Non Warranty - warranty?

PGlaves said:

While there is no need to disturb that vent while removing a rear wheel, that does not preclude it being knocked or broken while removing, for example, the brake caliper to remove the wheel.

With as little as is actually known about cause and effect in these two unrelated defects (or is it three), I can't come to any reasonable conclusions as to who did what, when, why, or how. Not without huge leaps at least.

Any one of us who has been riding or wrenching for any period of time has had "stuff" happen.

I think this is a clear case of stuff happens.

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+1.
No clear case of culpability, avoidance or responsibiilty on the part of the dealer. Threat of a lawsuit would probably do little but serve to alienate a dealer who has likely done little to nothing wrong.

bikerfish1100 said:

+1.
No clear case of culpability, avoidance or responsibiilty on the part of the dealer. Threat of a lawsuit would probably do little but serve to alienate a dealer who has likely done little to nothing wrong.

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It's a matter of interpretation. The dealer surely didn't go to bat for the customer, probably because he didn't buy his tires from the dealer. It can make all the difference, even if we believe it shouldn't matter. I think the dealer stands lose more for not going to bat for the customer than going to bat, but that lesson is lost on some. A good example is Jeff in VA. His fuel pump went on his 8 month old K1600. BMW refused to cover it under warranty because the motorcycle only had 2000 miles on it. Bob's BMW went to bat and got BMW to cover it. It wasn't the dealers fault the fuel pump went bad, but they went to bat anyway. Sometimes reputation means something to some dealers and it doesn't to others. Which dealer would you want to do business with?

my point was that there is a substantial gap between "dealer didn't go to bat for customer" and "i'm gonna sue!" Mine worked for me. Now, if you consider a rationale of "didn't buy tires here" as the reason for a dealer not helping a customer out, then mine actually had very little reason to do so, because other than we get along well... I don't spend that much money there.
A lawsuit is appropriate when there is real blame or culpability that can be assigned. There does not seem to be any such in this case, thus threatening legal action is a bit over the top.

bikerfish1100 said:

my point was that there is a substantial gap between "dealer didn't go to bat for customer" and "i'm gonna sue!" Mine worked for me. Now, if you consider a rationale of "didn't buy tires here" as the reason for a dealer not helping a customer out, then mine actually had very little reason to do so, because other than we get along well... I don't spend that much money there.
A lawsuit is appropriate when there is real blame or culpability that can be assigned. There does not seem to be any such in this case, thus threatening legal action is a bit over the top.

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I don't think he should necessarily sue either, but I would say the dealer isn't wrong about anything too. They sound a bit parochial at best. Just let us know who it is so at least I can avoid them.

kantuckid said:

......I'll throw it back to you-Does Canada have the equivalent of the small claims process as here in USA?

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Yep, I'm sure, although I've never used it.

In the case of my Dodge Dart, I sent a letter to Consumer & Corporate Affairs, cc'ing Chrysler Corporation's "Your Man in Detroit". I didn't even bother cc'ing the dealership because I was fed up with them and wanted my letter to be a "surprise". Shortly, after, I got phone call from the dealership's service manager telling me that had to make my car right, and, if I wasn't satisfied with it, they would give me my money back. I took the car in, and they had it for two weeks to resolve the various problems, after which the service manager called me to take it for a test drive with him. At the end of the test drive, he asked me if I wanted the car or my money back? The car seemed ok, but I took the money. Let's just say the atmosphere was "frosty" in the dealership owner's office when I went to get my cheque. Since, the sale had happened a few months earlier they had already remitted the sales tax to the Province of New Brunswick, so I had to get that back from the Province, which I did.

I never heard a word from the Government until after it was all over and I had my money back. At that point, I got a one line letter from the Government saying that they trusted that the matter had been resolved to my satisfaction.

One word of advice, in any written complaint, stick to the facts; don't succumb to the tempation to exaggerate or embellish the facts. In my case, the facts were more than adequate to do the job.

bikerfish1100 said:

...Threat of a lawsuit would probably do little but serve to alienate a dealer who has likely done little to nothing wrong.

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The OP attributes the following words to the Dealer...Dealer: Do not know, do not care. (emphasis mine).

I once had a car dealership service manager tell me that "he didn't care about my car because he didn't have a nickel into it." That was way back in the 70s when I think some service managers must have been trained in how not to talk to their customers. I was hoping, that some 40 years down the road, that kind of remark emanating from a dealership was a thing of the past.

141987 said:

The OP attributes the following words to the Dealer...Dealer: Do not know, do not care. (emphasis mine).

I once had a car dealership service manager tell me that "he didn't care about my car because he didn't have a nickel into it." That was way back in the 70s when I think some service managers must have been trained in how not to talk to their customers. I was hoping, that some 40 years down the road, that kind of remark emanating from a dealership was a thing of the past.

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It's a question of ego. Somehow they feel they have to punish customers that don't use them for everything. Like I said, it's a parochial mindset that's also very small minded. Basically they are cutting off their nose to spite their face. Everyone's money is green and there's no use in giving someone and their friends a reason not to spend at an establishment. Basically, they have forgotten who they serve.

From what I have read regarding BMW's own consumer warranty information, while they highly recommend using the BMW network of dealers for service, at no place do they state that using another service will void your warranty. I think what they are giving you is BS. If that dealer is worth a damn they will at least foot a part of the bill.