servicing problem

DrumSteve

brought my car to get serviced today (00 Bora). Car was running okay before i went up, it was a big sluggish but nothing that a service wouldnt fix. brought it up to atlas on the kylemore road... got it back earlier and the car is barely starting and keeps cutting out on me when i do get it going. add to that my break lights no longer work... even tough they were working this morning. they said there was some electrical fault with them.

whats my options here... im pretty pissed about this and want my car fixed.

bazz26

Ring the service manager in the morning and explain that that the car isn't running well since they worked on it and that you would like them to sort it and take it from there. Reframe from going in with all guns blazing initially though as you may find it harder to get any sort of co-operation from them.

mickdw

Sounds odd. What work did they do on the car?

DrumSteve

bazz26 wrote: »

Ring the service manager in the morning and explain that that the car isn't running well since they worked on it and that you would like them to sort it and take it from there. Reframe from going in with all guns blazing initially though as you may find it harder to get any sort of co-operation from them.

yeah im sure ill be calm in the morning but at the same time im a bit annoyed by it... ah well you cant win em all.

Yawns

Can I ask why you drove away from the place with it in that order? They said it was an electrical problem with lights so they knew and you knew before you left?

DrumSteve

Yawns wrote: »

Can I ask why you drove away from the place with it in that order? They said it was an electrical problem with lights so they knew and you knew before you left?

aye tbh i wasnt really listening cos i had about 5 minutes left on my break and was rushing back to work (couldnt afford to be late). i got it started but i had to keep revving the car to keep it ticking over. however when i would stop at lights (in idle) it cuts straight out.

dunno what to do about the electrical fault to be honest the lights were working fine this morning...:(

DrumSteve

mickdw wrote: »

Sounds odd. What work did they do on the car?

just a service...

The crowd who serviced it seem like total numpties. You made it easy for them to ride ya though

El Guapo!

I know its no help now but this is exactly why I keep telling people NOT to get their car serviced in places like these. People depend on their cars day-in day-out and should look after their cars accordingly i.e.-getting them serviced at regular intervals in reputable garages. It might cost a few quid more but its worth it for the peace of mind in knowing the car you rely on everyday is well looked after and unlikely to let you down when you need it most.
I'm not saying you have to pay over the odds at main dealers, but a decent reliable independant garage will be more than capable of keeping your motor in good working order.
People need to stop being sucked in by places offering a "full service" for €99. Yeah it sounds great but the quality of service MUST be sub-par at prices like that.
Don't get me wrong, these places are excellent for things like tyres etc. but not for something as important as servicing.

Sorry for the rant but its something that really frustrates me. :mad:


On topic, as has been said contact the manager and ask for the car to be fixed to an acceptable standard. And take this as a lesson learned.
Best of luck.

dazza27

The problem with your brake lights could be as simple as a faulty brake light switch but this begs the question why oh why do people trust their car to people who know nothing about them! I have worked as a service advisor in main dealers for 15 years and see the amount of training technicians have to undertake every year to keep up with technology.
On topic , you should never have taken your car away in that condition and insisted that it be rectified immediately !

Drummerboy08

I really don't like badmouthing companies on here, but Atlas take the mickey.

I was in the neighbouring Motor Factors not too long ago, when one of the guys from Atlas came in looking for a water pump for a "Big Renault van". They are the exact words that came out of his mouth.

I tried not to laugh, and the parts guy asked what model van it was. "I dunno, I'll check".

Off he goes to see exactly what the van was.

Came back 2 minutes later with the news that it was not infact a Renault, but a Nissan Kubistar. Hardly a big van. This guy was a "mechanic" apparently. I'd say his only experience in fixing things was with a lego set.

OP, go back tomorrow and see if they will put the problems straight. If the cant, speak to your solicitor and ask him to kindly ask Atlas to refund you your money.

I use a decent indy just 2 minutes down the road in Parkwest, PM me if you want his details.

DrumSteve

Drummerboy08 wrote: »

I really don't like badmouthing companies on here, but Atlas take the mickey.

I was in the neighbouring Motor Factors not too long ago, when one of the guys from Atlas came in looking for a water pump for a "Big Renault van". They are the exact words that came out of his mouth.

I tried not to laugh, and the parts guy asked what model van it was. "I dunno, I'll check".

Off he goes to see exactly what the van was.

Came back 2 minutes later with the news that it was not infact a Renault, but a Nissan Kubistar. Hardly a big van. This guy was a "mechanic" apparently. I'd say his only experience in fixing things was with a lego set.

OP, go back tomorrow and see if they will put the problems straight. If the cant, speak to your solicitor and ask him to kindly ask Atlas to refund you your money.

I use a decent indy just 2 minutes down the road in Parkwest, PM me if you want his details.

will do man thanks a lot.

teednab-el

Dean09 wrote: »

I'm not saying you have to pay over the odds at main dealers, but a decent reliable independant garage will be more than capable of keeping your motor in good working order.
People need to stop being sucked in by places offering a "full service" for €99. Yeah it sounds great but the quality of service MUST be sub-par at prices like that.
Don't get me wrong, these places are excellent for things like tyres etc. but not for something as important as servicing.

How can you tell that your car got a good service at €300 by a garage? Well I go to a local mechanic that does a full service at €120 and he does way more than just an oil and filter change.

El Guapo!

teednab-el wrote: »

How can you tell that your car got a good service at €300 by a garage? Well I go to a local mechanic that does a full service at €120 and he does way more than just an oil and filter change.

I didnt say the more you pay the better the service is, I just said it'd be worth your while to pay the extra few quid if you knew you were getting a decent service rather than getting the cheap option which might cost you in the long run.

teednab-el

Dean09 wrote: »

I didnt say the more you pay the better the service is, I just said it'd be worth your while to pay the extra few quid if you knew you were getting a decent service rather than getting the cheap option which might cost you in the long run.

sorry for the misunderstanding. You are dead right. You cant go wrong in that case.

coylemj

Similar situation across the water, last month BBC Watchdog did an expose on the Kwik-Fit chain which has branched out from exhausts and tyres to offering a full service with predictable results: incompetent work and people being billed for parts that didn't need replacing, read on...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/watchdog/2010/09/kwik_fit.html

dazza27

dazza27 wrote: »

I have worked as a service advisor in main dealers for 15 years and see the amount of training technicians have to undertake every year to keep up with technology.
On topic , you should never have taken your car away in that condition and insisted that it be rectified immediately !

Dean09 wrote: »

I'm not saying you have to pay over the odds at main dealers, but a decent reliable independant garage will be more than capable of keeping your motor in good working order.
People need to stop being sucked in by places offering a "full service" for €99. Yeah it sounds great but the quality of service MUST be sub-par at prices like that.

Agree 100%, was getting tyres recently and was chatting away to the lad fitting them, very nice guy in fairness. He was telling me how the servicing they do is all the simple stuff on basic cars and that they wouldn't take in anything complicated. He said they wouldn't touch mine for instance, mine is a petrol MG ZT (Rover 75 effectively) so nothing too strange once the plugs don't need doing (back 3 are a ball ache to do). Doesn't really inspire confidence but fair play to him for the honesty. Plenty of goon companies taking on stuff they don't have a clue about.