Garage riping !me off!

[ndnorthleeds]

I have an Audi A3 1.6 S REG 1998,i ve had it for 9 months now .I n feb 2008 i noticed that the car was mixing water and oil (Head gasket problem i beleive)

When i bought the car i also included a policy called Mechenical Breakdown insurace claim which cover certain things includind the head gasket,i then phoned the insurance company without delay .

The insurance company asked me to take the car to a garage of my choice and link it with them so that they can get the invoice of the repairs,i then found a garage called Bosch car services in leeds and gave them all the details.

After about 2 weeks not hearing from the garage i decide to ring them and the Manager told me the insurance had said they could only cover up to £500 and they were not covering other things like oil e.t.c though the car is worth over £5000, anywere i asked him what was i to pay for the service and he said £150 which i agreed to.

After about another week i phoned the garage for a follow up as i had realized that they never phone me for anything and was told the manager was on sick leave but they were also waiting for a go ahead from the insurance company . I was beggining to loose my patience so i rang again the followin day and the Manager was in ,so he said all was done but they discovered that the rediator was leaking thats why i had a gasket problem and is not covered in the policy. thus i was chaged another £224 ,i was getting really desperate by then as i needed the car for my work so i asked him to just do it.by then ! it was a month the car still at garage.

They then rang me the following day to collect the car ,surprisingly i was given a bill of about £436 plus the £500 which was paid by the insurance,but the invoice was not showing any details of what was done on the car.When i asked (THE MANAGER)He said everything has been done including the service and details of the work done will be posted.

I then took the car but on my second day i noticed something wrong with the car but ignored by saying ,maybe its because the car was parked for a long time. But then after about 2 weeks the car started just cutting off in the middle of the road and would not start for about 20-25min .WHEN it did that for the third time i had to callfor a breakdown to tore it back to the same Garsge and the Manager suggested i may have put contaminated fuel .I then left the car for them to identify the problem but a day passed with no call from them so i jumped into a bus and went straight to the garage and was told they was a problem with a cambelt sensor which got burnt when i had a head gasket problem and the insurance is not covering it so i must pay another £245 !i then asked why was this sensor not noticed when they were doing the car?I M now caught up between these 2 (THE GARAGE AND THE INSURANCE) im really confuused!! they are keeping my car now !is this FAIR!please help !!anyone i neen the car for my work .WHAT DO I DO NOW? THIS IS LEEDS WEST YORKSHIRE ! HELP!!

[Conniff]

Hi nd

 

Have you had the itemised bill they promised to post you?

 

If not go and demand, (and wait) while the bill is prepared.

 

Telephone the warranty company and ask about any conversation they have had with the garage and what work they authorised.

 

Demand the return of all parts that have been replaced, they are yours and always remain yours and not the garages.

 

Is the radiator a new one?

 

A repair is just that, the warranty is to repair and to reinstate and to say they wont include the oil is not correct.

 

Have a read of the thread I have just done ref 'Garage Crackdown' and report them to Trading Standards. Maybe they will have a crackdown in your area if they get enough complaints.

[ndnorthleeds]

AUDI HEAD GASKET (dIAGNOSTIC TEST)

DOES ANY ONE HAVE ANY IDEA, WHEN A HEAD GASKET IS BEING DONE ON THIS CAR AND THE CAMBELT SENSOR IS FAULTY ,IS IT NOT SOMETHING TO BE PICKEKED UP BY WHO EVER IS FIXING THE CAR ? HELP COZ THE GARRAGE IS CHARGING ME AGAIN AFTER HAVING FIXED MY CAR AND TOLD ME ALL WAS FINE BUT CAR BROKE DOWN WTHIN A WEEK ,NOW THEY ARE SAYING SENSOR WAS CAUSED BY HEAD GASKET!!

[chasin sunsets]

Unless there are manufacturers reccomendations that the sesor be changed at the same time as the head gasket, then I am afraid they can hit you with another bill. I am taking my car to a dealers soon for servicing as it is the 1st new (ish) car we have owned (4 years old in nov 08). I carry out servicing on my other car as it costs a fortune in a dealer (Range Rover Classic) plus the service book doesnt really matter ona car of this age. I am meticulous into what is carried out and always (a good thing to do) take note of all things to be changed i.e cambelt, oil/oil filter etc, MARK them with indelible pens...when u get hme, CHECK them..a bit retentive I know, but you have the garage by the Blks!! Just a bit of advice (Mech Eng by trade but now in higher education)

[ndnorthleeds]

hi every one again !

Thanks a lot for all your advice on this garage issue ,i have tried to find a way through this but i could "nt , i ended up paying for the sensor they claimed was burnt and i collected the car as i needed it for work.

Amaizinly the car has developed other problems whilist driving it cuts or jacks as if they is a fuel problems and once the engine is hot the car will not start or will misfire befor it start ,i think the garage has has done something wrong to my car and im afraid if i take it to them they will come up with something else to get money out of me again .

HOW DO I SOLVE THIS NOW ANY HELP !

[Conniff]

You can check a few things yourself on this. Hot starting problems are usually due to excess fuel ie the choke so supplying cold start amounts of fuel.

First have a look at the exhaust, is it black and sooty at the end of the pipe. Next removel the spark plugs and see if they are black and sooty, clean and regap them.

 

Get someone to operate the throttle slowly and watch the control linkage, is should open with the slightest depression of the pedal.

 

As you wont have a manual choke, it will be controlled by the ecu and unfortunately that will be a garage job.

[ndnorthleeds]

You can check a few things yourself on this. Hot starting problems are usually due to excess fuel ie the choke so supplying cold start amounts of fuel.

First have a look at the exhaust, is it black and sooty at the end of the pipe. Next removel the spark plugs and see if they are black and sooty, clean and regap them.

 

Get someone to operate the throttle slowly and watch the control linkage, is should open with the slightest depression of the pedal.

 

As you wont have a manual choke, it will be controlled by the ecu and unfortunately that will be a garage job.

 

thanks a lot mate for your quick reply , but honestly do i have to go through all this after paying so much money ! i have been to the garage this morning and they have already suggested some thing else to do with a petrol sensor !, the thing is i have never had all these problemes with this car ! this is a fine car ,all these are coming after they did the head gasget !