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[benswing]

  I'm currently in the last stages of negotiating to sell the SR, taking a Vectrix (a bike I previously thought of as too unreliable) in trade.

Isn't there lemon law where you are? Did you buy this from an authorized Zero dealer? Tell them you want your money back or you will take them to court.

This doesn't seem to be a lemon law type of situation.  Basically if he could get it to the dealer, then it would all be sorted out.  As we have discussed in other threads, there is an expectation that you can get to a dealer if you have one of these bikes.  They are generally very reliable, but every once in a while some bikes need something fixed like a charger. 

This may seem like a bigger issue than it is because he has posted updates about it almost daily.  Right now his post count is 1.33 per day.  But you'll notice that none of those posts say "I brought the bike to the dealer."

[Doug S]

This may seem like a bigger issue than it is because he has posted updates about it almost daily.  Right now his post count is 1.33 per day.  But you'll notice that none of those posts say "I brought the bike to the dealer."

My thoughts exactly. Some peoples' lives wouldn't be complete if they solved their problems and were left with nothing to gripe about.

[sendler]

This doesn't seem to be a lemon law type of situation. 

There are plain and simple buyer's remorse laws that allow you to return any new motor vehicle within 30 days even if there is nothing wrong with it. If there is a fault any time within warranty, the dealer has three tries or 30 days to fix it or it is also eligible for a return. Coupled with the apparent fact that the dealer/ manufacturer knowingly and repeatedly cleared fault codes and then delivered the bike anyway, this would be a slam dunk for a full refund.

[MostlyBonkers]

Doug, Ben, I can see where you're coming from, but...

But, I think Leftie's problem all along has been the issue of getting the bike to the dealer. I think the reason he's gone to such lengths to seek the assistance of this forum is because he really, really didn't want to resort to that.

The guy is in ill health and that changes things. That's my feeling about all of this. I'm not disputing that it became clear some time ago that leftie needed to get his bike to a dealer, it's just that the practicalities of doing that are much more difficult for him to cope with.

I don't know the details, but it's also worth considering that any serious physical illness can have an impact on one's mental health. Life just becomes difficult and some things we take for granted, like picking up the phone and sorting an issue out, become very difficult.

I'm just saying that I think there's more to this than meets the eye. The fact that leftie would rather offload the Zero, no doubt at a considerable financial loss, speaks volumes to me. I think his tolerance levels are much lower than normal.

I know leftie has ignored advice from many of the pillars of this community and perhaps even upset one or two people that have tried to help. I think there's more to the story, that's all.

I don't know if we'll hear any more from Leftie. I just can't help feeling for the guy. Call me soft if you like!

I'm sure the first thing the new owner will do is get the bike sorted and enjoy riding it. I don't think leftie wants anything to do with it. One to chalk down to a bad experience under unfortunate circumstances.

[LeftieBiker]

    If those of you asking why I haven't "brought the bike to a dealer" yet can't be bothered to read why, or can't understand the logistics of the dealers being 120+ miles away and me not initially knowing which of them actually do good warranty work (or any warranty work at all), I'll not waste any more time explaining it. Yes, it might be a "slam dunk" to get a refund, *if* Zero or either of the dealers who have seen the logs would confirm the multiple errors and resets, but they seem more inclined to protect the dealership by saying as little as possible. I am going to contact both Zero and the dealership that sold it again before selling the bike, but it seems people here have little real world experience with American car and motorcycle dealerships. As for my posting frequency, I'm usually responding to other posts. I don't think I need to limit that for the benefit of a few fanboys, but I'm pretty much finished with the bike now, so I guess that applies to this site as well. Thanks to the two or three guys who actually helped. To the rest of you, well, I guess I just wish you all the luck with your bikes that I've had with mine.      ;-)

   Bonkers just slipped in with a post. Gee, thanks for the insinuation about my mental health. What you wrote about me physically is correct. I did, however, "pick up the phone" about this, and Zero's response wasn't "We'll get right on that!" It was "We don't generally deal with customers directly." Anyway, if I do post again here, it will just be to name the dealer who sold me the bike again, if they give me the brush-off, more for the benefit more of future members here than anything else.

[MostlyBonkers]

I apologise Leftie for throwing mental health out there. I take an interest in the subject which can lead to the occasional over conjecture. Sometimes I just think too much in the wrong direction.

Do spill the beans on the dodgy dealership though!

[sendler]

 You don't have to hunt around for a different dealer. What dealer sold you the bike? Just call them up and tell them you want your money back. Why should you have to take a bath to try to sell the defective bike they gave you.

[MostlyBonkers]

+1 to what sendler is saying. The bike was so obviously not in good condition when it was sold to Leftie. Even without the proof from the logs, anything that breaks down on its first run is not right. I wish I'd thought of sendlers approach myself to be honest. I, like Ben and many others, thought the situation was recoverable. Not now, by the sounds of it.

Yet another case of Zero's customer service failing. A bad dealer set things off but Zero weren't able to be able to actively manage the case. The onus was on Leftie to constantly chase, email, make calls etc. He got upset with that quickly, which is understandable.

I get the impression that Zero rely on peoples goodwill and patience too much. They need to stamp on issues like this much quicker so that all their dirty washing isn't aired in public like this. One way or another that bike is going back to them to get fixed at their expense. Why not nip it in the bud and save everyone a load of hassle and wasted time? It all boils down to poor management.

[benswing]

No offense meant in my previous post.  Just pointing out that this forum can be an echo chamber (which I just contributed to by posting), and this is the latest example of that phenomenon. 

I know why you haven't brought it to the dealer, and get why you approached problem solving the way that you did (ie - no big deal on the post count).  It's just too bad that getting it to the dealer is so difficult for you, because you would probably be having a blast on your bike if you could get there.  Cheers.

I go to the same dealer you are referring to (pretty sure) and they have been great at helping me with anything.  It's 50 miles for me to get there, which is a bit of a haul, but manageable.

[LeftieBiker]

   I got a PM and so stopped here for what will probably be the last time. The Zero is now sold, and I have a 2009 Leaf cell-converted Vectrix VX-1 that I can actually ride, knock on wood. The dealership I bought the bike from is Elk Grove Powersports in Stockton (I think) Ca. They ended up refunding, at my request, the $387 dealer prep fee and have promised to also refund the $450 freight fee (after I complained to Zero), to make up for my possible shipping costs to have it fixed. (The bike wasn't sold at that point.) The second check hasn't arrived yet. I estimate my loss on the bike, not counting $900+ in sales tax, to be about $3k. Keep in mind when replying that I won't be reading it. I would like to offer another bit or two of advice, though: never expect a vehicle dealership to buy a vehicle back from you unless they are forced to do so by a "Lemon Law," because that just doesn't happen. And, of course, don't buy a Zero unless you live near a dealership that works on them - preferably two, as there is a significant amount of dealer turnover. Tomorrow I install a backrest on the VX-1, while the SR's new owner struggles to arrange to get the bike repaired...