[blcbear]

This last weekend we had a shock that raised some questions about our local dealers professionalism. We serviced 2 sleds for the preseason with the "World Class Tune Up" by our local Ski Doo dealer. To our dismay, one of the sleds (a 97 Fomula 500) caught fire 1.7mi down the trail. Let me tell you, this was no ordinary fire, it was ingulfed in flames in less than a minute and the fire was too intese to try and save it. All we could do is call the authorities,make sure the forest did not go up in flames and sit and watch as the sled burnt to the groung. No one was hurt in the fire which was the most inportant aspect, but my question is why and how can something like this happen? Is the dealer responsible for the sled, since they were the last ones under the hood? Do dealers carry insurance if a mechanical malfuntion happens after a service? In my time riding, I have never seen this happen before. Any info would be greatly appreciated. I don't have any pictures yet, sorry.
I am trying to get some opinions before I talk with the owner of the shop who is out of town until mid week. Thanks for any help.

 

[JimmyV]

You will probably have to have it looked at to see if anyone can figure out the cause of the fire. And find out "exactly" what was involved in the tuneup. Did they tamper with fuel lines? Maybe a damaged fuel line from working on it and a damaged spark plug wire. Because if you can't prove that this fire is related to work they did, most dealers will tell you "tough luck". But there is always that rare chance they might be nice enough to cover the costs of damage. Another question is Do you have insurance on the sled? Anyway,your best bet is to call them and tell them what happened without too much anger in your voice (this would be tough for me to do) just to see what they say.

 

[Erik]

1.7 miles!!! woow, that is crazy. i would say fat chance, except that it practically burned up once it hit the snow. i hope that the dealer logged the miles on the sled when they serviced it, i know the dealer that works on my truck logs the exact # of miles so they can track how many miles there service tech test drove it etc... so my service bill shows millage in and millage out. if this is the case, you can easilly proove that the sled wasnt out for 3 days of hardcore jammin', and that in my opinion would give you some pretty good ground.
but i pretty much still have to say... good luck in getting owness on the dealer.