Think my garage has screwed me over for warranty work

AdrianC

RH driveshaft for a 2008 2.0 petrol C-Max...
Q-drive/ECP own-brand - £150.12 (currently 17% off so £123.99)
GKN - £395.28 + £71.99 exchange surcharge (currently 7% off so £329.99)

BUT

There's a second, different fitment, shaft shown (a few mm shorter, slightly larger inner bearing).
Q-drive - £327.96 + £71.99 exchange surcharge (currently 7% off so £304.99)
Checking another source suggests the difference is auto/manual transmission.

That source gives an SKF shaft for £152.90
http://www.mister-auto.co.uk/en/drive-shaft/ford-c-max-dm2-2-0-145hp_v22527_g13.html
...and that would be where my money would go.

No, OP, the garage did NOT rip you off. You simply misunderstood your warranty's payment limits. Cheap warranties often have low limits. Or perhaps the warranty company simply looked at the wrong side shaft? Because the engine and gearbox are assymetric, with the diff offset, the left shaft is significantly shorter than the right, a single piece, instead of a two-piece shaft with a central support and joint.

ispartacus75

The warranty payment limits are up to £500 per claim as confirmed with them on the phone and in their paperwork.

The driveshaft shown in the linked image above is for me specific car, the search was done based on my registration.

The price shown in that image is inc VAT.
The price the garage quoted £160) is plus VAT.

Still doesn't add up to me. The claim is within the warranty limit. The warranty company (the client in effect) told the garage they wouldn't pay that, they would only pay the cost of a cheaper part. The garage have either fitted order charged what they like, leaving me to pay the difference.

And all based on the garage lying to me by saying the warranty company had claimed it was wear and tear, when it looks like they never did.

AdrianC

ispartacus75 wrote: »

The warranty payment limits are up to £500 per claim as confirmed with them on the phone and in their paperwork.

Lovely, an' all. But I bet that isn't the end of it.

The driveshaft shown in the linked image above is for me specific car, the search was done based on my registration.

And the prices I gave are all checked this morning, based on what you've told us - 2008, 2.0 petrol C-max.

And all based on the garage lying to me by saying the warranty company had claimed it was wear and tear, when it looks like they never did.

I think I'm starting to see the reason for your ire. You don't really understand the process...

You took your car to the garage and said "It needs this job doing". The garage are charging YOU their normal price for the job you asked them to do - except you didn't ask in advance how much that would be.
You are then asking a third party to (part-)pay that bill, according to your contract with that third party.
How much that third party will pay, whether they'll pay in full or not, and their reasons - that's not the garage's problem in any way, shape or form. That's between you and the warranty company, and the two of you alone. The garage do not, and will not, set their charge based on that relationship.

The garage are merely in the middle of a game of Chinese Whispers between you and the warranty company. They'd have been best advised to say "You need to speak to the warranty company directly" when you asked why they would only part-pay. But that doesn't affect the detail that you are simply being asked to pay the full bill (with or without the help of your warranty) for the job you asked them to do.

facade

ispartacus75 wrote: »

And all based on the garage lying to me by saying the warranty company had claimed it was wear and tear, when it looks like they never did.

They should have told you that the warranty will only pay for the cheap part, and that there is no way they would waste their time fitting a cheap part as it will quickly break, and then they have to take it off and send it back to ECP for a refund, and then claim their labour back from ECP, and then it will break again, and again, causing you and them massive amounts of trouble.

And then given you the choice of paying for the diagnosis and their time so far and going somewhere else, or paying the extra for something that doesn't break immediately.

Bad call on their part as it is now coming back to bite them.

Car_54

facade wrote: »

Bad call on their part as it is now coming back to bite them.

Is it?

With what can the OP bite them?

arcon5

Yes it is.

Op can leave a negative review if she wants to 'bite them'.

Op wanted warranty work done so took it to a garage.
The warranty company whom are paying for it made an offer. The garage rather than giving op his options, offered a incorrect excuse and price for an expensive part op may have declined
and gone elsewhere had she known.

They was deceptive and withheld key information to entice op to purchase services.

Slimy garage

AdrianC

arcon5 wrote: »

Op can leave a negative review if she wants to 'bite them'.

A factual response from the garage will show the reality.
"Customer requested work done - customer's third-party warranty (not supplied through us) refused to pay full price for work, so customer expected us to reduce our price to warranty company's artificially low rate."

Op wanted warranty work done so took it to a garage.
The warranty company whom are paying for it made an offer. The garage rather than giving op his options, offered a incorrect excuse and price for an expensive part op may have declined
and gone elsewhere had she known.

Indeed. And it was entirely within the OP's powers to ask the garage what the job would cost, and to ask the warranty company if they would cover that, before giving the go-ahead.

The garage have no relationship with the warranty company at all, except the warranty is part-paying the work the customer commissioned.

ispartacus75

I DID ask how much the work would cost and I was given the price, but lied to about why the warranty company wouldn't cover the full cost.

Had I known the real reason things would have been very different.

The garage was already making money from me as I was having non-warranty work done at the same time.

So yes, I feel that the garage has been completely dishonest by lying to me to justify their costs.

As a side note I have now found out that the service I had them do on the car 3 weeks ago would have been cheaper of I had gone directly to Ford and got it done. Not great for a garage that trades on keeping it's prices down.

AdrianC

ispartacus75 wrote: »

I DID ask how much the work would cost and I was given the price

OK, great... So your beef isn't with the garage, but the warranty company. Which is what you've been told several times, but you persist with blaming the wrong business.

but lied to about why the warranty company wouldn't cover the full cost.

Lie - or miscommunication? You know for a fact that the person who told you that did so in the full knowledge that it was inaccurate? That they were the one who'd spoken personally to the warranty company?

Either way, it's irrelevant. That's the cost for the job, but the warranty company won't pay it all. You have to pay the rest yourself, or take the car elsewhere for the job.

What does your warranty Ts & Cs say about how they calculate the amount they'll pay? Don't say "max £500" again, because that's the answer to a different question. If you can't find it, what warranty is it?

Had I known the real reason things would have been very different.

How? You'd have taken the car elsewhere, simply because somebody else sold you a cheap warranty that won't pay realistic prices?

So yes, I feel that the garage has been completely dishonest by lying to me to justify their costs.

Why do they NEED to justify their costs to you? That's their price for doing the work. If you don't like it, take it elsewhere.

As a side note I have now found out that the service I had them do on the car 3 weeks ago would have been cheaper of I had gone directly to Ford and got it done. Not great for a garage that trades on keeping it's prices down.

So your Ford dealer are offering a loss-leader discount on work on cars outside their usual customer base. What would the dealer have charged for the driveshaft?

System

ispartacus75 wrote: »

As a side note I have now found out that the service I had them do on the car 3 weeks ago would have been cheaper of I had gone directly to Ford and got it done. Not great for a garage that trades on keeping it's prices down.

Are you comparing apples to apples though? The Ford Motocraft service at £149 is a basic oil and filter and quick check over service. I would hazard a guess that the one the garage does involves more than that and that a basic oil and filter service equivalent to the Motocraft one would be around £80.