legal action

well i'd hoped it wouldnt come to this but i have just got a solicitor involved in the flakey paint fiasco.
i have tried ducati who said go to dealer.
the dealer said ducati wanted photos and then after about a month i got an abrupt phone call from dealer saying ducati said no.
so back to ducati and guess what no bloody response.
is there any chance of you lot putting your names on a list so that i can see how many other people have the problem.

cheers people

i'm a pretty scared little fish at the mo cause i dont really have the cash for this but i'll be damned if im going to let it lie.

[CK & AK]

Bike 1 - M750ie, purchased in March 2002, paint flaking off by June 2002 - protracted dialogues with dealer & Ducati uk.
Solution:handlebars, right foot hanger, crank cases & clutch cover all replaced Sept 2003 at 12,000 mile service (could have been done in the June, but happy to wait,as agreement reached). Bike subsequently sold Jan 2004, for monster with more 'go' (see below)

Bike 2 - M1000sie, purchased Jan 2004, paint coming off crank cases at less than 3 weeks old & under 200 miles. Solution: Dealer & Ducati UK on the case (no pun intended) immediately & replacements offered. Very helpful attention given by Iain Rhodes.

NB: both engines were found to have been made in 2002

Love the monster - great bike, happy with solution offered - both times - FOC.

CK

Hi
Hasnt happened to me yet but.....just some info that might help......going to the small claims court will only cost u £60..no solicitors need be involved.....CAB has more info.....think i read it online somewhere too.
John

[CK & AK]

Quite a few others have had replacement engine parts too - inc some from the forum:-
Blufoot - M620ie (at Ducati London South),SazzaJ - M620ie. Fatbloke - M900ie - also a number of people over the last 18 months have asked about this problem on their bikes too, on the forum - but I have done a search on this subject & cant find any of the old threads.
Will ask Sami if he has any back up from the old website.

Can you not try asking Ducati UK again, as they have been quite reasonable to most with these type of problems? Mostly, it seems it is the dealers who are 'closing the door' on the consumer - denying that there is a problem, when in fact, there has been a very small minority of bikes who have suffered.

C

Good luck Celt,
Could trading standards help at all

Originally Posted by Drucilla

Good luck Celt,
Could trading standards help at all

i've never used the above but worth a go

you may also have legal expenses too to cover this claim - check your credit card, home insurance, bike insurance and any others. are you a member of a trade union? they might cover it.

it would also be a small claims track case so you don't NEED a solicitor but i can understand you wanting one. i'd try it without at first. you won't get the cost of using hte solicitor back if your claim is worth less than £3000 which it must be, surely.

CAB is a useful resource but can be tricky to utilise - find out your local opening hours and give em a try.

Add my name to the list!

M620ie bought from Ducati London South March 2003. Found flaky paint in Jan 04, but could have been there a while. All engine casings, foot hangers, and ends of swing arm.

Briefly spoke to DLS who said I should bring it in so they could take photos, and also said "we've never come across this before". That's a lie, as I know that someone else contacted them the following week and got the same reply!

Didn't take it in as I was too busy, and was planning on sorting it out over the winter before the warranty runs out next March.

Saz

PS. CK has pointed out a pattern here - mine was built in 2002 as well...

If youve got a fax number i'll fax you over the letter i sent to ducati - but ring 'em up yourself and speak to ian rhodes - dont let the dealer do the talking for you.

Put me down too. '02 620ie Dark. Still waiting for feedback from On Yer Bike about the 'issue'. Went over to them on the day a guy from Ducati UK was there, he took some pictures of the flaky paint and said he'd send em to Ducati directly. That was 6 weeks ago and I'm still waiting. Bike is 2 years old in August so wondering if they're just dragging their heals till the warranty runs out

Dark-Jon

'98 M600: footrest hanger (s) forget which, replaced at end of warranty due to flaky paint. Replacement was offered by dealer, no questions no arguments.

thanks people keep em coming.
i will compile all these responses and show them to everybody i can think of.

Originally Posted by celt

well i'd hoped it wouldnt come to this but i have just got a solicitor involved in the flakey paint fiasco.
i have tried ducati who said go to dealer.
the dealer said ducati wanted photos and then after about a month i got an abrupt phone call from dealer saying ducati said no.
so back to ducati and guess what no bloody response.
is there any chance of you lot putting your names on a list so that i can see how many other people have the problem.

cheers people

i'm a pretty scared little fish at the mo cause i dont really have the cash for this but i'll be damned if im going to let it lie.

I had the flakey paint problem on the crankcases and intially contacted Ducati via email - I had to chase them up a few weeks later and they asked me to take the bike to an authorised dealer for inspection.

The dealer was helpful and polite but understandably non-commital (they always lose on warranty claims as Ducati dictate the amount of time a job takes). He reported back his findings to Ducati.

After visiting the dealer I emailed Ducati confirming that the dealer had carried out an inspection. A short while later Ducati agreed to the warranty work and asked me to agree a time with the dealer for the work to be done - and suggested that it would be best if I waited until the end of the biking season when the dealer would be less busy. I was happy with this arrangement and the work was carried out. A couple of months ago I had a simialr problem with the clutch side cover - this has been replaced under warranty also. The foot rest hangers also have a small problem, but as the bike has now done 14,000 miles and I want to stay on good terms with my dealer I have not pressed Ducati about these.

I think that Ducati treated me very fairly and that the dealer also did an excellent job. I believe that my case was helped by the fact that my bike was obviously very well looked after and that I remained polite and factual but persistent with Ducati. I have some sympathy with the dealers as they are stuck in the middle and make no money out of warranty work.

Having said all that - I suspect that Ducati did/do have a problem with the paint on ALL of the air-cooled engines - I'm sure that a lot of people don't complain about it - hopefully Ducati have now put corrective measures into place at the factory as all this remedial work must be costing them a fortune!

I love Ducatis and intend to buy another but I will carefully inspect the quality of the engine paint before I hand over the money.

Good luck with your claim.

Regards
Will

The paint flaked off my2000 M750 within 6 months, the dealer had gone bust by then so I just gave up any hope !!

Friday, work as usual until lo and behold the phone rings and its M & S motorcycles in newcastle.
They informed me that Ducati UK had been on the phone and had ok'd the replacement or respray of my bike. I went out for a drink after work to celebrate and Ian Rhodes from Ducati phoned to make sure that M & S had called me with the good news.
I will be taking the respray when i pop her in for the 12 month service.

Thank you to everybody who contributed to my thread for help. My last email to Ducati contained a live link to the thread and if they seen that i think it would have helped my cause.

I am chuffed that this is over and i will try and help anybody else out if they experience the same problem.

i thank you i thank you

Great News, have another drink on me