I have heard a number of people comment on dealers not wanting to do this or that under warranty because they are "wrenching for free". I would think it would be just the opposite. Don't they want warranty work because the MOCO is paying them to do the work? Isn't that how it really is? I can understand the fact that they may not get paid as much as if a customer brings a bike in for "regular" maintenance and that they have to justify to the MOCO the fix, but they still have to be making money, correct?

Thanks for any knowledgeable replies.

 

Absolutely they get paid! And get paid quite well as a matter of fact. Any dealer that says they are "wrenching for free" is an absolute liar and must think that their customers are complete idiots.

Can not believe any dealer would insult someone's intelligance like that.

 

In general, I have read several posts lately from people who complained that their dealer would not look into problems and were brushing them off. That is the nature of my question.

I have had the opposite experience, my dealer wants my problems! I don't mind giving them to them, under warranty.

 

My dealer seemed happy to work on my bike during the 2 year warranty period. As for the extended service plan, don't know, have'nt tried that yet.

 

We don't make money telling you that your bike is fine, or that your problem can not be reproduced. HD and ESP pays to replace broken components, not give you the run around. It's a win-win situation if a problem part is found and replaced.

 

Actually with respect to warranty work motorcycles, cars, trucks etc. the dealerships and techs do get paid. Win-win? Not really. They get paid based on what the Company deems the alloted time to do the repair.

So the company says "1 hour" to replace the wiper fluid on your SG but due to unforeseen complications it takes the tech "3 Hours". The dealership and tech both eat those 2 extra hours. So, not condoning it but maybe it helps just a tad to understand the reluctance of dealers to want to do warranty work.

 

My dealer has been great about doing work under warranty, and now using the ESP. I do get the feeling, though, that the service department really has to justify the repairs - just from the comments I hear between the mechanics and the service manager. And my own experience talking with the ESP people supports that. Lost a wheel bearing and the nearest HD dealer was 200 miles away. Had an indy mechanic do the repair, but he didn't want to deal with the ESP (go figure). I had to pay for the repair and get reimbursed. Finally got most of my money - but only after multiple conversations.

So. . . yes, they get paid. And my dealer takes care of repairs, and even suggests things I should have done under warranty. But it wouldn't surprise me if some dealerships just don't want to deal with it.

By the way. . . it is NOT the MOCO that manages the ESP, right?

 

True. But what the MoCo deems appropriate to do the job is generally spot on. Sometime a tech might have to chase a wire/short for several hours, and those are generally where gripes come from. Suff like leaking master cylinders, the Dunlop tires and paint defects are easy money makers.

 

they sometimes take a beating if they have a bad tech that spends too much time trouble shooting to find a bad muffler bearing the moco will pay for the bearing and time to replace it but the 6 hours the idiot spent figuring out it was the bearing the dealer eats instead of u paying for his tech to learn.

 

My experience leads me to believe that they do in fact get paid for warranty, but the problem seems to be on issues that require more time to find out what might be going on before they can make the repair. If the problem and remedy is quite obvious, all goes well, but things such as noise and rattle issues turn into another story.

Doesn't seem like they want to spend much time on the diagnosing part of it, likely because they aren't getting paid, or not paid much. So, the repair order gets stamped 'could not duplicate' and then when they can finally hear you from two blocks away as you pull in, now they're interested in making a repair.