Dealership Blues

Many years ago I was in the auto parts business--worked at several parts stores, did the purchasing for a small chain of stores, account sales for a warehouse distributor, then their Director of Purchasing, etc., etc. Anyway, the parts distribution & sales for motorcycle parts are in many ways similar to auto parts distribution & sales. Way back when, you could purchase something at a parts store and your invoice stated the retail price and then a "discounted" price you were charged by the parts store. Garages and other installers charged their customers the retail price for the part(s) and also the labor/installation charge(s). Yes, they made money not only on their labor but also on the parts. And many garages and other installers did not permit "take-in" parts. If you wanted them to do the work you had to buy the part(s) from them.

Of course we all know HD dealers also make money on the parts as well as installing the parts. If you find the same part(s) cheaper elsewhere good for you, but your dealer may not want to install the parts you bought elsewhere. Some will and some won't. And even if they do and the part is in some way defective, do you think he will eat his labor to replace a bad part that you bought elsewhere and he didn't make a dime on?

HD dealers have a tremendous amount of overhead (IMHO too high overhead is part of the problem) and of course that is paid for by customers. I have an indy I use for everything because he is Harley certified, many years of experience, has never jerked me around, and I trust him. But he isn't any cheaper than a HD dealer. When I take my bike to him I know whatever he does will cost just as much as a HD dealer--but I know him to be honest and conscientious, much more so than a dealer.

Yeah, I wish everything HD related didn't cost so much. But it is what it is and you live with it or you find another ride.

It ain't just HD Dealers, it's all cycle dealers. Heaven forbid you pick up a screw and ruin your tire on your Kawasaki Vulcan on a holiday weekend and the only shop open is the HD shop. They turned me away as soon as they saw it was not an HD, did not even check the tire size or even lift it to see if they could temp plug it to get me home. Their excuse was their mechanic only knew how to work on HD's. But there is a Suzuki shop somewhat close to home that will change tires, or work on any bike, no matter the brand. They get a lot of business in the shop. I know a lot of guys who take there HD's there to get tires and save $100+ dollars from what the HD shop charges. I don't see how some places stay in business by turning away so much. I would gladly pay some one $30-$50 a tire to change my tires if I brought them the rim and a tire I got some where else.

I flat refused to pay the stealerships that much money. At one point I even used tire irons and static balanced mine. Now I have a buddy that has a tire machine, I load the wheel and tire in my tuck, drive to his house, change them, then re-install them at home.

Sorry for the rant. It really gets me on my soapbox.

It's plain and simple; they have no way of knowing if the part you bring in is a good product or not. They won't open themselves up to a liability or potential for a lawsuit. Let's say you take a tire you bought at a discount website to a dealer and they install it for you. 15 miles down the highway you have a blowout and end up severely injured in the hospital. Too many people in that situation would try to sue the dealership for a faulty install. No way to find out if it was the tire that was the cause or the install. Therefore, it's not worth it for a dealer to open themselves up to such a liability that could close the shop altogether because of one instance like that. No major dealership would do this, just like no restaurant would allow you to bring in your own steak to have them cook it. If you don't want to spend the money at the dealership, find an Indy shop that will install the tire for you and buy it online. Some Indy shops will match online prices saving the hassle altogether.

No just tires but oil changes too. When I bought my bike end of April in 13', a basic oil/oil filter change was 45 bucks, plus tax, just under 50. Jan 1, 2014, it went to 84 friggin' bucks, PLUS TAX, for an OIL CHANGE.... Obviously now I do my own.

My dealer, if you buy the tires from them, only charges you for installing one tire, not both, so basically it's half price on the labor. Guess you can't complain about that. My own problem, and admittedly of my own creation, is the tires I want to put on my bike I can only get through my 'authorized H-D dealer', you cannot get them from anybody else. So of course ka-ching ka-ching.... The vast majority of the guys in my local HOG chapter, most of who bought their bikes from the local dealership, buy their tires online, and get one of three Indies around here to install and it ends up saving them about 30% when it's all said and done. If I could get the tires I want online, that's what I'd do. Tee shirts: May of 13' they were 18 to 22 bucks. Now they are 30 to 40. Before I spent thirty bucks on a Harley tee shirt, I'll go to SuckMart and buy a package of 6 gray teeshirts for 8 bucks and buy a Sharpie and write Harley-Friggin'-Davidson on the back of it. Everything under their roof has gone up horribly in price and I've been told by a couple of employees just how badly their sales are down. And to make it all worse??? This dealership is owned by someone who owns three others and if the 'numbers are down' he of course blames it on the employees and cans them. A) there are simply not the same number of people walking in the door because of HIS pricing policy, and B) The people that do walk in the door, more and more walk out empty handed BECAUSE of the prices. Yet the owner blames his employees. What a cluster****.