Help - I was cheated big time!!!

tomstickland

1. two new front tyres
£80 blackcircles, though can wait
2. washers not working. so needs changing
Depends what's broken, either scrap yard £10 for washer pump or just need cleaning out
3. exhaust manifold badly bent
Not safety critical. Either source one from scrappy or live with it
4. brake fluid dirty. needs changing
Std maintenance, not expensive
5. headlights out of line. (service center are saying, how the car got MOT with this fault).
My MOT tester will adjust for free. Easy job

It sounds to me like the seller had a light front end collision. They admitted that a new bumper was fitted.
Personally I'd go to a tyre place and pay £20 for 4 wheel laser alignment. If the wheel alignment is OK then I'd be happy that the car was straight. I'd have the items fixed and drive it.

It might be sad that your first car isn't "perfect" but there's nothing seriously wrong in that list.

I really feel stupid now. How do i get out of this? any advice please?

Buying a 2nd hand car always involves some risk. Personally I've always found it worth it; anything that I discover, as long as it can be fixed, then I just fix it.

buglawton

Agree with tomstickland - also, try to get yourself a friendly independant mechanic. If you get your usual servicing done via him, he will usually ensure you are not cheated on any big things.

alanobrien

desperadoV2 wrote:

This is more confusing now. Toyota garage said, I need new front tyres. But the local garage I went, had a look at the tyres and said...it looks fine and I don't need a new front tyres.

Why is this difference from garage to garage? I'm going to go ahead and change the front tyres anyway...because I do not want to compromise on road safety for just 80 quid worth of front tyres.

The differences are because some have more scruples than others.
As already stated, there is a simple tread depth check to see if they comply with the law, thats all that is necessary. I do agree with you though, safety is paramount so i would never skimp on tyres.

desperadoV2

I Just came back from toyota garage. I went ahead and changed the front two tyres. It cost me £83/- (including labour). I left the car yesterday for full service which costed me £200/- and I don't know why they dont consider labour for tyre change as part of the full service.

Anyway I got a full quote from toyota for the issues listed above.

The total cost is coming to £986/- This cost does not include headlight alignment. That is seperate cost I have to sort out.

For the following, they are charging a whopping £986/-

1. New Exhaust manifold
2. Dirty brake fluid
3. Windscreen washer changes
4. Slight engine oil leak. Amber state that needs attention (He didn't mention anything about this before).

He said, the car as it stands is road safe and NO danger as I have changed the tyres now. The above changes are to put the car right.

I thought £986/- for above all changes is bloody expensive. I already spent £300/- today for service and tyre changes. Not going to spend any money on this. Its ridiculous.

He is saying, the headlight alignment difference will not pass the MOT. I doubt it though because i can't see that much difference. The left headlight is slightly pointing upwards, that all.

Where can I take my car to check this headline alignment? any suggestions please?

buglawton

The above price is what you would expect from a main dealer. If you want to cut this you MUST go to independants. Once a car gets below a certain resale value, it is really not worth going to main dealers.

tomstickland

For the following, they are charging a whopping £986/-

1. New Exhaust manifold
2. Dirty brake fluid
3. Windscreen washer changes
4. Slight engine oil leak. Amber state that needs attention (He didn't mention anything about this before).

Brake fluid change - half an hour's work
Windscreen washer - easy job
Oil leak - don't do anything, just keep putting oil in if it needs it. Buy the oil for around £6 per 5L from a motor factors.

Exhaust manifold isn't urgent. Get one from a scrappers.

Even an expensive back street garage isn't going to sting you for more than £250 for that lot IMO.

Glad

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desperadoV2

albertross wrote:

buy a haynes manual, brake bleeding kit, screwdrivers/ratchet set and do it yourself, most of that stuff is easy, and the more you learn about cars, the less likely you will get ripped off in future.

Is it that easy? The guy at toyota garage said, it is not a simple matter of removing the plug, the brake fluid comes out and fill it up with new liquid. It is more then that. It is more complex and time consuming. That was his answer.

He is just making things up to rip me off, isn't it? typical!!

amcluesent

>Also the Vehicle registration details seem to be wrong<

Have you had an HPI check and made sure that the serial # (VIN #) on the chassis plate matches the V5 document (I hope the seller showed you this and the car was theirs to sell)?

piggeh

Take it elsewhere. Get a second opinion. Get a Haynes Manual, and have a look at how difficult the jobs are. If you don't think you can do them, then get the garage to do it. Judge what needs doing now (safety), against those jobs that can wait.

You have no comeback against the seller. I bought a rover before (privately) and the bloke had put thick oil in the engine to mask the sounds of a worn camshaft. Engine needed replacig after 2 weeks or so, but had no comeback whatsoever, and car was basically a write-off.

Cat D is not too bad, although affects the resale maybe (if other people check the car history of course). Would check the rest of it. The V5 may have been reissued with a Cat D car, so could be slightly different to normal?