Eagle River Marine

Review: I brought my snowmobile in for service on Dec. 27, 2013. I had asked them to run a diagnostic on it to determine the problem. I also asked the Service Manager to run my VIN number to see if there were any recalls/warranty. He told me he would do that. After a week I did not hear anything so I called and was told I needed a new stater about $900 with parts and labor. I told him I would get back to him because I did not want it fixed there if it was not under warranty. My snowmobile was not even 2 years old and had under 1500 miles. The stater is not something that should have gone at this point. My brother who works on snowmobiles and has worked for [redacted] in Brookfield suggested I call Skidoo. My brother called Skidoo and gave Skidoo my VIN number, right from the snowmobile. He asked the women at Skidoo if I had the extended engine warranty and she told him yes. He then asked if the stater was covered under that warranty and she again said yes. She then gave us a case number to give to Track Side. I then called the Service Manager at Track Side and gave him the case number. He said " I guess I would have found this out if I had run you VIN number." I told them to go ahead with the repairs. On Jan. 10th I called to see if the work had been completed. The Service Manager told me it was and there was no charge. I told him I would have my brother pick it up on Jan. 11th. When my brother picked it up he was told again that there was no charge. On Feb. 6, 2014 I received a bill in the mail from Track Side for over $900 with not explanation. I was going out of town and could not contact them until Feb. 14th. When I did I was told by the Service Manager that it was not under warranty. When I said that I was told by Skidoo it was he just said Skidoo said it wasn't. I was able to get paperwork from Track Side with their notes from their conversation with Skidoo. It basically said that "whoever called Skidoo did not ask the right questions." It was also noted that Skidoo admitted there were issues with the staters. The questions asked when my brother called Skidoo were clear. I did try to contact the owner of Track Side for more assistance on Mar. 3. He did not return my call. On Mar 13 I sent him a letter explaining that I was not paying for this work because I was told it was under warranty and that I was contacting a lawyer to see what I could do about this. On March 20 I received a certified letter saying that basically this was my fault. That my brother did not know what he was talking about when he called Skidoo, that he never gave a VIN number, and that if I did not pay in 10 days it would go to small claims court. In my letter I also mentioned that Don and Roy's tried talking to Skidoo on my behalf. They were able to get Skidoo to pay for the stater and they were sent a check for $366.00. However I was billed by Track Side $466.00. So I am confused as to why there is a $100 difference. The owner of Track Side, even thought I told him who got this money from Skidoo for me, said they did not follow procedure and that a stater is more than $466.00. So now I am more confused. He also stated in his letter that I never told them not to fix it if it was not under warranty, even though when I picked up the paperwork his Service Manager told me " I know you did not want us to do the repairs if it was not under warranty." There was not communication from Track Side and they did not do their job to check for the warranty. They are now trying to cover their mistake by not being truthful and putting the blame on me. The owner even went so far to imply that I lied about what Skidoo told me.

I provided the information that Skidoo provided to me. I based my decision to have the repair done based on that information. I was more than prepared to have the repairs done elsewhere if it was not under warranty because Track Side has a reputation of poor customer service, and over charging for work.

I am more than willing to send the money Skidoo sent me for the stater to Track Side if I could find out from Skidoo or Track Side exactly how much it really costs. I also do feel I am responsible for the labor costs because I can not get a real reason why I was told it was under warranty and then it wasn't. If Track Side really wants their money maybe they should be contacting Skidoo and find out who the woman was that I spoke to and find out why she provided incorrect information. They need to get Skidoo to pay for their mistake instead of blaming me.

I have also filed a complaint against Skidoo who I feel are just as much apart of this as Track Side.Desired Settlement: I want them to cover the costs of the labor and show me exactly how much a stator costs. Then I will provide them with the money sent to Don And Roy's Motorsports and sent to me.

Business

Response:

Dear Mr. [redacted],

In regards to the complaint you received from Ms. [redacted]. Ms. [redacted]'s depiction of events is full of inaccuracies. I have attached a copy of our letter to Ms. [redacted]. The bottom line is that the work was done by Track Side and Ms. [redacted] has a repaired snowmobile, but Track Side has not received any payment for services. A Ski Doo dealer that did not perform any of the work has received payment who in turn gave that payment to Ms. [redacted], but she has yet to forward any monies to Track Side. At a minimum, she should partially pay for the services performed, thus showing Ms. [redacted]'s willingness to work to resolve the situation.

As a quick side note to the cost of the stator in question; Track Side charged Ms. [redacted] retail price as is listed officially with Ski Doo. [redacted] reimburses its dealers differently based on their dealer level. Track Side is a platinum level dealer which is the highest level dealer within the organization. In order to obtain this certification, much education, training and purchase committments are required. We do not know what level dealer Don and Roy's Motorsports is, thus impacting how much they were paid for the stator.

Track Side's service record is a good one and we work hard to keep it that way. Ski Doo officially ranks our service department 6th out of 22 dealers in our region. It is not our practice to perform unauthorized work. Had we been given the correct information regarding the warranty coverage from Ms. [redacted], this issue would never have occurred.

Of course we would like to rectify this issue without pursuing further legal action, but is impossible without some cooperation from Ms. [redacted]. If Ms. [redacted] forwards the money that she has received for the repair from Don and Roy's Motorsports to Track Side, we will pursue the balance from Ski Doo and agree not to pursue small claims litigation.

Regards,

Consumer

Response: