Dealer and mechanic problems

gazzaman22

Lads/Lassies im in a spot of trouble over a car. I had a problem getting my one lights set for an nct test. Car is a citreon c5 and changing the bulbs proves to be a night mare. However i took it to a dealer/garage (simi registered) and asked him could he sort the bulb telling him it was a difficult job to get in/get access to the bulb(drivers side), They said they have a look and see, 20 minutes after looking, removing covers, moving power steering tanks and trying to get access to bulb he said to me come back in half an hour.
I came back in half an hour and they appeared to be just finished, Bulb changed- Paid €50 notes for the pleasure :rolleyes: However i noticed the car was in a lowered suspension position. i didnt pass much remarks as i thought when i drive it it will raise up by itself(i drove it back to a nct car wash 200 yards up the road) but it wouldnt raise back up, So back i went to the dealer, who said that this was a new problem and he hadnt time to investigate it now, and was basically trying to wash his hands of it....
i told him the car was fine when it came in, now its lowered down on the suspension now and that there was something done to it while it was here. He maintains its a separate issue that has just become apparent, I asked him to see if there was a cable or pipe plugged out while they were fitting the bulb as the pump/tank for the suspension was under the covers and quite close to the lights so he had a quick look and said he could see no problem. he said i would have to book it in on Thursday or friday for an examination.

I had to drive it home at 20 mile an hour with no suspension to take it to my own mechanic who cant figure out what the first lad done but, and cant get the suspension to rise again. and he is going to have to go down the road of replacing pumps to try and see if that will fix it, maybe sensors god knows what lies in store for it, Its an 2008 model and fixing could cost more than its worth........

Has anybody any advice on how to handle this situation, i mean the upshot being i paid the first guy to fix and light bulb in the car and wile he fixed the bulb i have a broken car back, i basically paid them to break my car.

Any suggestions much appreciated guys

Cee-Jay-Cee

I personally would go back to first place tell them they caused the problem and so they better sort it or you will be taking further action against them. You have already paid for the job you required so don’t pay another penny unless they can show you specific proof that they didn’t cause the problem.

gazzaman22

Cee-Jay-Cee wrote: »

I personally would go back to first place tell them they caused the problem and so they better sort it or you will be taking further action against them. You have already paid for the job you required so don’t pay another penny unless they can show you specific proof that they didn’t cause the problem.

Thanks for the advice, being a quiet and timid sort of person may i ask How would you go about this?

Guy:Incognito

When you say you assumed it would raise back up, did you check the position it was showing on the dash? Was it showing the driving position? Did you cycle through the positions to see will it raise and then lower it again?

Driving on the low setting isn't a good idea.

Is the pump running?

gazzaman22

Guy:Incognito wrote: »

When you say you assumed it would raise back up, did you check the position it was showing on the dash? Was it showing the driving position? Did you cycle through the positions to see will it raise and then lower it again?

Driving on the low setting isn't a good idea.

Is the pump running?

Pump doesn't seem to be running. No noise from it anyways.
I have cycled through the positions but it doesn't go up. Although from looking at the figure on the dash as you press the up Button, the animation shows it rising.
As for assuming. Generally when the suspension is lowered and you go above 25mph it self levels so I reckoned it would rise when I drove it back over to the wash....

Del2005

I wouldn't be letting the 2nd mechanic near it till the first have proven that they didn't cause it.

It's most likely that a cable or pipe got moved when they were fitting the bulb and just needs to be resteated. I doubt that any pumps will need replacing unless they really messed up.

Has anyone put a code reader onto it? Even a cheap OBD2 reader will give an error code to Google.

gazzaman22

Del2005 wrote: »

I wouldn't be letting the 2nd mechanic near it till the first have proven that they didn't cause it.

It's most likely that a cable or pipe got moved when they were fitting the bulb and just needs to be resteated. I doubt that any pumps will need replacing unless they really messed up.

Has anyone put a code reader onto it? Even a cheap OBD2 reader will give an error code to Google.

What do I say to the first guys. I mean they said to me that it was nothing they done to cause the issue and it's a secondary problem. I don't believe them.

Second mechanic has read the errors and it's come back with a steering angle sensor or something like that.

gazzaman22

Del2005 wrote: »

I wouldn't be letting the 2nd mechanic near it till the first have proven that they didn't cause it.

It's most likely that a cable or pipe got moved when they were fitting the bulb and just needs to be resteated. I doubt that any pumps will need replacing unless they really messed up.

Has anyone put a code reader onto it? Even a cheap OBD2 reader will give an error code to Google.

I was thinking the exact same things as yourself re cables and pipes

Second man rechecked all and all seemed okay

gazzaman22

Eventually got sorted, With my own mechanic, Turned out to be some fuse in a fuse box in the engine, My mechanic said the first lad obviously shorted the car somehow and it blew, However i am now down another 150(mechanics time and taking it to another garage with a special diagnostic computer... and the lend of a car for 2 days...
So all in all changing the light bulb in the headlight cost me 200€.... Do i have any recourse with the first garage man, or has anyone any advice for me...

gazzaman22

LIGHTNING wrote: »

Well you ignored the advice given to you about making sure the 1st mechanic sorted it. You wont get that money back (150e) that you gave to the second mechanic

I know.... i know... factors involved being mechanics were about 35 miles apart, my car was sitting practically on the wheels(like driving a tractor from the 50's) and i didn't fancy driving it much more in case i done some more damage.

Nuw

I'd give the first lads a call explaining what it was and that it was due to them shorting the circuit... see how he reacts. But in fairness, if he simply shrugs it off, there isn't much you can do as it's been dealt with by a third party...

Guy:Incognito

Did he say what the fuse was? If the pump, height selector and dash were working, what was stopping it raising?

gazzaman22

Guy:Incognito wrote: »

Did he say what the fuse was? If the pump, height selector and dash were working, what was stopping it raising?

The animation on the dash worked
The pump wasnt running so i presumme what ever fuse that was connected to the pump somehow got shorted. he may have plugged something out when car was running, Pump wire's or when disconnecting head lights....

Guy:Incognito

I managed to read pump doesn't work as pump does work further up, appologies. Would have said check the fuse straight away then