40 000 service... $1490

[the_brose]

just got the 40 thou done on my '01 S4. probably a mistake but i told the mechanic i had only had the bike for 6 months and put 6thousand kays on it.
 the quote was $850 (ozzi dollars, so about $800 US) and i go down and pick it up, $1450 ($1300 US), with a $190 front tyre.... $700 in labour.
he tells me whoever has been servicing it hasn't been doing the close side of the cam, just the open, and that on the 4 valve motor it takes alot of fiddling taking cams out and putting them back over and over.
it wasn't a ducati garage so i suppose he may have spent some time finding his feet but it seems like alot of work.... should i go somewhere else next time?

thakns guys.
 
ambrose

[748s]

Who? What city?

[the_brose]

great western motorcycles in bathurst, australia

[748s]

great western motorcycles in bathurst, australia

Thanks.
Bathurst is a long way from me.

[CairnsDuc]

He has done work you did not request and did not quote for, he should have at the very least rung you and advised that Items A, B and C are all an Issue and need to be repaired/replaced.
He can't just double the bill and expect payment no questions asked, I have worked in the service/repair Industry and have seen to many cowboy operators try this shit on, and sadly, more often than not they get away with it.

* Demand an Itemized bill with a full description of work done.
* What is his hourly rate? at $100 an hour it meant his day was full just doing your work, did he do any other
work that day?  I often question amazing amounts of time taken and it just amazes how quickly they realize that maybe they didn't take 7 or 8 hours after all.  
* Did he do $700 worth of work? or is he charging for the time he wheeled it in the door to the second he
wheeled it out?
* Demand an explanation for why he charged so much.
* Demand to know why a new tyre was fitted WITHOUT your permission.
* Demand to know why you were not consulted about the massive hike in the bill.
* Ask for a discount or a better deal, he has cost you a lot more money than he quoted and it's just simply to much, highlight the fact he legally has no leg to stand on for the front tyre, he did NOT get your permission to supply and fit that part. (Check with Consumer affairs in your state, but I know in Qld, That consumer affairs has on many occasions sided with the customer and forced the companies to return money for parts fitted/replaced without the customers permission)

Be polite but firm, Let the guy know you are not happy and if the explanation is not what you expect, off to consumer affairs you go.

[the_brose]

sorry i wasn't clear- i did want the tyre. and the garage was recommended by a mate who has a 916. just to get a bit of perspective.
as i live in dubbo- about 2 hours ride, i dropped it there on the saturday and came back a week later, so there really is no way i could know
how long he really spent.
   i was hoping to hear from someone with experience with the 916 motor, rather than just believing the mechanic when he says it was alot of work.
and i thought the first quote was too cheap so it wasn't like i was floored then i got the bill.
there was a full breakdown of the cost of parts,
the big bits were
the cam belt- $200
spark plugs $50
air filter $100
and $70 in oil.
cluch f/r break, and fork oil were all replaced, as well as the filters

so nothing of real concern other than i don't know if the motor takes that much work. if i put my foot down initially im sure i could have just gotten the engine oil and cam belt, but i want to know i can lean on this thing hard and it's not gonna let me down, so i am happy with the comprehensive service.

[Betty]

the_brose, don't forget to check out the Oz Monsters group in the local club listing - some of the guys don't venture to the main board too often and may be able to provide some local advice.

Don't know about your particular motor (or that much about mine to be honest) but your parts seem more than I would have expected eg. belts & filter (my K&N was not that much, is it a standard item?).

Add in four hours travel and that is one expensive service.

EDIT: Oh yeah and I agree with our man from Cairns, he seems to have given you a quote and then charged whatever he wanted - I'd be royally pissed.

[the_brose]

thanks mate, will do

[Slide Panda]

the cam belt- $200
spark plugs $50
air filter $100
and $70 in oil.
cluch f/r break, and fork oil were all replaced, as well as the filters

Hrm... $50 for spark plugs?  Your bike takes 2, I bought my last pair for $14 u.s. .  Even with the exchange diff that's still about 2.5x what it should be...
$100 for an air filter?  Way too much...  And if you already have an after market filter like a K&N you would not have needed to replace it. 
$70 in oil... that's probably about right if he used top notch fully synthetic.  I just bought some Mobil 1 for $9 and change US dollars.

Replacing the fork oil and fuel filters will soak up a couple hours of effort.  Not super complex, but labor intensive.  The fuel filter's  in the tank so it's a bit fiddly to do.

It's a little hard to say.  Some of the parts prices you list seem really steep.  But those older desmo quattro engines are hard to get at all the shims on.  Plus that fork work takes a bit of time and opening up your tank fishing out the filter, swapping etc isn't a fast job either.

[ducpainter]

Pulling cams on a desmo quattro is a time consuming task.

Chances are he had to do it more than once per head to get the closers right.

If he did it right chances are it won't have to be done again for a while.

Your bike will thank you.

[trenner]

spark plugs $50

Holy crap!

[lucazuma]

...i guess its kinda difficult to evaluate since you are in Australia.

Forget the exchange rate, parts will still be priced much differently than here in the US. Also labour is probably differently evaluated in OZ than in the US...

So, my sugestion is to follow BEttys sugestion  : post up in the OZ section ans have them tell you if you got good prices or not....

Unforunately for you, not many alternatives for Ducs in your "area", i guess 

Pulling cams on a desmo quattro is a time consuming task.

Chances are he had to do it more than once per head to get the closers right.

If he did it right chances are it won't have to be done again for a while.

Your bike will thank you.

....yep

[Manx]

well, my 12k service with new chain and sprockets came to £750 sterling - at main dealer - probably not much different to your price.

[Smitch]

That's not an unusually high bill, especially for a 4 valver.  I've seen them up over $2k and even $3k in special cases (needs rocker ams).  Congrats on 40K miles, that is awesome!

[derby]

Congrats on 40K miles, that is awesome!

he's only responsible for 6000 of 'em, and they're kilometers, not miles.