car 11 months in garage!!

cwrtcoed

Hi
11 months ago i put a c3 hdi into a citroen specialist garage, it had a starting problem. i changed various components associated what i thought may be the issue, which was fuel pump, timing belt, water pump, ecu and the bsi which was recoded to my car. I had a limited warranty with the parts. Now 11 months on and the car is still in the garage, at first the mechanic stated that when hes busy he has got to prioritise the way he gets the work in because he has bills to pay and looks at my car when he can, i have phoned him numerous times and he makes the same excuse or the latest one is one of his electrical tester was damaged and had to go off taking 6 weeks to sort out but that was 5 months ago. He now came to the conclusion that the injectors are faulty and has bought 4 for £200 each, this was over 2 months ago and still no update on my car, he never phones me on his progress only returns my calls when i phone.
Would i be right in stating that i could just take the car from there without paying him a penny, because im the one thats lost out on the lost warranty on my parts i paid plus the insurance, mot and tax along with the 11 months depreciation of my car. I cant prove that he has done all the checks he said hes done, plus the fact that i would be getting the car back in the same state of not running 11 months later.
If i get problems with the garage would trading standards get involved because i dont think 11 months is a reasonable time to sort a car out

Quentin

11 months is a long time, why have you been so patient???

You'll have a problem wanting to take the car away without paying what you owe, despite the delay!

maninthestreet

Write to him stating that 'time is now the essence of the contract', and giving him a date when the car must be returned to you with the faults repaired.

Quentin

maninthestreet wrote: »

Write to him stating that 'time is now the essence of the contract', and giving him a date when the car must be returned to you with the faults repaired.

Bit late for that - this "contract" has been running 11 months, clearly without time being the "essence"!

(To make the letter "legal", both sides would have to now agree it was a "contract" where time was the essence)

colino

Citroen "specialist"? Are you sure the car still exists or in fact has it been sold on? He doesn't sound like an honest guy keeping your costs down on a hospital project, he sounds like a chancer who has either sold/disposed/cannabalised your willing donor.

forgotmyname

Yeah go and check the cars still there.

Do you owe any money on this? Why is it a parts only warranty?
If so maybe payup and take the car. State you are paying under protest. Then maybe take legal action to recover costs.

You dont think 11 months is a reasonable time, But you left it there for 11 months?

I would have given them a week and then taken it elsewhere.

I wonder if he is paying for the parts, He is waiting for cheap 2nd hand ones to turn up and not using new parts?

cwrtcoed

I have phones him on numerous times, but im still getting the same message, "i got bills to pay so i need to sort out the other cars first". The parts that were replaced on the car i paid and fitted them not the garage, im quite handy with cars, but when it comes to diagnostic i havent got the equipment.
So the only work he has done " or said hes done" is a plug in diagnostic ( nexia ), checked the wiring, put extra filters in and coded the new ecu along with the injectors.
When i called in around 5 months ago i could see the four injectors on a metal tray in the engine bay along with a red diagnositc thing. I then recalled two months after that and guess what?? the stuff was still in the same place.
This is why im starting to lose patience because whos to say if he has done anything or limited work to my car and then hit me with hundreds of pounds of labour charges.
I'm going to ring him tomorrow and update you on what happened, fingers crossed

forgotmyname

Send him a letter stating that you will be collecting the car in 7 days.

Go and collect the car. Sue him for the repair costs.

cwrtcoed

well gave him a call the other day and he states that the inj that were ordered two months ago were the wrong ones and he has sent them back and awaiting the replacements!!! hmm for two months.
then he went on to say that his other mechanic has now left under a cloud and is now on his own, and to give him a ring in two weeks time.
i stated that i needed to sorn the car now that the 12 months tax has run out, i hinted if he wanted to buy the car! which he said if i forget paying the bill he would keep the car and leave it at that, the bill was around £1200 plus vat, but the car is worth more than that if its running, im not sure if he did this deliberatley. if i said forget the bill and he keeps the car whos to say he fits the inj and sell it on within a week, bloody annoying

cwrtcoed

Hi
just an update on my citroen, and guess what, only now it is finally up and running after 14 months in the garage.
i spoke to the mechanic two weeks ago with regards to the mot, which had now expired and he agreed to take it to the local mot station next to his garage, it failed on a couple of things tyres, bulbs etc but nothing major. i then asked him how much will the total cost be for the jobs on my car, and he stated around £1800 plus vat (gulp), he said that it would take a few days to sort out the invoice which is around 4 pages long. he also mentioned that he would keep my old parts he took off which was the ecu and bsi which are quite expensive to buy, and he could use these as a test for other cars,and would take some money off my bill. I left it a week until he had the jobs done, re motd it and phoned him back up. He then told me the cost would be £1850 + vat, i questioned this and he said he had now worked out the bill and this is how much it cost. I arranged to get a lift to the garage by my dad for wed 23/01/13 to collect the car, which the mechanic agreed to. However, he then said that he did not have the invoice ready because it was his secretary who sorted this out and she only works mon,wed,fri ??? ( how come he came to the final price of £1850), any how he said that he would give me a written receipt with just " carried out relevant repairs to my citroen" only thing is i want to sell the car and i require the invoice to show any buyer that work has been done to it. He assured me that i would get it shortly although i been waiting all this time for my car to be fixed and two weeks for an invoice which i still havent had, so why should i believe him.
After some thought i phoned the garage back up and said that i couldnt pick the car up wednesday, and would wait until the invoice was ready. Suddenly he went a bit wild, stating that he needed the payment because he got bills to pay and the tax man is breathing down his neck, he has made a loss on my car etc, and now stated that the bill of £1850 + vat was wrong it was a lot more and he wanted me to pay over the phone by card just to cover his parts bill which came to £1400.
Am i right if saying that he told me the bill was initially £1850 + vat £2220, if i had gone down wednesday thats the price i would have paid, but because he wouldnt give me an invoice i delayed it until it was ready, can he change these prices if and when after he gave me the initial final figure??
What can i do, and who regulates these garages so i can complain, the car has been in with him for 14 months and suddenly hes desperate for payment, i smell a rat here.

patman99

Probably a bit late, but have you talked to your local Trading Standards to see if this cowboy has a stack of complaints against him?.