Bike broken down again after repair by garage

[Chris750]

My partners aerox 100, broke down a few weeks ago.
The garage said that it was due to the oil not getting through to the engine seizing the piston.
We had to pay £400 to get it put right and my partner only picked the bike up yesterday.
When she got home she decided to top up with oil, she came and got me as she was worried it didn't have any oil in it when it left the garage as she had only rode a couple of miles and it now seemed really empty. i.e. took the whole bottle to top up.

This morning she has driven to work and its seized again so I guess they didn't put any in and the journey from the garage to home was enough to do the damage.

Now I know the garage may try and get out of this but I'm dammed if I'm paying out another £400, we just don't have it this month now, especially after paying £400 yesterday for it.
We could of just bought a new bike at this rate.

If they did forget oil, would it of run for a bit with no oil and then break down even after we had topped it up?

Could they have put oil in, but not fastended something meaning the oil has leaked out?

What are you opinions? How should I play this. They may try and say its something else.

I'm really cross, she is stranded at the side of the rode again.

[map]

You will have to contact the garage and see what they say.
Any consumer advice grievance would recommend this.
You can try phoning first.
However, you will need to put it in writing and send it recorded or guaranteed delivery (to make sure it got there).

Any repair should have a guarantee period, one day just doesn't cut it. Problems come when garages say it's not the bit they repaired but some other bit that broke.

However, in this case it does sound a bit like negligence. Remember it may not have been the ride home that caused the damage but their test ride - they did test ride it before giving it back didn't they

Not that you can do anything about it now but £400 does seem OTT for a seized rebuild. Do you have an itemised bill? FWIW when the Vespa elastic band broke that fed oil into the mix and seized the piston it was just under £200 for the lot.

Hoe you get it sorted
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[chris-red]

Which oil? gearbox or 2t? (is it a 2 stroke?) If either was empty I imagine it would have gone bang straight away. Did your partner run the bike in properly? Are you sure you didn't overfill the oil?
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[map]

[chris-red]

[Chris750]

Two stroke oil.

I didn't think about the test ride, good point there.
I know £400 is alot but we had little choice, it my partners only way to get to work and they are the only local garage. Getting it transported elsewhere + extra time would of meant more days off work which would of also cost money/caused hassle with her job.

The garage in question are picking the bike up shortly. I would of liked to have had a look at it myself before they got hold of it but my partner is stuck at the side of the road (she has no breakdown cover even though I've gone on about it to her) and they are only a couple of miles away so again we have little choice.

Hopefully if its there fault which I imagine it is, then hopefully they are good enough to sort it out without trying to do us over.

[Chris750]

I know two stroke is a consumable, but its a couple of miles from the garage to our house. You thought after paying £400 they may of they enough oil in it so it doesn't seize straight away. We topped it up as soon as she got back.
And as to running it in, she has only done about 6 miles on it.

[Rogerborg]

Don't tell them that you did anything to it. A "You didn't put any oil in it / yes we did / no you didn't" debate will just be a distraction.

All that matters is that it's got the right amount of oil in it now (middle of dipstick or middle of sight with the bike level, right?) and that it's seized again.

I know it's a piss-boiler, but try to stay calm. Mistakes happen, but it's up to the garage to sort it out. Give them a chance to do so, at no more cost to you.

If they give you grief or try to charge you one penny more, ask whether they want to recover it at their cost and do the job you've already paid for, or whether you should have it recovered and fixed elsewhere and then recover the full cost from them in small claims court.

If they don't see the sense in doing it themselves, then make sure you speak to the owner or manager rather than a peon - it really is smarter for them to fix it at cost rather than to pay full retail to a rival.

If you paid by credit card, even better - you should be able to recover your costs directly.

Make sure you write everything down - who you speak to, what they said, and when.

Best of luck.

UPDATE: just read your posts above.

Make it clear that you aren't authorising them to do any more paid work on it: it's at their cost.

Also, I'm really sorry to hear you're having this problem. For £400 you should have got a bike that damn well flies.

[Chris750]

Thanks for replies, hopefully they will sort it out, but at the back of my mind I'm just worried that, if they have fucked up they will try cover there arses and say its something differant that isn't there fault and its just a coincedence that it happended after thye had fixed it. I know the fact they had it in bits very very recently does hold a bit of weight though.

[G]

[Chris750]

They have it now, so I'll give an update when they let me know what they are going to do.

[truslack]

As long as it hasn't scored the barrel, you could rebuild it yourself for under £50, and an spend an evening doing it instead of watching soaps - I know I'd choose that over £400 any day!
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Current: Suzuki RG 125 Gamma, Honda H100, Triumph Tiger 800XC, Suzuki SV650 (minitwin)

[Chris750]

If it happens again and its our fault I'm thinking maybe I will.

But I have been on at her to sell her aerox and get a CG and she is coming around to the idea now, just a bit worried about gear changes, but I've said I will show her in a car park and she will soon get used to it.

[map]

[Chris750]

Garage have said earlier that bike wasn't seized, it was just a problem with the spark plug cap (which we had been charged to replace incidentally).

My partner took the bike to work again.

She has just left work and its brocken down again.

The garage is now shut, she has had to leave it in someones garden and luckily they have given her a lift home.

But now she can't get into work again tomorrow

[Moo.]

That really is taking the biscuit..

Can you see any visible oil leakage around the engine?

Is the spark plug shorting on the engine casing?

Cant see how the spark cap could cause much problem.. doesnt do alot, sometimes if its too close to the engine casing, the spark jumps the gap and cuts the engine. Is the battery charged up alright?
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[The Artist]

Seizing means the engine is stuck. It won't turn over. Is this what you mean by seized?

All sounds dodgy to me. I suggest you try a different or reputable garage or someone off here near you could give you a hand rather than going to the same place again.

[Chris750]

I know what siezing means, I just assumed it seized as I wasn't there to have a look and I was worried anyway as they gave it us with no oil in it.

[Chris750]

[The Artist]

[Rogerborg]

At this point, I think it's pretty clear that they're incompetent, or liars, or both.

What did you get for your £400? Piston rings? New piston? New barrel? Did they give you the old parts back (showing damage)? If not, ask for them now, plus evidence that they actually purchased new parts, plus a detailed list of all the work that they carried out. Not just "labour", a list of what they actually did (or claim to have done).

If they don't provide all of the above, I'd suggest that you ask for your money back and start looking into initiating a county court small claim to recover your money. Either way, I think you've given them more than enough of it already.

[P.]

[Chris750]

Thyis is a break down of costs on the receipt:


remove engine & part listed below 175
crank rebuild 20
collection from hailey 18
mot 29.65


materials

piston kit 21
con rod kit 34.20
main bearings 15.75
crank seals 9.9
gaskets 10.90
spark plug & cap 7.43
sundries 3

We have phoned them this morning and they are going to give my partner a lift to work and collect the bike. We haven't really got many options as they are only local garage and we at least have to give them a reasoanble chance to sort any issues.

[map]

[Rogerborg]