RIPPED OFF BY MECHANIKS

[xorron5]

Hi i have an 2005 yz450f what has been going around from mechanik to mechanik for past 3-4 weeks (4 mechaniks 6 fixes),problems that i tould them to fix
+ other problems they claimed they have found and fixed, and parts that
they sayd they have changed i found out later that nothing is done right or changed
and possibly some other missfunctioning ould parts been put in and newer good parts been taken out, and my bike has developed an bunch of new wierd running issues...and i payd per fix around 5000-9000 bath..
and after i we been driving for 15 min. bike isnt working like it shoud...
ok i can go back and arque with the shops but since i havent been next to them for past 5 days in their shop of their repairing task...i am out of proof
and i have been trying to move on and find somebody reliable...
so example :i come in and my bike has developed from out of the blue an leaking waterpump + an wierd stalling problem ...for that the bike been in for 3-5 days and i payd lets say 6000 bath..and i go driving ok
first 15 min nothing then something bike stalls over heats and shutts off
i go to next repair shop and tell them the problem etc..they fix ..after
some time same again +leaking radiator..next place finds out that all
the valve timing is totally out of speck (eawen i have been specially tould to all mechaniks to check clearances) and water pump seal what one of them put in was some old and wrong kind +uppside down...all together i payd so far 22000 of repair
bills and my bike is still fucked upp....buy the way what is the fees these
bike shops usually charges of people for repair jobs and small parts...as for an example ??? WHY i moved on instead of going back and fight with these motherfuckers...what they do is they claim that thei fixed this and now the reason is that what is causing an similar problem ,all i want is find and reliable
mechanic who knows his job well +dont rip people off... so what i have learnd is that ewerybody will screw u off if u dont stand next to them all the time and newer leave your bike out of site (ecpecially ower night)+make shure u know exactly how much they are going to rip u of for....
all that can be a hell of a dificult task...

 

[E3L0]

Which shops?

In Pattaya I use Siam Racing. The mechanics work in part of the showroom where you can sit on a small stool and watch them the whole time. I was there for eight hours last time and never saw anything but good quality spannering.

Dave

 

[rich1968]

I think Dave is quite right, the best advice I would give to any newcomer to Pattaya would be to use Siam Racing for repair work, although they may charge you more than a small Thai shop. Through my own experiences the small Thai shops are quite good at repairing the common big bikes i.e steads,shadows, superfours and fireblades due to years of practice but if you give them something different to work on they can struggle. Although with that said I use a Thai mechanic that I have dealt with for several years and most of the time I have no complaints.

 

[KZ]

That sounds like my friend's story who had his MTX125 in the shop 5-6 times, the bike developed new problems every time, he paid between 2000-5000 each time, fianlly he had the complete engine rebuilt. Total money spent around 20,000 THB and then the rebuilt engine blew up! Lots of down-time, running around and frustration, let alone $$.
But that was a 12 year old two stroke, you should not have these problems with a 2005 model, unless it's a part-bin special. How many km does it show on the clock, if it's working?
Why don't you post the names of the shops, jobs done, money paid and the resulting problems?

 

[JohhnyE]

Best mechanic you can find anywhere - yourself.
Learn to do it yourself.

 

[xorron5]

Hi, one of the shops is the one u mentioned...and others are the few and only experts of motocross bikes in pattaya...the thing is if u dont be there when they repair your bike they will screw u big time...like the one whos is the mx-expert did not change any major parts he tould me and claimed to change few gaskets (propably worth 300 bath) and adjust the valves (what he didnt)...first repair 6000 bth , and because he is highly recomended i didnt have any douth in my mine that he woudnt be the man for the job...and next repair 4000 bath mainly bouth where for labor
...all of my repairs have been in good shops and the situations havent been as clear as they apear on the paper
but if i lay down the results and damage this is what we are looking at!!!
are these people really this disonest and pathetic...

 

[BJ]

Wow
I dont understand these labour costs for Thailand.
Thai ppl get around 200 baht a day max, how do you get to these figures.
And y pay them. I have only ever had small things done on bikes but my jaw usually drops because it is so cheap. But we just had major work done on the car in Chiang Mai and the labour was 500 baht. That was for new rack and pinion new pads all around new shocks and a service. And the same as at home all changed parts were there for me to see, oh and for the TG to take home and sell to the local guy for scrap hahaha.
I would be questioning the bill b4 i payed up. Its no different than when in your home country they have to justify their prices. Four days at 200 baht is 800 baht above that they need to be telling me what the rest of the labour costs are for. I know there are overheads and a profit margin, but within reason.
Good luck with this but don't just pay up without questioning the bill and the work done. Even if you need to return with a local to sort it out.

BJ

 

[Pikey]

bjtravel wrote: Four days at 200 baht is 800 baht above that they need to be telling me what the rest of the labour costs are for. I know there are overheads and a profit margin, but within reason.

BJ

I run a rental shop and we do repairs also. Our rates are 200B/hour and that is about right. I know of other shops charging more. What we always do with a customer who comes in with a list of faults is to lay out shop pricing (min 1 hour labour even if it's a 10 minute fix), an upper cash limit and the customers mobile phone number before work starts. Also, as any decent shop should do, we keep all replaced parts to show to the customer and explain what and why stuff got replaced. Pretty much common sense really and keeps both parties happy.

Cheers,

Pikey.