Dealer labor costs?

[bone crusher]

I pay the dealership to do the scheduled maintenance for me...why? Because I don't have too much time to fiddle around with the bike and I don't mind keeping my dealership in business. Most of my mods I did myself and/or with a friend, but for service, I gladly go to the dealer.

Sure, a lot of people want to save the buck and do the work by themselves...that's cool...but there are plenty of us who are quite busy and don't have time to play around with the bike...and if something goes wrong, certainly don't have the time to deal with those issues.

[kytten]

I admit that I didn't ask the cost when I took it in. Having no mechanical abilities to speak of, nor any motorcycle experience previous to my Spyder I didn't even consider the option of changing my own oil much less the rest of the checks that needed to be done.

I didn't necessarily think the dealer was being unfair with his charges. I just recognized that I dropped a lot more money for that oil change than I ever have for an oil change on my car. I also looked at the price of the actual items they used vs the price they charged for labor and was concerned about the fact that labor was so much.

Having read through the instructions for changing the oil and read a few people's takes on getting the body panels off... *shrug* I may try it once myself. Otherwise, the oil changes are probably infrequent enough, given that I'm not a huge mileage rider at this point, that dropping a couple hundred on one now and then isn't going to even come close to the amount I'll spend on mods, etc.

Provided the price seems fair and comparable to the other prices being charged I don't really have a problem with paying it. Though I suppose if I wanted to be a good consumer, I'd shop around.

[M2Wild]

I admit that I didn't ask the cost when I took it in. Having no mechanical abilities to speak of, .... , that dropping a couple hundred on one now and then isn't going to even come close to the amount I'll spend on mods, etc.

Wait til you get prices for installing mods from dealer. That will make oil change look like peanuts. Same thing with mods, determination, patience, ability to follow instructions and of course the right tools (nothing fancy) will let you do it yourself and save $$$. I did all mine by myself with basic tools. Did it over winter lay-up so I don't have to finish it in one day.

[scudrunner]

I used to do all my own maintenance, preventative and repair. I had a 1952 MGTD for 28 years that only saw the inside of a shop once and that was for paint. But as I get older, there are things I just can't or don't want to do any more. I'll pay the young guys to do it. At $85 an hour labor, it gets pricey just to remove plastic. I'm really tempted to shed the cover and ride it bare to the shop (4 miles) for any maintenance. But for that matter, just an oil change wouldn't seem that difficult after shedding the skin.

[MarkZ28]

I have worked as a mechanic and know how they get paid. Its flat rate and it flat sucks, lol. Thats how a lot of mistakes are made with techs trying to beat the time and forgetting something or breaking something in a rush to get done. Fortunately I was able to get out of that line of work. Its even worse now with all the computerised crap that you have to work around.

[scudrunner]

Its flat rate and it flat sucks

Quite a few years ago, I had a 300ZX that needed a new timing belt. I got a shop manual and got into it. Reading the book and doing the work as a novice, it too me 6 hours. Book time at the Nissan dealer was 6 hours, but any mechanic worth his salt (according to the service manager) could do it in 4.
I had a water pump replaced on a Ford once, and asked them to replace the lower hose too. That would cost me an extra .8 hours labor. I asked why, since they had the hose off, just put a new one back. Nope, the book called for only removing one side of the hose, not the whole hose.
The flat rate will get you every time.

[krb1945]

skinned knuckles, cuts, bruises, dirt, grease and a number of things I forgot about. These are all things the mechanics deal with on a daily basis and as stated above some work all day and don't make much and sometimes make nothing. The mechanics in my area only receive a small portion of that paid bill... the dealership gets the lions share and need it to cover overhead, profit and provide jobs. And I too do most of my own service and other jobs on the spyder, motorcycle, sedans and trucks. The only thing I won't tackle is working on a transmission but I well remove it and deliver it to the tranny shop. /Ken