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Hi All,
I'm desperate for a bit of advice as I have been left in a very stressful situation by a mechanic. Apologies for the long post, I've tried to cover everything.
Background
I am not a mechanic, but I have done a lot of work on cars before including full engine rebuilds as a hobby.
My car started to struggle to start first time every morning, but then would start fine after that. As it has a chain driven engine, I decided to find someone to change the timing chain. I am currently going through a house move, so I did not want to risk having a broken car on the drive so that's why I tried to find a mechanic. The timing chain quotes were almost £2k (car value is around £4k) but I found a place that said they would do more than timing chain and totally tear down the engine, clean it up, replace some key components all for £2,500. Spares or repair value of the car is probably £1k.
I thought it was good value for money and they said that I would need to leave deposit to pay for parts (£1,250) and I would only pay the remainder once I was happy that the job was completed. I was told that they would assess the car first and tell me if they could do the job.
The journey
Pre-collection - I had the car codes read with the codes stored with a date/time stamp on the internet that cannot be modified. I sent the report to the mechanic. I did this because I don't trust mechanics and wanted proof of the issues.
I gave the car to them on the 20th of February and was told that on average this job takes 10-12 days and that they do them all the time.
The mechanic stripped the engine down and then called me to tall me that I needed a new head, and the block needed resleeving and grinding. I found that to be a bit odd as the engine ran absolutely fine. I also was surprised that they stripped the block and didn't give any advice beforehand and they said that they couldn't tell if they could do the job or not until they had stripped the engine!!!
As I already had a spare block in my garage, I told him I would send him the spare block. Sometime I use a local mobile mechanic to help me with engine work when I get stuck, he has tools to test the cylinders and found them all to be round and just needing a bit of rehoning at worst case.
When the mechanic received the block - he claimed this head needed new sleeves and grinding as well. He claimed that my mechanics tools weren't as good as his and the cylinders were egg shaped. If I don't accept the additional work (£1,000 worth), then he wouldn't give me any warranty and the engine could fail the next day and he would not be liable. I felt strong armed into accepting the additional cost as I was told to accept them or collect the car and engine in bits.
He then started adding other costs on, such as new oil pump (I supplied him a spare and as part of their job was to recondition the oil pump) but he said both I supplied were not serviceable (I don't believe him as it's really unlikely for 2 to have issues and these components are serviceable) and so he had to buy another one. The cost of a reconditioned head he found was £400 but then he wants to charge £500 for it with no explanation as to how the cost went up.
Overall the bill has inflated from £2,500 to £4,250. If I knew beforehand that the job could get that expensive, I would not have done the job and would have just sold the car as is. He guaranteed me that there would be no more costs as there is nothing else to fix.
By now the MOT was expiring so I asked him to get the MOT done as well. I didn't expect him to have the car for so long.
Now
1 month into the build, I ask about a courtesy car or my costs to be covered and they totally ignore me and won't respond to that. I keep chasing about my car and 2 weeks later, I get a message that a major engine part needs replacing so the car is not ready and cannot be used. This is yet another additional cost I didn't expect or was warned about. This issue did not exist on collection and I wasn't told about it until the last minute.
I find a specialist dealer who has the part and certifies with testing certificate that it's a working part. I get it sent it to the mechanic at a cost of £150 to me (so now I'm £4,350 into the repairs).
The mechanic replaces the part and it fixes nothing. Turns out that it's likely he's broken the wiring somewhere when rebuilding the engine and caused electrical issues. He's attempted to repair some wires but gave up.
He has managed to get an MOT done by force starting the car - but the MOT certificate shows "oil leak" so the engine rebuild wasn't even done correctly as it's leaking oil already.
He's now telling me to pay the rest of the bill and pick up the car as the engine build is complete. However, this new issue means that it isnot in a drivable condition.
I have asked him to repair the issue or get it repaired as the issue was not there before and the car is not drivable. On Friday he said he's not an electrician so I should take the car and get it sorted out somewhere else.
He then told me that he's going to charge me £50 a day storage costs if I don't collect. Then on Saturday he sent a message asking to collect or he would charge £75 a day storage costs from Monday. I have asked for proof that this was agreed and he cannot supply me with the proof.
Help!
I spoke to Citizen Advice and they advised me to send a letter to them (which I have done) about Consumer Rights Act with a link to their website https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/co...-a-car-repair/. Citizens Advice said I shouldn't pay the bill and collect or they might make it difficult to claim the money back in future, although they didn't seem certain.
I have been without a car for 2 months now and am borrowing my friends car who is currently working abroad so he put me on his insurance and has allowed me to borrow his car.
When he returns next month, I will be without a car. I need a car to drop my kids off to school and have already put over 1,500 miles on my friends car...
The final balance I owe them is £2,900. But the car is not drivable so I would have to have it trailered.
I've asked several times if he can fix the issue, and the response is consistently "We have completed the engine work, that is what you paid us for. We do not deal with electrical issues. Please collect your vehicle or incur storage costs.".
They are not budging or willing to mediate/negotiate at all.
They have also said "We never suggest you drive this vehicle. First check the electrical problems." when I asked if the car is usable. This is worse than when they first collected it, as at least the car was running and driving!
Most comms are via WhatsApp and recorded. They want payment via cash or bank transfer only.
I have proof this latest issue wasn't there pre-collection, and I know this mechanic has been adding costs to the bill for issues that didn't exist. The others I cannot prove, but this one I can.
Desperate for some advice and any would be welcome! Clearly I don't want them taking me to court for these fees due, and Citizen Advice advisor wasn't sure if they could/couldn't.
Thank you
I'm desperate for a bit of advice as I have been left in a very stressful situation by a mechanic. Apologies for the long post, I've tried to cover everything.
Background
I am not a mechanic, but I have done a lot of work on cars before including full engine rebuilds as a hobby.
My car started to struggle to start first time every morning, but then would start fine after that. As it has a chain driven engine, I decided to find someone to change the timing chain. I am currently going through a house move, so I did not want to risk having a broken car on the drive so that's why I tried to find a mechanic. The timing chain quotes were almost £2k (car value is around £4k) but I found a place that said they would do more than timing chain and totally tear down the engine, clean it up, replace some key components all for £2,500. Spares or repair value of the car is probably £1k.
I thought it was good value for money and they said that I would need to leave deposit to pay for parts (£1,250) and I would only pay the remainder once I was happy that the job was completed. I was told that they would assess the car first and tell me if they could do the job.
The journey
Pre-collection - I had the car codes read with the codes stored with a date/time stamp on the internet that cannot be modified. I sent the report to the mechanic. I did this because I don't trust mechanics and wanted proof of the issues.
I gave the car to them on the 20th of February and was told that on average this job takes 10-12 days and that they do them all the time.
The mechanic stripped the engine down and then called me to tall me that I needed a new head, and the block needed resleeving and grinding. I found that to be a bit odd as the engine ran absolutely fine. I also was surprised that they stripped the block and didn't give any advice beforehand and they said that they couldn't tell if they could do the job or not until they had stripped the engine!!!
As I already had a spare block in my garage, I told him I would send him the spare block. Sometime I use a local mobile mechanic to help me with engine work when I get stuck, he has tools to test the cylinders and found them all to be round and just needing a bit of rehoning at worst case.
When the mechanic received the block - he claimed this head needed new sleeves and grinding as well. He claimed that my mechanics tools weren't as good as his and the cylinders were egg shaped. If I don't accept the additional work (£1,000 worth), then he wouldn't give me any warranty and the engine could fail the next day and he would not be liable. I felt strong armed into accepting the additional cost as I was told to accept them or collect the car and engine in bits.
He then started adding other costs on, such as new oil pump (I supplied him a spare and as part of their job was to recondition the oil pump) but he said both I supplied were not serviceable (I don't believe him as it's really unlikely for 2 to have issues and these components are serviceable) and so he had to buy another one. The cost of a reconditioned head he found was £400 but then he wants to charge £500 for it with no explanation as to how the cost went up.
Overall the bill has inflated from £2,500 to £4,250. If I knew beforehand that the job could get that expensive, I would not have done the job and would have just sold the car as is. He guaranteed me that there would be no more costs as there is nothing else to fix.
By now the MOT was expiring so I asked him to get the MOT done as well. I didn't expect him to have the car for so long.
Now
1 month into the build, I ask about a courtesy car or my costs to be covered and they totally ignore me and won't respond to that. I keep chasing about my car and 2 weeks later, I get a message that a major engine part needs replacing so the car is not ready and cannot be used. This is yet another additional cost I didn't expect or was warned about. This issue did not exist on collection and I wasn't told about it until the last minute.
I find a specialist dealer who has the part and certifies with testing certificate that it's a working part. I get it sent it to the mechanic at a cost of £150 to me (so now I'm £4,350 into the repairs).
The mechanic replaces the part and it fixes nothing. Turns out that it's likely he's broken the wiring somewhere when rebuilding the engine and caused electrical issues. He's attempted to repair some wires but gave up.
He has managed to get an MOT done by force starting the car - but the MOT certificate shows "oil leak" so the engine rebuild wasn't even done correctly as it's leaking oil already.
He's now telling me to pay the rest of the bill and pick up the car as the engine build is complete. However, this new issue means that it isnot in a drivable condition.
I have asked him to repair the issue or get it repaired as the issue was not there before and the car is not drivable. On Friday he said he's not an electrician so I should take the car and get it sorted out somewhere else.
He then told me that he's going to charge me £50 a day storage costs if I don't collect. Then on Saturday he sent a message asking to collect or he would charge £75 a day storage costs from Monday. I have asked for proof that this was agreed and he cannot supply me with the proof.
Help!
I spoke to Citizen Advice and they advised me to send a letter to them (which I have done) about Consumer Rights Act with a link to their website https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/co...-a-car-repair/. Citizens Advice said I shouldn't pay the bill and collect or they might make it difficult to claim the money back in future, although they didn't seem certain.
I have been without a car for 2 months now and am borrowing my friends car who is currently working abroad so he put me on his insurance and has allowed me to borrow his car.
When he returns next month, I will be without a car. I need a car to drop my kids off to school and have already put over 1,500 miles on my friends car...
The final balance I owe them is £2,900. But the car is not drivable so I would have to have it trailered.
I've asked several times if he can fix the issue, and the response is consistently "We have completed the engine work, that is what you paid us for. We do not deal with electrical issues. Please collect your vehicle or incur storage costs.".
They are not budging or willing to mediate/negotiate at all.
They have also said "We never suggest you drive this vehicle. First check the electrical problems." when I asked if the car is usable. This is worse than when they first collected it, as at least the car was running and driving!
Most comms are via WhatsApp and recorded. They want payment via cash or bank transfer only.
I have proof this latest issue wasn't there pre-collection, and I know this mechanic has been adding costs to the bill for issues that didn't exist. The others I cannot prove, but this one I can.
Desperate for some advice and any would be welcome! Clearly I don't want them taking me to court for these fees due, and Citizen Advice advisor wasn't sure if they could/couldn't.
Thank you