DIY repairs vs warranty

bluphoto7

I do all my own car repairs. Everything from hoovering the carpet to new crankshaft bearings, to bodywork and paintwork. Over the years I am sure I've saved thousands doing this, and most of the time I enjoy doing it.

I bought a used car from a independent garage the other month, and last week heard the tinkle of a broken suspension spring. The garage I bought it from threw in a six-month warranty, so when the spring broke, all I had to do was take it to my local Vauxhall dealer and show them the warranty paperwork.

Now when I dropped the car off, I asked if it was covered under warranty, which after studying the papers they said it was. Fine, go ahead then.

When I picked up the car, I was presented with a bill for £200, as it turned out the suspension wasn't covered under warranty.

Now I don't have a problem with it not being covered, but I do have a problem with them not checking properly.

I could have bought a spring for £30 and had it fitted myself in a couple of hours, and was quite prepared to do that.

Bottom line, I refused to pay, telling them they should have checked with the warranty company before doing the work. Of course the service manager said hed been in that job for 20 years and I shouldn't tell him how to do his job.

I asked for the original "broken" spring to be refitted (which I knew they wouldn't do as most of the bill was for labour) or I offered to pay the £30 trade price of the spring so they were'nt out of pocket on parts at least, but rather than do that, they asked me to take the car and get out of their sight and never come back! Ouch!

Did I do anything wrong?

Guy

movilogo

No, they said it would be free then charged you. So, you did right thing.

skiddlydiddly

They're probably used to dealing with people who don't really have a clue and will just pay out.A sceptic would say they might do this a lot.

Personally I don't think you did anything wrong.They should have checked properly and before starting the work given you the oppurtunity to decide whether you wanted to pay or not.

Homersimpson

You did absolutly the right thing and have no reason to feel bad about anything, it was their mistake and they should have checked more thoroughly before doing the work.

The service manager was angry because he knew that it was his mistake but was hoping to force you to pay for it.

Don't stress!

These after market warrenties arn't worth the paper they are written on, TBh i'm surprised that they didn't pay out on a broke nspring as all the claims I have had/seen rejected are usually because they class them as fair wear and tear which a broken spring is not.

King_Nothing

You were in the right, you agreed on a price when you dropped it off, and they should of honoured that price they told you.

I had a service the other week, they quoted me a price, I left the car, and came to pick it up later in the day, where they informed me that that wasn't the price, it was actually £130 less than what it should of been. Luckily they didn't quarrel it, and I left after paying the original price we had agreed on.

missile

Good for you, well done!