... when I dropped it off the bike to Nicholson's they said they were familiar with the problem and gave me a diagnostic estimate of $140.
* * * *
They called me Thursday to tell me that they have diagnosed the problem and found that 2
oil seals and an o-ring need to be replaced. $63 for parts. Whatever. I asked specifically about the coupler and if there was any gouge or groves cut into the coupler.. I was told that the coupler was fine.
He proceeds to tell me that they can order the parts tomorrow and they'll be in around end of
next week and the final cost will be $500!!
* * * *
He then tells me that it's the original $140 for the diagnosis, then 2.5 hours of labor to put the bike back together and $63 for parts and another $20 for a quart of gear lube....
WTF?!? That's robbery.
First, I'd talk to the guy who told you they were familiar with the problem and gave you the $140 estimate, then to the service manager, then to the general manager, and then to the owner if necessary . . . after cooling down enough to sound business like. And I'd note a number of things.
First, YOU told them what the problem was, and any service dept. familiar with FJRs would have known the limited causes for that leakage. Best practice might have been to order the seals, o-ring and coupler -- since they're in there and the coupler grooving is a known problem, just replace it. There was no need to even take off the rear wheel to give you an estimate for that work, once they took 5 minutes to look up the cost of the parts. NONE!
I'd bet that by reading the threads here, you knew more about this problem and its repair than they did when they got your bike. There is no other reason not to be able to give you an estimate at the time you dropped it off unless they had zero experience with this bike or this FD.
First, they told you that the estimate was for repairing the thing, and induced you to have them fix it based upon a repair cost in line with what you read here for this repair by experienced Yamaha mechanics (see thread in which SkooterG notes his cost before the '07 or '09 IBR).
Further, giving them the benefit of the assumption that they had clue 1 about what they were doing (they are a Yamaha dealer), you naturally assumed that there was no way that it could possibly cost $140 to diagnose a problem that could only have one real problem (OK -- 2 seals, an O-ring and a coupler as worst case). If it were to cost something like $500 for them to take it apart to "diagnose" which relatively inexpensive parts it needed, what would it have cost to just order all three parts and fix the thing? And shouldn't a competent shop offer the option of replacing all three parts to avoid a $140, do nothing, look see?
The way I see it, you got absolutely NOTHING for your $140 diagnostic fee. You told them the problem and they said they were familiar with it. They apparently have your FD apart, or it'd be nothing to put the pumpkin and rear wheel back on and let you ride it away.
Here's what I really don't get, though: if it cost $140 to take it apart to ascertain that the coupler wasn't a problem, how in hell is it another $277 ($500 - $63 - $20 - $140 = $277) in labor to put it back together while replacing only the two seals?!?!?! 2.5 hours to put it back together after they already have the FD apart?!? (As for removing the rear wheel and pumpkin, even without a lift, I'd bet it takes me maybe 15 minutes, and not much longer to put it back together, unless I'm gonna clean and grease the U-joint and shifter linkages while I have the pumpkin off already.)
First thing you probably need to do is talk to the guy who told you they were familiar with the problem and gave you the $140 estimate. If he goes sideways, I'd press the manager about the shop's experience with this bike and this FD. If the manager admits that they haven't done one, tell him that the mechanic's education shouldn't be on your dime, esp. when you got an initial $140 estimate. Consider compromising for the $140 estimate plus the $83 in parts and gear lube (with you getting the remainder of that
quart of gear lube for the next couple gear lube changes). Anything else and I'd be calm and reasonable to talk to, but escalate at every level. Do you have a state consumer protection bureau that deals with automobile repair? Make a complaint. Any news channels that run consumer rip off segments? Call them. BBB, local Chamber of Commerce, Yamaha, etc.
Good luck.
