Revenge is probably a bit strong don't think theirs any need for that. Mistakes happen. Like I said I'm not after anything now I just wanted to see what the majority thought. It appears I'm correct in my thinking that I shouldn't of had to pay which is nice. I ran the situation by some non biker friends and they all agreed too but it's always good to get every angle.
I had the following happen back in the day: My new GSXR750H went in to local dealer for a service. The following day was riding from Kent to Cornwall with bro on his Gixer 11. (This was a long time ago). I was on a long bit of dual carriage way when I took an off ramp, following bro. Just as I was heading up to the junction roundabout the back wheel locked solid and I came to a stop, still upright mind, against the border kerb of the roundabout. No idea what the hell had just happened. All I knew was my left leg was covered in oil!! The mechanic had not properly tightened the Y union oil feed (oil cooled engine) to the top of the head. That had worked its way loose and the oil sprayed out and the engine seized solid. If that had happened a few minutes earlier I would have ben killed. Dealer/mechanic had to re bore engine and replace all pistons etc. Cost them £600. People make mistakes/errors. Some people admit that, some don't. Hope your issue gets resolved.
Many years ago I picked my bike up from being serviced, went down the steep hill from the garage and found at the bottom he'd forgotten to reattach the rear brake arm...yikes! No harm done, just human error. I went back and he fixed it, and serviced the bike for free next time around, even though I never asked him to. Years later my boss told me to get my bike serviced and any work done that needed doing - I'd won him a contract so he'd pay for it all - and I took the bike to Gordon Farley in Aldershot. That bastard ripped the piss out of it big time. From a full service and new head bearings, which he quoted at £375 all in, the final bill came out at nearly £1300. He claimed the brakes were fucked and he had to strip the front and rear brakes and completely rebuild them - something I'd done just a month earlier. The fact the rear caliper was now a different colour seemed to pass him by. And the fact his own bike's rear caliper had mysteriously changed colour too - the bastard had nicked my brakes! Then charged me for it! Even more unbelievably my boss paid the bill, I was all ready to go in with a baseball bat and sort it out the hard way. Needless to say I have never been back there, and would urge any other potential customers to avoid the place.
i believe the shakedown run after service didnt highlgiht the leak as it wasnt at temperature ive been told. The bike certainly was at temperature on my pre service ride the week prior as i did exactly the same route as i did when the leak occured.
I guess this is why people often refer to dealers as stealers! I know not all dealers are bad to the core that would be completely unfair to suggest, but often is the case they are a bunch of robbing bastards that if given an inch they will take a mile! I had a world of grief back in 2004 when I bought a brand new Seat Leon Cupra, the main dealer was absolutely useless, I figured at the time it was because 'Seat' isn't a premium brand, but I have since know plenty of people with Mercs and BMW that have had similar treatment from dealers. Rightly or wrongly it makes me feel that they are only interested in selling new vehicles and that they see everything else as a means to making excessive money. If they can get away with it, your paying for it! I managed to waver a £1,000 bill for my Seat by standing at the counter demanding to speak to a manager and threatening to let each and every customer that walked in what a shower of shit they were! If I had been less confident I would have been £1,000 out of pocket and they wouldn't have battered an eyelid. Personally if a garage or dealer takes the piss out of me now they get it both barrels, they are given the opportunity to put their wrongs to right but if they don't I'll make thier life hell!
have you voiced your displeasure to the owner/senior manager ?sometimes a job is carried out and logged and bill made out when it shouldn't.im self employed and sometimes this happens,however if pointed out then an apology is forthcoming and the bill torn up . anyone can make a mistake but the measure of a business is how they deal with the mistake. we also need to remember the dealer is not a charity and has wages etc to meet. personally I wouldn have charged you and offered a discount on next service.
Took my company car in for a service a few years back, drove away next day and the car lost all it's coolant. Back to the garage then. The service manager is, or was, a friend of mine; he said he'd get the boys to take a look at it, then told me it had a holed radiator. I told him to pull the other one, but he was adamant. Later that day I picked the car up again, and I asked him to pop the bonnet and show me the new radiator. He went bright red, we both knew it was just a loose hose connection, but he still took the piss even though we were mates. The car was a lease motor, and I guess he just assumed I would be okay with him ripping the owners off. I wasn't, I wrote to his employers. He's not spoken to me since.
Someone in this thread stated that there is no relationship where there is money involved ....... By the looks of it I better start believing!
