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Urgent advice needed - AA / Halfords
Hi guys, I apologise in advance for the stupidly long winded post but really need some help/advice on behalf of my mum.
On June 7th she broke down around 10 miles from home on her way to Scotland. The return hose for the coolant had split and emptied the car of all it's coolant.
The AA came, chopped the hose down, reconnected it and filled the coolant back up. He then checked the rest of the pipes and deemed two more of them dangerous and advised her that her car would not make it to Scotland and that they needed replacing urgently.
He then told her to carefully drive back to Halfords Autocentre and he would follow her (she has the full breakdown cover/warranty with the AA). Halfords said that the pipes would need to be ordered from Vauxhall and that it wouldn't be fixed until the following week. The AA guy advised her that they could supply her with a hire car for three days but after that she would have to pay, which she did and totalled £184.
Whilst she was away I dealt with it on her behalf. After them having it for five days they said it was fixed and ready to be picked up, so I fetched it - confirmed that it was fixed which they said 'yes' so I took it home and waited for her to return from holiday.
On 16th June she got back, me and her partner opened the bonnet and her partner said that the pipe that had originally split had definitely not been changed.
We took it back to Halfords on 17th and after 20 mins of confusion and them having no trace of having the car, one of the guys listening 'suddenly remembered' the car and said that the AA said on the notes that there was only an issue with one pipe that he cut down and he had marked it as a permanent fix, which is why no work was carried out on it and also why her car wasn't on the system. When we quizzed him about the other two dangerous pipes, he said the AA never mentioned them - so effectively she'd just paid £184 for a hire car which she 'didn't need' and they had the car in their possession for 5 days for no reason.
After a few days the car developed more faults, engine management light came on and the fans would not turn off, which turned out to be a faulty coolant sensor. My mum then informed the AA, who advised her that they would pay up to a maximum of £465 to repair it. She took it back to Halfords as advised by the AA, they checked it over and agreed to replace three coolant hoses and the coolant sensor.
About 3 weeks later they called her and booked it in for last friday, she took it and they only had ONE pipe (to replace the original split one), which turned out to be the wrong one anyway!! They said they didn't know when they would have the other ones..
The next day she had to pull over as she noticed steam and the car had lost all it's coolant again, this time because Halfords did not put the coolant res cap back on and had just left it loose on top!!
Two hours ago she called me telling me she had taken her car for it's MOT except the guy couldn't do it because the two dangerous pipes that the AA had pointed out originally had burst and dropped all it's coolant AGAIN.
Halfords/AA don't seem bothered in the slightest and just keep passing the blame to each other. No complaints are ever followed up, so where does she stand now? Is there anything she can do at all?
She's massively out of pocket because of the hire car she supposedly didn't need and she's now got to try and get it fixed, when Halfords should have fixed it in the first place!
Also why does it take 3-4 weeks for pipes to be ordered? Are they that hard to get hold of? Do they expect you to have no car for a month?
On June 7th she broke down around 10 miles from home on her way to Scotland. The return hose for the coolant had split and emptied the car of all it's coolant.
The AA came, chopped the hose down, reconnected it and filled the coolant back up. He then checked the rest of the pipes and deemed two more of them dangerous and advised her that her car would not make it to Scotland and that they needed replacing urgently.
He then told her to carefully drive back to Halfords Autocentre and he would follow her (she has the full breakdown cover/warranty with the AA). Halfords said that the pipes would need to be ordered from Vauxhall and that it wouldn't be fixed until the following week. The AA guy advised her that they could supply her with a hire car for three days but after that she would have to pay, which she did and totalled £184.
Whilst she was away I dealt with it on her behalf. After them having it for five days they said it was fixed and ready to be picked up, so I fetched it - confirmed that it was fixed which they said 'yes' so I took it home and waited for her to return from holiday.
On 16th June she got back, me and her partner opened the bonnet and her partner said that the pipe that had originally split had definitely not been changed.
We took it back to Halfords on 17th and after 20 mins of confusion and them having no trace of having the car, one of the guys listening 'suddenly remembered' the car and said that the AA said on the notes that there was only an issue with one pipe that he cut down and he had marked it as a permanent fix, which is why no work was carried out on it and also why her car wasn't on the system. When we quizzed him about the other two dangerous pipes, he said the AA never mentioned them - so effectively she'd just paid £184 for a hire car which she 'didn't need' and they had the car in their possession for 5 days for no reason.
After a few days the car developed more faults, engine management light came on and the fans would not turn off, which turned out to be a faulty coolant sensor. My mum then informed the AA, who advised her that they would pay up to a maximum of £465 to repair it. She took it back to Halfords as advised by the AA, they checked it over and agreed to replace three coolant hoses and the coolant sensor.
About 3 weeks later they called her and booked it in for last friday, she took it and they only had ONE pipe (to replace the original split one), which turned out to be the wrong one anyway!! They said they didn't know when they would have the other ones..
The next day she had to pull over as she noticed steam and the car had lost all it's coolant again, this time because Halfords did not put the coolant res cap back on and had just left it loose on top!!
Two hours ago she called me telling me she had taken her car for it's MOT except the guy couldn't do it because the two dangerous pipes that the AA had pointed out originally had burst and dropped all it's coolant AGAIN.
Halfords/AA don't seem bothered in the slightest and just keep passing the blame to each other. No complaints are ever followed up, so where does she stand now? Is there anything she can do at all?
She's massively out of pocket because of the hire car she supposedly didn't need and she's now got to try and get it fixed, when Halfords should have fixed it in the first place!
Also why does it take 3-4 weeks for pipes to be ordered? Are they that hard to get hold of? Do they expect you to have no car for a month?
This thread has me so pumped, I headbutted my dog and we both screamed.
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Comments
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A mess I agree, but the experience only proves you cannot use any breakdown service as a replacement to good maintenance. What was the service regime prior to the breakdown?
Just as I would not deem McDonald's a culinary experience of note, by the same token I would use a proper garage than a motoring retailer. A Vauxhall dealer probably had the parts in stock.
The car hire issue is also irrelevant - it was a suggested option that resolved a problem. It was chargeable, but I could have been rejected and an alternative route to repair achieved (the AA/RAC/Green Flag) is only a get you home service to make and mend - the motorist ultimately bears the responsibility for their vehicle - not to carry on until something breaks.0 -
The car is extremely well looked after and is the first time it's broken down since she bought it two years ago - she took the warranty out with the AA for peace of mind. Wish I knew about it otherwise I'd have advised her otherwise!
She asked the AA if she could book it into a garage once she got to Scotland but he said that it would not make it there, so in a panic that she would lose the money she paid for her holiday she took the hire car offer. This was based upon them fully fixing it at no cost to her. Which they did nothing of the sort and just left it in their car park for five days.
It sounds to me like a communication issue between the AA and Halfords, but neither seem interested in resolving it and is leaving her even more out of pocket.This thread has me so pumped, I headbutted my dog and we both screamed.0 -
No disrespect to the AA or Halfords, but get the mechanic to check for gasses in the water and pressure in the coolant system.
It has all the hallmarks of early Head gasket inner jacket failure.Be happy...;)0
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