Any comeback when unhappy with work done?

shortie_chik

Long story but I don't know if I have any recourse with the first garage, so I'd appreciate any advice!

Back in April I was driving cross country & hit a deep pot-hole. There was a lot of creaking & noise coming from the passenger side front wheel area so I stopped & got it checked out by a local mechanic (sent by my insurance company).

He said I'd cracked a spring in the front suspension and needed to replace it. He recommend I change both front springs as they'd be corroding etc with more salt on the roads in recent years (it's a 03 VW Polo). I don't know a whole lot about car maintenance, so I took his recommendation. Can't remember the exact charge but it was definitely over €100, maybe €140.

Over the last while I've noticed a creaky noise still coming from the passenger side wheel area, and my steering wheel isn't exactly level when I'm driving in a straight line. I brought it to my usual garage this morning (a VW dealership) who said that the springs were put in incorrectly (think he said switched sides) and so they're not sitting into their correct position. This is probably causing the creaking noise, and could be connected to the off-level steering wheel. They'll let me know more later.

Anyway it'll cost over €200 :eek: to get this issue with the springs corrected. I'm quite annoyed that it's going to cost a fortune (I assume most of the €200 is the labour charge to take the car apart & put it back together again) to fix the previous badly done repair. So do I have any recourse with the previous garage? I'd like to get on to him, if for no more than to tell him he's putting his springs in wrong (according to my local garage)!!!

Is there anything else I can do? I can hardly ask him to pay for the correction can I!? :mad:

Alanstrainor

The dealer is not the place to go to get that rectified surely? Not parts needed and just take springs out and refit. 200 is madness. Although I don't know how labour intensive that job is on that model, but given the first price inclusive of parts I'd think it's a handy job.

You should have gone back, or at least contacted the guy who did the work, there's no way he'll repay you now I reckon. But I can see why you'd go elsewhere for a different opinion... it's just unfortunate with the excessive labour charge you're left with.

Del2005

As above as you didn't give the original garage an opportunity to resolve the issue the best you can hope for is good will.

I'd be more annoyed at your usual garage charing €200 labour on a job which couldn't take that long if the original place was €140 for parts and labour. You need to find a different usual garage that place is way too much for a 12 year old car.

shortie_chik

Yeah the VW garage is always going to be more expensive, but it's my local place, I don't know much about car maintenance, & I trust them! :rolleyes: Actually their service really is good & they do bend over backwards to keep you happy.

Alanstrainor wrote: »

You should have gone back, or at least contacted the guy who did the work, there's no way he'll repay you now I reckon. But I can see why you'd go elsewhere for a different opinion... it's just unfortunate with the excessive labour charge you're left with.

In April I stopped in Kilkenny to get the car seen (I was told not to drive the car any further until it was checked). Now I'm back home in Dublin, and it's only in the last while that I thought I should get it looked at again.

I only found out today that the springs were in the wrong way. There's no way I would have known this myself. So now I'm wondering about calling the Kilkenny guy, now that I know the work wasn't done correctly in April.

Stheno

shortie_chik wrote: »

Yeah the VW garage is always going to be more expensive, but it's my local place, I don't know much about car maintenance, & I trust them! :rolleyes: Actually their service really is good & they do bend over backwards to keep you happy.



In April I stopped in Kilkenny to get the car seen (I was told not to drive the car any further until it was checked). Now I'm back home in Dublin, and it's only in the last while that I thought I should get it looked at again.

I only found out today that the springs were in the wrong way. There's no way I would have known this myself. So now I'm wondering about calling the Kilkenny guy, now that I know the work wasn't done correctly in April.

Was in driving ok in April, May, June after the repair, given that it only started creaking recently?

shortie_chik

Del2005 wrote: »

As above as you didn't give the original garage an opportunity to resolve the issue the best you can hope for is good will.

I'd be more annoyed at your usual garage charing €200 labour on a job which couldn't take that long if the original place was €140 for parts and labour. You need to find a different usual garage that place is way too much for a 12 year old car.

I didn't give the original garage the opportunity to resolve the issue as I didn't know that there was a problem (with their work) until the local garage told me. The other garage is in Kilkenny, not that handy to get back to!

If you can recommend a good garage for maintaining a VW near the Dublin 15 area, I'm open to suggestions!

shortie_chik

Stheno wrote: »

Was in driving ok in April, May, June after the repair, given that it only started creaking recently?

From April to mid-July, I was only driving short distances at the weekend (grocery shopping etc ) so I didn't notice. In the last 3-4 weeks I've been doing longer drives (Dublin to Waterford & Kilkenny) and that's when I noticed the crooked steering wheel.

My partner was driving the car during the week over the last few months, he thinks the creaking noise has been there for a while. I don't know if it was creaking immediately after the repair in April, but since the springs were fitted incorrectly in April, it's possible that it was creaking since then. There was never a creak before that damn pot-hole!

Del2005

shortie_chik wrote: »

I didn't give the original garage the opportunity to resolve the issue as I didn't know that there was a problem (with their work) until the local garage told me. The other garage is in Kilkenny, not that handy to get back to!

If you can recommend a good garage for maintaining a VW near the Dublin 15 area, I'm open to suggestions!

You shouldn't have authorised the VW garage to do the work till you'd contacted the other place. Unfortunately them not been convenient to get to doesn't mean that you get work done elsewhere and then look for money off then, as they could have a garage they could have sent it to.

Can't help on garages as I do most of my own work

kay 9

Springs have nothing to do with centering of the steering wheel, I'd run a mile from any main dealer that said the springs could cause it.

Get your tracking done with someone reputable after getting a full check over by a real mechanic

challengemaster

kay 9 wrote: »

Springs have nothing to do with centering of the steering wheel, I'd run a mile from any main dealer that said the springs could cause it.

If your springs are fitted arseways then your ride height, caster, camber and toe (aka alignment) are all probably going to be off, which would affect the steering wheel position.