Did mechanic damage my car?? Please help!!

cork93

I recently failed my NCT on a few counts and brought it to a mechanic to fix it all up which he did for €330 (tyre, 2 licence plates, exhaust emissions, lights alignment, exhaust silencer steering linkage and CV BOOT).. so he fixed it up and now days later my wheel bearing has collapsed on the same wheel that he changed the cv boot. How likely is it that the mechanic is responsible for the wheel bearing collapsing? I brought it back to him today and he said it was just wear and tear? He also quoted me €130 to fix it up. (€65 labour €65 parts)

Thanks

(btw its a 98 mk4 golf)

Also, the wheel bearing passed the NCT days before (wasn't a fail point) and now its "very bad" and very loud noise coming from it

Nissan doctor

It would be difficult to do to be fair as, other then to slide the CV joint out from it, you don't do anything else involving the wheel bearing.

If the CV joint was seized into the hub, I have seen guys try to heat the hubs to get them out which could possibly damage the seals on the bearings but this is unlikely.

Syllabus

short answer - No

was more than likely on its way out - possibly helped along but the recent work but woulda gone soon anyway

cork93

Thanks for that, I forgot to mention that the wheel bearing passed the NCT days before (wasn't a fail point) and now its "very bad"

Nissan doctor

cork93 wrote: »

Thanks for that, I forgot to mention that the wheel bearing passed the NCT days before (wasn't a fail point) and now its "very bad"

The NCT will only fail on wheel bearings if they have play in them. Bearings can fail within a short period of time.

Syllabus

is it possible that the hub nut is loose??

cork93

No I had them all tightened today and the same problem. I just feel its very coincidental that it happened to the same wheel he removed literally days (20 miles) after he did it and also how quickly its gone from perfect to very bad/dangerous

Nissan doctor

cork93 wrote: »

No I had them all tightened today and the same problem. I just feel its very coincidental that it happened to the same wheel he removed literally days (20 miles) after he did it and also how quickly its gone from perfect to very bad/dangerous

Its possible that the 14 year old wheel bearing was fragile and failed after being disturbed when changing the CV boot. It still wouldn't be the mechanics fault though unless he was rough with it.

If the above is the case then the bearing would likely have failed shortly anyway.

miller50841

You done alright with them prices the mechanic seams to be ok. Its very easy to miss something like that usually a noise but he may not have brought it on much of a run so probably didnt hear the noise.
The NCT is strict on a lot but certain things cant be seen.
They look for vital parts brakes, tyres, lights and so on

eringobragh

Reminds me off what I've to contend with in the IT world.

I change a clients mouse and I get blamed for missing emails/deleted files...you can't win :rolleyes:


as above it was likely on the way out anyway or not spotted the first time

cork93

Thanks for all the replies, I'm happy now that I know at least I'm not being taken for a fool. I just wanted some confirmation.

Kopparberg Strawberry and Lime

better question is did the nct damage your car.

hate it altogether I do

martyc5674

Kopparberg Strawberry and Lime wrote: »

better question is did the nct damage your car.

hate it altogether I do

Sounds like it saved the OP from CV joint failure,,,could have been costly with recovery in the equation.

Most likely was on the way out and knocking the axel out of the bearing helped it along...no avoiding it really unless he installed a split boot(based on what he charged you for all that prob what he did install so maybe its just a coincidence)
Marty

Syllabus

if he did heat it in the process of doing the boot then he is not a mechanic i would be going back to. no way to know

still say it was on its way

wandererz

Added a web cam to my mother-in-laws PC. Installed Skype and showed her how to make a video call to her grandchildren in the US yesterday. Told her she could make free calls via skype.

Today she left me a voicemail saying that she could not receive inbound calls to her phone!! (like it's my fault).

Replaced one of my wheel bearings on a 07 vehicle 2 days ago. Car has 48,000 miles. My other car has 101,000 miles and not a problem.

These things happen.

cork93

After complaining to the mechanic yesterday he rang me this morning telling me that it was fixed, was just a loose bolt after all even though yesterday he was full sure the the bearing had to be replaced!!

scamalert

cork93 wrote: »

After complaining to the mechanic yesterday he rang me this morning telling me that it was fixed, was just a loose bolt after all even though yesterday he was full sure the the bearing had to be replaced!!

Not much mechanic of him then,does he still use hands to tighten the bolts on the wheels ?
Speaking of bearing had one replaced on drivers side,as noise in the car got so loud on low speeds that it sounded like im about to loose my wheel,so got it sorted 150e or so 5 months later same thing on the other side happens didn't wait for it to get any worse and got it fixed straight away so yes coincidences do happen.

cork93

definitely a bad mechanic, the emissions just preformed far worse in the re test after he "fixed" the exhaust and told me it was all sorted and to make matters worse the ABS warning light came up for the first time during the test!!

scamalert

cork93 wrote: »

definitely a bad mechanic, the emissions just preformed far worse in the re test after he "fixed" the exhaust and told me it was all sorted and to make matters worse the ABS warning light came up for the first time during the test!!

looks like if he was playing with your wheel he disconnected the abs sensor from the wheel hub and probably didn't tighten it properly or damaged it.

eringobragh

cork93 wrote: »

definitely a bad mechanic, the emissions just preformed far worse in the re test after he "fixed" the exhaust and told me it was all sorted and to make matters worse the ABS warning light came up for the first time during the test!!

Jesus maybe it is the mechanic / or **** luck on your end:(

Stheno

cork93 wrote: »

definitely a bad mechanic, the emissions just preformed far worse in the re test after he "fixed" the exhaust and told me it was all sorted and to make matters worse the ABS warning light came up for the first time during the test!!

Do you think your mechanic is psychic? How were they to know the abs light would come on? I've had them come on after a good wallop with a pothole. Exhausts are funny things, what did he do with it? And they are not the sole cause of poor emissions results either.

Did everything else go ok?

Nissan doctor

As this progresses, it seems like the mechanic may have done it. If he told you there was a 'nut' loose that led him to think the wheel bearing is gone then it really could only be the hub nut, which would not only be dangerous but also could well have damaged the ABS sensor or ring.


What where the figures for your emissions fail?

Stheno

Nissan doctor wrote: »

As this progresses, it seems like the mechanic may have done it. If he told you there was a 'nut' loose that led him to think the wheel bearing is gone then it really could only be the hub nut, which would not only be dangerous but also could well have damaged the ABS sensor or ring.


What where the figures for your emissions fail?

I must be far too tolerant!

That said, my car is an alfa and prone to peculiar and erratic behaviour!

Nissan doctor

Stheno wrote: »

I must be far too tolerant!

That said, my car is an alfa and prone to peculiar and erratic behaviour!

Well I'm very much aware of how things can fail at any time but there seems to be a few too many coincidences coming up here.

@OP, if you have a diagnostic done on the ABS and its the sensor on the same wheel that's faulty 'then it would lead to only one suggestion I think.