Just a little information from a guy who use to work on cars. It happens all the time. We had guys in the shop I worked at that would litterally add dirty oil, dirt, sludge, anything they could find to make some lubricant look like it needed to be changed. They would keep old filters laying around (fuel and oil) and claim they came off someones vehicle, just so they could make their dollar off the new part. This is why I left. I caught a lot of flack for telling people the truth. If something needed to be done, I told them. If something was fine, or could wait until the next oil change, I told them that. I can sell anything, but I will only do it if I can still sleep at night. When I sold cars, and could see that a deal was really going to screw someone over, I told them. If they still wanted to deal, I would do it, but only after they knew everything that I did. I can't stand dishonest people. I am not saying these guys did this to your wifes bike/fuel, but saying that yes, it does happen.
I hope you can get it covered. And being that no one authorized any repair, I think you have a good shot at at least getting that removed.

 

If you did not authorize the repair.....you DO NOT have to pay. Have them take off the new air filter....put the old one back on and give you back the bike. There is no way that once it was determined that the problem was bad fuel and not covered by the original manufacturers warranty that they should have continued on with the work with out at the very least a verbal consent from the owner.

I would go directly down there and demand my bike back......if they refuse to give it to you call the law....THEIR only recourse at that point would be to take you to small claims.

Just make 100% sure you have read every piece of paperwork that you did sign.....looking for some sort of "pre authorization" for service.........if you dont see anything like that.....go get the bike and take it home ASAP or sooner!!!!

 

Now I believe you know why I would not even consider purchasing a Triumph, 45 years ago maybe, since then nothing but junk has come out of them, get a lawyer, and return that piece of S**t.

 

To avoid a"mechanic's lien" from becoming a "lien sale", I would suggest retrieving the bike, even if you must pay under protest. If you had simply written the check while protesting and taken the bike, you could have gone straight to the bank and stopped payment, making them pursue the money.They likely won't take a check now!
As it is now, they are holding your bike for ransom over a repair that is way overpriced, unauthorized, andthat maybe didn't fix the problem.
Always best to pay by check under protest and then stop payment so that you have custody of the bike, the funds, and the faulty parts, and can test the repair. It's not a crime if there is a legit dispute!The small claims thing is then their burden instead of yours and they will have to justify their charges to a court to win!

 

Never seen gas go bad in 3 weeks sitiing in a garage. Take them to small claims court!

 

DING! DING! DING! WE HAVE A WINNER

maybe.......

I'm surprise no else has brought up ethanol. It is common knowledge in the dirtbike world that gas left in the carb for as littleas a week can can gunk up the float chambers and float valve. I put fresh gas in my suzuki 4 stroke dirtbike and a week later the float needle valve was covered with white gunk. The ethanol evaporates very easy and leaves behind a white powder/gunk and everything insidethe carb stops moving. This is not a problem in 2 stroke dirtbikes because the gas is mixed with oil. all my buds with 4 stroke dirtbikes now ad stabile to the gas which solves the ethanol problem. not sure if this is what ails your trumpet but gas can definitly go bad in 2 weeks!!! it seems to affect different carbs differently. no problems for fuel injected motors

 

I hope you get this resolved. I hate stealers, I mean dealers who treat their customers that way. It goes to show you how bad these guys can get. Good luck. Keep us posted.

 

Resolution:

First off, I would like to give a big thanks to everyone for all of there assistance.
The dealer said that the warranty service was denied, and told us to come in to work something out.
They were "gracious" enough to offer one hour of labor off of the price bringing the total to $415.00
I told them that they weren't thinking along the same lines as myself, and they said, "if you don't want to pay anything then don't". I then explained to them, that I wasn't looking for a hand-out or trying to get free undeserved service, but that I felt the entire situation was handled improperly. From there nothing secretary arguing with me to failure to notify me of an estimate... I told them I was going to pay $350 and not a dime more. They took it, and we brought the bike home last night. Lesson learned... In Florida, even if a friend drops off your bike for service. By law he can only sign to allow diagnostic work to be done on said bike. They HAVE to call the owner, and give a quote.... Hope this helps... and Thanks again!

 

I'm happy if you are happy. Glad everything worked out.
ps how is the bike running now?

 

IF the dealercan show you bad gas you may have the option to go to the gas station for reimbursement of the cost of the repairs. They ARE suppose to test the quality of the gas they sell.