Clutch broken (again) after clutch replacement.

Kefte

2-weeks ago my car (VW Touran) had a new clutch kit, flywheel and slave cylinder fitted. The whole process was frustrating, as the mechanic would only use genuine parts (although it's an independent garage), which were significantly more expensive, and then when I said he either fitted aftermarket parts or I went elsewhere, he claimed he couldn't find the aftermarket parts for it and pressured me again into buying genuine - he removed the clutch on his ramp, and said he would have to charge me for the money he was losing to have the car on the ramp, unless I got genuine parts (as he could get them that day. Strangely, I found the right parts at Europarts which was a short drive away from his garage. And I'm not quite sure why he removed a clutch before knowing he'd have the parts?

Then after he'd fitted the parts above, my car's electrics wouldn't work - the garage put a new battery in (the old one was only 2-months old), and then said it might need a whole new ECU.

At that point we paid for the work he had done, which was almost £600, and took the car to a friend (an experienced auto-electrician) who said that in his opinion, someone has caused the battery to short. Fortunately he got it running for £45, and we're waiting on another part (can gateway) as we're still experiencing some problems with the electrics.

However, today, I took it out for the first time and it broke down again. The recovery driver is relatively sure it's the slave cylinder/ clutch again - it's leaking clutch fluid and the clutch pedal is staying depressed (which is what it did in the first place)! I just don't know what to do now - take it back to the garage in question, hoping they admit some sort liability (if it is on their part), or take it somewhere else just so they don't try to blame it on something else?

Obviously I cannot inspect the clutch properly now, to see if the recovery truck driver is right, but it seems to be acting the same.

Please help. It has cost me over £1000 so far, and I'm back to where we were in the first place.

Crabman

I can't help with the technical bits of your post (very odd that you could find parts at ECP but the mechanic used genuine), but how did you pay for the repairs to the car? If even a small part was on a credit card you can use this to get a remedy.

Kefte

Crabman wrote: »

I can't help with the technical bits of your post (very odd that you could find parts at ECP but the mechanic wanted to use genuine), but how did you pay for the repairs to the car? If even a small part was on a credit card you can use this to get a remedy.

I'm afraid I used my debit card to pay the bill.

But, thank-you.

AdrianC

So the newly fitted slave is leaking. It happens - there can be manufacturing faults in anything.

Which was fitted? The OEM cylinder that the mechanic wanted to fit, or the pattern one that you bought at ECP?

captainawsome

Take it back to the garage and let them rectify the work. If the new slave cylinder has failed it will be covered under the 2 years parts warrenty. If it's something else you could politely ask why it wasn't repaired the first time.

Retrogamer

Problems may arise if the original garage claim the part is defective and the parts company claim it was damaged during fitting or fitted incorrectly.

If the part failed due to being defective you will still have labour charges to pay to put it right as the gearbox needs to be removed to fit it IIRC (slave cylinder is inside the bell housing i think)

Kefte

AdrianC wrote: »

So the newly fitted slave is leaking. It happens - there can be manufacturing faults in anything.

Which was fitted? The OEM cylinder that the mechanic wanted to fit, or the pattern one that you bought at ECP?

It was an aftermarket LUK one that I bought.

And thank-you.

I understand that things can fail; nothing is perfect in this world. And if the job had gone smoothly, and I felt I could somewhat trust the garage owner, then I wouldn't have been sat here questioning whether taking the car back to the garage is the right decision. I wonder - if it is the garage's fault, will they admit liability, or try to foot me another bill?

And it's sickening to think I'm perhaps going to have to pay £100s again for a part that failed Can you claim back labour for a failed part that wasn't your fault?

motorguy

Kefte wrote: »

It was an aftermarket LUK one that I bought.

And thank-you.

I understand that things can fail; nothing is perfect in this world. And if the job had gone smoothly, and I felt I could somewhat trust the garage owner, then I wouldn't have been sat here questioning whether taking the car back to the garage is the right decision.

And it's sickening to think I'm going to have to pay £100s again for a part that failed, and wasn't my fault. Can you claim back labour for a failed part that wasn't your fault?

Nope

You cant claim back the labour for a failed part. Sorry.

ChumLee

Kefte wrote: »

It was an aftermarket LUK one that I bought.

And thank-you.

I understand that things can fail; nothing is perfect in this world. And if the job had gone smoothly, and I felt I could somewhat trust the garage owner, then I wouldn't have been sat here questioning whether taking the car back to the garage is the right decision.

And it's sickening to think I'm going to have to pay £100s again for a part that failed, and wasn't my fault. Can you claim back labour for a failed part that wasn't your fault?

Had the mechanic supplied the parts that would have been his problem.

EcoR1

Kefte wrote: »

It was an aftermarket LUK one that I bought.

And thank-you.

I understand that things can fail; nothing is perfect in this world. And if the job had gone smoothly, and I felt I could somewhat trust the garage owner, then I wouldn't have been sat here questioning whether taking the car back to the garage is the right decision. I wonder - if it is the garage's fault, will they admit liability, or try to foot me another bill?

And it's sickening to think I'm going to have to pay £100s again for a part that failed, and wasn't my fault. Can you claim back labour for a failed part that wasn't your fault?

If you'd let the garage supply the parts, they would have been liable for any failures. As it is you've now got to pay the labour charge to have the faulty slave replaced. I assume ECP's terms and conditions specifically exclude any claims for labour charges.

Crabman

motorguy wrote: »

Nope

You cant claim back the labour for a failed part. Sorry.

It's a consequential loss - of course the OP can make a claim for the labour costs.

OP - if you paid by debit card, you may still have an option there - if you speak with the bank and ask for their policy on chargeback (VISA and Mastercard have different policies) they may be able to help.