Workshop repair costs?

edi_simes

Hi folks,

I got my bill for repairs to my 2012 vespa today - €1000 for replaced engine bushings, a full service & new tyres.

I nearly fell off my seat - apparently it was 8 hours work. I'm told it's an engine out job and I didn't have a conversation on the phone about the difficulty of the job yet, so I don't know the detail until I head down to the workshop.

I was wondering if anyone could provide some opinion on that price, as it seems incredibly high to me! I know workshop hourly prices can be quite high... I'm a practically minded person but I'm not very knowledgable about engines and mechanics, so alot of the terminology goes over my head and I don't have much of an idea on how long jobs are likely to take. But 8 hours for engine mounts/bushings, a tyre change and a full service?

Also - they had the bike for over a month waiting for parts, which I thought was pretty insulting.

Anyway... I'd be grateful for advice.

Cheers,
Edi.

listermint

Well whats usual mechanic rates 50 / 60 / 65 per hour?

at most 520 euro for labour so where the parts 480 Euro ?


I doubt it, ask for a breakdown.

Price seems quite literally out of this world.

edi_simes

Thanks for the reply and for confirming my own disbelief - I'll make sure I get a cost breakdown when I pick up and be prepared for some discussion.

I just wanted to make sure it's not a situation of "Yeah, it's an expensive thing to get done, stop crying and suck it up!".

Last time I had work done, it was a new exhaust with heavily corroded fixings against the engine housing - over €700 for the hassle of getting the nuts and bolts free without damaging anything - and now this. I'm thinking of ditching the vespa and buying something a bit more suited to our climate!

Cheers.

professore

Wow ... I've had Jap bikes for years and never had a bill like that - or anywhere near it !!!

Mesrine65

Would this be a specialist scooter workshop in Dublin per chance?

Skill Magill

Absolute and total rip off, when you bring a bike to a shop, they'll give you an estimate, if when they take on the project and find that they need to do extra work (at extra cost) they inform the customer as to which way to proceed.
What they don't do is fix it anyway and then charge the customer.


If you were to sell the vespa, how much more than €1700 would you get for it?

gctest50

best not look at this so

Skill Magill

That guys good! 2 mins 19 secs v 8.5 hrs work done by your shop!

thelawman

Looks like you were robbed,

gctest50

Skill Magill wrote: »

That guys good! 2 mins 19 secs v 8.5 hrs work done by your shop!

bit of practice and he might be this good

edi_simes

Haha - thanks for that - I think my guys are going for a different kind of record.


@Mesrine65 - no, it's not a specialist scooter shop - it's the big bike shop down Long Mile Road. I swore I'd never go back to them after the last bill but I had Vespa recall work to be done and Piaggio had specified them as their registered workshop.

Thanks again for the feedback.

Wheeker

edi_simes wrote: »

Haha - thanks for that - I think my guys are going for a different kind of record.


@Mesrine65 - no, it's not a specialist scooter shop - it's the big bike shop down Long Mile Road. I swore I'd never go back to them after the last bill but I had Vespa recall work to be done and Piaggio had specified them as their registered workshop.

Thanks again for the feedback.

I'm sure we all know who you mean! Unfortunately AFAIK they are the only Piaggio/Vespa dealer in the Republic of Ireland. So I presume the Vespa recall work is being done Free of Charge (it certainly should be)? FWIW - I bought my 2nd hand Vespa there years ago & used their workshop a few times for services etc. The labour charge was high enough but I soon realised that the parts prices were way too high also (e.g. €50 for a €15 exhaust gasket:mad:). I also think the original mechanic there (who I found very good) has moved on. You should certainly have received a quote before they proceeded with the work.

I now do all my own work, the internet has so much info out there most work is very doable for anyone with a bit of DIY skills. Though, to be honest, the price of getting things wrong is very high, just depends how confident you are to DIY I suppose.

I'm sure the video gctest50 posted above was only in jest, but just to confirm that that (speeded-up) video only shows an engine being put back in, not changing engine mounts. Also it's a PX, if you have a more modern auto model there is a bit more to it.

slapper2

Lads forget about the cost of running a business. If a job cost 8 then why shouldn't you pay for it. As one of you said 480 for parts ya why not.
Tyre, service and the bushings they don't put fresh air in to where the parts used to be.
Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't piss on the gate of the glass house but if you let jobs build up they bite you.
What was the final break down in parts
Was there pads, bearings, roller drives, fork seals.
I've seen lads come in and ask how much is a service. I've also seen services cost 50-1200 quid depending on the bike and what needs to be done

listermint

slapper2 wrote: »

Lads forget about the cost of running a business. If a job cost 8 then why shouldn't you pay for it. As one of you said 480 for parts ya why not.
Tyre, service and the bushings they don't put fresh air in to where the parts used to be.
Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't piss on the gate of the glass house but if you let jobs build up they bite you.
What was the final break down in parts
Was there pads, bearings, roller drives, fork seals.
I've seen lads come in and ask how much is a service. I've also seen services cost 50-1200 quid depending on the bike and what needs to be done

No one forgets the cost of running a business,


asking for cash without an accurate breakdown. Well who in their right mind would pay that.


You wouldnt.

Wonda-Boy

Most places are charging for being polite these days ffs, I even noticed changes in a place I used to go and deal with and not for the better, was gutted to see the attitude of the main man there recently.

Just because I maintain my bike to the best of my ability and do the service etc.....when I go in to get small parts and the odd fork seals done you treated like a 2nd class smuck coz the gob****e behind you is forking over twice the money....so they practically ignore you and smooze the others.

All the little parts add up and so does the odd helmet and set of leathers money he wont be seeing again.

Max Headroom

You think fork seals are a 10 minute job..???..have to ever done usd fork seals..??

If people want to pi$$ and moan about shop prices learn to DIY or pay up...;)

gerrowadat

Max Headroom wrote: »

You think fork seals are a 10 minute job..???..have to ever done usd fork seals..??

If people want to pi$$ and moan about shop prices DIY or pay up...;)

Don't mind paying for work I can't/won't do myself, but OP is talking abut lads keeping a bike for a month and then wanting a grand. If something is costing more than a regular service, I'd expect at least a 2 minute phone call to give me the opportunity to tell them to go and ****e.

Wonda-Boy

Max Headroom wrote: »

You think fork seals are a 10 minute job..???..have to ever done usd fork seals..??

If people want to pi$$ and moan about shop prices learn to DIY or pay up...;)

Did you even read the post? :rolleyes:
Coz you missed the whole point.....DOH!

And FYI I have done many a set of fork seals, my last bike had a small pit on one leg constantly leaking every few months.

Max Headroom

Wonda-Boy wrote: »

Did you even read the post? :rolleyes:
Coz you missed the whole point.....DOH!

And FYI I have done many a set of fork seals, my last bike had a small pit on one leg constantly leaking every few months.

Which post..??..the op or your last one where you described not being very good at replacing fork seals...:P

The op left his bike into BW.....knowing a lot of guys NONE of them use this place...youre paying top dollar for mechanics,parts and rent...when these guys are sitting around playing games on their phones theyre still getting paid...The op didnt mention asking for an estimate..he just said "fix it"...
The strangest thing for me is the corrosion and wear issues on a 3yr old scooter..i'm guessin theres not a whole lot of milage/abuse there....

Hotblack Desiato

Max Headroom wrote: »

You think fork seals are a 10 minute job..???..have to ever done usd fork seals..??

If people want to pi$$ and moan about shop prices learn to DIY or pay up...;)

Nobody can complain if reasonable prices are charged for parts (that actually need changing) and a reasonable charge for labour is made to fit them.

It's when the p***-taking starts, riding customers over part prices, whacking up labour hours, doing unnecessary work - that customers rightly get angry.

It doesn't matter whether Wonda is going there to get a full service on a bike he bought in that shop, or a specific job on one he didn't - every customer has the right to expect to be treated fairly and not taken advantage of. Any business that does not respect its customers does not deserve to survive.

TeaBagMania

edi_simes wrote: »

I got my bill for repairs to my 2012 vespa today - €1000 for replaced engine bushings, a full service & new tyres.
Edi.

They clearly mixed up your scooter bill with the Ducati owners

TeaBagMania

Wonda-Boy wrote: »

Just because I maintain my bike to the best of my ability and do the service etc.....when I go in to get small parts and the odd fork seals done you treated like a 2nd class smuck coz the gob****e behind you is forking over twice the money....so they practically ignore you and smooze the others.

Same here, I buy 99% of all my parts\oil\tires online. Retailers better wise up or they’ll be out of business