You really want to get screwed with no vaseline, Buy from Berts Mega Mall in Covina, CA

 

I would still go with the small guy unless it was just a great deal of money more. I have to work out of town most of the time. It is usually hard to get any kind of service on saturday. I have taken my 650 back twice on saturday morning and had the shims in the clutch changed to different sizes. I thought the master cylinder was gone once, and found a cut brake line when we got it on the lift. They didn't have one in stock so they pulled a 650 out of the crate and took the brake line off. Also the brake light switch behind the hand lever went out and they put one on on saturday morning. Everytime I was riding on saturday afternoon. I would not trade this kind of service for $500 savings. Plus all this didn't cost me a penny. Just my 2 cents on the subject.

 

A couple of points and thoughts:

Our Gander Mountain in Indianapolis has a service and parts department. They stock more accessories than any dealer I've seen, and they will sell you one that has not been on the floor if you want it.

They seem to be competitive on price as well.

Just because it is a dealer doesn't mean it is run by good ole' Uncle Henry or Small Town Bob. You don't have to look far on these forums to find a horror story about a dealer.

I bought mine from a dealer whose price was excellent and whom I knew had excellent service from others who had purchased there. Another ATV and lawn tractor later, I feel I made the right decision. Just 20 miles away is another small AC dealer who doesn't know a carburator from a wheel bearing. I'd certainly go to Gander or Bass Pro before I'd visit them.

One final note. Just because they are a big corporation doesn't mean you can't get good customer service. I bought a '93 Nitro 160 bass boat from Bass Pro in Springfield, MO. Within a week of the 5 year hull waranty expiring, I discovered two hairline cracks in the hull at the base of the transom. Thinking it was a gelcoat crack, they immediately allowed me to select a boat repair shop and paid for the fix. Unfortunately, after two trips to the lake, the cracks reappeared. They had me photograph them and send them to the engineering staff, who then had me take it to a dealer. They determined that it would be safe to finish the fishing season with it and they would fix it over the winter. They told me that it was a structural issue and that they would have to rebuild the entire transom of the boat. In late October, I took it in. Two weeks later, a Bass Pro rep called me and told me the bad news. They had discovered more serious structural defects after they had repaired the transom. The good news? They were going to give me a brand new boat. They asked when I wanted it and I told them April 1st. They delivered it to me the last week of March. It was a better boat in every way. It was bigger, and better equipped, had better performance and more features. Even the trailer was better.

You can say what you want about their customer service, but my experience with them speaks for itself. I would not hesitate to give them my business again. I never even had time to think about what was going on. They were taking care of it before I could even ask questions. Anyone want to guess where I'll buy my next boat? I sold that boat last year, after having it for 8 years or so, and it never had any problem of any kind. (My wife made me sell it so I could get ATVs!)

You guys have been listening to Democrats so much that you think all big businesses are the enemies of consumers. There are some who do it right, and some Mom and Pops who don't. It pays to do homework and research instead of making assumptions.

 

You are one of the lucky ones. I'm a staunch Republican. I have done some research, too late, I learned the hard way. My advise would be to at least ask around, and check the Better Business Bureau website, prior to purchasing. Maybe you will find a good guy dealer, Like Dan W. did. At least it may save you from getting burned from places like Bert's Mega Mall, Covina, CA like I did. Here is what I found about Berts Mega Mall, Covina, California, check out the link and try your dealer in a similar search prior to purchasing.

http://www.labbb.org/scripts/cgiip.e...ID=1&hAddrID=1

Anyone have any other ideas to help the consumer check out the dealer prior to purchase? Thanks.

 

That's a great idea and should be helpful to some folks around here. There's a website called Angie's List or something like that. I'm not sure if it is just a local thing around Indianapolis, or if it is a national deal, but they allow subscribers to rate and see ratings of businesses of all sorts.

 

we've recently been screwd by berts mega mall big time as well!! i am so tired so them taking advantage of people's hard earned money. is there anyway we can get a group of people together and do something about that? it's not fair that they are getting away w/ things. i am currently consulting a lawyer to see if we can get a case for our issue. i am sure there are more people out there who had been taken advantage of as well. i log on to my hotmail more often. pls let me know. lillambchops@hotmail.com. thanks

 

Hey Lambchops. Welcome to the forums. Lots of great info available here from those who have been there and done that.

But, look at the date on the posts. The last post on the one you replied to is almost 2 years old.

Again, welcome.

Craig

 

Bass Pro in Las Vegas carries a fairly wide variety of Cats. I just purchased a AC650 H1.