am i being ripped off?

gerard

gerard

Member
hey dudes,

last week we had our A2 in at an independent garage... the replaced a catalyc converter and fixed a slow leak in the heating system that they had to pull the engine out to get to the pipes etc etc...

cost was 1,048.99 quid...

i drove the car back to the house - about 10 minutes away from garage... and when i got home i noticed a very strong smell of what i can only describe as coolant burning off on a hot engine...

i thought this has got to be just spilled coolant from when they took everything apart and it is now burning off...

when i started the car up the next morning the coolant light came on...

i topped it up...

coolant light came on again that afternoon...

i topped it up again...

finally after 3rd day i called the garage and told them what happened when i brought the car home... they said to bring it back in and they would look at it...

i had to have surgery so i couldn't take the car in but when i was able to drive i took the car in 3 days later...

i told the dude that what i initially thought was spilled coolant burning off must have been a loose hose where the coolant was now leaking out of...

they said they would take a look at it and the dude then said "we'll let you know the cost before we do any work"

i had to run to get to a meeting so didn't discuss this further...

i got a call later that day that they had no time to get to the car so if its ok to keep the car overnight they will look at in in morning...

i said that is fine...

then basically i hadn't heard anything for a week...

i finally call back to see what is happening and they say someone will call me back...

dude calls me back an hour later...

says it is gonna take a lot of work to fix as the leak is at the very back of the engine so had to pull the engine out etc etc... then said they can have the car ready in a couple hours... still no mention of cost...

i thought to myself... this huge amount of work will be done in less than 2 hours? and he isn't telling me the cost? sounds fishy...

i asked him how much the is gonna cost... he says 350 quid...

i tell him that the car was leaking coolant the day i brought it back... shouldn't he be responsible for fixing it properly? didn't they test the car before having me pick it up?

he replies he didn't test the car himself but has to trust the guy who did...

i reply that i had to trust him that car was fixed yet when i get it back it is leaking far worse than before... original leak meant i had to top up coolant every couple months.. no big deal... almost normal... now the coolant is drained immediately... it looks like a bad repair...

he says he will talk to his director and call me back...

calls me back later in day and says he explained situation to his director and said they will only charge me 50% of repair... so 460 quid is now blah blah blah...

i said earlier it was 350 quid, what is going on?

he said ok then half of 350 quid...

i said i don't think this is fair but i'll call you tomorrow as was busy with kids right now...

he says that is fine but we already did the work because the car was in the way...

i hung up...

am thinking to myself... the car sat in their garage for over a week with no calls to us about what was wrong or cost or anything and now after i call him back to get answers says this "huge amount of work" has all basically been done in less than 2 hours without my ok'ing it?

WTF????

i'm american so i am pretty used to getting charged 3 or 4 times the actual cost of something... anytime i take a minicab the driver charges me 20 quid for what his office says is a 8 quid trip...

but i think this is getting silly now...

what should i do?

i think there are some dodgy practices this guy has committed...

i would have been happy to pay for parts as the repair wasn't done properly first time or even 100 quid or whatever...

but 460 quid for a repair they didn't do properly???

any advice appreciated...

thanks,
gerard
 
To me they sound like they are taking the piss, any sort of leak should have been fixed first time and then if the problem still persists should be done at no cost as they didn't do it right in the first place, i would take your case to trading standards they will give you the advice as what to do next FOR FREE!!!!!!!!!!!, finally something for FREE lol

Cheers Phil

PS keeps us updated how you get on
 
Agree with Phil, take your case to your Local Authority Trading Standards. Hope you get it sorted, I hate rip off merchants:mad:
 
thanks guys!

thanks guys!

so when i call him tomorrow shall i just say, "repair was never done properly in the first place as coolant was leaking out the day i brought car home"

and if they are unable to agree just tell him i am going to trading standards?

will let you know what happens...

-=sigh=-
 
I would go to trading standards first just to see what they say, you don't have to book with them you can just walk in and get advice thay are very good

Cheers Phil
 
ok cool...

ok will do that...

also, does the onboard computer on the A2 keep track of when things like the coolant light turn on?

i would think it does? so that the mechanic can download this info when they hook it up to their computer?

this would show that the coolant light was turning on the day i got car back...

grrr.....
 
Given that they dismantled the whole front end to repair the slow leak, they have a responsibility to ensure that the car is returned to original condition, providing they do not uncover further problems already present. My friends garage has a policy of repairing minor problems free of charge during a major strip out job, as its less damage to his reputation than customers claiming he broke something, (makes his blood boil a bit though!!:))It may be worthwhile calling your local main Audi dealer and another reputable independant locally. I think they will have software to estimate hours for specific tasks, and you can gauge if the original £1000 bill was reasonable or not. Arm yourself with information, stay calm and let them know you are dissatisfied with their level of service. No threats, just facts - if no climb down, tell them you are registering a complaint with trading standards, and contact any professional body they claim to be affilaited to/or members of and kick up a right fuss. Hopefully you get it sorted amicably, but their attitude does not sound promising. Good luck.
 
murdo said:
Given that they dismantled the whole front end to repair the slow leak, they have a responsibility to ensure that the car is returned to original condition, providing they do not uncover further problems already present. My friends garage has a policy of repairing minor problems free of charge during a major strip out job, as its less damage to his reputation than customers claiming he broke something, (makes his blood boil a bit though!!:))It may be worthwhile calling your local main Audi dealer and another reputable independant locally. I think they will have software to estimate hours for specific tasks, and you can gauge if the original £1000 bill was reasonable or not. Arm yourself with information, stay calm and let them know you are dissatisfied with their level of service. No threats, just facts - if no climb down, tell them you are registering a complaint with trading standards, and contact any professional body they claim to be affilaited to/or members of and kick up a right fuss. Hopefully you get it sorted amicably, but their attitude does not sound promising. Good luck.
Click to expand...

yeah, i would gladly pay for further repairs if a week later the coolant system sprung a leak... but the was leaking profusely the day i drove it home...

this is a repair that wasn't done properly... if they ran the engine till it hot warm they would have noticed the huge leak...

its just silly to have to pay for pulling the engine to get to the hose behind the engine that was leaking on the trip home from the garage!!!

i work on cars as a hobby so if i pull the engine on a car a replace everything i can that is behind the engine just because it saves time and hassle of having to do it again for some little problem...

not only did they not do this, but they didn't even fix it properly...

which is blowing my mind... i mean it was gushing out coolant on the ride home!!!

this would never ever ever happen in america... but i have found that tradesman work to different standards here...

our car was painted a few years ago by audi and when i went to pick it up the doors were not put on properly and wouldn't close and were obviously crooked and not put on properly and the paint looked like it had been applied with a stick... seriously i kid you not... it had big clumps of paint and big drips and lumps of paint all over the car...

and the manager stood there with a straight face and told me this was all perfectly normal...

literally clumps of paint... seriously the standard of work done here is blowing my mind...

he insisted it was a world class job...

i asked him to get his boss over to look at it and waited 40 minutes for him to drive over...

the dude took one look at the paint and said yes this all needs to be re-sprayed and the doors fitted properly...

how do people get away with this crap?

obviously people put up with it or this type of work wouldn't be done???

i just can't believe this stuff...

-=sigh=-
 
I know what you mean about paint work, we paint 18+ cars a day for Audi we repair them but were not Audi approved for panel replace, some back street bodyshop that we have to send cars to and then we have to go over and remove interior panels because they don't know how to,+ plus all they do is fit the panel nothing else and do a crap job of that and we have to put their crap right to bring it up to std, don't get me started on this (i'll get off my box now lol).
But i do know what you mean about body work they think joe public are happy if its shinny and clean, the std of some of the inspectors that come to work to check the cars think we do new cars and forget that they second hand, they say not good enough that needs more flatting (look just the same as the rest of the car) so you do it, then they say its to flat now doesn't match the rest of the cars so we have to repaint it ( you just want to slap them). Well we have had the contract for over a year now with NO dealer returns, so we must be doing something right

Good luck with everything
Cheers Phil
 
What Phil said: I know what you mean about paint work, don't get me started on this (i'll get off my box now lol).
Stay on the box Phil! As Gerard said, there are often horrendous quality issues with UK work standards, maybe its a work ethic thing, or we are just not as refined as our cousins in the U.S at demanding exactly what we want! (Although we all know this can be taken too far :D) Call me cynical, but I expect service to be pitched below my personal standards, state my position from the outset and stay loyal to those that meet the mark. I'm known to be very pernickity, but I think thats the way everyone should be - especially with an expensive consumer good such as a car. I'll now step off the box :eek:
 
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too funny...

had to get my bandage changed at hospital this morning so called the "Director" of garage when i got out at 2:45 in afternoon...

told him what had happened...

he said well, that is new to me, you have told me things i hadn't heard before... i'll investigate further and talk to the moron you spoke to and call you back...

no phone call...

i call at 5:00 to talk to him and was told Director would call me back...

at 5:11 Director calls me back and basically says i must have missheard when the moron said 350 as what he really meant to say was 450 and bill turns out to be 470 but that he would take 50% off...

i told him that was unnacceptable as 1. they made repair without telling me the cost and what needed repairing etc

2. the final bill keeps changing every time i talk to someone...

3. the coolant was leaking on the ride home from garage...

he said well that is all i can do...

i said i would entertain my options and get back to him on monday...

then he started giving me lip about how he didn't believe car was leaking when i drove it home because it had 200 miles on it when i brought it in again...

i told him that is a lie... they have lied repeatadly thoughout this and i am tired of the lies and will now take action and hung up on him...

any advice?
 
You are in serious need of a new garage. All in all, you must admit that you knew about the leak when you brought it in, even if it leaked slowly. The work they did must have required serious moving around in the engine bay and could have "disturbed" your leak. If they offer you half on the job, maybe you should take it seeing they sorted your existing leak problem for good.
 
Hi Gerard
Sorry you've had that experience. I had a similar fault on my 1,6 too. A slow leak from a pipe at the back. It's a pig to reach it but does not need the engine out! The work was carried out by Aire Valley Workshop in Skipton, a really good independant garage, good repairs and very straight. You could try to call them (01756 795444) and ask if they remember doing the repair for me. The cost was a long way short of £1000, you should name and shame that lot on here. My engine light has stayed off ever since. I also had the coolant tank changed, when I think of it, and that is a long way short of a grand. I'd tell them some of your pals from Chicago are comming to visit for Christmas with their violin cases!
 
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