Garage damage

Dougie1308

Good evening, wifes car went in to have a flexi pipe on the exhaust replaced, got a quote last week, written on the advisory paperwork when they done the MOT, of around £300, while she was waiting for it to be done, they came and told her some bolts had sheared off on some part and they need to get a specialist in to fix it, and its going to cost her at least another £300. She in no uncertain terms told them their fortune ! Surely this is their incompetance , anyway they agreed a price of just over £400, I dont think she should pay the extra, they broke it they fix it. I might add this is a reputable company, not a shady concern, So should she pay just the quote or the extra ? Thanks in advance.

DUTR

Personally I think the 25% extra should be paid and it's case closed, yes bolts do sheer depending where they are.

tacpot12

A compromise would be that she pay for the parts, and they pay for the labour to fit them. She might be on dodgy ground holding them to a quote if the quote doesn't confirm that it is a quotation and not an estimate. It sounds like the quote will be a bit vague, so if could well be an estimate in which case, she would be liable for the cost of the parts and the labour to fit. 

facade

They should know that the bolts on an exhaust will likely break off and factor that into the original quote if they are any good, or at least explain that if they break there will be an extra charge....

They usually just burn the nuts off the manifold studs and chase the threads afterwards anyway.

Dougie1308

It does say to renew pipe £330, if they had said these bolts may shear off and if they do it will cost another x amount of pounds, that would be acceptable, they also said to her they have to call a specialist to clear out the soot, presumably in the cat ? I am a bit peed of with it as i had a similar problem a few years ago with a well known car parts dealer who also done car repairs, a job they quoted me for £400 ended up costing me £1400, and still was not right so advised by another garage to scrap the car, which i did, and got £63 for it. Will get in touch with trading standards tomorrow, but could pay what they say but get written on the invoice Paid Under Protest, so could take it further.
So thank you for all the replies, helped a lot, cheers

AdrianC

Replacing one section of an exhaust and finding that parts aren't playing is not "their incompetence", it's the simple reality of working on exhausts so old that some sections have failed.

Other sections are not far off...

No, it is not unreasonable of them to charge for replacing the knackered sections of exhaust that were barely clinging to life. If they'd bodged the new bit to a near-death section that lasted months, you'd moan... right?

Dougie1308

True and I dont have a problem with that but when they say we have sheered these bolts off and need to call a person in to repair and its going to cost you another £300+ that's taking the mickey. They had just serviced and MOTd the car so rest of exhaust was fine.  And she bought the car from them 3 years ago, I am thinking a woman on her own, easy target !

AdrianC

Dougie1308 said:

They had just serviced and MOTd the car so rest of exhaust was fine.

No, it really isn't that simple.

All the MOT says is that the exhaust isn't currently leaking, and is currently securely mounted.
The MOT doesn't check that fasteners aren't seized to kingdom come (as they often are on exhausts that haven't been touched for years). It can't say "This exhaust won't fall apart in a month".

MinuteNoodles

Dougie1308 said:
 they came and told her some bolts had sheared off on some part and they need to get a specialist in to fix it, and its going to cost her at least another £300. She in no uncertain terms told them their fortune ! Surely this is their incompetance , anyway they agreed a price of just over £400, I dont think she should pay the extra, they broke it they fix it. I might add this is a reputable company, not a shady concern, So should she pay just the quote or the extra ? Thanks in advance.

No it isn't down to their incompetence, it's what happens with cars that get to the state that flexi pipes need to be replaced - nuts and bolts rust solid from years of being exposed to the elements and they can appear to be undoing just fine then next thing you know it's sheared off. 
It's one of the hazards of having an older car that what should be a straight forward job can often grow into a more expensive one and it's a cost that is one the customer has to bear.

fred246

MinuteNoodles said:

Dougie1308 said:
 they came and told her some bolts had sheared off on some part and they need to get a specialist in to fix it, and its going to cost her at least another £300. She in no uncertain terms told them their fortune ! Surely this is their incompetance , anyway they agreed a price of just over £400, I dont think she should pay the extra, they broke it they fix it. I might add this is a reputable company, not a shady concern, So should she pay just the quote or the extra ? Thanks in advance.

 it's a cost that is one the customer has to bear.

It's a cost the customer has to bear even if it is total incompetence because they seldom own up to their incompetence.

onlyfoolsandparking

fred246 said:

MinuteNoodles said:

Dougie1308 said:
 they came and told her some bolts had sheared off on some part and they need to get a specialist in to fix it, and its going to cost her at least another £300. She in no uncertain terms told them their fortune ! Surely this is their incompetance , anyway they agreed a price of just over £400, I dont think she should pay the extra, they broke it they fix it. I might add this is a reputable company, not a shady concern, So should she pay just the quote or the extra ? Thanks in advance.

 it's a cost that is one the customer has to bear.

It's a cost the customer has to bear even if it is total incompetence because they seldom own up to their incompetence.

????? that doesn't make sense, how can a bolt (old and seized) shearing off be incompetence.