3 repairs, still not right.

koooowweeee · 19 Jul 2020 at 18:46

Ok I'll try to keep it short

Bought a car, had a cracked cylinder head. Got it fixed, turbo went.

Got that fixed., Went again. Got that fixed, now it's smoking like it did the last time it was about to go.

The turbo blew the first time because they didn't change the oil after a cylinder head replacement. So they have fixed it twice for. free But each time it's taking them weeks.

After 3 fails. What should I do now?

The car is a 2011 A4 with 55k on the clock. Worth about 8-9k (not that price really matters. Just not throw away money)

Any advice?

MrRockliffe · 19 Jul 2020 at 18:51

Was the cracked cylinder head there when you bought it/did it occur within any warranty period? Or did you pay for the initial fix yourself with an independent garage?

If the former, I would be requesting a refund for the vehicle, on the basis they have had 3 attempts at fixing the vehicle, and have been unsuccessful. This is a reasonable number of attempts to offer, and as a vehicle is an important/expensive part of life, typically required to get to work etc, I wouldn’t expect to be without one for more than 21 days in total after buying one.

koooowweeee · 19 Jul 2020 at 18:59

MrRockliffe said:
Was the cracked cylinder head there when you bought it/did it occur within any warranty period? Or did you pay for the initial fix yourself with an independent garage?

If the former, I would be requesting a refund for the vehicle, on the basis they have had 3 attempts at fixing the vehicle, and have been unsuccessful. This is a reasonable number of attempts to offer, and as a vehicle is an important/expensive part of life, typically required to get to work etc, I wouldn’t expect to be without one for more than 21 days in total after buying one.

I bought the car cash and got stung with it. It had no symptoms when cold or just warming up.

So I've paid for the repairs myself.

MrRockliffe · 19 Jul 2020 at 19:01

koooowweeee said:
I bought the car cash and got stung with it. It had no symptoms when cold or just warming up.

So I've paid for the repairs myself.

In which case, you only really have one way forward - having the car repaired.

Once it is, it’s up to you whether you sell it or keep it.

In your position, I would imagine there’s a tendency to want to sell, but since you’ve had so much work, it may be best to keep it - you could end up in a similar situation with another vehicle.

What do YOU want to do at this stage?

koooowweeee · 19 Jul 2020 at 19:06

MrRockliffe said:
In which case, you only really have one way forward - having the car repaired.

Once it is, it’s up to you whether you sell it or keep it.

In your position, I would imagine there’s a tendency to want to sell, but since you’ve had so much work, it may be best to keep it - you could end up in a similar situation with another vehicle.

What do YOU want to do at this stage?

It's a hard one. Cost me and extra £1200 so I'm thinking keep it and get some moneys worth out of it (it's actually a really nice car. S-line, 170bhp, nice sound system etc) but I'm thinking, get them to fix it and get rid before anything else happens.

Each time I've had this debate with the wife, it's her car really. We just don't know what to do.

Half of the cash was paid on a credit card as the purchase left me a bit tight so maybe some cover with that should it all go bad at the garage?

koooowweeee · 19 Jul 2020 at 19:08

Btw it's not a local Indy of sorts. These guys only do engines. So I thought they were going to be the ones to sort this.

They are telling me they have no idea what WAS up with it. They don't know it's now smoking again as I picked it up late yesterday

OldKitMan · 19 Jul 2020 at 19:26

koooowweeee said:
I bought the car cash and got stung with it. It had no symptoms when cold or just warming up.

So I've paid for the repairs myself.

Did you buy it from a dealer, if so, how long have you had it? The method of payment doesn't really come into it although I see you have used a CC so you may have some cover with that.

However, did you give the dealer a chance to put it right - not sure why you've went to a local indy instead of getting a dealer to pay for it.

I'm assuming indy unless it was a private sale and you paid the seller via paypal?

koooowweeee · 19 Jul 2020 at 19:34

OldKitMan said:
Did you buy it from a dealer, if so, how long have you had it? The method of payment doesn't really come into it although I see you have used a CC so you may have some cover with that.

However, did you give the dealer a chance to put it right - not sure why you've went to a local indy instead of getting a dealer to pay for it.

I'm assuming indy unless it was a private sale and you paid the seller via paypal?

No I bought it private. Paid bank transfer.

I did have a ding dong with the guy and he offered to pay half of the first quote. The garage thought it was a head gasket. Which has the same symptoms. So I had to pay the extra for the cylinder head.

I did all the checks I could and the guy was middle aged with a pink shirt and tie. Nice family home so I "thought" all was well.

Turn out it had been looked at before. The guys I'm dealing with said it has screws missing.

Cash sale and private. I've had to suck that up.

MrRockliffe · 19 Jul 2020 at 19:37

koooowweeee said:
Half of the cash was paid on a credit card as the purchase left me a bit tight so maybe some cover with that should it all go bad at the garage?

If you’ve paid on credit card, did you buy it from a dealer? If so, it doesn’t matter that part was cash, as you get covered by the full
amount. What is an issue, though, is that you initially paid for the repair yourself. Hence, it’s highly unlikely you’d be able to take it back.

I would have a chat to the garage that have been repairing it and explain your frustration, firmly, but politely. Remind them that you’ve not had the car that much, and that they’ve unsuccessfully repaired the car 3 times now.

Have a think what you want from them, then ask them what they’d be prepared to do about it at this point. Voice your concerns that they may have broken something else in the repair.

MrRockliffe · 19 Jul 2020 at 19:40

koooowweeee said:
I did have a ding dong with the guy and he offered to pay half of the first quote.

That rings alarm bells, but unfortunately no proof.

It’s not worth looking back now, as it’ll only anger you. Look at what you can now do about it and weigh up options.

Perhaps ask the repair garage for a refund and take it to a specialist within 50 miles of you, so that you can ensure it gets done properly.

koooowweeee · 19 Jul 2020 at 19:43

MrRockliffe said:
If you’ve paid on credit card, did you buy it from a dealer? If so, it doesn’t matter that part was cash, as you get covered by the full
amount. What is an issue, though, is that you initially paid for the repair yourself. Hence, it’s highly unlikely you’d be able to take it back.

I would have a chat to the garage that have been repairing it and explain your frustration, firmly, but politely. Remind them that you’ve not had the car that much, and that they’ve unsuccessfully repaired the car 3 times now.

Have a think what you want from them, then ask them what they’d be prepared to do about it at this point. Voice your concerns that they may have broken something else in the repair.

First be explained above.

Yeah I'll ring them after I've dropped it at there door in the morning. Only went to the a local restaurant yesterday and then to a local park today. Smoking pretty bad.

Should I ask for a full refund? Then take it elsewhere? Or even the labor cost if they're not playing ball.

koooowweeee · 19 Jul 2020 at 19:47

MrRockliffe said:
That rings alarm bells, but unfortunately no proof.

It’s not worth looking back now, as it’ll only anger you. Look at what you can now do about it and weigh up options.

Perhaps ask the repair garage for a refund and take it to a specialist within 50 miles of you, so that you can ensure it gets done properly.

Yeah I know he knew there was something wrong with it. If it wasn't for the wife pulling the reins back, things could easily be different.

In total the garage have had the car 8 weeks. And it's going back tomorrow

MrRockliffe · 19 Jul 2020 at 19:50

koooowweeee said:
Should I ask for a full refund? Then take it elsewhere? Or even the labor cost if they're not playing ball.

I think this might be a good option, just say to them that there’s no hard feelings etc, but you’re just not confident that they’ll repair it properly in this particular moment - you’re not saying they’re no good, but rather luck isn’t on their side at the moment, and you’d like to go to a specialist :-)

koooowweeee · 19 Jul 2020 at 19:56

MrRockliffe said:
I think this might be a good option, just say to them that there’s no hard feelings etc, but you’re just not confident that they’ll repair it properly in this particular moment - you’re not saying they’re no good, but rather luck isn’t on their side at the moment, and you’d like to go to a specialist

I've always thought. Once you start taking cars/vans apart it's a slippy slope.

Had it with a van years ago. This garage pretty much said the same. But when it's not right from the moment it leaves the garage then it makes you wonder.

When you walk in the place, its got oil and grease in every inch of the place. The reception is full of engines and what ever they have on the shelves. It's like a massive display. So you think, yeah! These guy's aretare guys for the job.

But from the first turbo failure and them admitting they didn't flush the engine and no oil and filter change, then trying to bill be for one after a turbo fix, I lost confidence

MrRockliffe · 19 Jul 2020 at 20:08

koooowweeee said:
I've always thought. Once you start taking cars/vans apart it's a slippy slope.

Had it with a van years ago. This garage pretty much said the same. But when it's not right from the moment it leaves the garage then it makes you wonder.

When you walk in the place, its got oil and grease in every inch of the place. The reception is full of engines and what ever they have on the shelves. It's like a massive display. So you think, yeah! These guy's aretare guys for the job.

But from the first turbo failure and them admitting they didn't flush the engine and no oil and filter change, then trying to bill be for one after a turbo fix, I lost confidence

I think you have your answer then for the time being - see if you can work out something with them, and be really honest :-)

koooowweeee · 19 Jul 2020 at 20:32

MrRockliffe said:
and be really honest

Maybe a little honest. Hahaha

But if they now say, we can't fix it/spend more time on it. Or even refuse to refund. What then?

Credit card claim? Or ask for labor refund?

I'm a landscaper, I put a lad on a job and it went bad. So I get things can go wrong and it can cost you more than what it was worth. So in this one instance I asked for materials cost and what work had been done was free. as it happens, I didn't get nothing and was down a few quid. But court for a few hundred? Is it worth it? Bit if I sell the car as it is then I could be a few grand down.

MrRockliffe · 19 Jul 2020 at 20:35

koooowweeee said:
Maybe a little honest. Hahaha

But if they now say, we can't fix it/spend more time on it. Or even refuse to refund. What then?

Credit card claim? Or ask for labor refund?

I'm a landscaper, I put a lad on a job and it went bad. So I get things can go wrong and it can cost you more than what it was worth. So in this one instance I asked for materials cost and what work had been done was free. as it happens, I didn't get nothing and was down a few quid. But court for a few hundred? Is it worth it? Bit if I sell the car as it is then I could be a few grand down.

As you put it, things can go wrong, and it isn’t necessarily always someone’s fault. Sometimes, it’s bad luck. A good garage should recognise this, and after 3 attempts, they should be anticipating a call for further repairs.

I think your next step is to speak to them face to face and see what they say and we can go from there :cool:

koooowweeee · 19 Jul 2020 at 20:39

MrRockliffe said:
As you put it, things can go wrong, and it isn’t necessarily always someone’s fault. Sometimes, it’s bad luck. A good garage should recognise this, and after 3 attempts, they should be anticipating a call for further repairs.

I think your next step is to speak to them face to face and see what they say and we can go from there

Well my plan is to drop it off in the morning. Give them the key and await a call.

See what they come back with then take it from there.

I'll ask for a refund first. Then mention specking to my credit company if they won't fix or refund.

MrRockliffe · 19 Jul 2020 at 20:39

koooowweeee said:
Well my plan is to drop it off in the morning. Give them the key and await a call.

See what they come back with then take it from there.

I'll ask for a refund first. Then mention specking to my credit company if they won't fix or refund.

Good plan, keep the thread updated!!

koooowweeee · 19 Jul 2020 at 20:56

MrRockliffe said:
Good plan, keep the thread updated!!

Will do.

Just booked with my breakdown people (nationwide flexplus) to pick up and drop off. Already lose a load of cash and I've got to do extra shopping runs in the van because the wife can't walk the kids miles. Taxi is a no,no for us right now

Nationwide insurance must hate me right now.

In a month I've claimed for a phone and 2 recoveries hahaha. Recovero must be £100 each and after my access I got £300 for my phone

silver lining ?