"Mind ya damn b'ness."

adri

adri

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Putting this one out to the GTAM committee to help me decide...

I recently got a bike for dirt dirt dirt cheap. We made a deal sight unseen because the price was sweet **** all.

The young woman sold it to me for so cheap because she was told by a local motorcycle shop that the bike had a hand full of things wrong with it, and when she tallied all that up it was going to be far more than the bike was worth.

I brought the bike home from the shop and honestly, I don't think it's anywhere near as bad as they told her it was. I reached out to her to tell her that and she says she feels like they were just blowing smoke up her ass because she is a woman and they probably thought they could get away with it.

I was thinking of making a YouTube video where I go through all of the things that the shop said was wrong with the bike and try to see if they were right, or if they were just trying to take advantage of this young woman.

Two questions:

1) If I do that, should I name what shop it was, or mind my damn b'ness?

2) Since I'm no mechanic, still have a nasty concussion, and my limited skills are all self-taught... would any clear-headed moto-gearheads also like to take a look at this bike to let me know what you think?

If any shops or dealers are reading this and want to step up and step in, I'm open to working together... Thinking of gifting it to the neighbour's daughter if it turns out to be a safe runner.
 
adri said:
Putting this one out to the GTAM committee to help me decide...

I recently got a bike for dirt dirt dirt cheap. We made a deal sight unseen because the price was sweet **** all.

The young woman sold it to me for so cheap because she was told by a local motorcycle shop that the bike had a hand full of things wrong with it, and when she tallied all that up it was going to be far more than the bike was worth.

I brought the bike home from the shop and honestly, I don't think it's anywhere near as bad as they told her it was. I reached out to her to tell her that and she says she feels like they were just blowing smoke up her ass because she is a woman and they probably thought they could get away with it.

I was thinking of making a YouTube video where I go through all of the things that the shop said was wrong with the bike and try to see if they were right, or if they were just trying to take advantage of this young woman.

Two questions:

1) If I do that, should I name what shop it was, or mind my damn b'ness?

2) Since I'm no mechanic, still have a nasty concussion, and my limited skills are all self-taught... would any clear-headed moto-gearheads also like to take a look at this bike to let me know what you think?

If any shops or dealers are reading this and want to step up and step in, I'm open to working together... Thinking of gifting it to the neighbour's daughter if it turns out to be a safe runner.
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Sunlight is the greatest disinfectant. Name em.
 
Why dont YOU take it to the same shop and see how it compares. If the diagnosis is the same then they either remember the bike and are smart enough to have it documented or its what they believe. If not, she was right. Then you can decide how to proceed
 
adri said:
Putting this one out to the GTAM committee to help me decide...

I recently got a bike for dirt dirt dirt cheap. We made a deal sight unseen because the price was sweet **** all.

The young woman sold it to me for so cheap because she was told by a local motorcycle shop that the bike had a hand full of things wrong with it, and when she tallied all that up it was going to be far more than the bike was worth.

I brought the bike home from the shop and honestly, I don't think it's anywhere near as bad as they told her it was. I reached out to her to tell her that and she says she feels like they were just blowing smoke up her ass because she is a woman and they probably thought they could get away with it.

I was thinking of making a YouTube video where I go through all of the things that the shop said was wrong with the bike and try to see if they were right, or if they were just trying to take advantage of this young woman.

Two questions:

1) If I do that, should I name what shop it was, or mind my damn b'ness?

2) Since I'm no mechanic, still have a nasty concussion, and my limited skills are all self-taught... would any clear-headed moto-gearheads also like to take a look at this bike to let me know what you think?

If any shops or dealers are reading this and want to step up and step in, I'm open to working together... Thinking of gifting it to the neighbour's daughter if it turns out to be a safe runner.
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I think we could help, if interested. Owner is away next week on business, I'll discuss if you'd like.

But to comment on your post.

1. I would consider not naming the shop until you are 100% certain there was ill intent.
 
Life is short and full of enough BS.

You got a deal... enjoy it and move on.

Actually, if you think the shop lied, you benefitted, so... feel bad.

But enjoy the win.
 
Depends on what bike it is, what's on the list, and where you are
 
Looking forward to following this thread. In fairness, without knowing any details, bike shops hate working on old bikes, whatever they fix something else is going to go going wrong and that bike will keep coming back to them like a boomerang. They will want to replace everything rather than repair it so that doesn’t happen. Could you at least tell us the year, make and model? The suspense is killing me.
 
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I’d name the shop. I detest shops that scare or deceive clients.

My 84 year old mother has a 2021 Mazda CX5 with 40,000km. She deals with the Leggat Mazda in Burlington.

They call her regularly to schedule revenue harvests. Recently they called to schedule an oil change, and electrical system inspection - neither are factory services- they are dealer recommended services. She does about 5000km a year and has <2000 km since her last oil change in January. They told her it was harmful to the cars engine to leave synthetic oil in a car for more than 6 mos.

Service schedule is 16,000 km and 8000km for severe service. The dealer also reprogrammed the computer to flash the oil change service warning from auto calculators (about 12000km) to 5000km.
 
I think if they low balled and scared her with wrong info you should name the shop.
On the other hand if you got a deal and the bike is fixed with way less cost in parts amd time, I assume you are going to sell it, do you share this extra profit with her?
 
adri said:
Putting this one out to the GTAM committee to help me decide...

I recently got a bike for dirt dirt dirt cheap. We made a deal sight unseen because the price was sweet **** all.

The young woman sold it to me for so cheap because she was told by a local motorcycle shop that the bike had a hand full of things wrong with it, and when she tallied all that up it was going to be far more than the bike was worth.

I brought the bike home from the shop and honestly, I don't think it's anywhere near as bad as they told her it was. I reached out to her to tell her that and she says she feels like they were just blowing smoke up her ass because she is a woman and they probably thought they could get away with it.

I was thinking of making a YouTube video where I go through all of the things that the shop said was wrong with the bike and try to see if they were right, or if they were just trying to take advantage of this young woman.

Two questions:

1) If I do that, should I name what shop it was, or mind my damn b'ness?

2) Since I'm no mechanic, still have a nasty concussion, and my limited skills are all self-taught... would any clear-headed moto-gearheads also like to take a look at this bike to let me know what you think?

If any shops or dealers are reading this and want to step up and step in, I'm open to working together... Thinking of gifting it to the neighbour's daughter if it turns out to be a safe runner.
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Keep in mind.. you’ll be naming and slagging a shop based on hearsay. Unless she provides you with something showing what the shop said.. how do you know really know?
 
Tread with caution as far as naming names.

Workshops, particularly dealers, quote worst case, with all OEM parts, no repairing anything (replace with new only), all labour included at standard charge-out rate. People without their own repair skills are at the mercy of dealers. Doesn't take long for repair estimates to blow past what a vehicle is worth, and here we are, and without any ill intent.
 
Brian P said:
Tread with caution as far as naming names.

Workshops, particularly dealers, quote worst case, with all OEM parts, no repairing anything (replace with new only), all labour included at standard charge-out rate. People without their own repair skills are at the mercy of dealers. Doesn't take long for repair estimates to blow past what a vehicle is worth, and here we are, and without any ill intent.
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I don’t know if it’s ill intent or the relentless pursuit of profits.

I don’t like tactics like when dealer reprogramming service reminders intervals without informing car owners. I don’t like it when a service advisor tells a client that synthetic oil left in a car for over 6 months is starting to damage an engine. I don’t like it when dealers add unnecessary “dealer recommended services” like “electrical inspection and fluids testing” to factory recommended services.

I especially don’t like when they recommend hundreds of dollars in dealer services to my 85 year old mother, but never to me.
 
No question there's bad actors. But, be careful, because the situation as described doesn't have enough information to judge whether it's bad intent on the part of the workshop (trying to rip someone off), or just a standard case of someone incapable of doing work themselves at the mercy of OEM parts prices and dealer labour rates. If accusations are made, and you name names, you had better be able to argue your case in court, because it could end up there.
 
We have no idea how the conversation went at the shop , was it make this new again or make it rideable ? The shop may have felt compelled to repair a lot of stuff that many may ignore, since people want to get on the interweb if everything isn't perfect.
I'd leave the shop name out of the conversation , your a third party in this .
 
hdsomeday said:
Why dont YOU take it to the same shop and see how it compares. If the diagnosis is the same then they either remember the bike and are smart enough to have it documented or its what they believe. If not, she was right. Then you can decide how to proceed
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I like this idea, and maybe even be upfront and say you bought it from her and want to understand how all the costs add up to decide if it's worth it to have them do it for you. That gives them a fair chance of explaining, and if it's all BS, I'd name the shop.
 
Of all the tines I've gotten a bike safetied by Ted, he's never touched any of them except the CBR125 where he went through it with a fine-toothed comb. My only explanation is that he forgot who I was and assumed I was a new rider based on the bike, and felt it necessary to make sure everything was perfect for a newbie. He even gave me a "lesson" on how to lube the chain. So I can see how maybe a shop might do something similar and when they find anything questionable they err on the safe side to avoid legal repercussion.
 
An electrical contractor had me review a job the original contractor had screwed up.

My report cost the original contractor $160,000 and I never said he did anything wrong.

All I reported was the facts.

Ramp:

1) The cables specified to be brand A. The labels on the installed cable indicate they are brand B.

2) Brand B installation instructions page 2 line 13 states the cables should not run more than ten feet in one direction. Cables were run from 20 to 60 feet in one direction.

3) The insulation resistances do not meet manufacturer's standards. (Calibration date and equipment specs stated)

There were pages of similar comments.

All I did was tell the owner what to look for. They decided if it was wrong. Never refer to the installers in derogatory terms.

In the case of the bike, what did the young lady ask for? A slip of the tongue gets you into a different price bracket. Fixing a bike can be totally different from restoring.

If you want something as good as new expect new pricing.

The problem is that if this goes legal the costs can go crazy and our legal system is unpredictable.

Is it worth it? I wouldn't get involved and since no money has changed hands there is no crime.

If the shop gave the lady a list, the list could be critiqued but many of the items would be subjective, "erring on the side of safety."

If I felt like doing a YouTube moment I would be more general in scope, not naming the shop. If you posted a "How a bad shop can scam you" video it covers more cases.

Whether you point to your video or not when a novice asks about service is up to you.
 
I would never name and shame a company from a convo / transaction I wasn’t part of.

You weren’t there, don’t know what was asked for, don’t know what was quoted specifically, and hard to blame someone over hearsay.

You got a screaming deal. Enjoy it.
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