Disaster!!

[TDi90]

just think of it this way - you will be taking ownership of your OWN BRAND NEW JUST-THE-WAY-YOU-WANT RS4 mmmmmm without paying a penny!
incidentally i hope they diddnt charge you the £50 for the mot!!

[hiltoa]

Feel for you Mallster - I hope your RS4 is savable, but I agree that it will never feel the same again.
Bad times.

[geryS2]

I would certainly have smashed his face, could nt hold it if id seen it, what a f...r.

Too bad for u, really sorry to hear that.

[Error404]

This is truely shocking and I really feel for you
As above i think you did well to contain yourself, i know i would have struggled not to come to blows i think.
Hope you get adequate compensation to get yourself an equivalent condition car and the character and establishment in question are dealt with fully by the law and never work in the motor industry again. This is outrageous

[GT500]

Very sorry to read this and some of the comments!
"never the same again" FFS! ANYTHING can be fixed! Just takes time and skill.

You stick to your job and let the professional repairers stick to theirs!

Hope you can get it in to proper restoration workshop, not a usual bodyshop....

I hate even letting the rolling road bloke drive mine!

[red leader]

Being a MOT tester myself i know a couple of things average Joe doesn't know..
You can't test the brakes unless your logged onto the vosa computer with the said vehicle for a mot. If he has, then he would have had to fill in the VT30 fail sheet to abandon test because he was unable to finish test.

Ask for the VT30 fail sheet... If he hasn't got one then he's up **** creek

[K Simmonds]

Being a MOT tester myself i know a couple of things average Joe doesn't know..
You can't test the brakes unless your logged onto the vosa computer with the said vehicle for a mot. If he has, then he would have had to fill in the VT30 fail sheet to abandon test because he was unable to finish test.

Ask for the VT30 fail sheet... If he hasn't got one then he's up **** creek

There you we go that's exactly the sort of info you need.

[madpugger]

Very sorry to hear this and I hope it all gets sorted.

As previously said, anything can be repaired if done correctly.

I am not sure that this would be TWOC as you handed them the keys, but it is certainly not cricket for them to take it for a spin. Some little ****** was driving about in my 106 GTi for nearly two weeks from the main dealer and the denied it despite various sightings so I know (sort of) how you feel.

As far as I am aware, testers may do a road test, but the only 4x4 that MUST be tested off the rollers is a Land Rover handbrake due to it being on the back of the gearbox not at the wheel. I don't think the brakes on any other vehicle are allowed to be tested off the rollers. A brake roller will not damage a 4x4 system.

Anyway, a bit off topic! Really hope you get it all sorted soon.

[Gompa]

you must be gutted! i agree with Gt everything can be fixed but make sure it goes to a repair shop with an excellent reputation as others would/will just bodge a floor damaged vehicle and wack a load of body shultz on top this does not fix the origional problem.

Im all for taking him to the cleaners for his actions and making sure you have all your costs (calls organising etc) re-embursed but why oh why do people just jump straight on the "sue them" band wagon i give it less than a year before we are as bad as the bloody americans for sueing!

[Ian Simmonds]

Very sorry to read this and some of the comments!
"never the same again" FFS! ANYTHING can be fixed! Just takes time and skill.

You stick to your job and let the professional repairers stick to theirs!

Hope you can get it in to proper restoration workshop, not a usual bodyshop....

I hate even letting the rolling road bloke drive mine!

And that, alas, is the problem, finding and being confident in a professional repairer...

Whilst you might be confident in your ability, and ability to spot a dodgy job, the rest of us have to bite the bullet and 'hope' the 'professionals' look after us... Which, is at best, a bit of a lottery... They can repair and 'hide' floorpan and chassis repairs that'll be good for several years, but I suspect Mallster's ambition was to keep a stunning example of a low mileage RS4... With respect, having it dragged over a dry stone wall in the hands of another isn't really going to maintain that 'provenance'...


If you were buying this car and knew this history, would you pay the same?

Honestly....?

Sadly, I doubt anyone would, and that is but one more of poor Mallster's problems...

I just feel so sorry for him, months of hassle and cost to come (and it will cost, in phone calls, lost time and stamps, at the absolute least), plus stress... All at the hand of others... The love will be lost, mark my words... BTDT...

[GT500]

Ian I hear you.
I would buy it if gets the repair it deserves. If done right it could better than new as a real craftsman would do a better job than fritz at the factroy! All down to care and time..

If the repairer cannot guarantee it to be better than new and be ready to have the areas inspected then they shouldn't get the job and stick to Fiestas!!!!!

I once did a front bulkhead forward replacement on a DB6, chassis legs and all "superleggra" tube work. Everything forward of the bulkhead. No way was it detectable nor should it. Same car just sold for over £100.000.
Not the normal car for a repair and much harder than an RS4!
There are top people out there, not seen many but don't right us all off with the rest...

[jogi730]

This brings back bad memories and I'm absolutely gutted for you.
if the garage agrees to sort everything out, make sure you get everything in writing.
One other thing you may want to consider is to take pictures and take them to the press, national and local. Apart from making you feel much better, it would serve to keep other potential victims away from a garage run by a**eholes who have no regard for other peoples property.
Hope you get it all sorted and really quickly.
Cheers
Chris

[jogi730]

I also know where Ian is coming from. Without doubt there are good repair and body shops out there, but how can you be 100% sure?
My car too was taken to a Classic Restorers 'that do mainly concours cars'. They used their experience to replace clips securin trim with self tappers going into the bodywork:corey:

Good luck whatever you decide to do - but luck is what you will need to get her sorted properly.
Chris

[Keeper of The Kitten]

Just want to add my sympathy about this sorry tale. Words fail me.

[DJones]

Unbelievable, so sorry to learn of this.

I was once given back a written off car that went in to have its wheels balanced.. Fortunately it was a company car though only 6 months old, which actually made it easy for them to replace it.

Cant imagine how you are feeling these people have absolutely no right to do such things. Be calm (which i very much appreciate is hard) get a very good lawyer, after all they will be paying for it and map out your plan to ensure you get all you can.

Tossers...

Best of luck.