garages and dealers- some are scum of the earth

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Soldato
Joined
21 Nov 2004
Posts
13,558
Location
Wishaw
as some of you chaps will know i'm in the middle of an epic waterpump failure on the vectra.

now the vectra was purchased at the beginning of the year with a Full Vauxhall service history stamped up to date INCLUDING a belt change.
now in march this year i was up to my eyes in it and put said vectra into a local independant to have a belt and waterpump done as it was due. price quoted was for genuine gm parts

now today having suffered water pump failure i haul the belt and pump out to my surprise they are the original parts (fiat items with fiat part no's whereas my dealer supplied parts whilst identical are badged as gm with gm part no's

now the problem i have is due to the time and mileage that has passed i cant really go shouting the odds at either the original dealer or the local indy as i cant see any argument that i could present.


so guys especially those with vauxhall knowledge. my understanring is that the z19dth in my vectra will have came equipped with fiat parts when the engine was built (understandable as its a fiat sourced engine).
fitting my genuine parts today they have different part no's on them and of course they are marked gm rather than fiat/lancia. would it be safe to assume that neither of the times when the belt/pump was due to be changed that it has actually been done? the belt is certainly looking past its best and the bearing on the pump has collapsed,

rather miffed at this as this is my livliehood thats being messed about with and to have covered nigh on 170k on an original belt if thats the case scares the hell out of me i dread to think of the ensuing grief if the belt had let go rather than the waterpump.


anyway rant over as i've spent the last 3 hours in a cold workshop cursing and swearing and kicking a vectra. but i'm curious as to how the motors chaps would see this personally it shows that no one can be trusted and that no matter how busy i am from now on everything will be done myself. (the local indy i've used on and off for the last 8 years and i really would expect no issues with a main dealer
 
Biohazard said:
always ask for the bits taken off back?

go have a word. a stern one.
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to be fair i felt i had a good degree of trust with the local indy i've used them for the last 8 years and put a fair bit of work their way when i'm busy. at the end of the day i'm just grateful it was the waterpump that packed up rather than the belt going, so its only been a car off the road for 24 hours and £150 in parts rather than a couple of g for a replacement engine
 
I would be pretty peeved if I was in your position but as you say, what can you do this far along the line!

The only garage I kind of trust is the Mazda one I take mine to. I generally check any work after it has been carried out and where possible get them to at least show me the old parts, at one point they put the car on a lift and showed me underneath so I could see the work done. I get them to do basic servicing and any jobs I deem to difficult to do myself without a garage and a pit/lift. Generally the stuff that is too difficult is obvious if it has been done and anything else such as brakes I do myself.

I think the best thing is to adopt the "don't trust anyone" attitude with garages and always check the work either when you pick it up or once you get home. Maybe even mark the original parts so it's easy to tell if they have been changed!
 
as said, if I ever get stuff done at a garage I always get the old bit back, I have always been offered the old parts back so its not really been a problem but would ask.
 
Can I just check that i'm understanding this right?

- You booked the car in for a cambelt/water pump change.
- Water pump fails months later, on inspection it becomes apparent that it's not been replaced at all?

Why would you not go back and start kicking up a fuss? If i'd booked a car in to have work done and it'd not been done at all, i'd be back like a shot wanting it sorted?
 
Tute said:
Can I just check that i'm understanding this right?

- You booked the car in for a cambelt/water pump change.
- Water pump fails months later, on inspection it becomes apparent that it's not been replaced at all?

Why would you not go back and start kicking up a fuss? If i'd booked a car in to have work done and it'd not been done at all, i'd be back like a shot wanting it sorted?
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as said i'm extremely angry about this, but in terms of proving anything it was done 50k/6 months ago which means they are not going to be in the slightest bit interested. that said if it had been belt failure and new engine time i would have been down there tommorow bashing their heads in with a keyboard but on reflection i dont feel that i can really expect anything other than to be fobbed off after the length of time thats passed. all they have to turn round and say is yes we done the work as stated prove otherwise and what do i have? i have a vectra taxi that has an original pump/belt all they need to say is we fitted what the dealer supplied etc etc i have no way of proving them to be liars other than the duff belt and pump i have sitting which is not going to prove much really 7 month down the line.

lesson learned for me and i shall make the good point of telling everyone i meet of my story for the next few months.
 
i always stay next to the 'mechanic' doing the job.
went for an oil/filter change once, i have an aftermarket oil cap (prob worth about £20)
the guy was taking one of them adjustable pliers to my oil cap to take it off so he could re-fill the oil, i started having a go at him (short fuse me :)) he says he can't take it off with his hands, it's too tight, so i took it off for him, some people just don't give a crap about other peoples cars.

i don't believe i actually nearly had a pnch up for an oil cap, lol.
 
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