Overcharged on repair?

bountyhunter wrote: Sounds like they are falling back on the old "shotgun" method used by clueless mechanics everywhere to work on everything that might be causing a problem since they are too stupid to actually figure out what it needs. Then you pay for all the unnecessary work.

Classic reason I would never go to a dealer and would want a detailed and specific estimate before I pay anything.

But they make soooo much more money that way... you know, when they act like they just know a little more than the owner, and say it could be this, or that, or that, and well - lets start by replacing these and see what happens.

I HATE THEM ALL!!! Very passionetly if you couldnt tell.

u guys missed the the WIRING part totally, chasing down wiring gremlins can be pricey, and mechs i know will tell u a specific rate for that and not a "price", so ......

+1 Jonny

If someone brought me a bike with a wiring issue and didn't want to deal with it themselves then I would offer to do it but only if I could strip it from the bike completely and basically just refurbish it if I was expecting to be paid for fixing "the problem" as any other electrical issue that came up later would become "your fault".

As far as as estimate for doing that? Without being able to see under all of the wrap on the harness (sorry no x-ray vision) that would be hard to do so if your in business you had better quote the worse and hope for the best. Setting a fixed price means you don't really want to do it, especially if the price is high and if it is low then that means there will be "needed fixed add-on's" as the work progresses most likely.

If you really want to know what's fair for doing a job then ask yourself what YOU would charge to do it, that has already probably happened in your head as you have went to someone else as it will be cheaper than your learning curve to do it by yourself. If you want to cut your cost then find, make or get a friend who can handle some of the work you don't feel you can do and work WITH him on it so you learn and know it was actually needed and done to the bike.

Let's start off with NOT ARGUING with anyone's reply for I as well would not put me beloved in the hands of a shop either... If you don;t have the time, shop space, tools etc... sometimes ya have to bite the bullet and pay to have it done...

With that said... On to the topic heading...

$600 for mentioned repairs, wouldn't necessarily be considered over charged price... Forget about all the tires, this, that what ever, just for so mentioned items ok...

NOTE: As mentioned, didn't say to what extent of gasket replacements (all including seals), ignition components (point, condenser, coils, spark plug wires)...etc

Jet kits, $30-40 per carb... $120 total.
Ignition components. $20
Complete Gasket kit...$70
Tank cleaning... $20 for chemicals alone plus pending rust build up/saving paint etc...
Well looking @ $100-$200 right there alone.
Tech time.... Pending experience, conditions of your KZ, yeah this can bite ya no doubt...
They're not doing it for free folks....

Rebuilt carbs, yup we've seen elsewhere where even more $$$ and extremely long turn around time.. Good or bad service :pinch: (leave it at that all) , just speaking of price ok...
Pending condition of carbs, this can turn into a long time to get right... Search the forum.

As mentioned, electrical issues, can take time no doubt. For those where this isn't their expertise, yeah can truly turn around to increased time & $$$. Search the forum.

Dealerships:
A large majority of dealerships won't even touch a 70's era classic... Don't know how.... :blink:

Hell, tune up's these days are $200 plus at dealerships... WTF do they do on a new bike, change oil, filter, plugs, possibly hook up the computer... A lot of new bikes have auto valve height adjustments so what's left to do, air in the tires, lube the chain... Guess what they're going to charge for a 70/80's bike with manual carbs yet....:pinch: Hell, the bikes are older then there techs.... :laugh:

Buy new tires at $200 a wheel and they still charge you $25 to mount.... WTF with that?

So all in all, if truly getting your KZ running for that price, be about right.

Just my two worthless cents...

Ii's not the price. It's the fact that the stuff the mechanic is talking about replacing is stuff that should not need to be replaced, but he's not addressing maintenance that should be done. Here's my point: 1. The bike has only 4,000 miles on it. 2. The bike was running 5 years ago without problems. 3. The bike was stored for 5 years in a garage. So how did all that stuff go to ruin by just sitting in a garage for 5 years? If that is true than all our bikes need new wiring harnesses, front wheel spacers, etc. And yet, the fluids, tires, and other maintenance stuff does NOT need to be done after sitting idle for 5 years??? I don't buy it; he's getting ripped off. Ed

Thanks to everyone for there insight.

Here is exactly what I received as of yesterday for the bike. I had asked him to trim the wiring down to nothing and was aware we had no key so a new ignition was required. Any other thoughts would be appreciated.


Work Performed Rate Time Fee

re-assemble bike from basket of parts(2)
re-assemble wiring harness that was cut in half (3)
re-torque head(1)
Labor 65.00 06:00 390.00

front and rear brake service Labor 65.00 04:00 260.00

eliminate rust from gas tank & install petcock rebuild kits. Labor 65.00 02:00 130.00

front spacer PARTS 27.00 NA 33.75

oil PARTS 20.00 NA 25.00

ignition switch PARTS 25.00 NA 31.25

battery PARTS 55.00 NA 68.75

new petcock PARTS 35.00 NA 43.75

(2) petcock rebuild kits PARTS 25.00 NA 31.25

tail light? PARTS 0 NA 0

rear master cylinder rebuild kit *(possible) PARTS 0 NA 0

blasted, hot tanked, cleaned, adjusted. new float needles. Service Carbs 200.00 NA 200.00

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