Garage can't fix my car - do I still pay up?

ahfh1

Hi,

I took my car into an independant car garage to get the indicator stalk replaced.

At the outset they said they would charge £30. The next day they then said they couldn't fit the stalk as it meant going behind the airbag, which they didn't want to touch in case the air bag went off.

So do I pay them any money at all just for looking at it, but not managing to resolve the issue? They've also spent £50 on the replacement stalk, which they want to sell on to me and asked me to get another garage to fix it on. Should I buy it?

Thanks

Mark_Hewitt

Usually in life if you have someone do some work and they then tell you that they are unable to, then you don't pay anything. Because they are the professionals, you are not, they should know in advance if they are likely to be able to complete the work so if they weren't confident of doing so, they shouldn't have taken the job on. And if they thought they could, but then found they couldn't, the financial penalty is on them, not you.

However, that is just accepted custom. I don't believe there is provision under law.

£50 for a replacement indicator stalk seems steep to me, but I suppose they are quite complicated these days. I'd tell them that you're taking it to the other garage and seeing what they say, if they need an indicator stalk then you know where they can get one from..

steveo3002

i wouldnt pay , they should know well that modern cars have air bags and that in many many cases it will need to come off to get at the stalks

tell them new garage has ordered one...they can send it back

hewhoisnotintheknow

hi what car is it and where are you based

hewhoisnotintheknow

and no, dont buy the part from them, because then if it goes wrong you will have more trouble returning it

Premier_2

Up to you whether you buy the switch/stalk mechanism. If they can't use it, their supplier will probably take it back anyway (perhaps less a handling fee)

What car is it? £50 could be extremely cheap. I recently did one on an escort - cost about £100 retail just for the part, genuine ford part, (didn't need to remove airbag though) although it was a top of the range, all singing, all dancing version.

They shouldn't charge you anything unless it was agreed up front. They shouldn't charge you what was agreed upfront if they now find they are not competent to carry out the work they quoted for.

zzzLazyDaisy

At the outset they told you the bill would be £30. Now they say the stalk is £50, and presumably there would have been labour on top, but actually they've discovered that they can't do the job because there is an airbag so you'll have to take it somewhere else to get the repair done.

Is that a fair summary?

In that case I'd say you are entitled to rely on their expertise in giving the quote. They made the mistake and said they had the skills to do the job when that was not in fact the case.

And no, I wouldn't buy the stick off them and then try and find someone to fit it for you. If you'd wanted to buy a part, you'd have gone to a parts shop. What you wanted is a service that they said they could provide and now it turns out they can't.

oldagetraveller

Any competent garage should know or be able to find out how to disable the airbag system on your particular vehicle, don't most just disconnect the battery?
Tell them to "do one" and go elsewhere to someone who knows what they're doing!

ahfh1

The £30 quote was for labour only - they told me that from the start, so I was happy with the quote when they first told me. £50 for the indicator stalk. But not happy with them not completing the job. So from what you guys are saying is don’t pay them, so I won't!

The car is a VW Golf Mk. Garage is in Manchester. The indicator stalk is a genuine VW item (I've asked to see the receipt and saw the unpackaging).

hewhoisnotintheknow

ahfh1 wrote: »

The car is a VW Golf

Ahh theres the problem, bad design

I've changed lots of stalks before, most cars you can do it be turning the wheel to the correct position and then use the steering adjustment to get the column into the correct place to remove the stalk

I would get a second opinion though

Premier_2

ahfh1 wrote: »

The £30 quote was for labour only - they told me that from the start, so I was happy with the quote when they first told me. £50 for the indicator stalk. But not happy with them not completing the job. So from what you guys are saying is don’t pay them, so I won't!

The car is a VW Golf Mk. Garage is in Manchester. The indicator stalk is a genuine VW item (I've asked to see the receipt and saw the unpackaging).

But they didn't carry out the labour, so you shouldn't owe them for that.
Only if they said £30 to see if we can fix it, i.e. investigative work, would you be expected to pay.

Any discount on the VW part? If there is, then it's up to you if you buy it off them.
If not, and they are not prepared to negaotiate, don't bother. It'll only lead to potential issues elsewhere should the part fail.
e.g. did it fail because the part was faulty or the installation was faulty. was the part damaged, and if so by whom?
Always best to get supply & fit deal to avoid any such complications.