The law (here in the UK) clearly states that goods have to be sutiable for purpose and sufficiently durable. If your dealer is saying it's "for an off road bike" then the reality is that they are saying the bike is suitable for off-road use, then it must be sufficiently durable for that purpose.

OK, here's where it gets messy....

Yamaha UK offer a warrenty, and you might think this is great, but the reality is warrenties are only there to get the dealers to sell the bikes. Why?? because when you purchase anything from a retailer (someone who is in the business of selling goods or sevices) then the 'contract of sale' is between you and the retailer, you have no legal claim against Yamaha - so Yamaha offer warrenty to relieve the dealer of any real impact.

Now, here's the killer, goods (or services) must be 'sufficiently durable', so how long does this last ? well it's not written in stone, but past cases have used the 6 year mark as a precedent, so (if it ever got this far) a judge would be inclined to accept this as a period of durability.

Clearly there is protection for the retailer in the Act, you must have used the good in accordance with any manufacturers instructions, kept is sufficienlty maintained that sort of thing.

Now, lots of this is down to interpritation. So, the case covering is coming away. Annodising is a process of aloowing the Alluminium to corrode then sealing the corrosion to the alluminium, so it is a chemical bond. Chemical bonds do not fall apart. In this case it is very clear that the goods are faulty, and faullty from the manufacturing process, so the retailer has no defence. If the cases have been damaged then they might use this as a 'get-out', but as the process is a chemical one, they still have no defence. However, if they accept that the covering is paint, then the damage would effect the outcome of your claim. It's not always clear, and you have to be a realy pedantic about how you present your claim.

The act also states that the goods or services must be 'as described' so if the retailer say's to you "these cases are annodised" then the law considers them to be annodised, if they turn out to be painted, then the retailer has broken the contract of sale (and in some cases may have committed fraud), so you are entitled to return the case for a full refund.

The Act I speak of is the 'Sale of Goods Act 1979 as amended' There are lots of websites offering information on this. comsumerdirect.gov.uk has some advice on this link ->

http://www.consumerdirect.gov.uk/aft...nowyourrights/


Often armed with the information on your right, when a dealer knows you know your rights (the use of the 'as amended' part is very important as it is a different act), they would not want to risk being nailed with this act and will fight Yamaha to replace this more robustly. After all the dealer has a contract with Yamaha in a similar way. They may even offer to do the work 'as a good will gesture', if it makes tham feel better then who cares?

Rusty Spokes,,,, this is a bit more tricky. But the application of the Act is the same. The dealer might argue that rust on the spokes does not detract from the opperation of the bike. So it comes down to the reason you purchased it (and if you told the dealer this at the time of sale). If you were told the bikes is of good quality, then it is fair to assume it will remain in a showroom condition so long as you have maintained it according to the manufacturers instructions, subject to fair wear and tear of course.

You would be able to insist that the spokes are not 'sufficiently durable' in that after a number of years the integrity of the metal would be affected by the corrosion and would become a risk to the opperation of the wheel resulting in accident or injury.

You have asked for new wheel, but unfortunatly you have no rights to ask for this. You do have the rights to say 'I want this put right', if the dealer chooses to replace the wheel then that is his choice, not yours. It is more probably that they will replace the spokes.

People really should understand their rights under this Act. It is as important to understand what they are not, as much as what they are and any negotiations with the retailer should always be carried out in a manner that presents what rights you do have, avoiding the areas where you do not...

And more importantly, make all representations in writing and insist that anything from the dealer ( other than 'yes we will sort that') is written down. Don't be tempted to use hidden recording equipment either, it's not worth the chip it's saved on.

PS - My spokes have no rust, and they have covered 22k miles through two winters.

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Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups.