RAC Mobile Mechanics

Enufsed

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I had my car serviced by RAC Mechanics. They are said nsr brake caliper needed replacing and tube, also front brake pads. I made a appointment for this to be done. 

The mechanic arrived on 2st October. He left saying he couldn't bleed the front brakes and advised me to take it to a garage. My husband is disabled and I also have blue badge. 

I took it to a garage yesterday 23rd and was actually terrified driving there. I was told it needed a brake master cylinder and something else. 

I'm angry that they left it my responsibility to get it to the garage. I messaged them on the mechanics website. My car is insured with the RAC and breakdown cover is with The AA. I don't know why I bother with either of them! 

What you do you need to discuss?*

"I telephoned yesterday regarding Job?????? , as the RAC mechanic advised me not to drive my car other than short journeys and I needed to take it to a garage. He said he couldn’t bleed the front brakes manually but I needed to speak with him to confirm what needed to be done — but I didn't receive a call back. I was extremely nervous taking it to the garage because the brakes were practically non-existent. The garage told me it was actually dangerous to drive because it needed a new brake master cylinder and something else and quoted over £1,300 for this job. I've already paid this month: Service £290.78 Inspection £99 Front caliper, brake pads, tube, etc. £434.16 I would appreciate it if you could urgently review this situation and advise what action will be taken, as I believe this matter raises a serious safety concern.

Preferred time to call

Afternoon

TadleyBaggie

Not familiar with RAC Mechanics  but wouldn’t expect them to have any responsibility to get your car to a garage. AA breakdown, if you have home cover, might have been a better option. 

Was the vehicle actually dangerous to drive?

jimjames

TadleyBaggie said:

Not familiar with RAC Mechanics  but wouldn’t expect them to have any responsibility to get your car to a garage. AA breakdown, if you have home cover, might have been a better option. 

Was the vehicle actually dangerous to drive?

If the OP had paid £434 for the brake calliper to be replaced then I would expect bleeding the brakes should  be part of that service. It seems very poor to leave the OP with an unusable car when they have been employed to carry out a specific job.

MattMattMattUK

jimjames said:

TadleyBaggie said:

Not familiar with RAC Mechanics  but wouldn’t expect them to have any responsibility to get your car to a garage. AA breakdown, if you have home cover, might have been a better option. 

Was the vehicle actually dangerous to drive?

If the OP had paid £434 for the brake calliper to be replaced then I would expect bleeding the brakes should  be part of that service. It seems very poor to leave the OP with an unusable car when they have been employed to carry out a specific job.

However if the master cylinder had failed then there is little they could do, they my well have done the specific job, but that specific job was not to replace the master cylinder and whatever the something else was. I agree it is far from ideal, but also a situation with limited options. 

Enufsed

Yes it was dangerous to drive. I only had about 5% braking power, fortunately the roads weren’t busy and I drove very slowly, but it was very wet and windy. He had given it a road test so he knew it was dangerous but led me to believe I was OK on short trips to the doctors etc. The garage actually shocked he'd told me to take it to a garage to bleed the front brakes. It was the brake master cylinder was faulty that's why he couldn’t bleed the brakes.

Enufsed

MattMattMattUK said:

jimjames said:

TadleyBaggie said:

Not familiar with RAC Mechanics  but wouldn’t expect them to have any responsibility to get your car to a garage. AA breakdown, if you have home cover, might have been a better option. 

Was the vehicle actually dangerous to drive?

If the OP had paid £434 for the brake calliper to be replaced then I would expect bleeding the brakes should  be part of that service. It seems very poor to leave the OP with an unusable car when they have been employed to carry out a specific job.

However if the master cylinder had failed then there is little they could do, they my well have done the specific job, but that specific job was not to replace the master cylinder and whatever the something else was. I agree it is far from ideal, but also a situation with limited options. 

But he hadn't done the job which was to fix my brakes. I'm aware it's not his fault the master brake cylinder was faulty, but I'm 76, as is my husband who is also blind and disabled. I also have a blue badge. I'm concerned that his advice was that I could drive it on short trips and then take it to the garage to bleed the brakes. He could have told me to get the garage to collect it or call the AA! He's an experienced mechanic with 20 odd years of experience. I was putting myself and other road users in danger. 

paul_c123

At the end of the day, you (the driver) are 100% responsible for the roadworthiness of your car. You can't blame anyone else. You should have done a check on the brakes and declined to drive it, then got the car transported.

The fact that the MC was faulty, doesn't mean the mechanic can't still charge for the labour involved to date. And he had fitted the parts too.

Did he give the option of also replacing the master cylinder, at a later date? Or just say he didn't fancy it and its for a garage?

MattMattMattUK

Enufsed said:

MattMattMattUK said:

jimjames said:

TadleyBaggie said:

Not familiar with RAC Mechanics  but wouldn’t expect them to have any responsibility to get your car to a garage. AA breakdown, if you have home cover, might have been a better option. 

Was the vehicle actually dangerous to drive?

If the OP had paid £434 for the brake calliper to be replaced then I would expect bleeding the brakes should  be part of that service. It seems very poor to leave the OP with an unusable car when they have been employed to carry out a specific job.

However if the master cylinder had failed then there is little they could do, they my well have done the specific job, but that specific job was not to replace the master cylinder and whatever the something else was. I agree it is far from ideal, but also a situation with limited options. 

But he hadn't done the job which was to fix my brakes. 

His job was not "fix my brakes", it was to replace the caliper and pads, which he did.

Enufsed said:
I'm aware it's not his fault the master brake cylinder was faulty, but I'm 76, as is my husband who is also blind and disabled. I also have a blue badge. 

Unfortunately none of that has any impact on your consumer rights.

Enufsed said:
I'm concerned that his advice was that I could drive it on short trips and then take it to the garage to bleed the brakes. He could have told me to get the garage to collect it or call the AA! He's an experienced mechanic with 20 odd years of experience. I was putting myself and other road users in danger. 

Possibly, possibly not, it depends on the distance, the roads, the speeds, how bad the failure is etc.. As Paul points out it is your responsibility as the driver to make sure your vehicle is safe, it in your opinion it was not then you should have had the vehicle towed/transported to the garage.

Ultimately whilst being an unfortunate situation you do not appear to be entitled to anything and neither are they responsible for your decision to drive the car. I understand that you might find this situation far from ideal, but that does not impact your consumer rights.

Mildly_Miffed

MattMattMattUK said:

Enufsed said:

But he hadn't done the job which was to fix my brakes. 

His job was not "fix my brakes", it was to replace the caliper and pads, which he did.

Replacing calipers includes bleeding them...

It's not a huge surprise that the master failed on bleeding - it's not an uncommon thing to happen in cars where brake fluid changes have been neglected (which is what almost certainly caused the caliper to fail, too). 

The water-contaminated fluid rusts out the inside of the cylinders - both caliper and master. When the master is used beyond its normal travel, as happens when there's no resistance from the fluid, because the bleed nip is open, then the seals tear on the corroded portion of the cylinder bore.

Was "it's OK to drive it short journeys and to a garage" even remotely appropriate advice? No.
Do I suspect a bit of chinese whispers? Let's just say I'd be surprised if that was in writing.

paul_c123

Some people say "don't pump the pedal to bleed the brakes" but IMHO its always worth giving the MC a good exercise when bleeding brakes, to see if there is anything wrong with it. If its going to fail, you want to do it in a controlled environment where you can take the next steps to fix it, rather than out on the road and hundreds of miles from home.

The circumstances here (a mobile mechanic) are slightly different but it still broadly applies.

Would be interesting to hear the other side of the story.

What is the make/model/age/mileage of the car?