Tron79

I received the voicemail from Hell today! I took my SBC heads to a local machine shop about 5 weeks ago with the promise that they would be done in 8 - 9 working days. This would be a hot tanking and valve grinding. They promised $110 to do both heads.
In the past 2 weeks, I've called twice to check their status and was told that the shop was way behind. This afternoon, the shop's secretary leaves me a voicemail that they're all done and the bill is a mere $306. :mad
I'm not quite sure how to handle this situation. I told the guy at the shop that if any more work was needed after he hot tanked the heads (i.e. new valves, new springs, etc.) to call me. Well now the place apparently wants three (3) times the amount they quoted me.
Since this is my first rebuild, and I haven't ever dealt with a machine shop before, I'm hesitant to call them back and say that I think they're out of their minds. So, what are my options??? Demand the price they quoted?? Demand they give me back my original equipment and only pay for the hot-tanking??? Call the BBB???
Man, if this was any number of other things I'd know exactly how to handle it, but I don't want these yahoos to keep my heads because I won't pay them.
Any advice would be GREATLY appreciated. Thanks

Crash Dummy

Do you have a written quote of the work to be performed that you signed? If not, you might be up shizzz creek for any claims. But, even I would go give them hell right in front of every customer they have if they screwed me. In the end they will pay for it with the bad PR if they are not willing to make amends. The word gets around pretty quickly in the auto world when shops are not to be trusted. They just can't afford it.

Solidlifters

It all depends on what you signed or if you signed anything. Unless you got a specific written estimate you're probably stuck. You might can try to reason with them explaining the estimate vs actual bill and a BBB complaint might make you feel better and sometimes their intervention will persuade people who care about their reputations to make adjustments.

nastee383

Don't waste your time with the BBB. As a consumer protection agency they are worthless. This is experience talking.

Stevo81

That is such a familiar story...I was held hostage twice in the last three years. I think they get crazy with all the fumes in their shops. Some of the craziest people I have ever dealt with. I found out one was using parts off the shelf from the NAPA store in front, but he wasn't paying for them. That makes me receiving stolen property!! The only one worse was the local Chevy dealer.
Being a professional who deals with attorneys and insurance companies , I know to write everything down...names, dates, times, quotes, witnesses...
and get it in writing...good luck...Stevo :crazy:

Big Fish

Gee, 300 dollars doesn't sound out of line to rebuild heads, on the other hand 110 sounds like way too cheap to do a good job. Think of the average cost per hour of running a skilled trade business like a machine shop, 60 to 90 an hour should be expected, then add parts. I guess if a shop quoted me 110 to do 2 heads I would have gone elsewhere, because I don't think they could have done the job for anywhere close to that.

page62

Perhaps a little negotiation is in order. You need to point out the error of their ways and suggest that they discount their price significantly because (a) they quoted you less, and (b) they took forever to do it.

If this doesn't work, raise holy hell in front of everybody! :cuss

JB

What page said, though over the years I've discovered that screaming and yelling doesn't get as much results as pure reasonable stubbornness. Just don't take no for an answer & talk reasonably about how much business all your friends in your corvette club might have thrown their way before you told everyone about the rip off.

JB

SanDiegoPaul

Hmmm. One of my many services that I know of:

http://www.prepaidlegal.com/go/pbrustas

Yes it DOES come in handy at times.

GREGG-73

Deal with your problem head on and direct. no pun intended. Meaning, go to the shop (NO CALLS) and ask for the individule whom quoted you $110.00. If he is unavailable, ask when he will be. Do not deal with any others until you have confronted the person whom made this quote, this includes not, I repeat not making any type of accusations or snide comments. Do not pay for your heads until you have spoken to the person in question(quoter).

After you have spoken to this person and reminded him of the circumstances at hand , maybe things are not as bad as they appear and you will pay the quoted price. After all it may be you that misunderstood, what it was he was actually quoting, and maybe you can meet in the middle to resolve.

But, if you are still not satisfied with his explanation, up the ante and ask to see the owner or the shops manager--in a polite and respectful manner. Replead you case to the mgr./owner with the person whom quoted you the amount in question present . Do NOT throw a fit or make an butt out of yourself at anytime during any/all discussion's. I am confident that if you approach this in an mature and direct manner it can be resolved with little or no blood shedding. Let me know how you make out.

STATE YOUR CASE AND SHUT UP, THE FIRST ONE WHO SPEAKS AFTER THAT-LOSES. AND REMEMBER IF YOU LOSE YOUR COOL , YOU LOSE EVERYTHING.

TAKE WHAT YOU LIKE FROM THE ABOVE , AND THROW THE REST AWAY. :cheers: :thumbs:

PatsLs1vette

I agree with greggs way,take it slow and talk to the guy you talked with first.

MotorHead

Also make sure it wasn't $110 bucks each, I made that mistake many years ago :D

Solidlifters

I've been kinda second guessing my quick shot off the hip reply to this yesterday. I think it might be good to look at the ticket and see what was done. It could be that they quoted a price for a basic cleaning and valve job, but found you needed a bunch of other stuff, like valves or guides, etc. Did they actually examine the heads before they quoted, or just give you a figure? It could be that you got what you paid for, but some dimwit neglected to call and tell you that you needed more stuff before they did the work. It might be more of misunderstanding/poor follow up than downright crookedness.

GaryS

First, I don't find the $300+ price out of line for what you say they did. I agree with others that a little discussion and negotiating are the best approach. If things deteriorate after that perhaps raising the ante a bit, with customers in the room may be the last resort.

Gary

Roadster71

Find out what was done. If they milled the heads, replaced valves, guides and springs then the $300.00 price is cheap.

Tron79

Thanks for all the great advice!! Although my first inclination was to march down to the shop and give them some attitude, that's not really who I am. So, today I went down to speak with the guy who made the original quote. It turns out that their mistake was simply having some college-age kid note on my ticket that he had got approval for the other work that the heads actually needed.

They seemed to have done good work and apologized profusely for their error. Since they admitted that it was their error and could justify the increased price, I paid them and went on my way with the rebuilt heads.

Here is what it washed out to be:
$110 - Hot tanking, magnaflux, valve job, and some kind of glass beading
$63 - 16 new valve guides
$128 - Install 16 new valve guides
$5 - New valve stem seals

So, I think the majority of you were right on the money. In the end, I did get away pretty cheap. It just would have been nice if they would have actually called me for the authorization. That way, I wouldn't have freaked out at a bill of three times the quoted cost.

Mystery Machine

Sounds like you didn't make out too bad. It's not easy to keep a mellow attitude and still not get ripped off, one of life's challenges I suppose. :thumbs:

GREGG-73

LIFE IS GOOD!, I am happy that everything worked out to your advantage :hurray:


[Modified by GREGG-73, 2:51 PM 1/28/2003]

Tron79

Yeah, me too. It helps IMMENSELY getting the incredible support that I've found on this forum. Since I'm a computer geek by trade, and this is my first engine project, I've found priceless support and advice within the pages of this forum... I love having my first engine torn apart with literally no local help, but there has been more than a few times that I've had more of a question than the books and manuals could address. Thanks again...