The Dealership Does it Again
in [Motorcycles]
|
Prev: Dog on roof
Next: Krusty Depends
From: Bob Myers on 7 Jul 2010 16:44 The Older Gentleman wrote: > Bob Myers <nospamplease(a)address.invalid> wrote: > >> >> BTW, TOG - do you get the Car Talk guys on your side of the >> pond, perchance? > > Who? > > Er, I guess that means 'no'. Right, I'll take that as a "no." I knew they had some distribution outside North America, but didn't know if they had much presence specifically in the UK. For all those who are sans-Car-Talk in your locale, it's a U.S. National Public Radio one-hour show hosted by two brothers (Tom and Ray Magliozzi) who run an independent car-repair shop somewhere in the Boston area, and who are certifiably insane. Generally a lot of fun to listen to. Info at: http://www.cartalk.com/ You can also listen online, iffen your local radio outlets have not provided you with this gem. Bob M.
From: Beauregard T. Shagnasty on 7 Jul 2010 17:24 Bob Myers wrote: > Beauregard T. Shagnasty wrote: >> tomorrow(a)erols.com wrote: >>> Maybe they're AFRAID to mess with me! (g,d, & r) >> >> It's that head full of gray hair. <another g,d&r> > > Gawd, had no idea I was surrounded by all these fossils, here. Fossil? Harrumph. I prefer the far more distinguished term of near-septuagenarian. Sometime next summer... > My hair, of course, is still its glorious natural brown, although it > has picked up some quite distinguished highlights in a very tasteful > silver. > > The beard, on the other hand, is a disaster. I gotta do something > about that. The white ones are outnumbering the brown ones, despite > a valiant effort on the latter's part to hold the territory. Heh, I was grey almost 40 years ago ... -- -bts -Four wheels carry the body; two wheels move the soul
From: Rob Kleinschmidt on 7 Jul 2010 19:19 On Jul 7, 10:53 am, "Bob Myers" <nospample...(a)address.invalid> wrote: > The Older Gentleman wrote: > > I *do* find all this odd, because my impression of the US is that > > consumers expect, and routinely get, higher standards of service than > > we're used to in the UK (and maybe much of Europe). > > > So motor vehicles are the exception. > > No, I think - as has been noted - it's very much dependent > on the dealer in question. Which is in turn very much > dependent, in my experience, on the location. Actually, the most alarming thing to encounter at a dealership is a befuddled relative or family member who's "learning the job". Treat this the same way you would if you found them "learning the job" in your doctor's or dentist's office. Don't ask any more questions. Save yourself and your vehicle and flee while you still can. I can't think of one time when this has ever turned out well.
From: BryanUT on 7 Jul 2010 19:30 On Jul 7, 1:25 pm, "tomor...(a)erols.com" <tomorrowaterolsdot...(a)yahoo.com> wrote: > On Jul 7, 1:40 pm, totallydeadmail...(a)yahoo.co.uk (The Older > > > > Gentleman) wrote: > > J. Clarke <jclarke.use...(a)cox.net> wrote: > > > <snip tales of woe> > > > > -I > > > changed the muffler and when I pulled off the old one the blasted nut > > > fell out. > > > Sorry, but that made me giggle. > > > <snip more tales of woe> > > > I *do* find all this odd, because my impression of the US is that > > consumers expect, and routinely get, higher standards of service than > > we're used to in the UK (and maybe much of Europe). > > > So motor vehicles are the exception. > > Other than repeated trips to get the stupid cruise control working, > and a return trip to get the *right* replacement door panel shipped > from Germany (for a car BUILT in Spartanburg, SC, USA) when I owned my > 2001 BMW Z3 3.0i Coupe, I have routinely and consistently received > good to excellent service at Chevy, VW, GMC, Ford, Renault (!), > Plymouth (!) and other dealers. Not to mention Harley and Ducati > dealers. > > Maybe they're AFRAID to mess with me! (g,d, & r) WUT, small businesses that want to stay in business? So it ain't so. I've had mostly similar experiences as you. But the big thing is that my karma is so good that my vehicles have rarely needed repairs. So my experience is limited.
From: don (Calgary) on 7 Jul 2010 21:19
On Wed, 7 Jul 2010 12:25:48 -0700 (PDT), "tomorrow(a)erols.com" <tomorrowaterolsdotcom(a)yahoo.com> wrote: >On Jul 7, 1:40�pm, totallydeadmail...(a)yahoo.co.uk (The Older >Gentleman) wrote: >> J. Clarke <jclarke.use...(a)cox.net> wrote: >> >> <snip tales of woe> >> >> > -I >> > changed the muffler and when I pulled off the old one the blasted nut >> > fell out. � >> >> Sorry, but that made me giggle. >> >> <snip more tales of woe> >> >> I *do* find all this odd, because my impression of the US is that >> consumers expect, and routinely get, higher standards of service than >> we're used to in the UK (and maybe much of Europe). >> >> So motor vehicles are the exception. > >Other than repeated trips to get the stupid cruise control working, >and a return trip to get the *right* replacement door panel shipped >from Germany (for a car BUILT in Spartanburg, SC, USA) when I owned my >2001 BMW Z3 3.0i Coupe, I have routinely and consistently received >good to excellent service at Chevy, VW, GMC, Ford, Renault (!), >Plymouth (!) and other dealers. Not to mention Harley and Ducati >dealers. > >Maybe they're AFRAID to mess with me! (g,d, & r) I also get very good service at both car and bike dealers. I am not as impressed with the quality of their work though. My experience is similar with stuff already noted in this thread, broken parts, stuff left loose, etc. Calgary Harley has been the exception. So far their work has been good and they take very good care of my bike. I have a couple of guys I go to for most of the mechanical work I can't do. Either garage mechanics or small shops. As for car dealerships, they don't have loaners but offer special deals with rental companies. In most cases less than ten bucks a day, all in. They all have shuttle services to take you pretty much anywhere you want to go and pick you up when your car is ready. As for bikes I have never had the need for a loaner, nor have I even asked. A riding bud of mine always gets a loaner, but he has bought five bikes from the same dealer and has been instrumental in the sale of several others. I think they value his business. |