Auto Repair Bait & Switch Issue [Will we ever find out what car it is? Stay tuned]

BPMD

OK, I called a local car dealer to get my waterpump replaced and they quoted me €330 to fix it including parts and labour, they also told me if they order the waterpump and it isn't the problem I would still have to pay for the ordered waterpump and as I was confident the waterpump was the problem I agreed and I dropped the car in. A few days later they called me back and said they had received the water pump and they had underestimated the job and it would probably cost about €1,200 to fix. I replied, the car isn't worth that, they had originally quoted €330, so I would just collect the car. They then said that I would be responsible to pay for the waterpump which costs €110, I have looked the part up on line and I can get it delivered including VAT for as low as €34, plus they also want me to pay for 1/2hr of labour or they won't release the car. I'm not saying this is a small job, but they misquoted the price, I'm not asking them to honour this price, but I refuse to pay them anyhting. They also claim, they cannot return the ordered part, is this true and general practice and what other options do I have?

I've posted a more detailed account of this in the Legal Discussion forum with the same Title, any advice appreciated.

keithclancy

BPMD wrote: »

OK, I called a local car dealer to get my waterpump replaced and they quoted me €330 to fix it including parts and labour, they also told me if they order the waterpump and it isn't the problem I would still have to pay for the ordered waterpump and as I was confident the waterpump was the problem I agreed and I dropped the car in. A few days later they called me back and said they had received the water pump and they had underestimated the job and it would probably cost about €1,200 to fix. I replied, the car isn't worth that, they had originally quoted €330, so I would just collect the car. They then said that I would be responsible to pay for the waterpump which costs €110, I have looked the part up on line and I can get it delivered including VAT for as low as €34, plus they also want me to pay for 1/2hr of labour or they won't release the car. I'm not saying this is a small job, but they misquoted the price, I'm not asking them to honour this price, but I refuse to pay them anyhting. They also claim, they cannot return the ordered part, is this true and general practice and what other options do I have?

I've posted a more detailed account of this in the Legal Discussion forum with the same Title, any advice appreciated.

That's their own fault, they should have known what the cost was before they went ordering parts.

I'd go in and talk to them about it directly

mickdw

I'd pay for the pump and get it done somewhere else for less labour.
A it was their mistake re pricing, they have some neck looking for labour costs.
What car and engine type is it?

BPMD

Thanks for the replies, but why should I pay them €110 for a part I can get elsewhere for €34, plus pay them for labour considering the only labour they incurred was realising they misquoted me in the first place.

keithclancy

BPMD wrote: »

Thanks for the replies, but why should I pay them €110 for a part I can get elsewhere for €34, plus pay them for labour considering the only labour they incurred was realising they misquoted me in the first place.

You shouldn't in principal but on the other hand how long are you willing to spend fighting the issue with them.

It might be better just to pay it and then go to small claims court afterwards.

Otherwise you can spend time continuing to discuss the matter until they give in costing you time and effort plus a non working car.

biko

I've changed the title OP. There can be no legal advice on boards, except "see a solicitor".

BPMD

keithclancy wrote: »

You shouldn't in principal but on the other hand how long are you willing to spend fighting the issue with them.

It might be better just to pay it and then go to small claims court afterwards.

Otherwise you can spend time continuing to discuss the matter until they give in costing you time and effort plus a non working car.

Hi Keith,

Thanks, I think you're right, but it burns me that they have the neck to do this after misquoting me in the first place. They made the mistake and they should take some responsibility for their error, but instead, they expect me to compensate them for everything. I don't know anything about small claims, but I will learn and I'll go after them with a vengeance!

AltAccount

BPMD wrote: »

Thanks for the replies, but why should I pay them €110 for a part I can get elsewhere for €34, plus pay them for labour considering the only labour they incurred was realising they misquoted me in the first place.

You instructed them to order the part based on your own diagnosis. You should pay for the part.

I wouldn't pay for the labour, that's their own mistake.

dr.fuzzenstein

OP, what exactly are you getting done and why?
I cannot see how replacing a waterpump will cost more than a grand, unless there was other work involved like timing belt, headgasket, radiator and the likes.
If the garage in question really wants a bag of sand for a pump job, they are thieves and gangsters, plus if they're now holding your car hostage I'd get legal if they don't respond to reasonable requests.
Here's what you can do about the waterpump:
Ask the garage who their supplier is and why they are quoting that price.
Then get another garage to get a quote for the same part from the same supplier.
Get a written quote for the work they are proposing to do, so you have something in writing should it go to court.
Believe you me, dodgy cowboys hate nothing more than being asked to produce reams of very detailed paperwork to back up their inflated and ridiculous quotes.
Especially when you can come up with you own paperwork proving that the quote given to you is massively inflated.
Unless the garage is a main dealer, in which case the quotes sound entirely reasonable. :P
But level with us here, why does the waterpump need to be replaced? If the car overheated, here could have been huge damage done to the engine and maybe their quote is actually quite cheap?

BPMD

dr.fuzzenstein wrote: »

OP, what exactly are you getting done and why?

Hi Dr Fuzz, All I asked was for them to replace the water pump, which they quoted would cost €330 including parts and labour. Yes, unfortunately for this car the pump is poorly situated and apparently the engine has to be pulled to replace the pump. I believe I caught the problem early and I think there was no other damage and that is why I agreed with the garage to pay the €330 to change the pump without any further diagnostics, but when they looked at it they realised they misquoted me and it was a bigger job than they originally quoted. So they've done nothing to the car, maybe looked at it for about 10 minutes only to realise they underestimated the job and now they are holding my car ransom for me to pay for their incompetence.

BPMD

dr.fuzzenstein wrote: »

OP, what exactly are you getting done and why?

Hi Dr Fuzz, All I asked was for them to replace the water pump, which they quoted would cost €330 including parts and labour. Yes, unfortunately for this car the pump is poorly situated and apparently the engine has to be pulled to replace the pump. I believe I caught the problem early and I think there was no other damage and that is why I agreed with the garage to pay the €330 to change the pump without any further diagnostics, but when they looked at it they realised they misquoted me and it was a bigger job than they originally quoted. So they've done nothing to the car, maybe looked at it for about 10 minutes only to realise they underestimated the job and now they are holding my car ransom for me to pay for their incompetence.

But your comment about requesting the name of their supplier and asking for documentation is good advice, thanks.

Kenny Logins

What kind of car is it, and why does the dealer have a such a problem changing a water pump? Surely they'd know in advance how long it should take!?

dr.fuzzenstein

Kenny Logins wrote: »

What kind of car is it, and why does the dealer have a such a problem changing a water pump? Surely they'd know in advance how long it should take!?

Actually, second this. What kind of job this is will vary massively between cars. If it's French I wouldn't be surprised about removing the engine and the parts cost, Renault maybe?
According to Pub talk, the engine designer puts the engine together on a bench and the guy who designs the engine bay doesn't talk to him and vice versa, leading to situations where the engine has to come out for small jobs...

BPMD

dr.fuzzenstein wrote: »

Actually, second this. What kind of job this is will vary massively between cars. If it's French I wouldn't be surprised about removing the engine and the parts cost, Renault maybe?
According to Pub talk, the engine designer puts the engine together on a bench and the guy who designs the engine bay doesn't talk to him and vice versa, leading to situations where the engine has to come out for small jobs...

As far as repairing the car, obviously the type of car makes a difference, since some can be a lot easier to repair than others, but as far as the legalities go, the type of car shouldn't matter, since they provided a quote to do a specific job and now they are saying they initially underestimated the job. Despite, their error, I'm not asking them to honour their original promise, but they still have the neck to ask me to pay them for their mistakes.

Kenny Logins

What car is it?

mickdw

Don't pay labour. Why would you?
They did nothing except waste your time.
With regards to the part, im assuming it's a main dealer with a genuine part and as such it may be worth the extra cash. Sometimes the main dealer pump comes with additional housing and even thermostat - depending on car of course.
Pump for my audi was 150 versus 30 on ebay.
The dealer part came with updated housing , new thermostat and updated pump all pre assembled whereas the 30 quid part was just a cheap brand pump.

I don't know why you won't say car type?
Is the water pump driven off the timing belt in your car?

BPMD

Hi Mick,
Thanks for your reply. The pump is connected to the serpentine belt. I don't want to give the details of the car, since it might flag this to the repair shop and until this is resolved, I don't want to do this. If I'm not happy with the resolution, I will give full details and gladly name and shame the garage in question. If the price quoted is indeed the actual cost from their supplier, maybe the more expensive water pump might be better, although not necessarily. That being said, I don't know if it will even be worth repairing the car at this stage, so i don't want to pay €110 for a pump for i car i might be scrapping. The only reason I authorised the garage to order the pump was because they quoted me €330 to do the full job including parts and labour, if they initially told me it would cost over €1,200 or if they told me they needed to look at the car to give a proper estimate of the costs, I never would have authorised the garage to order the pump.

Gazzmonkey

AltAccount wrote: »

You instructed them to order the part based on your own diagnosis. You should pay for the part.

I wouldn't pay for the labour, that's their own mistake.

I agree 100%

Guy:Incognito

In fairness, if they see the post and can't work out your talking about them from the details already I doubt a make and model will change that.

BPMD

Gazzmonkey,

I instructed them to order the part based on their quote to do the full job for €330. If they told me it would cost over €1,200 I never would have authorised it and I never even would have dropped the car in to them the first place.

BPMD

Gazzmonkey,

I instructed them to order the part based on their quote to do the full job for €330. If they told me it would cost over €1,200 I never would have authorised it and I never even would have dropped the car in to them in the first place.

pred racer

If you put the make and model of your car, there are several mechanics on here who will be able to tell you what it should actually cost and it will be easier to make a decision based on this.

Beano

I find it odd that the OP wont mention what type of car it is.

slimjimmc

OP, can you confirm if the prices you got were for the identical product, i.e. same brand, same part number and that you are comparing not a cheap spurious part against a Genuine or OEM part?
If you throw up the P/Ns and I'm sure someone will be able to check the going price.


I don't think anyone has asked this, has your diagnosis been confirmed or have the garage discovered the problem to be something else? Were other defects found/other parts found to be in need of replacement?

BPMD

Update!

Thanks for all the replies and advice, but it’s all been resolved and I collected the car. I think what got them was when they said I authorised them to buy the part, I answered that it was under the assumption the whole job would cost €330 and then I started pushing them to complete the job for €330, although I acknowledge €330 might not be enough for this job and I had no intention of holding them to it. I also let them know that it was their inaccurate quote that caused the issue and they should take some responsibility for their error. The manager I spoke with seemed to initially deny that they quoted to do the full job for €330 and then they said they would check the paper work and get back to me and a few minutes later, they called back without actually acknowledging any fault of their own and said I could collect the car without the pump and no charge. Thanks again for all the advice and I’m glad I didn't need to go to small claims or escalate this any further.

mickdw

BPMD wrote: »

Update!

Thanks for all the replies and advice, but it’s all been resolved and I collected the car. I think what got them was when they said I authorised them to buy the part, I answered that it was under the assumption the whole job would cost €330 and then I started pushing them to complete the job for €330, although I acknowledge €330 might not be enough for this job and I had no intention of holding them to it. I also let them know that it was their inaccurate quote that caused the issue and they should take some responsibility for their error. The manager I spoke with seemed to initially deny that they quoted to do the full job for €330 and then they said they would check the paper work and get back to me and a few minutes later, they called back without actually acknowledging any fault of their own and said I could collect the car without the pump and no charge. Thanks again for all the advice and I’m glad I didn't need to go to small claims or escalate this any further.

Ok great.
so now, what type of car and engine is it?

dr.fuzzenstein

mickdw wrote: »

Ok great.
so now, what type of car and engine is it?

Pffft, I smell wind up.

hoodrats

BPMD wrote: »

Update!

Thanks for all the replies and advice, but it’s all been resolved and I collected the car. I think what got them was when they said I authorised them to buy the part, I answered that it was under the assumption the whole job would cost €330 and then I started pushing them to complete the job for €330, although I acknowledge €330 might not be enough for this job and I had no intention of holding them to it. I also let them know that it was their inaccurate quote that caused the issue and they should take some responsibility for their error. The manager I spoke with seemed to initially deny that they quoted to do the full job for €330 and then they said they would check the paper work and get back to me and a few minutes later, they called back without actually acknowledging any fault of their own and said I could collect the car without the pump and no charge. Thanks again for all the advice and I’m glad I didn't need to go to small claims or escalate this any further.

take a laxative, and tell us what car it is your talking about.

galwaytt

Something not right here.

If you told then to order the pump without agreeing a price for it, you don't get an out on it usually. What you 'could'have got it for elsewhere is irrelevant.

That you did is a win and got away lightly imho.

porsche boy

I'm actually dying to know what car it is..... please?????