Garage has sripped my car without asking

bunkle

Hi
Im not sure if this is the right place for this question. Yesterday i was on the motorway (driving a 1.1 hyundia getz) in Glasgow when i realised my temperature gage was moving toward the red quite quickly so i came off the motorway, opened the bonnet and there a a tiny bit of smoke, i looked underneath and there was liquid dripping out of my car. I called my neighbour and asked him the best garage to take the car to and took it straight away.

The mechanic said the water pump had gone and it would cost between 95 and 195 pounds to fix. He said if i hadn't heard from him by lunchtime today i was to call, which i did and they still didn't have a price for me but would call soon. He did call and said i needed a new water pump timing belt and another part (cant remember, sorry) The total cost would be £340..quite a jump from his original estimate. He then said he had began stripping my car and it would be fixed by Monday. This guys has started taking my car apart without me being ok with that price now i have to pay it to get working again and to get it back.
I really cant afford this amount of money right now and i have been upset all day as i know i cant afford to pay him on monday.
Is there anything i can do? Do i have any comeback regarding him stripping my car without asking 1st?
Any help would be greatly appreciated

forgotmyname

You should have told him to stop there. And not to do any more work.

But they may have had to strip it to find the fault.

They are not psychic. To check the fault properly they would need to do some work.

Strider590

If the water pump goes, it usually contaminates the cambelt with anti-freeze, this could cause it to slip or break and write off your engine.

Somebody probably skimped on changing the water pump when the cambelt was last changed. The cheap man always pays twice....... A water pump is around £30-£40 from a parts retailer, but the labour is the same as changing a cambelt kit (around £200 labour for 4-5 hours work).

This guy has got his either got his initial quote completely wrong, or you just asked "how much is a new water pump" and he gave you the price.

You do need the water pump and the cambelt, only a fool would do one or the other.

C_Mababejive

You have to get it fixed by someone. How much will that someone charge ? £340 or more...? Do you trust the garage? If so then let him proceed. Remember,they have already undertaken some work in investigating the issue and preparing a quote.

forgotmyname

Waterpump is behind the cambelt on a lot of engines. So changing the belt at the same time makes sense. The belts are usually cheap. Just over £20 for yours i think?

Bit dearer with the pulley kit. Which i would say change after looking at the state of some modern plastic pulleys after a few years.

paddedjohn

You can get a pump for about £35 and a timing belt kit inc pullys for about £55, ask the garage how much they would charge for labour if you supplied the parts.

forgotmyname

Noooo dont supply the parts. If the parts fail and cause serious damage they will say tough your parts.

If they supply them and it goes wrong then its all down to them.

Unless you buy substandard parts they will get them cheaper anyway.

TrickyWicky

bunkle wrote: »

The total cost would be £340..quite a jump from his original estimate. He then said he had began stripping my car and it would be fixed by Monday. This guys has started taking my car apart without me being ok

What did you expect him to do? Have your car sitting there taking up his space while guessing what it would cost to repair? You've left it there to be diagnosed. He can only diagnose the fault by stripping it down.

So, to recap, you left it there for him to strip down. Now he's saying it will need additional parts you're complaining that he's done the diagnosis and strip down you left it there for?

IF you think he's trying to stiff you for the extra parts, he isn't. Waterpumps can be cambelt or aux belt driven. He may genuinely have not known off the top of his head and misquoted for the aux belt water pump. A water pump that is driven from the cambelt IS going to cost more as you have to replace the cambelt and rollers / tensioners at the same time. You never recycle these as it will lead to your engine being destroyed at some point.

colino

You have to be very careful and clear what you asked the garage to do. If he took a look under the bonnet for half a minute and said the water-pump needed replaced (cowboy), and you authorised that, that should be the sum and substance of the work. Unless you gave an airy, "fix the fault" and he has proceeded to dive for gold, he is scamming you.

bunkle

I had asked him to give me a price before touching it though so i could go and get other quotes. ( I have been ripped off before with garages so i am really cautious. got the clutch fixed and they didn't connect the gearbox up right so i ended up spending a fortune getting repairs done that a garage had caused because they wouldn't be held accountable)

I don't doubt that the work he said needs done is right. When i took it to the garage he looked under the bonnet and said it was my water pump, i asked how he knew and he said he could smell the water.

are garages usually open to setting up a payment plan? I can give him £200 which i have managed to beg and borrow off family and friends, but i cant give him money i don't have. I'm now in a bit of a predicament as i need my car as my son is disabled (we don't qualify for a mobility car) and i'm pregnant.

TrickyWicky

bunkle wrote: »

When i took it to the garage he looked under the bonnet and said it was my water pump, i asked how he knew and he said he could smell the water.

So at the time he may well not have realised it was a cambelt driven pump as I've suggested.

To be honest, the price you've been quoted for a cambelt and waterpump replacement IS a fair price however he should have checked the sort of pump before quoting you such a low price and then stripping it BUT you left it there for him to diagnose. Diagnose means strip down and find the fault to nearly all mechanics - it's kind of a silent understanding between the motorist and mechanic.. only the mechie gets the understanding bit while the motorist gets the silent bit.

Can't comment on payment options, you'll need to speak to him about it.