Where do i stand with getting my money back for a car repair that wasn't needed

baz08

Hi all, due to the bad weather my motor a 2004 1.2 Corsa has been having problems, went to start it after about 3 weeks of not being run cos of the snow, it started and then died right away, at the time i assumed it was the battery had died, but it jump started no bother and took it out for a long drive, come to move it the next day and it was dead again, tested the battery and it was fully charged, finally found it was either an engine management or immob fault cos of the flashing of the icons on the dash, anyways, long story short, managed to get it started and had to get someone to take it in to a garage, where they said it was the crank shaft sensor, so they replaced it, and the person drove it back, when i got back from work and went to test me motor, surprise surprise it wont start with the same problem it went in the garage in the first place, so back to the garage it went on monday, and here it s thursday its still in the garage they dont have a clue what it is and havent even hooked it up to a diagnostic unit yet,

but my question is where do i stand with getting my money back for the unneccesary work done by replacing the crank shaft sensor, is there any law or something that can oblige them to take that amount off the final bill, as i dont see why i should pay for something to be replaced and there was nothing wrong with it to start with, any help is appreciated

pitkin2020

Even diagnosis machines get it wrong sometimes it comes down to elimination to fix some problems. You may be wise to explain to the garage and say your not overly pleased about their mis diagnosis and you would like some refund but apart from a goodwill gesture I don't think you will have much ground. Simply they could say the sensor was faulty and is part of a few problems.

anewman

Remember you can easily take your business elsewhere.

A failing crank sensor may give this sort of fault, but given that replacing it hasn't fixed the problem I would suspect another cause.

maninthestreet

So when you try to start it, does the engine turnover? What do you do to it to get it started?

colino

Ask the garage what they did and why. If the car didn't turn over and they hooked their diagnostic machine up to it it would tell them no signal from crankshaft sensor. (Engine didn't turn hence no signal). If they jumped to the conclusion from that and replaced the sensor, they are a bit out of their depth. However if they got it started and the diagnostics was still telling them there was a stored or pending fault in the sensor they acted in good faith , but should have done a bit more digging.

mikey72

Did they use a genuine vauxhall part. Some of the copies just don't work with the ecu for some reason.
Mind you when mine went it was hard to start for a while, long time cranking, then it would run ok until it one day it went into limp mode for a while after starting eventually, then it died entirely, just cranked until the battery went flat.

baz08

to get it to start i have to leave the key at ignition 2 for ages as the engine management light is flashing and there is a clicking noise, it flashes/clicks for ages, if i try to start it it starts and dies straight away (as if the immobiliser is kicking in), and then if you try and start it again it just keeps turning, if you take the key out and reinsert and again leave it at ignition 2, if i wait until the EML stops flashing and clicking it will start, but if i try to start it before then its the same thing, so it does start eventually but can take the better part of 5-8 mins of flashing clicking EML, when it does start it runs perfectly fine, and after driven for a bit will start up again no problem, but leave it for like 6 hours or something and come back and it will have the same problem, and now the garage are saying it could be something to do with the throttle or throttle body or something, which i thought did not make much sense considering the car does start and when driving there are no EML lights or fault warnings and no hesitation or problems with the throttle, i'm half tempted to just get me car back even if i have to push it out and get it taken to another garage as they have had it over a week now

mikey72

Usually runs badly as well with that fault

try posting on
http://www.vauxhallownersnetwork.co.uk/forumdisplay.php?83-Astra-Corsa-Zafira-Meriva-Agila-Tigra-Nova

see if they can help you.

baz08

Already tried that forum and got no answers, tried on several others, but its stumped alot of ppl, just dont want to end up paying loads for parts and fitting, and then find out that none of them were the fault, shall just have to see what the garage come back with today when i phone them again, as they have had it since Friday before last

mikey72

Have you got it sorted yet?
Just seen this post

http://www.vauxhallownersnetwork.co.uk/showthread.php?204743-Corsa-won-t-start-engine-light-flashing-resolved

angel00079

I had a similar problem with my 2002 Corsa. It started and died. The AA checked it over. He said that it was the immobiliser and that was why it was dying. He said quite a common fault due to poor quality dashboard connections etc and if it happened again try pushing the dashboard. It only happened again once. I pushed the dash and then fine.

I wonder if the things you are doing to get the car started are moving the dash and reconnecting the dodgy connection.