Harley Dealership Experiences in your area

So far, I'm having a great experience with Thunder Mountain. This morning I e-mailed the service writer that I spoke to when I was out there and then followed up with a phone call. He's all ready to take the bike in when it gets there. I gave him a list of what I want done, some must-haves and some maybes. He e-mailed me back and asked me about my bike and what kind of riding I do because he wants to make sure I get the right cams and other motor parts and that I really do need a 6 speed.

I'm already thoroughly impressed. We talked for quite a while and he wrote a good sized e-mail back to me. I've never been given much past the time of day before. And the bill.

Hot01,

Glad to hear that you have been taken care of. In my opinion, there are a bunch of dealers out there, who really don't give a hoot about the customers. Why is that you ask? Because, there are a lot of new riders that are willing to shell out the bucks and pay for whatever it takes, so long as it is a Harley. At the end of the day, they are judged on how many bikes they moved for the year, as opposed to how many customers were really satisfied with their services. Get my drift?

I have also been satisfied with my "new" dealer. I actually recived a call, asking if I was satisfied with my bike. Given that I have only been able to get out twice, due to our lovely freaking fall and upcoming winter weather. I'd to say that I am satisfied, regardless I was glad to hear from my dealer.

Regards,
German

I went to my local dealership in RI...Precision Harley. I ordered a 07 Streetglide. They called me 4 weeks later on a saturday to say the bike was there. I asked if I needed to drive down and give them money but couldn't do the paperwork until I got the bank check on Monday, they said not to worry that the bike was still in the crate and wouldn't be ready anyway. I called Monday a.m. to ask how much the bank check should be for and they said they sold the bike late Saturday afternoon. They said they could pull some strings and get me another in only 3-6 weeks....nice guys, they sold my bike out from under me and then offer to do me a favor and get the next one in only a month or so!! I will never go back there and I will never say anything good about them either.

See, it's only about the money, not the customer. Seems to be the way of the world now....

The all mighty dollar... The ol' saying "Money talks and Bullsh@t walks" seems to holding true to form... What part of CO is Thunder Mountain found in Hot1?
Thinking about visiting CO and would like to find a shop to stop and pick up a shirt or two...

Found this really interesting article

I found this thread at another forum, but it caught my eye, since our discussion is trying to demonstrate that HD is NOT paying attention to the goings on at the dealership level, so they better tighten their shoe laces and take action, before they really start loosing customers.

Thread is located at the following URL

Bob Schultz #1 Worst Dealer - Topix

I hope I am not breaking any rules, just simply trying to bring the problem forward.

The following letter was sent to Harley Davidson:
To Whom It May Concern:
I am writing this letter to inform you of an incident that took place at one of your dealers. In September on 2004 I purchased a 2005 HD Heritage Softail Classic from Bob Schultz Motorcycles in St. Charles, MO. The latest incident took place on 7/28/06. My bike was making a funny noise and spitting smoke, so I took it to Bob Schultz to look at it/ fix it while still under a warranty. It has just over 6000 miles on it. I met with the "service manager", and told him what it was doing. While he was filling out a service ticket, I asked him how this worked with my warranty. Without saying a word, he got up and walked away, leaving me standing there for over five minutes. When he returned, he turned on my ignition, checked the mileage, and told me that I had no warranty, because I didn't get my 5000 mile service done. When I told him that I had it done at another dealer, he told me to take it to them. I explained that the reason I took it to another dealer was because he couldn't get me in for 10 days and the other dealer could do it in 1 day. He said that he didn't care; they did the 5000 mile service, so they have to fix it. When I reminded him that the warranty said that I could take it to any authorized Harley dealer, he got very angry and rude. He told me that he would look at the bike and it was going to cost me $200 if he found nothing wrong with it. I told him that was fine, and asked "What if it's a warranty item? Do I still have to pay $200?" He told me that it was not a warranty item, that it was something that the other dealer failed to do. When I asked him how could he know that without even looking at the bike, he got even more angry and shouted at me "Do you want me to look at this thing, or not"
It was at that point that I realized that I would be better off going somewhere else. I no longer trusted this rude and belligerent "service manager". I told him that I was going to another dealer and he said "Good, get the f____ out of my shop." Shocked, I asked him what his problem was, and he said "I have a whole file of things that we have done for free for you, and I'm sick of it. I'm giving you nothing for free" The only thing that the dealer has ever done for free was my 1000 mile service. That was included with the sale of the bike. I told him this, and mentioned the thousands of dollars I had spent there on other stuff. He told me that I was an A__ H___, and to never come back. When I was leaving he also said that he hopes I "wreck my bike and break my neck"
When I got home, I called the dealer to complain to the owner. That was when I found out that the rude jerk I had been talking to was the owner.
Over the past few years, I have been to many Harley Davidson dealers all over the country, and have never been treated the way I was treated at Bob Schultz Motorcycles. I have been to dealers, only to buy a shirt or just look around, and found very friendly, professional people who were glad to see me. They take pride in their stores and respect their customers. You will find none of that at Bob Schultz Motorcycles. Their store is dirty and looks more like a garage than a Harley dealer. Their employees are rude and unfriendly, and do not present themselves in a manner that is consistent with the Harley Davidson image.
As I have been telling this story to other bikers in my community, none of them seemed surprised. The question they all ask me is "Why would you go to Bob Schultz? They have the worst reputation in town". I now understand why. Even though they are only a few miles from my home, I will drive the extra 40 minutes to go to another dealer that is glad to see me.


This was writtend by a very disgruntled customer to HD.

Regards,
German

When I Decided To By A 07 Se Road King I Called Several Dealerships Three In This Area (knoxville) Nashville, Chattanooga, Atlanta, And Concord, Nc, They All Quoted Me Prices 3,000 To 5,000 Over List,
I Finally Found My Rk At Colbach H-d In Morristown, Tn, 50 Miles From Knoxville, I Would Have Never Thought They Would Even Have A Se Road King, Beleive It Or Not They Came Off List Price 800.00, And The Bike Had Been On The Floor About An Hour When I Walked In And Found It. I Can't Say Much About There Service Dept. So I Take It To The Dealer Here In Knoxville For Service Where I Bought My Low Rider. One Of There Tech's Taught A Class At Mmi In Orlando, So He Seems To Know Whats Going On And Thats The Only One That I Will Touch My Ride.

Dkin21

Well I know that the Dealership in Fayetteville, NC is only out for taking your money. I know a couple of people who work with me that ordered their motorcycles while in Iraq and Afghanistan. When they picked up their bikes there were things wrong that shouldn't be. Like loose spokes, valves, etc. There was even a write up in the on post military news paper about one of them. The whole of the story was that the guy picked up his bike and put some bolt on trinkets on it and messed it up. He admitted that he had done it and called his insurance to cover it. So he took the bike to the dealership in Fayetteville, NC and dropped it off. When the dealership finally called him to pick up his bike half the things weren't even fixed and there was damage that wasn't there when he dropped the bike off. So he called his agent and they went to the dealership. The sales manager cussed him and the insurance agent out and told them to leave the property. So words of advice don't go to the dealership in Fayetteville, North Carolina. There are more situations like this than I have room to write about due to the fact that the Fayetteville Dealership is making its money by taking advantage of the military stationed at Ft. Bragg. :angry:

There ought to be some kind of a customer complaint department at HD's headquarters. A lot of this information needs to be forwarded to the main office, so that something can be done about this. It is hard to believe that individuals are misshandling and abusing the HD name to make a "dirty" profit, and most of all on military personnel. They need to be realigned, or at least be warned by the MOCO, regarding their behavior. I think I know that dealership. I stopped there on my way to South Carolina, not a very good reception and not a good feeling afterward.

Hope your friend was able to solve his problem, it is truly unfortunate and worst of all, that it is happeneing all over the country.

Regards,
German

its called customer service dept. one of the guys i ride with has 06 wide glide, there was a recall, he took it to the dealer where he bought it they kept it for 2 weeks, they kept putting him off for one reason or another, so he calls h-d customer service, within 30 mins. the dealership calls him and told him bike would be ready by 3 p.m. that day.

dkin21

after hearing German's encounter with his steeler, i feel like sending a christmas card to mine, sounds like that olde boy didn't have much greese in his gun

Thunder Mountain is in Loveland, a little north of Denver. They have some nice customs there that they build.

I had no trouble giving my dealership some stuff today. I had some take-offs that I don't want to lug around with me. I held on to my old rocker boxes and clutch and throttle cables, but the seat is just too big. They'll sell it to some unsuspecting new bike owner for far more than it's worth, I'm sure.

Harley Dealerships! Corperate Criminals! Always Looking For A Sucker. Very Far From American. Sellout's, Selling Rights To There Name To Make A Buck. Warrn'tees ****, Pcmp, ****. But Overall Service Is Good. Won't Buy Anything But Aftermarket, No Stickers On My Ride, Nothing That Says Harley Inless It Was A Gift. Figuard Ive Paid Them Enough.

MOCO to stop production for two weeks

In conjunction with this thread, it seems only fitting that the MOCO will layoff its workers for up to two weeks to slow down production. Too many beauties just hanging around the dealerships with no prospective owners in sight!!

Hurray for the dealerships they have managed to slow down sales and now production has to pay the price. When are they going to tell the dealers to start selling and be honest about it??? Hard to comprehend!!

Regards,
German

Well unfortunately the dealership only cares about itself and how much money it can make. From what I'm hearing and have been seeing they don't care about their quality of work or service. I just think it is a shame that they are going to drive Harley Davidson into the ground if the CEO doesn't stop this crap. I took the course and got my certification just so I wouldn't have to take my bike to the Dealership here in Fayetteville, NC. I only go into there to get parts that you can only get from the dealership, other wise I stay clear of them. I don't even like having my bike parked in their parking lot to pick up a part every now and again.

Yeh, I agree with that. I'll help anyone that will help themselves, but the majority that need the help won't help themselves.

I have a 24 valve dodge cummins, has a code 0216 which means pump failure, got struck with litghning, insurance will cover the repair if I can get a dealer to think out side the box, but unfortunatly they only know what the book tells them they do not use the data given by the customer. just the commputer I have been doing this for twenty years and I never go to an arguement without my homework being done, so about 10000 miles later on the same pump, they are starting to listen that it just might be electronic, oh perhaps by a electrical surge......imagine that. as for th hd in my area there is only the finance guru that is the azz, wrote a letter to the owner havn't seen him since, and every thing is msrp, even the drag and kury. products. had a few questions and the folks there at mavericks were happy to take the time to help at no charge, info only though. but they almost had me going to loveland to thunder mountain just by the attitude of one guy. mile high harley is another upstanding dealer in my eye. a few that didn,t have the personality that i would expect, albert lea, lincoln, san jose, gary bang, one of the vegas dealers, can,t remember. oh yea and maverick in laramie. and I haven't ran in to one yet that would be insulted if you spent money and the more you freely throw around the better the dealer/friend they are to you, but just go in and browse, the temp will drop 40 degree. and over thier shoulder,