Sick of the dealer rip!!!
Motorcycle ServicesDiscuss Sick of the dealer rip!!! in the Harley Products & Services forums; Seriously. $995 Freight & Prep?! The frickin' bike is completely assembled when it arrives at the dealership for cryin' out loud! Add oil, fuel, battery, hit "start" button and you're ...
Seriously. $995 Freight & Prep?! The frickin' bike is completely assembled when it arrives at the dealership for cryin' out loud! Add oil, fuel, battery, hit "start" button and you're prepped. Yes, I know, there is the chore of driving the fork lift to unload the bike, and then taking the bike out of the crate, but $995 ?!!! Please!!!!
Or, how 'bout $350 for your 1000 mile "oil change?" $350 frickin dollars to change the various oils and then stand there with a check list and pencil filling in the boxes! It's absurd and I've had enough!
I am so sick of getting ripped off every time I set foot near a Harley dealer. I'm going to bring my new bike in for a 1000 mile oil change and then adjust the belt and cables myself. I have no objection to paying a fair price for anything, but these guys have just gone too far.
There's no magic to what they do with our bikes. Why do they feel the need to rip us off so badly?
Why do we, as a group of educated people stand for this kind of treatment? Dealers have somehow figured out that they can get away with this kind of crap, or they wouldn't be doing it!
Bob, I posted something a while back on a site called stealer-dealer.com and it reads this;
"I stopped by Miracle Mile H-D to see this new dealership. I was greeted nicely and shopped for a few items. Well I asked if the service dept was open for business and was told yes. I asked if they could do a 2500 mile service and to my surprise I was told yes ! I was told if I wait a little bit they would do this while I waited, I agreed and continued to hang around. Well now after 2 hours my service is completed and I pay them and I go on my merry way THINKING wow this was great, I didn't have to leave the bike and I don't have to go out of my way to make a appointment. Well I start to notice a strange noise coming from the bike and really didn't think much of it UNTIL today. I stop at a friends shop and ask him to take a look at this bike to see what he thinks, well he looks at the bike and finds the inner primary chain has not been tightened, loose as a goose. Oil seems to be dirty, kick stand has not been lubricated the belt is loose and I paid a lot for a OIL CHANGE. I don't mind paying for GOOD service but to pay for a service and getting NOTHING upsets me. The guy who said he was the owner is a IDIOT. He is showing a bike to a customer telling him its a Low-Rider when in all actuality it was a Wide-Glide. I sat there listening to him telling this guy what a nice Low-Rider it was. If the OWNER doesn't know anything about bikes how do you expect the staff to know anything. Stay away from this place because there are much better Harley Davidson Dealers on Long Island." - SP 05/06
Now Bob, I could have changed my own oil but since I am lazy and want to keep that good old HD warranty in tact I figured what the hell and now if I blow the bike up it will still be under the warranty. Well I now do my own oil changes and other things and if i get stuck I make a call to a friend who is glad to lend a hand. I will NEVER again go back to HD for service.
I heard that if you take your bike to a private shop or do the fluid changes yourself and document it, your warranty wont be in jeopardy. Anyone else hear this? You are right though....the costs are extremely excessive and Im sure they dont do the complete service like they say they do. I cant see them checking bearings and oiling cables and such. Sounds like BS to me. Just another HD money maker. I guess HD is trying to offset the cost of the market bottoming out. Im still seeing '05's and '06's on the showroom floor. Cheaper to buy used now. Especially with all the "new" bikers who are packing it in after they had the crap scared out of them for the 1st time. Incidentally...has anyone noticed the quality of the "certified" HD mechanic seems to have dropped off too? I've had three problems with my '06 RK and brought it in several times for repair and they never got it right. These were easy fixes which I did myself after giving up on them. I felt they should be responsible for their product and make the needed repairs. My mistake...I got back a scratched saddlebag and a throttle cable that would hook on the gas tank cap and these werent the issues it went in for. That would have been nice when trying to turn. Glad I caught that one before leaving the dealership. Nice.
Funny you said the owner didnt know the difference between the models he was selling. I can top that....When I went to purchase my new Road King I was asked if I currently rode. I said yes I have a '91 Sturgis FXDB I bought new in '91. The salesman looks at me and says "there is no such thing as a '91 Sturgis...they only made the bike in 1981 and he laughed. SO...I said really? Why dont you come outside with me and I'll show you one. Its parked right out front. He walks outside and sees the bike and feels like a real AHOLE. I told him now go get me a salesman that knows what the hell he's talking about. Priceless! Botz.
I've got nothing against anyone earning an honest living but when these guys smile at you and take your money knowing that they're charging waaaaaaaaaaaaaay too much for what you're getting, it really ticks me off.
Why do we stand still for it? Every time we do, they just put on a smug grin and say, "well, as long as people will keep paying for it, we'll keep over-charging them." Some brotherhood.
Buy the Service Manual and do the Scheduled Maintenance yourself! Keep a log with Date and Work preformed. Hold onto your Receipts for parts, Lubes/Consumables used in process.
This will keep your warranty valid. As long as you have the Documentation and didn’t hose something up you should be fine.
The log also comes in handy if you go to sell your bike. May get a few more bucks if you show that it has been taken care of.
There are still a number of "Good Wrenches" at the dealers. Some will educate you so you do not have to bring it in. All riders should be able to perform basic "Bike" Maintenance. Oil Change. lube and minor adjustments. It ain’t that hard! I know of folks that will not check their own Tire Pressure. Don’t ride! You will kill yourself or others.
If you come across a process you can not do or are not comfortable with. Bring it into the Dealer and have them only do that piece. It’s cheaper and will give you peace of mind.
Work performed is only as good as the person doing it. If the work you paid for was not done or done poorly walk the bike back in and have them explain. Call them on it.
The leeches will not attach if there is bad blood! The dealer will make good
if they want to stay in business.
I've been riding since '68 and have built numerous bikes from scratch, nothing metric. I also do custom work and occasionally will service a bike if it's for a good customer or friend. Over the years people have brought me bikes that were recently dealer serviced yet had new problems and the bikes' owners were reluctant to take them back to H-D.
I've found chaincases with zero oil in them from being drained but not refilled, transmissions with dirty oil, numerous loose belts, chains and axle nuts, untold misadjusted clutches, near-empty master cylinder reservoirs, and if the bike's steering neck doesn't have a grease zerk no dealer will EVER under any circumstances grease the bearings, though they never fail to check it off the list and charge for it.
The smartest thing any Harley owner can do is learn to service their own bike. There's nothing difficult about it and you'll rest easy knowing every procedure has been done and done correctly. I made up a printable checklist for my website viewers so they can easily keep track of the various service procedures and the mileage at which they were performed.
Personally I like to stagger the procedures so I'm never due for a major service at any given time. That way I'm ready to ride long distance at the drop of a hat without having to do a complete service.
The good news is that there are numerous resources for servicing your own bike, including some excellent DVDs and accompanying manuals. We regularly feature them in the Widgets and AIM Library sections.
Sick of the dealer rip!!! 
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