Car repairs reasonable - welding and shock absorbers

Westmead_Fan

Have decided to get the welding done. Having cleaned off the grease from the front shock absorber it still looks clean after 24 hrs and a short drive to the garage... fingers crossed.

when the shock absorber was cleaned off was it dripping off of it or was it damp???

if you get it to pass i would keep a close eye on it & any doubts get it fixed and not wait till your next service/mot

jeffsmith

Westmead_Fan wrote: »

when the shock absorber was cleaned off was it dripping off of it or was it damp???

if you get it to pass i would keep a close eye on it & any doubts get it fixed and not wait till your next service/mot

It was not dripping or damp. Just looked as though a thin coating of grease was over it. Will definitely keep an eye on it, and the rust...

Westmead_Fan

It was not dripping or damp. Just looked as though a thin coating of grease was over it. Will definitely keep an eye on it, and the rust...

if thats the case i can't see how that is a mot failure, if its slightly damp its pass & advise but no way a failure.

it sounds like a typical hunting for work job.

colino

While I fully accept a shocker can still function reasonably well when the external body has a misting of oil, it has failed. The seals are no longer up to the job and you have to replace it sooner than later.

jeffsmith

Have spoken to the welder this morning. He's started work on one side and told me it's taken longer than he's expected, due to access being harder than he expected, and also the extent of the rust being worse.

He's hinted that the price is going to go up "I'll try and keep the price as close to what I originally quoted". We had a verbal agreement for £200 for this work - am I within my rights to refuse paying more than he's quoted?

AdrianC

jeffsmith wrote: »

Have spoken to the welder this morning. He's started work on one side and told me it's taken longer than he's expected, due to access being harder than he expected, and also the extent of the rust being worse.

No surprise there.

He's hinted that the price is going to go up "I'll try and keep the price as close to what I originally quoted".

Fair enough.

We had a verbal agreement for £200 for this work - am I within my rights to refuse paying more than he's quoted?

If he _quoted_ a fixed price, rather than gave you a verbal estimate, then he's a fool, tbh. This kind of job is always likely to escalate.

jeffsmith

Just got the car back from the welder. Wasn't happy with the work he's done as two spots in the lower arch were left untreated (one of them marked by the bloke who did the MOT). Also one of the the small splash guards had been shoddily reattached - he said he'd had to rebuild the metal section.

The trouble is both affected areas have been covered in black waterproof sealant so it's not possible to see what has actually been done

Told him I wasn't happy with the quality of work and asked for a reduced fee. He refused and said: "He's never had any other complaints from other customers. It's good enough to pass the MOT." I just ended up paying as I didn't know what else to do.

I'm loathe to get my car retested at KW now, because I'm concerned he'll tell his mate to do something unprofessional to my car. So will probably end up going to a council centre.

If there is a next time I'm going to get exactly what's going to be done in writing, and request no cover up sealant. :mad:

colino

Even if you took it back to KF, if he hasn't repaired the yellow marked areas, it's not going to pass. Go back and get him to fix it properly. If you now take it somewhere else, they will probably find additional faults!

jeffsmith

Looks like the front shock absorber is leaking a little bit so I will get it done at KF.

They quoted £270 for replacing both, but I think I will just get one replaced - are there any bad points to only getting one replaced?

They also quoted £45 for "geo-align" of the shock absorbers. Is this worth getting if I only get one replaced?

AdrianC

jeffsmith wrote: »

They quoted £270 for replacing both, but I think I will just get one replaced - are there any bad points to only getting one replaced?

Any reputable workshop should refuse to just do one, the same as they should never just replace the brakes on one side.

They also quoted £45 for "geo-align" of the shock absorbers. Is this worth getting if I only get one replaced?

You will need to get it aligned afterwards, since replacing front dampers on strut suspension involves removing a good chunk of the suspension.