Car not working correctly after worked on in local garage - please help

Claire_Jones_3

I am a complete novice so need some help please!

We took our 2.0 diesel Avensis into a local garage as it had a broken glow plug (actually turned out to be two). We were given a timescale of about 3 days to sort out which actually turned into 2 weeks and 6 weeks on we still do not have a working car.

The local garage removed the engine, head, cylinders or whatever else required and sent a large lump of metal to an engineering company to remove the glow plugs. We actually went and collected this large lump of metal and brought it back to the local garage to try to speed up the job as they weren't able to collect it for another few days.

The local garage then put it all back together and the car has not worked properly since. There is no power in the car until you manage to get it up to 2500 revs and then it shifts like dog mess of a shovel! When you try to pull away from a junction/lights/roundabout you are so slow you wonder if the car is going to stall. The used this car to tow a 1300kg caravan so it was working fine before it went into the garage.

We returned the car back to the garage where they had it for another day so try to sort it out and have said they do not know why it isn't working correctly and suggested the car needed to go to toyota to look at. They were too busy to take it there for us so I had to take it. The car smelt when I drove it I thought of oil but it was diesel fumes and thankfully I didn't have my young children in the car.

Toyota said the exhaust wasn't connected to the back of the engine, there were wires draped over moving parts. They also forced off a pulley from the back of an engine with a metal bar and damaged it breaking off metal teeth from it and damaging the belt (£225+VAT to replace). There was also bolts missing from the engine and bolts that held the engine onto the car.
Toyota haven't removed the head again but have put everything back together and its still not working. They checked the timing and said it was correct so isn't that. We could ask them to remove it all again and then see what happens but we have already paid the local garage (£600 + £59 for the engineers) and the bill at toyota is already around £400 and we can't afford for toyota too carry on trying to fix it, running up a larger bill and still be left with a broken car.

Toyota have offered us £3k (53 reg 2004 2.0 T spirit Diesel 80k miles) part exchange for the Avensis as it is and we would have to look at a new vehicle as our current one doesn't drive well left alone try to tow the caravan!

Would we have any comeback on the local garage as the car is now damaged and undrivable? We don't want to be paying the local garage, Toyota and still having to find a new car and carrying all the responsibility when paying people who should know what they are doing.

custardy

have you contacted the garage regarding the work and report that Toyota have done?
regardless of your options or decisions.
i wouldnt let that garage near the car again TBH
i would not trust any work they did

Claire_Jones_3

I've been back to the local garage several times and they fob me off and generally make me feel very comfortable. Constaintly saying they've done all they can and they've made hardly anything out of doing the work (try being on this side of it is all I can think of!) Toyota have been reporting directly to the garage as well as me letting them know whats been happening.

The only time the local garage will get their hands on that car again is if they buy it from us!

optimus_primera

Have you got a written report of the faults found by Toyota?
If not ask them to do a breakdown of the faults found,then take it from there.

What ' local ' garage was it?
PM me the name if you don't want it in the public arena yet .....

custardy

Claire_Jones wrote: »

I've been back to the local garage several times and they fob me off and generally make me feel very comfortable. Constaintly saying they've done all they can and they've made hardly anything out of doing the work (try being on this side of it is all I can think of!) Toyota have been reporting directly to the garage as well as me letting them know whats been happening.

The only time the local garage will get their hands on that car again is if they buy it from us!

I wouldnt be talking to them at this stage.
you need all your communications to be done in writing by a signed for delivery method

colino

They appear to have made a spectacular mess of replacing the cylinder head and giving you such a long term timescale in the first place shows they were clearly out of their depth. These monkeys give the trade a bad name and unless they agree to take it back and have it repaired in good time to your complete satisfaction (they will farm it out - they're clearly not capable) I'm afraid its a legal batlle ahead.

Claire_Jones_3

optimus_primera wrote: »

Have you got a written report of the faults found by Toyota?
If not ask them to do a breakdown of the faults found,then take it from there.

What ' local ' garage was it?
PM me the name if you don't want it in the public arena yet .....

Toyota are writing all the problems down for me but I currently don't have the list.

The garage was in Immingham - don't really want to say more than that at the moment.

custardy wrote: »

I wouldnt be talking to them at this stage.
you need all your communications to be done in writing by a signed for delivery method

I'm no longer personally going into the garage, we're reviewing our options and all further communication with them will be written thank you custardy for that advice

colino wrote: »

They appear to have made a spectacular mess of replacing the cylinder head and giving you such a long term timescale in the first place shows they were clearly out of their depth. These monkeys give the trade a bad name and unless they agree to take it back and have it repaired in good time to your complete satisfaction (they will farm it out - they're clearly not capable) I'm afraid its a legal batlle ahead.

They told us 3 days but they ended up with the car for 2 weeks. Due to the problems we've been without the car for 6 weeks now. They don't want the car back now as they have admitted they don't know how to put it right. Do I start sending legal notice letters now saying they have certain amount of time to put right etc?

mikey72

If they admit they can't fix it, you should be pursueing them to pay the bill for Toyota to fix it now.

Claire_Jones_3

mikey72 wrote: »

If they admit they can't fix it, you should be pursueing them to pay the bill for Toyota to fix it now.

Problem is Toyota aren't sure what the problem is without taking the cylinders/top of the engine off again and this will cost us even more. We're already at £1000 bill from both garages, I can't really afford that let alone getting toyota to carry on looking at the car with no guarantee they they will be able to put it right so we might still be in the same position with a larger bill.

How/what do we need to do to start making a claim against the local garage as they aren't helping when we verbally ask them?

custardy

Claire_Jones wrote: »

Problem is Toyota aren't sure what the problem is without taking the cylinders/top of the engine off again and this will cost us even more. We're already at £1000 bill from both garages, I can't really afford that let alone getting toyota to carry on looking at the car with no guarantee they they will be able to put it right so we might still be in the same position with a larger bill.

How/what do we need to do to start making a claim against the local garage as they aren't helping when we verbally ask them?

problem is that you need to prove they did cause the problem
as it is the stuff Toyota have found havent been the problem

Homersimpson

I wonder if the first garage got something wrong with the cambelt timing, bent a few valves and then corrected the timing?

Can/have Toyota tested the compression of the engine? That would tell you whether the head needs to come off.

If the head does come off any pistion/valve contact will be obvious.