Botched repair who's liable

markyb12

Had a new clutch fitted last Wednesday
2 days later we came away on holiday
We are currently in the outer Hebrides on the isle of Lewis
On Sunday my mum called to say that after we left she noticed. A large patch of oil on the drive
,
I checked car yesterday and sure enough a big patch of a oily substance
Called green flag today, and a local garage came out .
He confirmed that it was a damaged gearbox seal, thus gearbox oil leaking
Rang garage back home , who are saying although it may have been nicked when they replaced clutch , it's not really their problem ,
Tomorrow morning local garage is picking us and car up. And taking us to a local garage in Stornaway,to see if we can get it repaired
How do I stand on this one
Had a look on google ,but not finding many answers to this one

GlynD

If the gearbox seal wasn't leaking before you brought the car to your local garage for repair then my assessment is that they are responsible.

If the gearbox seal WAS leaking before you took it to your local garage for repair then my assessment is that they are responsible.

I'm saying this because your expectation of the repair was that the clutch would be rectified and the gearbox resealed without any leaks. This, I believe, is something Trading Standards would confirm and in my opinion they would inform your local garage of this and threaten legal action unless the matter was put right at no cost to you.

Don't argue with you local garage anymore. Just report them to Trading Standards in your area. Do write to them however stating your opinion and demanding the cost of the repair from Lewis. Name and shame them here too.

Daz2009

First of all what car is it ?
When you say gearbox seal which seal are we talking about ? If it's an internal seal you won't know until the gearbox is removed.If it's a driveshaft seal and it wasn't leaking before it's down to the garage.
If it's the rear crankshaft seal......if it was already leaking before the clutch was replaced there would have been evidence in the bellhousing or on the clutch in which case the garage should have told you and replaced it.If it wasn't leaking and now it is it is obviously something the garage have caused.

bigjl

I think she means the seal inside where the driveshaft enters the gearbox

Could often be damaged on some Renaults

If it wasn't leaking before the clutch job then the garage are liable

You may have to get it repaired and use them for the money though as they are likely to try and dodge liability

All garages should have insurance to cover them for such mistakes though it would seem this garage is going down the I don't care route

These seals can and do leak even though no work has been carried out on the vehicle but this seems to big a coincidence

AdrianC

bigjl wrote: »

I think she means the seal inside where the driveshaft enters the gearbox

Usually, that'd be something you'd replace as a matter of course.

markyb12

Thanks for all the replays
It's a citoren c3 1.4 hdi 2003 model
The garage man who came out earlier said its a drive shaft seal that's leaking
It wasn't leaking before , so it's obviously happened since clutch was done
I now regret having a job like this done 2 days before going to such an isolated island
When I rang the garage ( this morning ) that had done the job,
They wanted me to take it back in to look at it, so I guess if I take it back they will sort it, but not refund me for an other garage to do the work
I guess they could argue that they are not refusing to do it, just not to paying some one else to do it.
And as I'm in the Hebrides I don't have a lot of choice
If I send it back to Wigan via green flag and hire a car it would cost more than paying for my own repairs
The garage said they will sort something out next time I go in for jobs or servicing , not sure I'm keen on that
Thing is they are good lads and I get on with them , but I guess when it comes down to it , they close ranks

AdrianC

markyb12 wrote: »

When I rang the garage ( this morning ) that had done the job, they wanted me to take it back in to look at it, so I guess if I take it back they will sort it, but not refund me for an other garage to do the work

Which, you have to admit, is fair. It's a MUCH bigger cost to them to pay for somebody else's labour/fixed costs/profit than to just re-do the job - and it's not really their fault that you happen to have headed somewhere so remote to them.

Changing the seal isn't a particularly large job - and it certainly doesn't necessarily render the car undrivable (how bad is the leak, anyway?), so I think you'd struggle to get Green Flag to recover it.

When will you next be back in their area?

Really, you've got two choices...
- Get the local garage to top the gearbox oil level up before you leave to return. It really shouldn't be expensive.
or
- Get the local garage to change the seal, and ask for a contribution towards the bill.

You could just drive it as is - the oil level won't drop below the level of the seal, which is a chunk higher than the bottom of the casing - so you won't _totally_ run out of gearbox oil. But it's really far from ideal, and given the cost of getting the local garage to top it up for you, short-sighted.

GlynD

AdrianC wrote: »

Which, you have to admit, is fair. It's a MUCH bigger cost to them to pay for somebody else's labour/fixed costs/profit than to just re-do the job - and it's not really their fault that you happen to have headed somewhere so remote to them.

Changing the seal isn't a particularly large job - and it certainly doesn't necessarily render the car undrivable (how bad is the leak, anyway?), so I think you'd struggle to get Green Flag to recover it.

When will you next be back in their area?

Really, you've got two choices...
- Get the local garage to top the gearbox oil level up before you leave to return. It really shouldn't be expensive.
or
- Get the local garage to change the seal, and ask for a contribution towards the bill.

You could just drive it as is - the oil level won't drop below the level of the seal, which is a chunk higher than the bottom of the casing - so you won't _totally_ run out of gearbox oil. But it's really far from ideal, and given the cost of getting the local garage to top it up for you, short-sighted.

It might not be their fault that their customer drove a long way after having his repair done but it is their fault that the repair wasn't done correctly which means they are liable for their customer's out of pocket expenses.

markyb12

green flag sent local garage out today, and are picking me up tomorrow. to take me to a garage in stornoway
he advised me not to drive it.
the day i picked it up (wednesday) i noticed a noise when pulling away in first gear. sounded like a fan belt slipping
i rang them on thursday and was told its nothing to worry about. just clutch bedding in
had they told me to bring it in for a quick check. they would probably have seen oil leak
yes i agree its not there fault I'm so far away. but I'm sure they would have seen an oil leak before i picked it up. they checked it a few times and bled the clutch 2 or 3 times . so I'm sure a leak should have shown up.
after all it was spotted on my drive 24 hrs after it was replaced . although by this time i was on my way up the a9 to ullapool ferry terminal