Help: Ducati not honouring 'international' warranty

[DaineseMan]

I temporarily transported my 2012 Ducati MTS 1200 ST to Israel, which was purchased new in England a in June 2012.

A couple of days after I collected the bike from the airport, a problem developed with the bike and it had to go into the Tel Aviv dealership. However, to my surprise, the dealership demanded that I pay up front for the parts/labour but promised to reimburse me once the claim was approved by Ducati. I was very reluctant to do this, but there was no compromise on their end and I just wanted to go home - having had a sleepless night waiting for the motorcycle recovery- and therefore agreed.

Over a month later, I received a call from the dealer informing me that the claim was approved but that they could only reimburse me for 50% of what I paid. The manager said that, since I didn't purchase the bike from them, they were unwilling/unable to absorb the costs between what they pay for the part and what Ducati Italy pays them. (He claims the difference in costs is due to the Israeli import taxes that the dealer has to pay).

In any case, since the warranty is international, I was unhappy about this situation and am even more concerned if any future more serious warranty work would be required over the next few months.I reported the issue to Ducati HQ in Bologna and, after several weeks, they responded saying that they have advised the Israeli dealer what to do and that I should be in touch with the dealer directly from now on.

Indeed, I contacted the dealer today because I have a (potentially very expensive) additional fault and the dealer said that they've been in touch with Ducati HQ and that they will only take care of the warranty claim if I pay from the work up front, and will still only reimburse me with 50% of the costs.

Please advise me if I'm wrong, but I believe this treatment is a breach of the 'international' warranty agreement I had with Ducati when I purchased the motorcycle in England 18 months ago; see http://ducati.com/services/warranty/index.do

Can anyone offer advice on this issue? Having in mind that I purchased the vehicle from a UK dealer, who should I potentially be claiming against should I need to commence legal proceedings?

Edited by DaineseMan on Monday 30th December 11:56

[marshalla]

The page that you link to doesn't contain sufficient detail of the warranty Terms & Conditions for anyone to be able to give you proper advice.

Ducati Web Page said:

Detailed information may be found in the Service Booklet supplied with the bike.

[DaineseMan]

I don't have the service booklet with me now, but I have read it and it adds nothing to exclude them from liability in this situation.

[Red Devil]

DaineseMan said:

I reported the issue to Ducati HQ in Bologna and, after several weeks, they responded saying that they have advised the Israeli dealer what to do and that I should be in touch with the dealer directly from now on.

Go back to Ducati Bologna and ask them exactly what they said to the Israeli dealer as you believe he may be being 'economical with the truth'. There is no reason for them not to tell you unless they have something to hide.

DaineseMan said:

Indeed, I contacted the dealer today because I have a (potentially very expensive) additional fault and the dealer said that they've been in touch with Ducati HQ and that they will only take care of the warranty claim if I pay from the work up front, and will still only reimburse me with 50% of the costs.

No change there then. You have only their word for what Ducati told them to do. Very easy to fob you off as you're in another country. See above.

DaineseMan said:

Please advise me if I'm wrong, but I believe this treatment is a breach of the 'international' warranty agreement I had with Ducati when I purchased the motorcycle in England 18 months ago; see http://ducati.com/services/warranty/index.do

Can anyone offer advise on this issue? Having in mind that I purchased the vehicle from a UK dealer, who should I potentially be claiming against should I need to commence legal proceedings?

That link doesn't help much. It is the exact wording of the manufacturer's warranty which counts.

Go back to your UK dealer to see what pressure if any they can bring to bear. If that doesn't work escalate it to Ducati UK at Silverstone. The guy you want is the MD. I'm pretty sure that's still Tim Maccabee. You can get his contact details on LinkedIn.

A bit of exposure on forums (e.g. http://ducatiforum.co.uk/forum/) and in the bike press is an extra string to your bow. The legal route is always the avenue of last resort. You can only realistically pursue Ducati UK.

[anonymous-user]

You need to tell us which company you made the warranty contract with, and what the contract says (if anything) about governing law and jurisdiction.

PS: advise is a verb. You are seeking advice (noun).

[DaineseMan]

Thanks for your comments.

When I spoke to Ducati HQ on the phone, they were unwilling to disclose the advice they had given the Israeli dealer. I have asked the Israeli dealer to confirm in writing that Ducati Bologna have actually agreed that they should be charging me upfront for warranty work and then only reimbursing me with 50% of the costs. Have received no response yet and they are working today.

I tweeted @DucatiMotor and also hash-tagged Audi (the parent company) in the tweet. Never done this thing before, so let's see how it works not forgetting that the Italians are very strict about their holidays!

[DaineseMan]

Also, I raised the issue with the Ducati UK guys at the Ducati stand at the Motorcycle Live! show a few weeks ago. They were adamant that it's Ducati HQ that I need to be in touch with, but of course they would say that....

[anonymous-user]

Look at the documents. What do the documents say? Telling us what some bloke said won't help.

[Red Devil]

DaineseMan said:

Also, I raised the issue with the Ducati UK guys at the Ducati stand at the Motorcycle Live! show a few weeks ago. They were adamant that it's Ducati HQ that I need to be in touch with, but of course they would say that....

How far up the food chain were they? There is no point in doing anything in that direction except 1 to 1 correspondence with the MD.

I'm beginning to wonder why Ducati Bologna are being so tight lipped unless their 'international warranty' is actually a great deal less customer focussed than buyers are being led to believe. Anything else makes no sense and is shockingly bad PR. If you get nowhere with the corporate suits then creating bad vibes in the press is the best way forward. A respected journalist in the bike world may be able to unlock doors a MoP can't.

Breadvan is, as usual, correct on the legal front. Whichever way you slice it, I can see that being an expensive route especially if the small print doesn't allow resolution in an English court.

[DaineseMan]

I just spoke to BMW Motorrad Israel and they said that BMW Munich reimburse them for the parts 'landed' (i.e. the value after any import-duties) and that they would never charge a foreign customer for warranty work. So either Ducati Israel are lying or Ducati's warranty is st.

In regards to the legal agreements, unfortunately they're back home in London and there are no warranty booklets available online in electronic form....

If anyone has access to any relevant wording from a Ducati warranty booklet, I'd be most grateful if you could share it....

[4rephill]

DaineseMan said:

I just spoke to BMW Motorrad Israel and they said that BMW Munich reimburse them for the parts 'landed' (i.e. the value after any import-duties) and that they would never charge a foreign customer for warranty work. So either Ducati Israel are lying or Ducati's warranty is st.

In regards to the legal agreements, unfortunately they're back home in London and there are no warranty booklets available online in electronic form....

If anyone has access to any relevant wording from a Ducati warranty booklet, I'd be most grateful if you could share it....

What BMW do is irrelevant as they do not own Ducati - AUDI do!

Just because one manufacturer operates a certain way, it does not automatically mean that they all do!

[anonymous-user]

Can you ask someone to send you the docs from home? No advice here can be of any value until we know what the contract says.

[3DP]

Given track record on honouring UN resolutions and international law, I doubt you'll have much traction on an international warranty there. Perhaps fit the bike with a local yellow number plate and try again.

[anonymous-user]

Late entrant for PH thread leap prize 2013, and looking good for a win.

[3DP]

Breadvan72 said:

Late entrant for PH thread leap prize 2013, and looking good for a win.

To be honest, I've had better experiences dealing with Nigerian based companies than Israeli based ones. Aside from the politics, they are the worst country I've had to deal with vendors from, even beating Russia into second place.

[d8mok]

DaineseMan said:

I just spoke to BMW Motorrad Israel and they said that BMW Munich reimburse them for the parts 'landed' (i.e. the value after any import-duties) and that they would never charge a foreign customer for warranty work. So either Ducati Israel are lying or Ducati's warranty is st.

In regards to the legal agreements, unfortunately they're back home in London and there are no warranty booklets available online in electronic form....

If anyone has access to any relevant wording from a Ducati warranty booklet, I'd be most grateful if you could share it....

I can have a look at my warranty booklet tomorrow for you. Should be same wording on my 848 and M1100s.

Have you asked on ducatiforum.co.uk ? You might get a better reply or someone on there who can help.

[GC8]

For a substantial claim, surely its going to be easier to bring the bike back to Europe, where your warranty is enforceable?

[DaineseMan]

d8mok said:

I can have a look at my warranty booklet tomorrow for you. Should be same wording on my 848 and M1100s.

Have you asked on ducatiforum.co.uk ? You might get a better reply or someone on there who can help.

Yep, that would be really helpful if you could look in your warranty booklet. Pls try and find any language that may exclude Ducati from being liable to pay the full 'landed' price for parts and labour.

[anonymous-user]

You need to check (1) what entity made the contract with you, (2) whether the contract specifies a governing law, and (3) whether it specifies jurisdiction for resolving disputes, as well as checking what may be said about repairs etc in countries other than the one where the bike was purchased.

[DaineseMan]

Breadvan72 said:

You need to check (1) what entity made the contract with you, (2) whether the contract specifies a governing law, and (3) whether it specifies jurisdiction for resolving disputes, as well as checking what may be said about repairs etc in countries other than the one where the bike was purchased.

Thanks for making these relevant points. I won't be able to get hold of my original sales contract until late January, but I'm going to try and get a copy from my dealer in England.