Terms and conditions for a motorcycle repair shop

A motorcycle workshop needs terms that deal with machines booked in for a service that need major work, owners who stop responding, parts the customer supplied, and courier accounts that claim for time off the road. I draft customer terms around how your workshop takes bookings and releases machines, for a fixed fee of £995, delivered in five working days.

Who this is for

Motorcycle and scooter repair shops, servicing and MOT centres, tuning and dyno businesses, classic restorers and mobile mechanics in England and Wales. Most workshops take work from private riders, who are consumers in law, and also from couriers, driving schools, dealers and fleet operators, who are not. One set of terms has to be written with both groups in mind.

What matters in motorcycle workshop terms

Estimates, strip-down and authorising further work

Most workshop disputes start with a bike booked in for one job that turns out to need more. The terms should say that a figure given before inspection is an estimate, that you will contact the customer with a revised figure once the fault is known, and that further work goes ahead only on the customer's authority, recorded in writing or by text or email. They should also deal with the customer who declines the repair: what the diagnosis or strip-down time costs, and what reassembly to a rideable or non-rideable state will be charged at.

Parts, special orders and parts the customer supplies

Parts you supply are goods, so for private riders the Consumer Rights Act 2015 requires them to be of satisfactory quality, fit for purpose and as described, with a short-term right to reject and then repair or replacement. Your terms should distinguish genuine, pattern and used parts and say which you are fitting. Special order and made-to-order components should be paid for up front and treated as non-returnable. Where the customer brings in a part they bought online, the terms should record that you take no responsibility for its quality or fitment and that labour to remove and refit it is chargeable again.

Payment, disposal charges and trade accounts

Set out when payment is due, that the machine is released on cleared payment, and what deposit you take before ordering parts. You cannot add a surcharge when a private rider pays by card, under the Consumer Rights (Payment Surcharges) Regulations 2012. If you take waste oil, batteries and tyres away you need waste carrier registration under the Control of Pollution (Amendment) Act 1989, and if you apply a workshop consumables or waste disposal charge to every job, it is a mandatory charge, and under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 a price advertised to consumers has to include it. For courier, dealer and fleet accounts, credit limits and payment days belong in the terms, with interest and compensation claimed under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998.

The bike in your custody, road tests and storage

While a customer's machine is on your premises it is in your care, and your terms should say what that means. Cover keys, documents, luggage, helmets and personal items left on the bike, whether you road test as part of the work and under what insurance, and who carries the risk for a machine left outside overnight. Free storage should end on a stated number of days after you tell the customer the work is finished, with a daily charge after that. Uncollected machines need a written notice process, because selling someone's motorcycle is a serious step and must follow the notice procedure under section 12 of the Torts (Interference with Goods) Act 1977.

Private riders, cancellation and urgent repairs

Where a job is agreed by phone, email or online booking, or at the customer's home or roadside, the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 give a private rider fourteen days to cancel, and the period extends by up to twelve months where the cancellation information was never given. There are exceptions for urgent repairs the consumer asked for, limited to that work, and for services fully performed within the period at the customer's express request and acknowledgement. Your booking process and your terms have to carry that wording together, or you may do the work and not be paid for it.

Warranty, modifications and limits on liability

State the warranty you offer on your labour and how manufacturer parts warranties are passed through, and exclude machines used for racing, track days or competition unless you have priced for it. Performance modifications, ECU remapping and non-standard components raise questions about roadworthiness and the owner's insurance that the terms should put squarely on the customer. Against business customers a cap on liability and an exclusion of loss of use and lost earnings are subject to the reasonableness test in the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977. Neither Act permits you to exclude liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, which matters on brakes, steering and tyres.

What it costs

Customer or supplier terms and conditions, £995. One set of terms, customer-facing or supplier-facing, drafted for your business. Five working days.

Review of your existing terms, £495. You already have terms and want them checked and brought up to date. Returned marked up with my amendments and an explanation of the changes. Three working days.

Buying online forms the engagement on payment. The scope is what the terms and conditions drafting page describes, you accept the Terms of Service at checkout, and I email you within four working hours to get started. If you would rather ask something first, email me.

What you get

• A full set of bespoke terms drafted for your business, reflecting the legal requirements that apply to your business and sector
• A note in plain English explaining the terms I have drafted for you
• Liability, payment, termination and IP provisions that protect your position and are drafted to withstand scrutiny from the other side
• Guidance on how to incorporate the terms properly
• Your questions and comments answered by email or phone
• One round of amendments to finalise the terms ready for use

What is not included

• Negotiating your terms with individual customers (I am happy to quote for this as an additional service if required)
• Sector-specific regulatory compliance beyond the contract terms themselves
• Website privacy notice and cookie compliance, which I quote separately
• Terms governed by the law of another country
• Tax advice

Questions I am often asked

Can I keep a bike until the invoice is paid?

Workshop terms normally include a right to retain the machine until payment is made, together with storage charges. It carries weight only if the customer agreed to it before the work began, so incorporation at booking is what makes the difference. Keep the job card, the authorisation message and your notices to the owner, because that is the evidence you will need.

A customer wants me to fit a part they bought online. Where does that leave me?

You can agree to it, but price the risk. If the part fails or does not fit, you have supplied labour only, and your terms should say the quality of the component is the customer's responsibility and the second lot of labour is chargeable. Some workshops decline customer parts on safety-critical items altogether, which is a defensible commercial policy.

Do I need different terms for courier and dealer accounts?

One document can cover both if it has a section that applies only to consumers and a section dealing with credit accounts, order numbers and payment days. What fails is a trade-style document handed to a private rider, because the provisions you rely on most are the ones a court will not enforce against a consumer.

Related guidance and services

• Terms and conditions drafting, £995, the service this page describes
• Employment contracts and handbooks, £595
• Ask Caesar, £495 a month
• Terms and conditions for a locksmith
• Terms and conditions for a removals company

This page is general guidance for businesses in England and Wales, not advice on your own circumstances. Last reviewed: September 2026. Email geoffrey@caesar.co.uk.