| Author | Message | ||
     Bcrawf68 |
This thread is for which dealers are charging to update your ECM. If you are paying (like I did) to have your ECM updated they please let the rest of us know. Also, if you are not, then let us know so we know where to go. In Houston, I went to Mancuso on 290 and they charged me $43 to update my '08 1125r. | ||
| Dmhines |
Stone Mountain Harley in Lilburn, GA did mine today for free. It is the dealer where I purchased my CR. I asked them if loading the latest flash is part of the prep for a new bike ... the said NO .. whatever flash is in the bike when they receive it from Buell is what they sell it with. | ||
| Scott0827 |
Bcrawf68, I went to Goe's in Angleton my flash was free!!! I also have had problems with Mancuso's service! | ||
| D_adams |
I watched the tech flash mine, it specifically says NON-CHARGEABLE FLASH on the screen when it's done. Ask for a refund. | ||
| Sleeper_777 |
TTHD in Columbia, SC does not charge customer for ECM flash update. I also have the Digital Tech printout that states the same as D adams. Bike went from v.141 to v.152. | ||
| Xodot |
Barrie HD charges 1/2 hour = $40 + 13% tax even though I bought my 08 R there. However I got it free. I went from version 03Z to 062 and if I had to pay, it would have been worth it! What a smooth ride now! I just checked my print out and it says "non-chargeable calibration" too! I'll be asking BHD about that!!  (Message edited by xodot on November 13, 2009) | ||
| Tbowdre |
Biggs Harley Davidson in north county San Diego flashed mine today for free. They also gave me a new windscreen when I pointed out mine was cloudy. Their rep is less than stellar for BUELL support but so far no complaints. | ||
| Xbswede |
maybe the flash is non-chargeable but the labor is not. Either way it should be free. | ||
| Jornum1 |
My friend said that Liberty wanted to charge the updated flash on his 08. Not sure how much. I would think that something like that would be done as a courtesy to the owner by HD/Buell. Especially for something that takes all of 5 minutes to do and is not the fault of the owner. | ||
| Avc8130 |
Liberty wanted to charge me 1/2 hour labor ($45) to flash my 08 a few months back. I went to a different dealer and got it done for free. ac | ||
| Augustus74 |
Support board sponsors! Pay for your flash! Yadda,yadda,yadda. Definitely is something a dealership should not charge for. | ||
| Jammin_joules |
Yeah, definitely something dealers should not charge for because we made so much freakin' money selling Buells to buyers with your attitude. And Microsoft, Windows 7, that should be free too. Regardless of how you think I should run my business and what a fair market value for my tools, trained personnel, et al, read the post on 11Nov from a person who came in having not even bought a bike from us. http://www.badweatherbikers.com/buell/messages/171 43/426988.html?1257963164 "Biggs Harley Davidson in north county San Diego flashed mine today for free. They also gave me a new windscreen when I pointed out mine was cloudy. Their rep is less than stellar for BUELL support but so far no complaints." Yeah, I can tell he is terrible with support for Buell.  Is there really any wonder why some here have had trouble with their experience at dealerships? | ||
| Avc8130 |
Jammin, I can understand your point, my only question is why does Buell keep updating the flash and releasing it as "non-chargeable" if they don't want their owners to get it for free? Is Buell not willing to cover the labor under a warranty claim for a reflash? ac | ||
| Jornum1 |
Its more about standing behind your product and making the customer happy so they will come back and spend more money on other higher profit parts/service. Being a business owner, I just think there is a line between making a few dollars and making your customer happy. No windows shouldn't be free(as our bikes weren't free), but when they release updates because their product had faults out of the box, they are free. When a recall comes in and we get a new part because the original part wasn't up to spec, we dont get charged for it. My problem is more that a dealer who has a good rep as a Buel dealership wont do it for free. But two other dealerships that aren't will. That just seems odd to me. If every dealership across the board was charging for it, then fine. But that isnt the case. (Message edited by jornum1 on November 14, 2009) | ||
| Court |
I'd not expect Liberty to "give" me 30 free minutes unless they can get their Tech to work for half an hour without being paid. I charge a lot for my services and seldom (a couple notable exceptions) work for free. If I were a dealer and a customer was "cheapin'" me . . . frankly, I'd be thrilled to have them going someplace else and wouldn't hesitate to refuse (the right of the dealer) to refuse warranty work and send them back to the place that works free. | ||
| Court |
In the spirit of fairness I will add that I'll never pay $325 for a tire again . . . I suppose there is a happy medium . . . | ||
| Avc8130 |
I wonder if all that refusing is part of the reason people complained so much about the dealer network. ac | ||
| Homer007 |
Screw the techs time; what about my time to bring the bike in for the flash? Is my time less valuable than his time? Dealers that charge for the flash is one of the reasons why Buell is out of business. Right now, my bike is surging so bad below 4000 rpm, it is virtually un-rideable around town. At best, it’s embarrassing having your head snap back and forth while taking a leisurely cruise and at worst, it’s down right dangerous taking a corner and having the bike jerk back and forth mid corner. I’ve had friends who were serious buyers for the 1125 walk away shaking their head after test riding my bike. I’m just hoping this flash fixes this issue because I can’t believe a manufacturer would release a bike in this state. Not only is it irritating to have to ride 50 miles to a dealer since the one 10 miles wants to charge, it’s downright insulting to expect me to have to pay to fix this defect. Believe me, if I could flash at home rather than bringing it in, I would since finding almost gallon of oil in my bike does not instill a lot of confidence in any HD dealers… | ||
| Cafefun |
I figured the dealers charged Buell for the warranty work as that's what I consider the flash to be. Bike should have came with that flash from the factory. | ||
| Zac4mac |
IF you have a serious "rideability issue" like Homer, the dealer should do it free as a warranty issue. IF yours is running OK, but you "just want" the new flash, that's debatable. I understand, I rode a popcorn machine for 1100 miles, it flat-out sucked. I do have over 21k miles of her running right tho. Zack | ||
| Court |
>>>>Screw the techs time; what about my time to bring the bike in for the flash? Hahahaha . . . I love it. I like the idea that if I take 3 hours of my time to ride to a dealer . . . I'll bill them at my going rate . . they bill me and we net out. This could work out nicely.  The flash could or could not be warranty work depending on the specifics. | ||
| Buzzie |
I get paid by warren T when I do reflashes for my customer....However most of the bikes still fall under the warren "T" when your bike is no longer under warentea you should expect some sort of fee. I do not understand why some dealers are charging customers when they should be charging those services to warranty. That sounds like double dipping to me. | ||
| Cafefun |
Exactly, I know my dealer is charging Buell as they fill out the paper work when they do the flash. | ||
| Augustus74 |
Sorry Joules but even if I paid $50 for my bike, I would still expect it to run properly from the factory. | ||
| Ohsoslow |
i have a little insite on this as i work in the repair field, i work on semi trucks. in the big truck world, an "ecm update" always costs the customer money labor and cost of the actual flash. but on a series 60 detroit for example this take quit a bit of time to update sometimes as long as an hour. if the customer comes in and wants some codes pulled we almost never charge them for this just because the little amount of time it takes to hook the computer up and print them out, i still have yet to get my new flash installed, but i would be willing to bet it dosent take more than 5 mins to 10 mins. if you cant cover that in the 200 plus dollar oil changes that most dealers charge, and again i work in the field, i know how long it takes and how much parts cost to do these types of things, the dealer easily makes their money back. jammin this is not directed at you, just a general thought on my part. | ||
| Court |
My position on this is no more complicated than "what's fair". If the dealer is being compensated by warranty, goodwill or whatever than by all means, were I a dealer (I am not) I'd leverage the situation by making a big deal out of NOT charging for it. There have many dealers get MANY thousands of my dollars for treating me fairly and making me feel like an important customer. Topeka Harley-Davidson Buell got over $25,000 for my S1 and I feel like I got a GREAT deal. Similarly . . if the bike is there for another reason, say the $325 tire change, I'd not have the guts to charge for the reflash. If the customer had screwed around with something like ECMspy or done their "own work" to the ECM, I'd charge double. I think we'd all be amazed at how many folks envision themselves as smarter than the engineers and "fix" their ECM to the point where the bike won't run. In the end . . it simply comes down to what's fair and treating folks fairly. It's a 2-way street. | ||
| Poppinsexz |
Just my take- If it's a factory fix for a problem, then the factory should pay for it, warranty or not. If it's a power improvement then I see no problem with charging the customer. That's pretty much how the trucking industry works. | ||
| Avc8130 |
I rode into the local dealer on my CR this morning...with my gf in tow on the R. They flashed BOTH bikes and we were on our way in about 30 minutes. 152 in the CR 062 in the R Super happy. I am going to call Customer Service on Monday to tell them how happy I am. ac | ||
| Fmaxwell |
My take: If the new map improves fuel economy or reduces emissions, then it should be done for free. For this type of change, HD/Buell should notify owners of the update's availability. I'm a liberal and I don't believe in wasting fuel and polluting more than necessary (if it doesn't affect the bike's performance negatively). Dealers should do all upgrade flashes (not fixes for people screwing around with the ECM) at no charge as a matter of business. It brings customers into the dealership. They look at merchandise, maybe buy gloves, boots, or a helmet. It gives the service department a chance to look over the bike and suggest other work that might be advisable ("we noticed that your fork seals were weeping" or "you brake pads look like they are coming due for replacement" or "would you like us to order a new seat since yours has that tear in it? We could get you the Select Seat for $150 and install it at no charge"). That's just good business practice and a hell of a lot smarter way to get customers than a free hot dog day. | ||
| Cafefun |
It's a harley shop nothing for me to buy there, I would rather have the free hot dog. they have no gear for sportbikes, huh wonder why Buells did not sell. |
