My experience with Motofit, located on 10 Mill Plain Rd. Danbury CT. Pour yourself a nice cup of coffee or crack open an ice cold brew because this may take a while!
Motofit and staff are completely unprofessional, unorganized and arrogant. I will absolutely never deal with Motofit again. As a 2 time Ducati owner I am quiet embarrassed to say I have purchased from Motofit. If they did this to me, I am sure there are many other instances of unsatisfied customers. Ducati is world leading in the motorcycle industry and to be represented by a dealership like Motofit, is diminishing to their name and prestige. Within this long explanation of my experience with Motofit, I am sure the reader can feel my frustration, although they can not feel the condescending attitudes I was faced with throughout this whole experience. Ducati North America received a copy of this today.
2/17/15: I initially visited Motofit in Danbury CT in interest in a 2014 Panigale 1199S. The salesman named Dave worked with me. (I believe that was his name he was not there through my entire experience with Motofit)I knew Ducati was offering purchase incentives for the 1199s in the month of March and Dave explained to me Motofit would match whatever cash back incentives Ducati offered. I was very pleased with the quote Dave came up with. Dave needed to confirm his numbers with the sales manager, Mike O’Mahony. We left off that Dave would contact me in a day or two with an exact amount.
2/19/15: I did not receive a call from Dave at Motofit, in turn I called. I was routed to Mike O’Mahony, who was unaware of any quote Dave had put together for me. He explained, Dave did not come into work and for me to come in and Motofit will create a new quote. The excuse Mike gave was, that Dave was “new”, and “he is having issues with alcohol abuse”.
2/25/15: I visited Motofit again to come up with a new quote. I worked with salesman Paul. His quote was astronomical. It was roughly about $3000 more than my initial quote. I was not happy with the numbers that Paul quoted me on so he had Mike O’Mahony work with us to try and come up with a solution. After 3 hours at the dealership, a new quote was established. I was still hesitant because how could the difference in quotes be so large. Mike assured me that my current quote was the absolute best that I will get anywhere. I put a $100 deposit on the Panigale 1199S just to secure it would not be sold. The next closest dealership that had a red 2014 Panigale S model was about 4 hours away.
-Within that week I called around to different dealerships in NY, PA, NJ, and NH. I received a quote for about $2,400 less than what Motofit quoted me on their bike. I was all set to make the 4-hour drive to that dealership which was located in Long Island. I called Motofit and spoke to Paul to refund my $100 deposit.
-A day or two later, Mike O’Mahony called me and asked why I wanted my deposit refunded. I explained to him that I was quoted significantly less from another dealership. He asked if I could bring that quote in and they would match or beat the price he would not negotiate over the phone.
3/10/15: I again drove back to Motofit. I dealt directly with Mike this time. Motofit matched and beat the price of the bike by $200. I was satisfied. I agreed on a deal with Motofit to purchase a 2014 Panigale 1199s. I left another $400 for a total of a $500 deposit. I told Mike I would like to pick the bike up at the end of March, either the 27th or 28th. I was then passed to Dave to sign some paperwork. This was the last time I interacted with Dave.
3/21/15: I was contacted by Paul from Motofit. He was curious as to what time I was picking up the motorcycle that day. I explained to him that I told Mike I would come the 27th or 28th. He apologized for the confusion and wanted me to let him know by Wednesday the 25th which day I planned to come.
3/25/15: Contacted Paul at Motofit to confirm I would be picking the bike up on Saturday the 28th of March.
3/28: I arrived at Motofit with my Father. After some small talk with Paul we got down to business with paperwork and such. After inspection of my BRAND NEW Panigale S I noticed that there were a tremendous about of swirl marks and scratches on the gas tank as well as the windscreen. The windscreen was scratched to the point, if looked through, the image on the other side was distorted. It looked as if someone peeled the price sticker off with a razor blade. This was completely unacceptable on a brand new twenty thousand dollar bike. Mike O’Mahony walked by my father and I and greeted us in which I immediately addressed the issues with the bike. Mike raised his hand up in a motion to dismiss my concerns, he did not say a word. He then walked to his desk, then back in front of us and I told him something has to be done about this. His reply was "well you can’t get a new tank but well take care of the windscreen", and walked away. I then addressed the situation to Paul. He agreed that it was unacceptable and went to talk to Mike about the issues with the bike. Mike then came back and offered to give me an aftermarket windscreen to fix that issue. He had no answer for the tank and seemed annoyed I was complaining about it. In reality, I had every right to be unhappy with the condition of a brand new Ducati. I opted to have him give me a Ducati tank protector. Mike agreed to that, and told me to email him so he didn’t forget to order the parts. I had to come pick up the parts and I was left to install the windscreen on my own. That was the last I heard from Mike that day. I showed proof of insurance, which was photocopied, signed the rest of my paperwork with salesman Dan. Paul put my license plate from the bike I traded in (2011 Ducati 848Evo) on the new Panigale. Paul handed me the key, told me I was all set to ride, loaded the bike in my truck and I left. – To have 18 days from the time of deposit until day of pick-up, Motofit did not even wipe the dust off of the bike. They should have gone over the motorcycle and corrected the flaws. The windscreen should have been replaced and the entire motorcycle should have been polished to eliminate swirls and scratches. After spending twenty thousand dollars at Motofit, I had to buff out the swirls and scratches then wax the entire bike myself; not to mention install my own windscreen. I should not have to have done this on a new bike. The Ducati I traded in had 7,300 miles and had less swirls and scratches.
3/29/15: I emailed Mike at Motofit in regards to the items we agreed on. I sent him exact links to the items we talked about so there was no confusion upon ordering on his end.
4/3/15: Response from Mike, He told me parts are on order and apologized for the late reply. -Which was a week later after the initial email.
4/4/15: Experienced extremely hard starting on my motorcycle when the engine was warm. I would address this when I went to pick my parts up.
4/9/15: I emailed Mike to see if the parts had arrived yet. He replied by adding parts associate Alec to the email, asking him if the parts were in. I am unclear as to why Mike couldn’t just page him or walk over to the parts desk to check; they work in the same building. No response from Alec or Mike.
4/14: I called Motofit parts dept. to see if my items were in stock yet. The associate told me that they have the tank protector (which came in last week) and had no idea about the windscreen. Then he put me on hold, came back and said they have both items. I said I would be drive out on the 16th for my items.
4/16: I drove to Motofit. After 33 minutes of standing at the parts counter they found my items. I talked to a service tech about my hard starting issue. He replied with "I don’t have an answer for you fella, its a Panigale.” I asked him about a potential fueling issue, he again did not have an answer. - I just spent twenty thousand dollars at your dealership on what is suppose to be a work of art Italian superbike and you can care less about my concerns.
4/16/15: Took my bike out for a ride, approximately 40 minutes into my ride I noticed my left-hand side mirror was very loose. I stopped to assess the mirror issue. The front bolt that secured the mirror had backed completely out and was no longer there. The other bolt for the mirror had backed about ¼ of the way out. Due to the front bolt backing out and vibrations from riding the bolt head had left marks on the fairing stay. Unless the dealer had over tightened the bolt initially which marked up the aluminum bracket. I am giving the dealer the benefit of the doubt on this one because I had no tangible proof at that time. I took the mirror off put it in my backpack and went to a Home Depot down the road. I matched the bolt and installed my mirror in the parking lot. After further inspection of my right side mirror, both of the Hex heads on the bolts were stripped. I found two OEM bolts on the internet and had since installed them. Dealer installed the mirrors after uncrating the motorcycle. They must have stripped the hex heads. Also after inspecting the left mirror, I noticed that there was a noticeable amount of play in the folding joint. Enough to notice while riding, which made the image in the mirror distorted. The right side mirror does not have this issue. Planned to bring the bike in on my next day off.
4/17/15: I have not received any type of registration information from Motofit or NY DMV in the mail. It has been 3 weeks since purchase so I decided to call Motofit and check on my registration. I was transferred to salesman Dan. He told me that my registration paperwork has not yet been submitted. He stated Missy (Unsure of her title) was the one who does the registrations and Tuesday the 21st would be the earliest she could do it. Dan informed me that I should have received an “in-transit” license plate when I picked my bike up. I did not receive one. Dan stated if I wanted an “In-Transit” plate, I would have to pay an additional $21 and would have to come pick it up. I refused to pay an additional $21 and said I would come get the plate. He transferred me to Alex (I don’t know her title at Motofit) she requested my insurance information because they did not have anything in my file. I again drove out to Motofit to pick my in-transit plate up. When I arrived, they could not find my file or any paperwork for the bike and they had no explanation as to why my information had not been submitted to a NY DMV. Alex needed my insurance information again, then had me sign a form for the in-transit plate. I then informed Dan of the issue with my mirror. I explained and demonstrated what happen on another panigale in the showroom. He told me it sounds like it needs to be adjusted, bring it in and a technician will look it over to make a decision. My main concern with this is that I have been riding around for 3 weeks with an unregister motorcycle. I was never given an in transit plate when I took delivery. I was under the impression that my bike would be registered the next business day after purchase. That would have been the right way for Motofit to conduct business. When I arrived home, I opened the envelope that Alex gave me, the in-transit plate was paper and the size of a car license plate. There was no way that I could mount this on my bike because I have already installed an aftermarket fender eliminator; which tucked the license plate near the exhaust.
4/21/15: Missy from Motofit called me that morning, she said that they had no proof of insurance in my file. I needed to call my insurance company and have them fax over my insurance card. Later that day, Missy called and told me that my bike could not be registered because the information on the insurance card was not correct. I was left to figure out a solution to the issue. After calling my local DMV and insurance company, I found the conclusion. The insurance policy was under my father’s name; the bike was listed under my name. I was listed as an active operator on the policy but as far as DMV was concerned I had to have my own policy or the motorcycle had to be registered to both my father and myself. As a motorcycle dealer, who is supposed to register bikes often, Motofit should have caught this. I informed Missy about the situation, her response to this was, “ Well, even if I tried to register the bike 3 weeks ago, it wouldn’t have worked.” If she/Motofit registered the bike when they should have, it would have been taken care of that day, not during riding season. After our conversation, I called DMV and they informed me of an quick solution. I could add my fathers name to the MSO; which would allow the bike to be registered and insured under his name and titled to me. I called Motofit and tried to talk to Mike, when I finally reached him he quickly told me to call Missy and hung up on me before I could say a word. I finally got in contact with Missy and let her know that this is the route I would like to go. My father and myself drove to Motofit to sign the necessary paperwork. Missy then informed us that she does not work until Friday the 24th, so the registration paperwork will not be filed until then. She told me to just use the in-transit plate I picked up on the 17th. I informed her about the issue with size and that I have already installed a fender eliminator. She shrugged her shoulders and replied, “that your problem, other riders do it”. Is she the only person employed by Motofit to register a motorcycle? That is ridiculous. She then informed me on once registered on the 24th she would then mail my registration to me which would take about a week. It would take a week for an envelope to travel 35 miles? I just told her I would come pick it up so I could ride without any trouble. I supplied Motofit with proof of insurance 3 times prior to this, anyone who deals with DMV or registering motorcycles should have been aware of this easy fix.
-This was the final straw, at this point is when I decided to write out my complaint with Motofit. I contacted Ducati North America and spoke with Mel, to verbally file a complaint but I will be sending this over to her as well.
4/24/15 I called Motofit at 2:30pm to see if Missy went to DMV. Her response was "I’ll get there when I get there, it will be later today.” She called back about 4pm. Bike was registered.
4/25/15: Drove out to pick up my registration. After this I took my motorcycle to get an inspection. While getting inspected, the service tech was very concerned about the fluid in the front and rear brake reservoir as well as the clutch reservoir. It is extremely dark. He brought me into the service area to look at another Panigale, fluids were clean. I will have this changed at my 600 mile service. I should not have to on a brand new bike. Service tech advised me that these bikes ship dry with no fluids. The dealer possibly added a sub par fluid, which is causing the discoloration. Again, on the Ducati I traded in, it had 7,300 miles and the fluids looked clean and new.
DNA has been very helpful and says I should be getting a call from their regional rep. tomorrow or Wednesday. I absolutely love the panigale but Motofit made the buying experience miserable beyond belief. I will be visiting either Rockwell or HVMC.