get them much cheaper, and you may be able to negotiate some.

That policy is kinda standard, but possibly rushing you was because you were new. Sucks huh? Argh

Are they willing to deal on the bike purchase? While you may have wanted a used bike, which is wise, THIS one is now a used scarred up bike, and youre were gonna mess it up a little anyway right? How much did you like the bike?

 

I guarantee they milked for everything they could get and who knows they may even try for more. 1k sounds like a lot to me. They probably have some crazy labor charges in there. Get the old parts and itemized bill.

 

Are they willing to deal on the bike purchase? While you may have wanted a used bike, which is wise, THIS one is now a used scarred up bike, and youre were gonna mess it up a little anyway right? How much did you like the bike?

Good point... though I do have to ask, he was test riding a $9,000 bike?
Which one was it? Sounds like a sportbike since he talked about plastics and such... and I don't know of any $9,000 sportbikes that would be suitable for a beginner, much less one with no road experience.
The only sportbikes that Kawi sells that are $9000 are the Z1000 and the Supersports.

I think the dealer should give him the full $1,000 back and consider the costs of the repairs to be their "stupid tax".

 

I would have them mail me a receipt with complete parts and itemized list of charges. If you do not agree with the $1000 charge then get on phone with your credit card company. Definitely get the replaced parts.

 

x3 - talk to an attorney

 

Not sure if you are liable for even with the "contract". They let an unlicenced driver ride a bike.

 

Good point... though I do have to ask, he was test riding a $9,000 bike?
Which one was it? Sounds like a sportbike since he talked about plastics and such... and I don't know of any $9,000 sportbikes that would be suitable for a beginner, much less one with no road experience.
The only sportbikes that Kawi sells that are $9000 are the Z1000 and the Supersports.

I think the dealer should give him the full $1,000 back and consider the costs of the repairs to be their "stupid tax".

Not that it makes any difference on the original poster possibly being taken advantage of but,, OP appears to be a she not a he.

 

I'm going to go out on a limb here and say suck it up. We've had many threads about cagers, truck drivers, sportbikers, children, bad parents, etc. not wanting to accept the responsibility of their actions.

You rode the bike. License, permit, whatever- your choice. You damaged the bike. Accidentally of course, but damaged it none the less, with no insurance coverage. Again your choice. You said you'd pay for damages. Time to pony up.

Are you going to be unfairly taken advantage of? Probably. Embarrassed? Certainly. Do what you can to protect your credit and your money but you are not the victim here. You damaged someone else's property. Property that someone, whether a business or an individual, paid for. You think that business or individual wants a damaged bike he can't sell sitting around? You think that business likes the idea of disclosing that damage to every prospective buyer, knowing full well it devalues the product he's selling, maybe to the point of breaking even or losing money on the sale? Would you?

Sorry if it seems cold or cruel, but I was raised to suffer the consequences of my actions. I taught my kid the same thing. Live and learn- that's life, it's a bumpy road full of hard knocks. Sometimes you land on your feet and sometimes on your a$$.

Just be glad you got a test ride. I've been to at least 40 metric dealerships and have never been able to test ride any bike.

Just my .02, take it for what it's worth. Flame on!!

 

There's a couple things that bother me about this mishap.

1st The test ride was basicly over. I'll bet they would let you sit on a bike without signing a "contract". Can a dealership charge you if you accidently tip over a bike on their property? Heck you could knock over an entire row of bikes.

2nd It sounds like the dealership is going to profit from this. Seems like they should be willing to charge their price for the parts & reduce the labor rate to what they'll be paying the mechanic.

I'd go back to the dealership & ask them to reduce the price of the parts & labor while telling them you want a copy of the "contract" to show an attorney.

 

I'm surprised the dealership doesn't have insurance for that kind of mishap. I'd bet the sales guy got his butt chewed for letting you ride without a license, or some kind of insurance. If you're going to get charged for the parts at leased get the parts being replaced. Maybe post on here what bike it was. The dealer's going to make sure the parts are paid for before they order them. I'm going to go with those that say "lesson learned" suck it up. Sorry you learned the hard way. If you drive, check your insurance policy, see if it covers anything like this.

 

I'm going to go out on a limb here and say suck it up. We've had many threads about cagers, truck drivers, sportbikers, children, bad parents, etc. not wanting to accept the responsibility of their actions.

You rode the bike. License, permit, whatever- your choice. You damaged the bike. Accidentally of course, but damaged it none the less, with no insurance coverage. Again your choice. You said you'd pay for damages. Time to pony up.

...

+1

When I took my test rides, on a learner's permit, I knew that the piece of paper I signed said that I agreed to take responsibility for any damage.

In your shoes, my only concern would be whether or not they're asking an excessive amount for the fixes that needed to be done.

 

I'm going to go out on a limb here and say suck it up. We've had many threads about cagers, truck drivers, sportbikers, children, bad parents, etc. not wanting to accept the responsibility of their actions.

You rode the bike. License, permit, whatever- your choice. You damaged the bike. Accidentally of course, but damaged it none the less, with no insurance coverage. Again your choice. You said you'd pay for damages. Time to pony up.

Are you going to be unfairly taken advantage of? Probably. Embarrassed? Certainly. Do what you can to protect your credit and your money but you are not the victim here. You damaged someone else's property. Property that someone, whether a business or an individual, paid for. You think that business or individual wants a damaged bike he can't sell sitting around? You think that business likes the idea of disclosing that damage to every prospective buyer, knowing full well it devalues the product he's selling, maybe to the point of breaking even or losing money on the sale? Would you?

Sorry if it seems cold or cruel, but I was raised to suffer the consequences of my actions. I taught my kid the same thing. Live and learn- that's life, it's a bumpy road full of hard knocks. Sometimes you land on your feet and sometimes on your a$$.

Just be glad you got a test ride. I've been to at least 40 metric dealerships and have never been able to test ride any bike.

Just my .02, take it for what it's worth. Flame on!!

I pretty much agree with everything said here. It sucks, but the dealership doesn't gain anything having a wrecked bike to sell...thats why they had you sign the contract. Also...anything on the bike that was scratched at all is going to be replaced with NEW components. Wouldn't surprise me one bit for it to total a grand in damages.

Now, them not checking to see if you were OK was pretty classless. I certainly would take that into consideration when buying a bike (when the time comes around again).

Anyway, sorry to hear it turned out so badly. Live and learn.

 

You break it, you buy it. Unfortunate yes. Its all about responsibility.

 

You break it, you buy it. Unfortunate yes.

Actually no... depending on the state.
In Arizona, it's not. If it's an accident, nothing the shop owner can do. If it's obviously intentional, then he can press vandalism charges.

A lot of stores put up "you break it you buy it" signs, but those have no more legal authority than the disclaimers on the back of concert and parking tickets (which can not be read and agreed to prior to purchase).

 

I told him I was a new rider (not yet licensed, only learners permit), but was shopping around for bikes. He asked for all my details plus asked me to sign a contract citing I'd pay for all damages if incurred, prior to the ride.

The local Yamaha' dealership offered some test runs last week but the waiver I signed stated that I wasn't responsible for any damage I did to the bike and the dealership wasn't responsible for any damage the bike did to me.

During these test runs someone with only a beginners tried to take a bike for a spin as was declined because the dealerships insurance would not cover any damages caused to a non-licensed driver.

jd

 

Sounds like a sportbike since he talked about plastics and such... and I don't know of any $9,000 sportbikes that would be suitable for a beginner, much less one with no road experience.
.

This would depend on where he/she is from. In Canada the Vulcan 900's are over $9000 before tax, the Ninja 650R is $8500 before tax, and the Ninja 500 is $7000 and change. Even the Versys sells for $8700 before taxes.

These are all nice starter bikes and easy to get used to. I drove all three models last week after a 20 year hiatus from riding and had no problems with any of them.

jd

 

Other than doing your best against getting gouged for parts/etc I don't know what the defense is here. Yes, it sucks they didn't ask if you were hurt. That said,

You forgot to put down the kickstand. You pay for the damage. I don't buy the line that others present of not having a license...a learner's permit is quite satisfactory to allow someone to test-ride a bike.

As others said, get the parts, maybe bicker if the prices are unrealistic, but otherwise pay and never forget to put down the kickstand again.

 

I'd say just chalk it up to experience and be glad the damage was no more than $1,000. Then i'd take my business elsewhere. What a way to start out in motorcycling!! Yikes.

 

I unerstand you want to pay for damages you did. However the dealership has to have insurance to let someone ride their bikes.. If you would have hit someone or something they would have had to have insurance or have to pay directly and we all understand that that can be large amounts of money very quickly. They may have a deductible on damage to their bikes just like your private insurance and that may be what you are paying. You can ask if you wish. As to the price of parts they are very high bikes seem to be more then auto. A thousand dollars for a dealership to do body work repairs is proabley realalistic. There labor rates can be up there. Look what they charge for 600 Mile service on bikes.

 

I would get copies of all the paper work.
It's questionable practice to overcharge your cc on the basis of a refund.

The parts expense could well be legit. If you scratch/bend/nick the tank or plastics, they get obscenely expensive in a hurry.

 

I'm going to go out on a limb here and say suck it up. We've had many threads about cagers, truck drivers, sportbikers, children, bad parents, etc. not wanting to accept the responsibility of their actions.

You rode the bike. License, permit, whatever- your choice. You damaged the bike. Accidentally of course, but damaged it none the less, with no insurance coverage. Again your choice. You said you'd pay for damages. Time to pony up.

Are you going to be unfairly taken advantage of? Probably. Embarrassed? Certainly. Do what you can to protect your credit and your money but you are not the victim here. You damaged someone else's property. Property that someone, whether a business or an individual, paid for. You think that business or individual wants a damaged bike he can't sell sitting around? You think that business likes the idea of disclosing that damage to every prospective buyer, knowing full well it devalues the product he's selling, maybe to the point of breaking even or losing money on the sale? Would you?

Sorry if it seems cold or cruel, but I was raised to suffer the consequences of my actions. I taught my kid the same thing. Live and learn- that's life, it's a bumpy road full of hard knocks. Sometimes you land on your feet and sometimes on your a$$.

Just be glad you got a test ride. I've been to at least 40 metric dealerships and have never been able to test ride any bike.

Just my .02, take it for what it's worth. Flame on!!

i'm gonna have to agree. With all due repsect to the OP consider this a good life lesson and move on. It would be no different than borrowing a friends ride and wrecking it. The responsibility starts and ends with the rider. Yes, in theory you could have walked away without paying a cent. Legally I imagine. And yes, it seems if the dealer has taken full opportunity to hose you for the repairs, and yes I would consider speaking to the owner about the real costs associated with the repair. But, at the end of the day this whole episode was a result of the OP's actions. Again, with all dues respect to the OP I think the responsibility lays with him/her.