My dealer does a great job handing off the two bikes I've bought from them. Des plaines Honda in Illinois is a great dealer.
But they didn't tell me how shitty the paint was and not to buy the damn thing until Honda fixed it.
Or that Honda would make some noises about listening to the problems, but had no intention of fixing anything.
My dealer did a great job of taking my money. Granted, I feel that I got a great deal on the bike but that was pretty much where it ended. They spent more time trying to sell me their extended warranty than actually providing any true direction or insight on my new vehicle. I decided the best avenue to knowledge was the owners manual and this forum. And their service department? Abysmal at best. Pointed out spots in paint (not the typical scratches) at time of purchase last August and they have yet to resolve after two follow up visits. I guess there wasn't enough room in the price for any level of service. I made my initial purchase there but will only return out of absolute dire necessity. They are the self proclaimed "world largest" Honda dealer so I guess sales is their forte.
My dealer sells almost every brand so the sales people (mostly 20 somethings) don't know the differences in models. I was told to do first service at 1000 miles and to run 91 octane, both which are false. Follow the owners manual and you can't go wrong. If you do what Honda says and it breaks, it's under warranty.
I bought mine there a couple of weeks ago and I asked about paint problems before hand. No one not even manager heard of such a thing but, I didn't have to worry because I was getting a new one out of the crate. At delivery, which was rushed because it was closing time, they had it wet but I saw scratches and swirls bad on one door. So they replaced a door and handed me a Honda paint bulletin. They lied all day long about paint. BUT the price WAS great! I did lose respect for the dealer with this deal.
Not to many good Honda dealers around my town either...Glad to take your money and then say goodbye...Most in the area have young salespeople that have almost no product knowledge at all and what they do tell you most times is pure BS...Fortunately I made friends a while back with the owner of a large Honda dealer in the central part of the state that is 1st class. They gave me good info, a great deal, and worked with me to custom paint my bike and install several aftermarket goodies....They are a very large trike dealer also and really take excellent care of their customers in my opinion...Dealer is 125 miles away, but with a Honda I don't plan on making a lot of service visits but will do so when necessary as I know they will do the work to my satisfaction...We need more good dealers like them......JMHO
The gang at Huntington Beach Honda are Honda only and a prominent dealership for Honda in So Cal, so the folks were pretty knowledgeable about the bike. But let's face it, after a few weeks of hanging out on the forums any one of us is probably going to know more than the typical well-informed salesperson because even if it's a Honda-only dealership they've still got over a dozen other models to familiarize themselves with. I wouldn't expect a salesperson that didn't own a F6B to know as much about the bike as those of us who own one, but they should know the basic ins and outs of each model for sure. My sales guy knew that you had to open a saddlebag to remove a side cover, for instance, and he knew that the preload adjuster was on the right side of the bike and the battery on the left. He knew how to operate the stereo, how to remove the seat, all the handlebar controls, etc. He knew the USB was in the left bag. A good level of knowledge.
When talking to the GM where I bought my F6B he flat out stated that I ( me) most likely know more about the bike than he did. He was very correct in his statement. A month before he had been selling Harlys. This is a tiny dealership and had been more geared towards the off-road and power equipment side of Honda. The repair shop is about the size of a 6-7 car garage. I bought mine in Oct 2013 and Choptop bought his in I believe Feb 2014 and they were still putting 1 year warrenty on the owners card. It sounds as though all the employees had been replaced in Sept 2013.
My salesman told me the 6 radio presets were shock adjustments