Bad work by garage

joeyfreak

I would really appreciate some advice about where I stand legally in this matter.
I took my car to the garage which I have always used with no issues when I got a puncture as I had had to put my spare on and I wanted them to change my punctured tyre and and put it back on for me.
When I was there they said another of my tyres was bald. Fair play, I'd have no idea so I agreed to let them do both of them at a cost of £125.
I sat and watched with my mum as they opened the boot to get the punctured tyre out and left the boot open as they raised the car up. They smashed the boot into the ceiling and we both saw them do it. At that point we left to come back later, but I forgot about what I saw.
When I went to open my boot later in the day it wouldn't hold open So we took the car back and they tried to say they hadn't done anything to it, but as we had seen them do it they gave in and agreed to fix it for free. I was really mad at this point but it gets worse.
On Saturday as I was driving there was a knocking noise and then my steering wheel began to shake so I pulled over and my partner noticed two of the bolts that hold the wheel on were missing! One was on the floor by my car and the other was long gone. We could see on the one we found that it had been cross threaded and it had a lot of ground metal on it.
I called the garage who agreed to come and tow the car, and then started telling me about how much it might cost me!!! I told them there was no way I was paying for them to fix there mistake and after a brief discussion with the owner he agreed to fix it this morning for free and give me a free courtesy car while I am waiting.
Whilst I accept that this may be all I am entitled to I feel its not enough. And whilst nothing did happen as I was driving slowly and could stop easily there could easily have been a bad accident if I had been going much faster, on say a motorway, and the wheel had come off.
I feel that as they broke my car and made it very dangerous then I should be entitled to a refund of what I paid them to do this work as they haven't done it to a satisfactory standard.
However, I have a tendency to over react so i thought I would post in here in the hope that someone may be able to give me some advice.

bris

What if's have no bearing on anything, they fixed their mistakes, any refund would now be goodwill. Have you asked?

joeyfreak

No not yet, I was going to speak to them today when I went in to collect my car. Just wanted to know where I stood first.
Thank you

bod1467

Bear in mind that every driver has a duty of care. This includes things like checking wheel nuts are secure, tyres are legal and have the correct pressure etc. BEFORE they undertake a journey.

I accept that many people don't do this on a regular basis (if at all), but just wanted to notify that you need to accept some of the blame. If the garage is fixing it all for free (AND supplying a courtesy car) then I wouldn't complain too much.

arcon5

They seemed to have dealt with it fairly to me. They did try their luck initially which isn't great service, but doesn't sound like it took much persuading for them to sort it all out for free. Especially since they supplied a courtesy car, which to me seems pretty good service.

Personally, i'd check its done correctly this time and move on.

bod1467

Tip for the future - if you see something happening that concerns you (e.g. boot hitting the ceiling) then raise your concern there and then; do NOT go away without saying anything. (This prevents them denying that it happened).

arcon5

bod1467 wrote: »

Tip for the future - if you see something happening that concerns you (e.g. boot hitting the ceiling) then raise your concern there and then; do NOT go away without saying anything. (This prevents them denying that it happened).

I agree, if that was me i'd be checking for damage there and then!!

RadoJo

You could ask for a goodwill gesture for the inconvenience of having to go back and forth to get the problems rectified, but I think that fixing the problems fulfils their responsibilities to you, and I would wait until you have your car back before asking as you want to be sure that everything has been fixed before negotiating on a goodwill gesture.

giraffe69

They smashed the boot into the ceiling and we both saw them do it. At that point we left to come back later, but I forgot about what I saw.

You forgot that they smashed the boot of your car having left it up!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

paddedjohn

bod1467 wrote: »

Bear in mind that every driver has a duty of care. This includes things like checking wheel nuts are secure, tyres are legal and have the correct pressure etc. BEFORE they undertake a journey.

I accept that many people don't do this on a regular basis (if at all), but just wanted to notify that you need to accept some of the blame. If the garage is fixing it all for free (AND supplying a courtesy car) then I wouldn't complain too much.

surely you are taking the mick here, no-one but no-one checks wheel nuts before they go on a journey, do you jack your car up evey day and make sure your exhaust is secure or the ball joints are tight?

why would they have to accept some of the blame? its shoddy workmanship at best, if you pay to get a job done you expect to get it done right without having to check someones work.

bod1467

Not at all. I accept that very few people will do this. But it IS true that every driver has a duty of care to ensure their vehicle is safe.

However the garage equally have a duty of care to ensure they carry out their work with due diligence, and not do things like leave wheel nuts incorrectly tightened.