View Full Version : 4K service for £200?
skidmarx
24-01-05, 11:29 AM
Anyone suggest a good place for a 4k service bromley/croydon area? My local place quoted me around £200!!!!! Also what should I check for afterwards to make sure they have done all required? They also quoted me £100 for a scottoiler fitted.....which seemed reasonable.....anyone know different?
Flamin_Squirrel
24-01-05, 11:31 AM
Name of the place that quoted £200?
skidmarx
24-01-05, 11:40 AM
Premier Motorcycles in west wickham....seem nice enough but a bit rich me thinks......
Flamin_Squirrel
24-01-05, 11:48 AM
Certainly is a bit rich since they charged me £120.
£100 for a scottoiler fitted would mean £30 for the fitting. I suppose thats not unreasonable, although I dont think you really need to pay someone to do it, it isnt that hard.
Cloggsy
24-01-05, 12:04 PM
I got quoted £170... £200 is takin' the p155 :!: :evil:
Do it y'self mate :wink:
Captain Nemo
24-01-05, 12:25 PM
padgetts in batley said about £160 for a scottoiler fitted, hence i dont have one, when it gets a bit warmer i think i'll do it myself....................whats the worse that can happen? :roll:
For your information a 4k service is only an oil change even the filter is left on. Time to do this? 10 mins max. Cost of oil? £10 max. Do this one yourself :wink: .
As for fitting a Scotoiler, any competent mechanic should be able to do this in half an hour (probably less) so at a typical rate of £40-50 per hour £30 max is the price.
.
200 quid for an oil change ??????
ill do it for 50 :)
Carsick
24-01-05, 02:31 PM
For your information a 4k service is only an oil change even the filter is left on. Time to do this? 10 mins max. Cost of oil? £10 max. Do this one yourself :wink: .
.
The manual says the oil is the only thing that must be changed, all the others are inspected and changed if necessary.
This translates to change everything they can find to change, hence the price.
200 quid for an oil change ??????
ill do it for 50 :)
I'll do it £50 and chuck in the oil for free!
skidmarx
24-01-05, 03:10 PM
Thanks for that.....spose it comes down to the old warranty wobbles and all that. Squirell.....did you get your suspension sorted there by any chance?
Why not ask the dealer for a detailed and listed estimate, with precisely what they do (in accordance with the Suzuki maintenance schedule) and how much for each bit. Have a funny feeling they won't get back to you :lol: .
.
Flamin_Squirrel
24-01-05, 03:27 PM
Thanks for that.....spose it comes down to the old warranty wobbles and all that. Squirell.....did you get your suspension sorted there by any chance?
Nope. Front suspension was done under the supervision of my gracious mr rictus, rear suspension I did myself.
Premier Motorcycles in west wickham....seem nice enough but a bit rich me thinks......
A quote is exactly that. My 4k service from them came to £120. That included rear pads.
Ask them to let you know if its going to need pads/any other makor service items.
My bike has been serviced by Premier up until 30000 miles and never thought that they where un reasonable.
21QUEST
24-01-05, 09:55 PM
Premier Motorcycles in west wickham....seem nice enough but a bit rich me thinks......
A quote is exactly that. My 4k service from them came to £120. That included rear pads.
Ask them to let you know if its going to need pads/any other makor service items.
My bike has been serviced by Premier up until 30000 miles and never thought that they where un reasonable.
Yeah a quote is exactly that but one of £200 for the 4K service is a **** take.Iif the manual says the oil is the only thing that has to be changed then the quote should be the cost of changing the oil and checking the bits that need to be checked. If they then find there are parts that need changing then those obviuosly have to be changed but not before informing you in any case.
Bottom line is that is £200 is an unreasonable quote for a 4k service.
Cheers
Ben
DaBlackKnight
26-01-05, 10:48 AM
only problem with doing it yourself or getting a non-suzuki person doing it is that your warrently will then be invalid....
you take your bike to a dealer and say.....fix it..they will be like....well...u have not had this serviced by an official suzuki person...u warrently is void now!......
although the above is correct....F3K all is done on a 1st service!!
i got my 1st serivce for free for god sake!!!!!!
oil change for £200!!!!!
F3K that!
only problem with doing it yourself or getting a non-suzuki person doing it is that your warrently will then be invalid....
you take your bike to a dealer and say.....fix it..they will be like....well...u have not had this serviced by an official suzuki person...u warrently is void now!......
although the above is correct....F3K all is done on a 1st service!!
i got my 1st serivce for free for god sake!!!!!!
oil change for £200!!!!!
F3K that!
You have to remember that they could say that for something's, but if your sub frame fell apart then I think doing your own servicing would have nowt to do with it.
only problem with doing it yourself or getting a non-suzuki person doing it is that your warrently will then be invalid....
you take your bike to a dealer and say.....fix it..they will be like....well...u have not had this serviced by an official suzuki person...u warrently is void now!......
although the above is correct....F3K all is done on a 1st service!!
i got my 1st serivce for free for god sake!!!!!!
oil change for £200!!!!!
F3K that!
No that's thankfully not true. Certainly the dealer likes to give this impression but under recent EU law vehicles can be maintained and serviced outside of a dealer network and still have a valid warranty providing the vehicle has been serviced to the manufacturer's specifications.
This includes doing it yourself; just keep a precise written record of what you do and keep all receipts for oil/filters/plugs etc.
.
Mike1234
26-01-05, 11:17 AM
only problem with doing it yourself or getting a non-suzuki person doing it is that your warrently will then be invalid....
you take your bike to a dealer and say.....fix it..they will be like....well...u have not had this serviced by an official suzuki person...u warrently is void now!......
although the above is correct....F3K all is done on a 1st service!!
i got my 1st serivce for free for god sake!!!!!!
oil change for £200!!!!!
F3K that!
Don't forget the new EU regulations that as long as you have paid a qualified mechanic to do the work the manufacturer can't insist that one of their authorised technicians do the job. As far as I can recall as long as you got a VAT receipt to prove that it was a professional company doing the work you should be okay.
Mike1234
26-01-05, 11:18 AM
only problem with doing it yourself or getting a non-suzuki person doing it is that your warrently will then be invalid....
you take your bike to a dealer and say.....fix it..they will be like....well...u have not had this serviced by an official suzuki person...u warrently is void now!......
although the above is correct....F3K all is done on a 1st service!!
i got my 1st serivce for free for god sake!!!!!!
oil change for £200!!!!!
F3K that!
No that's thankfully not true. Certainly the dealer likes to give this impression but under recent EU law vehicles can be maintained and serviced outside of a dealer network and still have a valid warranty providing the vehicle has been serviced to the manufacturer's specifications.
This includes doing it yourself; just keep a precise written record of what you do and keep all receipts for oil/filters/plugs etc.
Doh!
No that's thankfully not true. Certainly the dealer likes to give this impression but under recent EU law vehicles can be maintained and serviced outside of a dealer network and still have a valid warranty providing the vehicle has been serviced to the manufacturer's specifications.
Note that this only applies to the original manufacturer's warranty. If you have an extended warranty (which, if truth be known, is nothing more than mechanical breakdown insurance) then these can, and often do, state that the servicing must be done by a manufacturers approved servicing agant (i.e. dealer) :evil:
This includes doing it yourself; just keep a precise written record of what you do and keep all receipts for oil/filters/plugs etc.
Subject to the above :wink:
SV650Racer
27-01-05, 01:59 PM
The 4K service is:
(for those that dont know)
inspect air filter
inspect plugs
inspect fuel pipe
replace oil
inspect idle speed
inspect throttle play
inspect rad hoses
inspect cluch play
inspect chain adjustment
inspect brakes and pads
inspect brake hose
inspect brake fluid level
Tighten chassis bolts
Jonboy can you explain how this can be done in ten minutes - it can but if you want it done properly then it will take longer.
Inspect means inspect and replace/clean or tighten if required.
£200 is very strong..but as they sell bikes out so cheap new then they are recouping their costs this way...not the way to go about it!.
As far as home servicing - yes you will void your warranty. If there is a recall via the DOT then that recall will be honoured and the broken parts replaced..otherwise nope sorry. If you take it anywhere other than an authorised dealer your warranty will only remain valid if A the mechanic has sufficient traing to work on that model (IE be trained in adjusting the trottle bodies etc) and that the fault that you claim for under warranty is not deemed to have been caused by the servicing technician.
As a dealer we get offered lots of part ex's that have no service history..truth is you WILL get offered less for the bike if it has no service history. You ask why - try selling a 20k SV650 with no history people dont want to know.
Shop around for a better quote..but be aware you dont always have to go to an independant to get a cheaper quote...!
Jonboy can you explain how this can be done in ten minutes - it can but if you want it done properly then it will take longer.
Very simple boss lady (;)), you know as well as I do that a lot of dealers (possibly the majority) will give the bike a very cursory once over. To check all of the above really wouldn't take more than a few minutes anyway. Now you're from a top Suzuki dealership and I'm sure standards are somewhat higher there than a lot of other places, so please don't think I'm anti-dealer I just think that £200 for this particular service is simply outrageous - particularly as at 4000 miles very little needs adjusting.
And changing the oil? 10mins tops :wink: .
.
SV650Racer
27-01-05, 03:05 PM
Completely agree with you on the charges !!.
Yep we like to make sure its done properly...there are also others that do...but plenty that dont!. But like anything its best to not rush these things...
bit like brewing beer.... :lol:
Jonboy can you explain how this can be done in ten minutes - it can but if you want it done properly then it will take longer.
Very simple boss lady (;)), you know as well as I do that a lot of dealers (possibly the majority) will give the bike a very cursory once over. To check all of the above really wouldn't take more than a few minutes anyway. Now you're from a top Suzuki dealership and I'm sure standards are somewhat higher there than a lot of other places, so please don't think I'm anti-dealer I just think that £200 for this particular service is simply outrageous - particularly as at 4000 miles very little needs adjusting.
And changing the oil? 10mins tops :wink: .
.
im anti dealer. :evil: :evil: :evil:
i could thoroughly check all the items above in about 15 mins.
SV650Racer
27-01-05, 05:29 PM
Why are you anti dealer...genuine question..not a dig.
I know there are shops out there that rip people off and dont do the job properly but there are also many that do a good job and dont rip people off. It just seems that people nowadays are all too ready to moan and not praise.
What i find funny is when someone says "i wont use dealers as they dont do the job proper so i do it myself"...especially when its someone that isnt trained in that model and doesnt understand there is more to servicing a bike than changing oil and plugs...
basically, everytime ive been to a dealer, they have ripped me off.
(ive only found one dealer that i like - but pricey, but the guy who works there i trust)
ive just heard so many horror stories about dealers - and seen some of it myself - that - i just dont trust them, or their advice,
they just seem more concerned about selling me the most expensive product their is.
Hey Warren, Not far from you, good dealer who's done good work for me is the yamaha dealer in brentwood, GP motorcycles...
yeah, dont get me wrong, there are some good dealers around.
i just had a certain string of bad service from a few dealers - and dont really trust many of them
found kensingtons in romford to be good - but they only deal in honda stuff. very pricey tho.
for gear and stuff. i goto top gear in rush green. (just a few shops from johns of romford)
cant praise the guy enough (the scottish one) gives sound advice...and doesnt even try to sell you the most expensive things - plenty of stuff on sale there,
sold me a helmet and a cargo net. . . threw the tinted visor and helmet bag in for free (worth 45 quid) well worth a trip down there ian.
knocked 50 quid off the price of a set of leathers and boots too for my friend.
I'd trust our three grease monkeys... *ahem* service engineers even though I've only worked here three weeks. Mainly coz I've seen how much care they take over the bikes.
But Northampton's a bit far.
It's an experience thing I guess. I thought I'd found the perfect little garage to service my MG when I was living near Reading. Three little grease stained old men who had been in the trade with MG's since the year dot. Ask em anything, they knew it... specialist MG garage that even sponsored it's own MGC in classic track races, and advertised in the MG Owner's Club Magazine.
Moved up to Bedfordshire and found a Motor Heritage garage nearby... took one look at my brake disks and said "these haven't been changed for years"... 6 months after I've paid the first garage to do the job as well as a service! :shock:
Learnt to do a bit more on the car myself from then on!
yeah, dont get me wrong, there are some good dealers around.
i just had a certain string of bad service from a few dealers - and dont really trust many of them
found kensingtons in romford to be good - but they only deal in honda stuff. very pricey tho.
for gear and stuff. i goto top gear in rush green. (just a few shops from johns of romford)
cant praise the guy enough (the scottish one) gives sound advice...and doesnt even try to sell you the most expensive things - plenty of stuff on sale there,
sold me a helmet and a cargo net. . . threw the tinted visor and helmet bag in for free (worth 45 quid) well worth a trip down there ian.
knocked 50 quid off the price of a set of leathers and boots too for my friend.
let me know if your going down there sometime, will go have a look, dunno where it is
its about 10 mins from my house.
so if your ever in romford give me a bell.
ill post a map over the weekend.
SV650Racer
28-01-05, 09:35 AM
I suppose alot of it comes down to who actually works in the dealership. Being in the trade for a while you get to see alot of what goes on behind the scenes.
Like us for example Steve who owns the shop actually is the "grease monkey"!!. So he probaly takes alot more care over what he is doing as it is down to him to make sure his business keeps its good rep. But more and more shops are now run by managers that never see the shop floor and only see the figures...you know what that ends up like without naming any names..
One big suzuki dealer in the south is now managed by ex car people that have never ridden a bike...yes they can manage..but how much are they doing to understand how bikers actually feel about their bikes...cars are very different..
skidmarx
04-02-05, 09:22 AM
Thanks for that!!!!! I took the bike anyways and it was an unreasonable quote. They charged me £118, which I'm happy with. They also supplied and fitted a scotoiler for £100 pounds which seems fair. Polite efficient they were. On a technical note, they bike felt a LOT better going through the gears as they had adjusted the clutch. The biting point was much further away from the bars so spose that meant more clearance betwenn plates when clutch was pulled. No dragging hence easy shift and neutral is now easy to find, which was a problem before.
So.....£200 was unreasonable, probably just covering his back!
BYEEEE
Alaniski
29-03-05, 08:45 AM
Can anyone tell me where is a good place to have my service done in South-west London / Surrey?
I phoned Wheelpower(where I actually bought the bike, and then got my friend to buy his) and they quoted me £200
Very rich for an oil change.
When I had my first service done by them, they charged me £120 and the bike looked untouched, They didn't even bother spraying something on the bikle to get ris of all the grease etc. that the chain had sprayed all over the show!
thanks
Cloggsy
29-03-05, 09:23 AM
When I had my first service done by them, they charged me £120 and the bike looked untouched
... and probably was :!:
I got charged £90 for the pleasure of my first service - won't be using that dealer again :!: :evil: :toss:
SV650Racer
29-03-05, 09:33 AM
if you bought the bike from them then the labour should be free you just pay for parts which is oil and filter.
Alaniski
29-03-05, 03:49 PM
Chelsea Scooters are a registered Suzuki Dealer and said they would do the service for £90 plus VAT and parts
Figure oil is about £12, and VAT on top would take that to about £120ish . . .
OK, so ne free bike for the day, but I couldn't care less for £80 difference?
I just been quoted £220 by local garage , Daytona. - Kinda hard to stay loyal to the garage you buy your bike from when 10 miles away in Fulham they will do it for 90 +VAT
I was told that the air in london is dirty so I may need a new airfilter which will cost 30ish pounds!
:o
Cloggsy
04-04-05, 08:33 PM
I was told that the air in london is dirty so I may need a new airfilter which will cost 30ish pounds!
:o
:roll: But a K&N one for £41.60 (HG) then you've got one for life so to speak...
BTW... £30 my ar5e :!: :roll: :toss:
SVeeedy Gonzales
09-05-05, 08:08 AM
Just had mine serviced on Saturday at Magnum Motorcycles in Gillingham.
Mainly went there cos they're in the Suzuki book as a service place and it's a 10 minute walk away.
Came to £115 - 90 for the labour and 25 for oil, spark plugs and oil filter. Dropped her off at 930 and picked her up at 2pm same day.
I'm pleased that they changed the plugs and filter, for the little bit extra... and I was expecting a higher charge even without those done.
Have done almost 250 miles since Saturday afternoon and everything feels tip-top... :D Will definitely be going back there for future servicing!
twotime
09-05-05, 09:17 AM
not seen this post before, I know it's a bit late but... i got my 4k service at Premier in West Wickham last week. They charged me £145 oil change, filter change, all the usual checks and they gave front and rear brakes a good going over as they were binding. not sure why they quoted £200 for you before?
For your information a 4k service is only an oil change even the filter is left on. Time to do this? 10 mins max. Cost of oil? £10 max. Do this one yourself :wink: .
As for fitting a Scotoiler, any competent mechanic should be able to do this in half an hour (probably less) so at a typical rate of £40-50 per hour £30 max is the price.
.
£10 for oli? :roll: remind me not to buy ur bike :lol: sori mate, but personnely i buy the gd oli, £27 for 4 litres which will do an oli change. and 10 min? i would say more like 30min.
*im gna get slaped for this, sori, but i was being honest*
For your information a 4k service is only an oil change even the filter is left on. Time to do this? 10 mins max. Cost of oil? £10 max. Do this one yourself :wink: .
As for fitting a Scotoiler, any competent mechanic should be able to do this in half an hour (probably less) so at a typical rate of £40-50 per hour £30 max is the price.
.
£10 for oli? :roll: remind me not to buy ur bike :lol: sori mate, but personnely i buy the gd oli, £27 for 4 litres which will do an oli change. and 10 min? i would say more like 30min.
*im gna get slaped for this, sori, but i was being honest*
its all down to personal choice, but i believe you are actually paying for the name, rather than quality :)
SVeeedy Gonzales
09-05-05, 12:09 PM
In Bike magazine they had this "Britains highest mileage rider" thing - a guy who'd done a few million miles. He'd had engines last for over 400,000 miles and although he'd changed the oil to schedule, he'd used car oil cos it was cheaper, and said he'd never found any slippage problems.
If you were doing massive mileage you'd be less concerned about using top quality stuff to reduce your costs, etc. This guy was changing the oil every week to fit the service schedule. If it's used less often somehow we feel we need to look after it a little more than if it's used all the time, which is kinda odd. I do about 400 miles a week and so long as it's half-decent bike oil, that's good enough for me!
Mine's in for its 4K service on thursday - I'm getting it done at West London Suzuki and I've been quoted £90. I asked about what else is done apart from the oil change and was told the checks take up 2 hours labour.
If they do spend 2 hours tightening and adjusting then £90 is fair. As for £200 that is obscene, pants down quote.
about 2 more weeks and mine will be due its 32K mile service :D
Flamin_Squirrel
09-05-05, 01:34 PM
If they do spend 2 hours tightening and adjusting then £90 is fair. As for £200 that is obscene, pants down quote.
But of course, they don't.
I know of course they don't spend 2 hours with it however I don't mind paying £90 for the stamp; I wouldn't pay £200 for the stamp!
SV650Racer
09-05-05, 01:43 PM
I know of course they don't spend 2 hours with it however I don't mind paying £90 for the stamp; I wouldn't pay £200 for the stamp!
Why not see for yourself and watch them do the service - yes i know they will then do it properly but at least you will be able to take a notepad and stopwatch to time and document everything done during the two hours and let us all know exactly how each thing took when you get back!
:D
I was planning on doing that , perhaps a little more informally but yes I'll be present at the dealers
SV650Racer
09-05-05, 01:53 PM
why not also take a pig prodder with you...
now i really am taking the mick :lol:
Oneiros
09-05-05, 02:13 PM
I just been quoted £220 by local garage , Daytona. - Kinda hard to stay loyal to the garage you buy your bike from when 10 miles away in Fulham they will do it for 90 +VAT
I was told that the air in london is dirty so I may need a new airfilter which will cost 30ish pounds!
:o
I had mine done by these guys recently. they quoted me arround £120 ended up costing £195. The invoice had a breakdown on it and not only had they charged me for 2hrs labour but they then added an extra labour cost for a 20min road test. Also when I picked it up they said that as it was over my service interval (done about 5k) they had changed the oil filters too.
SVeeedy Gonzales
11-05-05, 08:24 PM
Yeah, my 4000 miler came to £90 for 2 hours labour, plus the parts... Where I work we charge £43 an hour (high tech manufacturing wizardry) and people balk at that... but it's fine for a simple service :evil:
Oneiros
12-05-05, 11:34 PM
not got a problem with the 2hrs labour to be honest but was a bit miffed at them fitting new filters without giving me a call
Right, well they spent over 1.5 hours doing the service so 2hours was fair. Apparently I needed a new air filter which was £15. Surprised but said ok as I'm doing a eurotrip on sat. Anyway was quoted £90 , it came to £115. It's a new bike I don't mind so much but god sometimes I wish it was outta warrantly so I didn't need these stamps lol.
Said and done, £115 from a main suzuki dealer is reasonable respectable?
SVeeedy Gonzales
13-05-05, 09:49 AM
Think the oil filter was under £9 on mine (4000 mile) - for that money I'd rather have them change it than leave the old one on - why put clean oil through a dirty filter? It's like the plugs - I'd rather they changed them than (the recommended) clean them - less aggro and I know they're good for the next 4000 miles, for a few extra quid on top of the (seemingly compulsory) £90 labour
TimTucker
13-05-05, 04:32 PM
Well, my first post on here and I'm coming to the defence of Premier.
I think when Premier quote, they give you the maximum possible figure the service could be. I had my SV650S 4K service done there at the end of March. When I dropped it off I asked how much it would be, roughly, and was told something around £160. Gulp!
When I went back to pick it up, the bill was £110, more or less. Three of us have had 4K services there, all costing about that price, so I'm sure that's what you will end up paying, should you decide to take your bike there.
This is the problem with quotes, though. Quote too low and the customer complains that the actual bill is higher than the quote. Quote too hight and then you put people off, because they believe the bill will be the quoted price.
Premier have a pretty good rep and I'm quite happy for a dealer to do the work, especially when the bike is in warranty, rather than attempt it myself, because there is no greater cack-handed individual on this earth than myself.
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