Dealership Service

What's a guy to do?

I am loving my 2007 FJR I purchased in May.

I am not loving the relationship with the local Yamaha service.

I had the dealers run the VIN number, a few major recalls were due.

The dealer seemed to see $$ signs.

However, it took a month to get the recalls done.

Dealer said harness was on backorder.

I had to call Yamaha head office to get the parts shipped to the dealer.

When I got the bike back there were a few problems.

These are beyond my ability to fix.

The dealer said it would take a week.

Well it took a week for the service guys to get to my bike.

A week to order and get parts (tensioner gasket, nothing wrong with the chain or tensioner), and then another week to address the original problem.

We are waiting on the second set of parts. Who knows what will happen next?

They promise they will call in a day. They never do.

But what burns me is the attitude.

They promised they would get it sorted out in a week, they take great pride in their mechanics.

But when I call to check on the status of the repairs there is always another delay.

If I push them on the issue, they have an attitude that suggests that I should be glad they are working on my bike.

I can do a few things on the bike. But for anything major I will need a good mechanic.

What's a guy to do?

I'm sure there is lots you can do on your own with a little help from the folks here. What are the problems that you need help with??? there isn't anything your bike needs that hasn't already been done by forum members and probably written up . Do a little search and you will find what you need.

Purchase a service manual and tinker with the bike yourself.

That way you know the job has been done and done right !

It's an easy bike to work on, heaps of info around and parts readily available.

Unfortunately for people who can't or don't want to perform their own service, it is a rare dealer that provides good, timely service and schedules work so that you can expect it done on the day you drop off your bike. That applies to other brands as well, not just Yamaha.

Your only choices are to either do it yourself or keep looking for a shop that can satisfy you. It doesn't have to be a dealership. Since no one has spoken up yet from your area with a recommendation you may be on your own.

Delboy said:

When I got the bike back there were a few problems.These are beyond my ability to fix.

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Not everyone is confident tearing into their beloved bike without advanced skills. I'm not. Sounds like the OP isn't either. Reticence to do so isn't a crime, and "aw, just go for it... here's someone's (well-written and photographed) write-up" doesn't instantly impart mechanical skills. Strictly my opinion, and many will disagree. ("Just sayin'...)

The dealer in Las Cruces, New Mexico is a total worthless piece of you name it, Las Cruces Motorsports. Bunch of no good bullshit artist's

who can't remember the last lie they told you. I would not let them ignorant SOB's check my tire pressure much less do anything to

my bike. Fortunately there is a local mechanic who is not only very good but fair, reasonable and honest (imagine that). I will have to say

that Bobby J's in Albuquerque is excellent and the Yamaha/ Honda dealer in Alamogordo is excellent also. Amazing how some of

these no good mofo's stay in business, you would think someone would shoot them for being rip off artists.

Delboy, Southaven is Memphis 'burbs, right? Is there only one dealer in metro Memphis? Maybe Oxford has a Yammie dealer? I know it's travel time and hassles if you must leave the bike there for a few days, but if you want dealership service you may have to spread a wider net.

Other option is to ask local bikers (of any stripe) if they use an independent shop. Hope you don't have to join a Harley mob-scene ride just to ask around about independent repair shops.

Well the dealer called today.

The tech is taking a week off next week.

Thus, the bike will not worked on until September 3rd.

The main issue (loss of power in drive train at lower gears/revs) has not been looked at yet.

Once they find that issue, it will take a few days to get parts.

I am looking at Bike being at the dealer for another three weeks.

Is this type of service typical with Yamaha dealers?

Did they do a valve check or change the tensioner? If you have problems due to that, then it's on their dime if they don't have the valve timing correct. I don't remember there being a recall on the tensioners??????

For some! But, not for all. If I were you, I'd be in the general managers office bitching up a storm. If you think you're being too hard, get over it. You're not! You will get results, trust me. The dealership in WPB was like that until they pissed me off and I ripped the GM a new ass for twenty minutes. It got results. They cut the crap and they got a new service manager. Seems like I wasn't the only one. I'm sure you're not the only one either.

Speaking as an ex-dealer, if I were the owner or dealer principal (the guy that actually runs the store) I'd sure want to know about something like this.

I disagree with the immediate "kick ass and take names" strategy suggested above.

I've learned that you catch more flies with honey, until you need to pull out the DDT!

Call and make an appointment to see the owner/dealer principal, that way you won't waste a trip.

Calmly lay out exactly what has happened as you see it.

Ask him/her to investigate and report back the next day.

Then, if action is not forthcoming get out the DDT but give the owner a chance to get his house in order and solve both of your problem.

When I had my store I met three days a week to review R.O.s with the service manager. We focused on jobs that had been in house for seven days. If we had someone's machine longer than a week I wanted to know about it. I had a lot of money tied up in R.O's; techs get paid weekly, Yamaha gets paid when the parts are shipped. I didn't want a bike sitting half done or done. If half done I wanted it finished and if done I wanted it picked up and paid for.

Good luck and please report back.

Good advice ^^^^ from John.

Ask the owner / GM for their help in solving the problem. Although ultimately you'll never darken this dealers door again, the object is to get the bike correctly repaired and out of their hands.

--G

There are a few problems with the bike.

The first two are the most serious.

1) The bike had a wobble when breaking at 15-20 miles an hour.

I had this dealer do the fork seals about two months ago, they were leaking oil.

However, they did not calibrate the forks correctly, and this caused a wobble at about 15-20 miles when breaking.

2) A long time FJR rider rode the bike, he thinks there is some loss of power, and this is a shaft issue.

3) When the bike is idling, there is a little ping from around the bottom of the engine, on the right side. There is not set pattern to the timing of the sound.

They took off the tensioner to check the chain.

I have concerns about the professionalism and how knowledgeable the tech is on a FJR.

They say they are following the Yamaha guidelines on trouble shooting.

Right now I think I am going to get the bike back, once they tensioner gasket is on, and take it to another shop.

I don't think they can be any worse.

bigjohnsd said:

Speaking as an ex-dealer, if I were the owner or dealer principal (the guy that actually runs the store) I'd sure want to know about something like this.I disagree with the immediate "kick ass and take names" strategy suggested above.

I've learned that you catch more flies with honey, until you need to pull out the DDT!

Call and make an appointment to see the owner/dealer principal, that way you won't waste a trip.

Calmly lay out exactly what has happened as you see it.

Ask him/her to investigate and report back the next day.

Then, if action is not forthcoming get out the DDT but give the owner a chance to get his house in order and solve both of your problem.

When I had my store I met three days a week to review R.O.s with the service manager. We focused on jobs that had been in house for seven days. If we had someone's machine longer than a week I wanted to know about it. I had a lot of money tied up in R.O's; techs get paid weekly, Yamaha gets paid when the parts are shipped. I didn't want a bike sitting half done or done. If half done I wanted it finished and if done I wanted it picked up and paid for.

Good luck and please report back.

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That tactic might have worked for you but, mine had good results (for me) at the time. I was faced with them breaking my rear brake caliper in two pieces. Yes! You heard that right. Two pieces. It was in preparation for my trip to SFO09 one week away. Yamaha informed them that there were NO rear calipers in stock. They said they had Never Ever had a rear caliper that needed replacing. Pretty much, the vendor made one caliper for every FJR on the assembly line. They said they can ask the vendor to make another one and send it to me. The SFO was in September. The delivery date for the new caliper was by Christmas. Needless to say, I was foam at the mouth pissed off. The service manager said: Hey! I don't have the time to call Yamaha and ask for availability for any of these parts. I wasn't going to put up with that crap for a second.
I went into the GM's office and I didn't stop chewing his ass for about 20 minutes. He sat there and took it like a Man. Gotta give him credit for that. After I was done, he asked, you're on the FJR Forum aren't you? I said, Yes! I am. He asked, you're going to post about this aren't you? I said, Yes I am. He then said, I have a new FJR on the floor. If the part numbers are the same, I'll put that rear caliper on yours and I'll wait til Christmas for the new one to come in and I'll put it on the floor model. That's what happened. I got what I needed (right now) and he got his wish of me not posting anything about it on the Forum. We all have our ways to deal with crap like that. You have yours, and I have mine. I'm sure you got great results with your method. I got excellent results from my method. And I got results in an hour when I rode my bike home with the service manager on his knees apologizing as he's handing me my keys. We come from different worlds. This is mine. It's worked out just fine for me.

Glad you were never my customer.

With a reasoned approach to me I've done similar things to get a customer on the road often even in the absence of a Fuc# Up by my people.

With Your Approach you would have waited until Christmas.

MM you make it sound as if the GM responded to your demands because he was cowed by your "ass chewing" and afraid of your posting on the forum. I think it is just as likely that he was a reasonable and ethical guy who realized his shop had made a mistake, and that you are fortunate he got your bike fixed in spite of your self-described sophomoric behavior. But, I guess we'll never know nor care.

bigjohnsd said:

Glad you were never my customer.
With a reasoned approach to me I've done similar things to get a customer on the road often even in the absence of a Fuc# Up by my people.

With Your Approach you would have waited until Christmas.

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I guess that's the way it works where you are. In my world, that's the way we get things done. Don't take it personally, we both get things done. You're ok with with yours and I'm ok with mine.

Dealerships can give you the heebeegeebees

My recent issue this week was needing to get the fork oil changed. Start pulling fork and their was a leak on the left.

Well, not comfortable changing seals, so I figured the dealer could handle that in one day...I had the fork seal kit already.

Drop off on Thursday 9am, by service manager says the forks need new bushings because on that model they just always get damaged.

Have to order and bushings will arrive on Tuesday. Tuesday rolls up and then service manager calls and says that the metal shim of some sort was bent and needed to order that part. Well, Thursday and still waiting.......It can get frustrating...nothing like up above two issues.

Pterodactyl said:

MM you make it sound as if the GM responded to your demands because he was cowed by your "ass chewing" and afraid of your posting on the forum. I think it is just as likely that he was a reasonable and ethical guy who realized his shop had made a mistake, and that you are fortunate he got your bike fixed in spite of your self-described sophomoric behavior. But, I guess we'll never know nor care.

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No, this guy was a jackass and even the whole maintenance crew in the shop hated him. When he got fired, I was the guy that was welcomed as the guy who got rid of him. He didn't give a crap about anyone that walked in the door needing something done. I got my point across and it's been a wonderful place after that at the dealership ever since. I'm ok with that.