Ford Fiesta clutch/garage problems

Cervantes

Had a problem about a month ago with the clutch in a 98 fiesta 1.25, was told the pressure plates were gone and the clutch would have to be replaced. Got it done, set me back €350 at the time, but drove away with a working clutch.

On the way to work today, noticed that the pressure/give on the clutch pedal was a bit funny, then about half way there the pressure went altogether, the clutch pedal had absolutely no give to it. Couldn't change gears while the engine was running, when stopping the car would grind and shudder to a halt, the exact same problems I'd had a month earlier.

Managed to get the car back to the same garage, where he feels that the pressure cylinder is gone and needs replacing. What I want to know is whether I'm entitled to have this work done free of charge, i.e. basically I brought the car into the garage with a clutch problem, and one month later I still have the same clutch problem? Surely the mechanic should have recognised the entire problem from the outset rather than fixing it in dribs and drabs?

I know it's a bit of a stretch, but the analogy of a doctor getting into trouble for a mis-diagnosis springs to mind. I also had a service done on the car when the clutch was being replaced, but he missed the fact that brake fluid seems to be draining/leaking at a rate of knots (filled it last thursday, it's half gone already)

Has anyone there had experience of telling a mechanic that they wouldn't be paying him for work they considered should have been done properly in the first place?

thanks

maidhc

Cervantes wrote:

Managed to get the car back to the same garage, where he feels that the pressure cylinder is gone and needs replacing. What I want to know is whether I'm entitled to have this work done free of charge, i.e. basically I brought the car into the garage with a clutch problem, and one month later I still have the same clutch problem?

You may have the same symptoms, but it sounds like a different problem.

The slave/master cylinder is a small enough job, and isn't going to cost much more to do now than it would have when the clutch was being replaced a month ago.

If you refuse to pay then the garage owner can lawfully refuse to give your car back.

Cervantes wrote:

I know it's a bit of a stretch, but the analogy of a doctor getting into trouble for a mis-diagnosis springs to mind.

The mechanic may have mis-diagnosed the problem, but the morely likely thing is that something else has broken.

Mind you if a doctor mis-diagnoses a patient he is only negligent if no other of his peers could reasonably have made a similar call. That is a difficult enough thing to prove!

fightin irish

The slave cylinder should ALWAYS be replaced when doing the clutch. even if it's not need to be done. From experience where i work it usually went anything after six months of replacing the clutch.

So now we just replace the slave cylinder every time we do a clutch, Also the slave cylinder probably was grand when the cluitch was gone so you probably have to pay, Maybe the mechanic wasn't overly experienced( should have known tho or atleast the foreman should have said so)

The slave cylinder is about €115 and whatever they charge for labour. If you complain to service manager you should at least get it done at a trade price imo.

BTW what area is the garage? No names.

Cervantes

Thanks for the replies guys.

I just find it a bit much of a coincidence that the two components should fail at a similar time giving a similar symptom - if it is indeed a problem with the cylinder I have no problem in paying for the replacement part, it's more the labour that annoys me! I've been charged €350 for the clutch replacement, €150 for a service before the NCT, and €120 to fix the problems that arose from the NCT test (Replace a rear brake light, replace the rear middle seat belt, and secure the spare wheel bracket)

The garage is in Beaumot btw, as far as I can tell the mechanic I've been dealing with is the manager. When I rang him about the problem today, he immediately pinpointed it as possibly being a cylinder problem - almost giving me the impression that he expected it?

fightin irish

It sounds like he was maybe trying to keep the price down for you, In our place they learned the hard way and just replace the slave cylinder as a precaution now.