What Can I Do?

Cheeky_gal

In short,

my break pads went last Friday. I had my driving test and my pretest booked for Monday (€275 total). I phoned my local mechanic and I told him I needed the break pads done before Monday for my test and he said to hand the car into him at 9am on Saturday morning and he'd have it back to me that evening.

Saturday evening came and I never got the car back. Phoned Monday at 8am (my pre test was at 11am) and he said he could have the car to me by 2pm (driving test was at 3:30pm). So i said Ok, i'd rent a car for my pre test and then I'd have my own car ready for my actual test. 2pm came and I phoned him and the parts had still not arrived.

So basically I lost €275 and I missed my driving test, I'm like a bull here, all because this man made a commitment and let me down. I could've gone some place else to get it done but I didn't, I went to him.

Now this is why I'm posting this thread, he phones me there a few minutes ago saying the car will be ready tomorrow and it will be €xxx. I was meant to get the car this morning, the guy is full of false promises. What are my options? Why should I pay this guy when he's made my week a misery and made me miss my driving test and lose €275? He didn't even apologise when I told him I missed my test.

I'm so upset.

tommy21

Break down the 275 for me? no offence but seems a very quick turn around by mechanic. unreasonable time frame by you. also how did the pads just go?

sugarbaker01

He sounds like a chancer..Tell you exactly what you want to hear then mess you around. Brake pads take very little time to do and no skill at all.
Most likely though you will still have to pay him..Try the guilt trip on him though...you never know

Cheeky_gal

tommy21 wrote: »

Break down the 275 for me? no offence but seems a very quick turn around by mechanic. unreasonable time frame by you. also how did the pads just go?

€275 was the cost of my driving test and my two hour pre test.

Unreasonable time frame by me? My friends have all told me it takes about 20-30mins to replace break pads. He claims he's been waiting on a delivery. Why couldn't he drive down to Halfords or some place and get them after having made a committment to me?

They didn't just go. I had a warning light on for a few days and I didn't know what it was. I thought it was a service light.

si_guru

Ouch that's a hard lesson learnt. All you had to do is drive the car in to "fit while you wait" place.

You will have to pay him - otherwise you won't get your car back, sorry.

Nonoperational

tommy21 wrote: »

Break down the 275 for me? no offence but seems a very quick turn around by mechanic. unreasonable time frame by you. also how did the pads just go?

I wouldn't say that's an unreasonable time frame at all. A full day to change brake pads? Any time I've got them done it took about an hour per axle.

He should have been up front with you and told you he didn't have them in stock. Would have given you a chance to go somewhere else.

Atlantic Dawn

What sort of car have you and are you living off one of the island off our shores?

Unless your car is ultra rare most motor factors will sell brake pads for them, also €275 even if it's front and back sounds excessive, pads alone should be no less than €100 and then whatever to fit them, should take less than an hour. I'd also take the car from him first thing tomorrow if the job is not complete, I'd have no faith in the job he is doing to be honest.

TestTransmission

tommy21 wrote: »

no offence but seems a very quick turn around by mechanic. unreasonable time frame by you.

what?

tommy21

gpf101 wrote: »

I wouldn't say that's an unreasonable time frame at all. A full day to change brake pads? Any time I've got them done it took about an hour per axle.

He should have been up front with you and told you he didn't have them in stock. Would have given you a chance to go somewhere else.

Sorry was replying on my phone from the throne If he made a commitment to you then yup it was a crappy thing to do. I guess I was just saying turning up somewhere on a Friday expecting it all to be sorted for Monday is crazy - but if he agreed to this that is his business. How much are driving tests going for now days and pre-tests - seems like a huge sum?! I feel for you OP, though I would say the mechanic is about 80% to blame and you maybe 20% given you should have checked it out sooner, the lights always mean trouble! Best you can do is appeal to his good nature and maybe show him this thread and threaten to name and shame?

Cheeky_gal

gpf101 wrote: »

He should have been up front with you and told you he didn't have them in stock. Would have given you a chance to go somewhere else.

Exactly this is my exact point.

So my question is ... what can I do about it?

I'm gutted that €275 went down the drain because I'm only a student so I don't exactly have that sort of money, as it stands I can't even afford to book my driving test for another few weeks.

So why the hell should this guy get away with it? He made a committment then fcuked me over, now expects to be paid? Hasn't even the decency to apologise to me either

Cheeky_gal

Will people actually read my post , I paid €275 for my pre-test and my actual test not my break pads.

He's quoting €120 for my break pads.

Anyways the price isn't the issue here.

Nissan doctor

This is often the problem IMO, are your friends mechanics? are they involved in parts supply?

What was the breakdown of the bill he gave you when the job was done? What car do you have? If he thought it was just pads then they could have been available that day but chances are if you continued driving after the brake warning light came on then you also damaged the disks and it simply may not have been possible to get disks from anywhere over a weekend.

Now if it needed disks or the parts were not available on the day this should have been explained to you on the phone, however if your car was left in on a Saturday morning and needed pads and disks then its quite normal that they wouldn't have been available until Monday afternoon(when most supplier deliveries arrive).

Nonoperational

To be honest if he doesn't offer you anything then there's very little if anything you can do only chalk it down to experience. It's very bad form but trying to even prove he made any commitment to you would be impossible. Sorry...

Cheeky_gal

Nissan doctor wrote: »

This is often the problem IMO, are your friends mechanics? are they involved in parts supply?

What was the breakdown of the bill he gave you when the job was done? What car do you have? If he thought it was just pads then they could have been available that day but chances are if you continued driving after the brake warning light came on then you also damaged the disks and it simply may not have been possible to get disks from anywhere over a weekend.

Now if it needed disks or the parts were not available on the day this should have been explained to you on the phone, however if your car was left in on a Saturday morning and needed pads and disks then its quite normal that they wouldn't have been available until Monday afternoon(when most supplier deliveries arrive).

Breakdown:

€30 - Break Pad Indicator Sensor
€90 - Break Pads inclusive of labour

I drive a mini cooper.

Any yes my friends are mechanics, acquaintences more so than friends

Nissan doctor

Cheeky_gal wrote: »

Will people actually read my post , I paid €275 for my pre-test and my actual test not my break pads.

He's quoting €120 for my break pads.

Anyways the price isn't the issue here.

Ok at €120 it wouldn't be for disks as well.

I think the main problem is his lack of communication which would be a customer service issue.

But if the pads were not available over the weekend(obviously all suppliers etc are closed) then thats not his fault and the car wouldn't be safe to drive let alone do a driving test or if the sensor wasn't available(more likely) then it would have been pointless to let the car out as you can't do your test with any warning light on the dash but again, this should have been clearly explained to you.

Anan1

Out of interest, why didn't you use the rental car for the test? Re the mechanic, I don't think you have any option but to pay him and not use him again.

Cheeky_gal

Anan1 wrote: »

Out of interest, why didn't you use the rental car for the test? Re the mechanic, I don't think you have any option but to pay him and not use him again.

I was quoted €111 to rent one for the hour

Anan1

Cheeky_gal wrote: »

I was quoted €111 to rent one for the hour

That sounds like crazy money. If you're using your own insurance, a small car should cost less than half that for the day.

Nissan doctor

Cheeky_gal wrote: »

I was quoted €111 to rent one for the hour

:eek::eek: I hope it was a limousine! You can rent a corsa or similar from most companies for approx €50 for a day!

OldmanMondeo

You can only rent a car if you have full licence. OP, getting the parts should not have been a problem, most wholesalers, like ours, can deliver next day. If your based in Dublin, then same day should not be a problem.

TestTransmission

Nissan doctor wrote: »

:eek::eek: I hope it was a limousine! You can rent a corsa or similar from most companies for approx €50 for a day!

Gotta take into account her licence,insurance and loss of business for the person she was renting the learner car off.

Nothing you can do really, mechanic sounds a right t1t though, when I worked in a factors the modern Mini wasn't yet released I think but I would find it unusual for a factors not to stock pads for them given the amount of them on the road these days.

If you did tell him last Friday that you needed your car for a driving test on Monday then I would be asking him why did he not let you know on Saturday that there was a problem. He'll no doubt shrug his shoulders at best. Unless he is out in the sticks he should have driven to a factors on Monday at 9 and gotten the pads as per his commitment.

If you did the pre test lessons you are not really out of pocket for them strictly speaking so it's only the price of the test, admittedly they were not much good considering you didn't do the test, however you could have done it in the driving school car if that was available I reckon.

Nissan doctor

Nissan doctor wrote: »

:eek::eek: I hope it was a limousine! You can rent a corsa or similar from most companies for approx €50 for a day!

Dizzy moment, I wasn't thinking about the provisional licence. I would still think that €111 for an hour is crazy money though.

Gary ITR

Nissan doctor wrote: »

Dizzy moment, I wasn't thinking about the provisional licence. I would still think that €111 for an hour is crazy money though.

I did my test in 2004, cost me 30 notes for the learner car. €111 is bananas money

Cheeky_gal

RoverJames wrote: »

however you could have done it in the driving school car if that was available I reckon.

Yeah it was €111 to rent one of their cars for the hour.

I'm not made of money :mad:

sean1141

a poor student with a mini cooper!! when i was a student i had to walk lol..
if the mechanic was decent he would at least offer to just take the price of the parts off you and be at the loss of the labour but times are hard..
when i done my test in the instructors car it only cost me 25quid or the price of an hours lesson at the time.. 111 is stupid money

Plug

I done the test in my driving teacher's car. €25 for pre-lesson, €50 for a lend of his car.

mickdw

I would be ripping mad in a case such as yours. I know most will say im being unreasonable, but I would give him a right going over & clearly tell him that he was instructed of the importance of the deadline in this case. I would offer him parts costs only or else tell him whip them off again. He is totally responsible for your loss of money & test date & has no good reason for the delay. Its just not good enough. Even on the monday morning, if he told you, you could have gone somewhere else. This is just sickening, he doesnt deserve a penny.

sean1141

sean1141 wrote: »

a poor student with a mini cooper!!

Good point, country in ruins and students have Mini Coopers :eek:

Gooseygoosey

Maybe you weren't ready for the driving test yet if you don't know when your car is crying out for and flashing lights at you for badly needed safety equipment.

What do you expect people to tell you to do?? That you should run up to the mechanic, demand your money back because it was you that didn't maintain your own car properly and it's his fault for not using his psychic powers and telling you earlier that your car needed brakes.

It's an expensive lesson learnt because you weren't organised, not anybody else's fault.

Nonoperational

Gooseygoosey wrote: »

Maybe you weren't ready for the driving test yet if you don't know when your car is crying out for and flashing lights at you for badly needed safety equipment.

What do you expect people to tell you to do?? That you should run up to the mechanic, demand your money back because it was you that didn't maintain your own car properly and it's his fault for not using his psychic powers and telling you earlier that your car needed brakes.

It's an expensive lesson learnt because you weren't organised, not anybody else's fault.

I would certainly expect a mechanic to be able to fit a set of brake pads in a day and I would have expected him to let me know if he couldn't fulfill the obligation he made. It is his fault because he said he would have the car back for a certain time and he kept stalling to the extent the girl couldn't do her driving test.

I really can't see what she did wrong here. Needed pads because the light was on and handed it to a mechanic who said it would be ready by Saturday evening. Don't see what the issue is.

taintabird

Brake pads take very little time to do and no skill at all.


Of course there is skill involved there can be all manner of problems caused by people fitting brake pads who don't have a clue what they are doing. Its a safety issue unqualified people should not be allowed near brakes, I have seen twisted brake pipes, springs missing, incorrect pads fitted and even the pads turned the wrong way round all done by people that thought they were experts And as for warning lights on the dash that's why an owners hand book is supplied with every car so Joe public knows what they mean.

Anan1

Gooseygoosey wrote: »

Maybe you weren't ready for the driving test yet if you don't know when your car is crying out for and flashing lights at you for badly needed safety equipment.

What do you expect people to tell you to do?? That you should run up to the mechanic, demand your money back because it was you that didn't maintain your own car properly and it's his fault for not using his psychic powers and telling you earlier that your car needed brakes.

It's an expensive lesson learnt because you weren't organised, not anybody else's fault.

Are you missing the bit where the mechanic promised to have the car back by the Saturday evening and didn't? The fact that the OP has no recourse against the mechanic doesn't IMO change the fact that she was treated very badly. Were I in her shoes i'd be making no secret of my experiences.

taintabird

Just wondering were there any other problems with the brakes other than just pads ? such as damaged discs or callipers, the op said she was driving around with the warning light on for a few days. Dont get me wrong it appears the op was treated badly but we only have one side of the story

Cheeky_gal

sean1141 wrote: »

a poor student with a mini cooper!!

I ran into a large sum of money when I left school, hence the mini.

Cheeky_gal

taintabird wrote: »

Just wondering were there any other problems with the brakes other than just pads ? such as damaged discs or callipers, the op said she was driving around with the warning light on for a few days. Dont get me wrong it appears the op was treated badly but we only have one side of the story

No none at all, just the break pads and break pad indicator sensor.

Owen

Cheeky_gal wrote: »

I ran into a large sum of money when I left school, hence the mini.

What does it matter what car you drive? New 02 MINIs are on donedeal now from 4500 Euro upwards. That's a 9 year old car. I don't see the big problem with a student driving one of these TBH - old, cheap, relatively reliable motoring, good safety, and as it's done all it's depreciating - will still be worth 4k when the next person comes to buy it. Seems ideal for a student TBH.

Nearly all Motor Factors will stock the pads, but the sensor might be something your mechanic would have to get from Duffys/FKNRs. Having said that, they would have them on the shelf ready to go.

Price seems fair, but unfortunately his over-promising has let you down.

Cheeky_gal

PaintDoctor wrote: »

What does it matter what car you drive?
Price seems fair, but unfortunately his over-promising has let you down.

It doesn't matter at all what car I drive but some people like to get on their high horse and have something to moan about i.e "OP must be a little rich girl cruising around in her mini" :rolleyes:

I've decided to just explain to him how I've been let down and hopefully he'll have the decency to offer money off the price, I don't think he will though.

Won't ever be going back to him though that's for sure.