Garages, warranties and trading standards etc; opinions?

[Bibby]

As some of you know I've taken my S2 off the road as I'm about to start a head removal job, to resolve a problem that has been evident since I had some work done by a garage end of last year.

To cut a long story short... End of November I paid a garage in excess of £1k for a top end rebuild as a spark plug blew out and destroyed a coil pack.

When I got the car back I noticed that I was losing coolant and had white smoke coming from the exhaust.

After speaking to said garage they recovered my car to check it over (them having suggested the new head gasket may have failed). All they found was a slight leak in the main rad, had that repaired and I paid out another £200.

They then assured me that there was no coolant loss and no white smoke.

This was not the case, as by the time I got home I had the same symptoms.

Being very upset with the garage by this point, I decided to leave it, kind of hoping the problem would go away I guess, but it hasn't.

Now, before I start to take the head off to resolve the problem myself, does anyone know where I stand legally in terms of expected warranty etc? I still feel like I've been let down and that the garage should take ownership of this issue, and resolve it like they should have done in the first place.

I kind of guess that's what I paid them to do.

Any thoughts?

[Corey]

If you remove the head you would void any warranty offered, you must give the garage every (and this is the crucial word) reasonable chance to sort this problem.
You should go back and present them with the issue again and see what they say, if you are unhappy with what their verdict is, you need to take it to another garage and have them assess it and then use their findings as the basis for your case to recover your original outlay for the work carried out.

Very long winded and you potentialy stand to be out of pocket for having the original work carried out, plus the addition diagnosis and then any court fees if it goes that far.

HTH's?

[twoqu]

Recluctently, I sort of agree with the above!
However it seems that you have already given them the opportunity to put it right and been reassured that it had!
Guess it depends upon whether you are going to be satisfied with a moral victory or not! My understanding is that you would be able to have the vehicle repaired and persue the other party for the money. That is where the problems would begin!
You would have to persue them through the Small Claims Court and there are costs involved. Lets assume you use expert testimony, more costs. Lets assume you win!
You then have the nightmare of trying to enforce your judgement. Basically the Court is not very effective in helping you despite all the means at their disposal. Believe me there is nothing more frustrating than paying the Court to enforce the judgement only to discover that the other party is allowed to frustrate this process indefinately.
Trading Standard dept are not interested. They will tell you to go through Consumer Direct. Again I speak from experience. Despite providing evidence of breaking both the Sale of Goods Act and the Trading Standards Act, no action was taken against the firm concerned in my case.
Before doing anything it might be worth speaking to the Trading Standard dept in the location where the firm is located. Outline the circumstances and ask whether they are "Known" to them. This is Trading Std speak for having complaints. They won't tell you the full story. All you are trying to do is establish whether the firm has any previous. If its who I think it is, I wouldn't be too surprised if it did. However just because they have a bad rep within the community doesen't mean its registered officially.
Out of interest, did you receive an itemised bill for what was done and the parts that were replaced? Apart from the plug, was the vehicle losing coolant before?
Basically like everything else in life, you have the right to take action. BUT, it can be a very expensive, frustrating and time consuming business!

[quattroTurbo]

If you take this garage to court, you can also claim for any extra expenses that were incurred while curing the problem. If you win and have shown good evidence that the extra costs were a result of the garage's poor workmanship, then it is highly likely you will be awarded these expenses. If a court order is made for the defendant to pay, they eventually will, in most cases. As some on here will already know.

[s2dude]

Recluctently, I sort of agree with the above!
However it seems that you have already given them the opportunity to put it right and been reassured that it had!
Guess it depends upon whether you are going to be satisfied with a moral victory or not! My understanding is that you would be able to have the vehicle repaired and persue the other party for the money. That is where the problems would begin!
You would have to persue them through the Small Claims Court and there are costs involved. Lets assume you use expert testimony, more costs. Lets assume you win!
You then have the nightmare of trying to enforce your judgement. Basically the Court is not very effective in helping you despite all the means at their disposal. Believe me there is nothing more frustrating than paying the Court to enforce the judgement only to discover that the other party is allowed to frustrate this process indefinately.
Trading Standard dept are not interested. They will tell you to go through Consumer Direct. Again I speak from experience. Despite providing evidence of breaking both the Sale of Goods Act and the Trading Standards Act, no action was taken against the firm concerned in my case.
Before doing anything it might be worth speaking to the Trading Standard dept in the location where the firm is located. Outline the circumstances and ask whether they are "Known" to them. This is Trading Std speak for having complaints. They won't tell you the full story. All you are trying to do is establish whether the firm has any previous. If its who I think it is, I wouldn't be too surprised if it did. However just because they have a bad rep within the community doesen't mean its registered officially.
Out of interest, did you receive an itemised bill for what was done and the parts that were replaced? Apart from the plug, was the vehicle losing coolant before?
Basically like everything else in life, you have the right to take action. BUT, it can be a very expensive, frustrating and time consuming business!

THANKS. A very informative post.

Cheers. I will also remember that I will basically be screwed if ever in this sort of position

[curlyks2]

Cheers. I will also remember that I will basically be screwed if ever in this sort of position

Not neccessarily the case.

I am currently in the middle of a *cough* disagreement *cough* with a retailer local to me. Trading Standards UK (link) offered some very good advice, and with a certain amount of applied pressure, the retailer is now seeing things legally (in this case that's what I wanted).

There were a couple of key things that came out of the Trading Standards conversation though:

• Simple clarification of what my rights were and weren't. They explained this very well.
• You must allow reasonable time and effort, and this can be subjective. In my case Trading Standards told me what would be classed as reasonable in this context.
• Keep a paper trail. If you are going to use the Sale of Goods Act (or other) as a lever to get what you want, do it in writing, and send the letter Registered Signed For so you can prove that the trader received it. Keep a copy of the letter yourself.

I do fully agree that it can be a time consuming and frustrating process to actually make sure you get what you are legally entitled to, but it is not guaranteed that you will be screwed.

Ck.

[Bibby]

Cheers guys, pretty much along the lines of what I was thinking.

[Markarina]

try consumer direct very similar to trading standards but run by the DTI, they are happy to get involved and will act on your behalf under the right circumstances

[twoqu]

There are distinctions to be made between the criminal and civil aspects and indeed advice and action!
The value of the dispute probably has more relevance than the principle, well at least in my case I guess! Personally I believe there is no excuse for ripping people off. It is precisely because the consequences are so lame that people take a calculated risk. They weigh up whether you are going to be bothered and what the penalty is going to be.
So it does come down to a matter of principle.
Another issue is going to be establishing that this problem is down to them. I agree that you shouldn't have more problems than when you started but is it attributable to the work done or just a coincidence?
So do your homework about your rights. Speak to Consumer Direct and Trading Standards. Weigh it all up and make your decision.