Updated 5-29-2004

About

I decided to create this page to go into detail about the remarks I've made about Reno's ATV dealers on the homepages of my various ATVs. It's disappointing that most of these remarks are negative. It's important to note that these are my opinions and should only be taken as such. In other words, your mileage may vary. :)

Big Valley Motorsports, aka Big Valley Honda

This is Reno's local Honda dealer. They're one of the two largest ATV dealers in town, the other one being Michael's Reno Powersports.

The problem with this dealer is twofold. First, they're a big dealer so they generally won't deal on their stuff. The expect you to pay full list price, or close to it. Getting any kind of discount is very, very difficult. You have to be a serious negotiator to get them to even think about it, and even then, you won't have much success. Example: MSRP on a new Rancher is $4899 (the regular manual shift model). They have it "deep discounted" to $4499. Wow, $400 off. Now go check out this dealer, which granted is in Mississippi, but look what they want for one. Last time I checked it was $4099. The Rancher AT at BVH is at full list -- $5999. But you can get one for $4899 at this place. Now THAT's a good deal. Oh, but at BVH you get doubly screwed because they're gonna tack on freight and setup charges too. And if you're local, you get to pay Nevada sales tax.

Second, their service department is about as arrogant, apathetic and incompetent as they come. My Rincon has had a problem since day one. It's top speed is a paltry 52 mph, AND it just doesn't have much power in the first place. My Grizzly will beat it soundly in a drag race, even with a heavier rider.

Two months after I bought it, I went to the service dept and told them this. First, they had no idea what a Grizzly was. Now that's just stupid. Second, they told me there was nothing wrong with it, that that's all you can expect from a 650 at this elevation. Baloney. Nevertheless, I left, annoyed, but figured there was no point in trying to work with them.

Fast forward to recent months. I had been contacted by the dealership's general manager (a guy named Rich) because he found my website and saw that I had some negative comments about the dealership. We talked for a bit and he put me in touch with his service manager. I got nowhere with that guy either. He tested another machine and got the same results, thus dismissing mine.

Very recently, I came into some new information that I found on the Rincon Owners Forum that suggested my Rincon might have a problem with O-Rings in the oil pump that supplies the transmission. Low pressure could be robbing me of power. I so contacted the dealership again and discovered that the service manager had been replaced by a new guy, Mike. I explained this to Mike and he suggested I bring it in. I made an appointment and took it by. First problem... Mike wasn't even there that week, so I had to deal with his cronies.

These guys are real pieces of work. They treat the customer like they're an idiot. First they tried to blame the problem on lack of maintenance, because I had never had it serviced there. They didn't even BOTHER to ask if I did the work myself (which I do). Next, they expected me to sign a paper agreeing to pay for all the labor in case there was no problem found, or if Honda decided not to cover it under warranty. This is absolute CRAP. Since when should a customer have to pay to have their vehicle checked out if they suspect a problem? If I bring my Dodge RAM truck into the dealership because it's making a funny noise, they aren't going to make me pay if there's no problem. IT'S A WARRANTY ISSUE. I can't believe these guys!

I left the machine there and called Honda Customer Service. That was about as useful as using a watermelon as a drop cloth. The girl took my complaint and said she'd forward a copy to the dealership's GM and they'd have it in an hour or so.

Four hours later, I called and spoke with Rich again. He hadn't gotten anything from them. BUT, he was annoyed that I had made a complaint. I explained the situation, and he said the reason they want people to pay is because most people are idiots and don't have any idea what they're doing. I think this attitude is appalling. I think these guys are ripping off customers, or possibly Honda isn't willing to cover checking a machine out when a customer has a complaint. In either case, when you spend nearly $8000 for something, I don't think you should be footing ANY money when there's a warranty in effect.

After a lot of discussion, they agreed to do an oil pressure test on the transmission and not charge me. The test requires that you test the line pressure, and then test it for each of the three gears. Well, the tech that did it obviously didn't read the service manual, because he only tested the line pressure. Rich comes to me and says it was well over spec and hands me a piece of paper with scribbling on it. I asked about the other three gears, and since it's over what the manual says, what's the deal? The spec is 114 psi. It doesn't say +/- anything, it doesn't say 114 up to something. It says 114 psi, period. On mine they got 160 psi. They did finally test the three gears and got the same reading. So either their guage is wrong, or something else is wrong.

We're now waiting to hear back from their district service manager. I don't expect to hear any positive news from them. The bottom line is that I'm being jerked around, certainly by BVH and possibly by Honda as well. The result of this experience is that I will never again have anything to do with BVH or with Honda. I will find the problem myself and correct it.

Three days have passed and no return call from the dealer. These guys are so lame I can't even begin to describe how I feel about them.

Kawasaki / Arctic Cat of Reno

I didn't buy an ATV from this place and I'm sure glad I didn't. I bought a new 2003 Arctic Cat 400i quad from a dealer in Idaho, and when it had a problem, I took it here since they were local.

This dealer has the same problem as BVH in that they won't deal on quads. They too expect you to pay full list since they're the "only game in town." But their service department is different. Instead of being apathetic and indifferent, they're just completely incompetent. It also doesn't help that Arctic Cat the company won't stand behind their products.

The problem I had is that the ATV quit on me out in the middle of the Nevada desert. I had to tow it with my Grizzly across three miles of sagebrush to a road, then ride into town another six miles, to get my truck and trailer and come get it.

By the time I got it home, it started fine. Nevertheless, I took it over to this dealer and had them look at it. They let it idle for an entire day and couldn't reproduce the problem. They LET IT IDLE. This isn't good for any internal combustion engine, yet these idiots did this! I picked it up and used it on another trip, where it died yet again. I took it back. They did the same thing again. This time, I called Arctic Cat and told them about what was happening (or more to the point, not happening). I had heard from the local Polaris dealer that they had heard (through another Arctic Cat dealer) that there had been a run of bad coils on the 400cc ATVs. I relayed this info to both the local Arctic Cat dealer and also to Arctic Cat, in the hopes that they'd allow the coil to be replaced. They refused, and instead insisted that there was no problem at all.

So I gave up, paid $80 and bought a new coil and put it on myself. The machine ran perfectly ever since. I finally sold it a number of months later because I never really liked it in the first place.

Michael's Reno Powersports

These guys carry a number of brands -- Yamaha, Suzuki, Bombardier. This place is evil, plain and simple. I will never ever buy anything from them again. I have on a very rare occasion bought an odd part here and there, but only because it was the only way to get the part quickly.

Here's why they suck so badly. First, same problem as the other two dealers -- they won't deal. Period. It's full list or go the hell away. Second, their service department isn't even available on a timely basis. I called to get my Grizzly in for its first service at 20 hours, and was told it would take THREE WEEKS to get it in for a simple oil change. I've never again attempted to obtain service there. I have heard from another source, however, that they are unable to fix things in a timely fashion either. Somebody had a Yamaha Warrior in because the transmission was popping out of gear. They had it for TEN WEEKS, rebuilt the entire transmission, and it STILL popped out of gear. Incompetent comes to mind.

Next... now it gets good. The general manager of this dealership is a LIAR. I won't even name the woman's name, but she shouldn't be allowed to operate any kind of business.

When I purchased my Grizzly, I got an HJC Sy-Max helmet at the same time. This is one of those neat helmets where the face lifts up to make it an open-face, or it closes to make it a full-face. Well, after a week of riding, it would no longer latch properly. So in the case of a crash, the face could lift up, exposing one's face to major injury.

I approached them about the problem and was ignored for nearly two months by the girl who ran the helmet department. Finally, I approached the general manager. I spoke to her by phone and she said she'd replace it, no questions asked. She said she was going to be out that week but would leave word with the parts department to handle it.

So a few days later I went over to get things done. They hadn't gotten any word from the manager yet. So I called her again, and she said she would let them know ASAP. Another few days passed, and I went by there again. This time, the parts manager (a guy with a thick English accent) accused me of having dropped the helmet and refused to replace it. I was livid, and it was all I could do to not deck the SOB. They called up the general manager, and she then claimed that she never approved such an exchange.

I ended up contacting HJC on my own to get a replacement. What I should have done was crashed and then sued them. The latest I've heard is that this place is hurting financially. I'm glad, and frankly, I wish they'd go out of business. They're too big for their britches, and I've heard more people complain about this place than all of the other ATV dealers combined.

Reno Cycles & Gear

This is the local Polaris dealer. They are the shining star among dealers. I have never in my life met a dealer as GOOD as these folks.

I purchased my 2003 Polaris Predator 500 from them in December of 2003. They have always treated me well, and to this day still treat me well. They have answered all of my questions, worked on my stuff without hesitation, gone out of their way to fix problems, and I also get a discount on everything I buy there. None of the other dealers give ANY kind of discount after-the-fact.

Conclusion

It's sad that most of the dealers in Reno suck as badly as they do. I do not recommend dealing with Michael's or the Kawasaki/Arctic Cat dealer for anything othern than crucial parts. BVH is okay but just be aware of what you will go through should you need service. Reno Cycles is excellent and I try to convince people that it's worth having to pay Nevada Sales Tax in order to do business with them. They're outstanding and deserve it.