Old and New Dealership Experiences

[Guest KitCarson]

Most of you know all this already, this post is for the few new folks who might not be aware of the pitfalls of going to a dealer..........for anything other than to look at all the new bikes.......that is basically all dealers are good for.

 

The main reason I do not let any dealer work on my ride is because of two situations that could have caused a lot of grief. The first was at a Power Sports dealer in South Carolina, this is a dealer who sells not only yamaha, but honda, kawasaki, suzuki...a few more.

I needed new tires on my Honda Shadow 1100, did not have time to order some, wanted to go for a ride to North Carolina that weekend so I took the bike in for new tires and waited three hours while the work was done.

On the way home, I suppose I had went about 12 miles I kept hearing a chatter like something was loose when I would stop for a light and the bike was at idle, so I pulled over and started looking. The front axle nut was hand tight, it was vibrating when I would stop........I have never trusted any dealer after that one. The other less serious incident was with my Harley 1200 Custom, I had taken it in to have a new drive belt installed and on the way home I kept hearing something squealing.......inspection found they had mounted the drive belt cover with the mounting bracket on the wrong side of the belt.

 

So today, it was a little slow so I stopped into a dealer, with the intent to look around a bit, buy a couple oil filters , some oil etc..........boy have I been missing out!!! I was not aware how these stealers have really progressed to total rip-off status!1:big-grin-emoticon: Good Grief!!

 

I looked at oil first, actually I wanted Mobil One, they did not have that, but had several other synthetics, at 13 dollars to 18 dollars a quart, yes I did not stutter, that is what they wanted for it. So I gave up on that idea and looked for gear oil........it was only 18 dollars for a quart, so I left all that on the shelf and walked to the counter and asked for two oil filters.........I had assumed they would be 12 to 15 dollars each as hey I am at a dealer! They wanted 27 dollars each.....and they still have them!

 

I have also emailed two dealers , and called one of them about the clutch whine, gear box.......rear end.....harmonics.......whatever is causing it.........and neither emailed me back. The one I called will get back with me:rotf::rotf:ya right, I do not have a blue smilie..do not want to hold my breath that long:sign20: .

 

Just thought I would post my recent dealership experiences......not news to most of you. Working on getting my windshield situation resolved....once done. I plan to invest as much time as it takes to come up with the real reason behind the whine issue, not that I dislike the bike.......I love it........just I like to find a resolution to things.

 

If any of you are newbies........stay away from dealers, yes I know someone is going to chime in and say, hey dummie, my dealer is not like this.......wanna bet? Deal another hand and see what happens!!

 

Kit

[Sleeperhawk]

Hey Kit,

 

I bought my bike from Powersports, but after trying to get warrenty work done and fighting with them, I took my bike over to the Yamaha dealer in Sumter. I have yet to have an issue with them about anything. I do my own work except for the warrenty stuff, then I let them have at it.

 

By the way, are you coming to the South Carolina Meet and Eat on Oct 27 ?

 

[ken]

Kit,

I feel ypur pain, I recently had a bad experience with a stealer while trying to buy a new RSV. I also due all my own work on my bike, but one question I have to ask how does this effect warranty. On my last RSV I did the first service my self, but never had a warranty issue.

[Guest KitCarson]

Kit,

I feel ypur pain, I recently had a bad experience with a stealer while trying to buy a new RSV. I also due all my own work on my bike, but one question I have to ask how does this effect warranty. On my last RSV I did the first service my self, but never had a warranty issue.

The warranty is good as gold with yamaha, with some of the local dealers it is not worth the paper it is written on. Most motor companies, motorcycles, cars, whatever, use the word prefer. We prefer that service be done at the dealership, but this is not at all a requirement. You can do it yourself, or have a trusted mechanic do your work . I suppose it is a good idea to save all your receipts for work done, materials purchased, and actually get your service manual out and make notes in it each time you do work to the bike. I do not worry about it with regular vehicles........with my bike, my toy, if I buy oil for the 8000 mile oil change for example, I simply attach the receipt for the oil and filter in a folder with the date and explanation of what was done, I also make a note on the owners manual as to what and when something was done, this helps me to start planning for what I need to do the next 4000 mile service.

You can do your own service.......just keep records just in case, I really do not think yamaha would ever even question you, yes these local dealers we have around where I live, they would love to use that as an excuse and see you out the door. Kit

[Guest KitCarson]

Hey Kit,

 

I bought my bike from Powersports, but after trying to get warrenty work done and fighting with them, I took my bike over to the Yamaha dealer in Sumter. I have yet to have an issue with them about anything. I do my own work except for the warrenty stuff, then I let them have at it.

 

By the way, are you coming to the South Carolina Meet and Eat on Oct 27 ?

 

We will tell you yes, we would love to come and meet some new people, so unless something deters us we will be there. Sandy is a registered nurse and works odd hours........but so far she is free. We will be happy to come meet you. The only thing we are concerned about is not sure we can eat that much, boy big steak, and pies and ice cream! Guess we had better air up the shocks before we come. Take Care, Kit