Mt Eden Motorcycles - Not going there again

[Crasherfromwayback]

step one, warm up bike so oil will flow out betterer

And suspend all the lil particles in it so they come out instead of sitting on the bottom of ya sump.

[CHAPLIN]

Thousands of extra $ are made every day by ripping people who just dont know about mechanics. I had the tintop in for a auto trans oil change, mechanic took me under the car to show me a problem he noticed on the differential, "mate your diffs stuffed, its locked up, id say the spider gears are stuffed"--- to which I pointed out it was a limited slip unit, not another word was spoken.

[Mully]

I can't tell from the OP, but was he quoted the $150 before he started?

Or did he take the bike(s) in and get a surprise reaming (or two) from them?

[Robert Taylor]

Anyone should feel free to give an honest appraisal of any service or product they have paid for, Unless he has lied then no one has any moral grounds for trying to squash the thread, No matter if they are perched on a giant horse marching to the beat of a righteous drum and saying "What about the children, Think of the poor children"..

Honest? Possibly so. Fair in the way he went about it? Absolutely not.

Like most people Im not perfect and like yourself probably well beyond salvation. But I like to see a sense of fairplay.

If we all acted like this sorry episode ( possibly both parties ) then we would all be the poorer for it.

I apologise again for daring to express an opinion, especially after the kangaroo court expressed its judgement, perched atop their own high horses.

[Smifffy]

Etiquette, if he wasnt able to have a satisfactory resolution first then maybe after that he had more justification in pulling the pin on a KB hand grenade. Now the whole business is tarred with one brush.

Everyone always assumes the worst of dealers as if they are born on some alien planet.

What a dog eat dog society it has become, in many people mindset they dont practice by a code of fairplay. The way this guy has gone about it belies that principle.

BTW the reason many aftermarket filters are cheaper is because very often they dont have the same amount of paper area, in some cases only 60% of oem. Then theres filtration size, relief valve opening pressure etc. Caveat emptor.

I've been thinking on this whole "give the dealer a chance to put things right" scenario for a while. I have come to the conclusion that the time for them to show themselves at their best is as the customer is contemplating doing business with them. The time for actually doing their best is when they are providing the service for which they have been contracted to provide. That is their opportunity to get it right. If they intend on just practicing, then they should do it for amateur $$. If they are charging top dollar then they need to provide top service.

Maybe it does take an apprentice an hour and a half to scratch his arse and an oil change, but if you want to charge the rates of an ace mechanic, then best work on getting that time down.

I remember some business (can't remember who) used to advertise that "It's the putting right that counts". I always thought that was the most ridiculous slogan - I'd rather deal with someone that gets it right the first time.

In most cases once the bill is paid, that's the end of story as far as a business is concerned, so by the same token, once the bill is presented and paid that should be the end of it. The OP paid his money, settled his account and is now perfectly free to voice his opinion of the deal done. If the business doesn't like it, they can contact him, or sort their act out.

Clearly the person behind the counter was prepared to make up anything on the invoice just to make their life easier in this instance.

[Cayman911]

What i dont understand is why he discovered the big heavy bill after the job was done?

Usualy it's presented to the customer "this is howmuch it'll cost" , then you give the ok. If not, then yeah they can put anything on the bill for whatever. because the job is now done.

[Headbanger]

What i dont understand is why he discovered the big heavy bill after the job was done?

Usualy it's presented to the customer "this is howmuch it'll cost" , then you give the ok. If not, then yeah they can put anything on the bill for whatever. because the job is now done.

His issue is the non-existent parts they tried to charge him for, The fact he paid a premium for the service is just a secondary point.

Anyone can pay for something and then discuss whether they were happy with the service provided. Happens billions of times every day, all around the world.

Its a little sad when you go to a place of business, get an idea how much its going to cost, You know its not great value for money (irrelevant if the owner is driving a pair of roller skates or a Lamborghini) yet you go ahead and they still fuck with ya that little bit extra.

[The Stranger:Me]

If not, then yeah they can put anything on the bill for whatever. because the job is now done.

They can, but it's not legal.
You can't legally charge an hour and a half if it only took you 30 minutes.

[Cayman911]

They can, but it's not legal.
You can't legally charge an hour and a half if it only took you 30 minutes.

But they can take their time to do that 30 minute job and have a coffee too. make it longer. and replace parts that had to be replaced. that were perfectly fine until they touched it.
ive seen it happen. well ive had it happen with a car.

[sidecar bob]

They can, but it's not legal.
You can't legally charge an hour and a half if it only took you 30 minutes.

Where does it say that? id love to know.
Does it also say what the maximum hourly rate is for all trades.

[Logpot]

I remember some business (can't remember who) used to advertise that "It's the putting right that counts".

I'm pretty sure that was L.V Martin & Son.

[dipshit]

Anybody can recommend an honest guy that can do simple maintenance on bikes (like oil change)

It seems like bike shops in NZ are a 50/50 crapshoot as to whether or not you will get a good one.

To avoid running the gauntlet of NZ bike shops, it would be better in the long run to start learning how to do maintenance on your bikes yourself. Workshop manuals for most models can usually be found online somewhere. The money you would have paid on labour from a shop would be better invested by going into supercheap and building up the tools you'll need over time.

Start with the basic things like oil changes and slowly work your way up from there. You'll find yourself relying less and less on bike shops over time as your experience increases.

[Dodgyiti]

I do think you have a legit gripe over the filter, but the labour is most likely a standard charge as discussed here. It does seem a lot, if you have 2 bikes in the shed, maybe $100 worth of reasonable quality tools will be a good investment for the future- especially at $180 labour every time they both need an oil change.

In Mt Eden's defence- Your gripe is with the workshop. I have had many years and many $$$ spent upstairs and have been treated honestly, respectfully, and well by all the staff in sales and parts. Something that gets me returning year after year.. plus they are the Guzzi agents...

I do all my own servicing for the exact reasons of your original post (but mostly the cost)

[Katman]

To be a biker dealer you need to be an LMVD, which means you fall under the Motor Vehicles Traders Register:
http://www.motortraders.med.govt.nz/cms
Part of the act, a legal requirement, is that every "vehicle" sold has to be given a 3 month warranty.

Ever notice how a lot of dealers advertise a 3 month warranty? It's not because they are being generous.

So if a customer buys a 2-stroke motocross bike and forgets to add oil to their fuel and then seizes it, how is that the bike shop's fault?

(Not saying that that is what Headbanger did - just pointing out the hole in your theory).

[The Stranger:Me]

Where does it say that? id love to know.
Does it also say what the maximum hourly rate is for all trades.

Buggered if I know where it says that, but I am aware of 2 cases where accounts have been reduced.
The court has used common times for similar work and in one of the cases at least reduced the hourly rate to one more appropriate to the industry concerned.

Similarly, I have seen "estimates" enforced by courts. On the basis that if I ask you for an estimate to repair my car, you are holding yourself out to be an expert in the field so you should have the requisite knowledge and experience to make an accurate estimate.
If I come back and it took say 50% longer, then where am I going to get the money from? I didn't budget on that.
Unless there are extenuating circumstances a figure of within 10% has been used in the past. Comes as a hell of a shock to people often when they find this out the hard way.
If giving an estimate you do need to take due care.

If you gave them a rate from the start and it was exorbitant I doubt the court could get involved on that side of things.

Hopefully one of the lawyers on here will comment. I'm no lawyer, but have unfortunately spent more time hanging around courts than anyone should have to.