Garage Negligence endangering our lives! Advice Needed

bluep

I can't believe what's happened to me lately and would really like some advice on how best to deal with it.

My fiat Punto came under a warrenty recall by Fiat as the brake pipes were part of a batch that hadn't had anti-corrosive paint put on them and were considered a risk, so they sent out letters for ALL fiat puntos of that run to go into a garage and have the parts checked and replaced if any corrosion was present. So I popped along to Moss Rose in Macclesfield (DO NOT USE THEM!!), was told the work was done and carried on my merry way. 2 months later at my MOT, corroding brake pipes get flagged up as a "issue to be raised" but not a failure point. My own mechanic also says on inspection that all Moss Rose did was paint a bit of black anti-rust stuff on a couple of the pipes but not all of them and he advises we contact Fiat again.

So, I've spent the last 2 months talking to Fiat customer services who have been talkign to Moss Rose who swear the job was carried out properly. 3 days ago, whilst driving my 7 month old daughter to the childminder, MY BRAKES FAIL! I just thank god we weren't on a motoway. I get my mechanic out to look at it today and the pipes are completely corroded through. He spoke to the manager at Moss Rose (who denies ever talking to Fiat about this car) and was told that the recall only covered the 2 long brake pipes that run the length of the car and they were only required to scrape the plastic cover off and paint it with anti-rust. The laughable thing is, they didn't even remove the plastic covering!! Just painted over it.

I called another Fiat dealership nearby to ask them what the conditions of the warrenty recall were and they informed me that all 10 brake pipes are covered and if on inspection they see any corrosion,then they replace any pipes that have corroded in any way. So Mose Rose are blatently negligent in their original job (the manager also tried to blame the MOT centre for passing the car if the brake pipes were that bad - my mechanic is also a MOT Tester so he put paid to that, the manager THEN tried to claim he had a corrosion chart that indicated level of corrosion and when he had to replace the pipes - to which my mechanic asked how on earth he could see the level of corrosion without even removing the plastic cover) plus even if, as Fiat wanted, I had returned the car to Moss Rose for inspection, they would have said that the corroded pipes aren't covered under the recall...when they are!

Am I being unreasonable in demanding (first thing Monday morning) that:
1) Fiat allow me to take the car to this other Fiat dealer and let them perform the work that the original recall covered
2) Fiat arrange to have their area representative there to assess the damage and need for recall work as well as what a botch job Moss Rose did (they offered to send an area rep if I took the car back to Moss Rose)
3) That my original "contract" regarding the recall is with Fiat and THEIR contract for work is with Moss Rose, rather than them saying I must deal with Moss Rose in the middle between them and Fiat.
4) That they investigate why Moss Rose can get away with lying, claiming for warrenty recall work they are not performing and putting people's lives at risk

I think I'm being reasonable considering I was very lucky not to have an accident with my baby in the car and I'm not claiming my £50 mechanics bill from Fiat for the brake pipe he replaced today and inspection he performed.

I think I would have a good case with a solicitor over this one, but we just don't have the money to go down that route. Any suggestions or advice welcome!!

shopbot

Try having a look at https://www.honestjohn.co.uk

He answers the motoring Q & A in the Saturday Telegraph and there are often questions like yours. There are also message boards where you might find the answer!

Bossyboots

I think you should put all the points you have listed to Fiat together with asking them to recompense you the £50.

If they do not agree then I think you have to advise them that you will be contacting Watchdog and the newspapers to tell your story

IvanOpinion

You don't say how old your car is (brake pipes do have a finite life span) however it sounds to me like your garage did not do a proper repair. On those grounds I would say you should push to get Fiat to cover as much of the cost to replace the pipes as possible.

The bit however that surprises me is that 2 months AFTER the MOT centre told you there was a possible problem with the brake pipes you had not got them fixed. You have to accept a certain amount of responsibility in the risks put to your child. If someone told me that my brake pipes were corroded I would be straight down to the garage getting them replaced as a matter of urgency. Fortunately the braking mechanism in cars provides two separate systems which means it is unlikely that you will be left without brakes.

Ivan

bluep

My car is 6 years old and this specific batch of brake pipes did not get the anti-corrosion paint applied as should have been done in the factory.

The MOT centre said there would be a possible issue in the future rather than dangerous then (otherwise I wouldn't have driven the car at all and they wouldn't have passed this if they were in any way dangerous in the near future) i.e. the recall had not done its job. After the MOT I put it in for a service with my usual mechanic who again advised the pipes would be a problem in the future but not at that time. The recall was specifically to prevent brake pipes from corroding rather than to repair corrosion present.

I was also advised by Fiat that if anyone else replaced the brake pipes (10 pipes - very expensive job), they would not do any work on the car.

I spent that 2 months arguing with the garage who said they had done the work required and Fiat who were hassling the garage to look at the car again.