Smart dash repair - not that impressed

taximike

taximike

taximike

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Joined
25 Dec 2009
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615
Agreed on a price of £90 to fix the holes where someone had installed a mobile phone cradle. Woman (yeah, random) came to my house in her van to fix it. She spent just under 3 hours at it.

This is what it looked like before:


This is what it looks like now:


So... I said to her that I wasn't really happy with the work and that if I had known that it was going to look that poor I would have just bought a dashboard for £60 and spent a morning fitting it.

She then said 'oh you won't fit it in a morning. Anyway what are you worrying about - it's a nine year old car. It's never going to be perfect'. This comment angered me because the age of the car has absolutely NOTHING to do with the standard of repair I expect. So I said in the circumstances that I would give her £60. She declined my offer. I then asked what she wanted to do about it and she said she was going to go away and basically that either I should pay her £90 or give her my old dashboard. I said 'okay if I replace it I'll send you the old one' and she drove off.

So...... options....... can either do nothing (kind of the a-hole thing to do, she was here 3 hours), send her £60 as a cheque, send her £90 as a cheque or send her the dashboard. Advice?
 
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Did you ask to see an example of a similar repair as I feel your level of expectancy is unrealistic. If you wanted it 100% a new console would surely have been the correct route to take.
 
that looks very good to my eyes.

Certainly not bad value as most wont be able to fit a whole new dashboard for £60.
 
yes

it might be not what you expected, but its what most of us seem to expect for £90

im impressed the finish is as good as it is, the only give away is where its raised due to the filler.
 
MrLOL said:
yes

it might be not what you expected, but its what most of us seem to expect for £90

im impressed the finish is as good as it is, the only give away is where its raised due to the filler.
Click to expand...

It's not raised at all - it's still indented where it's been pressed in by the cradle being there for x years
 
Looks like a good repair for the money to me.
If you add the cost of a new console to your time and materials to do it it will come to more than 90 quid!
 
I would give her a call when you have both calmed down and see what she says.

It's not the best but its not the worst either, i think you should pay her.

Things like this can easily end up with you waking up with a tin of brake fluid over it for the sake of a few quid.

Also remember you are looking for that, anyone else wont even notice the repair now.
 
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It does look awful in the pics to be honest, I'd be a bit annoyed if I had paid £90 for that - they should probably have warned you it would still look the exactly the same apart from the small holes being filled in.

I think I can see the face of Jesus in the final pic though, so you might get some money back that way.
 
It doesn't look the bad, certainly an improvement on what it was before. As for getting a whole new dash for £60, that doesn't seem that likely, at least for one in perfect condition, and after a good few hours fitting it'd be likley to squeak and rattle.
 
Khaaan! said:
O rly!
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Well, yes!

I didn't say it'd look any less crap though.:p

Oh, and why oh why did you change your name from mrk?!? I was totally confused where/who you were for ages, then realised when you posted pics of your awesome cockatiels. :D
 
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