Ovation 3 fuel leak

[kj2016]

I had the fuel leak from the tank around the wheel well! I took my plane to LASAR. Original estimate to fix the leak was 4 to 5 hours Picked up my plane today and  my bill was 4k. In addition I was told there is no warranty on work. Any thoughts guys? My plane is 2007 ovation 3. They only sealed the area around the leak.35 hours of labor charged

Edited June 24, 2016 by Kuljit hundal

[Godfather]

Total BS.  If the original estimate was $500-600 and they did not contact you at all before the additional work was done I'd make sure the shop owner and I had a long sit down meeting.  I find it's a lot harder to be a frugal pilot when you pull up with a more expensive plane.  Pick your battles and stand your ground.  

[Piloto]

2 hours ago, Kuljit hundal said:

I had the fuel leak from the tank around the wheel well! I took my plane to LASAR. Original estimate to fix the leak was 4 to 5 hours Picked up my plane today and  my bill was 4k. In addition I was told there is no warranty on work. Any thoughts guys? My plane is 2007 ovation 3. They only sealed the area around the leak.35 hours of labor charged

Wow!!! No work warranty on a leak sealing? You can test a leak after sealing by just blowing air by mouth into the tank and then checking for bubbles. But the blow job is another 2k

José

[kj2016]

He had a good a reputation! He just turned a crook! I told him that I will never come back to him and paid my bill in full. He will  not give me Warranty. Apparently weep no more charges 7k to seal both tanks with 7 year warranty . Please don't go to this Guy!

[1524J]

2 hours ago, Kuljit hundal said:

I had the fuel leak from the tank around the wheel well! I took my plane to LASAR. Original estimate to fix the leak was 4 to 5 hours Picked up my plane today and  my bill was 4k. In addition I was told there is no warranty on work. Any thoughts guys? My plane is 2007 ovation 3. They only sealed the area around the leak.35 hours of labor charged

I suspect I know what happened.....they said 45 hours to repair and you heard 4 to 5 hours. They thought they did good by completing the job in 35 hours.

I'm pretty sure Maxwell charges $700 a tank for leak only repairs....no warranty.

[kj2016]

Lol! I was quoted 4 to 5 hours. Then given a 4000 bill. What a shameless guy. I told him he should have given me a call to update me. 

[1524J]

56 minutes ago, Kuljit hundal said:

Lol! I was quoted 4 to 5 hours. Then given a 4000 bill. What a shameless guy. I told him he should have given me a call to update me. 

My tongue was planted firmly in cheek.....

Nothing worse than an unexpected bill....especially one off that far.

i just took my Mooney to an avionics shop for some work that we thought would take a couple of hours max. Seven hours later we finally wrapped it up. I felt bad because he had squeezed me in for the morning. When noon rolled around and it was still obvious we lacked quite a bit of work, I felt bad for him so I bought lunch. Of course I was there the entire time helping.....or perhaps getting in the way....depending on perspective.  

[Jeff_S]

It's really tough to impugn LASAR without knowing more to the story. Certainly, an original estimate of 4-5 hours and a bill of $4AMU are not consistent. What hasn't been said are what other issues they may have found once they got into the work. Now, the onus is on the shop to call and inform the owner of any unexpected findings that would seriously increase the work effort, and it sounds like this didn't happen. So if that is the case, then shame on LASAR.

But as an owner of a very similar airplane, I would be interested in what their final explanation was for the increased charges. What did they discover and have to fix that would justify this? What things should we as fellow owners be on the lookout for so we can advise our shops and keep tabs on them? I understand the OP's anger, but would ask that he use this space to actually inform and educate rather than just vent.

My $.02....for which I now bill you $200!

[kj2016]

Jeff you made a good point! I am not just venting. I have been aircraft owner since 2003. LASAR did my pre buy and annual on  Mooney 5 months ago and I paid 10k. I was informed that it took  them long time to find the leak in the tank. There was not damage to the tank. It is not a very old plane.  Weep no more had done some repair in the same area 4 years ago and they charged 250 dollars. I know this guy has good reputation but I honestly believe he is falling apart being in wheelchair and now he is trying to be super aggressive in his billing. They should have called me and informed me that how many hours they have logged in without finding the leak. If it takes u 36 hours to find a leak in a realitively new plane u don't know how to look! I will post another PIREP on this shop. I honestly believe this shop is losing its credibility it once had! 

 

[Jeff_S]

Holy Crap! You paid $10K for a pre-buy and annual? There's got to be more to that story. Yes, by all means, a more thorough PIREP is in order. Otherwise it sounds as though you have gotten fleeced not once but twice!

[StevenL757]

Kuljit, can you scan and post a copy of the bill (or bills) so we can review and give a bit more guidance?  Block out whatever personal information you prefer, but agree with others here that the totals and rationale behind the billing are completely misaligned.  I think you'll find some value in the feedback so you can unravel the mystery.

Steve

[LANCECASPER]

On 6/24/2016 at 9:58 PM, Jeff_S said:

Holy Crap! You paid $10K for a pre-buy and annual? There's got to be more to that story. Yes, by all means, a more thorough PIREP is in order. Otherwise it sounds as though you have gotten fleeced not once but twice!

The $4000 for the leak was to justify the $10K for the pre-buy and the annual 

[kris_adams]

Prior to getting bladders I had repairs done by two different mechanics (1 MSC; 1 just a "regular" a&p).  Repairs were $500-$1000 each time and were warrantied until I flew away (in other words no warranty either).  For 4AMU it seems like the entire right or left side should have been re-sealed with a warranty.  I've bought quite a few things from LASAR over the years and always found them to be straight up.  I hope this works out for you.

-Kris