Faulty garage repair

Fishmarket

Recently I had my local dealers fit a new fuel pump. It fits through the top of the fuel tank and is secured with a screw cap and washer.

The day after collecting the car I filled up with petrol and found that fuel was leaking out. I returned the car to the garage and was told that they had tested for a leak by driving the car around. This clearly does not worked if the tank is low on fuel! I feel that the garage is at fault but they are not prepared to act without further payment.

How do I find out if there is there a ‘proper procedure’ that a garage should follow in order to check for a fuel tank leak? I have tried, Health and Safety and the Fire Brigade. I am also in touch with Trading Standards. Any ideas anyone?

wgl2014

Have you had it fixed? If so where was the leak from?

bigisi

The fire brigade for a problem with a garage repair - amazing!

caprikid1

Who should she contact to obtain the best compensayshun, would a no win no fee firm take this on ?

foxy-stoat

As you have given them an opportunity it fix it, confirm in writing the fault and their refusal to remedy, state you will take it to another garage and send them the invoice for the repair. Send that recorded delivery.

As you cannot drive it too much with a fuel leak, get it booked in somewhere else and get it sorted. It may only be an hours labour to reseat the pump housing or a gasket, they may of damaged something else though - I wouldnt bother about taking it further if the bill was fairly small but you can always follow up the letter before act with a copy of the invoice.

Fishmarket

Thanks for all the prompt replies.

The service manager proposed a full diagnostic check to locate the fault which costs £90 per hour. He added that if the fault was theirs they would put it right at no charge. I was not prepared to do go along with this; it sounded like a golden opportunity for the garage to exploit the situation. Instead I removed the new washer and collar and replaced it with the old ones. This cured the leak. I wrote to the garage manager and explained all of this but will only redo the the work if I pay again.

My particular gripe is that the testing procedure they used failed to show a leak. If I had not spotted it for myself, the leak could have resulted in fuel spilling out for years to come or even worse the car catching fire. I don't see how I can argue that this is malpractice unless I can show that their test method is an invalid method of checking for a fuel leak.

wgl2014

Not sure you really have anywhere to go with this.
They made a mistake and offered to resolve it with the proviso that you would pay for their time if the issue wasn't down to them. You declined and the issue is now sorted. What work do you want doing now?

Other than an apology from them there's not anything else they are likely to be able offer.

foxy-stoat

Fishmarket wrote: »

My particular gripe is that the testing procedure they used failed to show a leak. If I had not spotted it for myself, the leak could have resulted in fuel spilling out for years to come or even worse the car catching fire. I don't see how I can argue that this is malpractice unless I can show that their test method is an invalid method of checking for a fuel leak.

Good job on the free fix and lucky that you smelt or noticed the fuel leaking out.

Malpractice is reserved for medical professionals - they road tested the car after doing the work which is the normal procedure to test that the pump was working as it should. As they fudged the gasket/washer they would only of noticed with more fuel in - I dont see how they could test unless they filled it up with fuel afterwards apart from maybe the smell of fuel.

I'd say you have sorted out the problem without needed to spend any money or issue any legal paperwork so - win !

sevenhills

foxy-stoat wrote: »

Good job on the free fix and lucky that you smelt or noticed the fuel leaking out.

Dont fuel tanks have a built in pressure, so you you take off the fuel cap you can hear a gush of air?
Will there be a light on your dashboard if faulty?


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i0e-Uu4fXTs

Fishmarket

Unfortunately the problem is not adequately resolved. In order to fit the fuel pump in the first place I had to cut through the original screw cap. It is now secured with a large jubilee type clip holding it together. To fit a new cap easily a special tool is used. The dealership mechanic clearly did not have this available and neither do I.

To do the job properly without the special tool means that the fuel tank has to be removed from the car to give better access to the top of the tank. A garage would charge more than the car is worth to do this which
is why I either have to do the job myself or hope that the metal clip stays in place.

caprikid1

I recall many years ago going to a scrap yard to get a fuel pump for a car. Unfortunately the like yours the pump was on the top of the tank and car was in the middle of a stack of 5 cars. The challenge was how to remove the tank with other cars resting on it.


Solution ... Large Chisel plus lump hammer and peel a section of boot floor away, pump then came out quite nicely.