I agree, maintenance contracts on these units is a cash cow for dealers.
Hire a local electrician that is licensed. We forward our installing electricians contact info to any customer that has us manage the install of their generator and they set up an annual appointment with him directly. I believe his fee is one hour and if repairs or parts are needed, that would be over that $80.00 rate.
With the Generac (same brand our electrician recommends) you will not likely see parts or repair requirements for quite a few years and when you do, you will still be ahead of the game. Why spend $200 a year on "annual maintenance", you could just spend $250 in the 4th year for a tune-up when it is actually required.
It will cost you considerably less and you will establish a relationship with local professional that is more valuable than a generator tech (also would be required to be a licensed electrician, but would likely be a Journeyman working under the dealers Master License).
If the person you contact starts cutting down the installation or saying that the work was inferior, get a second opinion just to make sure (we have seen instances of poor installation from "dealers" and other electricians, both local and big money advertisers, read WMUR) just to verify and cover your bases. We have also had contractors try to make themselves look better than they really are and they are not worth working with.
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