so, are you saying here that mechanics are more likely to get sued than doctors? is that a joke?? surgeons have to spend about 100k a year just on malpractice insurance in case they f*** up.

 

I don't mind paying a fair price for a job, but get tired of either getting shoddy work or totally ripped off....

About a month ago, my Toyota pickup started slipping out of first. I was referred to a shop. The mechanic that looked at the truck told me it was common and he had seen it many times. He told me this and that was either worn or broken in the tranny. He said it would be best to just replace the whole tranny and also stick in a new clutch while they were at it. He wrote me out an estimate for 2200 bucks...........I went home and spent about 5 minutes on the internet searching and found the "real" problem. It turned out to be a worn out rubber cup the shifter sits in. The part cost me 10 bucks and took me about 20 minutes to replace with no special tools needed.

 

But he is actually working with crap

 

When I turned 18 I moved to LA from NYC to attend AMS, a motorcycle mechanic school. Back then the 6 month course was roughly $3000 just for the school it self. I then worked in the industry for about 12 years. Working my way up to service manager, I did start at the bottom, and pass through several dealer service depts in the first few years. I know exactly what your saying about peoples complaints, but as a lowly service tech I never had to deal with the people. Later on as SM I did though, and as SR (service writer) for a short time I had to deal with people all the time......I hated that.

In any case I think one of the most critical things....if not the most critical thing about having a positive experience when buying a new bike (or even getting a older bike serviced) is the quality of the dealers service dept. I dont care where you buy the bike, but where you have it serviced is #1 issue.
You have to make sure you know the techs and pick one tech who you can ask for personally to work on your bike. make sure the service area is clean....well lit....and safe looking. Make sure that the tech who work there have been there for some time.....and that there is not a big turn over in staff....its best if everyone involved has been working there for 10 years or more. The service manager should be able to tell you in layman's term's what it wrong with your bike....how much and how long it will take to fix it....and what caused the problem. He needs to talk to you in a way that gets you comfortable with the service dept as a whole, and talk in a way that inspires you to be willing to pay good money for good service.

I could go on and on about turning wrenches.....I could go into why I stopped working for dealerships and started working out of my own garage. In any case I no longer work on bikes professionally.....in fact I now only work about12 hours a week, and not on bikes.

I do have to call BullSh!t on one thing though. When you say you spent $3000 on your box alone......well if its the size you say and if its a Snap-On box anything like mine.....it would cost about twice what you quoted....????

 

The dealer I work at charges $110 per hour. That is not what the tech makes. The good ones might get 1/3 of the take, the rest are below that.

 

A dealer tech making 34 bucks an hour, especially in Virginia? I'm in the wrong line of work.

 

Actually slick, SOME law schools costs, on average, 60,000 to 70,000 dollars A YEAR!

 

TheOP iswanting to compare apples to oranges. His total investment probably wouldn't cover one year of medical school or a fraction of the costs for equipment to furnish a doctorsoffice. Also, his total investment probably wouldn't pay one years premium that a doctor has to pay for malpractice insurance.

If a doctor screws up he is leaving himself open to a large civil suit. If a mechanic (technician) screws up they can easily tell you to go pound sand. Big difference.

 

I have no problem with paying for good service, I DO object to the Dealers way of pricing things.

Example:

Last year I took my wifes Deluxe in to have Bars and cables replaced. Cost of parts = 450.00

Here is how it was priced...

Bars4 hours @ 80.00 per = 320.00
Clutch cable 3/4 hour = 60.00
Brake cable 3/4 hour = 60.00
Throttle cable 3/4 hour = 60.00
Idle Cable 3/4 hour = 60.00
Grand total before taxes 540.00


Now...since most everything was worked on at the same time, and he did not have to remove the grips for EACH operation, nor did he have to remopve the Air cleaner for each cable, or any other part, I feel I was cheated.

Actual time to perform the work.... 2.5 hours. So, at 80.00 per hour, I SHOULD have paid 200.00

When multiple things are done, we should not be charged as if each part was by itself. The book calls out the time, but does not take into consideration that you already have parts off and out of the way for another part of what you are doing.

I realize that they may have to do that for estimates, but ACTUAL cost should be ACTUAL hours worked on my Bike. No more, No less.

That is why I bought a manual and do all my own work now, on both bikes. No Dealer will get anything from me for service unless its totally covered under warrenty.

 

As an A&P mechanic I know exactly what you're talking about. Don't let the whiners get you down.