My local dealer really sucks!!!

I need to vent....
I just put my 92 in for service at my local dealer, Weymouth Honda. They're the only dealer anywhere near me, and only one of two south of Boston. To make matters worse, there are no competing dealers or general motorcycle service providers in the area. So for all practical purposes they have a monopoly as far as Honda dealers and service goes.
I had called them to get a quote on a set of Pirelli Diablo Stradas, and they quoted me $550 installed! I asked them what they would charge me to install the tires if I bought them myself, and they quoted me $150 labor.
Sounds like a bit much, but in the end, I bought the tires through Dennis Kirk, delivered for $240, and figured I was still about $160 ahead.
MAKES YOU WONDER WHAT KIND OF MARK UP THEY'RE MAKING ON THE TIRES - EH?
So I dropped off the veefer Saturday, and asked them to mount and balance the tires, give it a tune-up, and fix the speedo (it's been busted for a few years - I replaced the cable last year which did nothing, so I figured it was the knuckle joint/box assembly where the cable transitions down below the shift).
I got a call from them this morning telling me the bike was ready, but that they needed to order the speedo part - the box assembly as I had suspected. I told them to go ahead and order the part - he tells me it will take a week for them to get it in - and then ask him to give me a total for the service thus far. The guy tells me he has to total it up and call me back.
When he calls back he tells me that the total, including $120 for the part on order, comes to $820!
Completely amazed, I asked him to break it down for me. The guys gets really testy, like I've pissed him off by questioning the figure, and gives me a breakdown of labor hours - $375 for the tune-up, $85 labor to mount the front tire, $92 to mount the back tire - and that doesn't include the parts.
Now here's where the "my fault" comes in; I did not expressly tell them to do a basic tune-up - so they did do a complete tune up, but if I take $820, back out the $120 for the part, then the $175 to mount the tires (so much for the $150 quote I got), I come out with a $525 tune up - or $150 in parts.
Does that sound ridiculous to anyone other than me?
So I get off the phone completely dumbfounded, and decide to look up that speedo part; no way in hell I'm going to pay them to do anything else to the bike. I go onto to Ron Ayers and fiche the part, and discover I can buy it direct for $71! And the freakin dealer wants to charge me $120, and that's not even including labor to install it?!
I call the dealer back and tell them to cancel the part - now remember, this is only about an hour later - still a week from when they event expect to get the part - and they tell me that they can cancel the order, but they'll probably have to charge me a 10% restocking fee!!!
I laughed out loud and said "you're shitting me right? There's no way". And dead straight he said "No - you'll have to talk to the manager when you pick up the bike".
So much for customer loyalty.
So there - I've vented, and I'm still screwed as ever.
Anyone know of any way I can get feedback to Honda Corp?
Any suggestions?

 

Pretty Typical if you ask me. A lot of yuppie dealers have ABSOLUTELY OUTRAGEOUS prices on everything from OEM Parts to Labor.

Dealer in my town, Holiday Powersports mounted my tires Front and Rear off the bike (had to bring them in) for 30 bucks a piece. That included balancing and everything if I remember right. You're best off buying tires onilne in my experience...saves you a bundle. As far as OEM parts go...well shop/call around definitely. PRICES VARY GREATLY FROM DEALER TO DEALER. I have no idea why. But for example, the front left brake disc for my 98 vfr is $297 at the local dealer. It's only $196 from a dealer in wisconsin(shipping is 15 bucks, even on an order for $450 in parts). I made out like a bandit for the most part. Go figure. It pays to shop around and do the labor yourself. There's really not much you can't do on yourself on your bike(unless it's internal to the engine and you don't have time). Sure there are a few special tools here and there...but it's worth saving on the labor if you ask me.

The best part is having the satisfaction of doing it yourself, getting to know your bike better, and it's a lot easier to identify and repair preventative maintenance issues.



EDIT: when i was shopping around for an oem clutch, prices ranged from $7.XX to $11.XX PER FRICTION PLATE....WHAT THE CRAP RIGHT? Lesson Learned: Shop AROUND!

 

its a stealership

 

What a bummer dude. I was about to tell you of a similar experience in this thread: http://vfrworld.com/forums/service-center-reviews/12731-jimss-moto-sucks.html but then I realized you made a comment so you know all about my story

With Honda, I seriously doubt you'll have any luck. You'd be better off getting the service manual and doing the repairs yourself. If you're not comfortable with servicing the bike what you could even do is ask on this forum or ask around your neighborhood, family, friend, work circle and see if anyone is familiar with motorcycles. You can offer pizza and a beer or free rent of your tools anytime they need it.

With tires some car dealerships/tire shops will mount and balance your tire at a pretty good cost. There's a Honda car dealership that will do both tires for about $50. It's not that hard to prop the bike up in order to get both wheels off. You can look at www.craigslist.org for some cheap motorcycle jacks. I got one for only $30! What I do when I need to get new tires is just prop up that sucker take the wheels off and with my cage, carry the wheels and new tires to a tire place. Once they're done mounting the new tires on I put the wheels back on the bike and let it down.

I'm fortunate that I have two biker friends who really know their bikes and they've saved my ass several times. For that I always let them borrow my garage and tools anytime they want. Plus its fun working on a bike together, you can take your time and take a smoke/beer break every now and then. Just don't take too many beer breaks!!!

Not to mention you have 100% assurance you know the job was done right because you did it yourself instead of some $7.50/hour idiot who wants to get it over with so he can have his lunch break.

 

oh boy, commiserations. this situ sounds pretty shitty for you.
i work in retail so maybe i can offer some suggestions to help.

first remain calm (hard i know given the circumstance) but you need to remain clear headed about this and going off the deep end doesnt help to achieve clarity.

deal with the top guy only- you have a grievance so push the monkeys aside and demand to deal with the top dog-(the decision maker ).

arm yourself with facts (not emotion)-example; i was quoted $150 YOU CHARGED $175. (Keep em brief and to the point) you also have plenty of evidence of over zealous pricing(sounds less aggresive than over charging)

the more facts the more damming the evidence!

you need to gauge how sympathetic they are to your cause? if you get there back up you'll lose traction on rectifying the situ so remain calm and seek cooperation. remember the object here is to seek a satisfactory outcome for you and them- a middle ground -so negotiating is the way to go to get this.

a good manager will want to difuse the situ and deal with you in a professional manner to achieve an agreed out come.

the last defence is to REMIND them whats at stake if they dont play ball
and have an action plan for that up your sleeve.

prep & plan prior to taking them on is a good idea. stay positive about the potential outcome too, if you go in thinking your gonna have a battle thats exactly what you'll probably get.

lastly, if you lose the battle, dont lose the lesson.

good luck- hope it goes well for you.

 

That's a tough spot for sure.

On one end, you have overpriced parts and labor. On the other hand (my hand), most dealers won't even touch my bike because it's too old. I've had better luck with smaller shops who are more greedy for my business (which is a good thing).

 

I use to do a lot of my general maint work myself, but with a 4 and 6 year old, soccer, gymnastics, baseball, the house, blah blah blah.
I decided to have someone else do it and save myself the time I didn't have anyway.
IF ANYONE KNOWS A GOOD PRIVATE SHOP IN SOUTHERN MASS, LET ME KNOW.

 

Same boat here...called a few places and they will NOT touch any bike over 15 years old.....

 

$150 to mount two tires? !!! WTH..

Two Pirelli tires from Tires unlimted. $253.
Mounting $20.

How do I feel? Priceless.

 

One thing that cracks me up is how much the dealers charge for tires. If they were competitive, maybe they could actually sell more tires. When I bought the Continental's, I looked around at every Honda dealer within 50 miles of my house. The best price I could find was $320 AAANNNDDD they still had the nerve to tell me that didn't include mounting, balancing & disposal. I let them know I could get the same tires for $230 & the rest was $40 so why on earth would I buy from them? The dealer told me to buy them online so I did. F them. I've also had the trouble with older bikes. F any dealer that has a Honda wing on the wall & WILL NOT work on a Honda. I'm still pissed that Honda hasn't answered any of the 3 letters I've sent them.

Luckily, a private, "I'll work on anything that has two wheels" mechanic opened up in the next town over. He'll be getting most of my business.

KC-10 FE out...
lane: :usa2:

 

What has worked for me in the past is to call up and ask for the general manager. Apologize to them for getting them involved, but tell them you are not satisfied with the situation and are hoping that they can help resolve it. If they cannot or will not help you, ask them who they work for and how you can contact that person. Be polite and respectful the entire time.

You may have to write a letter to the general manager's boss, and if so, make sure to send a copy to the general manager. Be short and concise, and non-judgmental. Explain what you want them to do to satisfy you as a customer. If that doesn't work, at least you tried.

It shouldn't be necessary, but sometimes it just is.

 

That's a rough experience and one that will stick with you. Remember that most (but not all) dealerships make a good chunk of their money from the parts and service departments (How else would they survive the slow months?) so a mark up is to be expected. Richard had some good suggestions for when you go in to talk to them. Some other things to remember.

- It's their business and they are allowed to charge what they want (feel they can get away with), supply and demand, etc..
- A verbal quote is not binding and they're going to say that.
- Get a printout of every expense (ALL parts and labor) before talking to the manager.
- Calm, calm, calm. Yelling doesn't do any good. Either does sarcasm or insults.

I wish you luck with this and better experiences in the future.

 

Sounds like your dealer has a boat payment due.

 

For what it's worth, Richard and Lgn are right on the money, Invite the manager or owner of the business to work with you to come to a compromise that both of you may be satisfied with. In other words, you are giving them an opportunity to work with you as opposed to defend themselves against your attack (I am not saying you attacked them here).

Along similar lines I had extreme difficulty with a subordinate at work. Taking the hard line with him simply was not working. He and I had a very frank discussion out in the parking lot. We ended the discussion with me acknowledging that I could do something to improve the situation and suggested to him that he and I work together to try to improve our working relationship. We shook hands and went our separate ways that day at work. The relationship between he and I is unbelievably better. I could not have imagined it improving to the degree it had. And I really don't think I changed the way I do business, but I opened the door with dialog.

What I am saying is speak politely and be reasonable with your request. Unfortunately we all seem to have difficulty realizing our expectations may be too much.

Good luck.

 

All good advice. I personally will not take the Viffer to Honda House locally as there is a wonderful independant shop close by (of course our community is much smaller than Boston area). They are reasonable, do good work and (after getting to know them well) you can actually go back and talk to the tech working on your bike. Look on the internet, ask friends and other motorcycle enthusiasts, check the yellow pages to see where they have their work done and drop this dealer fast. They did not do you or themselves any favors by not clarifying what type of tune up or what your definition of a tune up is........

 

I bet this could turn into a 'who hate their local(Micheals-yamaha-of Reno) dealership' thread. I do, but I won't bring it up

 

thats why i absolutely hate taking any vehicle back to the dealership,find yourself a good independent mechanic. ask other riders in your area for name of a good shop, local riding forums are a good start. as for the tire mounting thats crazy! I'm surprised how many riders i meet that do there own tire balancing and mounting. 150$ would of probably paid for the equipment.