being held to ransom

peterm_sc

hi all,
my car is currently being repaired in mullinagar. i feel that these guys are screwing me over. I have agreed to go ahead and fix the car ( as towing it back to dublin would be too expensive anyway ) but when i asked how much it was going to cost they said they couldnt know untill they finished.

if when the bills arrives, it does not compare to other garages costs/charges, do i have any rights ?

any advice on how to manage this, or my legal standing etc.

all advice appreciated and thanked.

Absurdum

we can't give you advice because we have no idea what work is needed or being done, wait and see how it goes before claiming that you're being held to ransom

colm_mcm

Find out what their hourly labour rate is.
They may not have diagnosed the problem or priced parts yet.

Nissan doctor

What happened to the car? If they have not yet fully diagnosed the problem or priced the parts required then that's fine however there is no excuse for saying they won't know the price until its finished.

Fully inspect/diagnose the problem,
Price the repair,
Get the go ahead from the customer,
If any unforeseen extras do come up then the customer should be notified before you continue the work.

There should never be a situation where a customer arrives to pick up a car without knowing beforehand, and previously agreeing to, the price.

Peavy

You might have gotten yourself onto a private garage , they dont have hourly rates they intend to set amount of money they get from you depending on the job that is needed to be done. for eg. Where i take my car to change oil
OIL is 20 euro OIL filter is another 15 and labour is 20 I dont realy think you would be able to do much , becouse you can't prove anything

peterm_sc

got the car back, cost 350euro, car broke down on the motorway 5 hours later , exact same symptoms as previously, ahd to get towed , trains etc.

but i isgned a document saying that there were still problems with the car before o left the garage, do i have any chance of getting my money back?

Peavy

Peavy wrote: »

You might have gotten yourself onto a private garage , they dont have hourly rates ............

what
private garages don't have hourly rates ?
ok

Nissan doctor

Independant garages do have hourly rates of course.

peterm_sc wrote: »

got the car back, cost 350euro, car broke down on the motorway 5 hours later , exact same symptoms as previously, ahd to get towed , trains etc.

but i isgned a document saying that there were still problems with the car before o left the garage, do i have any chance of getting my money back?

What exactly did they do to your car for €350 that didn't fit the problem?

I think before anyone can comment further we will need the exact circumstances of what happened, what was repaired/paid for, what was said was still wrong with the car etc etc..

Plug

peterm_sc wrote: »

got the car back, cost 350euro, car broke down on the motorway 5 hours later , exact same symptoms as previously, ahd to get towed , trains etc.

but i isgned a document saying that there were still problems with the car before o left the garage, do i have any chance of getting my money back?

What kind of car is it, engine, year, petrol or diesel, what was the problem? Help us and we'll help you.

peterm_sc

97 passat
diesel

about 5 weeks ago
was driving wo work along n4
coming off the off ramp, lost power as in the car didnt respond to pusing the accelerator
and just slowed to a stop
then if u put into first it would go for a seecond and then lose 'go' again
also there was a yellow light on the dash that looked like a sideways spring .


the garage told me that there was a motor on the accelerator pedal and the sensor was gone.
they replaced that

the latest break down has the exact same story

Nissan doctor

peterm_sc wrote: »

97 passat
diesel

about 5 weeks ago
was driving wo work along n4
coming off the off ramp, lost power as in the car didnt respond to pusing the accelerator
and just slowed to a stop
then if u put into first it would go for a seecond and then lose 'go' again
also there was a yellow light on the dash that looked like a sideways spring .


the garage told me that there was a motor on the accelerator pedal and the sensor was gone.
they replaced that

the latest break down has the exact same story

Did the engine cut out or did you just loose accelerator function?

peterm_sc

accelerator cut, no stall, no engine problem

Plug

Did they replace it with a second hand part the last time?

-Chris-

When you signed the piece of paper to say the car still had problems, what problems were you signing for? Why did you take the car away before it was completely finished?

the_syco

peterm_sc wrote: »

but i isgned a document saying that there were still problems with the car before o left the garage, do i have any chance of getting my money back?

Sounds odd, but what was the wording of the document? I ask as you may have agreed to something without knowing.

crosshair1

Sorry to tell you but this is most likely a wiring fault between the sensor and ecu. It occurs due to a poor seal on the ecu housing allowing water run into a connector for this sensor.
The only sure fix is to rewire from ecu to pedal.