I ran into a Bushtec Trailer rep at the last Demo Ride Days at my local HD dealership. I have a Bushtec Roadstar trailer that I pulled with my Honda Valkyrie for a year, and loved having it for the long trips! Great trailer!
So the Rep shows me the new hitch they sell for the Road Glide and how it disappears once you remove the receiver. Sounds great, but what about the bike's warranty? He says it's no problem, and goes on about a legal precedence concerning voiding warranties due to after market parts etc etc. so I order one with the "plug n play isolator to isolate the bike electronics from the trailer wiring.
It all shows up the other day and is a very well built, beautifully finished hitch. It mounts up perfectly, and all is well.... until I begin the wiring process. The instructions didn't accurately describe my wiring, so I call the rep. He comes over and agrees, then tells me HD apparently changed the wiring, and I'll have to cut the connectors off the isolator and cut the rear lighting harness on the bike and splice and solder. I didn't like the sounds of that for fear of voiding the warranty, so I called the HD dealership and asked if they would do the wiring. The said no, and that if I mounted the hitch my warranty would be void. I asked about the legal precedence and they basically said it's HD policy, and I'd have to fight it out with HD. So, I called 5 other dealerships around the northwest and they all said the same thing without hesitation.
So, I call the Bushtec rep and tell him all of this. He immediately gets defensive and asks me what I expect him to do about it. I told him that I had decided not to tow the trailer and void my warranty, and that I wanted to return the hitch. He said I'd have to take it up with Bushtec and he'd do nothing about it. I wrote my check to the rep personally, and felt that he should refund my money, and deal with Bushtec on his end!
We argued back and forth for 10 minutes and I finally said fine! Great customer service! Two hours later, he calls back, apologizes, and tells me to remove the hitch and he'd refund my money. So, the next day I remove the hitch, box it all up and call him to come get it. He shows up and immediately starts inspecting every piece very very closely. Every place he found the slightest rub mark or any sign that the part had been mounted he put it back in the box and refused to refund the value of that part. I could understand if the parts were scratched or dented, but I'm talking about absolutely any mark of any kind! Of course I protested since he knew that the hitch had already been mounted when he told me to remove it and he'd refund my money. Some of the tiny little rub marks could have very easily been there when I got the hitch, but I hadn't taken a magnifying glass to it like he was.
Long story, a little shorter, the A-Hole left with the pin lock, the receiver lock, and wiring harnesses, and nothing else, and refunded me next to nothing out of my $500 purchase! He was a total Ass, and kept telling how lucky I was that he was doing this for me since Bushtec would just tell me to pack sand!
Anyway, I just need to vent, and let you know that if anyone is looking for a brand new Bushtech hitch minus the pin lock, lock for the receiver, and wiring harness, I'll make you a deal on one!!
So the Rep shows me the new hitch they sell for the Road Glide and how it disappears once you remove the receiver. Sounds great, but what about the bike's warranty? He says it's no problem, and goes on about a legal precedence concerning voiding warranties due to after market parts etc etc. so I order one with the "plug n play isolator to isolate the bike electronics from the trailer wiring.
It all shows up the other day and is a very well built, beautifully finished hitch. It mounts up perfectly, and all is well.... until I begin the wiring process. The instructions didn't accurately describe my wiring, so I call the rep. He comes over and agrees, then tells me HD apparently changed the wiring, and I'll have to cut the connectors off the isolator and cut the rear lighting harness on the bike and splice and solder. I didn't like the sounds of that for fear of voiding the warranty, so I called the HD dealership and asked if they would do the wiring. The said no, and that if I mounted the hitch my warranty would be void. I asked about the legal precedence and they basically said it's HD policy, and I'd have to fight it out with HD. So, I called 5 other dealerships around the northwest and they all said the same thing without hesitation.
So, I call the Bushtec rep and tell him all of this. He immediately gets defensive and asks me what I expect him to do about it. I told him that I had decided not to tow the trailer and void my warranty, and that I wanted to return the hitch. He said I'd have to take it up with Bushtec and he'd do nothing about it. I wrote my check to the rep personally, and felt that he should refund my money, and deal with Bushtec on his end!
We argued back and forth for 10 minutes and I finally said fine! Great customer service! Two hours later, he calls back, apologizes, and tells me to remove the hitch and he'd refund my money. So, the next day I remove the hitch, box it all up and call him to come get it. He shows up and immediately starts inspecting every piece very very closely. Every place he found the slightest rub mark or any sign that the part had been mounted he put it back in the box and refused to refund the value of that part. I could understand if the parts were scratched or dented, but I'm talking about absolutely any mark of any kind! Of course I protested since he knew that the hitch had already been mounted when he told me to remove it and he'd refund my money. Some of the tiny little rub marks could have very easily been there when I got the hitch, but I hadn't taken a magnifying glass to it like he was.
Long story, a little shorter, the A-Hole left with the pin lock, the receiver lock, and wiring harnesses, and nothing else, and refunded me next to nothing out of my $500 purchase! He was a total Ass, and kept telling how lucky I was that he was doing this for me since Bushtec would just tell me to pack sand!
Anyway, I just need to vent, and let you know that if anyone is looking for a brand new Bushtech hitch minus the pin lock, lock for the receiver, and wiring harness, I'll make you a deal on one!!