Local garage broke my car :(

Gallstones

Hi all


Long story short, Look my car into garage 1month 2 weeks ago for a fuel pump change, garage cant get the timing correct and car now knocks, blows out white smoke and has to crank a bit before starting. Garage have basically said that its now drivable, sent me an email saying that the timing is slightly off but they cant get it right without the right tools, and have to pay £200 for them doing this. Car is still sat at the garage as its not roadworthy in its current state. I have emails from the garage saying its the timing that's out and they don't have the correct tools to do it. What are my options here? This is a job that should have taken 2 hrs tops. Thanks.

colino

The symptoms you describe are pretty much textbook for a diesel being mis-timed. Did they diagnose the fault and say they could fix, or did you go in and tell them to fit a pump?
Either way (just highlighting their likely weasel words to get out of responsibility) demand a fix from them as your car is not right (it probably is roadworthy) and before further damage is done, they have to take charge of the fault and remedy within a reasonable time.
Maybe handy too if you give a hint what this car is.

Gallstones

Hi there ,
Thanks for the reply, I went into them for a quote to fit a diesel pump, they said it would take around 3 hrs, I provided the second user pump, They attempted to fit it, but had serious problems getting it to start because timing was way out, they then tried to blame the pump as the problem, but managed to get them to admit it was a timing issue. They then tried tried to tell me again it was the pump, and they said they would put the old one in and it would be fine, they put the old one back in, and they had the same problems. The car is a Toyota Estima 2.5 TD. With regards to roadworthiness, wouldn't it fail on emmissions if its pumping out that kind of smoke?


Thanks for the reply.

colino

Are you confident though that the pump was u/s? Did you rule out a injector/seal or head/gasket problem first ?

Gallstones

Hi there,
Only head pump replaced because it had a leaky seal and was leaking a tad of derv. No other problems with the motor at all

arcon5

Isn't the fuel pump above the tank towards the rear of the car?

Gallstones

No, the Fuel pump is on top of the engine.

colino

If it was running fine bar an external diesel weep when they took it in, they have to make it right. As they have put their hands up to mis-timing it, good for them, let them now pay someone to do it right. If they were unsure of the job, they should never have taken it on.

Gallstones

The only problem is, they are now not replying to my emails

forgotmyname

Was the timing out before they swapped the pump? Was that the initial issue?

You told them to change the pump and supplied it. Sadly thats your fault. I would expect a decent garage to be able to make the tools needed to align the replacement though.

Makes me wonder why the timing was out though. Maybe the pumps are fine but its jumped a few teeth?

Gallstones

Car was absolutely fine before it went it, started quick and no knocking , no white smoke and no lazy start.