Is my mechanic ripping me off?
#1
Is my mechanic ripping me off?
The reason I am asking this is Im not to familiar with shop prices or labor cost, rights, warranties, etc
I took my bike to my local shop about6 months ago and had the forkseals replaced, valves adjusted, brakes, carb clean, you know the works........I started having some starting problems so i took the bike in and 2 days later i get a call saying my CDI is out $350 part $250 labor= $600 , a week later the part comes in and 2 days after that i call to see if its ready and Im told they are still working on it....today i called and was told that the recifier was out, another $160 part, dont know the labor yet - the funny thing was the guy said something like my whole electrical system was messed up but I have never blown a fuse, had my ignitionnot turn over when i hit the switch, lights always stay on , I did notice that my speedometer was not lighting up but sometimes over a bump or something it would work so i thought loose wire.......Isnt there a sure way to troubshoot something? Im suppose to trust these guys to an extent, but whos to say what the real problem was etc...you get where Im going with this....
I took my bike to my local shop about6 months ago and had the forkseals replaced, valves adjusted, brakes, carb clean, you know the works........I started having some starting problems so i took the bike in and 2 days later i get a call saying my CDI is out $350 part $250 labor= $600 , a week later the part comes in and 2 days after that i call to see if its ready and Im told they are still working on it....today i called and was told that the recifier was out, another $160 part, dont know the labor yet - the funny thing was the guy said something like my whole electrical system was messed up but I have never blown a fuse, had my ignitionnot turn over when i hit the switch, lights always stay on , I did notice that my speedometer was not lighting up but sometimes over a bump or something it would work so i thought loose wire.......Isnt there a sure way to troubshoot something? Im suppose to trust these guys to an extent, but whos to say what the real problem was etc...you get where Im going with this....
#2
RE: Is my mechanic ripping me off?
Yeah, I'd say you're getting screwed. Labor rates obviously vary from place to place, so you might want to check another shop and ask them how many labor hours are listed to complete a CDI swap. I wouldn't think that could be any more than an hours worth of labor, and most automotive shop rates are between $60-90 per hour. Also, depending on what type of bike you own, you could probably get a CDI box from ebay for less than $100, and put it in yourself. Just get a shop manual if you're not sure how to do it.
My room mate's mass air flow sensor went out on his car a couple of weeks ago, and the dealer told him it would cost $250 for parts and labor to install it. I picked him up the sensor from the parts store for $78, and it only took two screws to change it out. Total time: 1-1/2 minutes. Total cost: $78 Learning to do your own work: priceless!
My room mate's mass air flow sensor went out on his car a couple of weeks ago, and the dealer told him it would cost $250 for parts and labor to install it. I picked him up the sensor from the parts store for $78, and it only took two screws to change it out. Total time: 1-1/2 minutes. Total cost: $78 Learning to do your own work: priceless!
#3
RE: Is my mechanic ripping me off?
Mark you are right knowing how to work on your own stuff can be nice. I work at a automotive shop and I see both sides to the story. Once we got this car in and changed something on it and the next week they called back and said that somthing totally different was wrong with it, something we didnt touch and was implying that we tampered with it. Not saying all shops are on the up and up and it is hard to find good honest shops. good luck with it...
#4
RE: Is my mechanic ripping me off?
I questioned the $250 labor and was told it was the troubleshooting, and then testing the cdi etc......the part was on me since i chose to get a new one instead of a used one, but the thing i dont get is why now the rectifier, do multiple things fail at the same time.....how do i know if the cdi was fine the whole time...
#5
RE: Is my mechanic ripping me off?
I just needed a major service for my bike also 04 zx-6r. I got both front and rear breaks done with new fluid valve adjustment new chain and sprockets. Labor on everything was 320. The person i use for my work is a great guy. He gets kinda busy in the race season his main job is working for dunlop doing support for race teams that use their tires.
#8
RE: Is my mechanic ripping me off?
Mechanics do a hard job and deserve every penny they get. That being said many of the things they end up doing could easily be done by a trained monkey because too many people have no interest in their own machines and just send them to the shop when anything goes wrong. I would say get your bike back from the shop, find a freind who is mechanically inclined and a repair manual and get your hands dirty, thats the only way to keep from going bankrupt on repair jobs. BTW, in order for this to succeed, you must provide at least lunch and for more in depth jobs beer, for each of your freinds involved in the repair. Man Law
#10
RE: Is my mechanic ripping me off?
funny how your view changes with an offer of a sixer or more for some lol if your friend offered you the cost of a six pack like 6 bucks or so it would be a slap in the face, but you offer him the same amount in beer and he'll be willing to move your whole house