More car issues after garage fix initial problem - Again !!!

[Fixer]

Well I just can’t believe it . . . I booked my car into my local garage for last Wednesday because it did not start reliably any more. Today I go there and they say it is fixed so I pay what they charged (£380.00 for : labour and a new starter motor) and drove off 150 yards to my house. I then see a parcel delivery pick up slip in my letterbox so I get back in the car and drive to the parcel depot to collect my parcel. On the way to the parcel depot I got one heck of a surprise . . . there is a loud ‘knock’ from under the car every time I accelerate again from backing off s bit – 100% not there before I took he car in last week.

I am so annoyed because literally every time I have work done to the car by this garage I get the car back with damage (cosmetic or mechanical i.e electric door returned not working 4/4 times, black paint splatted on car, door dented, very dodgy brake disks fitted after I simply asked them to fix my car – disks now replaced after they subsequently failed it at their own M.O.T station!, stinking smell inside car, steering wheel not refitted straight) or another annoying problem or glitch of some sort.

The really annoying thing is the work they actually do correctly is top notch!

As mentioned above I went back literally five times with the brakes and each time they said the car was fixed it had the same problem so I just drove it straight back there and asked them once again to fix my car – Five times and his was before the M.O.T fail!

I swear this place must be a front/cover for something as they simply take the p*** but have never declined my custom !!!!

Moan over . . . for now, I just hope the car (little 1.4 diesel) will be okay over the Christmas period and the loud ‘knock’ can be controlled by very gently driving.

Feel free to comment anyone.

Oh, and I genuinely wish everyone a Merry Christmas

 

[Box Brownie]

Well I just can’t believe it . . . I booked my car into my local garage for last Wednesday because it did not start reliably any more. Today I go there and they say it is fixed so I pay what they charged (£380.00 for : labour and a new starter motor) and drove off 150 yards to my house. I then see a parcel delivery pick up slip in my letterbox so I get back in the car and drive to the parcel depot to collect my parcel. On the way to the parcel depot I got one heck of a surprise . . . there is a loud ‘knock’ from under the car every time I accelerate again from backing off s bit – 100% not there before I took he car in last week.

I am so annoyed because literally every time I have work done to the car by this garage I get the car back with damage (cosmetic or mechanical i.e electric door returned not working 4/4 times, black paint splatted on car, door dented, very dodgy brake disks fitted after I simply asked them to fix my car – disks now replaced after they subsequently failed it at their own M.O.T station!, stinking smell inside car, steering wheel not refitted straight) or another annoying problem or glitch of some sort.

The really annoying thing is the work they actually do correctly is top notch!

As mentioned above I went back literally five times with the brakes and each time they said the car was fixed it had the same problem so I just drove it straight back there and asked them once again to fix my car – Five times and his was before the M.O.T fail!

I swear this place must be a front/cover for something as they simply take the p*** but have never declined my custom !!!!

Moan over . . . for now, I just hope the car (little 1.4 diesel) will be okay over the Christmas period and the loud ‘knock’ can be controlled by very gently driving.

Feel free to comment anyone.

Oh, and I genuinely wish everyone a Merry Christmas

A Merry Christmas and a happy New year to you too

But in regard to the car ........in your shoes I would have given up on them long before now you must be a glutton for punishment!

PS some years back my OH took her car to a local garage who specialised in car electrics. There was one particular fuse that kept blowing in part of the lighting circuit.

When she picked it up all was fine but as the fuse had been blowing I had a look and IIRC the fuse had been replaced with a much higher rated one than specified.

I was straight on the phone to ask for an explanation of the owner who stated explicitly 'that they would never have done that' now bearing in mind we had both used this local garage on various occasions without issue....I asked him to investigate and the lad tasked with the fix "used his initiative"! I told him frankly that he would not get our custom again and we would advise our neighbours to be cautious.

A week later we got her car into a specialist auto electrician and IIRC he had to replace some of the wiring to sort it out.

 

[realspeed]

One one of my previous cars the garage left the break shoe adjuster spanner still on the adjuster bolt . I always check when specific work such as brakes- fluids etc are done . I hate to think what might have happened . Boy did I have a right go at the service manager saying the mechanic that did the work was a potential killer. I have a very loud voice so everyone could hear. Another time my wife had a very long drive to do this time a ford garage didn't replace my brake pads and shoes leaving them dangerously worn even after I specifically asked them to be replaced.. I never trust any garage and as I said I always check as far as is possible even down to tyre pressure. 60 years of being a motorist one learns to trust no one in the motoring trade

 

[woof woof]

I used the same garage for 15 years or more and they treated me very well. Too well in fact as they didn't seem to want me to spend my money. Every time I took one of my cars in with a problem they'd "fix" it and either refuse payment or just accept a small or token amount. Servicing and MoT's were also done at very reasonable rates. The only problem was that when my cars were "fixed" rather than serviced they sometimes didn't actually fix anything. They just seemed to adjust and fiddle and fettle and sometimes that didn't fix the issue. I did try telling them that money wasn't a problem and I just wanted my cars fixed but they still penny pinched. The crunch came when they repeatedly failed to permanently fix a sticking brake on my MX5 and I eventually decided that I had to gave up with them. I took the car to another garage and they changed all sorts and charged me a thoroughly justified arm and a leg and the MX5 then ran and stopped like new. Which was what I wanted.

 

[the black fox]

If you can find a garage that specialises in your make that’s the best option I now use a Honda one that’s privately owned and there superb ,my old CRV has just flown through the MOT without even a advisory

 

[AndrewFlannigan]

If you can find a garage that specialises in your make that’s the best option I now use a Honda one that’s privately owned and there superb ,my old CRV has just flown through the MOT without even a advisory

Mind you, even a main dealer can nod sometimes.

I had a 2 week old Peugot 306 that was recalled for a brake update. I picked up the car and was cruising along the M3, when there was a tremendous THUD from under the bonnet and I had no brakes. Once recovered, the car was taken back to the dealership. The following morning I showed up at the garage to be met by a very apologetic service manager who admitted that the callipers had been wrongly refitted and they had to replace both them and the disks. The not so funny kicker was that this car was a replacement for a three month old vehicle, in which the engine had literally exploded!

Mind you, the replacement car, having had the brakes properly refitted, ran for six years and 90,000 miles without anything more than the regular servicing.

 

[Norkie]

Buy a Skoda

I’ve owned five various models with not a single hiccup in 20+ years

 

[Pixbarmy]

My son (new driver) had his car serviced at a garage many years ago and complained about a knock as he increased and decreased speed. I had a look under the bonnet and found a two foot long pry bar, resting on the area just next to the wipers. I still have it in my toolbox (very handy) and the noise is no longer there!

 

[Donnie]

I mean, you literally say every time you have work done there's an issue. I think you're a sadist as this seems self inflicted.

 

[Sangoma]

The knock sounds like an engine/ gearbox mounting loose/or broken, or a suspension link loose/broken.
The engine/gearbox mounting knock is more likely to be present when the car is stationary and the clutch is releases in gear than a suspension issue, but that is only an indication, and if it made the noise stationary, somebody looking under the bonnet (from the side ! ) would probably see the engine moving excessively.

Not something you would really want to keep driving with.

They may have had to remove/loosen a mounting or stabiliser bar (or even the exhaust) to get the starter out, and the knock could be from the exhaust hitting the floor, but excessive movement could put strain on other components.

Much quicker to check than to write possibilities, so worth having it checked.

 

[f/2.8]

Well I just can’t believe it . . . I booked my car into my local garage for last Wednesday because it did not start reliably any more. Today I go there and they say it is fixed so I pay what they charged (£380.00 for : labour and a new starter motor) and drove off 150 yards to my house. I then see a parcel delivery pick up slip in my letterbox so I get back in the car and drive to the parcel depot to collect my parcel. On the way to the parcel depot I got one heck of a surprise . . . there is a loud ‘knock’ from under the car every time I accelerate again from backing off s bit – 100% not there before I took he car in last week.

I am so annoyed because literally every time I have work done to the car by this garage I get the car back with damage (cosmetic or mechanical i.e electric door returned not working 4/4 times, black paint splatted on car, door dented, very dodgy brake disks fitted after I simply asked them to fix my car – disks now replaced after they subsequently failed it at their own M.O.T station!, stinking smell inside car, steering wheel not refitted straight) or another annoying problem or glitch of some sort.

The really annoying thing is the work they actually do correctly is top notch!

As mentioned above I went back literally five times with the brakes and each time they said the car was fixed it had the same problem so I just drove it straight back there and asked them once again to fix my car – Five times and his was before the M.O.T fail!

I swear this place must be a front/cover for something as they simply take the p*** but have never declined my custom !!!!

Moan over . . . for now, I just hope the car (little 1.4 diesel) will be okay over the Christmas period and the loud ‘knock’ can be controlled by very gently driving.

Feel free to comment anyone.

Oh, and I genuinely wish everyone a Merry Christmas

The work they do is obviously not top notch!

There is no way in the world I would accept having to visit a garage five times just to have a brake issue resolved.

I usually have a couple of cars although I only have one at the moment plus my wife's car.

For my main car that I rely on for work etc. I always use a specialist.

For my "toy car" and my wife's car I use a local garage. He is a really nice guy my Dad used him before I did for many years. He will only do work that has to be done, and is always trying to find ways of doing things cheaper. The labour is always very cheap as well. That is why I don't use him for my main car as I always want my main car to be perfect. For basic things like servicing, on my toy car and the wife's car I will usually do them myself if I have the time.

Find yourself another mechanic.

 

[AndrewFlannigan]

I mean, you literally say every time you have work done there's an issue. I think you're a sadist as this seems self inflicted.

Reminds me of the definition...

A masochist cries out "beat me, beat me"!

A true sadist smiles and replies: "no".

 

[Fixer]

MOT time and the car passed. The loud knock in my #1 post is an advisory on the MOT as . . .

• Gearbox mounting defective

Well this was not defective before it went in to the garage that time! At least I know and now I have decided to do as much work on the car as I can myself before the next MOT (it needs a few things doing). Oh the joys of motoring!

[And yes, I went to that same garage again!]

 

[steveb]

Time to change your garage and possibly your car if it's regularly costing more than expected. I just did that, scrapping my high milage (165000 miles) Citroen C1 that had gearbox issues, front wheel bearings, corroded break pipes and just recently odd noise from the engine. It also has been using a fair drop of engine oil. Bought a low milage much newer car.

 

[Graham W]

Unless it's a hobby and you enjoy it get hid and move on.

 

[Donnie]

Time to change your garage and possibly your car if it's regularly costing more than expected. I just did that, scrapping my high milage (165000 miles) Citroen C1 that had gearbox issues, front wheel bearings, corroded break pipes and just recently odd noise from the engine. It also has been using a fair drop of engine oil. Bought a low milage much newer car.

It was time to change garage several months ago if you read back but seems he likes to spend money

 

[woof woof]

For over a decade (probably nearer 20 years) I took my cars to the same garage which very conveniently was just at the back of where I worked. I had a really good relationship with them and they were always very helpful and in fact too helpful as they didn't seem to want to take my money. They'd charge me a minimal amount or maybe nothing at all and this might all sound wonderful but one of my cars, an old MX5 needed bits replacing not just love and care and they just didn't seem to want to do it. So, I went to another garage who were very happy to take my money, in fact they were very happy to take a lot of my money but the result is a problem free car, fixed first time, that I'm now happy to drive.

Another car of mine had an irritating little intermittent fault and as the main dealer is expensive I took it to an independent specialist, again and again and again and then I gave up and went to the expensive main dealer. Not only did they fix the problem first time they did so cheaper than I thought and their service was nothing short of outstanding.

My point and my message is if you are having repeated issues... go somewhere else

 

[swanseamale47]

Many years ago I bought a Ford executive, lovely car, big for it's day. had issues from day one, it went back and fro the garage, not starting, tickover all over the place, cutting out.
This went on for a while. At one point I caught the mechanic taking his mates over the pub in it while it was in for repair (the police were called for that disturbance at the pub) Anyway after this I had my money back.
A month or so laterI went to the garage for petrol in the frog-eye sprite I bought instead, and the guy who served me said, your the chap who who used to own the executive? I said yes, he said your lucky you got rid of it, the engine blew up on the motorway with it's new owner.
Shame really it was a lovely car, loads of room inside for courting.... unlike a sprite....

 

[Dale.]

The problem with cars these days, is they are almost disposable items. In this country, they depreciate so quickly and by so much, that it becomes uneconomical to repair them very quickly, even after only 6 years or so from new. There comes a point where it's cheaper to buy a newer (notice I didn't say new) car than repair an old one.

I'd have ditched your garage long ago, found a good one and stuck with it. RE the gearbox mounting, it's a bit odd that it was OK before it went in to get the other repair, gearbox mountings take time to go but they get to a breaking point and that's it, they're done. I think it's probably coincidence that yours went not long after the other repair. They can fail suddenly but it takes some doing. That said, the state of the roads just now won't be helping.

Maybe location is a factor for you but you don't seem happy with your current garage, so find another one, give them a try and see how they go. If they're any good, stick with them, it will cost you less in diesel if it's a bit of a trip than it will in unhappy repairs.

 

[woof woof]

This went on for a while. At one point I caught the mechanic taking his mates over the pub in it while it was in for repair (the police were called for that disturbance at the pub) Anyway after this I had my money back.

That reminds me of the time a Vauxhall/Lotus dealer claimed they didn't have time to road test my Elan SE despite them putting (I forget exactly) something like 40 miles on the clock.

 

[Nod]

Many years ago I bought a Ford executive, lovely car, big for it's day. had issues from day one, it went back and fro the garage, not starting, tickover all over the place, cutting out.
This went on for a while. At one point I caught the mechanic taking his mates over the pub in it while it was in for repair (the police were called for that disturbance at the pub) Anyway after this I had my money back.
A month or so laterI went to the garage for petrol in the frog-eye sprite I bought instead, and the guy who served me said, your the chap who who used to own the executive? I said yes, he said your lucky you got rid of it, the engine blew up on the motorway with it's new owner.
Shame really it was a lovely car, loads of room inside for courting.... unlike a sprite....

Frogeyes are far better for pulling in than ... erm ... shall I say Pushing in?!

 

[Nod]

For over a decade (probably nearer 20 years) I took my cars to the same garage which very conveniently was just at the back of where I worked. I had a really good relationship with them and they were always very helpful and in fact too helpful as they didn't seem to want to take my money. They'd charge me a minimal amount or maybe nothing at all and this might all sound wonderful but one of my cars, an old MX5 needed bits replacing not just love and care and they just didn't seem to want to do it. So, I went to another garage who were very happy to take my money, in fact they were very happy to take a lot of my money but the result is a problem free car, fixed first time, that I'm now happy to drive.

Another car of mine had an irritating little intermittent fault and as the main dealer is expensive I took it to an independent specialist, again and again and again and then I gave up and went to the expensive main dealer. Not only did they fix the problem first time they did so cheaper than I thought and their service was nothing short of outstanding.

My point and my message is if you are having repeated issues... go somewhere else

A good JLR specialist should have all the correct software for the OBD readers but many rely on the generic codes which don't do the job properly. The software that does it properly is far from cheap but does work as it should!

 

[Sangoma]

A good JLR specialist should have all the correct software for the OBD readers but many rely on the generic codes which don't do the job properly. The software that does it properly is far from cheap but does work as it should!

The "generic" codes (they are industry standard) should be just fine if the mechanic knows anything about cars, trouble is, many are quite clueless, and just replace parts (at the customers expense) until they get lucky.

An example, OBD reports misfire on no 4, parts fitter replaces the coil pack and the misfire is still there, mechanic looks at the conditions under which the misfire occurs, and replaces the spark plugs, misfire gone for low cost in spares and labour.

That is a very simple example, but I have seen so many like it and more expensive, and plain scams.

 

[Nod]

The generic codes tell you that a component isn't working properly, the correct software allows better correction (if possibly by software.)

 

[swanseamale47]

Frogeyes are far better for pulling in than ... erm ... shall I say Pushing in?!

Sadly yes, theres not enough room to do much of anything...

 

[Nod]

Great fun otherwise!!!

 

[woof woof]

A good JLR specialist should have all the correct software for the OBD readers but many rely on the generic codes which don't do the job properly. The software that does it properly is far from cheap but does work as it should!

The problem with the independent wasn't reading the codes, they just weren't very good people even when I told them what the fault was. I know it's hard to swallow your pride if a customer tells you what the problem is but just occasionally maybe people should listen and at least have a look at what the customer is pointing them at.

I'd heard bad things about the main dealer but I have to say that they seem to be making an effort and I found them excellent. I'll definitely use them again.

Just on my telling the mechanics what the problem is. It's not the first time I've done that, I also did it with that garage who didn't seem to want to take my money but I don't make a point of saying "I told you so."

 

[Sangoma]

The problem with the independent wasn't reading the codes, they just weren't very good people even when I told them what the fault was. I know it's hard to swallow your pride if a customer tells you what the problem is but just occasionally maybe people should listen and at least have a look at what the customer is pointing them at.

I'd heard bad things about the main dealer but I have to say that they seem to be making an effort and I found them excellent. I'll definitely use them again.

Just on my telling the mechanics what the problem is. It's not the first time I've done that, I also did it with that garage who didn't seem to want to take my money but I don't make a point of saying "I told you so."

And if he fixed what you said was wrong, and it didn't fix it, you would of curse be completely willing to pay for the parts and labour for not fixing it???