Being charged £800 for diagonistics tesr

CynthiaK2020

Hi there, 
I bought my Vauxhall mokka under 3 years ago. I have driven it only less than 4000 miles (just need it for nursery runs and grocery shopping). My clutch smelt so I dropped it off to the dealership after checking it would be under warranty. They said they need to run some diagnostic tests and asked me permission to open transmission if they need to. They mentioned they will provide me with a quote if the clutch is not covered under warranty which may be due to wear and tear. I agreed.  Few days later, they call and say that the repair will cost me £1600. To which I replied, I will take it to an independent garage and asked for my car back. They are now quoting me £800 to get my car back saying its for labour to find the fault. I wasn't made aware that I would be charged for it upfront. I am disputing this. Do I have grounds to do so? I feel like they weren't transparent in their billing. And there is no evidence (besides service bloke claiming he explained it verbally and basically gaslighting me). He wasn't clear or explicit in mentioning that investigative tests will cost me.
Please share your comments. 

Bonniepurple

Petrol or diesel?  Slow, bumper to bumper traffic or clear roads?  The garage has clearly done some work on the car that wasn’t covered y the warranty and they want paying.  

FWIW, I always offer to pay for diagnostics.  Sometimes the garage accepts, sometimes (eg when the car was terminal) they don’t.

Homer_home

Have you complained to vauxhall direct ? 

CynthiaK2020

Hi Bonnie, 
Its petrol. I can't say I do a lot of bumper to bumper driving. But did have few occasions when I did. I am not contesting about paying but haven't been told that there will be charge for further diagonistic tests upfront. So, I am pretty shocked as I wasn't made aware I will be charged if they need to look further. If that was explained before hand, I wouldn't have had a problem or would have shopped around. Just to be clear, no repair has been made. 

CynthiaK2020

Hi Homer, 
Yes I have complained. They basically saying they verbally let me know that there will be charge but he just said we need to check the car, it may or may not be under warranty. And you may see a cost between £800 and £1600 if its not under warranty. To which I said, can I get a quote please. To which he said, we wont charge you until you let us proceed.
 No physical record so, it down to hearsay. I am due to speak to a manager tommorow. My car is still in the dealership. 

Geodark

CynthiaK2020 said:

Hi there, 
I bought my Vauxhall mokka under 3 years ago. I have driven it only less than 4000 miles (just need it for nursery runs and grocery shopping). My clutch smelt so I dropped it off to the dealership after checking it would be under warranty. They said they need to run some diagnostic tests and asked me permission to open transmission if they need to. They mentioned they will provide me with a quote if the clutch is not covered under warranty which may be due to wear and tear. I agreed.  Few days later, they call and say that the repair will cost me £1600. To which I replied, I will take it to an independent garage and asked for my car back. They are now quoting me £800 to get my car back saying its for labour to find the fault. I wasn't made aware that I would be charged for it upfront. I am disputing this. Do I have grounds to do so? I feel like they weren't transparent in their billing. And there is no evidence (besides service bloke claiming he explained it verbally and basically gaslighting me). He wasn't clear or explicit in mentioning that investigative tests will cost me.
Please share your comments. 

So if they have had to open the transmission then it isnt just a diagnostic test they have done. you gave them permission to do a strip down which isnt a simple piece of work. when they asked about opening the transmission did they mention there would be a cost?

CynthiaK2020

No, they didnt mention that the opening the transmission will cost me. This is what I have an issue with. They weren't transparent about the likely costs i will face regardless of repair work. 

CynthiaK2020

Also, i had annual service done in dec 2019 and some body work done in March 2020. Surely any faults in clutch would have been picked up then. I didnt drive much (maybe twice a month) since last 6 months. How can be a faulty clutch? 

ess0two

Was the transmission opened? although requested if needed did they?

CynthiaK2020

Yes transmission was opened on my authorisation but not my knowledge(being aware that it will additional cost item). 

Manxman_in_exile

Did you not think to ask them how much any necessary investigation might cost you?  Obviously if they were going to have to open up the transmission, they would be investing some labour into it, and would want paying for it.

Hope I don't sound overly critical there, because clearly it wasn't obvious to you.  Certainly, I would say that if you didn't ask the question of the garage, I would have expected them to tell you that there would be some cost (possibly indeterminate) involved.