Renault garage troubles

03jatkin

My other half has a Renault Clio Campus 2007 plate which she took in for a winter service, they replaced the handbrake and a few other bits totalling a £90 bill.

2 weeks later her cars handbrake jams on and there is a loud clunking from the back of the car, taking it straight back to Renault on the back of an AA truck they have the cheek to tell her its going to cost a further £190.

In my opinion i would have thought that due to the fact the fault was caused because they have failed to complete a successful repair they should firstly fix the fault but then also refund the labour charge for the original job.

Can anybody advise me on how the best way would be to approach the situation and if there are any rights she has as a customer?

Greatly appreciated!!

Jamie


Edit: Also would appreciate people's opinion of the situation.

peazy84

Hiya,

I work as a service advisor in the motor trade, have they said what the fault is?

If its a new fault or something that is a consequence of the previous fault then it's unlikely you'll get money back. If its failed again due to their neglegence ie. they've not greased something properly or left something loose then yes a refund would be the thing to chase for.

If it is a new unrelated fault or its a knock on effect from the original one I'd push for a discount on parts and labour. You can always ask to have the old parts back to have them checked out too or at least see for yourself what the issue was

03jatkin

Thanks Peazy,

i've told her to ask for a report of works and to talk to them and say we will get it independently assessed and if they are at fault they will have to pay for it.

If it is that they haven't done the repair successfully would they also be required to put the car right due to the knock on problems?

i.e if its been caused because the job they did was wrong, would they put it right?

And is this something that we have rights as consumers? i.e. i know for a product you buy it has to be fit for purpose etc..is there anything similar with motor repairs?

fivetide

Was the handbrake working before you took it in for the "here comes another one lets see what we can find wrong" - sorry I meant "excellent value winter service offer"?

Just trying to work out if they got you to cough up for work that wasn't needed and/or if they bothered to do anything at all!

03jatkin

In my opinion it was fine but her mum wanted her to have a service, not very impressed to say the least

ROY47

you say

"My other half has a Renault Clio Campus 2007 plate which she took in for a winter service, they replaced the handbrake and a few other bits totalling a £90 bill.

2 weeks later her cars handbrake jams on and there is a loud clunking from the back of the car, taking it straight back to Renault on the back of an AA truck they have the cheek to tell her its going to cost a further £190.

In my opinion i would have thought that due to the fact the fault was caused because they have failed to complete a successful repair they should firstly fix the fault but then also refund the labour charge for the original job. "

My point is ..

Were the rear brakes frozen as in very cold temperature frozen ?

A Ford Transit i had in work a few years ago did this in very cold temps 3 days after a service brakes frozen solid , nothing to do with the service ,the brakes were wet when I parked up and it froze overnight ,got it going by driving slowly back and fore ,but i knackered the wheel cylinder

what was the cause of the handbrake jaming on ?

peazy84

03jatkin wrote: »

Thanks Peazy,

i've told her to ask for a report of works and to talk to them and say we will get it independently assessed and if they are at fault they will have to pay for it.

If it is that they haven't done the repair successfully would they also be required to put the car right due to the knock on problems?

i.e if its been caused because the job they did was wrong, would they put it right?

And is this something that we have rights as consumers? i.e. i know for a product you buy it has to be fit for purpose etc..is there anything similar with motor repairs?

Hiya,

With regards to the rights you have I can only speak for the people I have worked for but usually you would have a 1-2 year parts warraty on new parts and a guarentee on the labour to

With regards to the knock on effects its really going to depend on the defect, for example if its jammed because they havent replaced a part during the original repair then of course it needs replacing, but they may take the view you would have had to pay for it originally so you will have to pay now. I assume they will take this view if something else is damaged due to the original fault and is now causing a problem.

Your best bet is to get the report back and then appeal to their better nature, its tough in the motor trade at the moment and garages need to really look after their customers to stop them going to cheaper places, is it a main dealer you are dealing with? If it is then give Renault UK a buzz, a bit of pressure from the manufacturer never hurts and you may get some goodwill

arcon5

If the handbrake has jammed, I wonder if the caliper has seized. I had this on an mk3 mondeo recently and worked it free, but it's not n unknown problem.

As for your rights, you need to fun out the cause and any consequential damage to determine who is liable for what.