[dsn_klr650] klr: kawa dealership woes continued

[Arne Larsen]

Hey Tom, how are things? I hope you don't mind me putting you on the spot, but... I'm forwarding this to you as I thought you might be able to give this kid some advice. (His message is below, but basically)... A dealership wanted to charge him $110 for his first service. He's a little cash strapped and likes working on his bike so the list suggested he do all the extraneous stuff himself, and then book an appointment to "just" check and, if necessary, adjust the valves. When he asked the dealership if they could check his valves, they said, "They said, sure... $110". He was even prepared to take the bike in to them already stripped down. It was clear that the dealership just wanted his money. After some more encouragement from the list, he successfully did his own valves. All was well. It now appears that his tank may be weeping a bit. I think he mentioned that this was happening even before the valve thing, but he's taken it into the dealer. They said two things... Because he had done his own first service, the warranty is null and void. They also said that if he brought it to them and let them service it (even though everything's been done) they'd check the bikes for leaks and take his $110. Tell me... what does a weeping tank have to do with valves? I know you have some expert experience with this sort of thing. Any advice? Cheers, Arne

----- Original Message ----- From: To: DSN_klr650@egroups.com> Sent: Friday, April 14, 2000 9:45 AM Subject: [DSN_klr650] KLR: Kawa dealership woes continued > OK Listers, > > Here's part 2 of my A$$-reamings by my local Kawasaki dealer: I called today > to set up an appointment to have them look at my gas tank, because I think it > has a tiny leak. I said I would like to get it fixed or replaced under > warranty. The reply was "have you had your first service done yet?" I told > him that I had done it myself. > > He then said "You can bring your bike in and we'll have to do the first > service, and we'll check it over good for any leaks. If you do your own > service, your warranty is null and void. I don't know if they told you that > when you bought the bike." > > I told him "No they didn't tell me that," and then said I would have to call > back at another time (before I tore his head off through the phone line). > > I then called a kawa dealership a few towns away. They said they could look > at the tank to see if the warranty would cover it. They also said that doing > my own service should not void the warranty. I also asked how much a valve > adjustment would cost (out of curiosity). They said it would be around $45, > whereas the first dealership wanted to charge $110 (with mandatory first > service of course). > > I think I'm going to be traveling to the dealership in the other town, and > avoiding the con-artists at the local dealership as much as possible! > > My question is: Should I take some type of action against these folks? Should > I call Kawasaki and complain? Should I talk to the store manager? Any > suggestions? > > Thanks, Later, > Raamses > Roanoke, VA > A14 "Lusus" (550 miles) > http://www2.50megs.com/raamses/klrpage.htm