Help - I was cheated big time!!!

simone2697

I used to work for the DVLA and we could only tax cars which were catagory 'C' and only after they had been to the Vehicle Inspectorate. I would also ring the DVLA and find where you stand on that point. I havent worked there for 10 months and things change so much that you would be best sppeaking to some one there - better still to some one at your local office.
The V5 details - if they are wrong you will need to contact your local DVLA office as in inspector will need to see the veicle if the main details are wrong - this is the only way it can be changed.

HTH

C_Ronaldo

the tyres shop around for a good price, i pay about £25 for a new tyre which i find is reasonable, i go to a local tyre place as its been recommended, look in the yellow pages, ask around where ur neighbours/friends get their tyres from

you should have had the AA check it out first but whats done is done

ka7e

Not wanting to hijack this thread, but what happens if you employ an independant mechanic that does unsatisfactory work? The mechanic was recommended by friends as being a Mini specialist with reasonable rates. DD has paid £400+ for work plus MOT on her car, which included fitting a new exhaust. The exhaust dropped off after 2 weeks and had to be welded back in place - it had been just clipped on to a homemade "adaptor". The water pump had been leaking and she asked for it to be replaced. Instead, he thought it had "resealed itself" so he didn't bother. It leaked again causing her to break down on the motorway and cost her £120 to get a tow home!
He had to weld some of the sub-frame, fill some rust holes and replace the brake discs. These have been done, but other minor works haven't - repairing window winder, wiring the heater etc.
The work that was done took a lot longer than expected and I think he just bumped the price up accordingly (she was originally quoted £200 ish). But the quality of the work has been appalling and he's being very difficult to get hold of recently. The problem is that DD's boyfriend had the invoice and lost it, so DD has no record of what works were done and paid for! Any suggestions as to how to proceed?

buglawton

You have to gain experience of using some independant mechanics in your locality. If you find one you feel is good stick with him unless the service gets worse. Also, approach knowledgible neighbours & relatives for an opinion on any quotes you get.

piggeh

Are those works listed on the invoice as being done? You should expect it to be done to a reasonable standard & quality by law, and I would imagine there is some comeback there (I think you have a right to request the work is 'put right').

desperadoV2

amcluesent wrote:

>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)?

The toyota garage did an hpi check and the VIN matches. But the hpi result showed the car as 3 door hatchback but mine is 5 door hatchback.

I called up DVLA and they said, send the V5 registration document with cover letter explaining what is wrong and they will correct it and send back new V5 registration document. So I guess it is not too bad in that front.

desperadoV2

piggeh wrote:

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?

Yes, that's what I did. I took the car to anther garage and the cost is considerably less. Toyota garage themselves said, as it stands the car is perfectly road safe. But will need all those work done to put the car 100% right.

I have to admit I was very naive to believe everything the car seller said. Also he was rushing me saying, there are others interested in the car, so make a decision quickly. If only I would have thought about it for a minute and did a hpi/AA check before I buy. I would have saved 1000s. Also the cost of the car blinded my eyes. 44,000 miles, W reg, year 2000, toyota yaris for £2,600/- is a bargain price. My thinking when I was looking at the car was, wowwww...this is a bargain price for only this spec car. What I forgot to question myself is...Why? Why is he selling it so cheaply??? What I learned from this is, there is no such thing as cheap and bargain cars.

The car runs perfectly smooth. It is perfectly road safe as well. In order for the car to be 100% perfect, I need to spend nearly £900/-

On a positive note, my wife is also learning driving, so she can use this car as her first car after I have driven it for a year. So it this car is going to be learning drivers car. We both will gain more experience driving this car before we spend on expensive cars

desperadoV2

simone2697 wrote:

I used to work for the DVLA and we could only tax cars which were catagory 'C' and only after they had been to the Vehicle Inspectorate. I would also ring the DVLA and find where you stand on that point. I havent worked there for 10 months and things change so much that you would be best sppeaking to some one there - better still to some one at your local office.
The V5 details - if they are wrong you will need to contact your local DVLA office as in inspector will need to see the veicle if the main details are wrong - this is the only way it can be changed.

HTH

I got the tax, insurance and breakdown cover all sorted out. Its not a issue. The car is a category D car. I got in touch with DVLA and they asked me to send the V5 document with a cover letter and they will sort out. Hope it goes ok. fingers crossed.

desperadoV2

albertross wrote:

It was one of the first things I did on my first car, and I knew nothing about them at the time. You normally attach a pipe with a one way valve to the nipple at the drain point on the wheel, put the pipe in an empty bottle, open the valve with a ring spanner, and start pumping the brake pedal, making sure that the master cylinder is topped up with brake fluid as you do, so that you don't introduce further air into the system. Then close the valve with a ring spanner (make sure it is tight!), and move to the next wheel.

This gives you an idea..

http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?docid=424875296846997369&q=brake+bleeding

you don't have to take the wheels off btw, should take about 10 minutes if you know what you are doing, maybe an hour if you've never done it before.

when finished, test brakes, make sure there are no leaks from the nipples when you press the brake pedal hard, and carry the ring spanner, and some spare fluid with you for a few days, just in case..

Thanks for the video and instructions mate. It is fantastic description. I'm not sure, I will be able to do this myself. But it does sound very simple. For the moment the brakes are perfectly ok and I will buy the hayes manual and see what I can do.

Thanks.

piggeh

desperadoV2 wrote:

Yes, that's what I did. I took the car to anther garage and the cost is considerably less. Toyota garage themselves said, as it stands the car is perfectly road safe. But will need all those work done to put the car 100% right.

I have to admit I was very naive to believe everything the car seller said. Also he was rushing me saying, there are others interested in the car, so make a decision quickly. If only I would have thought about it for a minute and did a hpi/AA check before I buy. I would have saved 1000s. Also the cost of the car blinded my eyes. 44,000 miles, W reg, year 2000, toyota yaris for £2,600/- is a bargain price. My thinking when I was looking at the car was, wowwww...this is a bargain price for only this spec car. What I forgot to question myself is...Why? Why is he selling it so cheaply??? What I learned from this is, there is no such thing as cheap and bargain cars.

The car runs perfectly smooth. It is perfectly road safe as well. In order for the car to be 100% perfect, I need to spend nearly £900/-

On a positive note, my wife is also learning driving, so she can use this car as her first car after I have driven it for a year. So it this car is going to be learning drivers car. We both will gain more experience driving this car before we spend on expensive cars

Lesson learnt eh? But as I said, I learnt the same lesson myself! Bloke seemed really friendly, car's bodywork in excellent condition. My dad thought it was 'just a tappet'. Oops. Then took it to have a whole new engine fitted. Garage in Charlton took 3 months and despite me pressuring them, didnt complete it. Eventually got a refund of £800 that I had paid for a new engine and scrapped the (£700) car. What a waste..

On my last car I took it to Renault to have it diagnosed, and they misdiagnosed it. Got the work done elsewhere and then the timing belt snapped two weeks later (which was what was causing the problems apparently!). So never go with the first thing you're told unless you have dealt with them before and can trust them enough to go with it, even if it's a main dealer garage. Two lessons learnt in two cars though, so it's not something I'll be repeating in the near future.

My latest car I actually paid slightly over the odds for it by 2-300 quid, but I was very confident the car was absolutely fine and would not have any problems. One month later, still running like a dream. Skoda Fabia fwiw.

Toyota Yaris is a very reliable car though - once you get the problems sorted it should be a great runaround.

Good luck anyway - if you're based in kent I may know a few decent mechanics.