I am DONE with shops!!
 

I need to vent. I dropped my big bear off at a local shop in October to have the carb rebuilt and brakes fixed. They quoted me about $250 for the job with the understanding that they would call me before they did the brakes to verify what needed to be done and what it would cost. Ok. So they call me a week or so later and say its ready, in owe them $600. Huh? Turns out this and tht was worn out blah blah blah. Ok we'll I paid it thinkin everything was right now. A while back I noticed my rear diff skid plate was hanging low. Turns out when they tried to take it off to drain the diff, they snapped a bolt off and didn't bother to fix it. That made me mad but I let it go.

Fast forward to Monday I'm in the shop and notice gas has leaked out of the carb all over the top of the motor. Theres also evidence that it has leaked out of the vent tube. So I hauled it back to the same shop yesterday ( I must be slow) and the kid behind the counter says its been sitting too long, that the ethanol gas causes this. I let him know that wasn't goin to fly with me so I left it there. The owner calls me today and isn't even willing to admit that maybe the mechanic screwed up. Blames it on the gas and implies that they're goin to charge me just to see if they screwed up. I've pretty much decided that ill be there in the morning when they open up and ill just bring it home. They won't get another dime of my money. Sorry for the long post but I'm so mad right now I can't see strait.

If the price I was charged was more than double what was quoted I'd be mad too.

Did you get the original quote in writing? Seems to me, some states have laws saying the final price can't be more than 10% over the original quote unless you have given authorization to have the work done.

If nothing else, send an email or call which ever company he sells (guessing Yamaha) and complain. Might not do any good, but you never know.

Sorry to hear of all the troubles they've given you. Best thing to do is to get your own service manual and check here on problems you may be having.

Also, youtube is a pretty good place to check for videos of stuff being done too.

I had a similar incident happen to me when I got my first car. I dropped it off at the shop for an oil change and when I came back, the bill was $200. They thought it was best to replace the air filter, belts, and thermostat. This prompted me to enlist in an automotive repair course at the local trade college an study automotive mechanics. Now I do all my own work. The suggestion about learning from webites like this and Youtube is a great one. You can learn a lot.

It might also be worth reporting this to the Better Business Bureau. Shops don't like to get negative reviews.

This was back in October so I just let it go. But I took it back this week for the carb issue. I decided yesterday that I would be there when they opened this morning and I would just bring it home. Well I just got back. The owner pulled up as I was strapping it down and asked if he could help. Of course he was trying to make all these excuses. Then I told him about my skid plate bolt they broke off last time, and how for that kind of money I expected stuff like that to be right. He said he didn't think his guy broke it, that he just doesn't normally do stuff like that. And THEN he tried to tell me that mud doesn't usually cause the kind of corrosion that's on my big bear, that you normally get all that from salt like on the coast. I finally just told him to have a good day and I left. He has arctic cat banners up but he doesn't seem to have any new ones in. He's kind of like a used car lot, that should have been a red flag I guess. But believe me I'm going to get a good manual and just learn how to do it all. I'd like to find a junker so I can practice rebuilding the engine, from what I've seen on YouTube small engines don't look all that complicated.

If I had that bad of luck, and the owner was that way with me, I'd be tossing the name of the place out and saying how bad the service and workmanship was everywhere I could. :nod:

I'm considering it. I'm more ticked about his whole " my guy couldn't have done it" attitude than anything else. I didn't get the quote in writing back in October, but I specifically told them to call me and approve it. They never did, even though it says on the paperwork that they did. They proceeded to replace wheel bearings and other things. To their credit, it does drive like a brand new machine. But now I have a whole new set of problems to deal with. Go figure. Idk according to the forum rules, am I allowed to mention their name in a negative way?

NO shop should done anything without your permission,period!! I always called if I found something that the customer overlooked or just needed attention to. This is just good business along with having customers have a little trust in you as a repair/parts, sales facility! If you don't do your own repair just look for a good shop as there are good ones still out there. I think you can write this shop off as not one! OPT

small claims is cheap and gets their name in the local paper in the legal section-
I'd say you have a case to at least get your money refunded.

Is the shop a reputable shop?

If they are they better be careful. I would get a big mouth (if you dont all ready have one) and spread the word how they treat ya.

I never did get half assing stuff. I was brought up to do things right, once.