"Does a repaired car have to be good as new?" MSE Blog discussion

Former_MSE_Dan

This thread is to discuss the MSE team blog:

'Does a repaired car have to be good as new?'

Just click reply to post.

Thanks!

Lithian

Seems a fairly odd question, have to no, should be yes!

If you don't know a bush from a bearing are you in the best position to decide where corners can be cut? At least ask for advice on an owners forum (most models have them) before dismissing that ever growing mysterious oily puddle where you park your car!

Lum

But the other garage said the car was fine to drive, apart from one tyre.

Personally I'd always replace tyres in pairs but other than that I don't see anything wrong with what happened.

Was the first garage Kwik Fit by any chance?

markphelan

It's the old "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" I guess. If the car works, and (in the garage's opinion) there's nothing that's likely to imminently fail then it's probably not worth shelling out for.
Wear and tear is to be expected really and if it doesn't drive as well as it used to or is a bit noisy then that's probably to be expected - I'd probably not perform quite as well after covering 100,000 miles!

auroan

Your article details things that are part of the on going maintainence of a car. For example the V belt drives things like an alternator, power steering pump, and the aircon compressor. If this small part fails bigger things go wrong. Its like saying you won't patch up a cut on your arm to stop it being infected..... in the end if you leave it you could loose your arm due to infection and gangrene or die due to [FONT=&quot]septicaemia[/FONT].


It's the same for cars. You have to maintain them for them to run smoothly and not break down with bigger more expensive issues. Bushes are another one. When they deteriorate (which they will eventually do) they will cause poor handling/suspension issues and possibly metal on metal rubbing of which mean more expensive parts need changing.


A repaired car should be to spec. At the end of the day it depends on your standards. I have a Skoda Octavia Tdi in the family thats covered well over 150K miles, and it drives as well my 40K miler Audi A4. And the Octavia has only ever had is service parts.

Lithian

Lum wrote: »

But the other garage said the car was fine to drive, apart from one tyre.

Personally I'd always replace tyres in pairs but other than that I don't see anything wrong with what happened.

Was the first garage Kwik Fit by any chance?

Drove my mums car a few weeks back in the rain, through random replacements it had a different type of tyre on each corner, all at different wear levels and all the cheapest the garage had in stock at the time :mad:

The car couldn't make up its mind which way to spin off the road so ended up going in a vaguely straight line :rotfl:

marlot

That article is pathetic. We all know there are fast fit places who try to turn little thing into a sales opportunity. We don't know whether the first 'repair shop' actually recommended replacement of these things, or was just noting that they had some wear. We don't know what brief was given to the second garage 'just tell me the things which are ilegal' or 'will make sure I break down in the next 100 miles'.

When the article is written by someone who clearly knows less than my mother about cars, its just a rant that two different 'body shops' have given two different opinions. We have no idea which is correct (though we all suspect the first of overselling).

I've put cars into the garage where I've wanted them to be absolutely right (eg. paid £100 recently for a 4-wheel alignment on a 6-week old car - and yes, it was worth it - the car has gone from great to superb), and others where I've just wanted them to be a runaround.

Former_MSE_Dan

marlot wrote: »

That article is pathetic. We all know there are fast fit places who try to turn little thing into a sales opportunity. We don't know whether the first 'repair shop' actually recommended replacement of these things, or was just noting that they had some wear. We don't know what brief was given to the second garage 'just tell me the things which are ilegal' or 'will make sure I break down in the next 100 miles'.

When the article is written by someone who clearly knows less than my mother about cars, its just a rant that two different 'body shops' have given two different opinions. We have no idea which is correct (though we all suspect the first of overselling).

I've put cars into the garage where I've wanted them to be absolutely right (eg. paid £100 recently for a 4-wheel alignment on a 6-week old car - and yes, it was worth it - the car has gone from great to superb), and others where I've just wanted them to be a runaround.

It wasn't intended as a rant - though I do openly admit in the blog that car repairs aren't my forte.

Anything potentially dangerous (or that could become dangerous) I asked the second guy to fix - hence the tyre - and I am assuming at some point in future (MOT perhaps), he may say it's worth doing some further repairs. I was really wondering if this is the attitude others take (get a couple of opinions, then do what is needed), or if they prefer good as new quality?

Lithian

It sounds like you found a good honest mechanic in your second guy, perhaps run your thoughts past him?

At least keep track of things like tyre and brake wear so you have an idea of when these things are going to be due, thats easy enough to do in a driveway. Your honest mechanic may have assumed that you know to check these things and you have 2-3 months left on the pads, no point in changing them if there is life left but might not make it to an mot

(obviously not knowing the exact convo you had)