So I dropped off my F2 to get the forks rebuilt, carbs cleaned, chain & sprocket install and new Qualifier's mounted & balanced.
DIY guys can hate all you want, but my Civic keeps my garage plenty busy so I decided to leave this work to the pros.
Anyways, we agreed on a fair price for the parts and labor (written estimate), and it should be done today or tomorrow. They've been steady with emailing me updates on how things are going, etc.
I stopped by on Saturday to check out the progress, and they informed me (at that time) that they spent "hours" cleaning off all of the fork oil that had built up on the forks, wheel, rotors, etc. I will admit, the parts do look much better than when I brought the bike in.
However, they stated that they'll give me a "good deal" on the labor they put in to clean the fork oil off the various parts. Hourly rate is $80/hr.
My problem is, I never knew that they were going to put in "hours" of work on cleaning the forks off before they did it. I was informed after the fact, and it appears that they want me to pay whatever final amount they come up with when the bike's ready to be picked up.
If they had contacted me prior to investing the time in cleaning the forks, etc...I would have been fine paying a little extra (if it were a reasonable rate).
Don't you think it's a bit ridiculous that I should have to pay extra because they did extra work and didn't inform me? Any tips on how to proceed (if they end up charging me extra and won't release the bike)?
EJ8 Squad Member # 10, bitches. 97 Civic EX coupe 98 ITR motor Garrett GT3255E Empty wallet (Stage 13 JDM m4d weight reduction!)
For sale: - 96-00 civic airbags, dark gray and MINT - offers - NRG quick release, brand new and polished - $75 shipped
i thought they are only supposed to do the work written on the estimate, and can only work outside of that scope once its approved by you
yeah, standard mechanic's hustle.
if it really needed to be done (and cleaning up stuff doesn't sound essential) then i'd meet the shop halfway. if it's something you could have done yourself, for free, with some simple green and a toothbrush, then i'd fight them on it, depending on how much they charge. ($40? fine, whatever. 220 bucks? GFY)
if it really needed to be done (and cleaning up stuff doesn't sound essential) then i'd meet the shop halfway. if it's something you could have done yourself, for free, with some simple green and a toothbrush, then i'd fight them on it, depending on how much they charge. ($40? fine, whatever. 220 bucks? GFY)
Yeah that's what I'm saying. I know the guy who owns the shop, he's a nice guy. But I was just disappointed that they had done work without my knowledge or approval and apparently expect to get paid for it.
On the flip side, I'm not the type to hustle people either. If it's not too much (like you said, $40 or so), I'll pay for it. But I really shouldn't be paying anything since I wasn't informed and didn't ask for it.
EJ8 Squad Member # 10, bitches. 97 Civic EX coupe 98 ITR motor Garrett GT3255E Empty wallet (Stage 13 JDM m4d weight reduction!)
For sale: - 96-00 civic airbags, dark gray and MINT - offers - NRG quick release, brand new and polished - $75 shipped
Legally you do not have to pay for anything not approved by you....IN WRITING. What they are trying to do IS AGAINST THE LAW and should not be tolerated, even if the shop owner is your best friend. A true freind would not condone such activities.
I suggest that you be nice BUT FIRM about the situation. If you did not give any WRITTEN approval or they do not have WRITTEN DOCUMENTATION of verbal approval given by you (Exact date, time and by whom and who actually got the approal by you), then they have absolutely no leg to stand on. IF they try to bring it into court, emails do not stand in court and they have to show proof of call made via a copy of their telephone bill and the call has to correlate that there was enough time lapse to convey services performed and gain approval.
I work on cars for a living, service departmens and shops all obide by the same customer and price gouging laws.
Official H-T BMX guru NBL SuperX / ABA Single A pro
Full throttle til' you see God, THEN BRAKE!
I have found no people for killing time, so I've found time for killing people.
Yeah that was a big deal when I worked on cars for a living(car audio). Never do any extra work that would entail extra charges above the quote price without getting approval from the customer first.
Is the shop owner a friend of yours, or just someone you kinda know?
2fasttech.com The old RM forum is back, in a new form. Come on over and discuss cars, motorcycles, and just about anything that goes fast at one of the most laid back performance forums on the net.
i wouldn't pay for it. I just did all that work to my bike in the off season. the fork rebuild did suck. but once you do it once it's easy.
1997 Nissan 240sx - ls1/t56 swap- F/S FOR TRADE I want a s2000!! http://www.hondamarketplace.co...57678 1996 Honda cbr600f3- For sale 3k 2000 Honda Insight
happened to me trouble shooting my integra, tried to charge me extra hours, beyond the standard $125... i didn't pay (extra amount). they were pissed off but oh well, so was i...
I run a car audio shop and if we need to do more work than we originally estimated then we always contact our customers right away before we continue. Its just more professional. Ofcourse if it's a $1000 job and we might have to tack on another $75 due to misc things, we still call and leave a message but probably won't wait for a return call.
If they didn't actively try to contact you via a phone call or email before starting the extra work, you don't have to pay it. What they'll say is that the original estimate is exactly that, an estimate. When it comes to mechanical service, there's things that come up beyond visual inspection. But they still should've contacted you.
Although I agree that if it had to be done no matter what, then you should feel obligated to pay for it. It sucks that they didn't contact you and it would suck even more if you couldn't afford it but its your bike after all. Just don't go back to them.
I would tell them that they weren't being professional by not contacting you with further charges and that you really can't afford all of it so lets make a deal.
You don't wanna make a big fuss about it and start pissing them off because they can claim a mechanic's lean on your bike and you'll have to take them to small claims. Thats just a big headache so try to resolve this peacefully.
PS3 handle: Dangerous1 FS 2006 Trek 8500 Mtn Bike 19.5" L full XT and hydros $1000 FS Yakima King Cobra bike rack $150 both FS Dainese SMR Supermoto suit size 40 US $250 new FS RoadScan in-vehicle Black Box video recorder 14 sec before and 6 sec after impact $300
If you want it done right do it yourself, regardless. That's what all shops do, how do you think they stay in business. The good ones are far and above
On a side note, a buddy of mine brought his car to get tuned in connecticut, the shop told him work needed to be done, without telling an exact price, then they pulled that 4 hour diagnostic fee, etc. It came over to way over and more money than he anticipated on spending. It sounds messed up but you should have got an EXACT bottom line price in handwriting before giving your bike up.
So I dropped off my F2 to get the forks rebuilt, carbs cleaned, chain & sprocket install and new Qualifier's mounted & balanced.
DIY guys can hate all you want, but my Civic keeps my garage plenty busy so I decided to leave this work to the pros.
Anyways, we agreed on a fair price for the parts and labor (written estimate), and it should be done today or tomorrow. They've been steady with emailing me updates on how things are going, etc.
I stopped by on Saturday to check out the progress, and they informed me (at that time) that they spent "hours" cleaning off all of the fork oil that had built up on the forks, wheel, rotors, etc. I will admit, the parts do look much better than when I brought the bike in.
However, they stated that they'll give me a "good deal" on the labor they put in to clean the fork oil off the various parts. Hourly rate is $80/hr.
My problem is, I never knew that they were going to put in "hours" of work on cleaning the forks off before they did it. I was informed after the fact, and it appears that they want me to pay whatever final amount they come up with when the bike's ready to be picked up.
If they had contacted me prior to investing the time in cleaning the forks, etc...I would have been fine paying a little extra (if it were a reasonable rate).
Don't you think it's a bit ridiculous that I should have to pay extra because they did extra work and didn't inform me? Any tips on how to proceed (if they end up charging me extra and won't release the bike)?
When you go to pick up the bike, bring exact cash in the agree'd amount. Tell them the rest is their problem, not yours. You were given a written price, and anymore is up to them to full-fill, not on you.
Just got off the phone with the shop owner. My bike is all done and running perfectly. He had already left the office, so he didn't have the invoice in front of him to give me the total balance.
He told me that the mechanic spent 2 hours cleaning all of the fork oil off of the forks, but that they weren't going to charge me for the full amount. I reminded him that they didn't ask for my approval before doing the work, and didn't even bother telling me until I stopped by the shop unannounced on Saturday to check on her progress.
I told him we'll discuss it tomorrow. The current balance (that I know of) is ~ $725. Pretty much, I plan on offering them $40 for the extra work on cleaning the forks and that's that. I'm not listening to anything over $50 extra for the work they did without my knowledge/approval.
Thoughts?
EJ8 Squad Member # 10, bitches. 97 Civic EX coupe 98 ITR motor Garrett GT3255E Empty wallet (Stage 13 JDM m4d weight reduction!)
For sale: - 96-00 civic airbags, dark gray and MINT - offers - NRG quick release, brand new and polished - $75 shipped
as stated above by pretty much everyone, an estimate is just what it sounds like, but yes they should have called you.
and how the hell does it take 2 hours to clean forks? i got a can of brake cleaner, and a blowgun that says 10 minutes. then again, ive never had my forks apart.
Just open your mind and knowledge will just pour right in
Quote, originally posted by B serious »
Did you take a wiring class from Volkswagon University or something?
Quote, originally posted by Ajax »
Keep in mind this was another full size guy doing double up riding, but it still felt weird.
you will learn this lesson once usually. after taking your bike to a shop, you wont do it again unless absolutly nessisary. i hope you got a good deal on that bike, sounds like it was a project. next time hire out some locals from mnsbr to wrench on your shit if you cant do it
bike shops kinda suck. excel or hp whatever its called in coon rapids dropped my old f3 when they changed the tire, didnt notice till i was home.
i dont even bring my bike to get tires put on now i pull the wheels off
you will learn this lesson once usually. after taking your bike to a shop, you wont do it again unless absolutly nessisary. i hope you got a good deal on that bike, sounds like it was a project. next time hire out some locals from mnsbr to wrench on your shit if you cant do it
bike shops kinda suck. excel or hp whatever its called in coon rapids dropped my old f3 when they changed the tire, didnt notice till i was home.
i dont even bring my bike to get tires put on now i pull the wheels off
I'm going to leave names out, since we ended up talking things over and resolving it. I got the bike for under $400.
They really did put in a lot of extra work that was needed (drilling out and replacing fork bolts, cleaning off all the brake fluid and fork oil that was all over the front end, etc)...so I ended up paying for one of the two hours of labor they put in ($80).
Like I said, compared to when I bought the bike it's as good as new now. They really did put in a lot of effort in the bike, and it turned out to be a miscommunication between the mechanic, the owner and myself.
She's home now, ready to be fairing'd up and ridden! Sounds great, shifts smooth, and is running perfectly.
And I was ready to take her for a quick spin around the neighborhood, until I found this leaking...
And thus, the fairings will continue to sit in the basement.
The new valve should be in early next week, so no riding for me yet.
EJ8 Squad Member # 10, bitches. 97 Civic EX coupe 98 ITR motor Garrett GT3255E Empty wallet (Stage 13 JDM m4d weight reduction!)
For sale: - 96-00 civic airbags, dark gray and MINT - offers - NRG quick release, brand new and polished - $75 shipped
