Unnecessary garage repair - does the liability lie with me?

koloko

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custardy

Im surprised the garage didnt run its own checks
when I had a broken coil pack diagnosed by the AA the garage still did their own diagnostic work before fixing it
I suppose the problem is you askd the to fix the motor not the RAC said this,can you fix it if thats the case
did you get the old starter motor back?

koloko

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custardy

well the problem you have is its most likely a refurb and your old one was exchanged out

anotherbaldrick

How can a faulty starter motor be confused with a dead fuel pump ? The starter motor is only faulty if when you turn the key in the ignition it does not spin the engine over, you can hear it operate if its working, if not you just get a click. If it operates and the engine does not start OK , look elsewhere for the problem but you can't misdiagnose a dead starter motor that's not.

s_b

garage has done as requested
the new fitted part is now second hand
nothing to be done
swallow the medicine but next time dont depend on the breakdown guys because i see them misdiagnosing faults quite often,sometimes so they can just get the car off their work sheet and onto the next job

cyclonebri1

Pretty good point but if you asked for a "new" starter motor, well then you have grounds.

That's the detail.

But the essential is that they did do as you asked, albeit guided by the RAC, no doubt their terms and conditions state you can't believe a word they say so????, where does that leave you?, apart from out of pocket I can't help you further, sorry.

whitelabel

Id take this further to be honest. Its a case of misdiagnosis imagine if you had a plumber out to a boiler.

Ask the garage for a written report (may be a charge for this but ask RAC for that too) confirming the part was replaced as per their engineers diagnosis (as confirmed on your headed paper) but the fault remained, further diagnosis showed it to be a problem with the fuel pump and no fault was found on the starter motor

they should pay for the additional work on the starter motor.. not the fuel pump, plus any report costs...

worth a try

Premier_2

koloko wrote: »

I broke down last week and called the RAC. The RAC arrived and said "your electric starter motor is broken and needs replacing". He wrote this down on a piece of headed paper.

I took the car to a garage and said "can you replace the electric starter motor". The garage estimated this would be £200 and I gave the go ahead for the work.

When I collected the car, it wouldn't start. As it turns out, the fault was with the fuel pump, not the electric starter motor.

I feel a bit !!!!ed off that I've spent £200 on un-necessary work, but it's hardly the garage's fault - they did exactly what I asked them. And despite being at fault, the RAC cannot be held liable.

So can I just get the confirmation I don't want - it's me that's out of pocket here, isn't it?

Sorry, I don't quite follow how such a mis-diagnosis could occur :huh:
or indeed how the mis-diagnosis could even lead to you breaking down in the first place.

All a starter motor does is turns the engine to start it. If it turns the engine (as required), then it's not the starter motor that is preventing the engine starting. If the engine is already running, then a faulty starter motor won't cause a breakdown (but may prevent you restarting again).

It may be that the RAC man saw a fault with the starter and hence why he recommended it to be replaced, but it wouldn't be the reason you broke down and, assuming it was turning the engine when required, was not the reason the car wouldn't start.

koloko

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forgotmyname

If you had gone to the garage and said the RAC man said the starters faulty they would probably have
laughed and said they would check it 1st. But if you went in and said the starter needs changing i still
would have expected them to ask are you sure.

I had to get the garage to replace a sticky brake caliper, They asked me how i knew, I didnt tell them i
was a mechanic. I knew they would put it on the rollers first anyway.

Asking them to remove the starter would cost you even more in labour. If they fitted a brand new starter
you could ask for the old one back and sell it. But if it was reconditioned then you wont be able to get that
back they pay a surcharge for not returning an old one.