From now on always make it a point to get EVERYTHING in writing. No more of this verbal stuff. Sorry to hear he was such a dick and you got stuck paying that extra fees. It may be true that the law says he has to check out the bike before he can resell it but the law does not say he has to pass the cost on to you. That cost is part of doing business and should be taken out of the profit he makes from the difference he gave for the trade in and the resale price he is selling the bike for. When I am in that area on any of my future runs and need service I will make it a point to never go to Arrowhead Harley in Peoria, AZ for anything.

 

As for the cooling off period...I know in Tennessee it is 72 hours. Well it was anyway. not sure if that has changed or not since the last time I was faced with it. I was young and looking at an S10 truck. Had to sign on the line to take the truck with me of course but the sales mgr told me by law I had 72 hours to return it. I took it for 24 and returned it. Just couldn't afford the note when I was 19.

Sorry you got stuck with this. If you look in the NADA book for used prices, it will explain that retail "includes" reconditioning the vehicle for resale. That would include inspecting the dang thing. So to tack another fee for going over on there is just bogus underhanded ways to do business.

And not allowing test rides??????????? The first bike I rode I put just over 50 miles on and then rode another for about 12 miles. They were both brand new. Never will buy another bike that I cannot ride first.

 

You should have called them on the fee during your negotiations. It's hard to complain about something you agreed to. That being said, the dealer sounds like a scumbag and the fee is a bull sh*t way of charging you an extra $500. If they wanted $500 more, they should have raised the asking price, not trying to hide it behind some garbage fee. If you want to get the dealer's attention, make yourself a sign saying something like ask about the $500 UVC fee. Then go hang around the dealers front door some Saturday morning.

 

Most states do have a law that requires a used vehicle to be inspected by the selling dealer for such things as functioning brakes, certain tire tread depth and things like that.

It is not a service that the dealer gets paid for. It is to keep their business license and prevent them from being liable for damages.

 

Hi all.

Didn't think I'd be digging up this old thread of mine again; but here I am!

For those of you that posted in this five page-long thread, you might remember that this UVC fee is for a "Used Vehicle Certification (Conditioning)" fee.

Should a dealership check out a bike that's being used as a trade-in to make sure everything's safe and up-to-snuff? Most certainly.

Should they charge $550.00 for it as a line item/ additional fee on top of the sticker price? Nahh.....I don't think so.

It's a double-dipping BS fee.

Anyway, check this out...........

There was something I had thought of, and way back when this thread was fresh, somebody had mentioned what I had been thinking (it was the poster known as IMG2).

I'm a teacher, and school let out recently, and I've got a little extra time on my hands. So what I did (and IMG2 alluded to this) was to have a poster printed up which I took to the dealership to show my dissatisfaction. This poster is 2ft x 3ft; it says:







Before I went to the dealership, I went to my local police department to check and make sure that I wouldn't be breaking any laws by this "picketing" I wanted to do. And, it was as I had already thought: make sure I'm not on their actual property, not in their parking lot, not blocking their driveway, etc. Common sense, really.

I stood with my sign outside of their property boundaries; I was actually on the sidewalk near the curb where it touches the street.

I had been standing there a while when I hear some footsteps approach me from behind; lo and behold, it's the general manager (along with another employee); this general manager was the one who irritated the crap out of me way-back-when.

He says to me, "Yo pal; that ain't cool." I wanted to keep things civil, but what I felt like saying was, I'm not your pal, *******.

I tried to inform him that I'm within my rights to do what I'm doing. He says, "You're not allowed to be here; you don't have a permit."

A permit? I don't need one; I had checked it out with the police already. I even pointed for him to the sidewalk and the curb near the street, emphasizing that I'm not on his business's property. He doesn't want to hear it and takes out his cell phone to call the police. Sure, go ahead.

In a short while, a police car arrives and an officer comes out to speak with me (the general manager of the dealership is back inside the shop).

A very pleasant officer, he said he saw my sign, and.....I am on the public sidewalk near the curb and am within my rights to be there. No law being broken!

He takes my information down, just so he can report that he followed up on the report. He asks me how long do I think I'll be there (about an hour or so), and how often will I be back (mostly on the weekends), so, he puts down, "....for the foreseeable future".

He goes inside the dealership for a little bit, and then comes back out with a recommendation for me: He suggests that I don't engage in any conversation with them, no arguments.

I have no problem with that.

And he also said to me that if they (anyone from the dealership) says anything further to me (argumentative, inflammatory, threatening, etc.), that I should call them and let them know.

No problem!

Now for something a little weird: The general manager comes out with a couple of bottles of water (I'm in Arizona) to offer to me. I turn him down and say no thanks. He says he'll put them on the ground on the sidewalk just-in-case. As he's walking away back to the dealership, I hear him say, "I'm not going to turn down free advertising."

WTF?!?!

He's sending conflicting messages, and I think he was trying to utilize some heavy-handed reverse psychology.

When he first came out, he was telling me that what I was doing was not cool, and that I couldn't do it because I had no permit.

I think when the police officer arrived the general manager expected things to go differently. HA!

I was there on a Saturday. Many people drove by and saw my sign. One time a couple of guys approached me (maybe in their 20's, 30's) and asked me about my sign; so I told them. They thanked me for the info and went into the dealership anyway. I'm sure the general manager gave them their spin on it.

On Sunday, the next day, there was this older couple (late 50's, 60's) that came out of the dealership and approached me.....but they were just asking me if I knew of a store in the area that sold motorcycle accessories and clothing. But I thought......
But I thought.....if anyone from the dealership is looking out the window right now and sees me and this older couple in conversation.....they're going to think......see where I'm going with this? Heh-heh.....

BTW, if you're wondering what my poster means where it says "test rides", it means that this dealership does not allow test rides. You have to buy the cycle first before you can test ride it. Makes sense, right?

And that's another thing they backpedaled on: They told me (verbally, it's not in the contract), that I had 15 days or 500 miles to test the bike out. Originally, I was back in less than a week with buyer's remorse. And then they claimed they said "15 minutes or 15 miles". Bull.

I've had the bike less than a year (still under warranty until October of 2012), and here's what's been wrong:

-Handlebars out of alignment
-Flat rear tire caused from a puncture by a drill bit “tap” (these “taps” are found at mechanics, such as at the dealership's service area)
-Clutch lever loose/ too much play
-Front-end wobble/ shaking violently (eventually needed a fallaway procedure done)
- Front tire had never been balanced since it had been at the dealership (this confirmed by an HD technician)

- Oil "weep", Oil sensor/ sender switch replaced

- Oil leak now more profuse, the engine case/ block itself is porous and needed to be replaced

UVC?!?! I guess they missed quite a LOT when they checked this bike out when it was traded in to them. I had never wanted to pay that fee, but then I did, and what good did it do me? Not a thing, as far as I can see.

But I'll be back at the dealership on Saturdays & Sundays with my sign.........
Pez

 

but loud is a must he said they'll fold

Absolutely. I use this tactic as a last resort, & it always works. Loud, but NOT nasty or threatening.

BTW that's why I never buy any vehicle,car or bike, from a dealer.

 

He DOES have 15 days, Go back and threaten them your giving them the bike back if they dont A) Drop the fee and give a refund or B) Give you $500 in parts. Now, if that fee wasnt for a schedualed Maint like the 5K or maybe the 10K(dont know, Im assumeing they did the 5k before i bought it seeing it had 4500 on it and they gave me a sheet of whats checked and done on the 10K and said see you then) So my point is, if that fee wasnt for a maint job, then seriousely, take it back and demand the money back. Hell, get the extended warrenty for 500 more bucks and make sure you hit a road hazard away from home(but near a stealer or indy) Get a flat Oh about every 6kish miles and your lodging, towing, food, and tires are free, warrenty pays for itself LOL.

 

dicky: I'm not sure I understand your reply. What do you mean by, "but loud is a must he said they'll fold"?

Do you mean for ME to be loud about it when I picket them? Who do you mean by "he"?

And when you say that you've used this tactic as a last resort, do you mean that you've done something similar to what I've done in the past?


And Harryinny: Way back when this first happened, I did indeed go back to the dealership (within 7 days) and told them I wanted to return it because this UVC fee was bugging me. But they told me that it was too late to remove the fee from the contract, that it couldn't be done.

I even wrote to the Motor Company in Wisconsin; unfortunately, they were of no help.
Pez