Dropping The Car Off
01-30-14, 06:03 PM
#1
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Dropping The Car Off
Today I had to drop off the car at the dealer. Since the office is only 1/2 of a mile away, I put the bike in the car and planned to ride to work afterwards. When I got to the dealership, I thought for sure they would give a hard time about riding a bike. (It was -2F at that time.) Nope, my bike didn't even phase them. Has anyone done this and if so, what feedback did you get from the other folks?
01-30-14, 06:07 PM
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I do it every time I take my car in for service. Nobody seems to really care.
01-30-14, 06:11 PM
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Years ago.... I had a car that was such a piece of crapola that I kept a bike strapped to it!
01-30-14, 06:41 PM
#6
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I do that all the time, they don't even ask if I need a ride anymore knowing I will pull out the bike to ride home... Not in -2* of course...
01-30-14, 10:10 PM
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Do it every time I take a car in for service, which isn't often. Nobody says anything, why would they? It saves them two trips taking me somewhere and bringing me back with their courtesy car.
01-30-14, 11:51 PM
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My garage complemented my folding bike when I did it the first time. I am not sure if they like it anymore since I visit them a lot less often as I put a lot less mileage on my car since my bike commute.
01-31-14, 12:06 AM
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Every time I take it in.
01-31-14, 08:27 AM
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I've done it a few times since my car is getting old (11 years) and develops new problems monthly (or so it seems).
I even rode through a tropical storm once. The mechanic thought I was nuts.
I even rode through a tropical storm once. The mechanic thought I was nuts.
Last edited by spivonious; 01-31-14 at 09:19 AM.
01-31-14, 08:53 AM
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I don't thing the point is in the surprise that no one said anything about riding away on the bike, I think the point is that it was -2° and the surprise that no one said anything.
01-31-14, 09:20 AM
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01-31-14, 09:36 AM
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always rides with luggage
I did it all the time in California, the one time I have taken the car in since the move was on a Saturday, so I dropped it off and rode the whole American Tobacco Trail south of I-40-- 33mi round-trip-- and came back to pick up the car.
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01-31-14, 10:14 AM
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They don't seem to bat an eye around here.
Dealerships that still have you under warranty, and body shops being paid for by insurance, usually have a nicer customer experience than other mechanics. The former since they want to keep you a happy customer who buys again, and the latter since they're rolling in dough. Both have offered me rides when I set out to walk /bus home.
Dealerships that still have you under warranty, and body shops being paid for by insurance, usually have a nicer customer experience than other mechanics. The former since they want to keep you a happy customer who buys again, and the latter since they're rolling in dough. Both have offered me rides when I set out to walk /bus home.
01-31-14, 10:52 AM
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No one said anything when I arrived at 5:30 to pick it up and it was 102F. Although they did offer me some water. Of course, it was Davis, so even the car guys ride bikes.
01-31-14, 11:34 AM
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I do it everytime I drop my car off. The bike does attract a bit of attention from the mechanics. They like to come over and look at it and ask some questions about it. I have garnered more attention when I pull up to my favorite drinking establishment and pull a growler out of my pannier...
01-31-14, 11:34 AM
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I always take my bike so I can ride to work after dropping the car off. Last winter I set off on my bike in a blizzard. This past summer when I took my car back in the guy who checked me in still remembered me riding off that day.
01-31-14, 12:09 PM
#19
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I took the bike with me to shop for my current car to see how it would fit. My choice was Toyota Matrix/Pontiac Vibe which are totally identical inside. I got a great deal on a Vibe w/35k mi/ (Both use the Corolla drive train too)
01-31-14, 12:23 PM
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At the garage where I had my engine rebuilt, one of the mechanics himself commuted regularly by bike... We compared bikes and joked about the whole car thing.
01-31-14, 12:48 PM
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Been doing it the last two or three times I took the car(s) for servicing, and I'm so happy about it. It's a long walk from the garage to the bus stop; much better to go back by bike!
01-31-14, 02:41 PM
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Like everyone else so far, I do it every time too. Never a comment.
01-31-14, 05:16 PM
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I actually just did it a few days ago. Here in Co. It was the morning we had the first snow this week. The receptionist did seem kinda concerned actually. She was like are you sure you don't want to wait for the shuttle? Are your gloves warm enough, how about your jacket? She probably figured it was going to be some kind of suffering thing for me. What she didn't realizes is that I would likely be riding my bike even if my car weren't being worked on.
Last edited by turky lurkey; 02-01-14 at 08:22 AM.