£352.50 for a full service, should I look elsewhere?

[gherking]

Hi all.

My local garage wants £300 (exc. Vat) for a full service, and £200 for a regular service (no engine checks).

I've had my bike for three years, but have only done about 1500 miles on it. It's a 1991 Bandit 400.

I like the garage, and the mechanic is a sound fella and a bandit fan, and my other local garage I've found to be a bit dodgy at times. I'm stuck in Penzance, so there aren't many other options around.

Should I look elsewhere, is this a good deal?

Thanks in advance.

[Itchy]

Depends on what they do tbh, if they have a valve check and adjustment, then I suppose it is an ok price. However a bike with only 1500 miles does not need a valve adjustment or check.

In fact at 1500 miles it probably doesn't need new plugs, air filter or even an oil change. @ 1500 miles if from new and or 3 years I'd change the oil and check for metalic bits in it, which is £20 for the oil 20p for a washer and £5 for a filter. Maybe £2 for a spanner if you haven't got the right size.

Also I'd probably change the water in the cooling system, though I forget if bandits use oil or water in the rads.Which is a £2 job, £1 for distilled water and £1 for anti freeze.
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[L4Isoside]

For an intermediate service and MOT for my SV cost that, albeit at dealers so its not bad.

But I've also been quoted £300 for a full service (15k) for my Ninja including valve checks (shims extra) so maybe a little on the high side?

[That_Hornet]

Sounds right. How many miles on the bike?

[lihp]

I think the OP is saying he's done 1500 on it, not that the bike has only done 1500, especially considering it is 1991.

[gherking]

Thanks Itchy.

I probably wasn't clear before about the miles. It's done 16k miles in it's lifetime, but only 1.5k since I've had it.

I've kept it in a open lean-to shed though, so it hasn't been kept completely in the dry all the time. I think there is a bit of a leak in the carbs as well. It still looks great, but I guess I'd just have peace of mind if a mech looked it over. Is the price fair?

[robocog]

Whats included in both those services?

I think they are extremely pricey (but then my most expensive bike cost less than the price of your full service!)

"A service" to me as a minimum is oil change (oil £30 at most & filter £10)
Spark Plugs (£6 - £15?)
Air filter (£20?)
Brake bleed (brake fluid..not expensive for a bottle small enough to do front and rears and have some left over)
add in the cost of a haynes manual (£18?)

The rest is just basic spannering
(which I guess is what the majority of the costs quoted are)

When I did the GPZ500's service (as it was a new bike to me) I spent more than a couple of days doing everything that moved pretty much ...even if I charged myself a minimum wage it would have cost more than the value of the bike I guess

Just glad that I enjoy doing this sort of thing otherwise I don't think I could afford to run a bike!!

Regards
Rob
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Needs a bigger garage...

[0ddball]

With bikes of that value its worth learning to diy. One good service can cost more than the bike's worth.

Most of the service cost is labour which imo is a rip off considering it's all very easy stuff (apart from maybe valve clearances which involves a bit more stripping of the bike) .

[dragstaar]

It might be worth asking around with some biker mates to see if any of them are in with a mechanic.

I get all my services etc done with a local guy. He works for the local honda dealers, and does a bit on the side. He goes in on a sunday to "work on some unfinished jobs" and he charges much less for labour seeing as its going straight to him rather than the garage.

I think if DIY isn't your things, then its a good idea to have some mechanics on speed dial who are willing to do you some favours!

[Black Knight]

Easy bike to work on.

Have a go at doing it yourself and save a fortune, will take a cpl of hours at most and you'll know the service has been done properly.

Doubt it'll cost you more than £60 in parts.

If you're unsure about what you're doing, find someone that knows their stuff to show you, Even a 'pro' at private rate will be a damn sight cheaper then dealer costs.

Not a huge fan of Haynes, would rather spend £10 of buying a crate of beer for a mate who is willing to spend an afternoon with me, you'll learn more too.

If you're really struggling I know a guy in the SW that is a expert on all things Bandit. I'll put you in touch if required.
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[Frost]

Like others have said it depends on what they do and what parts that includes. If it's £350 just do do an oil and filter change, check the brake pads, change the coolant and brake fluid, grease a few things up etc, that's stupidly expensive. If that includes checking the valves, replacing the cam chain, brake pads, oil etc, that's good.

[chris-red]

Sounds fair to me,

The Speed Four was nearly £500 for a full service last time, that wasn't main dealer either. Fair enough they changed the fork oil and set them up and installed a C&S kit I bought before hand but still that wasn't a fun day.

The TDM is far more reasonable £330 for a major service.
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[Black Knight]

Paying someone to check your lights are working is just fucking lazy imo.

Last 'service' I had was an oil/filter change only. The rest of the checks are all visual and easy to do yourself in minutes.
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Where does a turn end? 'Where you can do anything with the gas you want to, where you are brave again, where your attention is free from the turn, where you are sure you can do it better next time; that's the end' - Keith Code.

[FURBAR]

Are you travelling anywhere soon .. then you open up yourself to BCF recomended places .....

If your going up the M5 anytime soon ... BCF Beono in Malvern (Worc )would better that price by some way IMO ...
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Fuk um !!

[chris-red]

[Walloper]

Ask the garage what you get for 300 quid?

Labour is £35/hour or near abouts.

I paid 270 for an interim 6 mths ago from BMW dealer. But for that they change engine, gearbox and bevel gear oils. (Bevel gear oil change is done as part of their monitoring of failure though which I think they fcukers should be paying for and not me)

They also check the ECM for issues and empty the memory.

The bike doesn't feel any better though.

Servicing shouldn't make much odds to the feel of the bike as it should be done well before any drop-off in performance anyway.
Neglected beasts will however run noticeably better when properly serviced and settings checked and adjusted.

If the carbs are leaking it may be easier for you to get the garage to do it all for you but ASK THEM HOW MUCH FIRST!!!! It is a labour heavy job for them so could run to £££.££

I like doing the work on my bike/car etc. But only if I have the tools, parts and decent info.
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[FURBAR]

It's BCF and a poor finance situation ... BCF members able to do services and in need of some extr cash should offer their time/service ... owner saves money .. servicers makes money ... friendships created ...

WIN imo ...
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Fuk um !!

[Walloper]

[Kickstart]

Hi

There are plenty of labour intensive jobs that could be done on a service. However whether these are on the list that they will do is another question.

For example, change the fork oil, grease the steering head bearings and grease the suspension linkage

All the best

Keith
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[FURBAR]

[skatefreak]

Not wishing to deviate here but it would be interesting if people who need work doing could post jobs and offer quotes, lowest bid gets it and if the OP is happy with the work then a little money could exchange hands

I am more than happy to help anyone out with anything i think i could handle as i really enjoy working on bikes

Saying that, you may get over zelous muppets that come alone, badger your bike and then try get money for breaking the thing...

Maybe it would be best to work around the money aspect lol.

I'd be happy to help the guy but I'v little experience with anything >1 cylinder lol.

Best regards

-Jvr

[Walloper]

[skatefreak]

What kind'a question is that haha...
Are you interested in learning about the intricies of putting up a fence... reeaallllyyy?

If you can convince me that you are serious about it and wish to obtain skills and experience to enable you to maintain and work on your own fences then heck... why not!

(that said, I do see a point there and the system is pretty open for lazy (if not somewhat risky) abuse lol).

-Jvr

[gherking]

Huge thanks for your feedback fellas.

The garage showed me a page-and-a-half list of the checks/maintenance they do, looks pretty thorough, although I can't remember the items sorry. It included a good few engine checks.

Tomorrow I'll recharge the battery and see if I can get it to start. It retrospect, maybe it just needs to be checked in for a couple of basic things.

If I'm using it this little, I should sell the damn thing!

Black Knight, could you PM me this guy's details please? Is he much of a way from Penzance?

Funny, I'm so happy to tinker with PCs and electronics, but I'm 'scared' of fouling up my bike if I approach it with a spanner!

[Itchy]