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Re: reluctant dealers



How do Triumph rates compare with those of say, Honda, for warranty dealer work?

If dealers start to refuse to do warranty work on bikes not sold by them this does Triumph's image alot of damage.  Why should the dealers be expected to do warranty work at a loss?

Dealers already bare alot of the costs of selling bikes eg. the loss on purchase/resale of demo bikes and insuring them (very expensive here in D).  In D at least the only profitable areas seem to be accessory sales; margin on new bikes is low compared to Jap brands.

Some major problems, like that of valve clearances closing up within 10000km, and resulting burned valves etc. are not even being considered by Triumph;  my local dealer reports this as a problem on ALL T5's from 1997-98 inspected so far.  Who is expected to bare the cost of this?   Why should owners who adhered to the service schedule pay DM800 ($350) for new valves, let alone the long-term damage to their bike from following the service plan?

It is not that surprising after the frame-swap fiasco that Triumph are reluctant to issue a recall for valve inspection or suggest an intermediate inspection interval, but long-term this will be most damaging to their sales (see the Motorrad report - that is certainly affecting sales in D right now).

How many of us are repeat buyers of Triumph products?  A significantly high percentage it seems from the list - probably similar to Moto Guzzi and BMW (~70%).  If it is so much cheaper (as marketing theory suggests) to make a sale to an existing customer than to bring in a new one who has never bought your product, then the investment in sorting out the dealer warranty costs is a price worth paying.

I had already ordered and paid for my Sprint ST when the valve inspection and replacement was dont on the 509 (in preparation for selling it).  Had that not been the case I doubt I would have bought an ST after this experience with Triumph, but that said, I am very happy with the ST!

Sorry for the long post....
Jonathan


>>> Eric Sheley <eric@xxxxxxxxxx> 03/05/99 05:31:51 >>>
Sorry about the length of the following - below is Jonn Fitzwater's
response to James Gillespie's post about having a problem getting a local
dealer to do the bolt recall on his ST that he bought from another dealer.

After Johns part, you will find my response that I just sent along to the
Triumph Digest.

- - Eric

>Date: Wed, 28 Apr 1999 13:13:24 +1200
>From: "John Fitzwater" <johnfitz@xxxxxxxxxxx>
>Subject: RE: Recall work (from a Dealer's perspective)
>
>
>>     Could my friendly local dealer be trying to squirm out of doing
>> unprofitable recall work?
>
>
>Yep, and I sympathise with him to a certain extent. From his perspective, it
>grates more than just a bit to have to do warranty work that your local
>dealer knows is going to cost him loot after another dealer has made the
>loot on the sale (speshly if he got that sale by undercutting your local
>dealer). I think most dealers will happily accept that performing warranty
>work on a bike that they made a margin on is part and parcel of business.
>
>Call Triumph and tell 'em to start paying their dealers a fair warranty rate
>and this sort of thing will stop.
>
>To put it all in perspective Jim, Triumph paid Thunderbike the grand sum of
>NZ$287 (labour) to fix the failed gearbox in that T509 you used while on
>tour with us recently... (for the uninitiated, this was no fault of Jim's,
>who absorbed it all  like a gentleman with good humour and patience...)
>
>
>That NZ$287 (UKP90  or USD150) was supposed to be a fair rate for picking
>the bike up from Roxburgh (close to Te Anau where it failed) and taking it
>back to Nelson - a 3000km/ 1500 mile salvage trip (there's no local dealer,
>and the closest dealer in Dunedin would in all likelihood given the same
>story as your local dealer), removing engine from frame, fully disassembling
>it, replacing the damaged parts, reassemble engine, refit to frame, clean
>and road test the bike.
>
>
>If I recall correctly , the Triumph flat rate manual says this should take
>8.2 hours to replace the gearbox on a 509 (it took us 9.75), and they pay us
>the lordly sum of NZ$35/hr (UKP11.5/hr or USD18.5/hr) for those hours, plus
>parts, and consumables like oil. The salvage costs alone were over NZ$1800
>if you factor in vehicle running costs and the driver's wages. There is no
>allowance for the hours of paperwork that is required, and we're expected
>to pay for the parts up front until Triumph reimburse us 2-3 months later
>(Ho Ho..)
>
>
>The simple truth is that the average  non-metro ( i.e. resident local
>population of less than 100,000) dealer just doesn't sell enough new bikes
>to justify the loss it suffers through meeting warranty requirements. We're
>already punch drunk from the T5 frame debacle, where we were paid
>NZ$280/UKP89/US$148 per bike to replace the frames.
>
>
>To be perfectly frank, if Triumph don't get with the program soon,
>Thunderbike will have to make it a tough decision of whether we remain with
>them. This is just the situation that led us to resign our Moto Guzzi
>dealesrship last year.
>
<<snip>>
>
>Your whining Kiwi Triumph Dealer Pal...
>John Fitz
>

John,

...
<<snip>>
And as I listened and watched, in walked an upset customer that had made a
multiple hour trip to the dealer as a last hope for repair on his 595. He
had been to three dealers local to him and none of them were able to help.
So of course, Triumph sends him to my dealer in hope that my dealer will
TAKE THE TIME to fix the problems. Where is the dealer's incentive to do this?

So where will Triumph send their customers when all the good dealers are
gone? or do they only want dealers that tell their customers that the
recalls aren't mandatory ?

Do they enjoy seeing the damage done when owners can't get warranty work
done anywhere but at the dealership where they purchased the vehicle?

I'm not saying that Triumph needs to be exorbitant in reimbursement - only
that they need to pay a reasonable rate that will (1) allow dealerships to
continue to give the level of service that we expect when purchasing a
Triumph Motorcycle and (2) allow the dealerships that provide that quality
service to stay in the Triumph business.

- - Eric



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