£280 for a intermediate service???

[martind]

My 7,500 mile service is overdue and so I called an independant one man band mechanic who was recommended to me... I was quoted £280!! WTF???

I've decided to change the oil myself and had a couple of questions...

1. I've got about 1.5l of Motul 10/40 oil in the garage left over from servicing my previous bike last year. Is that oil still OK to use towards my VStroms service?

2. I'm not bothering to change the filter. But should I take it off to drain the old oil out of it?

3. I'll stick the bike on its centre stand during the oil change. Is it correct procedure to check the oil level whilst the bike its on its centre stand?

Many thanks blokes.

[roganjoshing]

Change the filter - you know it makes sense.

.

[Rich:-)]

Just out of interest, did you tell this mechanic it was just an oil change you were after?

[martind]

Yes, I did say it was a oil and possible plugs change... He said that he would be taking 3 to 4 hours checking over the bike, cleaning the chain... etc...
At the end of the day, surely the annual MOT is enough in terms of safety checks... Plus I do the obvious stuff periodically (POWDER checks, etc..)
No wonder so many bikers do their own servicing!

[ProfG]

Would you not need to go to a reputable/recognised/authorised garage to have it serviced and your book stamped?

[mr_diver]

Personally I'd take a new bike still under warranty to a qualified independent who's will stamp the book and use oem parts like filters and plugs (I'd supply them if possible)
If the bike is out of warranty I'd do all the work myself with the service manual or haynes manual.

3-4 hours to look the bike over... I could strip it and put it back together in that time not just go round it with a spanner checking all the bolts are done up.
Clean the chain... give it a wipe with an oily rag and pour on a little more oil. Job done.

Oil should cost the consumer £40-50 for 4ltrs of oil. £12 for Suzuki oil filter.
Under £10 per plug (4 plugs on 650cc after 2007)

And take no more than 1.5 hours for a competent mechanic.

£280 in my view is daylight robbery for an oil change and the tea boy checking your nuts are tight.

I'm not the trusting type when it comes to my bikes... if I want it not done by the work experience kid or tea boy, I'll get my hands dirty and then I know it done correctly.

[martind]

Yep, I was hoping to pay a little over £100...
There was an independant, one man band, mechanic just down the road from my workplace who was cheap, reliable & trustworthy... I took all my bikes to him... He was in his 80's when he retired!!
I am going to have to do more work myself now...
As my bike is out of warranty I don't need my service book stamped, and I'll keep all the receipts as evidence of the work I have done myself, which any future buyer of my bike will want to see...

[Rich:-)]

I think if I were to use a mech (which I don't) I would ask for specific tasks only, you don't need to pay a mechanic £XX per hour for what is essentially cleaning. They will likely try to pad the job out though as it's easier to earn your money cleaning a chain than it is to rebuild a gearbox - same hourly rate however.

[StromGeeza]

Change the filter - you know it makes sense.

+1

With the money you saved going DIY you can afford to be generous with the filters.

[madasadad]

Local dealer quoted £205 for mine last week.  Turned out they cocked up and didn't have the plugs in stock! They told me, realistically 7500 is too early, and did the service excluding plugs for £140.  On challenging them, the service bloke said 7500 is too early!  I accepted and asked that the plugs be removed and gap checked etc be informed that the mechanic knew "by the sound" that the plugs were OK!  I've an extended warranty and was a bit concerned about not having the plugs done, but, unless a plug breaks and screws the engine, I'm working on the assumption that it shouldn't be a problem!  I have to say, the oil change worked wonders for the gear change! Snick, Snick now

[wurzel]

Mine is in tomorrow, skipping the plug change, I will post what it costs.

[wurzel]

Nice surprise from chelmsford city motorcycles, total bill was £113.57, without plugs and air filter, as I have a k&n.

[Vic929]

That's a good price I was £165 with air filter no plugs they were fine , also had new wiring loom fitted as per recall


.

[wurzel]

I was well shocked, thought I would be in for a lot more, and they have been all over the bike, it feels smoother.

[sasha28yug]

Nice surprise from chelmsford city motorcycles, total bill was £113.57, without plugs and air filter, as I have a k&n.

   That's a good price I'm currently at 2900 miles but when time comes I'll book it with them. I don't think any dealer in London is going to match that. Plus some nice country roads to reach Chelmsford...
   Thank you for the feedback helpful as always ;)

.

[oscareltano]

I got booked the service for my Suzuki vstrom 650 DLA 2015 and that cost me 230 pounds taken the bike to Laguna motorcycles in Maidstone I know is too much is just to get the stamp for the owner book
oscar

[Frostilicus]

Just spoke to Chelmsford City myself, as I'm not 100% satisfied with the shops in my area - they bloke I spoke to said that normally they like the bike for the day, but if you give enough notice you can book it in for a couple of hour time slot - very appealing when you are a long way from home