shoddy chevvy garage. help!

mikey72

bigjl wrote: »

The worst case scenario is 16 valves and 16 new valve guides, along with all the appropriate seals and gaskets plus new water pump, pullies, tensioner, belt etc.

If there is no damage to the actual head itself, unlikely, or damage to any pistons, then that should be it, try and get access to your car and take some digital photos of the pistons, any damage will be obvious.

This isn't dificult to price up, the fact they are saying the head needs to go away is a stalling tactic, if they phoned up the machine shop they use they could easily get a price over the phone, not exact, but a worse case scenario.

Also the fact they have given you a quote for the work means they already know how much work is needed, they are just trying to be awkward.

The garage was claiming the head was showing signed of coolant leakage, so it'll need pressure testing, it could be damaged previously, hydro-locked, and just damaged by a pistion.
Or with this garage, it could just be ok.

RandyRos

just got a call from the TN manager. he said he'll just charge me for the parts, £800.

i have written a letter to Chev UK asking for their policy on changing cambelts

i am writing to the TN manager to say why im not happy and that i expect them to fix it for free, giving them 2 weeks to respond. its just a formality, cos i know they wont do it.

Just spoke to TS again and this time the advisor said I CAN pay under protest and get the engine fixed, and it WONT affect any further legal action i may take. earlier they said it would! wish theyd make their minds up!! anyhow, i have to say im paying under protest and make sure its in writing. this way i can get the courtesy car tomorrow while its being fixed.

otherwise ive got to find out exactly whats up witht he engine, get 3 quotes, then get the car to the cheapest garage and if they dont have a courtesy car, hire one!

LandyAndy

RandyRos wrote: »

just got a call from the TN manager. he said he'll just charge me for the parts, £800.

!

No doubt that is the retail price of the parts not the cost to them;).

RandyRos

LandyAndy wrote: »

No doubt that is the retail price of the parts not the cost to them;).

no doubt. and if they did nothing wrong (in their opinion) why are they bending over backwards to make it cheaper for us cos we've spoken to TS?

Homersimpson

RandyRos wrote: »

i already did phone chev uk, homer....

just phoned head office who put me thru to customer aftercare. they said the pulleys etc are normally only inspected, but most chev garages will replace the whole lot as "good practice"

I think I'll write to them & get a difinitive written response.

i *should* be getting a courtesy car tomorrow, in which case i guess i will pick it up, so i can ask for the workshop manual there.

I think you might have a problem then, if the manufacturer only says to inspect the pulleys and tensioner and the garage did this and the engine has been ok for 5 months then i'm not sure that your claim will stand up in court as the dealer has acted with due diligence. What is done as good practice is not really relevant as long as the dealer followed the manufacturers requirements.

I'm afraid that what Gates say doesn't really matter unless its adopted by the manufacturer of the car. In this situation Chevrolet should take advice from the belt manufacturer (gates or whoever) and then issue this to their dealers as a service bulletin.

If the pulleys failed after a few days then you would have a much stronger case.

Best of luck with this though

mikey72

Homersimpson wrote: »

I think you might have a problem then, if the manufacturer only says to inspect the pulleys and tensioner and the garage did this and the engine has been ok for 5 months then i'm not sure that your claim will stand up in court as the dealer has acted with due diligence. What is done as good practice is not really relevant as long as the dealer followed the manufacturers requirements.

I'm afraid that what Gates say doesn't really matter unless its adopted by the manufacturer of the car. In this situation Chevrolet should take advice from the belt manufacturer (gates or whoever) and then issue this to their dealers as a service bulletin.

If the pulleys failed after a few days then you would have a much stronger case.

Best of luck with this though

If it wasn't replaced, it would be expected to fail a few months later if it was going to, due to different tension of the new belt causing premature wear.
That's why it's best practice to change them.
I'd expect twelve months warranty on dealer replaced items as well. It was their call to replace the cambelt, and decide not to change the pulley.

RandyRos

erm, it went after 3 months, not 5.

and might we be better off buying a new cylinder head/engine? if so, where can we find them? ive been searching online and places ive looked at want to phone u with a quote. hubby just wanted to price things up online

Homersimpson

3 months or 5 months its still lasted a fair time after the work was done. I really feel for you on this one and i'm the first to say take the dealer for what you can get but if chevrolet don't stipulate replacement of the tensioner I think your on dicey ground.

For an engine look under car and commercial vehicle dismantlers in the yellow pages and have a ring round then get a price from a local garage to fit.

Has any damage been done to the pistons in your existing engine?

RandyRos

yes, piston damage has been done. but until they send the head to the engineers they wont know how many of them are damaged.

I understand that as they legally only have to replace the cambelt that its not a 100% sure thing case, so thats why we thought if we "pay under protest" for it to be fixed, (at the £800 i got it down to), we can get the car back and let the court decide.

Homersimpson

Best of luck, please keep us updated as I think you case will be useful to others in future.