RAC call out & misdiagnosis of fault - can I claim the cost of uneccessary repairs back?

nero33

Hi, I had a issue with my car recently.  It would not start and eventually there was a burning smell and smoke under the bonnet.

When I called out the RAC they identfied an 'over charging alternator' and quoted me a price to have the alternator replaced. We declined that quote and had the car taken to a local garage. I showed the garage the RAC report which only stated that the alternator needed replacing.

I had the work done and paid for the work in full.  But the car would still not start. After a the garage carried out some other checks and got another mechanic involved, they identified the starter motor required changing.  So I asked them to carry out the work as I need the car urgently & paid for it, and all is well.

I have not contacted RAC yet.  I'm not sure how to proceed with them. But a quick search online suggests they ALWAYS find a way to absolve themselves of any blame.

I have put together a complaint letter itemising everything that happened from the moment the RAC patrolman came out.  I have the removed alternator and starter motor in my possession.  Receipts for both of the jobs they carried out.  A copy of the RAC report recommending change of alternator and a signed letter from the garage saying what they did.

How can I proceed in terms my initial contact with the RAC.  Many thanks

angrycrow

Sounds like the starter motor pinon jammed onto the flywheel, it should retract once the car starts. The starter motor is not designed to be driven by the engine for any prolonged period of time and will have got excessively hot. 

The garage should have checked the diagnosis before commencing work so the unnecessary alternator replacement is technically on the garage not the RAC. 

Ultimately if you told the garage to replace the alternator based on a best guess from the RAC the garage have followed your instructions and will rely on that as a defence. 

You can submit your complaint but don't expect any money back from RAC.

Mildly_Miffed

This is not an RAC issue. If they'd done the work, it might be.

What did you say EXACTLY to the garage?

If you said "the alternator has died, replace the alternator", and they replaced the alternator, it's a you issue. They did what you told them to.

If you said "it broke down with a burning smell and smoke and this is the RAC's report from the roadside", and they replaced the alternator without doing any further diagnosis, then it's a them issue. They failed to identify the issue 

HHarry

Mildly_Miffed said:

This is not an RAC issue. If they'd done the work, it might be.

What did you say EXACTLY to the garage?

If you said "the alternator has died, replace the alternator", and they replaced the alternator, it's a you issue. They did what you told them to.

If you said "it broke down with a burning smell and smoke and this is the RAC's report from the roadside", and they replaced the alternator without doing any further diagnosis, then it's a them issue. They failed to identify the issue 

 It’s a bit of an RAC issue.  If they don’t want any skin in the game they could just tell the Customer “it’s broken beyond our ability to roadside repair, we’ll recover you to a garage”.

But they’ve given a ‘diagnosis’ and it’s not unreasonable for the average Customer to trust that.

Mildly_Miffed

HHarry said:

But they’ve given a ‘diagnosis’ and it’s not unreasonable for the average Customer to trust that.

I will bet you that that diagnosis is covered in caveats.

The garage certainly should not have blithely trusted it.

It's the job of minutes to see if the issue is alternator or starter or both.

Grey_Critic

Alternator overcharging would not stop the vehicle starting - Alternator charges the battery. The Battery provides the power to operate the Starter Motor.

As others have pointed out if the starter motor had not disengaged on starting it would fail.

MEM62

Whatever the eventual cause, no garage should carry out the repair unless they have confirmed the nature of the problem themselves.  There is no claim against the RAC.  

nero33

I have to clarify.  I'm not trying to claim off the garage. My issue is with the RAC 

nero33

Mildly_Miffed said:

This is not an RAC issue. If they'd done the work, it might be.

What did you say EXACTLY to the garage?

If you said "the alternator has died, replace the alternator", and they replaced the alternator, it's a you issue. They did what you told them to.

If you said "it broke down with a burning smell and smoke and this is the RAC's report from the roadside", and they replaced the alternator without doing any further diagnosis, then it's a them issue. They failed to identify the issue 

I showed him the RAC report. I don't know enough about cars to tell a garage what to do

nero33

HHarry said:

Mildly_Miffed said:

This is not an RAC issue. If they'd done the work, it might be.

What did you say EXACTLY to the garage?

If you said "the alternator has died, replace the alternator", and they replaced the alternator, it's a you issue. They did what you told them to.

If you said "it broke down with a burning smell and smoke and this is the RAC's report from the roadside", and they replaced the alternator without doing any further diagnosis, then it's a them issue. They failed to identify the issue 

 It’s a bit of an RAC issue.  If they don’t want any skin in the game they could just tell the Customer “it’s broken beyond our ability to roadside repair, we’ll recover you to a garage”.

But they’ve given a ‘diagnosis’ and it’s not unreasonable for the average Customer to trust that.

I did trust that. 

Mildly_Miffed

nero33 said:

Mildly_Miffed said:

This is not an RAC issue. If they'd done the work, it might be.

What did you say EXACTLY to the garage?

If you said "the alternator has died, replace the alternator", and they replaced the alternator, it's a you issue. They did what you told them to.

If you said "it broke down with a burning smell and smoke and this is the RAC's report from the roadside", and they replaced the alternator without doing any further diagnosis, then it's a them issue. They failed to identify the issue 

I showed him the RAC report. I don't know enough about cars to tell a garage what to do

Then the issue is with the idiots at the garage blithely following that without bothering to engage brain.

If the alternator was just overcharging, there would be no smoke and burning smell. Two minutes with the car running would show voltage 15v+. This would not stop the car charging, but may kill the battery.

If the alternator had seized, then the aux belt may have got chewed up, causing the smoke and smell. The alternator would not be producing any charge. This would be blatantly obvious from a glance. It would start.

Neither of these would affect the starter motor.

If the starter had seized, there may be smoke and smell - but from the other end of the engine (on most cars) to the alternator. It would not start.