Dealership ripoffs - Enough is enough!

That's why a I bought a tire machine years ago.

My dealer practically encouraged me to bring in my own tires. I had heard stories and thought they'd be ticked about it but they were happy about it. (It seemed, anyway.)

Costs though - yeah, they are much happier if you bring the wheel in and not the whole bike. The fact that they quoted more for the rear tire leads me to believe they really don't know what they are doing. The rear is much less labor than the front.

With the help of Fred Harmon's videos I'm learning to do more work myself. But some things I just bite the bullet and pay.

I have a homemade tire changing set up that I got from a friend but I've never tried it. I really like that new portable, ratcheting one that Fred posted about recently. I'm half thinking about getting that one.

Auburn said:

That's why a I bought a tire machine years ago.

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A tire machine? Can you tell me more about this possibly magical device? Maybe it may cause me to keep my Goldwing and redeem its cost after a couple of sets of tires? Maybe? Thanks!

paulcf said:

A tire machine? Can you tell me more about this possibly magical device? Maybe it may cause me to keep my Goldwing and redeem its cost after a couple of sets of tires? Maybe? Thanks!

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It would take years to recoup your money on a "machine." Although with what you're being charged, maybe not. 😲

This is the one Fred posted about. He also made a video mounting a rear tire. Looks nice.

I've experienced similar markups...I'm lucky that I found 'a guy' who happens to live 5 minutes from me that will change moto tires for cheap. He happened to come to a tech day that I was throwing over at the concours forums like 7 or 8 years ago. Ever since then, he's been my tire guy.

Labor here for Honda bike work is $160/hr plus fees and surcharges.
So it's not hard to get to those prices for labor.

Nissan is $175/hr and Truck Country is up to $225/hr.

The mechanics I know there told me they did get a 10% raise towards inflation but the rest is pure dealer greed and profit.

~~
Don't even get ME started about the jacka$$ cost of bike insurance. Initially my bike cost me more to insure than my new F250 worth over 2x the cost of the bike. I was told its due to the damage bikes cause.
Wow, really?

So I guess my new GW can do more damage out there than my F250 can?

paulcf said:

I have a 5th gen Goldwing. I called my dealer to find out about mounting tires. They quoted me $96 for a front tire and $120 for a rear tire! Then to add insult, they quoted me over $600 for 2 new tires. And if you bring tires that you bought from another retailer, the price is DOUBLED!

So I told them to shove it and I've decided I've had enough of being ripped off and I have put my Goldwing up for sale. Even the insurance is crazy and way more for a 2003 Goldwing than my 2017 car (which is worth a lot more than the Goldwing and is driven daily as compared to limited use of the Goldwing).

Am I the only one experiencing this nightmare?

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Your outrage is justified. I've had similar experience and anyone who agrees to pay these insane prices for tires, air filter change, etc. (even if you can afford it) is a sucker. You did the right thing (IMO). Wondering if an independently owned dealership or perhaps an independent garage might be an option.

paulcf said:

I have a 5th gen Goldwing. I called my dealer to find out about mounting tires. They quoted me $96 for a front tire and $120 for a rear tire! Then to add insult, they quoted me over $600 for 2 new tires. And if you bring tires that you bought from another retailer, the price is DOUBLED!

So I told them to shove it and I've decided I've had enough of being ripped off and I have put my Goldwing up for sale. Even the insurance is crazy and way more for a 2003 Goldwing than my 2017 car (which is worth a lot more than the Goldwing and is driven daily as compared to limited use of the Goldwing).

Am I the only one experiencing this nightmare?

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YES. That's why they're called "stealership" by some.

Find a local bike repair shop that'll mount and balance tires, regardless of where you bought them.

Most will give "discounts" if tire bought there, but if you compare online versus their price plus mount and balance, they're come out "close", but not always.

I see that you are in Alberta. Are those CA Dollars? The rear Goldwing tire and rim is super easy to get off.
Buy a set of Fred Harmon videos and start doing your own maintenance. They will pay for themselves the first time you use them. I have a NoMar tire changer and it is pricey but with maintaining 6 MC for the family it paid for itself. That changer in the video above looks like it does the job pretty well too. Tires are less expensive if mailed to you but then again you are in the North Country and shipping may be more too.

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

I do my own tires as well. Rear tires on the Wing aren't as bad to replace as people make out. The key to less suffering is to get yourself at least three good quality spoons and a spray bottle with water and Dawn dish soap to grease er'up. No machine needed.

As for insurance, the company wants to get old vehicles off the road, so they told my son. I was going to give him my old truck and just basic insurance to get it on the road was astronomical. He went and bought a new F150 with full coverage and it was dirt cheap. You learn something new everyday.

Kodiak536 said:

YES. That's why they're called "stealership" by some.

Find a local bike repair shop that'll mount and balance tires, regardless of where you bought them.

Most will give "discounts" if tire bought there, but if you compare online versus their price plus mount and balance, they're come out "close", but not always.

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There is also a motorcycle mobile tire company that operates in my metro area. I dont know how well he was doing or did nowadays but I used him a few times over the years before I found my current guy.

I would like to give dealerships business, but when they charge close to $200 more for a set of tires that I can get from places like WingStuff, and then they charge close to $150-200 more to change my tires than a local guy that charges only $50-60 per tire to change. . . .sorry, the local dealership will not get my business.

William Anzik said:

It would take years to recoup your money on a "machine." Although with what you're being charged, maybe not. 😲

This is the one Fred posted about. He also made a video mounting a rear tire. Looks nice.

Rabaconda Tire Changer

Unboxing and assembly.

www.gl1800riders.com

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I bought a Derrek Weaver tire machine about 10 years ago for $1100. It doesn't take very long to pay for it especially when your friends find out that you have one. I have done about 200 sets of tires on it over the years. Many were done during tech days that I hosted for the FJR community in the Seattle area. Since Covid I no longer do the tech meets. But I still have some that ask to come over and use the machine to do their tires. I charge them enough to cover the wear and tear on the machine and shop supplies. They do the work. No-Mar makes one, but it is a manual set up. Fred H has been showing one he recently bought.

paulcf, here's a thread that I posted a few years ago. Charge for Shop Supplies | GL1800Riders Forums

Over the phone (RIDENOW Georgetown, Tx), I was quoted $48 for air filter and $210 for labor to which I agreed. However, when I got to the dealership, I learned that there was an additional charge for $31.50 for "shop supplies".

The order writer couldn't tell me what shop supplies are needed for an air filter change. He finally admitted "we charge a percentage for shop supplies on every order whether we actually use shop supplies or not". I walked.

I know that being overcharged $31.50 is not the end of the world, but I refuse to be played for a sucker.

p.s. A few months later, I took the Wing to Bargers Allsports in Waco, Tx for warranty work and since they were going to have the top shelter off anyway, I asked them to change the air filter. Since the top shelter was already off, they only charged me for the cost of the air filter. NO LABOR CHARGE.

We have a local bike shop that will mount a tire for $40. I do most work myself, but for $40, I won't change a tire. My buddy and I changed his side-by-side tires manually, and decided we had enough of that.

Is any one really surprised by the changes in the way motorcycle dealers are attempting to adapt to the changing landscape?

We took margins out of new bike sales with the ability to shop and buy from volume dealers across the state or country. Then we took parts sales revenue away from them for the savings an internet etailer offered. Then we took away clothing and helmet sales revenue as we embraced online shopping. Then we took to calling them stealerships as they attempted to hold onto service department revenue in order to bolster thinning margins in other once profitable parts of the business.

In these threads I wonder what people do for a living as we surely don’t understand why dealerships are disappearing.

"The way to make a small fortune with a motorcycle shop is to start with a large fortune."

If local dealers offer a FAIR price for things, I'll all too happy to give them my business.
But when they give ME the business, I'll take my business elsewhere.

Sometimes dealers do learn...
My Toyota dealer was wondering where I was getting parts from and I told him online cause Im tired of the 100% markup in parts locally. He told me he'd give me dealer-to-dealer pricing (supposedly) on parts if I continued to buy locally. Appeared to be a 10% over the counter markup. That I can live with..

Made sense to me and no shipping charges.
Shipping costs are getting out of control and closing the gap for cheap online parts or item orders - unless you can get free shipping..

Derick said:

There is also a motorcycle mobile tire company that operates in my metro area. I dont know how well he was doing or did nowadays but I used him a few times over the years before I found my current guy.

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You must be in big city, I'm out in rural area, no motorcycle shop that'll mount bike tires.

dduelin said:

Is any one really surprised by the changes in the way motorcycle dealers are attempting to adapt to the changing landscape?

We took margins out of new bike sales with the ability to shop and buy from volume dealers across the state or country. Then we took parts sales revenue away from them for the savings an internet etailer offered. Then we took away clothing and helmet sales revenue as we embraced online shopping. Then we took to calling them stealerships as they attempted to hold onto service department revenue in order to bolster thinning margins in other once profitable parts of the business.

In these threads I wonder what people do for a living as we surely don’t understand why dealerships are disappearing.

"The way to make a small fortune with a motorcycle shop is to start with a large fortune."

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You are right on.

We all complain (I include myself) about high prices and want everyone else to work at minimum wage so we can benefit from low prices.

For folks who balk at dealership prices, I’d encourage you to seek out independent shops and support them. If the indy shops are still too rich for you, join a motorcycle club; someone will inevitably have a tire changing machine at home and will help you. (In my non-denominational “BMW” club - members don’t give a hoot what you ride - ) various members have tire machines and help other members with changes.

Tim