Faulty Repair Work by Garage - What to do next?

wallaroo

We took our car (pergeot partner) to the garage for a service and they said the wheel bearings needed replacing. So we booked it in for the work and took it back a week later (end of Feb).

They had to supply a courtesy car as they ordered the wrong type of bearings which messed us around as I couldn't transport our dog in the car they supplied. We finally got it back the next day and paid £350 (ish?) for the work.

A month later we had the car MOT done and they pulled up a fault on the bearings! So the car went back in and was apparently fixed, which they did for free.

Today I have had to be towed home with a car that is unsafe to drive due to a wheel bearing fault! It's bank holiday so we can't contact a garage til Tuesday 8.30am when I a supposed to be at work an hours drive away at 9am. It is a major problem if I don't turn up to work! I can't hire a car as nowhere is open this weekend.

So I'm !!!!ed off with the garage and wonder where I stand with getting it fixed. I don't want the original garage to do it as they are obviously rubbish! The car is at my house and I would prefer to go to the garage at the end of the road (I would have gone there first but they couldn't fit us in at the time)

Can I ake the faulty garage pay for the work if I get it done elsewhere? Also what about costs associated with not having a car (for the third time!) as I will have to find an alternative method of getting to work.

Hammyman

If you paid by credit card, you can possibly claim against that. Other than that, if the garage refuse to pay for it to be done elsewhere, you're either going to have to let them do it again or pay for it doing elsewhere out of your own pocket and pursue a refund from the first garage through the small claims court. You've got enough evidence to prove they've not done the job right twice now. They must be right cowboys - its not exactly hard to fit a wheelbearing.

£350 is seriously excessive. Its an hours job. Usually only one fails at a time and I'd want change out of £150 and on many cars, out of £100 depending on hourly labour charges.

wallaroo

I need to dig out the paperwork but I think we were charged for a half days labour and two wheel bearing kits.

I've been browsing the web and have seen a few things that brought up another question. Could a fault with the wheel bearings make an engine diagnostics light come on? It did this on the way home from the first garage trip but when I called them they insisted it was nothing to do with the work. It did go off again but comes on occasionally. We booked it in to be tested but they can't do it when the lights off.

somech

what was the original fault and what was repaired the second time
also did the change front or rear bearings