Dear Honda,
Over the winter, I bought myself a shiny new Honda Motorcycle (CBR 929RR Fireblade) from Darotune Honda. I picked the bike up in mid-March. I waited for the snow to clear. When it did; I rode it every chance I could, until the night of April 12th, 2001.I was riding down a residential street (Aird Pl. Kanata, ON.) and was struck by a vehicle attempting a U-turn. The driver of the vehicle was at fault for the accident, un-insured, and charged by the police. Again, this was April 12th 2001. By April 20th my bike had made its way from my house to my dealer Darotune Honda, and the process had begun. - Little did I know it would be such an exhausting, frustrating and seemingly endless experience.
�When I first brought the bike in to Darotune Honda; I was told that the parts would be ordered as soon as a "Claims Adjuster" from my insurance showed up.
My insurance had notified Darotune Honda; all that was needed was for them to fax the list of damages and the cost to replace and/or repair.
Two weeks had passed and I was getting anxious because it was now May 4th and we, the residents of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, were getting an early taste of the great summer to come. I stopped in to Darotune to see if the parts had come in. I was shocked to hear that Darotune was still waiting for the insurance adjuster before they ordered any parts. When in fact, all they needed to do was fax the list of damages to my insurance.
I got everything cleared up; parts were ordered by Darotune and within a week, the parts started to come in. The only problem was that there was no one to work on my bike.
By May 18th I was still waiting for my bike. I was still waiting for a front rim and tire; and I was still waiting for someone to work on my bike.
The morning of May 25th, I was working close by and decided to stop in at the dealer and see if my bike was going to be ready. I was talking to the owner and he told me that my bike would be ready and that a mechanic was working on it as we spoke. I was happy to hear this because it had been over a month since my motorcycle had been in their possession.
Note * every Friday for 3 weeks I had been told to call, because my bike was supposed to be ready*
The evening of May 25, I stopped in to pick up my bike, but was informed that Honda had sent me an RC-51 rim for my 929. I wasn't too impressed. Not only would my bike not be ready, but it was the long weekend and that meant that ordering the new rim would only happen the following Tuesday; meaning my bike wouldn't be ready the next week either. I decided to stay at Darotune and have them take a rim off of one of their 929's on the showroom floor and put it on mine. My bike was a brand new 929 as well. So I waited for 2 hours in the showroom until they rolled my bike out of the back and finally into my possession. I then noticed that the frame sliders that had been replaced were a different kind. I was also notified that there was a leak that they couldn't stop, even with a new gasket. I was then told: "it may seal once it warms up." The bike was now in my possession.
Note* the leak was coming from the crankcase and engine casing joint
I brought the bike back 15 hours later because it was leaking oil down my fairing and on my back tire. In the weeks ahead Darotune tried desperately to seal the stubborn leak using all the items you'd want on your brand new motorcycle, items such as caulking.
Note* I told an employee at Darotune, not to put caulking on my bike. "If it doesn't seal properly with a gasket, there must be a problem with the 2 joining surfaces." I, who am not a mechanic, was giving the paid professionals mechanical advice.
Five days later on June 1st, I placed yet another call to see if my bike was ready. Darotune notified me that they found a crack in the crankcase. This was causing the oil to leak out. The owner advised me they previously thought the crack was a smudge.
June 6th I told Darotune to cancel any part orders because the bike was leaving their shop.
June 14th my bike was picked up from Darotune and brought to another dealer. Since then, my new engine casing has been ordered from Honda, but it hasn't made it's way to the dealer. It is now August 11th 2001.
In 1 day (August 12th) it will be exactly 4 months since my accident. I still don't have my Honda motorcycle and the summer is almost over. I love motorcycles, I'm 23 years old and I've already owned three.
I found this on your website:
"At Honda Canada, our challenge is to find the best ways to build strong, lasting relationships with our customers to understand them and meet their needs so that we can move ahead together. We believe deeply in this."
"At the heart of The Three Joys is the belief that our customers will experience The Joy of Buying if we can provide products and services that exceed their expectations. And we can only accomplish this by building strong, meaningful relationships with our customers. This also extends to our Honda dealers who, by selling and servicing excellent products, proudly experience The Joy of Selling. Lastly, by participating in innovation and producing products that exceed expectations, we experience The Joy of Creating."
This summer has been nothing but a disappointment. I've missed many opportunities to ride with my family and friends, and not to mention, one of the nicest summers in the past few years.
Please prove to me:
�
Sincerely,R. Lachance
�
�
�
Dear Honda Continued�
I did get a response from Honda Canada since I last wrote them. I got a reply on August 24th, but was unable to get a hold of them until the morning of August 27th. (Monday)I talked to a Honda Canada Representative, I was informed that Honda couldn't or wouldn't help me since my motorcycle was now at a non-Honda dealer. The Honda Canada Representative told me my only option was to move my bike from the current dealer and bring it to another Honda Dealer.
Today's date is September 7th, 2001.
On September 12, 2001 it will be exactly 5 months since my accident. Almost half a year has passed and there is still no sign of my shiny new CBR 929RR FIREBLADE. I've been making insurance and bike payments for the last 5 months on a vehicle that I haven't had in my possession since April 12th, 2001.
I bought my motorcycle early this year so I could get the most out of the season. I was involved in an unfortunate event. The Honda dealer Darotune did not have the manpower, or the expertise to repair my bike. They initially returned a bike to me that was unsafe. The parts/service department at Honda is obviously a joke. I've been shown that my business is not valued. Honda's response indicates to me their commitment to customer satisfaction is also a joke. I will tell this story to anyone who will listen, and for this reason alone, I will never buy another Honda product.
Signed,
Ok, so today is Sunday, September 23, 2001
I just called my brother to see what he was up to. He wasn't home because he's out with a bunch of our friends on a motorcycle tour. Take one guess who's still waiting for parts from Honda Canada?
It'll be 6 months since my accident on the 12th of October, and I'm really not in any kind of hurry for you to get my bike back to me at this point. I'll be riding with snow on the ground - again! You can take the bike back for all I care, I'll be dealing with somebody else, whether it's Kawasaki, Yamaha, Suzuki, I'd even try a BUELL before I consider the thought of dealing with Honda again.
�
Signed,