Holding a garage to account......

[scofield.1]

Ok as regular readers will know I recently had an engine seize, suspect as always cambelt, but had been told it had been changed approx 20,000 miles ago..... was it the truth?? Yes!! probably was as the cam-belt looked good and healthy.... what was not good though was that the mechanic who fitted a new oil pump for me a couple of months ago had not tightened the bolt on the shaft properly, and that came lose, upset the timing and caused the seizure.

Am I able to claim any compensation from them? I have now had to spend a little under £800 to have a replacement engine, new clutch, new water filter, cambelt kit auxbelt kit shaft bearing, oil filter, thermostat (ie all that you would want to replace while undergoing engine change).

I am very interested in peoples opinions as to be honest I have no confidence at all in it being worth even trying.

Gary

 

[Flying Scotsman]

If their work came with a warrentee then yes they can be held accountable... Evidence of work is always useful should they deny they did the work too.

 

[daveski]

I would have gone there before trying to get the car fixed.

 

[zinc2000]

I am with above, I would have gone back to the garage first, if it was due to their sloppy work and you have the bills etc to prove it, repairs should be down to them so long as you have not been hammering the hell out of it since!

 

[Flying Scotsman]

Double edged sword though really as if he went back there, and the same mechanic discovered that it was his doing... he may try and cover it up by blaming it on something else not related to his work and so OP would still have to fork out for the replacement. This way and independant source has identified the issue with no bias and so the OP has the potential for compensation.

 

[scofield.1]

I spent £533.00 getting oil leaks sorted out, this included £225 for the new oil pump. During the mechanics play he fixed the rocker cover gasket in case that was leaking when I knew it was not as I had done it myself. The mechanic put a patent one on, it still leaked, he then told me that he stretched it and added sealant,, it then of course was bound to leak and he decided to order a ford one!, having heard all that there was no way i was going back to that garage.

I have little faith in mechanics to admit when they have made a mistake, especially on such a large scale, my apologies to all the mechanics on the forum, as I am sure you are a different lot!!

Gary

 

[Zara]

Oh mate, thats shit

sorry to hear that, Craig manage to sort the car at the weekend then?

 

[lrrhood]

Under tha sales of goods and services act you are covered for any work (whatever field) you pay for! However if you have already had the work corrected somewhere else it comes to your word against theirs. If you have not had the work done and just been told what the problem is by the new mechanic you could have some redress in going back to the original garage and saying 'this needs doing as a result of what you did last time and I need you to sort it out for me free of charge' However you will need to prove that the work to be carried out and the damage caused is purley because of the work that they did and not down to wear and tear etc.. If the work has already been done then this greatly lessens the chances of you getting any compensation, this said, if you still have the damaged parts, and the garage you took the car to is willing to make a statement (not always an easy thing persuading a stranger to stand up in court for you), and you have receipts and any log of the original work done then you may have a case! Best bet make a diary of events (stick to the facts, no emotion or opinions), gather as much evidence as you can, contact the garage who have repaired the work for you and see if or to what extent they are willing to stand up for you, contact the garage who did the original work for you, a polite e-mail (Creating a paper trail), explaining the situation and see if they are happy to come to some arangement. If you are not happy with their response then get yourself a free apointment with a solicitor, take the evidence and copies of e-mails etc and see what they have to say, and best of luck.
On a personal note I can see why you didn't want to go back to the original place, we have it all the time in hairdressing, putting other places cut's and colour rights, in hairdressing it is harder to take to court as a bad hair cut is often a point of view but when you are dealing with cold hard metal etc..... Best of british

 

[zinc2000]

I would go along with above....never, never argue with a hairdresser :lol:

 

[ElDude at Allison Automotive]

Garages get away with crap work all the time..it's rediculous..

to prove they were actually negligent i imagine would be VERY cumbersome and costly..and lots of stress...

If you've had it rectified elsewhere then i would say you've definately shot it now trying to pin one on them... best thing you can do now is have the balls to show up there and politely explain that his work was terrible and recommend that he should'nt be trying to take on work that he is not able to complete to a satisfactory standard... i can imagine what the response will be though, it takes a man to own up to negligent work.... you may have have to put that one down to experience like everyone else does.. :x :x :lol:

Chris

 

[deputy]

On a personal note I can see why you didn't want to go back to the original place, we have it all the time in hairdressing, putting other places cut's and colour rights, in hairdressing it is harder to take to court as a bad hair cut is often a point of view but when you are dealing with cold hard metal etc..... Best of british

does this mean that everyone at work is right and i do drive a hairdressers car??! :roll:

 

[lrrhood]

On a personal note I can see why you didn't want to go back to the original place, we have it all the time in hairdressing, putting other places cut's and colour rights, in hairdressing it is harder to take to court as a bad hair cut is often a point of view but when you are dealing with cold hard metal etc..... Best of british

does this mean that everyone at work is right and i do drive a hairdressers car??! :roll:

Nah there always has to be an exception to prove the rule :wink:

 

[scofield.1]

lol my nephew is a fine Police Officer and is the worst culprit when it comes to pointing out that I have a hairdressers car lol.

Sadly I believe the truth is that I would just go through lots of stress with no hope of a quids-in outcome, so I will just pop down and see the owner of the garage to point out the mistake for the benefit of any future Puma owners who have any work done which involves taking of that infamous crank nut!

Still love the car, and I have to admit IanG has sent me a good one its sounds well sweet, and my new mechanic has guaranteed his work!

Thanks to all

Gary