Thruxton Blade Motorcycles Review Like Blood From A Stone

I will break this review down into 4 sections

point of sale
aftersales
The bank
Conclusion.

Point of sale

In October 2021 I phoned Blade motorcycles Swindon I spoke with David MacDivitt and agreed a time and date which worked for us both to test ride a Triumph Thruxton R 2017 with 1600 odd miles on the clock, one owner from new with full service history. At this point everything was positive and no issues. From this point onwards things began to go wrong. Read further………………………….

Upon arrival no one was aware that I had a test ride booked. A kind gentleman from the Indian bikes section stepped up and facilitated my test ride. From looking at the motorcycle visually it looked lovely so in that sense I was very impressed. From riding the bike I loved it. Upon completion of the test ride no further conversations took place as no one from Triumph was available. For the following days I chased the dealer and over a period of approximately 6 weeks I managed to purchase and get my bike delivered following numerous calls and a heck of a lot of chasing on my part.

In hindsight I really should have cancelled my order if point of sale was a challenge what would the aftersales experience be?


Aftersales

06/08/22 I went into my garage and noticed a trickle of fluid down the offside barrel area of the engine. I wiped the fluid away, which was green coloured i.e coolant. Initially I couldn’t see where the fluid had come from. Within 30 minutes a small pool of fluid re appeared on the underside of one of the fins deep within the barrel. I concluded it was possibly a hairline crack, but was too small to 100% verify this. My last ride out was during really hot weather. That same day I emailed Blade motorcycles using their online contact form due to it being late at weekend explaining the issue.

08/08/22 I phoned Blade motorcycles and spoke with William Jephson. I sent him a photo of my findings as I suspected it to be a manufacturing defect of some sort. William advised it would likely be a casting issue and that he would try and raise a gesture of good will with Triumph UK. I requested that Blade Triumph collect and repair my motorcycle plus deliver it back to me due to it being a possible manufacturing defect. William suggested the ownness was on me to pay for delivery and collection. I was not happy with this course of action as my contract was with Blade motorcycles but rolled with it so to speak. I felt as if I was a pawn between Blade motorcycles and Triumph UK. Either way the fault was more than likely caused at point of manufacturer opposed to wear and tear or neglect on my part.

09/08/22 I called Blade motorcycles and spoke again with William Jephson, he advised he would chase Triumph UK and call me the next day.

10/08/22 I phoned Blade Triumph to be informed that William Jephson was not working that day. Obviously I was not privy to the reason.

10/08/22 I phoned Triumph UK technical who concurred with the addition of advising it could be due to a porosity issue. They also stated that they do not get involved with motorcycles, which were sold second hand by any dealer. In terms of the barrel fault they advised the issue is less prevalent on older bikes and more common on newer bikes.

12/08/22 I sent a formal complaint into Blade motorcycles as quoted

Dear William

Please accept this letter as a formal complaint against Blade Motorcycles (Swindon) under the Consumer Rights Act 2015.

On Saturday 6th August 2022 a hair line crack appeared on the offside barrel, causing green coloured coolant to leak. My motorcycle is not of satisfactory condition, not free from faults and has not lasted a reasonable amount of time. At point of purchase the motorcycle had covered 2648 miles. The mileometer currently reads 3880 miles.

I request Blade Triumph to facilitate one of the following at your expense

Repair inclusive of collection/delivery charges or replace my motorcycle.

In addition, I require that this is done within a reasonable time without causing significant inconvenience to myself.

Can you provide a copy of your formal complaints procedure and confirm if you are a member of or willing to use an ADR scheme.

Whilst I am happy to discuss this further over the telephone I request any discussions are also followed up in writing via email.

Please can you respond within 7 days of receipt of this letter.


No response was received.

 

23/08/22 I chased Blade motorcycles via email as quoted



Dear William & Richard


Further to my formal complaint dated 12/08/22, no response has been received from yourselves. I am also yet to receive a copy of your formal complaints procedure and confirmation of whether you are a member of or willing to use an ADR scheme. A reasonable amount of time has been given, on this basis I now reserve the right to reject a Repair or replacement of my motorcycle by Blade Motorcycles.


I wish to exercise my final right to reject the motorcycle under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, citing a refund less mileage only.


Due to the lack of communication from your perspective I have also instructed an expert report to be carried out on my motorcycle by Michael Ward. His website is stated below.


https://vehicle-inspections.co.uk


The date of inspection is scheduled for 08/09/22.


Should a response still not be received within 7 days of the date on this communication or settlement reached the expert report will continue as per above. In the event the report states a manufacturing defect as being the cause as previously suggested by yourselves and Peter at Triumph UK I will then seek further legal advice with a view of issuing proceedings against Blade motorcycles in order to recover all associated costs above and beyond the cost of my motorcycle.


Whilst I am happy to discuss this further over the telephone I request any discussions are also followed up in writing via email.




25/08/22 I received the following response from Blade motorcycles as quoted


Thank you for your email.


All bikes purchased from Blade Group come with a complimentary 3 month warranty, this expired in February 2022.


When you purchased the bike you were given the option of purchasing an extended warranty, which would have taken the warranty up to 12 months from the date of purchase.


The manufacturers warranty is valid for 24 months from the date of registration, this would cover all defects that were not considered wear and tear.


Unfortunately, none of these options applies in your case as the vehicle is over 2 years old, it is over 3 months since you purchased the bike and you didn’t take out an extended warranty.


Though we are willing to help out where we can, to assist customers in situations beyond their control, the replacement of an engine which would be the likely outcome of this is not within the scope of our goodwill.


When you purchased the bike 9 months ago, there was no coolant leak. This has happened since purchasing the bike. As you say in your email the fault was first noted on August 2022, nearly 9 months after you took delivery of the bike.


We do not use an ADR scheme and we would handle this ourselves.


To start with, we would recommend that the vehicle be formally diagnosed by an approved Triumph dealership, whether that is ourselves or someone else in the network.


I understand your frustration, regrettably given the length of time since the purchase and the fact that the bike is 3 years out of warranty, we are unable to support on this occasion.




25/08/22 I replied with the following as quoted


Thanks for your email dated 25/08/22. I understand you are not a member of ADR scheme, but are you willing to use one? Can you also provide a copy of your formal complaints procedure assuming you actually have one.


To avoid any confusion. My claim is under the consumer rights Act 2015 relating to my statutory rights. Statutory rights apply for 6 years from point of purchase.


This must not be confused with a dispute relating to a warranty which has never formed part of my formal complaint. The issue surrounding a warranty was simply discussed over the phone where no resolution was reached. I would have pursued a separate formal complaint relating solely to the warranty should my statutory rights not be applicable.


As per my correspondence dated 23/08/22 an expert report has been instructed to ensure continuity of evidence should it be called upon in a court of law at a later date. A dealer is not an expert witness and therefore has not been used.


In terms of the fault itself, the expert report is absolutely vital under these circumstances as they are independent.


The question of satisfactory condition and free from faults for a reasonable amount of time is a matter for a judge to decide based upon the evidence presented should it come to that.


In light of advising that you are unable to support further the expert report will now run it’s course. Should your position change in light of this correspondence please reply within the timeframe outlined on 23/08/22.


08/09/22 my bike was inspected by the expert witness


16/09/22 I received the expert report, which concurred with my original findings. I subsequently sent a copy of the report attached to an email as quoted


Dear William & Richard


I have not received a reply to my email dated 25th August 2022 relating to the faulty goods which I bought from you on 27th October 2021. I explained what is wrong with the goods and why I am entitled to a refund, which has also been outlined in previous correspondence dated 12/08/22, 23/08/22.


I now enclose a digital copy of an expert report in support of my claim.


I am once again requesting a full refund plus other costs as outlined below. Note those costs which sate ‘Since date of discovery’ will increase on a daily basis as they relate to ongoing costs since the date of discovery and are current as of todays date.


16/09/22 I received a response as quoted


I can confirm receipt of your mail and supporting documents.


I will liaise with Will and endeavour to reply by the end of next week as requested.


Regards


Richard


23/09/22 I am yet to receive a response.



The bank


I learnt thanks to this forum that the Consumer credit Act may apply. It turns out I was covered for the full value of my bike even though I only paid for the deposit using my credit card. Once I was in receipt of the expert report my bank have since paid out to have my bike fixed, of which the repair is pending.


Conclusion


I’m not sure why Blade motorcycles have been so reluctant to resolve the situation, only they will know this although only several reasons spring to mind. Had I not have paid for part of the purchase on my credit card I believe I had a strong enough case to bring it in front of a court, I was fully willing to do so given I had paid for the expert report. I some how feel that Blade motorcycles have been let off the hook. All I can say is that if you have read this review and still wish to purchase a motorcycle from this dealer you have been warned there is nothing opinionated within this review it is all factual. If this review doesn't act as a deterrent until the dealer changes their ways I don't know what will. Above all else the most frustrating thing about this is that the actual fault is not Blades fault it's one of those things in which the law protects the consumer. Blade ought to have insurance for this kind of eventuality alternatively build resilience into their business model to deal with this and maybe re build trust in their business form a consumers point of view. Only time will tell


Note When you see the name Richard referenced within the letters his job title is Head of motorcycle Division.


I'm keen to hear from any other people who have had a similar fault with their motorcycle with a view of approaching Triumph UK.


Thanks for reading

 

I suspect the bank will charge back the cost of the repair to Blade motorcycles.
By the way Im sure my 3 year old Thruxton bought from a triumph dealer came with a 12 month approved Triiumph used bike warranty rather than 3 months?
Mike

 

I'm pleased you have managed a resolution to your problems.
Having had considerable experience in the motorcycle industry and dealing with manufacturers I am sure that if Blade had approached Triumph at the outset and explained that this was a little used machine that had developed a fault that was unrelated to any service or maintenance procedures Triumph would have been sympathetic and as a goodwill gesture at a minimum would have supplied the necessary parts to repair the machine but probably would have accepted the labour charges as well.
In the unlikely event of Triumph declining Blade should have borne the cost themselves (probably @ £2000 including labour at trade prices and could be written off against tax). Dealers have a responsibility to their customers and obviously they have failed miserably.
This will deservedly do their reputation no good at all and will cost them in the long run.

Ps. I'm sure judgement would have gone in your favour had this gone to court.

 

Many thanks for your response. I have just sent them a final email advising of the payout by the bank. I will post that in a minute. In terms of cost it is approximately £3600 including the report. I have left a review on trustpilot asking readers to google this review

 

Final email to the dealer

Dear William and Richard

I'm not sure how I can word this any differently. It has been a truly awful experience dealing with Blade motorcycles from point of sale to aftersales. I'm mystified why something was not done sooner on your part when the fault clearly related to a manufacturing defect. Only yourselves will understand why you chose to adopt a lack of urgency as your approach and not even acknowledge that customers have consumer rights.
I am simply sending this email to advise you that my bank has paid out under the Consumer credit Act, the bank may choose to pursue yourselves separately however that rests with them to decide.

You might not care what I am about to say but if I can offer you one piece of advice. In the digital era reputation is everything. If you continue to treat customers in the same way you have treated me it wont take long before you notice it to start impacting your sales. The worst thing about the situation is that the actual fault was a manufacturing defect, as a second hand dealer in motorcycles you really ought to consider building resilience into your business model to prevent this happening again and review your formal complaints procedure to ensure that future customers receive a service which is aligns with UK legislation.
Thanks
Tim

 

A really good example on how to deal with retail organisations and a great reminder to always use your credit card for purchases. Thanks for posting.

 

Thanks sure has taken up a lot of my time and is a good tool for others to use.

 

Just for information Blade Motor Group was bought by Heritage Automotive recently. They are predominantly a car sales company and having spoken to a former employee of Blade Cheltenham, who had worked there for years, they are now haemorrhaging staff (he left as did many other long term employees) due to their poor customer relations and working practices.

 

It doesn’t surprise me in the slightest how recently were they bought out?

 

April 2019 I believe but I think initially they continued to let the motorcycle side run as it had. They are now more involved in that side hence the recent poor service.

 

Unfortunately, it is not only Blade Motorcycles who deliver absolutely appalling service, I wrote a similar experience on the forum some time back about Total Triumph, another dealer to avoid at all costs, the MD is Neil Mossman who also has history as a car dealer, and not in a good way, he likes to portray himself as a reputable businessman down at his local golf club (he spends most days there), however he has failed previous businesses (all information available on companies house records), some staff have demonstrated dishonesty with no shame whatsoever. They even denied advertising a machine as "Triumph Approved" despite photographic evidence (they had the advert removed, but not before copies had been taken. Triumph UK got involved and looked into matters, however Total Triumph informed them the case had been resolved (totally untrue) and therefore closed the case and refused to re-open it. These rogue dealers taint those Triumph dealerships that offer fantastic service. Anyway, timboo I am so please you have finally got matters resolved, it has been a monumental struggle for you and Blade should hang their heads in complete shame.

 

I think it boils down to whether Triumph are aware of what is going on with their main dealers that they so prominently display on the map at the start of their factory tour or are simply out of touch with reality which is often the case with large companies. I’d be curious to see how easy it is to acquire a Triumph dealership or franchise which ever it maybe, if i was to hazard a guess above everything else money talks, which is a shame.

 

Whilst it is really great to hear that the matter is sorted financially and the repair is to be carried out by a reputable dealer recommended by the expert witness. I find that the total lack of willingness on the part of Triumph Motorcycles and especially their dealer to find an agreeable solution to this matter utterly disgraceful.

 

Greed above everything else

 

Tea and medals for you timboo for sticking to your guns and sticking up for your rights as a consumer. It's a sad state of affairs when one has to go to these lengths to get, what should be "expected" service".
Back in the day, most bike dealers were family run businesses by people who were dyed in the wool 2 wheeled enthusiasts. I've bought many bikes over the years and had issues with a few of them. The most drastic was a holed crankcase, on a used 250 Suzuki, that had been repaired with epoxy (which I didn't spot) and failed not long after I'd bought it. The dealer was just such a business and when I went back is was dealt with without question, in fact, they were even apologetic regarding the whole situation. It was a bike they'd taken in part ex and were obviously unaware of the bodge job on the crankcase.
I get the impression that it's "numbers" that really count with many large dealers, run by accountants who know the cost of everything and the value of nothing.

 

Thanks for the compliment much appreciated. If a wider audience read this article I’m sure some would question why one would pay more at a main dealer when you get the same rights with an independent dealer and may even in some instances get a better level of service.
I’m sure it’s not the same across the board but in this day and age it doesn’t take a lot to change opinion. I am going to call Triumph uk and forward a copy of everything to their most senior person expressing my concerns about the way Blade motorcycles are conducting their business.
I’m committed to preventing anyone else falling foul of that company.

 

Defects of this nature, i.e. ones that cannot be discovered by reasonable examination that can manifest themselves beyond the end of of any warranty or defects liability period, are known in the construction industry as latent defects for which insurance is available as the contractor could still be held liable for up to 12 years, depending upon the method of contract execution, e.g. under hand or under seal.

Does anyone know if such insurance is available within the motor industry?

 

Good morning

A positive start to the day. I spoke with the general manager of Triumph UK, the issue has been passed over to aftersales.

 

I read all of this thread with great interest. I don't think I would have had the wherewithal or knowledge to have succeeded. Everyday is a school day even at 69 years old, but I'm sure there are others who have learnt from this. I thoroughly applaud your tenacity in this case though. Just as an addendum, I looked on Blades Website and took a screenshot FYI.
Whiff of bovine excreta?