Bike shop quoted me €90.. final bill €200

happyoutscan

I was talking to a friend of mine about this, he's a phenomenal bike mechanic. He said for €200 you would be getting a complete overhaul of a kids bike (parts and labour) for less than that.

They are fleecing you.

Kevhog1988

So breakdown i got was:

Full Service: €90
Deep Clean: €25
Bar Tape: €25
3 x inner cables: €6
Bottom Bracket Axle: €20
Pedals: €35

Thoughts please?

s1ippy

No way, tell him he should have phoned you to agree to the additional parts and you'll pay the 90 quoted.

You can't just add over 100% on to the price for work not requested.

ED E

LBSs(some) are making it easy for Wiggle-CRC to put them out of business.

steamsey

Kevhog1988 wrote: »

So breakdown i got was:

Full Service: €90
Deep Clean: €25
Bar Tape: €25
3 x inner cables: €6
Bottom Bracket Axle: €20
Pedals: €35

Thoughts please?

Thoroughly agree with comments that they should have called you to agree extra work and also that there is no way it's worth €200 for the above work on a kids bike which is not worth a lot itself. Charging €90 for a full service, and then €6 for cables makes me wonder if they have created their own definition of the word "full".

And to parrot someone else here too - never drop your bike in and ask for a "service". Be specific.

I would not approach this by attacking in individual prices for the bits above - your point should be that you did not agree for extras and are not paying for them.

Kevhog1988

steamsey wrote: »

Thoroughly agree with comments that they should have called you to agree extra work and also that there is no way it's worth €200 for the above work on a kids bike which is not worth a lot itself. Charging €90 for a full service, and then €6 for cables makes me wonder if they have created their own definition of the word "full".

And to parrot someone else here too - never drop your bike in and ask for a "service". Be specific.

I would not approach this by attacking in individual prices for the bits above - your point should be that you did not agree for extras and are not paying for them.

If what hes asking for is justifiable ill pay it and chalk it down to experience that i find a new bike shop.

D13exile

A "full service" for €90 should have included cables and labour. Some bike shops also do a "deep clean" as part of this price. Bar tape for a kids bike would cost about €7 to €10. You are getting seriously ripped off mate.

My bike shop always does a great job on my bike as part of the "free servicing" deal I got when I bought the bike. Even if I need additional parts, they are very competitive with online retailers. I know the Mods said don't name them but its places like that that give other decent bike shops a bad name.

68 lost souls

Deep clean an additional 25 on top of a full service?

Surely a deep clean is part of the service? If not what are they doing for the €90

cletus

What constitutes a "full service"

What constitutes a "deep clean"

Considering you dropped the bike in for a service, nothing else should have been done without contacting you first.

As an aside, I asked on this forum before what people expected from a bike service, and there didn't seem to be any great consensus.

letape

There is a huge difference in price between quality cables fitted to a bike your racing on versus the cheap cables that are fitted to a kids bike. A Campagnolo cable set (inners and outers) is €50 for example versus a couple of € for cheap universal cables.

The labour is much more also - having to re route gear and brake cables under tape and most likely through the frame on a race bike versus that required on a 7 speed kids bike.... so it does matter what bike it is.

68 lost souls wrote: »

Cables is cables is cables doesn’t matter what the bike. I got my bike services last year in a large cycle store in Dublin. €115 without cables hmmed and hawed if I should splash out €185 instead to get the cables and tape changed too then didn’t. 3 days later cable snapped in a race. Went back and was told two week turn around if I dropped it in again I’d have to pay for a service again basically, went elsewhere got new outers inners and bartape and brake pads in two days and worked out a lot cheaper

km991148

90 for a standard service is steep enough as it is

TheW1zard

km991148 wrote: »

90 for a standard service is steep enough as it is

I Pay 30 in my LBS

ted1

Using Halfords as a reference, their Good Service is 90 euro , which includes the cables as does their 60 euro

https://www.halfords.ie/cycling/service/service-centre.html

py

90 for service on a kid's bike is ludicrous. Work not agreed upon. Tell him to take a hike.

CramCycle

Kevhog1988 wrote: »

So breakdown i got was:

Full Service: €90 - should include pads and cables
Deep Clean: €25 - its a kids bike, what do you need a deep clean for and again, something that should have been asked for.
Bar Tape: €25 - For a kids bike, maybe 15 tops
3 x inner cables: €6 - as above
Bottom Bracket Axle: €20 -10/15 euro if you have already paid for labour under the service, 20/25 if you haven't
Pedals: €35 -For kids pedals, is he high, 10 tops.

Thoughts please?

I'd be asking for it for 90. He can take back the pedals with ease, he can put back on your old tape and BB if he feels he wants too.

If you decide to negotiate, no more than 30euro more for the BB and tape.

Don't ever go back there

Plastik

Kevhog1988 wrote: »

If what hes asking for is justifiable ill pay it and chalk it down to experience that i find a new bike shop.

Chalk it down and move on. The Specialized store is probably at that same extreme end of the scale in terms of pricing structure and if you didn't have buckles in either wheels you will see that you are essentially getting absolutely nothing for the €100 basic service. There's nothing included.

There are two problems here - what you assumed was included in the €90, and the failure to communicate by the shop. The one additional extra I'd have an issue with is the deep clean for €25. Everything else looks, to my mind, about what I'd expect to see RRP on the shelf of an LBS.

We still can't give an opinion on whether the cost is justifiable because we don't know what was included for the €90 service, or what the labour rate is. Like everything else, there are places out there that will do that level of work to the same level for substantially cheaper. That shop is certainly expensive.

Cee-Jay-Cee

Kevhog1988 wrote: »

So breakdown i got was:

Full Service: €90
Deep Clean: €25
Bar Tape: €25
3 x inner cables: €6
Bottom Bracket Axle: €20
Pedals: €35

Thoughts please?

You didn’t ask for a deep clean so dont pay for one.
You didn’t ask for bar tape so they can remove it.
You didn’t ask for pedals so make them remove them too. I’ll send you a set of flat pedals for free if you need some.

Get a break down on what the full service entailed as €90 is extortionate.

km991148

A lot of shops operate like this with extras added on - I know of one that would be extremely popular, with a lot of people thinking they are great, but any time I have dealt with them the attitude of staff is terrible - plus my chain always seems to be "nearly ready for replacing" - "want to do it now?" (My chain measure tool must need replacing I guess..)

I support a few lbs shops - but there are some to avoid. Hopefully you don't get hit with the extra charges for the extra services* (really 90 was enough) and please ring around a couple next time for some quotes or some recommendations on here.

Cycling has became really popular and where there is lots of business unfortunately it also means a lot of cowboys.


*edit - someone did point out that the RRP for a bike shop is probably not so bad - but tbh - doing it without consent is enough to p!ss anyone off.

magicbastarder

like someone else mentioned above, the comparable service (well, €100) in duff cycles includes new cables anyway, and a full clean down and re-lube of drivetrain:

https://duffcycles.com/repairs/

68 lost souls

letape wrote: »

There is a huge difference in price between quality cables fitted to a bike your racing on versus the cheap cables that are fitted to a kids bike. A Campagnolo cable set (inners and outers) is €50 for example versus a couple of € for cheap universal cables.

The labour is much more also - having to re route gear and brake cables under tape and most likely through the frame on a race bike versus that required on a 7 speed kids bike.... so it does matter what bike it is.

I was referring to inners. Outters tend to be where the difference is including routing, if just changing the inners theres not as much a difference

Large bottle small glass

Communication from the shop was very poor and they needed to be way clearer. 90 becoming 200 without any communication is completely wrong.

In general terms with bikes, particular cheaper bikes, we benefit from 3rd world production prices and seem reluctant to pay 1st world prices.

Hard to make a living fixing kids and low end bikes.

A mechanic I knew a few years back used spend a full half day every week going through the weekly collection of kids bikes of all qualities and in all types of poor condition and preparing quotes. About half the quotes would be rejected.

For lbs to supply a good service and to attract good and properly trained mechanics, then it needs to compete with similar trades. Most bike owners don't want to pay those prices and what we have is a Mickey mouse operations in lots of shops and a huge variance in quality and prices.

LBS, especially for shimano prices where they are tied to national distributor, will often pay more for some parts that we can sometimes get online direct at a discount from large multi national retailers

ted1

Large bottle small glass wrote: »

A mechanic I knew a few years back used spend a full half day every week going through the weekly collection of kids bikes of all qualities and in all types of poor condition and preparing quotes. About half the quotes would be rejected.

That probably reflects more on him. Surely a good mechanic can see a bike coming in and quickly see if it’s worth fixing.

byrnem31

If they quoted you 90 and it ended up being 200, tell them no.They did not call you to inform you of the extra work and you did not give the go ahead. I had my car fixed recently for the nct. A few bulbs and other bits and pieces. They also found out my front brakes needed new calipers or that
They called me before they done the work and done it when I gave them to go ahead.

If that's the case, then a shop can do any amount of work and screw you for it.

There is a well known mobile cycle call out mechanic on Facebook. He would charm the pants of you with his low prices and commitment to providing a quality service. However, there are loads of complaints about him doing this very thing. The wife called him down to her mams house few years back to fix my sons bike without my knowledge. She agreed a quick tune up for €25, he worked on the bike and the bill came to €90 as he said it needed extra work.

I came home and seen the bike still in bits. I brought it to the penny farthing and they said nothing had been tightened or fixed on the bike. They felt sorry for me and because I bought a trek off them, fixed the bike for free.

The point I'm trying to make is, stand up to con men. There are plenty of better shops out there.

Kevhog1988

How do i stand up to him when he has my bike?. im presuming its either i pay up or he keeps the bike i bought for my sons xmas present

Seve OB

Kevhog1988 wrote: »

How do i stand up to him when he has my bike?. im presuming its either i pay up or he keeps the bike i bought for my sons xmas present

you have to just say it to him. if you say nothing, you get nowhere. ask him why so expensive? ask him why he did all the extras without asking you first? ask other local shops to quote you and compare, and tell him the difference along with the other price comparisons above.

if he doesnt break, i guess you could tell him you will be going to the small claims court or somehting

Sleeper12

If you ask in the consumer or legal forum you'll find that you don't have to pay for any work that you didn't give permission for.

I wasn't there so I don't know the exact wording of your conversation with them but if you definitely only asked for a service & they quoted (estimate is different to a quote) 90 euro then that's all you have to pay. As estimate isn't a quote & in some circumstances they can charge more than the estimate but never more than a quote

Macy0161

I'd also say you are going to "name and shame" on boards.ie. You could also use the "cash only" and say you'll be wanting either a VAT receipt or you'll be reporting to revenue and social welfare.

Kevhog1988

I have him removing the pedals and im not paying for the cleaning. I definitely wont be going there again and will be leaving a google review to that effect.

con747

Kevhog1988 wrote: »

So breakdown i got was:

Full Service: €90
Deep Clean: €25
Bar Tape: €25
3 x inner cables: €6
Bottom Bracket Axle: €20
Pedals: €35

Thoughts please?

Purely out of interest OP, what is the make and model of this bike?

Akrasia

Why don’t you service your own bikes? It’s not rocket science, a couple of Allen keys and spanners is all you need for most of the adjustments, and you’ll just replace the consumable parts that need to be changed

Even stuff like hub and bottom bracket replacement are very straightforward and there are plenty of videos online

Chain replacement requires the right tools, adjusting gears can be fiddly but once you do it a few times it’s 2nd nature after that

Buckled wheels are a pain to fix and rusted or worn parts need to o be changed, but it will always be cheaper and more educational to buy the parts and replace them yourself