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Around November/December time last year my car heater stopped working and as my father was a mechanic, I asked him to have a quick look to see if he could see what was wrong. He suggested it was my cylinder head gasket that needed to be replaced. Acting on his advice I took the car to the garage that I bought it from and after a check over, they decided that it was not in fact the cylinder head gasket but rather my thermostat that needed to be replaced. The bill for this was 60 which at the time I thought was fine.
After a short period of time though my heater stopped again. I took car back to garage and asked them to take another look at cylinder head gasket. Once again they couldn't find a problem and told me that the cylinder head gasket wasn't the problem.
In February my car was due MOT. I asked them once again to check my cylinder head gasket because I knew this to be an expensive job and I felt that if car was going to fail the MOT and cost a lot to fix, I would be as well getting new car. They checked the cylinder head again when it went in for the MOT and I was told by the mechanic that there was absolutely no problem with it, the car was fine apparently.
A week after the MOT the heater stopped working...
The MOT cost 475 as some other work needing doing in order to get it through. Well fair enough I thought and paid up. I had my car back for less than a week after the MOT and then the heater stopped working! So back to the garage with the car so they could hopefully "find the problem!" When I went back to collect my car I was told that they had discovered the cylinder head gasket actually needed replacing after all and it was the reason the heater stopped working!
Fuming? - just ever so slightly I can tell you...
I feel this garage has tried to squeeze more and more money every week from me how do I officially complain about them and what are likely outcomes?
By: Jon Anderson
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I put my immaculate car in for an LPG conversion, the 'specialists; damaged the loom wiring while running cables to indicator and controls components inside the car. This damage caused the ECU to burn out and some of the car wiring was damaged. They had a new ECU fitted but tried to suggest the car already had some loom damage - luckily I have all service sheets and the garage who sold it to me had checked and tested the entire car before putting it up for sale - but even now after 8 weeks they haven't completed the LPG conversion because THEIR kit is causing a persistent misfire. Absolutely incompetent and devious - they tell lies all the time they should be banned from trading.....
28/12/19 greaser
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It is good to see a few proper gripes creeping back. I am not taking any sides, it is just good to see.
10/07/14 boblet
0
@Should have bought German, Thats what I always believed but I was sadly wrong. I have just found out that Audi cars have a 1 in 27 engine failure rate, they are in the bottom 10 of worst cars and Iv'e got one to prove the fact. I wish I had stuck with my last Ford Kuga, if that broke it didn't cast an arm and a leg!!!!
10/07/14 Jethro
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Booked my car in for a major service at a main Ford dealer, gave them two weeks notice on the understanding I wanted it done first so as to get it back quick. Eight a.m drop off on the day and guess what, "we'll give you a call mid afternoon when it's done". I explained that they had agreed to a lunch time completion. "Can't do it we're too busy". Screw you was my reply and I drove away. Typical English attitude, no wonder this country is in the mess it's in right now.
10/07/14 Should have bought German
0
Hi all,
I'm working on a campaign to make motorists aware of the fact there are no minimum training standards for garage mechanics and trying to find a case study of someone who has had serious problems with car repairs from a garage or mechanic - would anyone like to help? There may be some media interviews involved but this is all TBC and you wouldn't have to be named...
Thanks in advance!
24/06/14 Carys
I'm working on a campaign to make motorists aware of the fact there are no minimum training standards for garage mechanics and trying to find a case study of someone who has had serious problems with car repairs from a garage or mechanic - would anyone like to help? There may be some media interviews involved but this is all TBC and you wouldn't have to be named...
Thanks in advance!
0
Hi there
Stumbled on this site can anyone advise me.My car was towed in to a garage and told that is was beyond reasonable repair. But I was told this by the mechanic not the owner and this mechanics went on to sell me a car that just passed its mot 5 days ago. When driving out of the garage I returned it in poor state ie: brakes metal to metal knocking on steering and also lots of other problems. I was told by the mechanic he would replace the brake disks and repair the steering I said no I would like my money back he refused. I took the garage to court and the judge said the mechanic was to blame and I would have to start a claim against him and advised him he would be liable. In court the owner of the garage said all his staff could buy and sell cars for their gain on his insurance and said one side of the forecourt was for the mechanics and the other for the garage.Also the mechanic produced in court a print out from a computer of the bill of sale signed and dated by both parties with the original date from when he bought it and this was not the original nor a copy but a print out that anyone could have done. Now there's another twist this print out is the wrong registration. Being the fact the the owner said all his staff could buy and sell cars should he have a poster explaining this to the public because how was I to know if I was dealing with the garage or the mechanic.I have an appeal date on the 20th December 2013 I have been in touch with some insurance companies who informed me this could be against the law and could be known has fronting.
love to hear from anyone
mickclare73@gmail.com
11/12/13 mick
Stumbled on this site can anyone advise me.My car was towed in to a garage and told that is was beyond reasonable repair. But I was told this by the mechanic not the owner and this mechanics went on to sell me a car that just passed its mot 5 days ago. When driving out of the garage I returned it in poor state ie: brakes metal to metal knocking on steering and also lots of other problems. I was told by the mechanic he would replace the brake disks and repair the steering I said no I would like my money back he refused. I took the garage to court and the judge said the mechanic was to blame and I would have to start a claim against him and advised him he would be liable. In court the owner of the garage said all his staff could buy and sell cars for their gain on his insurance and said one side of the forecourt was for the mechanics and the other for the garage.Also the mechanic produced in court a print out from a computer of the bill of sale signed and dated by both parties with the original date from when he bought it and this was not the original nor a copy but a print out that anyone could have done. Now there's another twist this print out is the wrong registration. Being the fact the the owner said all his staff could buy and sell cars should he have a poster explaining this to the public because how was I to know if I was dealing with the garage or the mechanic.I have an appeal date on the 20th December 2013 I have been in touch with some insurance companies who informed me this could be against the law and could be known has fronting.
love to hear from anyone
mickclare73@gmail.com
-1
My car had gunk in oil cap and AA diagnosed head gasket and took it to my regular garage - he had it for 3 weeks, got it back and within 2 hours a pipe had popped off and lost all coolant - he fixed straight away. Went to drive car away and was misfiring so he kept it again for another day and fixed it! Brought it home but the central locking no longer worked, the car was filled with fumes when the engine was hot and it had an oil leak - took it to a diff garage and the guy found 5 faults!! He fixed most of them but said the oil leak was a big job and to take it back - I have done and he has spent the day repairing it - will be taking it to my new guy to get it checked over - fingers crossed £780 for head gasket and £200 for exploratory and fixing other bits and a £200 job pending to fit a breather hose he broke!!!
05/04/11 FOXFUR
-18
Hi there,we had sort of same problem we took our car twice to the same garage as it was over heat ing but was assured its nothing to do with head gas kit so the mechanic changed the hose then we orderd another hose all that cost £220 while the car was still in the garage for 4 days we were told now the head gas kit has gone ,since then the car has been moved to their friends garage who has been working on it and said he will give the car back in 3 days.Guess what its been 3weeks and no sign of our car and we were told the bill is going to be £1300
03/02/11 Pinka Smith
-10
My son recently took his car to a garage and asked for a wheel bearing to be put on the passenger side of car when we picked the car up they had done the wrong side,we accepted this but he said he didnt have time to do the right side we were not pleased but went to another garage who said the first bearing hadnt been fitted correctly,and he had also damaged the censor,we had a bill of £368 and found the first garage were not qualified mechanics,i rang trading standards who said to me there was nothing that could be done as they did not need to be qualified mechanics. I also added they didnt give us a reciept she said they dont have to they can earn £63000 a year without paying tax is this right???
01/12/10 Maggie
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Well Captain Canuck you must be from the same species as my auto mechanics, you are after all the same breed of bloomin useless crooks. My car went in January last year was in 8 weeks cos swirl flaps went in engine, 8 weeks (a warranty Job) amazing how it was finished within hours once payment was sorted, by me, frustrated after 8 weeks of seeing my car parked up in bits unworked on. Guess what that £3000 has just gone down the drain cos it's now been in there for another 7 with a new £800 fuel pump (unnecessary) and a new Rocker arm(unnecessary) still problem is not fixed, guess what, the angelic auto mechanic did the job wrong in the first place and caused major damage he expects me to pay for. Car still under warranty I've told him to get in touch with them and I am collecting my car and all it's pieces to be put back together by a decent person. So don't dare call unsuspecting motorists for taking their cars to mechanics and expecting them to do what they say they will and you expect them to be qualified for, lets face it you probably don't work in this business anymore because you were rubbish at it, and one too many people expected you to be able to do the job you were trained for, in a reasonable time and with good quality
24/09/10 Pee'd off by captain canuc
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I took my car to Auto Action Garage Station Road in Hendon Nw4,it was a little slugish when it stops but after a few seconds it was fine.The Machinic Peter did some work on it he says that he has done some Diagonistic on it and some parts fitted which means that the problem is solved but its the different story there is no change in the car he is refusing to give me the Diagonistic Report no detail but he wants £229-00 for doing nothing,he is still holding my car and not giving it back to me.
15/06/10 Zubiar
-4
This is why I've left this thankless trade , listening to whining , snivelling , pencil necked types complain about they're auto mechanics. People need to realize that we don't design them , we don't build them yet we get to try and sort them out when you break them. noone complains if a carpenter buys your house , renovates it then sells at a profit, yet if a mechanic buys an old bucket of bolts or gets it free , spends his time and effort and money to repair it and sell it people lose their minds. The problem as I see it is that the general public these days has no clue whatsoever how vehicles work and what to expect from them , if your ignorant to the complexities of the modern automobile its much easier to blame the mechanic when it doesn't work out. I find it funny how completely uninformed and ignorant people are nowadays about anything to do with machinery of any type . In the old days people repaired their own equipment performed repairs in the home etc. Most people can't even change their own oil now yet the people who they need to repair this troublesome , overengineered rubbish being produced by the automakers of the day must always labour under suspicion and scorn.
27/04/10 Captain Canuck
-3
my car wouldn't start so I got someone from garage to tow away, I need a new ecu. this was 4 weeks ago, it still hasn't been done. the peugeot dealers are absolutely useless. they took 2 weeks to supply new ecu and it was faulty. but they wouldn't take the garage's word for I and send another one, they wanted to test it all for themselves. they eventually came to the same conclusion as the garage and have agreed to send another ecu. another 2 weeks later and it still hasn't arrived, I get told a day when my car is going to be ready, then when that day arrives they change it. this is so ridiculous and there's nothing I can do about it as peugeot need to sort themselves out and send the part when they say they will. they are an absolute joke! i'm still going to be expected to pay £980 for this pleasure (if I ever get the car back)
16/01/10 lolly
-12
Just curious but if your dad is a mechanic why did he not fix it !
03/01/10 G
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