Forbes, you make some very valid points. And you know from past experience that I am really intolerant of marginal dealers and techs. I recently had a leaky head gasket on a Chevy Spark. Well within warranty was told the head gasket was not leaking inspite of an oil and coolant wet line on the visible forward portion of the joint. I dumped the car back on the dealer since they refused to honor the warranty. This was the GM side of a GM-KIA dealer. You have already heard or read my spiels on scooter dealers.
Many of the problems that have surfaced here and elsewhere with Kymco scoots are intermittent. These, as well you know, are EXTREMELY difficult to isolate and are fortune sponges for a dealer to find. This is the prime area an owner needs to either hand the tech his bankbook or put on his own coveralls.
I don't want any dealer to disappear except the really crummy ones but riders and dealers need not lose touch with reality. The customer needs help and the customer needs to make coherant input so the techs can fix it. None of this even gets close to some of the crimes against techs perpetrated by dealer owners/bosses/managers.
I’ve been a witness to pretty much all sides . As an independent working with my father, I’ve benefited from the fact that we were less expensive than the dealership AND the fact that many dealers didn’t want to (or couldn’t) fix their older products. I’ve also prided myself in fixing a problem the dealership couldn’t or being able to find a less expensive solution that the customer was happy with.
As a dealership employee, I’ve witnessed the SAME customers who cried broke , questioned my integrity, begged for a discount, a payment plan, or a patch job to tide them over , while I was the sole proprietor of a struggling independent business, come to the dealership and pay FULL PRICE with barely a whimper. But they told the service writer that they wanted ME to work on their car because they knew I’d do a good job.
I’ve also realized that it’s not the “dealership “ that does the repairs, it’s the TECH that works for the dealership. SOME are excellent, some are mediocre, and some shouldn’t even open the hood.
Sometimes the service writers do NOT translate the problem to us correctly. And they may simply make it up if we ask for more details. Example: tech : was he talking about a squeak or rattle. I see you simply said noise ? Does he have to drive it over bumps or not?
Service writer. : A rattle. And it happens all the time.
After 2 hours of chasing a ghost I happen to see the customer and ask him and he says : “Oh, it’s a squeak that only happens after it’s sat up all night. And it happens when I make a right turn out of my driveway. So you may have to let it sit a while and hit a bump when you turn . My driveway is bumpy”
Hint: ask to talk to the person who will be working on your car or scooter.
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