Trouble with Service shop

[colab]

I hate to vent but I'm seeking advice. If anyone has the patience to follow until the end I would love advice on how to handle this.

I've purposely kept the name of the shop, details and specifics of the people involved as general as possible. I'm not on here to defame anyone. I want it to work out. Most of all I want my bike back.

I brought my 72 CB750 in for service 6 weeks ago. The carbs were acting up and I thought it was time to have them cleaned. The service manager assured me that if any big work was needed I would be contacted. They also assured that if it was going to take a long time they would call to let me know the status. At the time that I dropped it off they said that the service dept was slow and they could start looking at it right away. That was promising. I figured a day or two.

I was surprised that a week went by without hearing anything. A week later I gave them a call and the service manager said that a part had to be ordered. It had finally arrived and they could start the work. The tone was rather short and dismissive but I figured we all have bad days so I thought nothing of it. I did mention that I needed to be kept in the loop if they were ordering parts, if the job was getting larger or if it was going to take an exceedingly long time. This was their promise when I dropped the bike off on day one.

Another week passes and no call from them. I call them again and the service manager states the same story from the week before. A part had to be ordered. It just arrived and they were going to start the work. I said straight out that that was the exact same story from the previous week. The service manager then said that the part that had arrived originally was the wrong part and it had to be reordered. Beginning to feel as though I'm getting the runaround I ask firmly yet politely that I must be kept in the know about these things. The bike season is slipping away and I'm not pleased that I am having to call to get updates when they clearly stated that their shop would keep me up to date.

Another week passes. I call and get the owner. He tells me that the service manager is now leaving to pursue an education and he is now taking over. He would get to the bottom of it. He leaves me on hold for 5 minutes and returns to say that they had to order a part. The part just arrived and they would get to work. At this point I'm furious but contain my emotions. I tell him that was the same story that I've been getting for weeks. Not to mention that no parts were to be ordered without calling me to begin with. He mentions that it was valves and seats and gaskets. He said he can't explain other than to say that the mechanic assigned to my bike is a perfectionist and is taking extra time to get the job done right. That's all fine and good but when I'm paying an hourly service fee it's NOT comforting. He assures me that they now have to order new jets and will have the bike to me by next tuesday. Tuesday rolls around. Then Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and no call. I phone again and he then tells me that the bike is finished and he just has to go over the work and figure out the final price. He then tells me that the carbs had to be REPLACED. That's fine. Under normal circumstances with good communication I would have no problem springing for a new set of carbs but we're talking about an $800 set of carbs plus all of the labor cost plus whatever other parts without once calling me and apprising me of the situation.

This was last Friday. He assured me that he'd call with the final price as soon as he's tallied it.

It's now end of day on Monday and I haven't received a call.

What can I do here?

Also... Do I have any recourse if he comes back with a $3000 bill when I brought my bike in for a carb cleaning. We clearly agreed and I reminded them weekly that if any large work was to be done I had to know about it beforehand.

Any advice is greatly appreciated.

 

[Big R]

You said valves and seats? Thats a big tip off right there. They shouldnt even be messing with them if they are cleaning the carbs.

Go down there in person with a trailer and tell them to stop everything. If you didnt request for specific work to be done, then they are just jacking up the bill.

 

[phrige]

well how much are you willing to spend on the bike.

I have a feeling you arnt going to be let off easy. That perfectionism line has def got me worried.

Theres a moto shop by me thats run by a real shitkicker too. anytime i've asked for help on anyold thing, even work on my car as he runs both a moto and auto repair shop. Always over priced, and never keeps his word on sending a truck to pick up the bike. etc

Stuff like this drives me nuts, personally I would have gone down there after the first or second week to physically see whats going on to assess the situation. Now that your 6 weeks in and waiting for a bill i really say arm your battle stations. double check that the guy you talked to really isn't working there if you can. Maybe a bait and switch to add to your confusion. Owner has no idea what agreement you had with the guy if it was all verball. Really hope you have some receipt of proof of work to be done.

Really sorry to hear about your situation man,

 

[Basement rat]

What country/ state or province?

 

[boingk]

Sounds like you're getting ram-rodded, mate. As in bent over. Not good.

As you said, all is well and good if they call and say 'oh look its not the carbs its actually the valves' and agree to fix it for you, but I'm fairly sure its illegal (may vary) to provide a service that you have not requested. It seems very much like you DID NOT request an engine rebuild, but only a carburettor clean. Thats a $200 job, absolute maximum.

Before paying anything, I would suggest you get an itemised receipt of all work done, and all parts that were ordered and installed. Also remember that if you refuse to pay they may legally be able to keep your bike as payment. I would get your version of the Consumer Trade Affairs onto the workshop, or at least call them and discuss the situation you are in. They will let you know what your rights are.

Hope it works out well mate - boingk

 

[biker_reject]

Sorry to hear of your frustrations. It seems it's really difficult to find a trust worthy shop (auto or MC) anymore. I've had similar problems over the years when I owned Brit sportscars. No one ever kept their word or met deadlines. The only issue I've had recently was having some engine work done by a HD "guru". He kept shoving my engine off to the side in favor of larger more expensive jobs. Really pissed me off. I ended up visiting his shop EVERY freakin' week (sometimes twice a week) til he got tired of seeing my face. I always kept it civil though, complementing him on whatever. One thing I've learned, never, ever tell a shop or painter/body man that you're in no big hurry. They'll keep your shit forever.

 

[Rocan]

some businesses are just ran like shit. i say get your ride out of there ASAP. learn to do the work yourself.

its RARE that carbs need to be completely replaced, unless if they have been sitting outside for ages or parts are unavailable.

 

[JRK5892]

i have rebuilt over 100 carbs and never run across a set that had to be "replaced"

 

[colab]

They said they had cracks.

 

[Big R]

That's one of those things i would ask to see.

 

[Saki]

I'd get my bike out of there..

You asked for carb work, they put in new valves and now the carbs are cracked? It wouldnt need new valves if they saw cracks..

 

[iagsxr]

K just fyi;

Carbs contain what are normally referred to as needles and seats.

But they're needle VALVES, get it?

By the sounds of it you took it to a new bike dealer. Most of the dealerships in my area have signs that say "We don't work on anything older than ______". Why? Because if you're lucky the techs are minimally trained on new bikes and the dealership doesn't want to get into situations like this were the bill's greater than the bike's worth.

So duh for you for choosing to take it there and duh for them for agreeing to work on it. Chances are it was because they were slow that they even let you dump it off. Then they got busy again and were like WTF's this old thing doing here?

So now; Document as best you can what you've posted. Quit talking about it on the internet to strangers. With your documentation in hand go see the owner, don't wait for him to call you. Chances are he was unaware of this mess till the service manager quit and is none too happy about it either. But also don't think it's the most pressing problem in his world.

Depending on the owner's disposition and the amount of the bill, get ready to call your lawyer. Here again, probably not the owner's first rodeo, if you end up in small claims court w/o representation you WILL get your a$$ handed to you.

Tell us all about it once it's settled.

 

[dielectric]

Surprised that shop is still in business, frankly. I worked in a dealership for several years, and there are two huge red flags here. First, unless they're really an old-bike kind of place, they shouldn't have accepted your business. 30+ year-old bikes are a nightmarish rathole for a dealer. Second, as soon as anything over a certain dollar amount needed to be ordered (we used $100 usually), they should have had you back in for a deposit. Ordering a new rack of carbs is ridiculous in this light.

We ended up with several beaters (every spring!) that ended up living with us semi-permanently which was a gigantic PITA. The owners would get a huge estimate or a request for deposit and basically give up on the bike. Then the shop ends up with this crapped-out bike and no title so we couldn't really do anything with it. Usually not worth the paperwork to get a lien, etc. A shame, too, because I can think of several specific bikes that would have been awesome projects.