Am I right to be annoyed with the garage in this situation?

Ms. Pingui

I've an old VW Polo and I knew the clutch was going for the last week or so. It eventually went completely while I was in a car park last Thursday.
I called the nearest garage and they came out with the recovery truck and took it away to repair it.
I told the mechanic that there was also a problem with the clutch pedal itself. It had stopped springing back up when you took your foot off it and was basically stuck down.

I rang them later that day and they quoted me 300 for parts and labour which was grand.
I was told it was ready yesterday so I paid in cash and drove away.

However I only got a few metres down the street when I had to make an emergency stop, the problem wasn't fixed at all, the pedal was still broken therefore I was unable to actually change gear even with the new clutch.

Less than ten minutes after I had collected the car I had to ring the mechanic to come back up and get the car for a second time.

Now I have to pay another 40 euro for them to repair the problem with the pedal, I won't have the car back until Tuesday and the mechanic obviously lied about taking the car for a spin to ensure the problem was fixed the first time.

Am I right to be annoyed about this or am I over reacting?

goz83

I would be annoyed about him saying he took it for a spin if he didn't.

Ms. Pingui

goz83 wrote: »

I would be annoyed about him saying he took it for a spin if he didn't.

Ya exactly. They sent the car out as fixed when it wasn't drivable at all.

alan partridge aha

You are dead right been peed off, most people would expect to be able to drive away without issue after a car has been repaired.

corktina

Why did you have to do an emergency stop?

Ms. Pingui

corktina wrote: »

Why did you have to do an emergency stop?

Maybe an emergency stop is a technical term, I don't know.
I meant an emergency stop as in the car was impossible to drive with no gears in heavy traffic in the middle of a town so I had to just pull it out of the way at the first opportunity.

Ms. Pingui

What would be the best course of action to take with the garage or should I just pay up and leave it be?

H3llR4iser

Ms. Pingui wrote: »

I've an old VW Polo and I knew the clutch was going for the last week or so. It eventually went completely while I was in a car park last Thursday.
I called the nearest garage and they came out with the recovery truck and took it away to repair it.
I told the mechanic that there was also a problem with the clutch pedal itself. It had stopped springing back up when you took your foot off it and was basically stuck down.

I rang them later that day and they quoted me 300 for parts and labour which was grand.
I was told it was ready yesterday so I paid in cash and drove away.

However I only got a few metres down the street when I had to make an emergency stop, the problem wasn't fixed at all, the pedal was still broken therefore I was unable to actually change gear even with the new clutch.

Less than ten minutes after I had collected the car I had to ring the mechanic to come back up and get the car for a second time.

Now I have to pay another 40 euro for them to repair the problem with the pedal, I won't have the car back until Tuesday and the mechanic obviously lied about taking the car for a spin to ensure the problem was fixed the first time.

Am I right to be annoyed about this or am I over reacting?

Maybe - something doesn't sound quite right. You say the issue reappeared after "a few meters" - which means you were able to start the car, release the clutch and get it rolling...is this the case?

If so, we're looking at a case of an incorrect repair, and it is possible that the car did work well when they checked it. Still, it should be their duty to make sure the repair is done correctly.

Ms. Pingui

H3llR4iser wrote: »

Maybe - something doesn't sound quite right. You say the issue reappeared after "a few meters" - which means you were able to start the car, release the clutch and get it rolling...is this the case?

If so, we're looking at a case of an incorrect repair, and it is possible that the car did work well when they checked it. Still, it should be their duty to make sure the repair is done correctly.

Don't think so. I started it in first, pulled out, got stuck in traffic, when I went to shift into second it became obvious you could only change gears with the engine off.

Markcheese

I'm no mechanic but if that pedal problem had happened without the clutch being shot , I'd have thought slave or master cylinder ?? Could the clutch have been fine but one of the cylinders shot ??
Or just that they hadn't bled the system properly ??

Ms. Pingui

Markcheese wrote: »

I'm no mechanic but if that pedal problem had happened without the clutch being shot , I'd have thought slave or master cylinder ?? Could the clutch have been fine but one of the cylinders shot ??
Or just that they hadn't bled the system properly ??

Oh God haha! I have very, very limited knowledge of cars so I wish I understood this. I just have trust what the mechanic is saying which is quite frustrating.

mphalo1

150 for clutch kit , 25 for gear oil and then whatever overheads 300 in total is nearly slave labor to take a gearbox out n do that ps if it is the slave cylinder they are 150 euro for the part alone if its the internal type, its out with the gearbox again

..

Markcheese

Ms. Pingui wrote: »

Oh God haha! I have very, very limited knowledge of cars so I wish I understood this. I just have trust what the mechanic is saying which is quite frustrating.

To be fair ,I just trust what the mechanic says as well,cos a little knowledge is a dangerous thing,and I have very little ...

Ms. Pingui

mphalo1 wrote: »

150 for clutch kit , 25 for gear oil and then whatever overheads 300 in total is nearly slave labor to take a gearbox out n do that ps if it is the slave cylinder they are 150 euro for the part alone if its the internal type, its out with the gearbox again

..

Ya, that's what they charged me anyway. I will be very annoyed if they misdiagnosed the problem and make the whole thing even more costly. I'm a student, I can't afford to spend much more on it.

Tail Docker

Couldn't possibly just have been the clutch cable off or snapped so eh? Pop cable back on...."Erm your clutch is fixed, come and get it..." It's an old polo, slaves etc might just be a cable..

Ms. Pingui

Tail Docker wrote: »

Couldn't possibly just have been the clutch cable off or snapped so eh? Pop cable back on...."Erm your clutch is fixed, come and get it..." It's an old polo, slaves etc might just be a cable..

Don't think so, the cables were checked in front of me.

Tail Docker

Ms. Pingui wrote: »

Don't think so, the cables were checked in front of me.

Well if the clutch pedal has just dropped to the floor, on an older Polo, it is usually the grommet where the cable passes through the bulkhead has sawn through and the cable is sticking between the cut in the sheet metal - a washer welded in and a new grommet sorts that. It used to be a very common failure.

There are no slaves/master cylinders for these clutches, they're old school cable jobbies. So either the cable is off at the pedal, the cable is off at the clutch arm, the cable has sawn through the bulkhead or the cable is corroded and sticking. Even if the clutch was 100% worn out, the pedal would still come back to position, just pressing it would have no effect.

jumbone

What polo is it? There was a model where pedal box failures were common

Ms. Pingui

Tail Docker wrote: »

Well if the clutch pedal has just dropped to the floor, on an older Polo, it is usually the grommet where the cable passes through the bulkhead has sawn through and the cable is sticking between the cut in the sheet metal - a washer welded in and a new grommet sorts that. It used to be a very common failure.

There are no slaves/master cylinders for these clutches, they're old school cable jobbies. So either the cable is off at the pedal, the cable is off at the clutch arm, the cable has sawn through the bulkhead or the cable is corroded and sticking. Even if the clutch was 100% worn out, the pedal would still come back to position, just pressing it would have no effect.

Well he's supposed to be putting in a new pedal and springs today so hopefully he will realise if what you have mentioned is the real problem.

I asked them if the clutch was actually gone and if the pedal problem wasn't the real issue and he said the clutch was definitely gone and shook the old clutch in my face so I haven't a clue really..

Ms. Pingui

jumbone wrote: »

What polo is it? There was a model where pedal box failures were common

2000, 1.4 polo, that's all I know. It's old, bound to be problems I suppose.