Total Motorcycle Community Forums

some what bike related... but i just wanted to vent, ive had my car parked for almost 2 months becuase it had a dead master cylinder. every shop i found(the big name chains) wanted near 600$ to fix it!! and at least 2-3 days it would be in their shop. its a simple part to install, i dont have anywhere to do it or exp or i would have done it easy im sure. so deciding not to spend the 600$ i found the part new for 60$ and a shop that put in my part(none of the other big shops will let you bring your own part). they had it installed in under 20 minutes and works great.

week before that i decided to let the shop change the oil on my bike(im still worred about doing that myself and over torquing and causing alot of damage). and they told me 29$ ok that sounds good. when i get the bill suddenly its 60$ they itamized everything out, even the techs time.. so the 29$ fee is for no thing basically. to me thats like going to mcdonalds buying a bigmac for 2$ then the bill is 8$ showing a fee for each and every thing on the big mac.

i wish i had a garage to do any work in, i hate being stuck in the apartment. they will pitch a fit if they see me adding oil or antifreeze in the parking lot. let alone getting any real work done.

When I was an apartment dweller, (2 decades ago) I used to go to these places where you can rent by the hour a bay with hydraulic lift and tools, to work on your own vehicle.

I don't know if these exist in your area, but check them out.

if the mechanic that does the work was the one getting all the money charged by a shop there wouldnt be a shortage of them.the suits get the money.

I am greedy too, I just don't have any good skills with which to rip people off.

I do pretty much all the work on my bike - if i dont have the space or kit i need, i just take it over to my dad's and do the work there!

eh, XJRjohn??

Randy wrote:I am greedy too, I just don't have any good skills with which to rip people off.

well just find something lucrative and fake it--tell the mark all about your proficiency with whatever he wants done and get half payment up front then vanish.

i know this sounds silly but...my friend ran into the same problem with his jeep...he just did all the wrenching at 2 in the morning...while everone was asleep...and anyone up was probaly too drunk or tired to notice a pair of legs sticking out...

and changing your oil is 10 times easier than it sounds...just pay attetion to what your doing...and use 1/4 turns so you dont strip anything...thats what i do.