In May of 2021, I headed to my local Royal Enfield dealership to check out a Himalayan. I wasn't expecting much, but I'm a sucker for retro bikes and it seemed like it could be what I was looking for. I was pleasantly surprised by how comfortable and smooth it was for a $5000 thumper. More details on why I chose it later. I asked what I would be looking at OTD and the salesman gave me a ballpark off the top of his head.
A week or so later I decide I want one after a bit more thinking and test riding. I text the salesman I worked with and asked for OTD price and he gives me an estimate again. I reply that I want to know the actual numbers as I'm planning to pay in cash.
I get ghosted.
I wait a day or two and call the dealership, and get to someone who actually finds the info I need. Excellent. They also inform me they've sold all the floor models but have more still crated, and I put a deposit down on one. I'm relieved to at least have gotten that much done and hang up.
A day or so later a few things occur to me:
I do not remember the name of the salesperson I spoke to on the phone. They told me their name, it was a different name from the one who ghosted me and that was good enough.
I never got a timeframe on when this thing was supposed to be unboxed and assembled.
I never got an email confirmation of my deposit.
Meanwhile, salesman 1 actually texts me back!
I wait another day or so, then drive to the dealership to make sure I get all this shit sorted out. The most helpful person I've ever worked with at this dealership by far looks up my deposit and confirms that it does in fact exist. He also finds out who is actually selling me the bike and gives me their card. He also informs me however, that it's waaaay down the list due to no less than 50 SXS that need to be prepped for people who have been waiting 6 months for delivery. They may get to it in a week, but it's hard to say for sure. Oh joy.
About 2 weeks later, still with no updates on how they're coming along, I give them another call. I'm told they've just started on it and I should have it at the week's end. I confirm with my sales guy that I'll be picking it up Friday and that it will be good to go.
Fast forward to Thursday afternoon, he calls to tell me that there's a broken brake cable and they don't have a replacement on hand. It will be another week. I start looking at other bikes at this point. Really had my heart set on a Himalayan but start shopping my runner up, a used CB500x. I find one in good condition with tkc80s and a nice top box with a set of road tires included for what I'd pay for the Royal pain-in-the-ass Enfield. I arrange to look at it, grab a wad of cash from my credit union, and am about to make the trek to Salt Lake to potentially buy a motorcycle when the guy texts me back, confirming that it is ready and I can get it tomorrow. Cool. I let the Honda man know I'm not coming.
I show up in the morning and am told it's ready. I start on paperwork. They have a promo going where you get a gas card and your first service free. That's nice, kinda helps me be less angry at the situation. Finance guy says he hasn't gotten the email with necessary info for it yet, though. I'll save the suspense on this one and tell you, I never got that promo.
The salesman comes up to me after I've finished the paperwork, he looks a little sheepish, and tells me that they have a CEL and are trying to figure it out. I wait around a bit. They still can't get it taken care of easily. He gives me the option of taking it and seeing if it clears itself, if not they'll take care of it when I bring it in for break-in service (as if I'll trust them to do that at this point). I tell them I'll just take it.
I ride away, hoping I won't need a warranty claim and can avoid going back ever again. End of the story?
Well not quite.
2 months later I'm still running temp tags.
I thought this said August 21st but it turns out it actually said August 8th, they folded in the month rather than the year. I text the man and get no response. I call again, they check, yes they have my plates. Back at the dealership getting my plates, I ask how long they've had them and if someone was supposed to let me know. I'm told they got them in pretty recently and they had some sort of bookkeeping issues delaying a lot of people's registration stuff. Fantastic. So that's the sales staff, the service staff, and the accountants that can't do their job? Fuck all of these people.
I've worked in sales and customer service before, I understand that shit happens. But there's only so much shit that can just happen. Not to mention the absolutely horrid communication throughout the entire ordeal.
Oh well. It's mine now.
tl;dr I fucked your mom and she gave me money for a motorcycle
