Today we have an unusual story involving a recall. Suzuki Motor of America is piloting a program where it will pay owners to go get their recalls done, trialing the idea with the GSX-R owners who need to have their front brake master cylinders inspected and repaired.
The recall affects 2004-2013 Suzuki GSX-R600 & GSX-R750 models, as well 2005-2013 Suzuki GSX-R1000 superbikes. For those who get their recall completed between September 1, 2018, and November 30, 2018, there is a prepaid $100 Visa card in it for them.
“Safety is our number one priority and we want to ensure every affected GSX-R is repaired. We created this trial incentive program to bring additional attention to the brake master cylinder recall service on these GSX-R models.” said Steve Muthig, SMAI Vice President of Service, in a press release.
“We recognize that taking your motorcycle to the dealer for any recall service can be inconvenient and with the $100 prepaid Visa card we hope to offset that inconvenience to our valued customers.”
The recall incentive program requires that customers bring their affected motorcycle to an authorized Suzuki dealer for recall repair. After the recall service is done, customers can register the repair at a special website, and once that claim is verified from the dealer-submitted warranty claim, qualified customers will be sent the prepaid Visa card.
Having a conversation about this program with Suzuki, they made it clear that it is their intent to have 100% completion rates on their recalls, in order to be a good actor in the industry. However, the cynic in me sees another motivation.
It is no secret that recalls are beneficial to dealerships, as it brings motorcycles that might be in disrepair into the service bay, where they are more likely to get repaired for non-recall items…and the dealership is more likely to make a tidy profit. Bonus points that this promotion comes at the end of the year, where sales are typically harder to come by.
We have seen suspicious recalls like this in the past from other brands, and with Suzuki lining the pockets of customers with an extra $100, these GSX-R owners only seem more inclined to spend that cash while at their local Suzuki dealership.
There is nothing wrong with all this, per se, but it is an interesting development in the motorcycle industry, and an intriguing program for Suzuki to try.
Right now, sales for Suzuki are on the rebound in the USA, and the Japanese brand is tipped to debut a number of intriguing models at INTERMOT and EICMA this year. Let’s see how this all develops.
Source: Suzuki Motor of America
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