garage made my car worse

[delpiero]

hi everyone i was wondering if i could get some help as to where i stand with this situation please.

i took my car to a garage to get a new head gasket fitted. got it back and within an hour i had water pouring out of somewhere in the engine. it was not like this when i took it to them and now it seems like i might need a new engine in it. i havent paid for the job they did ( if you can call it a job ) i was wonderin if i was within my rights to refuse payment for what they have done and claim some kind of compensation if in fact they have knackered my engine so bad that i need a new one

thanks

[Conniff]

You lucky. It's not very often a garage lets a car out without payment first, so you have some power.

You must take it back and get them to complete the job you asked them to do. If you don't get any satisfaction then you can take it elsewhere to be sorted and use the payment the first garage is expecting to pay the second garage.
But I wouldn't pay for the work until you are completely satisfied.
It could be something as simple as a hose clip left loose.
I very much doubt that the engine has been damaged by changing a head gasket.

[delpiero]

went to the garage today ( took my sister with me as a witness to what they were gonna say ) to baically ask if they had sorted the bill out and to tell them what my mechanic had said last night.

the owner of the garage said that the water pump was ok when they had it there and that the leak was coming from the head after they did the gasket. i automatically said " so you let me drive away knowing that there was a leak on my car?" got no response. he then said it was a mystery to him how the water pump had gone but then changed to " the new belts we put on might have put too much tension on it and caused it to leak" my sister then stepped in and said it shouldnt be a mystery, a compenent mechanic should spot a bust water pump and know what hes doing.

then after less than 5 mins of talking to him he just said " get outta here before i lose my temper. i dont want anything for the job just get the f*** out of here"

i didnt raise my voice at all with him during the conversation and i didnt have a chance to tell him that i wasnt happy with what had been done and wasnt willing to pay the full amount for the job. nor did i mention that id got in touch with trading standards. he must have known they were in the wrong

[Conniff]

Good Morning del,

That's not the attitude of a professional mechanic or garage.
Can you tell me why you wanted the head gasket changed and how much you were quoted for the job.
When you say "tell them what my mechanic had said last night", have you taken it to another garage for advice?
Was it the owner of the garage you spoke to or an employed 'mechanic'.
Why was the water pump brought up in the conversation?