Servicing/dealer errors.

Stevie Dakota

We all make mistakes, but what car problems have been inflicted on you by mechanics or dealers?

My highlight was discovering 2 years into ownership of my wife's Golf that the car was never PDI'd and the bump stops where still in the front shocks from transporting the car. It was a 2000 reg and the dealer was unapologetic. "We were selling so may cars we couldn't check them all." was his explanation!

There are many more but that was a gem.

wildefalcon

Main dealer - overfilled the engine/gearbox on my 2000 Mini Cooper (John Cooper) by 2 litres - blew every seal in the gearbox.

Main dealer - cross threaded the sump bung on my 306 diesel.

Main dealer - cross threaded a spark plug on a BMW 6 cylinder, cleared it out but left the plug IN the combustion chamber.

R.O.R

Stevie Dakota wrote: »

We all make mistakes, but what car problems have been inflicted on you by mechanics or dealers?

My highlight was discovering 2 years into ownership of my wife's Golf that the car was never PDI'd and the bump stops where still in the front shocks from transporting the car. It was a 2000 reg and the dealer was unapologetic. "We were selling so may cars we couldn't check them all." was his explanation!

There are many more but that was a gem.

Wasn't bought from a dealer in Sandyford by any chance?

Had the same issue with a Passat. Driver had ordered Sports suspension as an extra and called back a few months later to say the suspension was rock solid and was killing his back. Even went as far as pricing up replacement springs and shocks and his company was considering the €1,000 or so to replace.

It's only when he took it to Advance for tyres and they stuck it on a ramp that it was pointed out that all 4 bump stops were still in. Dealer got a major b0llocking for that.

Personally, I've ordered one car wrong for a driver. New Insignia Elite last year that I ordered with a beige interior rather than the Black he wanted. He wasn't best pleased when he drove down to Cork to collect - arriving at 17.00 on a Friday afternoon with all the family in tow. He took the car and he'll be getting at least 1 valet a year for the next 4 years. Not a bad record, one wrong in circa 3,000

bluenose1956

This was in the UK. Ordered Land Rover Discovery 3, the HSE model came with automatic transmission as standard. Went to collect it and it had manual transmission. Was offered a serious amount of cash to take it but was set on automatic so declined.

Stevie Dakota

R.O.R wrote: »

Wasn't bought from a dealer in Sandyford by any chance?

New Insignia Elite last year that I ordered with a beige interior rather than the Black he wanted.

Not Sandyford, but the clue is they were KRAP.

Beige is much nicer, you were doing him a favour!

BrianD3

It wasn't inflicted on me but I collected a car from a garage and after driving a couple of miles noticed a bunch of keys in the door pocket. Garage employee had left another customers bunch of keys including house keys etc. in my car. Imbecile! Had I not noticed it and gone back someone would have had some explaining to do as I would have been 70 miles away within a couple of hours.

EPM

When I had a Focus I needed a new key and went to a very short lived dealership to get it coded. They took the car around to the service bay. About 20 minutes later I was outside having a smoke when I heard revving and tyre squeels.

Popped my head around the corner thinking they might have something nice out there to see my car taking flight over a speed ramp and this little muff tashed apprentice behind the wheel driving the sh1te out of it.

Zero satisfaction too:mad:

Twin-go

I had my car written off by a mechanic on a test drive after servicing it.

It was discussed on boards at the time. Link
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?threadid=2055509381

dnme

BrianD3 wrote: »

It wasn't inflicted on me but I collected a car from a garage and after driving a couple of miles noticed a bunch of keys in the door pocket. Garage employee had left another customers bunch of keys including house keys etc. in my car. Imbecile! Had I not noticed it and gone back someone would have had some explaining to do as I would have been 70 miles away within a couple of hours.

You could'a done the place over and had yourself a nice car there, missed opportunity IMO

coylemj

Left my mother's VW Beetle in for a service way back in the 70s in a VW main dealer down the country. Stood at the entrance to the garage watching what they were at - I wasn't suspicious, just curious to see what they did in a service.

At the end of the service they drove the car out to the front and the supervisor asked me to come into the office to discuss the work and pay up. I looked at him and said 'I saw them drain the oil but they didn't add any new oil' whereupon his face went pale. They pushed the car back into the service bay, dipped it and there wasn't a drop of oil in it. Probably should have kept my mouth shut, driven it home and let it seize up, would have gotten a new engine, maybe even an upgrade to a slightly newer model.