Vauxhall dealership - am I being ripped off?

Idiophreak

Hi All,

I've got a mk 4 astra, 04 plate.

A few weeks back it failed to start (just click when you turn the key) - I got the AA out and they concluded that the starter motor was shot.

So, I got towed to the nearest Vauxhall dealership and asked them to sort it. Initially the garage tried to upsell me to around £1200 worth of "recommended work", but I asked them just to fix the immediate problem.

4 days later they returned the car, with new starter motor for a cost of around £400 (including 50 something just to "inspect" the car). I then spent the next week trying to get the code for my stereo out of them - as they'd unplugged it and it thought it had been stolen.

Anyway, this Sunday the same thing happened again. AA man came and managed to get it started, by poking around a couple of wires etc, said something might've been loose or so on. Seemed to be starting reliably again. By Sunday evening, however, it was back to not-starting again.

On Monday I got it towed back to the dealership and they said they'd look at it straightaway. After calling them countless times in the meantime, they finally got round to looking at the thing this morning - and now claim the fault's in the ignition switch and barrel, or something - apparently this is causing the starter motor to "burn out" or somesuch - and that it will cost another £495 to put right.

I asked them why they didn't pick this up when they "inspected" the car and found 101 things wrong with it in the first place, they claimed that this can only be found using "trial and error". To make this worse, they've refused to provide a courtesy car or anything in the meantime and I've been blagging lifts left, right and centre.

So, my questions:
1) Should they have picked this fault up initially, or is it really something they can't test for?
2) Do the prices quoted seem reasonable?
3) Do I have any kinda legal stance to take here? - I really feel like they're just taking me for a ride and trying to get more and more cash out of me...

Many thanks in advance.

hewhoisnotintheknow

dont know about the legal issues and all that, but it would only cost you a tenner or so and an afternoon to goto a breakers yard, find an ignition cable (the bit behind the barrel) and then compare it to the one you have using a multi meter to see if its burnt out dead

If you are not confident in doing this i would take it to a indepedant garage, ask your work mates for suggestions where, no need for a vauxhall dealer to be doing this (might need the part from them if you dont like second hand)

I find dealers to be fitters rather than mechanics

Pew_Pew_Pew_Lasers!

The simple solution would be to measure for 12V at the solenoid when the key is turned.

hewhoisnotintheknow

hewhoisnotintheknow wrote: »

dont know about the legal issues and all that, but it would only cost you a tenner or so and an afternoon to goto a breakers yard, find an ignition cable (the bit behind the barrel) and then compare it to the one you have using a multi meter to see if its burnt out dead

If you are not confident in doing this i would take it to a indepedant garage, ask your work mates for suggestions where, no need for a vauxhall dealer to be doing this (might need the part from them if you dont like second hand)

I find dealers to be fitters rather than mechanics

of course my advice is only probably useful if you have the car to fiddle with

Idiophreak

hewhoisnotintheknow wrote: »

of course my advice is only probably useful if you have the car to fiddle with

Quite. And when it doesn't start, that makes life all the harder

Premier_2

Idiophreak wrote: »

...So, my questions:
1) Should they have picked this fault up initially, or is it really something they can't test for?
2) Do the prices quoted seem reasonable?
3) Do I have any kinda legal stance to take here? - I really feel like they're just taking me for a ride and trying to get more and more cash out of me...

Many thanks in advance.

In answer to your numbered questions:

1) Yes they should have really. The fact they didn't, I would hope they would now offer a goodwill gesture of say only charging you for the parts, not the labour, for their second chance at repairing it. ... but they are not obliged to.

2) £50 for initial inspection is about the norm for a big dealer for an hours labour. The fact they said it was the starter motor (the first thing to check, assuming a good battery, given the symptoms) suggests this may be unreasonable though.
An additional £350 for a new starter seems extortionate. The part should be about £100 - £150 I would have thought and probably no more than £50 labour.

3) I don't think they are deliberately taking you for a ride - probably just incompetent.


Edit: I'm not sure what they are planning on doing for an additional £495, but it sounds like a lot more than a new ignition barrel. If the key turns, then I don't think there's anything wrong with the barrel ... and I'm not sure how a defective barrel could burn out the starter anyway
Does this include another £350 for them to fit yet another new starter? I certainly wouldn't be paying that.

Idiophreak

Premier wrote: »

An additional £350 for a new starter seems extortionate. The part should be about £100 - £150 I would have thought and probably no more than £50 labour.

That was my first thought, but I thought "you always pay more for an official dealer" and thought it was less hassle than trying to move the thing elsewhere.

Premier wrote: »

Edit: I'm not sure what they are planning on doing for an additional £495, but it sounds like a lot more than a new ignition barrel. If the key turns, then I don't think there's anything wrong with the barrel ... and I'm not sure how a defective barrel could burn out the starter anyway
Does this include another £350 for them to fit yet another new starter? I certainly wouldn't be paying that.

They said they were going to get the part under warranty or something, but didn't mention whether the labour for fitting the new one was included. I'm waiting on a call from their manager (which is never going to come...just a hunch) and will try and find out more about the pricing then...

harveybobbles

I then spent the next week trying to get the code for my stereo out of them - as they'd unplugged it and it thought it had been stolen.

They will have had the battery disconnected to do the job...

buglawton

Welcome to the good publicity about Vauxhall thread!

Radsteral

You shouldnt be soft.

i was too nice to vw dealer in begining. they said 400 to replace timing belt , i paid ... came with 2 years warranty.
I m not 100 percent sure but parts come with warranty and labor work comes with warranty in big dealers and even small dealers.. so i was told i got 2 years labor warranty.

the van broke down in 5 days, i sent it back, they replaced the belt and 0 to pay.
the van broke down after a week.. same problem again.
i sent it back - they said, '' its an old van etc etc ''
True its an 2001 reg van with lots of mileage, but it is also a big van , sir, i said , so i drove to the front gate, parked my van , so even a bycycle couldnt fit inside easily. locked myself inside and put a sign on the windscreen '' I NO COMPRENDRE ENGLISH... I WILL UNDERSTAND ENGLISH WHEN YOU GIVE ME A COURTESY VAN TODAY to go to work AND SORT MY VAN PROPERLY''

30 mins late, a long queue of cars trying to get in .... a bunch of vw workers swearing at me from outside ..and me reading the sun newspaper inside.

I only got out when they were weaving some new vw van keys for me lol

they finally fixed it properly and broght my van to my house15 miles away and got their own van.


check terms and conditions on the receipt they gave you in the first place.and fight your corner... tell them you ll notify trading standards and , do so even when they fix your car properly.

400 quid for a starter motor ...? and 50 quid for checking ? did you asked them to? if not ask for the money back

i m a plasterer , but if i told the client thats the problem, and next week telling him that wasnt the problem, this is the problem and i want 2000 quid extra, the client ll kill me
half

jeannieblue

Radsteral - brilliant, absolutely priceless!

Now go to the BER thread and do your thing! You may even be able to push it into the media for us with your ingenuity!!