Dealership vs. Independent Mechanic: What is the Right Choice for Your Harley Davidson Service, Repair, and Maintenance?

Posted by Matt Moe on June 16th, 2022

Ahhh…this is a tough question that people have been asking for years. Which one should I choose for my Harley Davidson service: a dealership or an independent mechanic? Your friend says the local mechanic is the best. The notion says dealerships are the best. The corollary used by your friend is that the independent motorcycle service shop is also run by the technician who once worked at the Harley Davidson dealership. So, why pay extra to the dealership?

At the same point, your dealership says once you get your bike serviced or repaired by an independent mechanic, we will not be responsible for anything. Thus, one can get utterly confused about which one to choose. So, let’s answer this question in detail in this post.

Why is there a tussle between a dealership and an independent mechanic?

If we come straight to the point, a dealership is reliable, and an independent mechanic is cheap. The dealership has brand authority, whereas an independent mechanic has service. You might be surprised to know that according to a 2014 Consumer Reports survey, independent mechanics ranked higher than dealership servicing for customer satisfaction, price, quality, courteousness, and on-time repairs. Let’s end this tussle. 

Why visit an independent mechanic for the service, repair, and maintenance of your Harley Davidson?             

Visiting an independent Harley motorcycle repair shop has a range of benefits. The only thing you need to keep in mind is that you visit an expert, reliable, and experienced mechanic.

Cheaper than dealership

The first major benefit of visiting an independent mechanic is you can get the service, repair, and maintenance at nearly half of the price of the dealership, and that too without sacrificing much on quality. It is because an independent mechanic does not have huge overhead costs like dealerships. Independent mechanics have smaller shops than the dealerships. Also, dealerships have to pay for the huge staff. Thus, the operational costs of an independent mechanic are far lower than the dealership.         

Fast repairs

If you have been to the dealership, you know that dealerships are always crowded. Now why it is so? Because when you buy a Harley Davidson from the dealership, you get the manufacturer's 2-year service warranty. So most of the service costs of your bike for the first two years are borne by the manufacturer. People keep buying new bikes, and dealerships keep getting customers who are on the warranty.

On the other hand, an independent mechanic does not have the burden of the entire city. For example, if you want to change the engine oil of your Harley, you can get it done from your independent mechanic within two to three hours or by the evening. Whereas, getting the same task done by the dealership may take the entire day or more.

Customer service

An independent mechanic is worried more about the word of mouth marketing than anything else. Thus, your mechanic will not let you leave the shop unless you are 100% satisfied with the service. Thus, you get exceptional customer service. On the other hand, at a dealership, you are just a valued customer, and you will get the same treatment as every customer of the company gets. Thus, if you want some special modifications on your Harley, it would be hard to get them from the dealership.  

Why visit a dealership for the service, repair, and maintenance of your Harley Davidson?

Dealerships have their own role. Visiting a dealership has its own range of benefits.

You get to work with experts       

A dealership has a team of experts who are trained specially by the manufacturer, and they work only on that brand. Thus, in case of complex issues, your dealership is the right choice. Not just that, a dealership has a brand name associated with it. You will get the best possible quality of service.  

Availability of parts     

The manufacturers support dealerships. All the replacement parts are exclusively available at the dealerships. If your Harley Davidson needs replacement of some parts, you can get the original parts in the replacement.     

A dealership takes responsibility

A dealership takes responsibility for its work. It pays higher salaries for manufacturer-trained and highly experienced technicians. Thus, you know that your Harley is in safe hands.

The Verdict  

There is no straight answer to which one is the best, but a hybrid approach could work well. First, two years of the warranty service period, take your Harley to the dealership. But after that, you should find an expert mechanic who worked at a Harley Davidson dealership. That mechanic had received factory training from Harley-Davidson training.

In Alvin, Texas, you can visit Jim's Motorcycle Service, Inc. Jim has been a trusted specialized Master Harley-Davidson® Motorcycle Technician with over 20 years of factory training and dealership experience. Visit Jim’s motorcycle service shop to take care of your Harley Davidson.