Unnecessary garage repair - does the liability lie with me?

colino

Seems like a typical honest local independent, but don't expect a free new starter motor still to be on it when you get it back.

anotherbaldrick

colino wrote: »

Seems like a typical honest local independent, but don't expect a free new starter motor still to be on it when you get it back.

If there is nothing wrong with the old one is he bothered ?

steveo3002

yeah i dont think you get the starter for free , he will prob send it back and refit the old one

sounds very reasonble anyway

cyclonebri1

And I would still complain to the RAC. Ok, it might not get you anywhere as all you've now sufferred is inconvenience not cost, but at least some inept so called mechanic might get a wake up call,

thenudeone

koloko wrote: »

Essentially I am being given a starter motor for free and not being charged for the labour of installing it.

This offer is so generous, I feel guilty accepting it. I'm considering offering to pay for half of the parts+labour of the starter motor when I pick the car up later on, as I feel I should take some responsibility for this.

The garage is running a business and expects to have to pay for mistakes every now and then. Just make sure you use the garage for whatever work you need in future.

BillTrac

I am not a mechanic but through driving all sorts of bangers in my youth I did pick up lots of knowledge about getting cars home:rotfl:

Couple of years ago my eldest daughter was driving in Basingstoke. Started to rain so she tried putting her wipers on. They didn't work. She managed to get to a supermarket where she could park safely. Being an hour from home rather than call me she called RAC who came and told her the wiper motor was dead and she needed as new one £200:eek:.
She called me as she didn't have £200. I said don't do anything and I will drive up and have a look.

Had a look, checked the earthing by using a jump lead and hey presto, windscreen wipers.

She never replaced the wiper motor as I wired a new earthing cable to the unit. Still going strong as far as I know(she sold the car last summer)

And as for a starter motor problem. I remember my SIL used to drive one of those little Daf variomatic cars. The horrible little yellow perils. It wouldn't start, the starter motor bendix kept jamming. So mr RAC turns up, says to SIL to try starter motor. She did, he hit the motor with his hammer. Turns out you could start the !!!!!!s when they were in gear. She was in reverse, engine started and she shot back straight into a skip:rotfl::rotfl:.

Shoshannah

Strangest thing in this story I find is not necessarily that they didn't run their own diagnostics before replacing the starter motor (which is still pretty shabby), but that they apparently didn't test it afterwards.

Surely it shouldn't have taken the owner to try and drive the car away for them to notice that it still didn't start?

Or have I missed something here?

koloko

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