Problem with getting my car back from the mechanic

bolders

Hi all

More then two weeks ago I left my car in the garage to get the engine fixed.
There was a problem with piston rings . I left it on the 22nd of December .
Owner of the garage told me that he needs 2-3 days to diagnose the problem .
We agreed that He'll ring me to tell me what wrong with it .
I rang me on the 27th of December informing me that few parts have to be changed.
He also asked me to pay him some money up front (230e). I did so .
I was told that car will be ready by Wednesday the 5th of January.
It wasn't . When I come up to the garage he said that something else is wrong as well with the engine . And that it will be ready 2moro . The following day i heard the exact same story . Tomorrow . Same on Friday . When I come up to the garage on Saturday asking what's going on with the car he said to me that he got a wrong part and he is sorry . It will be ready for Monday . At that stage I was spending around 40quid on Taxis a day to travel to work . I've explained to him to I have to no way of getting in to work . So he offer me a replacement car(Fiat Punto -11 years old) - No tax nor Nct on the car i got.
Last Monday the car wasn't ready again! Next 4 days i heard the exact same sh***** "It will be ready tomorrow" It's Friday and I don't know what to do .
Every single time I went to his garage i saw others cars being fixed.
But mine was taken a parts .

Did any of You had similar experience ?

Does anyone know what can I do now ?

The Hill Billy

Moved to Consumer Issues from Dublin City.

HB

Dymo

He doesn't know whats wrong with the car and is trying everything to find out what it is. I find Mechanics never admit to this but don't worry they will charge you for it. Ideally you should get the car towed to another garage but your original mechanic won't be happy with this. I had a similar case a couple of years ago, car with mechanic for 3 weeks eventually he said the car needed a new ECM cost of €1,100. I took the car from him and brought it to a capable mechanic and had it fixed in a couple of hours (air intake wrong).

Don't be afraid to do this he's charging you all the time.

bolders

Dymo wrote: »

He doesn't know whats wrong with the car and is trying everything to find out what it is. I find Mechanics never admit to this but don't worry they will charge you for it. Ideally you should get the car towed to another garage but your original mechanic won't be happy with this. I had a similar case a couple of years ago, car with mechanic for 3 weeks eventually he said the car needed a new ECM cost of €1,100. I took the car from him and brought it to a capable mechanic and had it fixed in a couple of hours (air intake wrong).

Don't be afraid to do this he's charging you all the time.

Yes , but one.

Thats not a right thing to do . He decided to fix the car.

Two , then I wont see my money .

Besides. We agreed a fixed price for fixing the car.


Is there a piece of legislation that can be used in that situation ?

keithclancy

bolders wrote: »

Hi all

More then two weeks ago I left my car in the garage to get the engine fixed.
There was a problem with piston rings . I left it on the 22nd of December .
Owner of the garage told me that he needs 2-3 days to diagnose the problem .
We agreed that He'll ring me to tell me what wrong with it .
I rang me on the 27th of December informing me that few parts have to be changed.
He also asked me to pay him some money up front (230e). I did so .
I was told that car will be ready by Wednesday the 5th of January.
It wasn't . When I come up to the garage he said that something else is wrong as well with the engine . And that it will be ready 2moro . The following day i heard the exact same story . Tomorrow . Same on Friday . When I come up to the garage on Saturday asking what's going on with the car he said to me that he got a wrong part and he is sorry . It will be ready for Monday . At that stage I was spending around 40quid on Taxis a day to travel to work . I've explained to him to I have to no way of getting in to work . So he offer me a replacement car(Fiat Punto -11 years old) - No tax nor Nct on the car i got.
Last Monday the car wasn't ready again! Next 4 days i heard the exact same sh***** "It will be ready tomorrow" It's Friday and I don't know what to do .
Every single time I went to his garage i saw others cars being fixed.
But mine was taken a parts .

Did any of You had similar experience ?

Does anyone know what can I do now ?

Why don't you rent a car, thats far cheaper than 40 quid a day.

bolders

keithclancy wrote: »

Why don't you rent a car, thats far cheaper than 40 quid a day.

I have a replacement then car now .
But that's not the case . I want my car back fixed.
It has been almost 3 weeks.
The garage is a legally working company . And should be hold responsible for it.

whippet

bolders wrote: »

I have a replacement then car now .
But that's not the case . I want my car back fixed.
It has been almost 3 weeks.
The garage is a legally working company . And should be hold responsible for it.

how did a garage give you a fixed price for the repair when he didn't actually know what was wrong?

If I were you there is only one thing I would do. Get it to a proper mechanic to work on, forget about the sham who is messing with it now. If you are going to be holding him to a previously agreed price you can be sure he will do the bare minimum to get the car moving and you could be stuck with even more repairs.

The guy is obviously a chancer and you have been had, swallow your pride and just get it out of there to someone who know what they are doing.

Kalimah

Who said that there was a problem with the piston rings? And if it was known what the problem was then why would he need a few days to diagnose the problem?!

I'll tell you one thing-the piston rings went in my car and it drank oil like an alcho for a while until I spotted it. It cost me €1600 and a lot of grief to get it fixed.

ejmaztec

bolders wrote: »

I have a replacement then car now .
But that's not the case . I want my car back fixed.
It has been almost 3 weeks.
The garage is a legally working company . And should be hold responsible for it.

Is the garage a member of SIMI? If so, they have a complaints procedure, although I haven't a clue how effective it is.

http://www.simi.ie/consumer_information/consumer_services.aspx

I'd say that the Christmas/New Year period is a lousy time to get anything done, especially if spares are needed and the suppliers are shut down for two weeks. Any other time, you may not have any problems. If this is the case, the mechanic could have mentioned it to avoid any ill-feeling.

Then again, it could be a crap garage.

bolders

Ita not a SIMI garage.
Even if i'll take the car i am not planning on letting it go.
Any ideas how can I claim the money he took of me?

knighted_1

Would that garage be around the south circular road ?

bolders

knighted_1 wrote: »

Would that garage be around the south circular road ?

No . Its few km away from Dublin . Just of the N3 in Co Meath

slimjimmc

bolders wrote: »

Ita not a SIMI garage.
Even if i'll take the car i am not planning on letting it go.
Any ideas how can I claim the money he took of me?

You paid him €250 up front before the job was completed to your satisfaction, even if it was only to buy parts ? :eek:
This guy's struggling, if he can't afford to buy parts on his own back I'd be worried, €250 is not a lot of cash for a steady business.

antoinolachtnai

You can use the Small Claims Procedure in the District Court.

http://www.courts.ie/courts.ie/Library3.nsf/PageCurrentWebLookUpTopNav/Small%20Claims%20Procedure

bolders

antoinolachtnai wrote: »

You can use the Small Claims Procedure in the District Court.

http://www.courts.ie/courts.ie/Library3.nsf/PageCurrentWebLookUpTopNav/Small%20Claims%20Procedure

Forgive my silly question but how does it work ?

bolders

slimjimmc wrote: »

You paid him €250 up front before the job was completed to your satisfaction, even if it was only to buy parts ? :eek:
This guy's struggling, if he can't afford to buy parts on his own back I'd be worried, €250 is not a lot of cash for a steady business.

Yes i know . That was a mistake :mad: