Bad Garage repairs advice

Lukeyna

Hi, I could really do with some advice about car repairs gone wrong.

My 2009 Vauxhall Insignia estate had a new clutch & dual mass flywheel fitted at my usual garage in April at a cost of £1200, I took it away & drove it for a week, then it started leaking fluid, so I took it back to garage who said it was an elbow joint on or near clutch that was leaking so they then apparently fixed that at their cost.

Car felt ok for 6 weeks, then began to judder, so took it back & was told it was my engine mounts that needed replacing so paid for that to be done, then went on holiday to France in August in the car & clutch failed again, losing brake fluid as before, phoned garage from France & explained my predicament, they were convinced it was elbow joint again, but not very helpful.

A local garage in France collected my car & took it to garage & confirmed it needed a new clutch & flywheel which would cost £2000 & leave me without a car for the duration of the holiday. Paid for new clutch & took old clutch & flywheel back to England & to my usual garage who claim it shouldn't have needed a new clutch & although one of their mechanics admitted that if a car had come in to him with leak, he would've changed clutch, eventually they agreed to send parts back to manufacturer for testing, was initially told it would take 4-6 weeks, now it's 6-8 weeks & I'm getting the impression they have no intention of paying me back any money.

1st clutch was paid for by credit card, 2nd clutch was paid for with cash.

Where do I stand legally?
Am I entitled to ask for original cost of clutch £1200 & £2000 for new clutch?
Is there an organisation that could give advice? (Have tried Citizens advice, not very helpful).
What could the problem with clutch be?

Thanks in advance for any help/advice offered.

Luke.

dannyrst

Were CAB not very helpful because they didn't tell you what you wanted to hear? If it was that they just weren't very helpful, perhaps try them again and see if you get someone better.

caprikid1

Not sure you would get both the £1200 and £2000.


That would effectively be a free clutch.

forgotmyname

Lukeyna wrote: »

Hi, I could really do with some advice about car repairs gone wrong.

My 2009 Vauxhall Insignia estate had a new clutch & dual mass flywheel fitted at my usual garage in April at a cost of £1200, I took it away & drove it for a week, then it started leaking fluid, so I took it back to garage who said it was an elbow joint on or near clutch that was leaking so they then apparently fixed that at their cost.

Car felt ok for 6 weeks, then began to judder, so took it back & was told it was my engine mounts that needed replacing so paid for that to be done, then went on holiday to France in August in the car & clutch failed again, losing brake fluid as before, phoned garage from France & explained my predicament, they were convinced it was elbow joint again, but not very helpful.

A local garage in France collected my car & took it to garage & confirmed it needed a new clutch & flywheel which would cost £2000 & leave me without a car for the duration of the holiday. Paid for new clutch & took old clutch & flywheel back to England & to my usual garage who claim it shouldn't have needed a new clutch & although one of their mechanics admitted that if a car had come in to him with leak, he would've changed clutch, eventually they agreed to send parts back to manufacturer for testing, was initially told it would take 4-6 weeks, now it's 6-8 weeks & I'm getting the impression they have no intention of paying me back any money.

1st clutch was paid for by credit card, 2nd clutch was paid for with cash.

Where do I stand legally?
Am I entitled to ask for original cost of clutch £1200 & £2000 for new clutch?
Is there an organisation that could give advice? (Have tried Citizens advice, not very helpful).
What could the problem with clutch be?

Thanks in advance for any help/advice offered.

Luke.

NO. Why was it £2000 to do a £1200 job? Or possiblya fraction of that with just an elbow joint as suggested by the garage?

So did they replace the flywheel as well as the clutch? If so why? A flywheel wont cause a leak and if contaminated simply cleaned as can the cover plate. Only the clutch plate needed to be changed.

tacpot12

Am I entitled to ask for original cost of clutch £1200 & £2000 for new clutch?

No, as Capeikid1 says you would be getting a free clutch. But if the leak was caused by the garage's repair of the elbow, you would be entitled to claim the cost of the second clutch, but you would have to show that their repair was negligent.

Did the French garage trace the cause of the leak? If not, you need an independent engineers report. I would just google "independent motor engineer report" and see if you can find one in your area. It might cost a bit but if it identifies a bodged fix to the elbow, it would be worth it.

Lukeyna

Thanks for the reply.

It cost £2000 in France because labour costs are higher, parts were more expensive & I was stuck in rural France with a limited choice of garages to use.

Flywheel was changed again with clutch because French garage told me it needed doing, I'm no mechanic & my French isn't the best so I did what I thought necessary to get my car back on the road.

I wasn't expecting to get cost of both clutches back, but think it's reasonable they should bear the cost of 2nd clutch.

Ectophile

Your problem may be working out who is fleecing you. A clutch may have to be replaced again if it's been contaminated by fluid, but a dual mass flywheel should last tens of thousands of miles before it needs replacing.

So either someone is charging you for work they didn't do, or someone is charging you for work that didn't need doing.

LABMAN

I'd have hired a car in France for the duration and used my European breakdown cover to get the Insignia back to the garage at home. Fraction of the cost.

AdrianC

Lukeyna wrote: »

It cost £2000 in France because labour costs are higher, parts were more expensive

The exact opposite is usually true.

Rain_Shadow

AdrianC wrote: »

The exact opposite is usually true.

Maybe not so much when you are a foreigner stuck in the countryside?