Wilsons Sandbox

> Think about it guys..at > least a little, Please, SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL dealer,

--------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Free online calendar with sync to Outlook(TM). [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

> Think about it guys..at > least a little, Please, SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL dealer,

Let me tellya little bit about the local dealer. $60.00 an hour to change my oil...no thanks. Mail order tire needs mounted..."you didn't buy it from us so it's your problem." Scratch up my bike when they work on it and lose screws, not replace the tank bumpers, overfill the master cylinder, charge for 4 quarts of oil when it only holds 3, and I'm supposed to APPRECIATE paying $60.00 an hour for that? It's no secret that service departments are cash cows for dealers. Shop foreman hires some dumbshit kid to do the service, and they don't wanna train him because it costs to much. Yet they want to charge me $60.00 an hour for subpar service that I have to go home and finish myself. The parts departments mark up their parts sometime up to 1000%, all in the name of profit. Plus they never have anything in stock, can't get your bike in for 1-2 weeks, take a week longer than estimated to fix it. And to all this I say BULLSHIT. Ronie --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Free online calendar with sync to Outlook(TM). [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

paraphrasing ronnie lyons:

> Let me tellya little bit about the local dealer. >$60.00 an hour to change my oil... >mark up their parts sometime up to 1000%, >never have anything in stock, >can't get your bike in for 1-2 weeks, >take a week longer than estimated to fix it. > > And to all this I say BULLSHIT. >

Ron, are you sure we don't have the same local dealer? I'm in NYC, the place I bought my bike from sounds exactly like what you describe. My favorite was having the parts guy look up a part, tell me he didn't see it on the fiche, then turn the viewer away when I tried to look saying "we're not allowed to have customers use it". I have ONE local shop I really like, Action Yamaha in Metuchen, NJ. I have always gotten good service there, and they have a decent selection of accessories. So far I've had wheels built, a cylinder bored, a swingarm bolt replaced on a 25-year-old bike, tires mounted a few times, etc. And they've always called me to see when I can come take the finished bike off their hands. I buy my tires for the KLR there, since their prices are close enough to mail order (once you factor in shipping and handling) that there's no reason not to. I bought a pair of MX boots a few weeks back too. Devon -- "It's a troublesome world, all the people who are in it, are troubled with troubles almost every minute" Dr. Seuss

I don't have any particular gripes against the local Kawi dealer except for some price mark-ups on parts. Still, I buy most of my Kawi parts from him since it usually comes out about even with mail order once you pay postage. Parts usually show up in the next day and oil filters are 'only' five bucks, though the parts guy tries really hard to sell you a new crush washer and oil filter cover O-ring with every one. I take all the mechanical work I don't want to do to an independent shop owned by a guy I went to high school with. He's got good accessory/tire prices, too. He charges a little more for tire mounting if you don't buy them there, but he'll do the work without complaint. If you've got an independent shop in town, check them out. They don't have a line of bikes to bring in customers, so they have to live on their reputation. That doesn't mean there aren't some stinkers out there, but that's no different than any kind of business. __Arden

--- In DSN_klr650@yahoogroups.com, ronnie lyons wrote: > > Think about it guys..at > > least a little, Please, SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL dealer, > > Let me tellya little bit about the local dealer. $60.00 an hour to change my oil...no thanks. Mail order tire needs mounted..."you didn't buy it from us so it's your problem." Scratch up my bike when they work on it and lose screws, not replace the tank bumpers, overfill the master cylinder, charge for 4 quarts of oil when it only holds 3, and I'm supposed to APPRECIATE paying $60.00 an hour for that? > > It's no secret that service departments are cash cows for dealers. Shop foreman hires some dumbshit kid to do the service, and they don't wanna train him because it costs to much. Yet they want to charge me $60.00 an hour for subpar service that I have to go home and finish myself. The parts departments mark up their parts sometime up to 1000%, all in the name of profit. Plus they never have anything in stock, can't get your bike in for 1-2 weeks, take a week longer than estimated to fix it. > > And to all this I say BULLSHIT. > > Ronie > > > > > > > --------------------------------- > Do you Yahoo!? > Free online calendar with sync to Outlook(TM). > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

This is the MAIN reason I do all of my own work. Other than the fact that I wrenched for a living at two dealerships for a number of years when I was racing, I am fortunate enough to have retained enough 'gumption' to delve into any problem that happens to pop up on the bikes that I have owned. It may take a little longer now working on a carport, but I'll be dayemed if I'll turn my stuff over to some 'kid' MOST of the dealers call mechanics. In the same breath I will add that there ARE good mechanics out there. These are the ones who are usually underpaid, but hang with the program because they love what they do. I salute these guys and appreciate their dedication to the sport. The problem for most of *us* is finding them. Unfortunately, where these people work is probably the dealership that has biggest backlog of bikes to be repaired; their secret is out. I'll suppport a dealer or independent shop on parts and accessories UNLESS their prices are in the rape category. If I find that is the case, then I'll go on-line. Most of the people I deal with there are very accommodating and have the stuff to me in pretty short order and at a price that is usually reasonable. The old adage still applies: "Let the buyer beware." Guy At 01:29 PM 5/28/03 -0700, ronnie lyons wrote:

>> Think about it guys..at >> least a little, Please, SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL dealer, > >Let me tellya little bit about the local dealer. $60.00 an hour to change

my oil...no thanks. Mail order tire needs mounted..."you didn't buy it from us so it's your problem." Scratch up my bike when they work on it and lose screws, not replace the tank bumpers, overfill the master cylinder, charge for 4 quarts of oil when it only holds 3, and I'm supposed to APPRECIATE paying $60.00 an hour for that?

> >It's no secret that service departments are cash cows for dealers. Shop

foreman hires some dumbshit kid to do the service, and they don't wanna train him because it costs to much. Yet they want to charge me $60.00 an hour for subpar service that I have to go home and finish myself. The parts departments mark up their parts sometime up to 1000%, all in the name of profit. Plus they never have anything in stock, can't get your bike in for 1-2 weeks, take a week longer than estimated to fix it.

> >And to all this I say BULLSHIT. > >Ronie

Harry, Buy the damned shirt! You *may* find you've got a 15% discount the next time you buy something. Guy At 08:31 PM 5/28/03 -0400, Harry Thames wrote:

>I'll have to put in a good word for my dealer: Ray's Kawasaki will sell me >anything I want for 10% less than the Dennis Kirk price but they still won't >give me a free Ray's T-shirt.

--- In DSN_klr650@yahoogroups.com, ronnie lyons wrote:

> Let me tellya little bit about the local dealer. $60.00 an hour to

change my oil...no thanks. $60.00 an hour is actually a reasonable rate.

>Mail order tire needs mounted..."you didn't buy it from us so it's

your problem." Uh, and your point is? Mounting and balancing is free if you buy the tire from me. Buy it else where and bring it to me, it's $45.00. Sorry, but maybe the UPS guy will mount them for you.

>Scratch up my bike when they work on it and lose screws, not replace

the tank bumpers, overfill the master cylinder, charge for 4 quarts of oil when it only holds 3, and I'm supposed to APPRECIATE paying $60.00 an hour for that? That kind of workmanship is unexcusable and should never happen.

> It's no secret that service departments are cash cows for dealers.

Know that for a fact? Do you have any idea what some of the hidden costs are in running a motorcycle dealership? If the service bays are so fat ion profit, how come it is it takes a motorcycle delaership anywhere from 3-5 years before it can even turn a profit?

>The parts departments mark up their parts sometime up to 1000%, all

in the name of profit. I think you are slightly exaggerating there

>Plus they never have anything in stock, can't get your bike in for 1-

2 weeks, take a week longer than estimated to fix it. Yep, good shops are busy. I'm scheduled out until mid June. I do take in work for travellers and people needing tires and stuff. Also room is an issue for some of us. We have to plan service around shipments of new bikes and such.

> > And to all this I say BULLSHIT. > > Ronie >

Too each his own. I'm sorry you don't have kind words for your dealer, but don't lump all of us in the same bucket. Gino, MZ, Ural, Rokon dealer www.rvmc.com

On Wed, May 28, 2003 at 04:55:39PM -0400, Devon Jarvis wrote:

> > My favorite was having the parts guy look up a part, tell me > he didn't see it on the fiche, then turn the viewer away > when I tried to look saying "we're not allowed to have > customers use it".

Heheh, you sir, have considerable restraint judging by the fact that I'm assuming you don't email from jail . Me, I might have been awaiting parole hearings.

> I have ONE local shop I really like, Action Yamaha in > Metuchen, NJ.

They were friendly and helpful, even when I was just windowshopping which I know will irritate a dealer in this area to no end. They actually make sane recommendations based on rider experience which is extremely rare with the shops I've been in around here. I value that a lot. Any Kawasaki dealers in NJ/NY area that you have found particularly tolerable? Anyone else? The few I've been in in NJ gave me little faith. One of them after I said I had no experience riding told me that I should absolutely buy a ZRX 1200 just because I was tall and I need a bike that size. That alone will keep me from buying much of anything from them, ever. -- __ ___ __ / //_(_)__ _http://www.kingsqueak.org _/ /__ / ,< / / _ \/ _ `(_-