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I'm starting to get pissed

13K views 93 replies 34 participants last post by  FloridaJoe 
#1 · (Edited)
My local Indian dealer gave me a heads up on the Slingshot back in July. I was immediately intrigued and committed by giving a deposit. Like everyone else, I too was hoping for a September delivery. No need to rehash what we all know now.

My dealer could not get authorized to get the display or to sell the slingshots. Polaris told them the didn't have enough space. But, they had a new store opening at another location, and I was told they would get me one, and I would be one of the first to get one.

I purchased two motorcycles from these guys, and they treat me like family, but Polaris's handling of the Slingshot release has been a real cluster, and I'm pissed.
 
#18 ·
My dealer could not get authorized to get the display or to sell the slingshots. Polaris told them the didn't have enough space. But, they had a new store opening at another location, and I was told they would get me one, and I would be one of the first to get one.
Gosh Wriggly, I remember talking about this when we were nervous about dealers not having their displays up in time. This is a real big bummer, do you think if we start calling your dealer we could pressure them to step up and do the right thing for you?
 
#21 ·
Probably would not help. They have not even gotten their first two units. They are a second tier dealer, so they probably won't be getting units for the presold customers till the new year, and I am supposed to be number one for a Base, so maybe early spring?
 
#19 ·
My local Indian dealer gave me a heads up on the Slingshot back in July. I was immediately intrigued and committed by giving a deposit. Like everyone else, I too was hoping for a September delivery. No need to rehash what we all know now.

My dealer could not get authorized to get the display or to sell the slingshots. Polaris told them the didn't have enough space. But, they had a new store opening at another location, and I was told they would get me one, and I would be one of the first to get one.

I purchased two motorcycles from these guys, and they treat me like family, but Polaris's handling of the Slingshot release has been a real cluster, and I'm pissed.
I know the dealership you're referring to. I was told last week, if I wanted a SS. They can get me one with no problem.
 
#24 ·
Remember. You want a slingshot. If you don't want one from Polaris, buy one from another maker.
Really, this is a fresh product coming to market. It is not your grocery store running out of your prefered beer.
I don't think you understand what's going on here. This has nothing to do with Polaris or the Slingshot, this is about a dealership not keeping their word with a customer.
 
#27 ·
Your story is starting to sound familiar to me Wriggly. I think I'm dealing with the very same situation at my dealer (Polaris of Gainesville).

I emailed them 2 days ago that if they could not deliver my SS (ordered in July) by end of this year I wanted to know what their deposit refund policy was in the event that Polaris could not deliver in a timely manner. Big surprise, they are not responding to me at all now. I think I've been patient enough with them, only emailed 3 times since ordering asking for updates. Now I think they lied to me about being a tier 1 dealer. They still don't even have the two "demo" units that all are supposed to have by now. I'm ready to pull my deposit.
 
#28 ·
Your story is starting to sound familiar to me Wriggly. I think I'm dealing with the very same situation at my dealer (Polaris of Gainesville).

I emailed them 2 days ago that if they could not deliver my SS (ordered in July) by end of this year I wanted to know what their deposit refund policy was in the event that Polaris could not deliver in a timely manner. Big surprise, they are not responding to me at all now. I think I've been patient enough with them, only emailed 3 times since ordering asking for updates. Now I think they lied to me about being a tier 1 dealer. They still don't even have the two "demo" units that all are supposed to have by now. I'm ready to pull my deposit.
I understand your frustration, but I think you should be patient. These things will probably be very hot and hard to obtain in the coming new year. Though some have been successful in locating units that were not spoken for, if you pull your deposit, there would be no guarantee you will find one, and could be left standing on the side of the road.
 
#33 · (Edited)
Guess my post touched a nerve at POG. They wanted me to let the forum know exactly what transpired so I'm happy to do so. I'm (belatedly) taking CT's advice to shop elswhere. FloridaJoe's dealer sounds like a good bet. Have to go back and see who that was.

Here is my reply to my sales guy at Polaris of Gainesville followed by his email I received shortly ago (see time & date).


Brian,
I was perfectly willing to wait for delivery in December as Polaris' last update and as I said so in my post on SlingshotForums that your manager read.

I posted that message only after YOU failed to respond to my email and also failed to even let me know that you had received one to see in person. You even called other potential customers about the arrival but not me, your actual customer. That is not how an ethical dealer treats customers so I am pleased that you are returning my deposit. I will be happy to post that you have done so as soon as I receive it.

Sincerely,
Tracy

Sent from my iPad

On Dec 5, 2014, at 10:51, Brian Hendrickson <brian@polarisofgainesville.com> wrote:
Tracy,

My General Manager and Owner read your post on the Slingshot forum, about
how you felt you were getting, and I quote "screwed", so we will be
returning your deposit money to you. You were #1 on the list to receive a
Slingshot from our dealership, no one has driven one off our dealership
other than the dealer demo. A refund check will be sent to XXXXXXX . We would appreciate a note on the forum that we returned
your money without struggle. Also, the freight is a real Polaris charge to
the dealers (960.00), and our service department has to go through and check
all torque specs and other various set up procedures to ensure the car does
not fall apart running down the road, so the freight and set up charges are
legitimate, not ADP as you put it on the forum. Sorry for the inconvenience
Tracy, your money will arrive in a few days I would expect.

Brian Hendrickson
386-418-4244
brian@polarisofgainesville.com

 
#35 ·
Guess my post touched a nerve at POG. They wanted me to let the forum know exactly what transpired so I'm happy to do so. I'm (belatedly) taking CT's advice to shop elswhere. FloridaJoe's dealer sounds like a good bet. Have to go back and see who that was.

Here is my reply to my sales guy at Polaris of Gainesville followed by his email I received shortly ago (see time & date).


Brian,
I was perfectly willing to wait for delivery in December as Polaris' last update and as I said so in my post on SlingshotForums that your manager read.

I posted that message only after YOU failed to respond to my email and also failed to even let me know that you had received one to see in person. You even called other potential customers about the arrival but not me, your actual customer. That is not how an ethical dealer treats customers so I am pleased that you are returning my deposit. I will be happy to post that you have done so as soon as I receive it.

Sincerely,
Tracy

Sent from my iPad

On Dec 5, 2014, at 10:51, Brian Hendrickson <brian@polarisofgainesville.com> wrote:
Tracy,

My General Manager and Owner read your post on the Slingshot forum, about
how you felt you were getting, and I quote "screwed", so we will be
returning your deposit money to you. You were #1 on the list to receive a
Slingshot from our dealership, no one has driven one off our dealership
other than the dealer demo. A refund check will be sent to 5500 NW 72nd way
Bell, Fl 32619. We would appreciate a note on the forum that we returned
your money without struggle. Also, the freight is a real Polaris charge to
the dealers (960.00), and our service department has to go through and check
all torque specs and other various set up procedures to ensure the car does
not fall apart running down the road, so the freight and set up charges are
legitimate, not ADP as you put it on the forum. Sorry for the inconvenience
Tracy, your money will arrive in a few days I would expect.

Brian Hendrickson
386-418-4244
brian@polarisofgainesville.com

Congrats Otter, now you can go get your Slingshot without having to wait until January....and pay all those extra "fees".
 
This post has been deleted
#39 ·
Question here:
I noticed this in the post from Brian Hendrickson at Polaris of Gainesville to Otter:

"our service department has to go through and check
all torque specs and other various set up procedures to ensure the car does
not fall apart running down the road"


If that's true of all Slingshot dealers across the nation, why are there so many complaints from owners who have received their Slingshots, of the various faults and things wrong that these owners are reporting here on our forum? I have a great deal of confidence in my dealer, Johnny K's in Niles Ohio. They have done a lotta work on my Spyder and I think they are top notch all the way.

PS I also find it interesting that POG refers to the Slingshot as "car" as seen in the above quote......
Yep, nobody really believes it's a motorcycle.
 
This post has been deleted
#42 ·
Kinda a humorous story here concerning Otters "Yep, nobody really believes it's a motorcycle"......
One of my much younger buddies at church has been giving me a rough way to go, in a good natured and joking fashion, concerning me getting a Slingshot. I have had Honda's, Suzuki's, Harley's, a BMW, a Buell, my current Spyder and on and on. Big Tim keeps teasing me saying, "it's NOT a motorcycle, it's a car". I told Big Tim the other morning, "Tim, you can call it a marshmallow, a chicken, a hotdog, chili-fried rice or whatever ya wanna call it, I'm STILL getting it!".

Just maybe cheer some of ya's up...................
I just had to laugh on that one:D:D:p
Just last night I was at the local service station and one of their customers asked was that my spaceship at the refueling station, I laughed and replied even intergalactic star fighters need refueling from time to time.:troll: Everyone in the store got a big belly roll laugh out of that
 
#43 ·
I find it kind of funny that POG feels they need to charge the customer $2400 to get a product ready for sale ON TOP of the MSRP of the vehicle they voluntarily decided to sell, that comes to them 99.9% ready to roll.
I don't think removing a shock strap, installing 2 mirrors and a battery box cover rates a $1200 charge.
Since they were the closest dealer to me, I called them when i first found out about the SS, but their greedy prices drove me to another dealer (Best Buy Vehicles, Ft. Pierce, Fl) that believes the profit built in to the price of the vehicle is enough to cover shipping, dealer prep and profit for his business without bending the customer over, molesting them, then taking their wallet when they get done.
Yes, they might sell a few SS's, but i hope the customers that buy at that inflated price realizes how bad they are getting screwed, and refuse to go back for service, do not buy accessories, helmets and stuff, which is where the dealers make most of their profit.
Funny thing is, they lost the profit of the sale to me, plus the profit on the service of the machine, and the profit of any accessories that i will buy all from a 5 minute phone call, LOL.
I would love to be a waitress at a restaurant where these guys go for lunch.
Here is your food, the menu price is the price of the food, we have a prep fee for the cook to actually cook your food, and a delivery fee for the waitress to bring it to you, and a disposal fee for the uneaten food and cleaning of your plates and utensils. So your $8.95 hamburger ends up costing you $29.95. Please pay up front!!!!
How many times do you think they would go back to that restaurant?
 
#48 ·
I called Progressive this morning to see if the rates had change since the Mother Ship had a "Come to Jesus" meeting with the main Insurance companies. The rates had dropped, almost in half but they are still more than Liberty Mutual. What I found interesting was the Progressive agent said Progressive no longer classifies the Slingshot as a motorcycle. They created a whole new class, it's a "Alternative three wheel vehicle", anyone else heard that? Just found it interesting.
 
#49 · (Edited)
Happy Ending!
Spent most of the afternoon shopping for a replacement SS order. Got a couple of MSRP quotes (no shipping or setup) but they were a little too distant so ended up working with Ben at Route 1 Motorsports which is just a pleasant short drive from me. We agreed on MSRP + about $300 shipping + tax & title which I considered fair. I'm #5 for delivery and Ben estimated a late Dec. to early Jan. delivery which is also OK. He was a pleasure to work with from the very first contact. I'd recommend his dealership to anyone in the area.

Got a note from Brian at POG appologizing for not responding to my emails and not notifying me of SS arrival. He thought he had but checked his sent mail and it wasn't there and he owned up to it. I accepted his appology and know he was in a bad position for several reasons. Nuff said and now everybody's happy.
 
#50 ·
Happy Ending! Nuff said and now everybody's happy.
Great news Otter!!!
Thanks for posting, just like the other members this was really bothering me. I have been sitting here wondering how we could buy one the units from Oregon that Saul mentioned earlier and get it shipped to you. Very happy it worked out, I agree with your new dealer, units will start arriving quicker and quicker as production finally gets ramped up and shipping glitches get worked out.

This afternoon there were two SL's available in Oregon if any members are in that area.
 
#53 ·
I saw that ad on eBay and emailed the guy asking if he seriously thought he'd sell it for 27. He emailed back and said it wasn't as much as I thought it was???? How could it not be as much as 27 when that was a buy it now with no option for bid. I'm glad nobody was desperate enough to pay that much for one.
 
#57 ·
You have to be a complete F**king A**hole to pay more than what someone is asking for something...I recall my buddy selling S2000's at a 10K premium. Whoever does that is just plain stupid.
This is something that has been discussed here ad nausem several times. If someone has a buttload of disposable income and they HAVE to be the first kid on the block to have the new toy and they pay a premium over MSRP to do it, does that really make them a F**king A**hole and plain stupid? A Little harsh, no? What it is is none of your business what someone wants to pay and their own personal choice. I wouldn't do it personally, but that is my choice. Just my 2 cent
 
#61 ·
if anyone is in NJ avoid Motorcycle mall. i put my deposit down on 8/8 and was told it would be in my hand by first week of OCT. that week came and then i was told 2 more weeks. 2 weeks came, then i was told there on the truck for delivery. ok good! they must be coming by donkey cause its 7 weeks later and still not here. so i went today for the deposit back and of coarse its non refundable nor can i put it towards something else. so AVOID this store
 
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