Erico Motorsports Completely Incapable of Delivering the Correct Part Denver Colorado

I purchased a very fancy and large Vespa motorscooter from Erico in early November. The transaction and paperwork for the scooter itself was not too terribly painful, as far as these types of transactions go. The scooter itself is a wonderful machine, I have not had any mechanical problems, and I am extremely happy with it. They were even able to order the particular color and model I wanted (very new, and not common in the States yet) much quicker than anyone expected. Points for that.

However, I apparently made a mistake when it comes to the accessories. I put them all in with the loan, so I could have my perfect bike right from the start, and just tack on a little extra to my monthly payments whenever possible. I came into the dealership the day I bought my scooter with part numbers, photographs, and MSRPs to make sure there was absolutely no confusion. To put it lightly, it has been a complete nightmare when it comes to getting my accessories from this dealership. I live an hour away, so I have to plan a day and watch the weather carefully (I don't ride in snow) if I need to get myself down there, as my Vespa is all I have (I am not a great car driver, but that is another matter entirely). My boyfriend is willing to take me there on occasions, but he does not like the hour drive each way either, especially in his large gas-sucking SUV.

The main accessory that I wanted above all else is a set of chromed metal bars that go around the rear of the bike, and help protect it against expensive damage if it were to fall or get bumped into. The particular bars I ordered with the bike are just under $300 (probably over $300, when you add tax and shipping), and it's the most expensive accessory I ordered. Of course, it took a while for most of my parts to come in, but I wasn't too suprized about that. When you have an expensive fancy Italian bike, you deal with the price and time that comes with getting the parts for it.

I get the call saying most of my accessories have come in (my backrest and rear crash bars were on backorder). Great, I thought, I'll just go down there to get them when I have my first pre-paid service scheduled. I inquired as to how much it would be to install at least a few items, as some larger things I would not be able to safely carry home on the bike, without them being bolted on correctly. I was told they would work something out when I got there, depending on how long it took to install what.

While sitting at the dealer, with my bike in for it's first service, I asked the service manager how much it would be to just install my windscreen, so I would know before they actually did any extra work. He nervously told me his boss was nearby (and why should he be worried about that??), and that he'd tell me later. An HOUR later, after everything was finished, he told me they had installed everything, and the fee was $57. Fine, I couldn't exactly tell them to uninstall things, so I paid up and left for home. I had to adjust things when I got home, because the windscreen in question was installed incorrectly, leaving me no clearance at the top of the legshield to turn the handlebars enough to lock the steering column. (I was later told that the $57 charge was a "deal," but that doesn't make up for the fact that they charged me before giving me a choice as to whether I actually wanted them to do the work or not.)

I called a couple weeks later to see if they had any timeframe for the backordered parts. The parts guy I spoke to, Steven, happily informed me that he had gone with another supplier, and gotten me the parts ordered. A few days later, he called again to say they were in. He was able to overnight them to me via UPS for just $15, so I was happy about that. The backrest was fine. The crash bars were not the ones I had ordered, and are priced nearly $90 cheaper than what I am currently paying for in the loan. I called Erico up, and they said they were sorry, and I could return them for the correct ones whenever I had the chance, no extra charges. The correct ones were still on backorder.

I spoke to a few other Vespa dealers, and one in particular was rather pissed at how Erico had been handling my accessory orders. He offered to break up a 5-piece chrome kit to sell me the bars that I wanted, and ship them to me free as long as I was able to get my money back from Erico. So my boyfriend drives me down to the dealer, and of course since the purchase is in with the loan, I can't get my money back. They offer to order a chrome kit and give me the correct piece, and take back the wrong bars.

Three days later, I get an email saying the chrome kit in, and I can have my bars. Hooray! I scoot down there as fast as I can, but of course they're too busy to install them. Fine, I didn't have an appointment, so that's my bad. The service manager tells me it would take a long time, because of all the drilling and fitting involved. I'm sorry, but I obviously know more than they do, because Vespa does not currently make any factory accessories that involve drilling when installed correctly on the correct model, and nobody else has for nearly 2 decades. That makes me especially frightened of Erico's service department, but that is another story. My boyfriend drives me back the next day, since the part is too large to safely carry on a scooter without it being installed.

We get it home, and after fitting it for about 10 minutes (With no drilling! Wow, I must be clever!) I discover that these bars are meant for a completely different model Vespa (unfortunately, the bars are similar enough that I couldn't have known this just by checking the looks of them before we left the dealer). We call Erico to inform them that we recieved the right part, but for the wrong model bike. They said they would "have to research the problem," and get back to me. Of course, this was an hour before closing on a Saturday, so they did not get back to me. Most motorcycle dealers are closed Sunday and Monday, and Erico is one of them.

I fail to see why this is so difficult. I gave them part numbers. I gave them printed photographs. Yet they seem completely incapable of ordering what I'm already paying for. They did offer to give me a gift certificate in the amount of the bars, but there is nothing else I desire from their shop, and if there was I would go out of my way and pay more to obtain it elsewhere. I am giving them the rest of this week and one more chance to fix the problem. My only backup plan is to sell the incorrect part online at a loss, and use the profits towards buying the correct part from somebody who actually knows what they're doing.

I am under the distinct impression that because they have my loan money on a scooter (when what they really care about is selling their other expensive European motorcycles), they really don't give a rip about me now. For a scooter, I spent a LOT of money here, for a quality Italian brand-name vehicle. With the amount they've gotten from me, you would think they could afford training, or at least people who have a clue what they're doing. I *could* have gotten a decent small used car for less, and had fewer problems than this.

I *will* update here if they manage to come through, but don't hold your breath. I'm certainly not going to.

Heather
Longmont, Colorado
U.S.A.