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View Full Version : Neil at Cornerspeed - Not so cheap


NC35
14-03-2006, 09:01 PM
Hi All

Just had a comparative quote for a service from Neil at Cornerspeed - All of £1 more that Ducati Leeds. Never like Charlie at Leeds to be cheap, but they have courtesy bikes etc...

Perhaps now Neil is approved he has to charge approved prices :cry:

CK & AK
14-03-2006, 09:24 PM
never heard of Nelly being similar prices to Ducati stores before:shocked:
Only had my bike done there 5 weeks ago...........

DSC get 10% discount there too:mand:

Shauns4
15-03-2006, 07:05 PM
Hi All


Perhaps now Neil is approved he has to charge approved prices :cry:

I would imagine Ducati have a pricing policy applicable to approved service centres, there may also be a fee payable to Ducati for the privalage?

nelly
15-03-2006, 10:32 PM
I don't know Ducati Leeds pricing structures.
There is some truth in that my prices have/will rise a little mostly down to the amount of investment I'm putting into new tools and equipment to be able to take on the newer bikes. That's a business necessity based on my own belief that i'm doing the right thing for me, my business and my customers. I don't have to pay Ducati for the privalage, but I don't get anything for free i'm afraid.
Comparative? I don't know.
I do, and will carry on doing, a few things on all my services which don't fall within the schedules, but which I feel need doing or checking. I'll also change several shims before I think i need to charge for the labour, especially if it's just openers getting swapped out. Most dealers will charge for these "extras"
As with everything, you don't get owt for nowt. If I recall your bike is 1 year old? Would you have come to me if I was cheaper but not "approved"? Would you have forgone your warranty to save a few pounds? I doubt it........

I don't fully understand where you're coming from with this thread anyhow. I have never considered myself "cheap" or set out to buy work with cheap labour rates. What I have always done and will continue to do is to offer value for money in terms of the work I do and the very best service I can give to my customers.

If the fact Leeds have a courtesy bike, and are a pound cheaper swings it, then that's fine. Sure, i'd like the work, but I have a simple pricing structure that I have spent many hours working out and that's what I quote. I do give a discount to the DSC and this works well for me and the DSC members.
You asked for, and I quoted you a price for the service on your bike. Why this thread started I don't know, but I've got my story over now.

Zimbo
16-03-2006, 07:15 AM
I the few dealings I've had with Nelly in the past I've found him to be extremely helpful, and his reputation with owners who use his services is second to none. I personally wouldn't hesitate to use him, and if my bike needed work doing that I couldn't do myself I wouldn't think twice about getting my bike over to Nottingham to Cornerspeed rather than book it in with my local dealer, even if they were the same price.
Nelly understands two valve Ducatis too, which is more than can be said for many dealers. One of the few shops I know of in the UK to get a genuine 100bhp out of an air cooled 2 valve engine.

Yorkie
16-03-2006, 07:16 AM
Just read the above thread and to be quite honest, why bother?? You pay your money and take your choice! Nelly is in the business and will need to run it as such.

People usually go to dealers/independants or people they know because they trust them and know that they will treat their bikes/pride and joy with the attention to detain it deserves.

I personally have not had my servicing done by Nelly, but many on this board and the DSC travel long distances to get the attention to detail that nelly offers, even though a Ducati dealer may be closer!

I have however asked for information from Nelly on quite a regular basis, and have never been offered anything but sound and professional advice !!

I think this thread is here to offer useful information on good and bad dealers, new and old.

Just because Ducati Leeds are a pound cheaper and offer a loaner, does not mean they are better. I think you could have kept this one to yourself and made your own mind up, instead of starting a pointless thread!!

Yorkie.

PM me if you would like to discuss my opinion!

Rockhopper
16-03-2006, 01:15 PM
You need to be very careful that you are actually comparing like with like. I notice that Ducati Leeds charge by the hour. So what happens if they come across a problem, like a stuck bolt or such like? Also some dealers say that the price includes checking valve clearances but if you read the small print it doesn't include the labour or parts if they need adjusting so thats an extra cost.

Fixed price servicing is the way to go in my opinion (for the punter, not for the service man!!).

If Neil had charged me what his time actually cost for quite a few jobs he has done for me i'd be looking to sell my bike. He spent almost a whole day sorting the carbs on the Monster but only charged me an hours labour becasue thats what we had agreed before he started work. Neither of us was to know that one of the mixture screws was so badly butchered that he had to grind it out with the dremmel. My problem really but Neil stood the cost of the work.
Thats just one example of why our bikes will always go to Neil. Its the little things over and above the call of duty that make the difference.

To be honest I've never bothered checking prices so i don't know if he is more or less expensive than anyone else.

Bodybag
17-03-2006, 11:24 AM
I just spoke to Nelly this morning about some work and he's a lot cheaper than the main dealers quoted. His hourly rate is certainly much cheaper and he can collect the bike if I need it!!

So stop going on and turning this into a personal moan about one of our own!

Can we kill this thread now as it could all get a bit slanderous!

Didge
17-03-2006, 12:13 PM
When it comes to servicing one's pride & joy, one wants someone who knows what they're doing.
I always used Pro-Twins who are near me. No where near the cheapest, but their work is faultless. Neil is too far away for me, but if he was closer, I'd have no problem with his prices. Cheaper is not always best, & I'd rather pay more for servicing that is reliable and good quality.
I don't believe this thread is 'slanderous' as someone put it, I think it's good that it is explained to some people that there is more to having one's bike serviced than price.
We need more people like Neil in the motorcycle service market, unfortunately there are too many of the opposite, so if one is lucky enough to have a good reliable spanner man like Neil to service one's bike, support him with your custom.
What price a nice running reliable bike?

bigredduke
17-03-2006, 12:41 PM
Can we kill this thread now as it could all get a bit slanderous!

At the risk of being accused of pedantry, slander is spoken, libel is written, so it might be considered libellous!

Gilps
17-03-2006, 12:53 PM
There's nothing libellous about NC35's remarks. He simply voiced his opinion in a non-offensive manner. Others took the opportunity to disagree with him, Nelly came on here a gave his his view, and others have further defended Nelly. I don't see a problem with this thread.
I don't know Nelly so I don't have an axe to grind here, in fact he sounds like just the kind of guy I will take my Duke to when it is out of warranty as he is so highly recommended and well thought of, but I do think that we should be allowed to post negative opinions as well as the more positive ones. I have had bad experiences at other dealers and haver posted my views on this forum. Some members agreed that they had also had bad experiences too and a few gave an opposite view. The more information we have, the better equipped we are to make informed decisions for ourselves. i like to think that by relating my experiences, someone else read it and avoided having the same thing happen to them. I'm always quick to prasie too when I get good service.

paynep
17-03-2006, 04:18 PM
One of the few shops I know of in the UK to get a genuine 100bhp out of an air cooled 2 valve engine.

Yes, and that's from Phil Huntley's 600 DesmoDue bike :chuckle:

Zimbo
17-03-2006, 04:20 PM
He'll have no excuse at Cadwell then!!! :D

Mind you, Lord Rattler's bike's been there for a while too. Hmmmm . . . .

madhatter
17-03-2006, 04:53 PM
Sounds like we're all agreed then.:)

Nothing wrong in getting comparative prices and publishing them on this forum. Some people offer other incentives such as a loan bike, some feel that their reputation and quality of work is enough. At the end of the day you pay your money and take your chance, or stick with what you know.

Hopefully, well balanced experience posted on our forum will help us all base our service decisions on both price and service quality.:ukm:

NBs
18-03-2006, 01:14 AM
I'll be another to champion the service AND price from Cornerspeed. I use Neil even though he's 200 miles from me and there's a Ducati dealer 8 miles down the road.

Half the price of my local Ducati dealer, and infinately better workmanship.
Endless amounts of advice - free of charge.

Nothing but praise for a guy who's not just running a business, but endulging his passion for both the bikes and those of us who own them.

Long may he continue!

CK & AK
18-03-2006, 08:43 AM
To conclude: we also go to Nelly (a good 2 & half hours drive from us) - passing quite a few turnoffs to dealers on the way.
Nelly is so busy because (IMHO) he is a good workman, hence he is already booked up well into May this year.

C :cool: