I recently had to take my 1098 in for an issue that is clearly under warranty. When i got the bike back, they charged me for the fix saying Ducati is not going to pay for it because i have a couple of cosmetic mods on the bike. He went on to tell me that Ducati is hurting b/c of all of its recalls so they want the shop to submit pics of the bike along with the warranty repair before they authorize any job.
Sounds like BS but I've heard of other car/bike factories nullifying warranties because of the simplest of mods.
I was talking to my dealer about this same thing yesterday and he said DNA is eating so much in warranty work right now (said the tank issues on the Classics is an enormous problem) that DNA is looking to get out of all they can right now.
Your mods had nothing to do with a fan failing. Write a nice letter to DNA stating their refusal to warranty the fan. Explain how your mods don't affect the fan. After a couple weeks and they don't cave in, write them again and ask if their lawyers want to talk to your lawyer. That usually will get any manufacturer off dead center as in this case the usage of their lawyers for a short time will exceed the cost of your claim.
Click this wikipedia link then study up on Magnuson-Moss.
i dont think i'd bother with the nice letter. what the dealer has done is verging on criminal. get a letter from the dealer with the dealer letter head stating what repair was done and why dna rejected the warranty claim. if they refuse to supply it demand your money back. how did you pay? if by card start a dispute and get your money back.
there should have been some form of official submission to dna in writing from the dealer asking for warranty approval to replace the part in question, and the reply from dna with the rejection and reason for. get a copy of it. we had forms we faxed and got faxed back. it may now be internet based, but there still has to be a printable paper trail. if the dealer can't provide it ask for the name of the dna regional rep to find out if the dealer did in fact submit the request for warranty. dna may not know anything about it, and a failed radiator fan is a cause for warranty replacement. simple as that. or the dealer has been paid warranty and also made you pay. go to a dealer who is in opposition to the one who has screwed you and see if you can get them to help you get dna into it - that's worth a try.
if you don't get anywhere there ring up dna and ask for the warranty history of your vin number, then ask why the fan was denied. if you get palmed off write the letters, email a copy to the ducati web site customer service section then if no one gets back to you ring up and go ****ing nuts.
i can't believe you accepted it. really can't. if the bike is still under warranty then it has to be covered. as the aust national aftersales tech man always says when we're laughing about stuff going wrong - "that's what the warranty is for". you paid for a warranty, it's part of the deal when you get the bike. it's not your fault the product failed. did you get a discount to allow for stuff failing?
Talk to dealer but unless Ducati has something in the warranty about modifications this is complete hogwash.
I had the same problem with Apple recently on a iPhone 3G. Phone was 13 months old and the battery was only holding a charge for 4 hours! I have apple care on the phone and they bluntly refused to replace it saying its within norm. Working in computers and knowing that Litium Ion batteries have roughly 400 cycles to them and I knew this was BS I was getting fed. Finally having a heart to heart with the manager (after four hours in the store) I got them to replace it.
The manager told me that Apple is taking it in the shorts with these built in batteries they are doing on all products. I mention this is a design flaw in my opinion with Apple and it's up to the store to support it. While I love Apple products I 100% refuse to purchase another due to this built in battery they do (I would bail on my iPhone if it wouldn't cost me a ton to move over to TMobile and a Google Chrome Phone or Sprint and a Palm Pre).
In a nutshell review the warranty about "mods". If nothing is listed then warm up something in small claims court.
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Current Ride:
2006 Ducati 999S Mono in black.
In my experience Ducati corporate has, in the past, been pretty cool about warranty repairs. However, frankly, it can be a subjective "personal" response, depending on the customer. Not all shops are cool, but sometime it depends on the quality of the service manager, and believe it or not, the relationship between the service manager and his appointed Ducati Area Service Manager. Sometimes they get along, sometimes they don't. Sadly, that relationship can effect the customer, if the ASM doesn't necessarily want to stick his neck out because the shop or shop's service manager either doesn't get along with the ASM or otherwise has a bad rep. On the other hand, a shop that gets along great with their ASM, and has a good ASM to begin with, will often get all sorts of things covered under warranty that another ASM might decline.
I don't know Ducati's current warranty philosophy. However, I do know that it isn't (or wasn't in the past) DNA's direct concern. This is an important point: Ducati Italy builds the bikes, so Ducati Italy pays for repairing them. That being said, the relatively new Ducati Italy CEO might be laying a new law down regarding warranty repairs, regardless of that dynamic.
All THAT being said, there's no reason for any cosmetic modifications whatsoever to have an effect on a fan replacement under warranty (or anything else, for that matter). That is, without question, a ridiculous reason. I mean, we're talking Ducati's here...everyone from the DMH CEO down knows and acknowledges that such modifications are an accepted and celebrated part of the brand.
I wouldn't necessarily write a nastygram to Ducati corporate just yet, as it's highly unlikely that order came from them. I'd write one to the shop service manager and / or owner first and see what happens. The reality is that most shops actually lose money on most warranty repairs, so it's likely the shop that is the problem.
If you don't get any satisfaction, then I'd write a "nice but concerned" letter to DNA. I can tell you from personal experience that nastygram letters to DNA involving a shop, especially over a relatively small issue like fan replacement, usually backfire.
I'm still just stunned that a shop would be giving you a hard time over a fan replacement!
Thanks for all the feedback guys. The reason I didnt raise hell is b/c this shop is usually very cool and have helped me out with stuff in the past. Plus, i'd have to drive 30-40 miles for any Duc service if i burn this bridge, versus 12 right now.
Warranty Question
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