Local Honda Dealers continued decline

[coolatc]

I went by my local Honda shop here in Asheville NC to pick up some Honda motor oil for my 85 200X and was amazed at such sorry service and overall attitudes of the counter guys. I asked a few basic questions about my trike and they just looked at me like I was crazy. In fact they supposedly have a policy that they will not work on anything if it's over 15 years old? Has anyone else heard about this? I don't know if that's Honda's rule or the local shop's rule? Not that I would trust the locals with my vintage machine, but geeez, you would think that these shops might show some respect for the machines that were the grandfathers of their quads and other modern machines! Anyway, I just wanted to vent for a moment about the 18 year old guys in these places and how they have no respect for older machines. In fact the guy behind the counter probably wasn't even born when the 200X models were so popular.


I don't mind young folks, but I don't like smart eleck punks who think they know everything!

[Lomax]

our local honda shop will not work on a goldwing if its over 10 years old

[deathman53]

the guys at the honda dealer by think I'm crazy too. I given them 85/86 250r short track part numbers to do a search and I had them get me parts for my trikes. They think what I ride and how I ride them is crazy and it blew their mind when I told them I hope to be racing. It amazed them of why I would spend $200 on 86/87 trx250r roll pegs and use them on my 86 200x as well as the 350x/84r front end, works shock, aftermarket carb, ported/polished motor, and other stuff. And the motor work and chassis parts on my atc250r completely gets them baffled.

[crackshot]

Hmmm. Parts guy I met up here on Saturday (Honda dealer and kid must have been 25 tops) has an 85 250R and a 350X.
Gave me his card and told me to call him for anything from parts to advice for ATC's. Wants to go riding at dunes also.

[250r'en +TCB]

I have one guy who knows me and loves the old trikes! I'd say he's mid 20's...... All the other guys I just laugh at. A 3wheeler??? Those things are death traps and slow...... hahahaha I always say "well if you and your 400ex want to race, you better hope I dye before we get off the line because after that you have a snowballs chance in hell!!!"

[ClayW]

My dealer makes you give them your credit card number first, if they dont know you, and they are working on an old bike. If they know you, its not a big deal. They always have a bike for sale that someone has abandoned. Thought it was more money than it was worth.

[phil53]

I actually saw an 85 250r in the service department of the stealership by my house. which was weird because i know they sub out a lot of the atcs that come in there to a local shop that has been around since the early 80's.
at this same dealer there was a parts guy that owned a few trikes, ended up getting great discounts from him.

[honda250sx]

I went by my local Honda shop here in Asheville NC to pick up some Honda motor oil for my 85 200X and was amazed at such sorry service and overall attitudes of the counter guys. I asked a few basic questions about my trike and they just looked at me like I was crazy. In fact they supposedly have a policy that they will not work on anything if it's over 15 years old? Has anyone else heard about this? I don't know if that's Honda's rule or the local shop's rule? Not that I would trust the locals with my vintage machine, but geeez, you would think that these shops might show some respect for the machines that were the grandfathers of their quads and other modern machines! Anyway, I just wanted to vent for a moment about the 18 year old guys in these places and how they have no respect for older machines. In fact the guy behind the counter probably wasn't even born when the 200X models were so popular.


I don't mind young folks, but I don't like smart eleck punks who think they know everything!

Jeez if i havent heard this time after time. I started working at a dealer when i was 16. Largest dealer in the local area. I am now 21. I have a ton of respect for older machines my boss collects and restores a ton of vintage goodies. Cris Crafts,cars, vintage bikes, sleds, toys *Edited* name it. I head up all the vintage sled restorations there. Recently i got into trikes. Got a 250sx and went at it. Not all young kids think they know everything. My boss says that i know more than he'll ever remember about old sleds. Dont put all your eggs in one basket you might learn something from that smart eleck punk at your local service dealer.

we do the same anything ten yrs old. not working on it.
1. parts availibility
2. general knowledge of the machine
3. some dealers dont have the capability to service (tools, manuals)

[daputz]

We have the 10 year rule and or a $300 deposit at the dealership I work at. Depending who it is, and the work to be done, it is often overlooked.

With older machines it is to easy to go after one issue and open a can of worms, add in parts availibilty and they can tie up a bench/tech for way to long (especially during the busy season). With an hourly rate of $78 it is very possible (and not too uncommon) to exceed the value (money not sentimental) of the machine.

With the current gas prices there has been alot of < $500 bikes coming in that the new owner got for a "song". Depending what needs to be done, their cheap transportation can easilly double in cost just to get it road worthy and running.

[82300R]

garret honda in covington, la sucks big donkey nutz. they can also stick their sorry *Edited**Edited**Edited**Edited**Edited* quads up thier arse. no particular reason.

[dirtybiker71]

From the dealerships point of view, older machines are much more likely to have stuck or rusted bolts and axles and so forth that are likely to be impossible to remove and or break off when you try to. Also, sometimes old rubber and plastic parts like carb boots (intake manifolds) are very rotten and brittle by now, and just touching them can make them fall apart. Which the customer always blames on the guy working on the machine. And a whole host of other time consuming problems waiting to pounce on an unsuspecting technician. Seriously, I can't tell you how many times people bring in old heaps for us to get running and the conversation always starts like this: "I just got this bike for $200 and the guy said it ran fine when he parked it 5 years ago, so it shouldn't take much to get it running. Since I didn't pay much for it I don't really want to spend much getting it going." So the shop now has to work on something that has been sitting out under a tree for 5 years and the bill has to come in under what the owner paid for it. And as nice as some of our old bikes are, the vast majority of them that show up in a service department (at least where I'm from) are simply a liability to the shop. As we all know well from experience, one can burn up literally dozens of hours on an older bike, so just imagine how big the bill would be if you had to charge out that time at $70 plus an hour. Think about it. If you spend 3 hours working on a carburetor, thats $210 at $70 per hour. Try explaining that to a customer that thinks his bike just needs a spark plug and a battery. Or how about 2 hours trying to free up a rusted on brake drum. And God forbid, if you can't ever get the brake drum off, the customer will certainly not want to pay you for your 2 hours since you "diddn't actually do anything." I don't like the rules that forbid working on older bikes either, but we finally had to adopt one also. It is just an unfortunate aspect of being in business.