BRP Strikes AGAIN!!

[Raptor]

Haven't been on here in a while, and hate to re-emerge with this kind of post, but it's the truth. You guys are going to love this one. Or not, depending on your perspective. But here goes!

A little history first. I have 2 Spyders; a white 2010 RSS (Wife's) and my 2009 Phantom. They have both been relatively good machines, but didn't prove to be reliable for every day use, so I moved on to 2 wheels. But I kept 'em because we still like riding our Spyders together, and they work pretty well in the recreational application.

The Phantom needed front tires, so I called my dealer and went over to get them put on. This was the first week of January. Abt 1/2 hour in the service manager comes down and informs me that they damaged a wheel while taking the tire off of it. He owned the situation right away and offered to replace it. I said great. So he orders the replacement wheel, a custom 6-spoke type. The wheel arrives a week later, but it doesn't have the Spyder branding on one of the spokes, it's just a plain wheel. Dealer looks at the official BRP catalog again, and it clearly shows the wheel with the proper branding on the side. He calls BRP back and asks why he can't get a like replacement wheel. BRP "claims" that they have checked all of their inventory and NONE of their 6-spoke wheels have the Spyder branding on the down spoke, they are simply not available that way, tough luck! Dealer then asks if that is the case then why are they being shown in the catalog as being available? BRP says they will "look into it." Of course he gets no answer to this question. They then attemp to send END CAPS to remedy the situation! Dealer then asks if they cannot provide like product to send another wheel so that the customer (me) will have wheels that match. BRP flatly denies this request because "it's a 2009 and it's not an operational issue." In other words, they don't give one crap about their customer's satisfaction level or that my special edition machine is now devalued because the wheels will not match any longer. The dealer is now at the end of his rope and doesn't know what else to do. The BRP field rep suggested that I call the BRP consumer affairs number and try to get something going. I tried this, but they were downright rude to me on the phone and as you can imagine, I was told that the guys that were working the case were not available and would get back to me. So do you think I ever got a call back? Ummm... no. It has been a month now and both the dealer and myself have given up on the situation. I guess I am simply out of luck.

I have worked out a compromise with the dealer in that he is going to send the wheel back and he will put a rear tire on the Phantom for free. But now, every time I look at that wheel and see those scratches I'm going to curse this worthless manufacturer that will not support their product or their customers. God, if something big ever goes wrong with this thing I don't know what I'm gonna do. One thing I do know is that BRP won't be there to help. How pathetic. It makes me regret ever buying these things. Eventually I am going to try and liquidate them, but at this point I fear that I will be stuck with them. Such a shame, because I do like them.


All I wanted was front tires. Oh well.

[SpyderAnn01]

I'm sorry to hear of your experience. Have you sent an email to BRP Care? They are usually very helpful.

[Magdave]

[Bob Denman]

Contact Steve through "BRPCare".

...and it DOES stink...
Good Luck!!

[Raptor]

I'm sorry to hear of your experience. Have you sent an email to BRP Care? They are usually very helpful.

Hi Ann! No, I have not. Based on how I have been treated so far, I doubt anyone there would even read the thing. I may consider it at some point, but for now I just don't want to keep beating this dead horse. They just don't care, even though this is supposed to be a rare machine; number 14 of only 500 Phantoms ever built. That doesn't mean anything to me now. Why should it? Apparently it means absolutely nothing to them.

But it's a good suggestion and I will probably do it. I will try to find where to send the letter and see where that goes. That way I know that at least I have tried every option. Thanks!

[Raptor]

Hey Bob! Long time, Brother! It's good to see you are still out here.

[SpyderAnn01]

brp.care@brp.com send them an email. I am betting that they will respond.

[Don in E Texas]

Hope all works out for you.

But that said --- you appear to have a great dealer!!! Might spread the word about them - others in your area might like to know.

Key to ownership of these machines appears to be the dealer/sales/service. Too bad the manufacturer can't step up.

Don

[DrewNJ]

Those wheels are known for getting mangled during tire changes. Something with the design gets hung up in the equipment.

Sent from my Venue 8 3830 using Tapatalk

[ARtraveler]

Sorry to hear about your situation with the tire. It sounds like they were passing out the bottles of stupid pills just before they tried to deal with your situation.

We seem to get times when BRP is "on" when it comes to customer care, and then there are days when they are "OFF", when it comes to customer care.

As Ann recommended, I also suggest an e-mail to customer care and see what happens. Within the last two days or so, they took care of some bigger problems on a new 2014 and the customer came through well. Can't explain the rude people you encountered--since that should not be the way it is done.

Common sense would dictate that they need to fix the non-matching wheels by using two of the same. BRP did not make the error on screwing up the wheel, so maybe your dealer is the one who may have to cough up the extra cash to make the customer happy. Things do change with stock parts over time.

The first front tire change I had done, the tire people "lost" the wheel inserts with the red spyder imprinted on them. The dealer replaced them. The replacements came from the factory in plain black--no emblem. Not happy, but I lived with it. Now, when its tire change time, I remove the inserts.

[Olddood]

If all else fails, could the rim be refinished, or is it gouged? Just an idea. Hope things work out for you.

[Raptor]

If all else fails, could the rim be refinished, or is it gouged? Just an idea. Hope things work out for you.

We tried looking at re-finishing or reparing the wheel, but the guy at the wheel shop took one look at it, shook his head and said no way. The scratches are too deep.I wanted to get really mad at the dealer at first, but it was an accident, he owned the mistake right away and has done everything in his power to make it right. He bought the replacement wheel. The stupid, arrogant manufacturer simply cannot supply like product, even though they offer it on page 89 of their own catalog! And then to send end caps?

At this point I'll just take the free rear tire and move on. Maybe next tire change I'll consider doing something with the wheels. I simply never realized just how bad BRP customer service really is. It's shocking, really.

[jcthorne]

your dealer damaged one of two wheels in a matched set that are no longer available. OK, he either needs to refinish the damaged wheel or if it cannot be, he needs to order a new set of 2.

This happens at tire stores all the time. Many wheels are only made one or two years and single replacements are simply not availalbe. Nature of the beast.

BRP sells the 'blade' wheels now as a directional pair. IE they are opposite and you cannot buy only one of them. Pairs only. Guess what happens if the tire store or dealer damages one?

Your situation is no differnt. Just because BRP does not sell a single replacement out of a pair does not let the dealer off the hook. Ask him nicely but firmly to replace what he has damaged. A matched set and you should get to pick out the replacements, within reason of same cost.

[Chupaca]

but one gets mixed messages here. They do help and they are . This is the dealers fault and I have to say he did a great job trying to work it out. Now if thoses wheels are no longer available and you should have matching wheels they need to replace both wheels. BRP could help..but how..? You can't expect them to solve the problem. I do see that their bedside manner can be rough..good luck...

[DrewNJ]

I simply never realized just how bad BRP customer service really is. It's shocking, really.

I can understand being frustrated. However, I think your being a bit harsh. Your beef is with the dealer or tire shop, not necessarily BRP. Especially, for a part of a spyder that hasn't been in production for quite some time. They don't make that exact wheel anymore....it is what it is. I've known 2 guys now that ditched those wheels because of the same reason. Maybe look for a used one that hasn't been mangled already??

[coz]

We tried looking at re-finishing or reparing the wheel, but the guy at the wheel shop took one look at it, shook his head and said no way. The scratches are too deep.I wanted to get really mad at the dealer at first, but it was an accident, he owned the mistake right away and has done everything in his power to make it right. He bought the replacement wheel. The stupid, arrogant manufacturer simply cannot supply like product, even though they offer it on page 89 of their own catalog! And then to send end caps?

At this point I'll just take the free rear tire and move on. Maybe next tire change I'll consider doing something with the wheels. I simply never realized just how bad BRP customer service really is. It's shocking, really.

could you post a picture of the damaged wheel? i nearly bought a set recently, just curious about how they fail.

[cuznjohn]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/CAN-AM-SPYDE...-/150873283578

[YPILOT]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/CAN-AM-SPYDE...50873283578%26 good deal

[Raptor]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/CAN-AM-SPYDE...50873283578%26 good deal

I was thinking the EBay route but didn't really want to go there. I may have no choice.

For those that think I am being harsh on BRP... I don't think so. I think they are being harsh. It's quite simple, really - if a wheel is not available any longer, then don't offer it in your catalog. That is not too hard to figure out. It would have saved a lot of everyone's time and grief. And they have spent more money and man hours denying things and being stupid than if they would have just done the right thing and sent the second wheel. The dealer is not liable for both wheels - he is liable for the one HE damaged, which he is honoring. BRP should have stepped up and they didn't. Plain and simple. So I have my plan B with the dealer and will just move on.

@Coz, I will take a pic of the wheel and see if I can get it to you.

@Drew, now that you mention it I recall some others ditching these wheels because of this issue. The RSS has the same wheels on it, and we have never had a problem with tire changes until now. Makes me wonder if I should move away from this style at some point.

[ARtraveler]

I was thinking the EBay route but didn't really want to go there. I may have no choice.

For those that think I am being harsh on BRP... I don't think so. I think they are being harsh. It's quite simple, really - if a wheel is not available any longer, then don't offer it in your catalog. That is not too hard to figure out. It would have saved a lot of everyone's time and grief. And they have spent more money and man hours denying things and being stupid than if they would have just done the right thing and sent the second wheel. The dealer is not liable for both wheels - he is liable for the one HE damaged, which he is honoring. BRP should have stepped up and they didn't. Plain and simple. So I have my plan B with the dealer and will just move on.

@Coz, I will take a pic of the wheel and see if I can get it to you.

@Drew, now that you mention it I recall some others ditching these wheels because of this issue. The RSS has the same wheels on it, and we have never had a problem with tire changes until now. Makes me wonder if I should move away from this style at some point.

I don't disagree very often, but feel that BRP should not have to cover the mistake made by the dealer in damaging your wheel. I do give the dealer credit for standing up and admitting they did it. The fact that parts change from 2009 to present is a common thing. I do agree that someone needs to cover for a matched set--but this time it should fall on the dealer--IMO.

[SAPD911]

Haven't been on here in a while, and hate to re-emerge with this kind of post, but it's the truth. You guys are going to love this one. Or not, depending on your perspective. But here goes!

A little history first. I have 2 Spyders; a white 2010 RSS (Wife's) and my 2009 Phantom. They have both been relatively good machines, but didn't prove to be reliable for every day use, so I moved on to 2 wheels. But I kept 'em because we still like riding our Spyders together, and they work pretty well in the recreational application.

The Phantom needed front tires, so I called my dealer and went over to get them put on. This was the first week of January. Abt 1/2 hour in the service manager comes down and informs me that they damaged a wheel while taking the tire off of it. He owned the situation right away and offered to replace it. I said great. So he orders the replacement wheel, a custom 6-spoke type. The wheel arrives a week later, but it doesn't have the Spyder branding on one of the spokes, it's just a plain wheel. Dealer looks at the official BRP catalog again, and it clearly shows the wheel with the proper branding on the side. He calls BRP back and asks why he can't get a like replacement wheel. BRP "claims" that they have checked all of their inventory and NONE of their 6-spoke wheels have the Spyder branding on the down spoke, they are simply not available that way, tough luck! Dealer then asks if that is the case then why are they being shown in the catalog as being available? BRP says they will "look into it." Of course he gets no answer to this question. They then attemp to send END CAPS to remedy the situation! Dealer then asks if they cannot provide like product to send another wheel so that the customer (me) will have wheels that match. BRP flatly denies this request because "it's a 2009 and it's not an operational issue." In other words, they don't give one crap about their customer's satisfaction level or that my special edition machine is now devalued because the wheels will not match any longer. The dealer is now at the end of his rope and doesn't know what else to do. The BRP field rep suggested that I call the BRP consumer affairs number and try to get something going. I tried this, but they were downright rude to me on the phone and as you can imagine, I was told that the guys that were working the case were not available and would get back to me. So do you think I ever got a call back? Ummm... no. It has been a month now and both the dealer and myself have given up on the situation. I guess I am simply out of luck.

I have worked out a compromise with the dealer in that he is going to send the wheel back and he will put a rear tire on the Phantom for free. But now, every time I look at that wheel and see those scratches I'm going to curse this worthless manufacturer that will not support their product or their customers. God, if something big ever goes wrong with this thing I don't know what I'm gonna do. One thing I do know is that BRP won't be there to help. How pathetic. It makes me regret ever buying these things. Eventually I am going to try and liquidate them, but at this point I fear that I will be stuck with them. Such a shame, because I do like them.


All I wanted was front tires. Oh well.

a place in Dallas can fix the scratches for round $200.00, or maybe a local place in your city can repair the wheel.

[Raknid]

I don't disagree very often, but feel that BRP should not have to cover the mistake made by the dealer in damaging your wheel. I do give the dealer credit for standing up and admitting they did it. The fact that parts change from 2009 to present is a common thing. I do agree that someone needs to cover for a matched set--but this time it should fall on the dealer--IMO.

The situation sucks...but I have to agree. I was thinking the same as reading the original message .

[szohar]

Hi Raptor,

Who is the dealer you are using in the Bay Area?

[Pennyrick]

I don't normally chime in on these types of threads but I have to agree that your beef is with the dealer.

Your machine is five year's old and even though it is part of a run of only 500 the manufacturer can't be expected to stock unique parts for that length of time. Yes, it is still in the catalog but catalogs get outdated and they still have a wheel available that fits your machine.

The dealer messed it up and offering to replace one wheel doesn't cut it if both are a matched set. The onus should be on your dealer to replace both wheels, given the circumstances.

That doesn't excuse BRP employees for coming off as rude but in this instance it is the dealer's obligation to satisfy the customer, not the manufacturer.

[cyclelover63]

I worked at a BMW dealer and they were having problems with their door panels leather bubbling...The replacement panels had a very visible different grain and did not really match the other panels...BMW's answer was "its a cosmetic issue",and they would not replace all panels to match..If the wheel is the same design,"its a cosmetic issue" in their mind....