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Well I'm not one to come on forums and openly bash people or businesses so please don't mistake this thread for one of those. I am starting this thread to genuinely warn people of the headaches and lies that may ensue after sending/taking your sled or parts to Tera Alps Racing in Kelowna, BC.
So heres my experience that led to this post.
On november 29, 2010 I took my stripped down sled to Tera Alps Racing to get an estimate on rebuilding my front end of my 2008 XP which i had hit a big rock with. I took the sled in, stripped of all panels and plastics, essentially down to the frame and motor. I told Ted (the owner) what had happened, what I thought needed to be done, and what my deadline for having the work done was (december 21st, 2010 was my deadline). Ted and I looked over the sled, assesed what needed to be done, looked up parts costs and he gave me an estimate written up on a notepad. it was as follows; ~$700 for parts (Nun, e-module, and rear member of pyramid frame) and roughly the same for Labour (he quoted 5-7 hours labour @ $85/hr) and then obviously there would be some additional shop supplies, taxes, unexpected parts... etc. the usual stuff. In the end, he told me I would be out the door for between $1200-$1500 and told me that with regards to my deadline "I should have you out of here by next weekend" which would have meant a completed job sometime around the end of the first week in December. I didnt expect it that fast, because he did have alot of back logged work ahead of me, but he did agree that it would be ready well before my Dec 21st deadline when i was leaving town. I felt good about Ted as a mechanic, and he seemed like an honest guy so i shook his hand dropped off the sled, and even returned the next day with $700 cash to cover the parts and hopefully get the ball rolling quicker on the repair.
To make a long story short, the parts didnt even get ordered until dec 15th, 2.5 weeks after the sled was dropped off. My deadline quickly approached and no work was done, so now i was annoyed (but remained patient with him) and pressed for the work to be completed. I ended up waiting in Kelowna for 2 additional days, running around to get parts myself that he never ordered ahead of time. On December 23rd, 2 days after the agreed to deadline I showed up at his shop at noon and nobody was even there because everyone was too hungover from the christmas party the night before. In the end i ended up waiting around in his shop and actually helping assemble my sled myself with one of his shop helpers, while ted sat on his computer and BS'd about getting drunk the night before. Once myself and the shop helper re-assembled the sled and frame, ted wrote me up the bill.
In the end the repair cost me just over $2300, there were a few additional parts which we didnt expect needing (~$300 worth) which was fine, but he charged me for 15 hours of shop time... after quoting me between 5 and 7.
I was mad, but needed the sled because i was headed to Williams Lake for Holidays with my family, and i needed the sled for transportation for forestry survey contracts which I am currently working on in the bush.
Being the patient and understanding guy that i am i didnt harass ted, i didnt low-ball him, i just handed him a big stack of $20's and was on my way.
When i got home for holidays it proceeded to snow 3.5 feet in the BC coast mountains over christmas and boxing day, so i was eager to get out. I went for my first ride and the sled was running like ****, kept flashing error codes, throttle adjustment was all out out wack, and it would only rev to 6800 rpm. So i spent my day (3ft of powder everywhere) on the side of a trail, trying to fix the problem. In the end it was just the throttle cable housing that hadnt been tightened to the carbs so the carbs werent opening fully, and the coolant shutoff that runs to the carbs was left in an off position.
I phoned ted later that day and was very frustrated. He proceeded to tell me that it was my fault that there was these problems. He claimed i had rushed the repair, and as a result they didnt get a chance to finish the job properly. In addition, he denied ever agreeing to the Dec 21st deadline, Denied quoting me the $1200-$1500 repair cost, and denied that it was even possible to replace a Nun bracket and E-module in less that 7 hours of shop time.
So take this story for what you will, but i feel people should know when a business owner gives quotes and makes verbal agreements only to deny them later, charge a customer $1000 over the quoted price, and basically tell me to *#@& off when i call back frustrated with a incomplete job.
I personally will never return to this shop, and from what i understand this experience is not just limited to me.
sorry for the lengthy post, but i feel its worthy of mention.
cheers.
So heres my experience that led to this post.
On november 29, 2010 I took my stripped down sled to Tera Alps Racing to get an estimate on rebuilding my front end of my 2008 XP which i had hit a big rock with. I took the sled in, stripped of all panels and plastics, essentially down to the frame and motor. I told Ted (the owner) what had happened, what I thought needed to be done, and what my deadline for having the work done was (december 21st, 2010 was my deadline). Ted and I looked over the sled, assesed what needed to be done, looked up parts costs and he gave me an estimate written up on a notepad. it was as follows; ~$700 for parts (Nun, e-module, and rear member of pyramid frame) and roughly the same for Labour (he quoted 5-7 hours labour @ $85/hr) and then obviously there would be some additional shop supplies, taxes, unexpected parts... etc. the usual stuff. In the end, he told me I would be out the door for between $1200-$1500 and told me that with regards to my deadline "I should have you out of here by next weekend" which would have meant a completed job sometime around the end of the first week in December. I didnt expect it that fast, because he did have alot of back logged work ahead of me, but he did agree that it would be ready well before my Dec 21st deadline when i was leaving town. I felt good about Ted as a mechanic, and he seemed like an honest guy so i shook his hand dropped off the sled, and even returned the next day with $700 cash to cover the parts and hopefully get the ball rolling quicker on the repair.
To make a long story short, the parts didnt even get ordered until dec 15th, 2.5 weeks after the sled was dropped off. My deadline quickly approached and no work was done, so now i was annoyed (but remained patient with him) and pressed for the work to be completed. I ended up waiting in Kelowna for 2 additional days, running around to get parts myself that he never ordered ahead of time. On December 23rd, 2 days after the agreed to deadline I showed up at his shop at noon and nobody was even there because everyone was too hungover from the christmas party the night before. In the end i ended up waiting around in his shop and actually helping assemble my sled myself with one of his shop helpers, while ted sat on his computer and BS'd about getting drunk the night before. Once myself and the shop helper re-assembled the sled and frame, ted wrote me up the bill.
In the end the repair cost me just over $2300, there were a few additional parts which we didnt expect needing (~$300 worth) which was fine, but he charged me for 15 hours of shop time... after quoting me between 5 and 7.
I was mad, but needed the sled because i was headed to Williams Lake for Holidays with my family, and i needed the sled for transportation for forestry survey contracts which I am currently working on in the bush.
Being the patient and understanding guy that i am i didnt harass ted, i didnt low-ball him, i just handed him a big stack of $20's and was on my way.
When i got home for holidays it proceeded to snow 3.5 feet in the BC coast mountains over christmas and boxing day, so i was eager to get out. I went for my first ride and the sled was running like ****, kept flashing error codes, throttle adjustment was all out out wack, and it would only rev to 6800 rpm. So i spent my day (3ft of powder everywhere) on the side of a trail, trying to fix the problem. In the end it was just the throttle cable housing that hadnt been tightened to the carbs so the carbs werent opening fully, and the coolant shutoff that runs to the carbs was left in an off position.
I phoned ted later that day and was very frustrated. He proceeded to tell me that it was my fault that there was these problems. He claimed i had rushed the repair, and as a result they didnt get a chance to finish the job properly. In addition, he denied ever agreeing to the Dec 21st deadline, Denied quoting me the $1200-$1500 repair cost, and denied that it was even possible to replace a Nun bracket and E-module in less that 7 hours of shop time.
So take this story for what you will, but i feel people should know when a business owner gives quotes and makes verbal agreements only to deny them later, charge a customer $1000 over the quoted price, and basically tell me to *#@& off when i call back frustrated with a incomplete job.
I personally will never return to this shop, and from what i understand this experience is not just limited to me.
sorry for the lengthy post, but i feel its worthy of mention.
cheers.
