I live in Chicago. I took a trip to Michigan last August and called Lake Effect Powersports to see if I could check out the Can Am in person. I had missed the dealer demo, but they still had 2 at the store and told me to come on by. I not only got to see the Spyders (they had a silver and a yellow), but I was invited to take a test drive too! I knew right away I
HAD to get one, and (because of the great customer service) I'd get it from them. I put a $1000 deposit down at the beginning of April to get the order in, and waited for mine to arrive. Here is where things get ugly...
I put my 2006 Yamaha VMax up for sale, and start looking into getting a home equity line of credit to pay for the Spyder. Because of the housing market crash, a home-eq loan was out of the question. No takers on the VMax, and (not 2 months later, my Spyder is in!!!)... so trade it in to a local dealer to get rid of that note... can you say "bend over"?
Turns out, Lake Effect can't finance anyone that is not a resident of Michigan... I get online & look for "motorcycle loans", and get Capital One to send me a blank check worth up to $25000 (at a very nice single-digit rate) at any dealer nationwide. The salesman tells me the day I'm to pick up my new Spyder that there is some electrical glitch that the service guys (and factory guys) can't sort out.
Good news though... they have another in, and are just going to give me that one & send the lemon back home to Canada! One condition... they want to make sure this Capital One "blank check" thing is legit. I Fed Ex overnight the check (rather than drive the 3 hours) so they can be sure it is real. Good thing too, because (in the small print) it says it is
NOT good for motorcycles!?!?! I call Capital One and tell them to change the $25000 loan to their "personal loan" with a slightly higher, but still single-digit rate. "Sorry sir. We can't do that. They are different departments, and besides... you have to wait 90 days before applying for a different loan."
Now, I run around to a few local banks... and find out they do not do motorcycle loans!
I get back home and get back online to search "motorcycle loans" again, and guess who shows up? Lending Tree... banks compete for MY business... I can get a personal unsecured loan for the low low rate of 23%! Yeah, right!
However, CHASE also shows up, so I apply online for an auto/vehicle loan through them. 2 days later, I get an approval for a nice low single-digit rate for up to $20000! I print out the page & take it right over to my local branch... that can find no record of this in their system!
The banker gets on the phone with CHASE's online people and... can't find it in the system. "Oh wait... here it is... $20000... now what make & model vehicle are you buying. Sorry, I can not find that in our database. What kind of vehicle is it? A 3-wheeled motorcycle?!? We don't have this in our system, and this loan isn't good for motorcycles anyway."
Sick & tired of jumping through hoops and hitting brick walls, I call the dealer to discuss options. We decide to call off the whole thing because there is no way for them to get me financing. They are returning the deposit. Like I said... great customer service... wish I lived up North!
I still want a Spyder, and they are now sold in Illinois, so I check out the website of a nearby dealer.
WHAT?!? Not only do they sell Can Am Spyders, but they have them
***IN STOCK*** !!! Sweet!
I call them up, and talk to a salesman... I'm going to ask 3 questions.
1) Do they finance?
2) What are the rates?
3) What colors do they have in stock?
ME ~ "First (and most importantly)... do you do financing?"
SALESMAN ~ "Yes we do. We are taking deposits and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah,... September."
ME ~ "Your website says you have them in stock."
SALESMAN ~ "Yeah, well... blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah,..."
ME ~ "That is false advertising."
I hung up on him, and will not deal with a shop that's lying to me before I even get in the door.
What a clusterfu**! I hope this is a rare & negative experience, and that most of you are having an easier time. Noone should have to deal with this B.S. I've had 3 Yamahas, a Harley Softail, and a Ducati... never had this hard a time getting a new toy.
Looks like the Spyder will have to wait. I'll just keep my other bike until I have cold hard CASH to avoid the headaches...
