Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/511164
SOLUTIONS 22 • May 25, 2015 • Powersports Business www.PowersportsBusiness.com Is this unit brought in for repairs a lemon, or is this just a war- ranty claim? What are the lemon laws in your state? Do you know them? Under- standing and adher- ing to lemon laws can be confusing, as each state is different. As I was researching lemon laws, I dis- covered that I had to read each word closely. When discussing repairs and time in shop, most states use cumulative days, not consecu- tive days. Do not confuse the two terms as they are very different. Consecutive days in shop are the number of days the unit is in for repairs at one time. Cumulative is the number of days the unit has been in the shop over a specified time period. It is the cumulative days in shop that is scary. Why are cumulative days in shop scary? Because this means total. If a unit has been in five times for the same issue, with a total of 30 days in the specified lemon law time period, it may qualify as a lemon. I have been to my share of dealerships. It is amazing the number of service personnel who are not detailed with their notes. They do not want to enter each problem on its own job line. I am constantly being told that it does not matter, too time consuming, etc. It DOES matter. Owners and GMs should be making sure each problem has its own job. For many states, the lemon law specifi- cally says cumulative days are 30. However, there are states with fewer. In Massachusetts, the number of cumulative days is 15 business days, which is any day that the service depart- ment is open for business. In the state of Texas, there are three dif- ferent tests that can be done to see if a vehicle is a lemon or not. The Four Times Test: This is when a unit is in for repair two times in 12 months or 12,000 miles; then two more times in the 12 months following the second repair attempt, as long as the problem continues to exist. The second test is a Serious Safety Hazard Test, when the issue is life-threatening or can create a fire or explosion. The same rules apply as the Four Times Test. And finally the Thirty Day Test: The unit has been in service for repair for a cumulative of 30 days in the first 24 months of ownership for the same defect. The defect has to be something covered under the warranty. This is a lot to keep track of. Why am I writing about lemon laws, you ask? Let's look at some facts: Information above is taken from more than 2,000 dealers in a study done by CDK Global Recreation. Comparing Q1 of 2014 to Q1 of 2015, motor- cycle number of days in shop increased by 36 percent (Chart A). That is a significant increase when worrying about lemon laws and warranty submission rules. Looking at the number of jobs written, the increase was only a little over 12 percent (Chart B). The numbers of days in shop increased by three times the number of jobs written for motorcycles. The longer the unit is in the shop … Why is this happening? The numbers do not tell us why. The numbers are there to guide you, to help you see that there is a grow- ing concern and a need for action. You, as the dealership, need to take some time to research your service department. Here are some of things you can look at and improve upon: Number of days a repair order has been open: Run a report to find out the length of time repair orders have been open. Sort the report from oldest to newest. Why has the repair order been open for X number of days? Ask questions. Look at notes on each repair order. Are multiple jobs being combined into one job? Review jobs for accuracy. Set a policy that each problem has its own job. Are the jobs more complex? Review the complexity of each job. Is the time in service appropriate? Do you have the appropriate staff exper- tise and number? Review your staffing. Is the staff trained sufficiently? Are you waiting on parts? Backordered or Use data insight to say goodbye to lemons FOLLOW ME PAULA CROSBIE See Crosbie, Page 39 ATV 10 15 33% Motorcycle 7 11 36% Scooter 7 12 42% Snowmobile 10 13 23% UTV 10 16 38% Type of Unit Q1 2014 Q1 2015 Increase % MAJOR UNIT AVERAGE DAYS TO PICK UP FROM DEALERSHIP SERVICE DEPARTMENT ATV 46,661 52,642 11% Motorcycle 199,403 227,886 12% Scooter 7,130 8,154 13% Snowmobile 38,855 40,543 4% UTV 33,641 47,872 30% Type of Unit Q1 2014 Q1 2015 Increase % Source: CDK Global Recreation MAJOR UNIT NUMBER OF JOBS WRITTEN IN DEALERSHIP SERVICE DEPARTMENT Chart A Chart B