is this fraud? money money money with cars :(

MercilessKiller

Phatmouse wrote:

I know this is an old thread but I have just had an interesting experiance with my alternator. I was told by ATS that I would need a new one at nearly £300. As I was in reception another customer said that I could get it refurbished, he gave me an address of a place, apparently there are loads of them all over the UK. I took it to them, he took one look at it and said that there was nothing wrong with it, he could tell as it wasn't purple? I said ATS defo said it needed changing, he checked it on a machine and said no, go back and get them to fit in back on and tighten up your fan belt as that is all that is wrong with the car. ATS were furious, but did it and as the man said there was nothing wrong with it. :j

It just goes to show you, god knows how much we hand over to garges without needing to!!!! :eek:

Good story

Its disgusting how they can get away with these things.

To be honest.. I'd be tempted to write to the watchdog about that... you were lucky.. others wont be.

debzi

Check that your battery isn't on it's way out before doing anything with the alternator - I've had what a mechanic assured me was a faulty alternator turn out to be just that. Virtually no labour required to replace a battery, though, so not much in it for them, especially since you can order and fit in a battery yourself quite easily.

How long has the battery been in the car is the first question, they last 3-4 years usually. Don't wait until it gives up the ghost before you get a new one. The second question is, will it take a charge or does the voltage just drop back down where you started charging it shortly after taking it off the charger (leave it about 30 min). Voltmeter/multimeter to do before & after comparison costs about £1-£5 in cheapo shops. If it won't take a charge it's time to get a new one.

Alternators should last a lot longer than batteries, generally speaking.