What to do

Stephen Gawking

Hi, I'll keep it brief. Had a bike serviced by a mechanic as it wouldn't start. He had it 7 weeks, dodged numerous phone calls & emails. He finally calls me & says he got it running but when asked why it wouldn't start he says he doesn't know. Anyhow, I get it back & it seems ok. On Saturday I went to go to work & lo & behold the same thing happens as before. It won't start. There's no apparent reason etc it just won't move. Should I contact the shop as I had it back less than 6 days?

Mods feel free to move of not in the right forum.

aaakev

What is the bike? Year etc?

Contact him amd see what he says but sounds like there is an intermittent problem which can be a pain in the hole for everyone involved!

Max Headroom

aaakev wrote: »

What is the bike? Year etc?

Contact him amd see what he says but sounds like there is an intermittent problem which can be a pain in the hole for everyone involved!

Yeah...but 7 weeks...:eek:

why did it take him that long....?

aaakev

Max Headroom wrote: »

Yeah...but 7 weeks...:eek:

why did it take him that long....?

Id say he went at it a few times and couldnt figure it out but then something just went right by the sounds of it and she started. I see it in our garage, intermittent problems are in amd out of the workshop and could have a few different lads on them to figure it out. Granted it usually doesn't take 7 weeks!!

Stephen Gawking

Max Headroom wrote: »

Yeah...but 7 weeks...:eek:

why did it take him that long....?

I honestly don't know. He's a good mechanic & well liked by all accounts, I don't want to fall out with him but I feel like I've gotten the short end of the stick & paid through the nose for the privilege.

Max Headroom

Name and shame....:)

Stephen Gawking

aaakev wrote: »

What is the bike? Year etc?

Contact him amd see what he says but sounds like there is an intermittent problem which can be a pain in the hole for everyone involved!

I don't want to go into too much identifying detail as said mechanic reads these forums. I'm hoping he'll take it back & sort it as I'd much rather not have to involve a solicitor as that'll drag out & nobody wins but I'm not willing to be robbed off either.

frozenfrozen

he didn't fix it and didn't diagnose it so shouldn't get paid. Handing back a bike with an intermittent problem while it's not currently having the problem isn't fixing it

aaakev

Max Headroom wrote: »

Name and shame....:)

Thats not cool, intermittent problems are a pain in the ass. No way should he name the mechanic

frozenfrozen

I'm never a fan of naming and shaming unless it's an actual scam. If someone is flat out with fixing bikes during the summer and something really intermittent comes in and the owner isn't onto them every day looking for it I can see how it can go back after 7 weeks without being fixed.

I can't see a world where they should ask for money for it.

TheShow

I had a similar issue, a well known and recommended mechanic, had the bike 5 or 6 times each time said it was fixed and each time I kept getting the same issue.
He was getting frustrated and I was getting seriously pssed off. Ended up going to a different mechanic who diagnosed the problem in seconds and had me back up and running in a few days and to be honest I didn’t understand how the first lads missed a faulty oil pump. Between servicing and other “exploratory” repairs I was out nearly €500 by the end of it.
If he’s had it 7 weeks he’s not going to want to see it back in again, so I would recommend you try a different garages.

Max Headroom

aaakev wrote: »

Thats not cool, intermittent problems are a pain in the ass. No way should he name the mechanic

It was a fcuking joke...remember them.???.:rolleyes:

frozenfrozen wrote: »

I'm never a fan of naming and shaming unless it's an actual scam. If someone is flat out with fixing bikes during the summer and something really intermittent comes in and the owner isn't onto them every day looking for it I can see how it can go back after 7 weeks without being fixed.

I can't see a world where they should ask for money for it.

But the guy ignored his contact....if he's too busy then say "im too busy"...dont fcuk guys around and hand back the problem...with a bill

aaakev

Max Headroom wrote: »

It was a fcuking joke...remember them.???.:rolleyes:

Yeah that just went over my head :rolleyes:

frozenfrozen

Max Headroom wrote: »

But the guy ignored his contact....if he's too busy then say "im too busy"...dont fcuk guys around and hand back the problem...with a bill

completely agree

spray____

What was on the invoice? Did he put new parts in it, or just labour costs? How many hours were spent on it?

Stephen Gawking

Invoice was a regular service, breaking down the charge for Labour tells me there was barely anytime spent on it. However I'm probably just going to have to chalk this one down to bad experience & see if I can get it taken in elsewhere & sorted. I've had lots of friends & worm mates saying I should go to a solicitor but to be honest I don't have that kind of money. As for naming & shaming; well he has more the enough money to go to a solicitors so I don't think I'll be doing that. Thabks everyone for all your replies.

aaakev

Go to a solicitor and do what? The people suggesting that need their heads checked.

Best bet if your not happy is give it to someone else to look at

Muahahaha

If you have a genuine case then you dont need to go to a solicitor- the Small Claims Court is fast and efficient and covers claims up to e2,000. Cost to lodge a claim is 25 euro.

But the important bit is distinguish *if* you have a case- you say above the invoice was for a service and if he did that (oil, filter, plugs, etc) then he is entitled to charge for his labour & parts. If he then charged you another X amount for fixing a problem that clearly is not fixed then for sure you could claim that portion of the invoice successfully. I had a similar problem years back with a scooter mechanic who couldnt get to the bottom of the problem but still wanted 400 euro for it. I paid him his 400 (said he wasnt giving back the bike otherwise, used threatening language, etc) and then took a case to the Small Claims. Won that and enforced it. Turns out I later heard off other bikers he had gone full blown alcoholic and was overcharging people left right and centre and going drinking for days while bikes were in his shop not being worked on as promised.

Anyway in theory the way to proceed would be to see can he fix this problem. But as this has being rumbling on for 7 weeks and he has ignored phone calls & emails my guess is he just cannot get to the bottom of it and is frustrated himself. At this stage I reckon its best to find a different set of eyes to try to diagnose it.

Stephen Gawking

aaakev wrote: »

Go to a solicitor and do what? The people suggesting that need their heads checked.

Best bet if your not happy is give it to someone else to look at

I was relaying what other people had said to me, ivebjust double checked the invoice & the cost of labour is €240, yet the invoice is dated July 16th so something doesn't add up. I'll just chalk it to experience as I said & go elsewhere. Thanks again lads.

blade1

What are you bringing your bike to a mechanic for?
We'll diagnose it here! :pac:

Can be a balls for him trying to find intermittent problem and I suppose time is money.
Bad form him ignoring you.
That would boil my piss.

TallGlass

Literally nothing worse, than sending anything at all in for repair, takes weeks, even after phone call, emails etc.. Then eventually you get your equipment back, pay off the bill if needed, smile on your face, delighted it is working again. Only for 5/6 hours later, same problem appears again.



Yeah, I would be rightly pissed off and secondly they wouldn't be getting it back again to 'look' at it.



If you can't fix it the first time after having it a while, then end of I wouldn't be bringing it back or sending it back.



Depending on the price, only you'd know, ask yourself if it's worth the hassle or not.



Secondly, you'll be doing us a favor on here by naming them, I would put money on it if it was a garage like Honda or a company like Dell, they would have been named already. Just because it's a user on here or a small time operator doesn't make it okay either.



If your to busy to take on work say it, if you don't know what the problem is say it. Don't mess people around and defiantly don't take money if you haven't even done anything. If you want to charge for looking go ahead, but tell the person first, that there will be a charge.

Stephen Gawking

The bike has gone into a different mechanic today who expressed utter dismay that a other well known mechanic could have it for so long & give it back without it being fixed. Coincidentally enough I get an email from the original mechanic saying to bring it up to him so he can look at it. Anyway, here's hoping I have my pride & not back to me soon.