Garage just quoted me £2800 to get my car back after saying maximum was going to be £1500

grateful_reader

Hi all, 

I just got off the phone with the garage who I previously had quite a good relationship with feeling pretty upset to be honest.  My car had a major failure which required a replacement of the engine.  I was going to just write it off and get a new one but the garage convinced me to stick with this car because the maximum cost would be £1500 to fix it and the car I needed would be around £1700 to replace.  I'm very short of cash at the moment so I had to go for the £1500 option even though the £1700 option was a much better condition example of my car. 

They've had my car for several weeks trying to get an engine and I've had a conversation with the garage where they said they would absorb the labour costs because the engine was more expensive than they were expecting at £800. 

Today one of the colleagues at the garage called me over the phone and said your car is ready to collect and can I send you the invoice.  I didn't get the invoice through and they called me back so I just asked how much it was and he said £2800.  I'm honestly shocked and pretty upset... I can ill afford £1500 but £2800 is nearly double that and I could have almost bought 2 cars for that money!

I just can't understand why they didn't call me to explain it was going to cost nearly double the maximum I got quoted... 

The really upsetting part about this was at the point where I made the choice for them to fix it there was a car on the market which exactly matched my requirements and was nearby.  Now there is no such car so I'm not only inconvienced by a few weeks without a car, I also have no reasonable car options within the vicinity. 

I feel like there is a life lesson here but now I'm trying to understand what options I have.. I definitely cannot afford £2800.  Can I just leave the car with them...?  I'm really beside myself just reeling from the shock.. 

mebu60

Have you got the £1500 maximum quote in writing? 

Did you challenge the £2800 cost when told the amount? 

sheslookinhot

How old is the car ? What kind of engine are they fitting ? Where did they get the engine ? What mileage has it done ? Are they giving you a warranty with the engine ?

can you pay on the extra £1300 on a 0% credit card and switch after 12 months ? Can you really afford to run a car, as the next bill could be just round the corner?

Clive_Woody

You need to go back to them and tell them that they never approved costs above the £1500 that they agree to, to complete the work required. 

grateful_reader

@mebu60 - it was quoted over the phone. They also agreed to absorb the costs of extra labour over the phone given the original suggestion of being maximum £1500.  The chap I spoke to owns the garage I think but then one of the young lads called me to give me the invoice. When I heard the amount the second time they called I was just so shocked I said... err err okay... just shocked.. Michael the chap who gave me the original quotes wasn't there so I couldn't speak to him to try and understand how this could have happened without someone calling me or explaining. 

mebu60

grateful_reader said:

@mebu60 - it was quoted over the phone. They also agreed to absorb the costs of extra labour over the phone given the original suggestion of being maximum £1500.  The chap I spoke to owns the garage I think but then one of the young lads called me to give me the invoice. When I heard the amount the second time they called I was just so shocked I said... err err okay... just shocked.. Michael the chap who gave me the original quotes wasn't there so I couldn't speak to him to try and understand how this could have happened without someone calling me or explaining. 

Suggest you speak to Michael and say there seems to be an error, whoever prepped the invoice hasn't capped it at the agreed £1500 and take it from there. If he doesn't play ball you need to be firm that you have never authorised any work over the £1500. 

grateful_reader

@sheslookinhot - I don't know the mileage on the engine but it just makes no sense... the car with an extremely low milage engine wouldn't fetch anywhere near £2800.... I just feel like what's to stop any garage from simply coming up with an arbitrarily large number and then insisting that the owner pays that money regardless to get their car back... 

grateful_reader

@Clive_Woody - yes I will do this... What worries me is that so far the chap who quoted me the £1500 has always called me to tell me what's going on. He said what was happening with the engine, and that it was more expensive etc when he originally called a couple of times.  Then it went quiet for a few weeks and I was reluctant to call them because honestly I was really struggling to find the £1500 so I didn't want to chase them.   Then Michael calls me and apologises for the delay and says it will be ready on Monday but they need my authorisation to drive the car 50 miles to test the engine... No calls in between to say "Oh it's going to cost a lot more" or anything similar. This is the only time he's had someone else call me which makes me think he's looking to avoid the commitment and I don't know what options I have if they insist I pay £2800 which is simply beyond reason to me.. 

LightFlare

grateful_reader said:

@Clive_Woody - yes I will do this... What worries me is that so far the chap who quoted me the £1500 has always called me to tell me what's going on. He said what was happening with the engine, and that it was more expensive etc when he originally called a couple of times.  Then it went quiet for a few weeks and I was reluctant to call them because honestly I was really struggling to find the £1500 so I didn't want to chase them.   Then Michael calls me and apologises for the delay and says it will be ready on Monday but they need my authorisation to drive the car 50 miles to test the engine... No calls in between to say "Oh it's going to cost a lot more" or anything similar. This is the only time he's had someone else call me which makes me think he's looking to avoid the commitment and I don't know what options I have if they insist I pay £2800 which is simply beyond reason to me.. 

did you not query or ask at this point ?

your silence may have been interpreted as consent