Damage caused to vehicle

stelee844

Hi All, 
Firstly thanks in advance for reading and any advice provided.
I've got a Dodge Nitro which as a precautionary measure i decided to have the Timing Belt replaced. I booked via ClickMechanic who offered an mechanic visit on Thursday 20th, Our mechanic was booked between 10am - 12noon, The mechanic had called an insited that he'd complete the job that day, Even if it took him till 11pm - Later that day at 5pm, he called to reschedule to Saturday 22nd - After spending 3 hours dismantling the engine, He attempted to fit the new belt before realizing it was the wrong kind and opted to leave the engine parts in the boot of the car for a few days whilst the new part arrived. Whilst this was frustrating as i had a fully functioning car which i now couldnt use, It wasnt the end of the world.

Anyway, Skip a few days, The part arrived on Monday 24th and he fitted this at around 10:30pm - We're pretty isolated where we live so almost immediatly i had to go to the local co-op garage to get some essentials - Upon my return there was a popping sound and the vehicle lost power - after a 5 hour wait on a dual carriageway my vehicle was eventually recovered by the RAC and RAC mechanic visited later that morning to diagnose that a cable (Resistor - technical term) had been left loose, which then got caught in the fan, Snapped and caused the turbo to be knocked out of place. Whilst the RAC mechanic was able to fix the issue with the Turbo, He advise us not to drive to drive the vehicle as it may risk overheating. 

Naturally the first port of call was to contact the mechanic directly that ClickMechanic had sent out (They use 3rd parties) - Sadly he's pretty dreadful at responding so it took him until the next day to respond.  Its taking him a few days and yesterday eventually came to assess the damage, He was extremely apologetic (to which i understand mistakes happen - especially if you insist on completing jobs on a driveway at 10:30 in the evening in the pouring rain) however he's now stating that he's struggling to source parts from Dodge. - The issue i have is that i've paid nearly £700 for someone to break my car - As mentioned our rural location means its becoming increasingly difficult to get by without it. and we're constantly advised that things will be sorted later in the day which has meant we've put off hiring a car (at our own expense) because theirs always an indication the issue will be resolved.

The huge lack of communication and the fact that i've got to try and run a business and rely on lifts from people is becoming extremely problematic. Can anyone give any advice on what steps to take?

JJ_Egan

Business vehicle ??

Aylesbury_Duck

Contact him, tell him he has to fix the consequential problem he caused in a reasonable timeframe (allowing time to source parts) or you'll take it to another garage, get it fixed and pass the cost onto him.

mattyprice4004

One thing I will say is waiting until the next day for a reply isn't really 'dreadful' at replying - he'll be at other jobs, and won't be sat on his phone / a laptop while doing so if he's an independent mechanic. 

stelee844

mattyprice4004 said:

One thing I will say is waiting until the next day for a reply isn't really 'dreadful' at replying - he'll be at other jobs, and won't be sat on his phone / a laptop while doing so if he's an independent mechanic. 

Whilst i appreciate that. He's damaged my vehicle which has meant i can no longer use it. With that in mind it'd be nice if he had the decency to communicate and even if its something along the lines of "Ive got jobs booked in till xPM but im going to contact the dealership and will get back to you at XXX o clock"