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[srqseeg]

There have been many discussions about what oil is best for our bikes.  HD Synthetic, Mobil 1, Redline in the Tranny, Amsoil are all options.  Well, today I took the SEEG in for warranty work.  They shop told me it's to replace a slip/slap seal in the Primary.  Here's the rub.  Brought in my Mobil 1 (V-Twin 20-50) to replace what I had in the Primary and was told HD will not replace the fluid with anything but HD Synthetic.  What??  The dealer folks claim this edict came from HD several weeks ago.  Anyone else run in to this?  Anyone fight this successfully?  Ideas?  

[BLM777]

Dealer's full of $hit.  I can tell you with a great deal of certainty that the "edict" you mentioned did not come from HD.  They can, as a service department insist on their product, but if you are supplying a like or better product they are then required to put their lube in at no charge.  Being warranty work the replacement oil is a n/c item anyway, so if you feel you want the work done there dump it when you get home and put in your preference.  Sounds to me like the service manager is trying to force a little extra commission this month as he gets a % of every HD product sold through his department.  

[Midnight Rider]

The dealer here will NOT put in anything but HD lubricants, so I just dump the chit when I get the bike home, or if it's just a service, tell them not to change the fluids and do it myself.  But I'm through letting them do anything other than warranty work...the last thing they had to fix was a comp nut, so I didn't sweat the Syn3 being in the primary for a couple of thousand miles in cool weather.

Some dealers will use your products if you bring them, others won't.  I questioned them about it, and it is a dealer policy, not a MOCO edict...at least that's what they told me.  Mine told me that the owner won't allow it...when I reminded them that they are supposed to give me free product if they won't use mine, they just got a stupid look on their face. I didn't push them about it, as I'd be concerned about what they do when they get the bike in the back. [smiley=nervous.gif] [smiley=nervous.gif]  As you can tell, I trust them about as far as I could throw one of 'em.

[Hoist!]

The dealer here will NOT put in anything but HD lubricants, so I just dump the chit when I get the bike home, or if it's just a service, tell them not to change the fluids and do it myself. [highlight]But I'm through letting them do anything other than warranty work....[/highlight]the last thing they had to fix was a comp nut, so I didn't sweat the Syn3 being in the primary for a couple of thousand miles in cool weather.

Some dealers will use your products if you bring them, others won't.  I questioned them about it, and it is a dealer policy, not a MOCO edict...at least that's what they told me.  Mine told me that the owner won't allow it...when I reminded them that they are supposed to give me free product if they won't use mine, they just got a stupid look on their face. I didn't push them about it, as I'd be concerned about what they do when they get the bike in the back. [smiley=nervous.gif] [smiley=nervous.gif]  As you can tell, I trust them about as far as I could throw one of 'em.

Amen Terry. Damn shame though. Gotta pay good techs better than HD wages to keep them though. I'm putting 50 mi on the new one and riding to my friends shop for new fluids and my mods, then dyno-tune at 1k. And keeping my 2 Year Warranty ! Hoist!  8-)

[SEULTRA]

The dealer here will NOT put in anything but HD lubricants, so I just dump the chit when I get the bike home, or if it's just a service, tell them not to change the fluids and do it myself.  But I'm through letting them do anything other than warranty work...[highlight]the last thing they had to fix was a comp nut, so I didn't sweat the Syn3 being in the primary for a couple of thousand miles in cool weather.[/highlight]

Some dealers will use your products if you bring them, others won't.  I questioned them about it, and it is a dealer policy, not a MOCO edict...at least that's what they told me.  Mine told me that the owner won't allow it...when I reminded them that they are supposed to give me free product if they won't use mine, they just got a stupid look on their face. I didn't push them about it, as I'd be concerned about what they do when they get the bike in the back. [smiley=nervous.gif] [smiley=nervous.gif]  As you can tell, I trust them about as far as I could throw one of 'em.

I felt the same way when they re-torqued the comp nut on mine and put in the SIN-3 (not a typo). I'll run it till April since I won't be riding in hot weather and I'll change it back to AMSOIL like I was using before.
BTW, are you sure we aren't using the same dealership for service??  
Sounds exactly like PPHD.

[RJ749]

Dealer's full of $hit.  I can tell you with a great deal of certainty that the "edict" you mentioned did not come from HD.  They can, as a service department insist on their product, but if you are supplying a like or better product they are then required to put their lube in at no charge.  Being warranty work the replacement oil is a n/c item anyway, so if you feel you want the work done there dump it when you get home and put in your preference.  Sounds to me like the service manager is trying to force a little extra commission this month as he gets a % of every HD product sold through his department.  

The issue here is the "warranty" work I would imagine.  As a DCX (Jeep) dealer if we do not replenish the fluids with "factory" fluid we do not get paid on warranty.

It goes so far as they monitor our oil purchase volume to make sure we actually buy enough from them to service our vehicles in operation.

I wouldn't see it as a problem if the occasional customer brought in their own stuff, but factories are getting more and more insistant on the use of their own stuff.  We now get secret shoppers from them to make sure we are handling customers properly and servicing within the factory guidelines.  Not sure that HD has gone to this but I can tell you that one of my manufacturers actually builds in faults in the car and sends a shopper in to see if we catch all of the problems and perform the service correctly.  

I wouldn't put it past these guys (mine not HD)to go as far as having the oil tested to make sure it is the correct factory fluid.  Since I sell Mob 1 in bulk, it isn't an issue for me as the factory stuff in this case is Mob 1.

Anyway, as much as there are some conspiracy theories here that hold water, there may be more to a dealer's actions than meets the eye in some cases.

If you bring your Jeep to me for warranty work, it's leaving with the MOPAR oil in it.  I specifically stock it in quarts for doing warranty work.  Otherwise, I'll put whatever you want in "your" vehicle on a regualar service.

[Midnight Rider]

The issue here is the "warranty" work I would imagine.  As a DCX (Jeep) dealer if we do not replenish the fluids with "factory" fluid we do not get paid on warranty.

It goes so far as they monitor our oil purchase volume to make sure we actually buy enough from them to service our vehicles in operation.

I wouldn't see it as a problem if the occasional customer brought in their own stuff, but factories are getting more and more insistant on the use of their own stuff.  We now get secret shoppers from them to make sure we are handling customers properly and servicing within the factory guidelines.  Not sure that HD has gone to this but I can tell you that one of my manufacturers actually builds in faults in the car and sends a shopper in to see if we catch all of the problems and perform the service correctly.  

I wouldn't put it past these guys (mine not HD)to go as far as having the oil tested to make sure it is the correct factory fluid.  Since I sell Mob 1 in bulk, it isn't an issue for me as the factory stuff in this case is Mob 1.

Anyway, as much as there are some conspiracy theories here that hold water, there may be more to a dealer's actions than meets the eye in some cases.

If you bring your Jeep to me for warranty work, it's leaving with the MOPAR oil in it.  I specifically stock it in quarts for doing warranty work.  Otherwise, I'll put whatever you want in "your" vehicle on a regualar service.

Yeah, Roger...I can totally understand it on a warranty job, and you make a good point...at least the factory knows (or at least it's reported to them that way) that the job has been thoroughly done, then the owner can choose to leave it in or change it.  But on a normal service, I just don't get their bullchit when you bring them a product that if they would admit it, is superior.  That's just poor customer service/appreciation.  A lot of people who just aren't inclined, for whatever reason, to change their own fluids on their bike (s) are stuck using an inferior product.  That's just a shame, and they're pretty much stuck with it.

Hoist...they might not pay the techs enough to keep 'em, but I would have lasted about 10 minutes, even when I was a lowly apprentice, putting out some of the work I've seen/heard about.  There's just no excuse for not giving a chit...find something else to do if you don't like your chosen profession, but do the best you can while you're still doin' it.

[Hoist!]

Yeah, Roger...I can totally understand it on a warranty job, and you make a good point...at least the factory knows (or at least it's reported to them that way) that the job has been thoroughly done, then the owner can choose to leave it in or change it.  But on a normal service, I just don't get their bullchit when you bring them a product that if they would admit it, is superior.  That's just poor customer service/appreciation.  A lot of people who just aren't inclined, for whatever reason, to change their own fluids on their bike (s) are stuck using an inferior product.  That's just a shame, and they're pretty much stuck with it.

[highlight]Hoist...they might not pay the techs enough to keep 'em, but I would have lasted about 10 minutes, even when I was a lowly apprentice, putting out some of the work I've seen/heard about.  There's just no excuse for not giving a chit...find something else to do if you don't like your chosen profession, but do the best you can while you're still doin' it.[/highlight]

No arguement from me here Terry. When they stripped my primary cover on my '99, using power tools to screw back my derby cover, after fixing a hung-up starter plunger, I lost any remaining faith I had. [smiley=nixweiss.gif] So now I'll get a 2 Year Warranty and not let any of them touch it to fix it! [smiley=nervous.gif] Great! Hoist!  8-)

[RJ749]

Yeah, Roger...I can totally understand it on a warranty job, and you make a good point...at least the factory knows (or at least it's reported to them that way) that the job has been thoroughly done, then the owner can choose to leave it in or change it.  But on a normal service, I just don't get their bullchit when you bring them a product that if they would admit it, is superior.  That's just poor customer service/appreciation.  

That's why I said on a regular service I'll add whatever you want.  

I don't have an issue at my HD shop using Mob 1 that I supply, I wonder if you talked to the owner what they would say.  

Owners are pushovers (experience talking) I usually give in if there is any reason to.

Just don't get in my face and be yelling or threatening me with this or that, you definitely will be shown the door then.  Civil tones and rational discussion usually resolve most issues.

I can't imagine them worrying about the margin aon a few quarts of oil, charge me the extra $5.00 if you need it that badly, just pour my chit in my bike.

[grc]

No arguement from me here Terry. When they stripped my primary cover on my '99, using power tools to screw back my derby cover, after fixing a hung-up starter plunger, I lost any remaining faith I had. [smiley=nixweiss.gif] [highlight]So now I'll get a 2 Year Warranty and not let any of them touch it to fix it! [/highlight][smiley=nervous.gif] Great! Hoist!  8-)

Hoist,

That's why I don't worry too much about the warranty - the vast majority of the time if I take it to the dealer, the bike comes back worse.  I guess if the engine were to grenade (bad enough to require total replacement), I'd let them do it rather than eat a $6k bill, but for the small stuff I've learned to just do it myself.  Much less stress in the long run.

Jerry

[Hoist!]

Hoist,

That's why I don't worry too much about the warranty - the vast majority of the time if I take it to the dealer, the bike comes back worse.  I guess if the engine were to grenade (bad enough to require total replacement), I'd let them do it rather than eat a $6k bill, but for the small stuff I've learned to just do it myself.  Much less stress in the long run.

Jerry

I don't know why I'm so hung up on it either Jerry. It's not like I don't know or haven't been thru it. But 2 Years. I must be a glutton for punishment or something. Jerry, Thanks for all your help and input. I'd like to take this time to wish you and your family a Healthy and Happy Hoilday! [smiley=drink.gif] Hoist!  8-)

[Midnight Rider]

That's why I said on a regular service I'll add whatever you want.  

I don't have an issue at my HD shop using Mob 1 that I supply, I wonder if you talked to the owner what they would say.  

Owners are pushovers (experience talking) I usually give in if there is any reason to.

Just don't get in my face and be yelling or threatening me with this or that, you definitely will be shown the door then.  Civil tones and rational discussion usually resolve most issues.

I can't imagine them worrying about the margin aon a few quarts of oil, charge me the extra $5.00 if you need it that badly, just pour my chit in my bike.
[/quote

The two dealers here are both owned by the same dude, so he doesn't care 'cause he doesn't have to.  I'm not saying that accross the board it is a bad dealership, because it's not.  I didn't try and push it again after my 1K service where they put the Syn3 in despite my having Mobil in the saddlebag, whick I promptly drained when I got the scoot home.  When I took it for the 5K, I asked them again to use the Mobil, and I had a very polite and rational discussion with them about it, though I didn't push it.  They refused, so they did not change the fluids.  I would have, and in fact offered, to pay them a labor charge to pour my oil in the holes.  I'm really a reasonable person and don't have any issue with things that make sense, and even if they don't, I'm still nice about discussing it with them.  somebody has to really give me a good reason to get me upset...I've got a very long fuse.

I think you are the exception rather than the rule, Roger...a reasonable dealer who is customer service oriented, treats people as well as they will allow you to treat them.  You should open a HD dealership...

[srqseeg]

Interesting discussion.  Appreciate the feedback!  This is warranty work and I did bring in my own Mobil 1.   Have not had a problem with the dealer putting my product in during regular service.  Will find out when I pick up the scoot this afternoon if this policy is just during warranty work or at all times now.  The service folks were quite adamant that this policy came from HD in the last few weeks.   [smiley=confused5.gif]

[Hoist!]

Interesting discussion.  Appreciate the feedback!  This is warranty work and I did bring in my own Mobil 1.   Have not had a problem with the dealer putting my product in during regular service.  Will find out when I pick up the scoot this afternoon if this policy is just during warranty work or at all times now.  The service folks were quite adamant that this policy came from HD in the last few weeks.   [smiley=confused5.gif]

I guess you can ask them to pour straight it into their waste oil drum right out of the bottle and use your stuff! Hoist!  8-)

[RJ749]

That's why I said on a regular service I'll add whatever you want.  
get me upset...I've got a very long fuse.

I think you are the exception rather than the rule, Roger...a reasonable dealer who is customer service oriented, treats people as well as they will allow you to treat them.  [highlight]You should open a HD dealership... [/highlight]

Tried several times, best shot I had would have been in 89 but I missed knowing it was for sale by about 24 hours.  Probably would have been a serviceable debt then, but now with the Taj Mahals that the MoCo requires, I doubt it would make sense in my market.

I spoke with a very large Texas dealer and he said the only way they work well is in a major metro type area, otherwise I think all you do is buy a job and I have one of those.  Plus I have four franchises to deal with currently and they all have attitude, I'm not sure I could handle another.

But, I do have my hand in the air with the local dealer who is near retirement, just in case.