Has this garage damaged my car and wrongly passed my MOT?

angrycrow

The longer nut which is staked to the shaft appears to be correct. Other one does look dodgy but the threads show no sign of recent action suggesting it has been like that for some time. Absolutely no reason to touch the hub nut to change disks.

Looks like you are falsely a using the garage. On a separate note unless the car is 2003 or older how did they pass the mot with the engine light on.

ratrace

All this drama because the "RAC" who are a breakdown service said that it "looks like" a wrong nut was used, how wrong is the nut if its to big it would slide right off,if its to small well it wont go on etc....

looking at the rusty drive shaft it looks like nothing has been touched since world war 1, could it be that the wheel bearing is also old and just happend to go a few miles later, it does happen its not impossible

move on with life.

Norman_Castle

carnoob wrote: »

it's not really just a "claim", when I handed them the car it was fine, no check engine light. When I got it back the check engine light was on for a circuit error with the heating circuit for the O2 sensor, an error fixed by replacing the part.

As for why they'd replace the nut, I really don't know. As I said I'm not a mechanic but working on the brake discs which are cm's away from it, it doesn't seem inconceivable a mechanic could have say, accidentally damaged the nut and then mistakenly replaced it with the incorrect nut, especially since they're not tightened by hand.

There's no dispute the sensor had failed but you cannot state they damaged it.



Ever tried damaging a hub nut? Accidentally damaging one by working close to it is ludicrously unlikely. They should be tightened by hand normally using a torque wrench. The rust on the thread shows it hasn't been removed.

izzy65

As an explanation as why they mot first, if they did your brakes first then an mot and the car say failed on a major costly item, sub frame rotten beyond economic repair, would you be happy to pay for the brakes , don't think so. This is why most do a health check on a car before undertaking the work it's actually booked in for.

carnoob

foxy-stoat wrote: »

Did you take a photo of the before and after the car went into the garage for the brake pad change?

Nah I should have clarified, one is of the good front wheel, the other the bad one.

Aylesbury_Duck wrote: »

Get a sense of perspective, perhaps?

I'm not surprised the mechanic was defensive about it if you were as accusatory and dramatic as you have been on here. You're now suggesting reporting them for incorrectly passing the MOT even though you were happy to accept the car and the certificate knowing about it.

If you have evidence that they have damaged your car, put it together properly and write to them stating what you would like them to do to rectify the situation. Drop the drama and see if they will work with you.

I wasn't dramatic, I really just said this is what the RAC mechanic said and that was clearly it from his point of view. I also only accepted the car because I wasn't aware of the new MOT rule regarding check engine lights.

angrycrow wrote: »

The longer nut which is staked to the shaft appears to be correct. Other one does look dodgy but the threads show no sign of recent action suggesting it has been like that for some time. Absolutely no reason to touch the hub nut to change disks.

Looks like you are falsely a using the garage. On a separate note unless the car is 2003 or older how did they pass the mot with the engine light on.

So if it was incorrectly fitted it could have been dodgy old work only showing now? It is a 52 plate, is the rule different regarding check engine lights?

izzy65 wrote: »

As an explanation as why they mot first, if they did your brakes first then an mot and the car say failed on a major costly item, sub frame rotten beyond economic repair, would you be happy to pay for the brakes , don't think so. This is why most do a health check on a car before undertaking the work it's actually booked in for.

Fair point, well made, thanks for the perspective.

Norman_Castle wrote: »

There's no dispute the sensor had failed but you cannot state they damaged it.

Ever tried damaging a hub nut? Accidentally damaging one by working close to it is ludicrously unlikely. They should be tightened by hand normally using a torque wrench. The rust on the thread shows it hasn't been removed.

I would say given the circumstances I can be pretty confident they did? Though that isn't a major issue anyway. I can also say I have not, so thank you for the insight and the rust is a good point.


Ultimately I think I'll give it to another garage, see what they say and if they suspect something I'll go back to the old one and bring it up.

EdGasketTheSecond

A 52 plate won't have the check engine light included in the MoT so it can pass with it illuminated. July 2003 is the cut-off.

Homersimpson

Having worked in the motor trade and seen some of the things that go on I would usually be sceptical of the garag, however, in this case the photos clearly show that the hub nut hasn't been touched for years and therefore the wheel bearing failure is purely a coincidence.

carnoob

I had another garage (one very close to home so it was reasonably safe to get it there) take a look at it and they were of the opinion that it had been damaged by them, something to do with crossthreading the driveshaft which they reckon they might have done when accessing the cat (looking at guides on replacing the cat online confirms they would have had to remove the driver side drive shaft to access the cat - the one that has failed)? It has however now damaged the brand new brake discs, the wheel bearing and drive shaft (obviously) for a nice estimate of £484! Now though I have the predicament of getting the car towed across town if I wanted the garage who carried out the original to take a look at it... Then of course they could still turn around and disagree with the assessment.

So I really have no idea what to do. Part of me is just tempted to get the car home, buy whatever tools and parts I need and see if I could do it myself ignoring whatever mess this could turn into otherwise. I can't afford two £500 repairs in 7 days though...