Conedodger

Your list above is stuff that all riders should do on their own periodically. I was referring to Mark's post about paying someone for a tuneup. I was saying, I can't think of anything that needs to be done to mine that would fall under what I would consider to be a tuneup.

Crazy_Schizo

What also drives me up the wall is that we have very few domestic students who even apply to the job - about 3/4ths are international students.

Now, I have nothing against the international students - many of them have been outstanding workers for me. What kills me is that when they graduate, the majority of them leave the country. Then I read about all these students domestically who graduate and can't find a job.

I feel like smacking kids who are working at places like Gap or Abercrombie. Go apply to a job that'll actually give you some experience in your field, then maybe you won't have as much trouble finding a job.

Conedodger

My dealer does not steal, too bad you were never able to find one you liked and were confident with
[/quote]
I've found an independent shop that I have confidence in. They don't try to sell me services that I don't need. Don't charge full price for parts. And their labor rate is 20% lower.

Still can't believe Acura wanted to charge me $90 to flush my power steering fluid right after they finished the recall on the power steering hose which required them to drain and replace the fluid.

I have friends that work for dealerships. The stories I hear about bonuses for beating the book rate, kick backs for selling services that were not asked for by the customer, and other things bother me. Mechanics are forced into taking short cuts and performing shoddy and unnecessary repairs. (Not saying this is true at all dealerships, but I don't have to deal with it at my local independent shop.)

AllWorldLax

I just had the MDX at the dealer and they wanted $100 to replace the cabin air filter. I bought one for $19 and it took me less than 60 seconds to put in.

Conedodger

Must have been Holtz Acura. They tried the same thing on me. Christ! It doesn't even require a tool to do it! What bothers me more is that I could tell that they pulled it out to check it, because they didn't put it back in right. If you pulled it out to check it, the labor is already done! If they charged me $30 for the filter and nothing for the labor, I might have let them do it. Their still making $15-$20 dollars. Not bad for 5 minutes.

I think Acura gets away with it because their typical customer has above average income, and is not the blue collar type that might know something about a car. Goes to prove that college degrees and money are not always indicators of intelligence! OK, rant off.

Bugsy

When I think of things done in a motorcycle "tune up" that an owner shouldn't do because it's... unfamiliar or complicated or reqiuires real special tools...
I can think of only two that jump out at me:
Carb or throttle plate syncing. You need mercury manometers or damped dial gauges, spigots, and sometimes a jamnut wrench with concentric screwdriver.
Valve adjustments. Proper tools and technique are critical.

Everything else is owner deferment, meaning that the owner could do if handy and had the time.
Like everything else, this is just my opinion.

AllWorldLax

It was Holtz. This sort of thing doesn't even bother me any more, I just go into dealer service expecting that they will call trying to sell me something I don't need.

Triple-H

I know, I was teasing you, thus the usage of

Conedodger

I know you were teasing.

Now, don't get me started on dealer's "3000 mile service." $350 for an oil change??!!??

bilzfan

I've actually bought a couple of Hondas up at Ontario Honda myself. I got deals that made it worth the drive to Canandaigua instead of buying from the dealer across the street from my workplace.

I also liked Bob's Honda that was in Sayre till a fire caused the family to sell the dealership to the Williams Group. They moved to Elmira. I bought the S2K from them in March of 2010, and the Si in December of 2010, both used and both at good prices, IMHO.

Miller Honda in Vestal sucks. I always try to buy there, but always get a better deal elsewhere. The service department likes to blame me for driving my cars to hard. I guess they think everyone should drive a beige automatic Accord or gray CR-V. (/rant off)