any mechanics?

worried123

Hello, I wonder if anybody can help please.

So my car needed a new clutch...it had just been given a full service by main dealer and was driving beautifully but needing a new clutch that the main dealer were going to charge an extortionate price to replace.
Somebody was going to put a new clutch in for me at a reasonable price but could not fit me in for some time, meantime my clutch was getting worse and so i needed to book it in ASAP - a clutch place....established for many years but their price seemed cheap which i was concerned about.......
I dont like the new clutch and thought it would maybe just need getting used to......hate it actually....but what is concerning me is that the whole car doesnt seem the same.
I have noticed on doing a three point turn that something sort of clips under the wheels as though i have driven over a ridge.....i can feel every single bump in the road...there is a sort of slight vibrating, rattly noise coming from the front as though the windscreen is loose...obviously it is not and i can even feel it ticking over at lights etc.....with a slight vibration going through me that was never there before........so not happy....so thinking i did the wrong thing allowing it to be done at that price.......sorry i am female and dont have a clue about cars....driving my car is no longer a pleasure....
I dont know what putting a clutch in involves....i only know it can be an expensive job and can take up to 7 hours. and i dont know if they remove other things to get to it...etc..
is it possible that my car could have been messed up having this clutch put in please.......i will give the chap a ring but i dont want to sound stupid when i do so.......sorry i am sounding stupid i know but really upset by all of this....
main dealer was going to charge 1400
chap who was going to do it for me but booked until middle of dec was going to charge me 750 (which to me sounds about right and what i would expect to pay)
I paid 450.   took it in at 8.00 and he said it might be ready just after 12 - i was a bit shocked by this and he said, this is all we do......established 20 years....i dont even know if i am noticing things because i am so aware of the car and how much i hate driving it now.....hate the clutch......

many thanks

tedted

what car and engine size

molerat

What car ?

Some cars the whole engine and gearbox has to come out which involves disconnecting the driveshafts etc, others it is a (relatively) simple disconnect the propshaft, drop the gearbox, change the clutch and put it back together.

worried123

tedted said:

what car and engine size

Toyota yaris icon 1.33

tedted

£450.00 is a bit cheap on a yaris 1.33 ,did he fit a complete clutch or just a centre plate

daivid

If they specialise in clutches and are good then the timeframe is feasible, there is a mobile clutch mechanic on youtube who changes clutches in a couple of hours (car dependant). Search Kevin Albert Williams on youtube if you want to look, he has at least one video of a clutch replacement on a Toyota Yaris.

In general modern cars need lots of other parts removing or shifting to change the clutch. I replaced the clutch on my car this year, replacing the clutch was easy, gaining access and putting everything back was not. For my car front suspension and wheel linkage components needed to be partially removed, if that's the case for the yaris, if mistakes were made you may well get noises when turning sharply and when hitting bumps.

worried123

tedted said:

£450.00 is a bit cheap on a yaris 1.33 ,did he fit a complete clutch or just a centre plate

It says on the invoice clutch kit and clutch assembly guaranteed (2 years or 18,00 miles.  Because i was worried at it only costing 450 I did ring him before hand asking whether he was going to put a good quality clutch in as i would rather pay a bit more for quality.  He said that he would use a good quality one (i think it may very pos have begun with `O` ?? i dont know.  He said that he could fit in the same toyota factory clutch and it would be 200 more but advised me that he has no problem and only about 5% come back within the guarantee time so i went with what he uses.  The invoice was 200 parts and 250 labour.

worried123

daivid said:

If they specialise in clutches and are good then the timeframe is feasible, there is a mobile clutch mechanic on youtube who changes clutches in a couple of hours (car dependant). Search Kevin Albert Williams on youtube if you want to look, he has at least one video of a clutch replacement on a Toyota Yaris.

In general modern cars need lots of other parts removing or shifting to change the clutch. I replaced the clutch on my car this year, replacing the clutch was easy, gaining access and putting everything back was not. For my car front suspension and wheel linkage components needed to be partially removed, if that's the case for the yaris, if mistakes were made you may well get noises when turning sharply and when hitting bumps.

Daivid, thank you.  This is what i feel....that other parts of the car have not been replaced etc properly....

Ectophile

Nothing you've described sounds like a clutch problem.  Something is wrong with the steering or suspension.  And that could well have been disturbed on an engine-out job.

Any good mechanic should be able to check that out.

worried123

Can i possibly ask anybody please.   Considering the problems caused to the car whilst he put in the clutch, would it be a good idea to take it elsewhere to get it checked out and sorted out.  I am a very nervous about allowing him to do anything else to the car.  If i did take it elsewhere to rectify do you think it would cost a lot of money...i have no idea about these things.
I may ask the chap who was going to fit the clutch but couldnt do it for a couple of weeks.

thank you for all of your help.

DB1904

worried123 said:

Can i possibly ask anybody please.   Considering the problems caused to the car whilst he put in the clutch, would it be a good idea to take it elsewhere to get it checked out and sorted out.  I am a very nervous about allowing him to do anything else to the car.  If i did take it elsewhere to rectify do you think it would cost a lot of money...i have no idea about these things.
I may ask the chap who was going to fit the clutch but couldnt do it for a couple of weeks.

thank you for all of your help.

If you take it elsewhere then the original mechanic may claim they caused the problem. You really should be giving the original mechanic a chance to rectify any problem he may have caused.