Advice Required RAC & local Garage Nightmare!

Jerryjerryjerry

Hello!

Have a BMW 1 Series. Its never broken down in four years since i've owned it. Anyway, got it serviced at a local garage where i've never had any previous problems.

Two weeks after paying 644 pounds for said service, car breaks down.

Joined RAC,then waited obligatory 24 Hrs. Called them out. RAC said Cam Shaft Sensor needs replacing so they tow to local garage where i'd just had a service. The garage fitted the cam shaft sensor and car still not working. Charged 140 pounds, and told by garage to take car to BMW.

So, called RAC - took ages trying to persuade them not to charge me for towing car again from local garage to BMW as all I'd done was follow their advice in the first place and asked for cam shaft sensor to be fitted. I know nothing about cars!

So finally, RAC have agreed to pick the car up from local Garage to tow to BMW garage.

What would you do? Would you put it down to experience, or would you blame RAC for giving wrong advice or would you blame garage for fitting a part and saying car still not fixed, take it to BMW, but not before paying for the part we've fitted. This is surely not right!!!

BenL

Do you yet know what the problem is? Have BMW diagnosed it?

I would have expected the 1st garage to have done some diagnostic work before replacing a part. Maybe they have had good experience before with RAC patrolmans advice though and just trusted them.

scheming_gypsy

The RAC said it was a cam shaft sensor, so i'm guessing you took it to the garage and told them the cam shaft sensor needed replacing... So the garage did what they were told.
Where the blame lies is somewhere between yourselves and the RAC. The RAC advised that it was the wrong part rather than suggesting that it could have been that, so from that you went to the garage and told them what to do. Although no use to you now, but you should tell the garage what the problem is and what the RAC said they thought it was so the garage can fault find. If you say 'the RAC said the yada ya ya needs replacing' then they'll replace it on your instruction


edit.. who actually told the garage to replace the cam shaft sensor? you or the RAC?

gilbert_and_sullivan

Not much help now and i can understand you using a trusted indy.

Unfortunately cars are getting very complicated now and you really need to find yourself a make specific specialist indy, i use a chap who probably the best Benz indy in the country, he has some serious dignostics equipment costing many thousands of pounds, which the average all make independent wouldn't be able to afford to buy for every make he's likely to encounter or he'd price himself out of the market.
Similarly you need to know what that expensive make specific data means , the chap i use has been a MB indy for some 40 years, the days of the all make indy doing anything more than simple service work has come to an end.

At £644 for a service you might well have got a similar price from the BMW main dealer in the first place.

best of luck getting it sorted.

Jerryjerryjerry

scheming_gypsy wrote: »

The RAC said it was a cam shaft sensor, so i'm guessing you took it to the garage and told them the cam shaft sensor needed replacing... So the garage did what they were told.
Where the blame lies is somewhere between yourselves and the RAC. The RAC advised that it was the wrong part rather than suggesting that it could have been that, so from that you went to the garage and told them what to do. Although no use to you now, but you should tell the garage what the problem is and what the RAC said they thought it was so the garage can fault find. If you say 'the RAC said the yada ya ya needs replacing' then they'll replace it on your instruction


edit.. who actually told the garage to replace the cam shaft sensor? you or the RAC?

Hi... I told the garage that the RAC told me (its written on the form they give you) , that it was the Cam shaft sensor. What I know about cars can be written on a postage stamp.

scheming_gypsy

that's the annoying part. You get told it's x so you tell the garage it's x and they replace x as that's what they've been instructed to do. If you complain to the RAC they'll tell you that as they did a roadside assessment they can't gaurantee that it would be that.

it's one of those things that really goes down to experience and it sticks in your mind that you never rely on what somebody said; let the garage know that it was what the RAC said they 'thought' it was.

Jerryjerryjerry

BenL wrote: »

Do you yet know what the problem is? Have BMW diagnosed it?

I would have expected the 1st garage to have done some diagnostic work before replacing a part. Maybe they have had good experience before with RAC patrolmans advice though and just trusted them.

Hi. BMW havent received car yet. At the moment, the car is with local garage and RAC are on their way to pick it up, to deliver it to BMW garage.

I just think its odd. You go to a garage. Tell them the RAC think its this problem... and they order the part, fit it, charge you for it, but the car is still not starting, so they ask you to take it to dealer. Bizarre. Not right.

Jerryjerryjerry

gilbert_and_sullivan wrote: »

Not much help now and i can understand you using a trusted indy.

Unfortunately cars are getting very complicated now and you really need to find yourself a make specific specialist indy, i use a chap who probably the best Benz indy in the country, he has some serious dignostics equipment costing many thousands of pounds, which the average all make independent wouldn't be able to afford to buy for every make he's likely to encounter or he'd price himself out of the market.
Similarly you need to know what that expensive make specific data means , the chap i use has been a MB indy for some 40 years, the days of the all make indy doing anything more than simple service work has come to an end.

At £644 for a service you might well have got a similar price from the BMW main dealer in the first place.

best of luck getting it sorted.

I am beginning to think you are right! I feel a bit numb at the moment.

Something doesn't seem right.

fivetide

I'm not a fan of "the garage did as they were told" arguement.

For me a decent garage would say "we'll check out but that might not be the issue and we'll advise you if so before doing the work." Alternatively they might want to simply admit they don't have the tools to do the job properly. Honesty etc being well valued.

What was in the service?

5t.

scheming_gypsy

fivetide wrote: »

I'm not a fan of "the garage did as they were told" arguement.

For me a decent garage would say "we'll check out but that might not be the issue and we'll advise you if so before doing the work." .

but if it was what you told them to do, would you be happy to pay an extra 2 hours labour charge for diagnosing the problem?

Jerryjerryjerry

fivetide wrote: »

I'm not a fan of "the garage did as they were told" arguement.

For me a decent garage would say "we'll check out but that might not be the issue and we'll advise you if so before doing the work." Alternatively they might want to simply admit they don't have the tools to do the job properly. Honesty etc being well valued.

What was in the service?

5t.

Hi. The service included break pads and tires.