Mechanics taking advantage

2_litre

kaya wrote: »

the only part on a spark plug that can snap is the porcelain, which does not affect the the thread in the bore at all or neccesitate removal of the cylinder head, and if the porcelain snaps it cannot enter the bore unless the plug has been removed, the spark plug thread is metal and does not snap, i spent nearly every weekend for ten years at a dragstrip working on engines, after every run the plugs were removed and replaced, thats 8 plugs in total, several times a day, i also designed and sold my own range of nitrous oxide kits and progressive control systems for 5 years, i know more about spark plugs than is healthy, if the porcelain snaps it is because it has had pressure applied in the wrong direction, i have snapped a few porcelain parts in my time, you cannot snap the thread unless the plug was tightened by arnold schwarzenneger and you continue to tighten it rather than undo it especially on an fsh car, which this is, i have also helicoiled a good few heads , maybe it was arnold schwarzennegers big brother working on the car who tightened it instead of loosening it?, i would love to ask a few garages-but most of them stopped employing engineers or mechanics about 20 years ago, they employ parts fitters who usually cant even spell engineering let alone know what it means, are you an engineer? or a mechanic? or a parts fitter? or just going on what dave told you down the nags head last friday perhaps?:beer:

You are wrong, simple as that, have a look around on google for snapped plugs on ford Kas

2_litre

Anihilator wrote: »

where have they been neglient.

What they did is fairly common for mechanics in this sort of problem.

They've been negligent in the fact they've snapped the plug, know how much its going to cost to repair and have tried to rip the customer off by charging their mess up to them, you post so much bull on this forum im surprised your still allowed to post.

Crabman

Anihilator wrote: »

But as shown there can be complications. Of course if a car goes for a service and the job is complicated due to an issue with the car the extra should be paid.

A quote isnt always exact in mechanics due to uncertainty.

Not at all. A quote is a price that is agreed between the customer and the garage.

In issuing the quoted price the garage has taken a decision as to the scale of the job, the profit margin and (hopefully) a risk management decision in the event of something going wrong. It is not acceptable to offset the risk to the customer without their prior agreement.

There seems to be a good argument for the work carried out not being done with reasonable care and skill. It also appears the damage had been caused (setting aside whether it is a design flaw or not) but the garage tried to cover things up by asking permission from the customer and then claiming it had broken.

bear1969

2_litre wrote: »

They've been negligent in the fact they've snapped the plug, know how much its going to cost to repair and have tried to rip the customer off by charging their mess up to them, you post so much bull on this forum im surprised your still allowed to post.

well done now aswell as being extra super good at telling people about there credit problems and how they should just pay back what they owe he is also a top grade mechanic (full of s**t) springs to mind cheers 2 litre seen anihalater on forums before speaks out of his !!!! just to wind people up doesnt like it when he is wrong must be fun living in his house:beer:

mikey72

Anihilator always reminds me of that character in MASH, just can't remember his name. Hawkeye was trying to decide what to do with a patient, and the line was someting like "I'll ask his opinion, whatever he says I'll do the opposite, he's always 100% wrong"

Keith

mollycat wrote: »

Dont you read threads before you post??

It's got a FSH!!

If it's a Ka, it doesn't matter, they are meant to be changed every 35k but they really should come out every year to prevent them rusting in place.

mxspyder

I'm sorry to hear of your problems, but plug No1 snapping off in the heads of these is pretty common. When Ford extended the service interval for plug replacement it became apparent that plug on cylinder one (which is exposed to water be driven in through the grille to a greater extent than the others) would have a corrosion build up between the plug and head - which isn't visible because it is behind the nut part of the plug. Then throw a mechanic who is under pressure to get the job done feels a tight plug and keeps turning until - snap!

The plug shears between the nut section and the thread section (where the metal is thinnest). Its a nightmare for everyone concerned as well as the customers wallet. What the garage has done is tried to save face and soften the blow, if they fessed up it would simply sound like they don't know what they are doing and broke something (which may or may not be the case).

I had the misfortune to work for a Ford main dealer (not as a mechanic), and saw this quite extensively on these engines in Fiestas and Ka's at fours old.

The only bright side is other than this flaw, its a sound engine - Keep servicing it, Change the plugs yearly and its a very sound engine that will go for years.

justcat

You all seem to be missing the point!

She did not authorise the work so whether it's common or not has no relevance.
That the plug broke is irrelevant. If they didn't touch it it wouldn't have broken therefore she wouldn't have incurred this extra cost.

Anyway, I would send them a letter and ask that they return the car to its original condition at no cost to you. In the meantime they should supply you with a courtesy car.
If they decline, you should get a hire car yourself and take them to small claims court and get the cost of the hire car.
I would NOT suggest that you pay them any money at all because once they have it and you and the car are out of the way they wont want anything more to do with you. Just pay for the service.
Maybe talk to them about this over the phone first and if you get nowhere send a letter. If you get nothing after that then file a claim. It doesn't cost a lot to do.

babyontheway

Thanks for all of the messages - I know that from a message board it's difficult to know what people are really like but I am very fond of my car and have always looked after it and got work done when it was advised - it was just that I was under the impression that they wouldn't go ahead until they had given me an idea of how much it would cost - even if it was only an estimate. I didn't have a problem with the fact that the spark plug snapped when they tried to remove it - I knew that was a risk which is why I asked them to leave it in.

Anyway, update is that I explained that I wasn't happy and why and they have now called back today to say that I won't be charged for the work. Now being someone who is pretty useless at standing my ground over things - especially mechanical things, I'm over the moon.

rictus123

I always try to look after my van/car that i have

but now iv had an eye opener and even though i thought i was "maintaining" a good standard of a van, i really wasnt. I will definitly take alot more care in future, oil checks, cleaning, windscreen wash, coolant in the radiator.