Garage has damaged car

sharp910sh

My car has been damaged by a garage. They have damaged the drive train when it was in for a leak in the differential. They are denying they have damaged the car, however luckily I have images before and after I took it to them. And the damage is very apparent.

The cost to repair the damage is £2.5k.

My plan is to take the garage is court for the cost of fixing damage they have done on the car.

I think I can likely win the court case, however the garage has a bank charge on them for all their possessions.

The charge states:

"...by way of fixed charge, the benefit of all covenants & rights concerning the property & all plant machinery, fixtures, fittings, furniture, equipment, implements & utensils. The goodwill of any business carried on at the property & the proceeds of any insurance affecting the property or assets."

Does this charge means if bailiffs do have to recover they will not be able to if the garage are unwilling to pay?

System

What exactly is the damage? You're saying it is obvious but that doesn't tell us a lot. A leaking diff if it goes dry enough can cause damage to the drive train so without knowing what the damage is we can't say.

What is costing £2.5k? That would cover changing a fair bit of the drive train and I find it hard to believe that no matter how much they cocked up fixing a leaky diff it would come to that even if the diff itself ended up dropping to bits as a result unless its a performance car with some kind of active diff.

If there is an existing charge on their possessions then there's nothing you can claim if the bailiffs turn up and the garage has no money.

EdGasketTheSecond

Too late now but most diffs are leaky (my merc's is); just top it up once a year; a lot cheaper than any other solution.

I would imagine the bank charge is for security against a loan. Don't think it would stop you suing them or Bailiffs seizing goods otherwise every business would be going down that road.

sharp910sh

That's what I expected. The diff isn't the issue now. The issue is the damage to the drive shafts and prop shafts which is causing vibration at speed.

forgotmyname

What proof do you have that the driveshafts AND propshafts are all damaged?

Strong thick metal tubes/bars which are not damaged easily.

sharp910sh

I have pictures of the drive shaft caps mangled up and pictures of the prop shaft doughnut smashed up.

It appears they used a crowbar or similar to try and get the drafts out.

They even damaged the heat shields for whatever reason.

It sounds crazy, as you wouldn't expect a garage to smash your car up. But they have literally smashed the drive train up due to their lack of care and skill.

I am starting to think they decided to smash the car up because the were bored.

I should have noted that this garage had Lambos and Ferraris being worked on while I was there.

Muscle750

So you took pics of the car prior to them working on it. When you say driveshaft caps i presume you mean dust caps on wheel hub? The propshaft joint if rubber and getting oil on it will fly to pieces no problem if dripping in oil for a period of time Heat sheilds are basically tin foil easily bent back into shape. The trouble is in the motor trade giving another garage a chance to rectify someone elses work gives them a chance to make a mountain out a mole hill ive seen it many times working in motor trade many years especially if its a main dealer

arcon5

Basically the bank have title over everything. Despite what the other member has said, it WILL stop the bailiffs taking anything as none of its owned by the garage.

Also I'm still struggling to see how the garage have caused 2.5k of damage if all your talking about is a prop shaft and couple of drive shafts. Also struggling to see how they could have caused all this damage by resealing a diff.

What car is it

usefulmale

How did you find out about this bank charge?

sharp910sh

On companies house website.

The reason for the post is will the charge on the garage affect me if bailiffs want to recover goods? (assuming I win the case)

Herzlos

sharp910sh wrote: »

The reason for the post is will the charge on the garage affect me if bailiffs want to recover goods? (assuming I win the case)

Yes; the bailiffs can only remove goods the garage owns, which doesn't seem to be much.