Getting a guaranteed repair?

henrik1971

Hi there

I'm trying to get the dealer I'm using to guarantee a repair, and I'm just wondering how realistic / possible this is? I took the car in to them with a generic 'error' code, but no actual physical symptoms of problems.

I won't repeat the contents of my earlier Mazda 6 thread, but basically they said the error code was engine overrun and the turbo needed replacing at considerable cost. My concern is a sympton-free car and no visible external issues with the turbo itself.

Basically I'm wanting them to give me an undertaking in writing, that they are 100% confident of their diagnosis and if the same error re-appears after a short time, they will take it back and carry out any futher work free of charge. When I said this on the phone today, the guy said that was fine and I should email him exactly what I want them to confirm.

Sounds hopeful - what do you think? Do garages give such undertakings and stick by them in anyone's experience?

atrixblue.-MFR-.

Do not make a contract up that could potentially give them an out if something goes wrong or bind you to their costs. A turbo has manufacturers warranty with the dealership and dealership has a contract with you to supply and fit it to you car so you need to ask what the warranty period is and to put this on this receipt. Or pay by credit card!

BethanyD

Why not get an Inspection Engineer to carry out an independent inspection and produce a report?


They have professional indemnity cover

henrik1971

Atrix-blue - thanks for your message.
My concern really is that the turbo may not be the cause of the fault. They may change it and the error still appears because it is something else - or indeed it is a software glitch (for example).


I think many people at some point in their car ownership lives will have had a repair done on a car only to find out the problem still remains. Lazy diagnosis or guesswork - the garage assuming something is broken, and you foot the bill and bear the inconvenience.

If someone experienced/qualified can tell me that failed turbos can continue to (seemingly) work perfectly for 100's of miles like mine did from the time the error appeared until the time I took it in to the garage, then that would put my mind at rest somewhat.

Bethany D - I would seriously consider an independent engineers report but looks like a further £200 to add to the bill.
I'm hoping to get that peace of mind from the people who want charge me a very large sum of money to do the work and have asserted it is definitely the right thing to do.

Johnmcl7

I don't think there's any chance they will do that, I doubt any garage would sign such a contract aside from specifically providing a warranty for the turbo itself.

Is this a Mazda main dealer who has diagnosed the turbo or is it someone else? Fundamentally it sounds like the problem is you don't trust the garage so I'd be taking the car to someone I did trust, paying for a new turbo for a car with no symptoms of turbo problems and a generic error code sounds crazy to me.

I was in a similar position with a Skoda Octavia which was under a third party warranty, I'd checked the error code myself and it was showing a turbo problem. However the car wasn't showing any turbo problems at all so I'd made it clear I wanted the garage to actually check the car and see if they could see any issues with the turbo. Unsurprisingly they didn't, they read the code and decided the problem was with the turbo. I took it to my own mechanic who checked the turbo mechanically, found no issues but did find a sensor problem which he replaced which resolved the issue. When I sold the car, the turbo was still working fine.

With my Mazda6, I had a fault with the air handling system so I took it to Mazda as it was under warranty when the issue occurred. They charged me £40 to tell me they had no idea what the problem was and to pay either for a full day in the garage to have the car further dismantled or replace the entire main portion of the air handling system both costing a lot and neither guaranteed to fix the issue either. Because they didn't the car while it was in warranty due to them being slow, they wouldn't honour it either.

Took it to my own mechanic who cleared out some leaves he found within the system and sorted the issue.

tonyh66

most dealership 'engineers' are only trained as code readers and parts swappers these days, its a PITA when you need a proper diagnosis on a problem.

foxy-stoat

You wont get what you asked for, or it wont mean anything. The turbo will be guaranteed from a major failure (if its new) subject to existing or new faults with the engine and misuse.

If you understand how a turbo works and the tolerances involved and what is required to kill even a new one instantly then no garage will be signing themselves up or they will caveat the guarantee.

Turbos can and do last for 10's of thousands of miles, if not 100,000 + miles as long as everything they are connected to is working within tolerances and serviced correctly - same is true for engines.

Cetshwayo

You need to find out who is the best specialist in your make/model in and around your area and take it to him at least for a second opinion.

I have a similar problem with a gear box issue but I reckon I can't afford the "specialists" who I reckon could charge me thousands so I am taking it to a guy who is talking my language, one step at a time. ie drain engine oil and check for metal if clear start by replacing the three sensors in the box..........and then pray, because after that it will be decision time.

System

henrik1971 wrote: »

If someone experienced/qualified can tell me that failed turbos can continue to (seemingly) work perfectly for 100's of miles like mine did from the time the error appeared until the time I took it in to the garage, then that would put my mind at rest somewhat.

They absolutely can. They most certainly can when there's an internal oil seal that has failed and a failed internal oil seal can eventually fail to a point it leaks enough oil into the inlet side of a diesel engine to allow that engine to run on that oil even if you turn the ignition off and take the key out the car, commonly known as diesel runaway.

A mate of mine who owned a lorry drove it with a knackered turbo doing 1500 miles a week for months, it doing nothing more than spinning and making a turbo sound but no boost, until he got fed up of barely being able to make it up hills.