Really bad Motoretta experience

Wow, what a management team! My girlfriend had put in a deposit LAST May for one of their Cleveland Cyclewerks bikes. I know most of you think those bikes aren't good, but she thought it'd be a fun little bike to kick around the city with. Anyways, the bikes kept getting delayed and they never thought to inform her, ever...even after multiple phone calls from her questioning, they much preferred avoiding the situation and giving her the run around than being honest with their customers. Finally when she threatened to pull out of buying the bike and asked for a refund on her deposit, they offered her a discount and promised her that she would be getting frequent updates on when the bike was going to be delivered. Of course, she never heard from them again. Finally, angry she hasn't received any updates from them in months as promised, she asks for a refund, and they turn around and tell her that the bike is in Edmonton on the way. She asked why she was never updated, and they were completely indifferent to the situation. Now furious at their customer service, and lack of competence she demands a refund and a half an hour conversation ensues full of excuses and finger pointing to the other manager. Anyways, I just can not believe that a company would take a deposit an entire year ago, fail to deliver, and completely fail to notify their customers. Really, just a bunch of hipsters that can't run a business properly. Geez. Let's see how long it'll take for this refund!

guess a not so good bike has a not so good dealer network as well...That's why you stick to something reputable.

small claims court!

It took you a whole year to ask for your deposit back?
Get OMVIC involved and see what they have to say.

I would have filed suit immediately after the second screw around.

The worst part is that they've called my girlfriend back like three times today, blaming Cleveland Cyclewerks for the delay. Duh, we know there were issues on their part, but it's how you dealt with the situation with your paying customers is what infuriates us.

This is why they don't sell Vespas anymore, Piaggio cut them loose and don't want anything to do with them.

Yeah, she finally demanded a refund on her deposit today. They had offered her a large discount on the bike and promised that it would be in by February previously, so she held out a little longer because she really did like the bike.

Burnout said:

Yeah, she finally demanded a refund on her deposit today. They had offered her a large discount on the bike and promised that it would be in by February previously, so she held out a little longer because she really did like the bike.

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Imagine the pleasure of dealing with these guys if something goes wrong with the bike...I would walk away FAST, discount or not...

Anyone know if anyone from the Gardin family are still involved?

Alex_San said:

Imagine the pleasure of dealing with these guys if something goes wrong with the bike...I would walk away FAST, discount or not...

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+1. Definitely not worth the headaches down the road.

OMG ... I had a horrible experience there too ... I had a Derbi Atlantis Bullet and brought it for a tune up ... when I left and was half way home the check oil light came on. Being closer to home I continued home. Just as I pulled onto my street the scooter died. The oil had been completely drained and nothing put back in .... when I called back to tell them about it ... they hung up on me!!!!!!

When I was on a Vespa Fada Scooters in Kensington offered excellent service. Picked up the bike once from my place, and met me on the road one time when it died downtown. Troy, the owner, rode out on a Vespa, got it started for me and followed me back to the shop - and didn't charge me for the time, just the service.

That's what a bike shop should be. Maybe not service that personal - I'll admit it was above and beyond, but there's gotta be integrity and trust.

Too bad about Motoretta. There's a lot of these stories. How do they stay in business?

Seven said:

Too bad about Motoretta. There's a lot of these stories. How do they stay in business?

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Not anymore. After Piaggio pulled the plug on Motoretta, they closed up all their shops except the one on College St. A lot of the scooter crowd switched to Fada for service. A friend told me they hired an ace mechanic from Thailand that's really good.

Yeah, I just got one of these from Motoretta yesterday. Came with no gas (ran out of gas 2 blocks from the dealer, had to push it the last block back to work), and every dealer-assembled part was finger tight, including the rear axle bolts... Spent 2 hours in the parking lot at work, in the pouring rain, putting it together properly with the factory toolkit and buddy double checking everything with me. Going to call them today and complain, but not expecting much to come out of it. Super disappointed in the dealer.

The bike itself is good though, anyone saying otherwise has clearly never seen them in person. These bikes more solidly built than the 10k dollar Moto Guzzi I was considering prior to finding these bikes locally. I was expecting to go to the dealer and see another china POS bike, but ended up buying it on the spot. Every weld on the bike is spotless, everything is solidly fitted, no cheap plastic anywhere, all bolts are spec (no shorties or improper fits), and proper grade for automotive. Weaver Rides is doing work on these bikes in the US, and all the performance parts come direct from Weaver, which is how I heard about them originally. So if they are confident enough to back these bikes, I am too. Maybe in a few months my tune will change, but right now I am a pretty big supporter of these bikes compared to everything else at the price point. I've seen probably 15 in person now, and every single one is built to the same quality. Surprising for a china bike, but keep in mind even honda is making stuff in china these days. Think about it like japanese bikes in the 50s and 60s, some were **** and would break down after 1000 miles, but some were great and would last forever. Im pretty confident this is going to be the first recognized quality china bike, but I'll happily eat my hat (and the loss) if I am wrong

*edit*, yeah, I called them, they said they would give me a free cup of coffee and chat about the bike. They also offered to go over it again, but theres no point as I trust myself more at this point.

Just to add on to my experience, my friend bought a bike the same day as me, also at Motoretta. Was supposed to come today (friday), and he confirmed 5 or 6 times this week that it would be ready to go today. He calls this morning to confirm, they say yes, this afternoon it will be ready. He calls again to confirm its ready just as we are leaving to pick it up, and they tell him its not coming until late today and they wont have time to PDI it for him, other bikes are being worked on and theres no time. No notice, nothing, he has to call them to get that update. I give them a ring and talk to the manager on his behalf because I was going as well to make sure his bike is actually put together, and to get them to adjust my clutch under the warranty (its dragging, wasnt set up properly) and take them up on their offer to go over my bike for free. I told the guy in literally the nicest possible way that this is the worst service ive ever gotten from any dealership, especially considering we walked in and dumped 8k in cash into his register in under 30 minutes. He starts telling me that if we want stuff done, we should call and give notice, and asks me why I am calling instead of my friend. I let him know that we confirmed multiple times delivery would happen today, and that he already did call and was given the brush off. Dude didnt care. Techs leave at 6 and thats that. No make right, no apology (actually told me we were wasting time talking about it).

At the end of the day, it doesnt really matter, tomorrow my friend will have his bike and life will go on. But I will never recommend Motoretta to anyone, or say I had a great experience buying from them.

*edit* So I went today with my friend, had them check over a bunch of stuff and make some adjustments (just too lazy to do it myself on a brand new bike) and I have to say, in person they are way nicer. They actually did slot my bike in right away, like they said they would, and were a lot more friendly. I didnt see Doug, who I guess is the manager and the guy i had spoken with before, so I'm thinking he might the only one who doesnt give a ****. Everyone else was actually pretty decent, and made sure we were happy before we left again.

I recently decided to take up yoga again. While waiting for the class to begin I overheard two young women talking about their scooters. They were raving about their outstanding experience with FADA SCOOTERS in the market.

If I hadn't already decided to abandon the scooter I would be heading directly to this shop for my needs. Old school service, I understand. That's what is missing in retail today and for those of us who remember what is was, we are still willing to pay for it. (Or if I find a really outstanding deal on a Derbi Bullett I might just pick one up anyway...)

eljay said:

I would have filed suit immediately after the second screw around.

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I had such a bad experience with them once about fraud that i contemplated calling the police. They were such scammers and thieves. I let it go, but am waiting every day for them to run out of business. They were the worst business I had ever encountered.

The markup on their Honda parts is atrocious. But mostly it's barely even a motorcycle/scooter store... it's a ****** lifestyle clothing shop.

Friend was just telling me yesterday she brought her scooter in here and they weren't able to fix it. Took it elsewhere and they figured it out quickly. She also said she tried to find protective gear there and all they sold was non protective "lifestyle" gear.