View Full Version : Fictitious repairs
Last week my friend had a puncture repaired by a Thurso auto fitting place but after it had been repaired there was a persistent noise coming from that wheel. We took the car back and she politely asked if they would check to see if something was wrong, which they readily agreed to, and we left it with them for half an hour.
When we went back the (2) mechanics said that the car had a broken rear spring, and said they were busy during the coming week but it would be OK for a while, and they could do it next week. While she was thinking about this I nudged her and said I would have a look and see if I could do it (I am fairly handy with cars) so we thanked them and left.
I took it straight around to the garage at work to have a look, because I was aware that despite what the mechanic said it is quite dangerous to drive about with a broken spring - the car can lose stability when braking hard for example.
We were very surprised to find that there was in fact no broken spring - I jacked the car up and was able to feel all around the rear springs and they were definitely not broken. We had continued to hear the noise coming from the rear wheel area on the way so set about looking for something else, and it turned out that the jack handle was flapping about loose in it's clips under the tailgate. We sorted this, and the noise has not reappeared in several days driving since.
This has left a rather nasty taste - funny thing is I had dealt with this business before and thought they were OK. What really riles me is that my friend is not a big earner and was quite upset at the thought of another bill. It makes us feel quite angry and I'm thinking what to do about it. She did all the talking with them and I wonder if they twigged that she knew nothing about cars and repairs.
Has anyone else had experience of this kind of thing? I have seen progs on TV where garages south were caught red-handed doing this but I rather felt that small businesses up here could be trusted. What would you do?
kitty kat
19-Jul-09, 23:12
what a good friend you are. A* to you
do you do call out :D
Last week my friend had a puncture repaired by a Thurso auto fitting place but after it had been repaired there was a persistent noise coming from that wheel. We took the car back and she politely asked if they would check to see if something was wrong, which they readily agreed to, and we left it with them for half an hour.
When we went back the (2) mechanics said that the car had a broken rear spring, and said they were busy during the coming week but it would be OK for a while, and they could do it next week. While she was thinking about this I nudged her and said I would have a look and see if I could do it (I am fairly handy with cars) so we thanked them and left.
I took it straight around to the garage at work to have a look, because I was aware that despite what the mechanic said it is quite dangerous to drive about with a broken spring - the car can lose stability when braking hard for example.
We were very surprised to find that there was in fact no broken spring - I jacked the car up and was able to feel all around the rear springs and they were definitely not broken. We had continued to hear the noise coming from the rear wheel area on the way so set about looking for something else, and it turned out that the jack handle was flapping about loose in it's clips under the tailgate. We sorted this, and the noise has not reappeared in several days driving since.
This has left a rather nasty taste - funny thing is I had dealt with this business before and thought they were OK. What really riles me is that my friend is not a big earner and was quite upset at the thought of another bill. It makes us feel quite angry and I'm thinking what to do about it. She did all the talking with them and I wonder if they twigged that she knew nothing about cars and repairs.
Has anyone else had experience of this kind of thing? I have seen progs on TV where garages south were caught red-handed doing this but I rather felt that small businesses up here could be trusted. What would you do?
Its like when u put a car in for serviceing or mot they dont make any money out of carrying out the service or mot they make money in the repairs after the service and mot and if u notice with a lot of them they dont go in for the kill and give u a big bill because they no you wont go for it thats why when the give u estimate bill it is at an amount were u might say yes just to get it through its mot a lot of garages are very clever with tactics in getting money out of customers.
Kevin Milkins
19-Jul-09, 23:32
I think this is a bit more than" just a tactic", this is stealing.
I would get the RAC or AA to examine the car and tell them what the garage said needing repair and then return it to the garage for the repair.
If they bill you for something that does not require doing trading standards will have a field day with them.
there is no place in business for people that do this.
Yes, KM's suggestion is a good one, but the car is needed every day and my friend lives quite a good distance away. I wonder if Trading Standards would be interested? Only one way to find out.
X-OH told me to phone a wick garage for a price to replace brake shoes on my car, and they gave me a price much higher than X-OH had stated, so i queried it and they said it included the discs. i said i only wanted the pads done, but they told me they always have to replace the discs at the same time. so i phoned a thurso garage and they gave me a price just for the pads. i asked them if the discs needed to be done at the same time, and they said no, its not nesassary but they could check when doing it and let me know. makes me wonder if the first garage tried it on because im a woman. ill freely admit i know very little about the inner workings of a car, so if im having problems i ask X-OH or Bro-in-law for advice before taking it to a garage, if not id have been stung for a repair that wasnt needed.
has anyone thought that this may have been a genuine mistake? they may have thought it was a broken spring?
u will never know unless you put the car in now and see what happens?
i know that i have had my car diagnosed wrongly before, however never been charged for non existent work?
That is what you take it to an expert for- to get a correct expert opinion (this is not medical science by the way, where there is room for interpretation. The spring is either broken or not, when you look at it).
If you are a woman and you take your car to the garage, more often than not you get fleeced or they try fleece you. Always arrange to go with a male friend-brother-father. Or learn enough about mechanics to speak the lingo and have an idea of what is wrong. Once I went in for an oil change. When I went to get the car I was also charged for a filter change which I had not asked for. I had a look under the bonnet and the dust around the area you would have to touch to do a filter change was undisturbed. I asked them how they had managed to do a filter change like that. Unfortunately it was not in the UK, so no trading standards to call on.
Even Chance
20-Jul-09, 12:22
A broken spring is an easy thing for an amateur to miss/ mistake for good.
Im an Engineer, and have mistaken a broken spring for a good one before. It was more apparent on closer inspection however.
Kevin Milkins
20-Jul-09, 12:42
A broken spring is an easy thing for an amateur to miss/ mistake for good.
Im an Engineer, and have mistaken a broken spring for a good one before. It was more apparent on closer inspection however.
I can see how anyone could mistake a broken spring for a good one, but fail to see how you could mistake a good spring for a broken one.:confused
A few years ago I was in bed and heard a big bang outside and went to investigate but could find nothing to attribute to the noise.
A week later I took my car for a service and they pointed out that a bit had broken off my front spring. I said that I had not noticed it happen, but was told it is not uncommon for them to break while sat on the drive.
That accounts for the bang.:eek:
tonkatojo
20-Jul-09, 13:02
X-OH told me to phone a wick garage for a price to replace brake shoes on my car, and they gave me a price much higher than X-OH had stated, so i queried it and they said it included the discs. i said i only wanted the pads done, but they told me they always have to replace the discs at the same time. so i phoned a thurso garage and they gave me a price just for the pads. i asked them if the discs needed to be done at the same time, and they said no, its not nesassary but they could check when doing it and let me know. makes me wonder if the first garage tried it on because im a woman. ill freely admit i know very little about the inner workings of a car, so if im having problems i ask X-OH or Bro-in-law for advice before taking it to a garage, if not id have been stung for a repair that wasnt needed.
Well you have got me confused here, first you say you want "brake shoes" (they go on the back with drums) then you mention "pads" they go on front and sometimes rear, perhaps the first garage was meaning cars of a curtain age usually need disc's replacing at the same time as they wear very quickly these days, the steal seems very poor to what they used to be, 30 year ago or so they would see 2 or more sets of pads out (except on the Japs), mind you I think the pads are of a better quality now.
tonkatojo
20-Jul-09, 13:04
I can see how anyone could mistake a broken spring for a good one, but fail to see how you could mistake a good spring for a broken one.:confused
A few years ago I was in bed and heard a big bang outside and went to investigate but could find nothing to attribute to the noise.
A week later I took my car for a service and they pointed out that a bit had broken off my front spring. I said that I had not noticed it happen, but was told it is not uncommon for them to break while sat on the drive.
That accounts for the bang.:eek:
Aye Kevin I experienced a few of these usually in the winter, its the contraction and expansion of the sprung steal.
Well you have got me confused here, first you say you want "brake shoes" (they go on the back with drums) then you mention "pads" they go on front and sometimes rear,
my typo, sorry, ment to say pads in the first place. (that wasnt the problem with the garage, id asked for pads then)
Even Chance
20-Jul-09, 13:55
Hi Kevin,
I was told that the spring was broken by my MOT tester, but initially couldnt see it broken. It turned out that 2" had broken off the end, and it all looked OK to myself on initial inspection. Its only when the comparison was made to a good spring that it all became apparent.
Kevin Milkins
20-Jul-09, 14:19
Hi Kevin,
I was told that the spring was broken by my MOT tester, but initially couldnt see it broken. It turned out that 2" had broken off the end, and it all looked OK to myself on initial inspection. Its only when the comparison was made to a good spring that it all became apparent.
Hi Even Chance,
I appreciate what you are saying and understand what you mean, but the OP states that the garage they took there car to said "they had a broken spring and that's what was causing the noise".
If, as I suggested that the RAC or AA did an inspection and they found no broken spring then they could be sure that the garage was telling porkies (or not) and they could take the appropiate action.
It just so happens that when my spring broke it was not easy to tell as only about two inches broke off the top.
Thnx for the comments, I will double check when I can to make sure a bit hasn't broken off.
Even Chance
20-Jul-09, 15:53
Hi Kevin,
Yer right.
Best like you say, to get a second opinion on things like this.
I dont really have much dealings with garages, as all my work is DIY. Those mechanics I do know are a good bunch that wouldn't make up faults, cos theyre busy dealing with real problems.
Good luck David, and I hope the garage aint dodgy, for their sake!
Trading standards are useless... they have no powers... anyone who is the remotest bit dodgy knows this... Its just to make the public think they can push a company around...
Angel...
George Brims
21-Jul-09, 20:20
X-OH told me to phone a wick garage for a price to replace brake shoes on my car, and they gave me a price much higher than X-OH had stated, so i queried it and they said it included the discs. i said i only wanted the pads done, but they told me they always have to replace the discs at the same time. so i phoned a thurso garage and they gave me a price just for the pads. i asked them if the discs needed to be done at the same time, and they said no, its not nesassary but they could check when doing it and let me know. makes me wonder if the first garage tried it on because im a woman. ill freely admit i know very little about the inner workings of a car, so if im having problems i ask X-OH or Bro-in-law for advice before taking it to a garage, if not id have been stung for a repair that wasnt needed.
Most US brake places will re-turn your disks to refresh and true up the surface, whether you need it or not. I've often replaced pads and left the disks alone with no problem, but I've also had wobble develop later as the disk has worn more and more out of flat. Many parts shops here will turn them for you for a small fee if you buy the pads from them. Obviously you need to have two cars or a mate willing to drive you there with the disks!
However saying they need to replace the disks, without even seeing them, is dodgy behaviour. I would not trust that place.
Pads & Discs should go together, there are lots of reasons why and can be VERY unsafe to not renew both. Chances are they would be ok, alittle squeaky or just not work properly for 100 miles or more, or less i don't know.....but they need to bedded in to match the disc, which mean NO hard braking. speaks for it's self. not advisable, but do-able
George Brims
22-Jul-09, 20:44
Brake disks are made to be re-machined for flatness and parallelism. That's why they have a minimum thickness stamped on them. If you can't re-finish them without taking them below the minimum, then they must be replaced. They should also be inspected for cracks.
Miss Mack
15-Aug-09, 17:45
Its like when u put a car in for serviceing or mot they dont make any money out of carrying out the service or mot they make money in the repairs after the service and mot and if u notice with a lot of them they dont go in for the kill and give u a big bill because they no you wont go for it thats why when the give u estimate bill it is at an amount were u might say yes just to get it through its mot a lot of garages are very clever with tactics in getting money out of customers.
Garage wanted £350 to do a full service on my car, don't really see how this isn't making them money! I opted for the basic service at £160, a bit more reasonable.
Something similar happened to me with a garage in Wick.
I asked for them to "look" at my car and advise me if I needed a new wiper motor or if it had just come off.They stripped the whole thing put it in a box told me the price of new bits and I said that i didnt want to go ahead.
At this point i didnt know they had stripped it, so i went to pick up the car and was duly charged for their "Labour". I stated that I didnt want anything taken off just have a "look" and tell me the price of bits and what would be involved. Paid up but havent been back to them since. Whats worse is the fact that the bits were put in a box and there was bits missing!!! I took it to a PROPER garage who promptly reapaired the wiper for a fraction of the cost.
Maybe I am wrong but if you ask a builder etc to have a "look" and qoute you a price they dont charge you. The garage I now deal with dont charge for what is basically advice and have been with them ever since and will continue to use them as they dont try and pick the eyes out of you. I should have known after this garage fitted a new track rod end and didnt check the wheel balance and ended up costing me new tyres after a month!!!
magtomich
15-Aug-09, 19:24
What is the connection between wheel balance and track rod ends ?
What is the connection between wheel balance and track rod ends ?
I think hot rod was meaning wheel alignment when ever u change track rod ends u have to cheack and adjust the wheel alignment or the tyres will wear out rather quickly
Garage wanted £350 to do a full service on my car, don't really see how this isn't making them money! I opted for the basic service at £160, a bit more reasonable.
If your car was due a big service u should have got it done rather than go for a cheaper service u could end up costing u more in the long run i just hope your timing belt wasnt due changing because belts snap if u dont change them when there supposed to do
With any garage there main income comes from after service or mot work thats were the money is not in just doing servicing.
Could u imagine a mechanic continually servicing cars and not picking up much defects he might be popular with the customer but he wont be with his boss who has targets to reach thats just the way of the world.
Wish i could join in this but the only thing i know about cars is, if you dont get out of the way they knock you down.
I think hot rod was meaning wheel alignment when ever u change track rod ends u have to cheack and adjust the wheel alignment or the tyres will wear out rather quickly
Thats the one!!! Knew it was something like that!:lol:
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