Regulatory body for garages mechanics?

janeken

Since having a car repair about 4 weeks ago (£700 bill) my son's car has broken down twice more. He was told the problem was due to a botched job by the previous owner which is unlikely as it was a NHS company car with a full service history. The second time he was told the fault wasn't related to the first repair and was charged a further £500 being without a car for 2 weeks with promises not being kept. The final straw was on Saturday evening when it broke down again after having it back the previous Tuesday.

Luckily he is in the RAC and they found the oil return pipe hadn't been connected after the last repair resulting in a major oil leak. RAC have done a report and it is undriveable yet again after £1200 of repairs. The car is an 06 Renault with a full service history so not an old banger

They have contacted Trading Standards who say they should do a letter to the garage outlining the problems and the action they want them to take. The case has been logged so they have a case number. Trading Standards say they should not have been charged for the second repair under the Sale Of Goods Act. I believe they have been advised that they should give the garage the opportunity to put things right even though they have lost all confidence in them.

An additional problem is that they have no invoice or receipt for the first repair so they have to try and get this tomorrow without alerting the garage to the problem.

We are trying to support them through this as on top of the usual financial pressures of an average family these days they have a 14 year old, a three year old and a two year old and my daughter-in-law has MS. They really need a car to get my son to work and my daughter-in-law around as she is quite immobile some days due to the MS. They have been borrowing ours as we are retired.

When they have the first invoice and have done a letter to the garage we will go to the garage with my son for moral support. He will have the RAC report but the garage have already said after the second breakdown that 'The RAC don't have a clue' so that will probably be their stance. We are sure they will try to get out of having to do anything and have looked into taking the case to Small Claims Court. Is there any regulatory body we can threaten them with to make them take action by putting things right or preferably refunding their money.

My son is really at the end of his tether over this as he is not mechanically minded and hates confrontations. My daughter-in-law is also very low because of the stress which is not good for her MS. Any advice on how to approach this with the garage owner would be greatly appreciated.

spacey2012

How many miles is on the clock.
The way budget brands are built theses days, they are like cream cakes, almost designed to last a specific time and amount of miles and drop apart.
Fords can be the same, something as simple as worn rear shockers on a mondeo can cost to the point you have scrap the car.
Everything is pre-assembled and cassette fitted, it's not designed to be repaired.
Once you start fighting against them, it's cheaper to buy a new car.
The newer the car, the worst the problem.
Then you end up getting ripped off by teeth sucking "mechanics" who often spin the most elaborate tales usually involving a previous bodged repair and how it costs more to put it right, and on and on and up goes the price.
Then they can not even get a simple job right.

I would find a Renault specialist, get it put right and get rid, it looks like it's time has come.
Owning a 06 Renault is not like owning a 06 Audi, Renaults are great cars until they start to drop apart, then they do it in absolute style.

vikingaero

There are no regulatory bodies for mechanics. Garages may be members of schemes such as the RMIF.

The faults may or may not be related. It's not uncommon to have one succession of faults after another, especially on French cars. It can be hard to fix faults on modern cars as one fault can spark another fault elsewhere.

The RAC patrols who have diagnosed the faults will probably have done so at the roadside and using their best guess knowledge plus a dose to telling you what you want to hear.

I would approach the garage/mechanic and discuss the matter politely first.

Muscle750

What is exactly the problem with the car in the first place and what is the problem now?

spacey2012

Muscle750 wrote: »

What is exactly the problem with the car in the first place and what is the problem now?

It's a Renault ?

Muscle750

Quite French cars you can keep them my Audi A6 estate and my BMW 540 never let me down yet apart from routine running costs and nothing falls off them either every few hundred yards

janeken

Muscle750 wrote: »

What is exactly the problem with the car in the first place and what is the problem now?

Sorry, I don't have all he facts but the problem now is that the garage did not connect the oil return pipe from turbo to cylinder block after the second repair causing a major oil leak over the underside of the car. This is clearly negligence.

The first problem was something to do with the electrics and the second was a new cylinder head I believe. This second repair was when the oil return pipe wasn't connected.

Thanks for trying to help anyway.

janeken

Muscle750 wrote: »

Quite French cars you can keep them my Audi A6 estate and my BMW 540 never let me down yet apart from routine running costs and nothing falls off them either every few hundred yards

Yes Audis and BMWs are great cars but not everybody can afford to buy them I'm afraid,

spacey2012

Keep away ! sounds like a complete bodge merchant.
Renaults are like a joint of tied up Sunday roast, once the string goes, everything falls apart.

patman99

Audi & BMW owners shouldn't crow. In a recent MSN survey of warranty claims, both companies came in the bottom 5 for reliability.

redux

janeken wrote: »

Sorry, I don't have all he facts but the problem now is that the garage did not connect the oil return pipe from turbo to cylinder block after the second repair causing a major oil leak over the underside of the car. This is clearly negligence.

The first problem was something to do with the electrics and the second was a new cylinder head I believe. This second repair was when the oil return pipe wasn't connected.

Thanks for trying to help anyway.

It certainly would be negligent, and I hope it's not too tricky trying to get the garage to realise they aren't supervising or checking some of their work as well as they ought to hope

Try to ignore all the gloaters and boasters. I've driven half a million miles in 3 Citroens. The only time I've sat in the back of a BMW I had to take my shoes off to get in, and my legs were aching when I got out.