Transit Motorcycles York - Avoid! Avoid! Avoid!

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A word of caution to anyone contemplating getting any mechanical work done, or even buying a bike from Transit Motorcycles in York.

Apology for Teflon-Mike style post, please bear with me, skip to bottom for TL;DR version...

Last year my daughter took her Vespa LX50 to TRansit Motorcycles in York because the rear brakes needed some work. Also the adjustment was seized. Given that Transit are the local Piaggio dealers and so IMO should be expected to be experts with these machines. They took it apart, told her a nut on the inside needed tightening and they put it back together. She took it elsewhere for MOT (her right, her choice, more convenient, etc.) and it passed.

Roll forward a year and MOT time again so looked at rear brakes again and needed adjustment (adjuster still seized btw). I could not get rear wheel off (see this thread).

Took bike to local(ish) mechanic who I trust doesn't make up bull and add extra costs/excuses. Over the 'phone he tells me rear wheel nut was on solid. Four guys and breaker bar with scaffold pole couldn't shift it. Drilled off and so might have damaged shaft (will try to make good). Needs new bolt and washer. Washer was missing! Also ordered new brake cable because of adjuster issue.

So I 'phoned Transit.
I explained the issue and asked what they were prepared to do about it. Thinking if shaft damage it's going cost me lots of money because of some numpty overenthusiastic with air ratchet and forgetful of fitting a washer. Guy on 'phone went away for a good while and then came back to phone. Conversation then went along the lines of...

Transit: I can't see how it can be too tight. It has to be on to align with hole for split pin*.
Me; Should there be a washer on there?
Transit: I think so.
Me: Well there wasn't.
Transit: So you've been told.
Me: I trust the guy telling me this. He has no reason to make it up.
Transit: Well if you'd brought the bike back to us we could have done something.
Me: Bike taken to somewhere closer and more convenient.
Transit: If you'd brought it back here we'd have looked at it.
Me: So you're washing your hands of it. Not going to do anything.
Transit: Basically, yes.

The guy on the phone did state it's been a year. So what? There has been no reason to check the bike since so apart from a fade in the rear brake (as you'd expect) no issues with rear wheel to investigate.

I was also asked what my job was. Totally irrelevant. I did lose it here a little and said supposing I'm a solicitor who could sue your ass off. The reply was "Then do your worst".

Guy on phone refused to give me his name. Refused to give me name of any owner/contact.

I'm not a happy bunny. Was I naive in expecting good customer service after a year?



TL;DR version: Transit Motorcycles in York messed up on a simple job of replacing rear wheel on Piaggio scooter (that they're dealers for) and are washing their hands of it. Doing nothing to make good. So I'd strongly recommend boycotting them as can't be trusted.



* this is partly true. There is a hole in the shaft for a split pin. You're supposed to put on the washer, then the nut and tighten. Then you put on a protective cover type thing and this held in place by split pin. Asin this thread (for ET4 but same as LX) and this illustration.
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[chris-red]

TBH Had I been the garage I would have said exactly the same thing.

You accuse them of missing a washer and tightening a nut up too much a year after the fact?
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[supZ]

to be fair a year down the road getting a phone call out of the blue telling them they screwed something up probably wouldn't go down too well at most places.

you have no proof it was them that did it, how do they know you haven't had it in another garage during that whole year?

just playing devil's advocate here but you'd be hard pressed to get anything out of them
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[matto]

I agree with the consensus so far, it's been too long and it's also been to at least two other garages/mechanics. If you'd exclusively used them then I would expect them to fix it, and although I don't know them, they probably would.

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[J4mes]

Sorry pal but I think the same!

I'd also love to know the length of this pole and how they got four blokes on it, or was it two to hold the bike down and two to hold the pole?

[evoboy]

It's a bit much IMO to ask for anything from them after a year.

But, they could of handled it better by offering to take the bike in to look at it.

I cant imagine it would be that difficult to take the rear wheel nut off mind. If it was done up with an impact gun, it can be undone by one. ( not that you should really be doing things up with Impact guns, air or battery powered.)
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[MarJay]

Have to agree. For all they know some chav tried to steal it by removing the wheel or something.
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[matto]

[Polarbear]

[-Matt-]

I can kind of see why they'd refuse to do anything in the current position to be honest, as it is just 'a bloke from a year ago' saying 'take my word for it - it was missing it and you are to blame'. On that sort of basis they could get harrassed for so many things that aren't actually their fault, and they did say if you'd brought it back to them they'd of done something.

However it does sound like they did a total botch job, and also theres no guarantee they would of actually done anything had you brought it back, or even not tryed to charge you for a further botch, so it does indeed sound like somewhere to avoid if its all as you say

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[evoboy]

[Rogerborg]

My take away point isn't so much their attitude as that they stuffed it up in the first place. Fakking ped, innit, just nip it up tight then on to the next job.

It might be easier to come up with a list of main dealers who aren't lazy, incompetent bodgers, mind.

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[iooi]

[Rogerborg]

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[Alice-In-Sunderland]

The only reason I don't like transit is because they charged me £15 for a brake lever, guy behind the counter's a cocky prick too.

Edit: I may even know your daughter

[Kakana]

Sounds like you've got a good mechanic now so make the most of them! or learn to do things yourself.

After a spate of bad mechanics I've taken to doing simple things by myself. That way at least I know it's been done & done right (hopefully)!

[Fisty]

[ninja_butler]

I think suggesting that the nut could have mysteriously tightened itself to the point of being immovable in just 1 year is disingenuous.

Someone DID over-tighten the nut and you can't seriously expect 99% of people to check things like this themselves on a regular basis. I mean, I've checked the chain tension on my bike three or four times this year, but I can't say it would ever occur to me to check that the wheel-nut was tightened to the correct torque. Does anyone here do that? Has anyone who isn't a motorcycle mechanic since 1960 ever done that?

It's possible that the nut seized during the course of the year but what are the odds? It doesn't sound likely.