Ok...I've been known to peck around on this forum from time to time trying to stay on top of the latest upgrades and issues. The most common thing I see is everyone ******* on the dealer network? Are they really that bad? Are their techs really that clueless?

I can understand that they charge more...they have huge overhead and investments to pay for. Also, I have had experiences at many dealers over the years, both MOCO and "INDY"...I can honestly tell you that both have made mistakes and both have put out good work.

Curious to hear your thoughts...

 

I'd say much if it is the change in culture...
The "Stealership".

Old school...versus todays new weekend warriors wearing the same new "instant biker" clothes from the stealership.

...similar for maintenance of the bikes. Do it yourself....the smarter peeps that go to Indies for bigger jobs or if they don't do it themselves. Dealerships give mechs really low pay....so doesn't take rocket science to figure out the skillset. Heard/seen plenty of horror stories from the dealership garage...really dumb ones.

 

I've taken it in the shorts at both Inde and Dealers as well. I prefer to deal with smaller more personal shops over the massive huge and impersonal dealerships. At least when I go to my Inde shop I can talk directly to the owner unlike a dealership which changes help like underwear.

 

My dealership has done a great job. I have no complaints. Sorry to say, not all dealerships are the same. I've been on road trips & needed some work done. I was not pleased at a couple dealerships. Bad attitudes, no knowledge of products & poor workmanship.

 

I guess I've been lucky, as I've been dealing with the same dealership for 27 years with no complaints. I do a lot of my own work and bring the bike in for tire changes mostly, or something major, like a belt replacement.

Yes, they still work on my 22 year old bike here. In fact, the service manager insists on working on it himself when I bring it in. He's even used it as a teaching tool to show the new guys how an Evo works.

Maybe I'm treated so well because I'm such a long-time customer.

 

My local H-D dealer charged me a 'special order' sur-charge the last time I ordered parts from them. With the emphasis on last time I ordered parts.

Never in my life have I ever heard of such a thing. And never again will I spend money at that shop.

 

Wow. That's new. I can understand a restocking fee if you don't keep an item they don't normally stock, but a charge just to order you a part...odd.

 

i have found that there are different attitudes with the dealerships... we have 3 in this area, 2 of them i will not have do work on my bike, the 3rd shop i have heard bad things about it... to the defense of the 3rd shop, i havent had a bad experience with it as far as the shop goes.. i think when i hear a bad report i have to consider the source... when it comes to the general attitude of the dealers hear, 1st is an asinine snob, the other has the attitude of " you dont belong here", the 3rd its a friendly money maker, they will (the sales people) take their time to help you find the right bike and be very informative, because they know most people dont buy the 1st time, so they have patience's.. but if they cant make money off you then the walk away and your on your own.... i dont like the dealers because they so spendy and they dont give anything to make money, most all of them are cheap and greedy and think you should be privileged to be in the store, most think they are all that and a bag of chips... it seems that the idea of customer service has gone away and the customer owes them not the other way around

 

As is usually the case when we're talking about the real world, it goes both ways.

Re: the "wannabe" biker...30 years ago if you walked into a dealer, and you didn't have the correct look, they'd tell you to gtfo. Now, you're welcome to come in and browse.

Some dealers treat you like family. Some dealers treat you like dirt. You can say the same about indies.

It's always, and I mean ALWAYS, a reflection of the owner's and manager's viewpoints and the way they live their lives, both personally and professionally.

If your dealer doesn't treat you the way you want, give your business to somebody who does.

 

M/C dealers are not that far removed from their automobile dealer brethren. Some are involved in the sale of both cars and bikes. Car dealers rank among the top of the most shady businesses list. It's not that tough of an opinion to form.

I'd trust a prostitute to house sit for me about as much as I'd trust a car dealer to fill out a purchase agreement or repair order properly.