clause in mechanic receipt?

Gene_Hunt_2

Cars a write off if it needs £600 spending on it.

Gene_Hunt_2

thebettingbride wrote: »

So the garage wouldn't be at fault if it was a bodge-job on the HG, but he was definitely told the HG was new and so sold the car under false pretences. I think he bought from a private citizen rather than a garage, but still would there be a way of holding this person to account for the subsequent costs he's incurred? (I'd be thinking of the small claims court - if he has evidence of being sold the car with a "new gasket" when it clearly wasn't, but then I've so many money issues of my own lately that I get angry a lot easier these days).

How do you prove the previous owner knew and wasn't tucked up himself?

thebettingbride

Don't think he'll be writing it off, he paid £1200 for it. Not being a car person I've no idea of its actual worth (current probs would indicate £0) - but I definitely feel frustrated on his behalf.

thebettingbride

True. So the end point being he's been screwed (by some one at least) and there's sweet FA that can be done about it?

Gene_Hunt_2

thebettingbride wrote: »

Don't think he'll be writing it off, he paid £1200 for it. Not being a car person I've no idea of its actual worth (current probs would indicate £0) - but I definitely feel frustrated on his behalf.

:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

Just seen a 2003 one for £495 on autotrader.

thebettingbride

Ouch. I'll opt not to tell him that.

optimus_primera

Gene_Hunt wrote: »

:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

Just seen a 2003 one for £495 on autotrader.

must be something wrong with it! (apart from being a Nissan made after Renault involvement) ........

bryanb

When you buy from a private owner there is no comeback unless you can prove he (Or she) lied.

Wig

The garage only replaced the radiator, assuming they refilled the coolant properly and got all the air locks out they can't be blamed for a dodgy HG which was already there.

Just because it had a new HG doesn't mean that the repair done was satisfactory, it might have needed skimming and this wasn't done. It might have corroded walls on the coolant channels so failure again was inevitable, and repair would be economically impossible even now, excepting a new engine. You can look for signs of HG repair, are there new head bolts fitted? Is there fresh brightly coloured sealant squeezed out around the HG? Was there a reciept for the HG repair? If it was a private sale and they said new HG and there is a new HG there's nothing you can do, if there is no new HG then you'd have to prove that's what they said to him when he bought the car. Then you've got the problem of the law of private sales, there's no Sale of goods Act only possibly contract law, difficult area. Probably best off dealing with the problem and moving on.

He's bought a Nissan -Japanese- expensive to repair bad idea, should have bought a European make.

epninety

It sounds like the garage knows the problem is more serious, and doesn't want to be held liable. While that sounds a little one sided, I think it rather depends on the circumstance. If the customer insists they want the blocked radiator replacing, rather than the fault diagnosed, then it seems perfectly reasonable. However, if the customer asked for the fault to be diagnosed, and the garage didn't point out that it was quite likely the blocked rad wasn't the root cause, but replaced it anyway, I'd be less happy.

Blocked radiators are pretty uncommon in my experience, and generally caused by extreme age, poor maintenance, or someone adding a 'miracle cure' to try to fix a problem on the cheap.

If someone was trying to bodge up the car to sell, it's quite possible the HG repair wasn't properly done either. On some engines, the head will need skimming and/or crack testing before refitting. On other engines, the head may even be scrap if it's been properly overheated. Very easy for a bodger to replace the gasket and flog it before it all goes pear shaped again.

In short, I think it's quite likely you're pointing blame in the wrong place...