I will have to check the paper work but perhaps not.. I sure think that they should have done but maybe not if they weren't supplied with the new shaft. :L cheers for the tip, maybe i'll do it myself now:- I have seen a full lifting kit for £45 seems like a bargain I shouldnt miss, with this car

Hello there helios and thanks be for this important information We have the car back and the steering self centres :L my dad picked it up whilst I have been away & paid this nefarious garage £100 for a secondhand servo & they have put MOT on it. I am not quite sure where I stand now, I haven't taken the car on any ramps, although perhaps I should as it appears the left driveshaft which they replaced is leaking oil :L Sadly my grandmother who the car belonged to originally passed away last week and I am somewhat attached to this vehicle, is there any prospect of bending the car back?

OK guys difficult question but how could the garage have known that the front end was bent? I have a feeling that this is what the court case would rest on

Thankyou Sailor Sam & Helios thankyou both so much for all your help & advice in all of this you really have made a world of difference. OK so I'm going to write an email now saying that if they can't give the car the full repair within 7 days I am going to require a refund ... and if they refuse then what are my options? .. with many thanks & kind regards one love

belated update: the car was taken back to the garage the owner at the car with us and following this he agreed to repair the gearbox where it was leaking and make the casing fit flush over the clutch make the brakes system adequate - stop servo hissing make steering self centre and align make horn work resolve issues causing engine management light to be activated and was adamant that the gearbox is positioned correctly so agreed to replace the piece of melted & displaced steering rack with new . also pointed out to him they had tried to get me to buy a part which i indisputably didn't need pointed out that the centre flexi joint weld needed more exhaust paste on it where he could have replaced this part for the price he charged for the welding - owner agreed to re-weld.. they agreed to fix this was over a month ago now for no extra money from us however i have been struggling without my car and although they offered me a courtesy car i feel that this is taking an inordinate amount of time unreasonably last tuesday they emailed me and said all issues are sorted apart from brake servo which they are trying to source second hand - i saw they had a compatible brekaer in the yard but when i spoke to them about this verbally that day the manager & assitant manager informed me that this rubbish looking car was actually their courtesy car/ and that the owner who is dealing with my car is not here ... again this place is a limited company does this mean i cannot take them to small claims for a full refund?

we are going to 'walk around the car' ........ :L

I am in urgent need ofyour advice I am to go to the garage to speak with the owner at 1oclock yesterday they claim that 1:they had stopped gearbox oil leak 2: they had "made the engine management light go off" 3: an auto elctrician was coming to look at the horn easy bits... then they claim that 4 : yes the bodywork is bent where the gearbox fits but it was damaged caused in the accident not something that we did.. and 5: they did not mention how this pertains to their incorrect positioning of the gearbox so that it rubs on the steering arm and fatigues and melts the gaiter --- the steering no longer self centres and there is free play and clicking in it last i checked 6 : they did not mention the leaking brake servo at all bear in mind this garage the only they were was authorised to strip the car & check the fulll extent of the damage whereas they told us that the car was ok apart from a few things they told us where broken which apparently were not broken anyway & did not tell us about these things which are broken and would cause the car to be dangerous and to fail it's MOT

Hello all and good evening to you I am posting this query on behalf of a work colleague He is being chased for upwards of £800 by vodafone who renewed his contract when he had cancelled; from over a year ago he didnt cancel in writing but rather by phone and he was told that the matter had been closed apparently not Where does this situation stand? They have been sending letters to his mum. thanks SC

I am going to the garage very shortly - next 5 minutes The car was left there last Wednesday on the basis that they would phone that afternoon We have since emailed them with no response The car has been there a week we are going to see them now not sure what to do or what the position is I do know that the car would not have passed any MOT in the condition it was collected any advices?

Just to update: car is back with garage now ..

Helios are you there?

Legal eagle to the thread please My dad has booked the car in for a geometry test today, anyone know if this will tell me something an engineers report wouldnt cover? It's not going on the jig, just the wheel alignment... Thanks again

Legal eagle to the thread please. I am due to get an engineers report for tomorrow, my dad has booked the car for a geometry test at vauxhall dealer will this tell me anything that an engineers report wouldnt?

What is my position with the unauthorised work that has been done. I verbally agreed the initial estimate but never signed the job cards at any stage, I am disappointed that the engine mount has been welded as it is my firm belief that this is a one time fit component.

The car will go back sometime this week for the second time

the manifold was allegedly repaired.. I have some questions about this - it should have been replaced as per the agreement In fact when I was informed the car was ready for collection it was a result of me telephoning them to ask if the new manifold & gasket had arrived? I was told it was ready and that they had repaired the manifold somehow. I am not trying to make the garage liable for damage caused to my car in crash which they havent repaired indeed I will not attempt to make them liable for that which they are not liable but they are liable for bodging the jobs they have done and if they have bodged something to the extent that it affects something else eg the gearbox affecting the steering and brakes then maybe they are liable for that as well are they liable for the cost of an independent engineers report should I obtain one? What I am trying to do is recoup the substantial losses made in this transaction such as exhaust weld £45 & gearbox repair £80 also if the gearbox is found to have been positioned incorrectly then I will attempt to recoup the charge for the welding of the mount which was never authorised anyway. this is all besides the point though really it's not just about my finances and the fact I crashed my car I am just very unhappy that the garage has not stuck to the agreed work in any way really apart from the driveshaft and that the car was released in an unroadworthy condition which is a criminal offense If the car is put on the jig and it is found that the garage has bent the floor of my vehicle to make the bodgy welding fit I will claim the £5k cost of a full repair from them in small claims - if I can recoup the cost and the labour of the bad repairs that have been done that would offset the cost in budget of a complete repair of my vehicle which is what this garage should have advised me on in the first place

why didn't he just remove the door & adjust it with a plain or a sander?

as you can see in the op the garage has not carried out really any of the repairs as authorised the gearbox was allegedly - I have my doubts about this - it should have been replaced as per the agreement the rear engine mount was welded - it should have been replaced as per the agreement it says on the invoice 'exhaust weld' £45 for this money should have replaced the not welded, pasted flexi pipe section of the exhaust helios In the invoice it says supplied & fitted ns driveshaft, my list of current faults says 'offside driveshaft leaking' this is because the new driveshaft isnt leaking, but the one on the other side is, I would have preferred two faulty driveshafts replaced rather than one they have fitted a clutch @£56 which was never authorised I have since taken the car to a reputable garage who may have resolved the gearbox oil leak by tightening up the big bolts that run through to make the seal as they were loose! I think the problem with the steering may arise from the track rod ends since the steering arm itself does not seem to be broken... every time I get the front wheels paralell to point straight the steering wheel seems to be in a slighty different place .. the horn not working is a blatant fault that should obviously have been notifed the brakes servo is a blatant fault the hissing noise it emits is fully audible & braking efficiency is reduced the manifold was allegedly repaired.. I have some questions about this - it should have been replaced as per the agreement plainly everyone can see this garage has put their utmost effort into ripping me off, doing things 'cheaper' and then not passing the reduced cost onto the final bill in the slightest! Profiteering? Mugging! when the car was towed to the garage I was well aware that the cost of almost any significant repair would be greater than the value of the car and I was fully aware that a repair of great significance was required nonetheless I wanted to proceed as I wanted my car repaired which the garage has conspicuously failed to do. Please advise : what are my rights when I ask can I expect to recieve a copy of the invoice for this supposed 3rd party repair to my gearbox? Isn't it legally wrong of the garage to do things to the car without my consent?

My understanding is that any advice I can glean from CAG would be completely null & void if I was ever anything less than completely open & honest I feel I must clarify here that the garage has not been working under instruction from my insurance policy, nor were they ever asked merely to 'get me back on the road'

brb

The original quote is subject to 'stripping down to check if no further damage' in saying this i feel that at the time they assented to check the car thoroughly for damage - something which they have seemingly willfully failed to do Not realising that the horn wasn't working for example is imo unacceptable I did not drive the car from when they had it until I picked it up & when I did so I drove it straight to Motorvogue FIAT Northampton to have it checked over as it just felt so wrong. At no point were the garage requested to just 'get it back on the road' I would pay any money for a thorough, proper & adequate repair. Furthermore all the work that is paid for on the reciept is not the work that was authorised from the estimate I am going to get an 'engineers report' on tuesday and the car will probably be returned to the garage on wednesday am, should I supplement the engineers report with an MOT? What are peoples opinions? PS we have spoken to barclaycard about disputing the payment who on the phone said wait till the 4th for the payment to go through didnt sound right so went to the bank and asked them who said you should speak to barcalaycard not barclays because it's a different company; something smelling very very fishy in all this ... best x x

Boro, thankyou for clarifying the mot situation I have taken the car to at least 5 different garages who were at pains to point out to me that I am currently driving an unroadworthy vehicle they all suggested I should get all my money back from the 'garage' as they have done such a bad job the original quote does say they are going to strip down and check for damage and given that they have commited a criminal offence in returning the car to me in this unroadworthy state: relating to brakes/steering/chassis (possibly) they are liable for any damage outstanding as they should have found it when they checked, that's my view of it currentlyvafter all I did pay them to assess the damage to the car. am i right?

** sorry that should say 'Good Fiat dealer' Motorvogue Northampton have never been anything less than excellent in their dealings with me. Please help me guys the car is really important to us I feel at my wits end with this already and yet I feel this is going to be very long drawn out process I have made myself sick at night lying awake wondering what this garage has done to my car

Motorvogue, a goof fiat dealer local to me have said they won't do an independent report as they are not going to be technically recognised as being 'independent' I am not sure what this means. The car is booked into a vauxhall dealership who will assess & photo the shoddy jobs done but will they be recognised as being 'independent'? I have been advised to have an MOT done on the car but my concern with this is invalidating my current MOT cert which will be valid for only another 2 months anyway. Please advise what is my best course of action here, I think I am looking for an engineers report that will stand up in court. Motorvogue FIAT are adamant the gearbox is in the wrong place, do you think I would just be able to get someone there to sign something saying this & then take it back to the garage & get them to rectify? With thanks x PS: trading standards have advised me that the garage have commited a criminal offence in giving me the car unroadworthy and they are obliged to sort the problems out with no further money from myself

I am sorry for the misleading thread title, the car was fine before the repair . I was in a bit of a tizz when I wrote the op & wasn't really sure what to call it. Is it possible that a modmin could alter the title to something more appropriate? I think that is good advice & I will try to get the car MOT today. Where do I stand with repairs that haven't been carried out at all such as the brakes servo & the broken steering rack? ( which may be affected by the poor welding on the gearbox? )