Hi, Sorry to start a new thread on this issue but I think my last thread had so many replies that no one is looking at it now. I desperately need advice on a letter I want to send, the summary of the situation follows: I had a car fail an MOT at a garage and they told me that due to the new omputer MOT (instead of just paper) that I could no longer take my car back home as it had no mot and implied I would not be insured if I did. I needed to know as this cost me an extra £200 labour in work that I could have done myself. the letter is: Please could anyone with who knows about these sort of letters please advice me on my use of words, grammer and how I should close it, or is it ok as it is. Many thanks for your time with this.

Dear all. Great to have found this forum. Im really hoping I can find some sort of direction. My problem has been on going for about 4 months now, almost from day one of purchasing the car. Its a Toyota Celica 2006 model. To cut a very long story short here ..... the car was purchased, knowingly by me, with non standard alloys. However, from day one I noticed issues with handling. This was reported several times to the garage. After the first recall I was told that there was nothing wrong but also that a 4 wheel alignment check had been done. This turned out to be untrue. I did not receive any paperwork clarifying this. On the second recall I was told the car was ok still, but a (another) 4 wheel alignment check had been done and found some adjustment was needed, proven with the steering wheel now pointing straight. I can only assume that the first time it was not done as they indicated. Problem still there . .. basically the car feels unstable when at speeds above 50mph and tends to wander and jump depending on road conditions. Having done my own investigations, Ive since learned that the tyres are over stretched on the wheels which are in turn not the correct size for the car. The tyres are the original and true size stretched over wheels 30mm wider than standard. When I reported this to the garage they told me that the car was safe and that "their" tyre centre said the tyres fitted (205s) would be what they would fit on these wheels (8J). This must be untrue as I have since been to this tyre centre and they have told me that they would not fit this size tyre to that wheel and put this in writing. I have since learned that should the correct tyre size be fitted to this wheel (235s) then it would clash with the bodywork in certain conditions. Therefore I take it this makes the car unsafe. The garage concerned are not accepting responsibility for this whatsoever, even though clearly they have been lying and avoiding communication from both myself and the finance company who "own" the car. What I could do with knowing is am I in the right here. Yes, I accept I knew the wheels were non standard, but is it my responsibility to check they are correct for the car? Surely this is the garage's responsibility to ensure that the wheels (and car are fit for the purpose it was sold for and therefore if the wheels are too big than the manufacturer recommend would that not be their call? Or is this my call simply because I new the wheels where non standard. The tyres are too narrow for the wheel so there is not enough grip on the road, therefore making it unstable. Any advice would be very much appreciated. Im about to go to Trading Standards on this, but if anyone here knows anything then please do advise. Thank you Martin (Oxford)

Hi Our village has an established garage (motor repairs) and in 2011 I took my car for MOT. Faild on some points but the main wa a new CAT and exhaust. All put right at great expense (CAT) I was not happy with the sound of it at all... compained and was told they fitted a cheapo! Later complained some more and they accepted it was at fault so they replaced. CAT and exhaust had a 1 yr warranty. So to keep the timeing clear: Original (faulty) fitted Jan 2011. Replaced Feb 2011. Took car for MOT in jan 2012 and it failed on the CAT, was told another £500 to replace. I remembered the replacement was still under warranty by one month. They dod not like it but they did replace it. So, last week a funny noise aooeared and today it's worse and the car juders under accelleration Etc. Call's into local garage (same) and was gleefully informed "Yeah... it's your exhaust mate... It's knackered" Well, I was fumeing a little and suddenly spurted "Oh, well that's ok then. As it's still under warranty" I pointed out it had only beed fitted for 11 months. Although they said they will lok at it Monday, do I have the right to a free repacement as whatever they are fitting are not lasting the 12 months. I have the feeling I'm out of luck ( Any advice would be great. Thanks Glyn

Hi everyone, I really need advice on this subject as I do not want to make the wrong choice here. I bought a car a few months ago and to cut a long story short, I have found that the the car garage have forged the MOT certificate (not forged by the MOT centre itself, but the garage has put a blank square of paper over the advisory items and photocopied it) showing me the car had no advisories, when it actually had 9. When I got it home I realised it was leaking diesel (which I didn't notice when I picked it up as they kindly left the tank empty for me) and the windscreen had a crack (didn't notice because it was raining). Since then, I have found out the hard way that the fuel gauge was incorrect (they had put the fuel sender in backwards which was causing the leak also) and the car has been kangarooing and bouncing down the road (very expensive wiring fault which has been caused by someone trying to force a part into the car which is not the right one). Now it only drives in limp mode - fabulous! They have also taken £100 more out of my account than agreed. I have reported the garage to everyone - VOSA, DVLA, Citizens advice, trading standards, the MOT centre etc.. and I have written them 3 letters asking them to pay for the repairs to be done elsewhere (I live a 45 min drive from them) and threatening court. They have responded staing they will fix the major problems but will not fix the advisories. Firstly, I do not want them to touch my car as I do not trust them, secondy, why should I accept that I have overpaid for a car I was told was in excellent condition, but later find it has 9 issues that will need addressing soon. Now consumer advice says I have done enough to take them to court but I had better ensure that I have enough proof. My question is: photos of the parts they said they changed (but obviously hadn't), a copy of the forged MOT certificate, an email from the MOT centre stating that they have stopped doing business with the garage as other customers have reported faked MOT's also, a recorded telephone conversation with the salesman yelling at me that I don't understand how MOT's work and all MOT certificates are printed out blank first (that they come in 2 parts and I must have looked at the wrong one when I bought the car - which is not true at all), a conversation with the previous owner who says she traded it in with no problems (to a different garage), a letter from the car garage stating that they charged me £100 extra for a cam belt change (when I have the service reciept which stated all they did was change the brake disc pads and oil filter) - Is this enough to risk taking them to court without giving them the chance to fix the car first, as I do not trust them to fix the car properly or safely! I cannot take the car back here, they are not agreeing to do all of the work i am requesting and I shudder to think of the job they will do. Thanks so much for your replies and experiences

Hi I had my vehicle serviced by a garage. It is, or was fitted with a K&N air filter - which is a lifetime filter which just needs to be cleaned. It's supposed to give increased performance & mpg. I checked it today and found it to be replaced by a throw away filter so I have a £48 filter missing and was no doubt charged for the inferior part they replaced it with. K&N filters have been around for along time and are clearly marked up, so I assume a young inexperienced mechanic/trainee was doing the service and hadn't been told to look out for them. I've emailed the garage today to see their response - has anyone come across this before?

Hi, My wife and I agreed to purchase a car from a garage. After we test drove the new vehicle we gave the garage owner the key to our old car for him to review it. He looked it over but chose not to drive it. We arranged to collect our new car 5days later. We went to collect as arranged and were dealt with by another employee as the owner wasn't in. After we exchanged signed contracts and handed over the cash we thought the deal was done. However the employee asked a colleague to test drive our vehicle, he came back stating an ABS light was on and the Engine Management light, which was correct. The employee asked if the original guy we saw 5 days at knew about it, I said I wasn't sure but that we did give him the key to look at our car. The employee said fine and we shook hands and left. That was 10 days ago. They have now rung me up today and said they've had the lights reset but they keep coming back on so they're going to have to charge me for the repairs. Can they do this?

Hello! I bought a pulse strider scooter 2/3 months ago, and within 2 weeks the diaphram on the carburetor had broken. I took it to scootlife (a scooter garage in darwen) and the part was replaced (£30 labour + £15 part). It has since broken again with the same fault. I am under the impression that the part (at least!) should be under warranty and that i should not have to pay for the new part, and when giving me a quote for the work the garage did not mention anything to do with warranty. I have since contacted the garage and asked them about it and he has said he will contact the supplier. I think i have lost the invoice for the previous work though i am sure the garage will have it on its books! Does anybody know my legal situation? My converstation with the garage was very strained when mentioning the warranty and i am fairly sure he is going to play hardball over the issue. Its also worth mentioning that i have aksed the bike to be surviced as well as the defect being fixed and he has given me a rough quote of £35 service, £30 labour, £15 part. AND i have since found the part online at two stockists for £9.99. Thanks for reading, hope i have provided enough information. (bike in questions - Pulse Strider 125 - SB125T-23A.)

HI, just looking for a little advice as to where I stand. A local company came to fit a new garage door, removed the old and frames ect. One unwrapping the new door it was found to have 7 small kinks in the laths. They then brought several replacement laths and rolled the door out on an adjacent field and changed the laths. They then refitted the door, which now has scratches on virtually every lath and looks to have a number of dents. I refused to pay until it was changed. The owner of the company came out the next day and said they were making next to no money on the job and I could either have the curtain(laths) replaced entirely or they would just remove the entire door and I could find another company! I obviously told him I just wanted the curtain replaced, I am not paying for a new door to end up with something that looks like factory second! I do feel sorry for the fitters who appear to be getting the blame for all this, but issue that worries me now is that if there are more problems the company are going to hold me to ransom threatening to remove the door and leave my garage unsecured with a lot of equipment inside. Where do I stand here?? Can they just take the door away and leave me basically right up the creek without a paddle?? thanks in advance for any advice..

hi there just got home from work to find a message from garage regarding my car which is in to have 4 new tyres fitted. The garage owner gave my car to somone this morning thinking it was his courtesy car which is the same make as mine. it wont be back until 5pm tonight so tyres wont be fitted. and ill have no car for another day. having to borrow partners. Im not happy as you can imagine but not sure on what my next course of action is, My car is ony insured for myself and partner to drive also it has a very dangerous bald tyre hence why it was in to have new tyres fitted. Any advice would be greatly appreciated sara

As mentioned in the title i had purchased this car on 16/09/12 with my son. The car is a fiesta 2009 1.6 tdci and all seemed well besides a few scratches to which the salesman knocked £200 off for. All was well until today i took the car to my garage for a full valet which was then i realised that there was a patch of carpet glued over a hole on the passenger side. I then lifted the carpet and to my horror i had then seen holes for which dual controls would have gone. I then also noticed a clean scratch free square shape on the roof where the learner sign would have been. When purchasing the car i had asked the garage who owned the car and they said it was company vehicle hence the higher mileage and on the logbook was the name of a company of which sells and hires cars. I was NOT told it was a driving instructor car at the time. I contacted the garage today and the seller has refused any wrong doing despite him admitting that he knew it was instructors and didnt tell me and refuses to refund my money or even give some compensation:mad2:. Please tell me what are my rights on this and how would i go about them? Thank You

Hi, Im after some advice. I took my car in yesterday for a full service & repair. The repair i needed was a chirping noise which i assumed would be a pulley. He called me with the problem he had diagnosed and a price i was happy with and the work went ahead. I picked the car up and replacing the chirping was now a full blown squealing. He advised he had got some oil on the belt and that it would stop soon, I took this as he as because he is the professional. The squealing didn't get better it got a lot worse. 12 miles later the car judders and i pull over the belt is there but hanging off plus the alternator pulley also. The work carried out was supposed to be a tensioner pulley although the receipt says ALT BELT IDLER he came to my home and picked up the car took it to his garage to change the full alternator he has told me this will be £107+vat (final bill £128.06) & the work completed will be free and i can 'pop' the money in when i have it. What my question is have they caused this as i had no problems with the alternator previous to this and they even managed to fiddle with the car and drive it 3 miles back to their garage to fix it. In my opinion they have put the belt on wrong maybe too tight or in fact the oil on the belt he admitted to getting oil on has caused the belt to slip and in turn killed the alternator along with it. Any help as to where i can go from here will be greatly appreciated. Many Thanks, Jodi.

Hi I have a 4 year old Focus Cabriolet, its very lightly used and only done 17K miles. 6 weeks ago when I put the folding roof back up there was a horrible noise, the mechanism had gone faulty and as a result the roof crunched into itself and the car of that a plastic trim was broke. I took it to a Dagenham Motors who simply replaced the trim, I asked when the roof was ok and then said theyve taken it off, lubed it up and its fine which to be honest didnt fill me with confidence but I accepted it 2 weeks later and only the 2nd time having the roof down after the repair the mechanism went again and this time theres loads and loads of damages to several panels, scratches on the interior etc, basically it caused a real mess and will cost a small fortune to repair. I took it back to Dagenham Motors and after a few hours I received a call and they said the bushes in the mechanism were heavilly worn and needed replacing, its out of warranty but they would have a word with ford. Ford so far have just messed me about, everytime I chase it up they just keep asking me more questions like how many ford cars Ive bought etc etc they said they were looking at it from a goodwill standpoint. My question is, do I have any come back on dagenham motors for the repair? they should have spotted the heavilly worn bush in the first place when they had the roof off, it only took them 2 hours to find them the next time, I spent £300 for them to replace a plastic trim, they told me it was fine to use and now because it wasnt fixed the faulty mechanism has caused a hell of alot of damage including the trim they replaced? OR Have I got any comeback on the sales of good act and that the roof isnt fit for purpose? the car has got 17K miles, I must have had the roof down less than 100 times during that time, also Ive checked the service schedules and there is absolutely no mention of inspection on the roof mechanism so I assume it shouldnt be heavilly worn after a few years. Many thanks for any help

206 Diesel turbo. 2L 51 reg Money paid for car £740 money back for bold tyres £80 money back for head gasket £170 I bought a second hand car from a big named garage in July. The car is a Peugeot 206 D-turbo 2L. 51 Reg. The day i drove it off the forecourt i had to take it straight to Kwick-fit to replace the front 2 tyres as they were completely bold and highly illegal. Shortly after i took it to get the tracking done in hope of this being the reason the car was pulling to one side when accelerating. I got this done but it still did it. I then took it to the local garage and they informed me that it was something that needing bending back into shape and supporting. Within a week of having the car i took it to the local garage for a 'health check' they noticed the car warning light to top up engine coolant kept appearing and suggested i took it back to where i had bought it from as they suspect a blown head gasket. I quickly took it back to the dealer i bought it from and they asked to take a look themselves and clarified the diagnosis of a blown head gasket. we asked if they would fix it for us free of charge or to give us a full refund seen as the car is still in the '14 day no quibble money back guarantee' they refused bluntly that they will not take the car back but would fix it for a reduced fee, quoted £960 from them as opposed to £1000 quoted by my local garage. There reason for voiding the guarantee was that i have had the front 2 tyres replaced which should not have been left on the car for me to drive away in and that hey had given us a cheque for £80 to go towards the fee of replacing the tyres. I had asked the sales assistant when viewing the car if the tyres would be replaced on purchase and was told 'no' when i first saw the car myself (an 18yr old female with only basic knowledge of cars) had a short drive around the business car park. I then went to view the car with my older brother who is a bit of a DIY mechanic but we were not able to get inside the car as the keys had been locked away in the warehouse. In the end myself and my mother did some sums and worked out a deal to offer the garage. We totted up the money i had spent fixing the car and the money i had bought it for and the amount i had to spend on the car in the first place. We worked out that if the garage coughed up £250 towards the repairs of the head gasket then i could afford to fix the car. in the end we got back an extra £170 to go towards the payment of fixing the head gasket which in total has cost me £1100. i would like to know what you think the chances are of me getting any of my money back if i went through the small claims court which has been suggest by a solicitor. Do i stand a chance against the top branded garage? are they right to have done what they did? Any advice/opinions on this problem would be VERY much appreciated. Thank you very much for reading. Barbara

Hi, I need some help!!! my car has some collision damage, that needs repair with a jig. Found a garage close by that does collision repair, jigging, bodywork and etc... Asked the guy there to take a look at the car and tell me if he could fix it. A mutual friend who is a mechanic said he worked ok, so it looked like i could trust him with repairing my car. The guy from the garage had a good look at it and said it would repair it for an xxx amount. and that it would take just less than two weeks. After 1 month and a half the car is still not fully repaired. I have chased him repeatedly over the phone, and I have been at the garage quite a few times to check on the progress and chase up on the repairs but the thing is that most of the times i go there he is not there and i get told by other people that share the place that he’s not being to work for days. During this time he has revealed himself to be a crafty and untrustworthy person and I am now concerned that he may be planning on not completing the repairs and holding my car for ransom forcing me to pay him for the work he has not done, or even worse perhaps planning on charging me a fortune alleging it is due to storage. I am a bit unsure of my options from this point on. I had a look at some consumer advice information and from what i could gather the law seems to say that the repairs need to be within the agreed time or i am entitled to take the car somewhere else and then claim back the costs from him. But i am not sure on how or if the above influences the “in lieu” situation, if it is enforceable in these circumstances and how can i get my car back as soon as possible preferably repaired. Thanks in advance for reading and for helping out.

As the topic suggetss, am currently starting proceedings against a main dealer garage (Vauxhall) under the SOGA for a defective car. My question is this, do I write to the main dealer that sold me the car, or the finance company that I have my car finance with? thanks for any help in advance

Hi all, first time user so please be gentle, I'll try and keep this a short as poss, my problem was I bought a car from garage and needed to change over to a cherished number plate so the owner of the garage allowed me to have the new car along with log book 6 months tax new MOT and service he kept the car I P/X'ed. I had to send all paperwork off for both cars so this left me with the tax disc and log book for my old car. After having the new car for a week I noticed a knocking from the front passenger side when braking and after taking it to two different garages i was told the brake discs were warped and needed replacing. I phoned the owner of the garage straight away but could not get hold of him and found out he was away for two weeks on holiday. I needed the car fixed asap as i was about to go away myself and didn't want to drive a car on a 400mile round trip with a defect. I got the discs and pads replaced cheaply as poss as my brother is an ex-mechanic so labour was FOC but parts were £79, am I within my right to keep the tax disc from my old car to cover the cost of the parts, there is nothing on paper to say the car i part exchanged should have the tax with it. The owner of the garage has since phoned me from his holiday and said "no the car comes with the tax we had a deal, why didn't you take the car to the garage that just serviced it we will have to talk about it when i get back" I know that it is up to him to prove the fault was not on the car when he sold it but don't want any come back if i just send him the log book and mot certificate with no tax disc as i had to cover the cost of the parts. Hope this makes sense would appreciate any advice many thanks

Hi All, Your advice is needed please: my ma-in-law lives in a block of flats of mixed ownership (some purchased from the council, some privately rented, and others owned by the RSL that took over from the local council) - with garages underneath. She owns her flat, but rents a garage from the RSL. The garages are off the road, and underneath the flats; and (like most) my m-i-l's is full of stuff that the family have no room to store elsewhere, so we park in front of it. This does not impede access to anywhere in the block, and the garages are not in a car park. Last week we came home from shopping to find that the RSL had painted yellow cross-hatching on the area in front of all the garages, with white NO PARKING written in the hatching - no other signs, no consultation, no warning. When contacted, they informed my m-i-l that cars can only be parked in the garage, and not in front of it, but didn't say why. Am I correct in thinking that as this is not part of the highway, that this no parking is unenforceable in law? Surely Traffic wardens cannot book if you're not on the highway or on council owned land: so unless the RSL first puts up signs, and then employs its own parking attendants, my view is that surely this is all bluster and b******t? :-/ Thanks

It's a long story so I'll make it brief. We agreed to buy a van down the country which needed a new engine. The van had been stored at a garage and we asked the garage if we sourced an engine, would they fit it for us? They agreed, gave us a price to fit the engine, plus a price to replace the cam belt at the same time. We found a suitable engine, sent it direct to the garage to fit. During the fitting I phoned and asked if they could MOT the van too and then we could arrange to drive it home when it was ready. They agreed, fitted the engine last week, told me it needed a new hose on the thermostat, and a new windscreen wiper switch, I asked when it would be ready they said it hadn't been on the ramps yet but they thought it would go through ok. I rang on Tuesday this week to be told it was ready to test, I told them I would collect at the weekend, they said fine. At this point nothing was mentioned by them about any additional work. They rang me this morning, asked me how I would be paying tomorrow, I said cash why? They then announced I owe them £800 more than the original verbal quote and they've had to replace other parts on the van! So in the past 2 weeks I've spoken to them maybe 5 or 6 times, nothing has been mentioned about other parts. So they now want an extra £800 for an exhaust, a battery, heater plugs,and a water pump I was gob smacked and said the bill was more than he said originally, to which he said he would knock the vat off!!!! Where do I stand???? I never asked him to do the extra work, nor did he tell me, or give me prices before he went ahead I'm furious as I think because I'm female he's trying it on I only asked him to test the van, if it failed he should have given me an advisory and then an estimate for the required work. I've supposed to be going tomorrow to collect it, my father who is a chartered accountant thinks they are on the make and is alarmed that he is knocking the vat off for cash!!! What will I do, what if I turn up and he won't give me my van unless I pay in full?? Help!!!!

Hi, My car was in a local dealership having the air-con gas refilled. When called in to pay for the job, I was notified that they had found another fault. Apparently when lowering the passenger front window, the cable used to open/ close the window snapped, causing the window to drop. Citroen has told me it'll cost £380 to replace the unit that raises/ lowers the window. Do they have any liability whatsoever? Thanks in advance...

Hi there people, I have been to the BMW minicooper garage to repair my car. I have a BMW and the rev started to play up a few good months ago, then the engine stopped twice which means that I have no breaks or turnig the steering wheel left or right which is a serious matter.... I even placed an add to sell my car but good thing that I didn't as I can imagine what would have happened to the other person... I have taken it straight away to have the problem rectified by them but it seemed that I have paid for nothing as to the date after 4 times being there with the car and 3 days in total they have kept my car I would say that apparently they have fixed the problem. They told me that I have to replace the camshaft sensor which I did and that was twice with them as the first one was faulty….went back and wasted another 4 hours to have it replaced after 3 weeks…THEN BACK AGAIN after another 4 weeks with the same problem even getting worse. Thay have kept the car for a day and 1 night to have the engine washed as they thought was an oil leek somewhere. They could not find anything wrong but they have changed the following without calling me first to say what they will do if a agree: - Replace pulse generator on crankshaft; remove and install inlet manifold; o ring; oil filter N42, CONNECTING LINE; hose; connecting line again; 077773/ spped senso; o ring, manifold gasket set; r/cover gasket; rivet; grommet; 077773/lock twice; collar scre; cable tie I went to pick up the car second day firstly in the morning (around 10.00)but the car wasn't even in the garage. They showed up with the car at around 12.30 and the reason was that the mechanic had to take it for a spin to make sure the car is good to drive without anymore problems..Yeah, right!! So far I went back again with the same problem getting upset but they told me after half day staying there and waiting for the result that they have to change the rear silcer exhaust which they did and being charged £350 on top of 250 previously. I did say that I do hope that this is the last problem which obviously it wasn’t. A few more weeks and back again….and now I am really angry and upset about the whole thing…The car is not working as it should and what I have paid for. They can't just keep guessing on my money. Please any help in writing a good letter would be huge and appreciated as I have written to the BMW customer service telling them exactly what happened and at the moement waiting to see what they have to say.. DD

Hi, I took my car for MOT 2 weeks ago (19th June) and unfortunately it failed due to play on the nearside track rod end, which would need replacing and a broken clip on a CV boot. I told them that I would have to discuss this with my husband, who usually does most of the mechanical work on our cars when he has time. Unfortunately due to timing and my husbands working commitments, he was unable to do this job himself. The following day I called the garage to book the car in to have the work done and the MOT retest. I also asked them to check the front wheel balancing and asked them to get the car fully 4 wheel laser tracked on the request of my husband, mainly due to the fact that they were going to change a front steering part and because my husband had noticed a slight vibration between 50 & 60 mph coming through the steering wheel. The garage told me that they do not balance or track vehicles inhouse but infact take them to an outside source. That was fine, I didn't care as long as it was done. The car went back to have the work done on 21st June. The garage quoted me £157 all in including VAT to do everything; Supply & Fit nearside track rod end. Supply & Fit CV boot clip Balance both front wheels 4 wheel laser tracking cost of MOT I told them to call me if there were any problems, they didn't. I went to collect the car. I was livid to find that bill was now £206, a £49 rise from the quote. I was told by the mechanic that both the lock nuts on the track rods ends were siezed and that they had to use Oxy Acetylene to heat them up to loosen them, this apparentley accounted for the extra money. I agued the fact that they should have called but basically gave in and paid up. Skip ahead a week until the first day my husband uses the car after this work has been done. You see, I only travel a couple of miles to work and back and this is on my local lanes, whereas my husband travel 30 miles along a nice flat dual carriageway. My husband got home from work and said that the car had to go back to the garage as for one, the steering wheel was no longer level but rather about 10 degrees anticlockwise, there was still vibration between 50-60 mph and more importantly the car would not track straight but if left with no input to the steering wheel, wanders off to the right. This also make the car uncomfortable to drive, i.e. you forever need to put in small corrections to the steering to keep it in a straight line. I called the garage and the first available slot they had was yesterday 4th July. I dropped the car with them in the morning on my way in to work and told them I would be back at lunch time to collect it. At lunch time I went to the garage and they explained to me that they could not find any issues with the car but had noticed that the steering wheel was slightly at a skew. They said they had the balancing rechecked and it was fine so the vibration must be a faulty bush somewhere. They said they had the tracking rechecked and it was perfect, they also said that they had also checked the tracking with their own 2 wheel setup to double check but could not find an issue. Unfortunately they were all going to lunch just then and the boss told me to come back a 2pm either myself or my husband and we would all go out in the car to try it out. Well, on the way home I decided to see for myself what the car was like to drive on an open road and took it along a dual carriageway. Yes, straight away I could see what my husband had been saying, the car wandered to the right on straight and level pieces of road and I was constantly having to make corrections to the steering to keep the car running straight. My husband was not available to go back in the afternoon so I went to the garage myself. The boss of the garage drove my car along the link road and it seemed to track straight but he was putting very small corrections in. Anyhow, he told me that to get the steering wheel lined up straight I would have to take the car to where they had taken it for the laser tracking, which funnily enough turned out to be my local tyre supplier who I know well. I arranged this job for today. I took my car in and the tyre supplier was shocked, he told me the car had been spot on when it had left him almost 2 weeks earlier. The first thing he checked was the tracking, it of course was out, this accounted for the wandering and constant steering inputs. He couldn't adjust it right then because he had to lock the steering wheel in the level postion first, which threw the track out more. So, steering wheel locked level he started to track the car only to find that both the lock nuts were completed 'mullered', his words not mine. He also noted that there was play from the nearside track rod end, the one that was replaced. He did eventually manage to get the car tracked after wrestling with damaged lock nuts but basically told me that they needed sorting and that the faulty track rod end would indeed throw the tracking out again in the near future. Now from when I had the work done on the 21st June until the garage had the car back on 4th July, no one has touched the car, yet my tyre supplier swears blind that when he originally tracked the car the lock nuts were fine. I cannot figure out how the lock nuts are now mangled unless someone has tried to do some work i.e. the garage yesterday 4th July before I took it to my tyre supplier today. If this is the case then my garage lied to me saying that they had had the tracking rechecked but instead had tried in vain to do it themselves causing the damage and throwing it further off track. I obviously will be taking up with my garage tomorrow, basically demanding that the track rod end be replaced yet again and also that the 2 damaged lock nuts be replaced allowing someone in the future a good chance of actually moving them and of course after this the car will yet again need to be tracked professionally. Sorry for the long post but I wanted to get in all the deatil. I just wondered where I actually stand with my garage if they refuse to do the work or if they try to charge me extra for correcting the mistakes? Regards.., DHB

Hi, We bought second hand car from a garage in bristol (autobristol) we part x'd out car and paid the additional fee on debit card, 2 weeks later it completly broke dowm, took it to a garage who said it was an awful car should never have passed mot, we then contaced the garage who at 1st were very nice promising to call us back, they never did. the garage could not find the problem as all the memory had been swipped off and all the engine wire in the wrong place, but managed to get it started but were advised to get rid of it asap - it worked for a further week when it broke down again luckly this time we had RAC cover - we then called the garage he refused to have anything to do with the car we have sent him 2 letters as advised by trading standards - no reply. the car is currently parked outside our home. for the 8 weeks we have had the car it has worked for 2!! we are now in the process of taking legal action but as we have to upfront all the money with no guarantte we wil have it all back and if we do it could be as litlle as £50 a week back. A friend has advised if not fit for purchase we can recall the money we paid through our debit card?? any help welcome Thanks Laura

think i may need help on this issue, so i will begin. needed a differnt car, bought one from a local used car lot. did the deal on one car, on my way out i changed my mind a went for a new higher spec and more expensive car 24th may, as it was late by this time i did not get to test drive the car, we made arrangments (well i told them) that id be back at 12 next day (25th) to test drive the car. on the 25th i arrived at the garage to test drive the car, on arrival i was informed the car was off site getting mot and any work done completed before i could buy the car, i was told aslong as car went through its mot it would be ready for collection at some point that day. later that day i went to pick the car up, stupidly paid for it with out test driving it, but it had just been checked at garage and had a mot done and i thought that it should be ok, plus i had a 30 day warranty with the garage. here we go: 1. driving car home i noticed the steering was off, when the steering wheel is straight, the car veers off to the left, to drive the car staright you need to hole the steering wheel at arround the 2clock position tto the right. been driving for many years and have come accros this before, its either different tread pattern tyres on the front or the tracking / wheel alignment is off, checked the tyres and they are same tread pattern so not the tyres (all at correct pressures to) 2. i checked the mot form, the test sheet for the brakes is not supplied, and there are 4 addvisorys, 3 are 3 tyres nera to limit, 4th addvisory 1 tyre on limit in capital letters. 3. i emailed garage last night and no response, (they are open saturdays) pointing out that there was a fult on the streeing and this i would like fixed, i said in the email something like this, "also no body tole me it would need 4 tyres" im not sure if its my responisbilty to replace the 4 tyres ?? 4. spoke to him today on phone , straight away i was told, you might of hit a pot hole! my mind clicked and i though here we go to myself (after keeping up to date with consumer law etc, i new he had responsibiltys) but i never told him about i knowing some of my basic rights, he said bring it back monday and ill get the tracking done as thats all it can be. 5. yesterday i did very little miles, however today i took it out for a propper drive and you guesed it major problems: a) steering as above. b) treible clutch shudder, through pedal and through cab of car, strange noises coming from what i belive the transmission (when clutch is dipped all weird sounds disspare and all that can be heard is the sweet sound of a nice engine, also reved with clutch dipped, again nothing but the sound of a nice sweet engine) - basically a clutch or gear box fault (i suspect a full clutch kit is needed here as that is the most likely cause i belive) i have not cantacted the garage as yet relating to point 5b. to say im sick is a under statement, the car appears to be in other wise fab condition etc. car is a 2006 vectra 1.8 sri vvt. 61000 miles £3500, £400 trade in on my old car = £3100, £800 on one credit card, £300 on another credit card balance on visa debit car how do i proceed with this? beacuse there is not a hope in hell i am going to paying any moeny to fix any item on this car, the air con dont work, and to be picky one window switch does not close the window (common problem on this car, jsut needs a clean, which i was more then happy to do myself at a latter day) car advitised with electric windows and air con, i belive these 2 items should be in full working order? (remember ive got these 2 items as further evidence in my favour) i really like this car, it has service history to about 18000 ago, and after alot of research the 1.8 sri is the car that has the least amount of probelms out of all the vectra c range. ideally i want this car fixed and every problem fixed, including a air con re gas or fix, im not sure about the 4 tyres as i say. if not and he fails to comply with his legal obligations then i want a full refund. what are your thoughts on this? how do i proceed? what are my rights?

Hi I bought a second hand car on Sunday (Ford Focus, 77K miles on clock for £3.5K) from a reputable car supermarket. However, it wouldn't start last night (Weds). I called my breakdown cover who examined the car and said there had been a problem with the electronics that had caused the immobilser to stop sending fuel to the spark plugs. He showed me the plugs and said the fact that they were completely dry with a bit of rust on them indicated that it was a fault that existed before I bought it. The garage were clear that I had a 3 month warranty. However, my wife spoke to the car supermarket today and they are happy to have a look at it but they say it's my responsibility (and cost) to have it towed to them (around 25 miles at a cost of around £70). Do I have any right to expect the garage to foot the bill for the towing cost based on the fact that it was an existing fault and I've only driven it once? Thanks

I own a coach house style property which has two garages underneath - one is mine and the other is used by the house next door. As it is part of my property it is leased out to next door and they have to pay me ground rent of £25 a year and a portion of my buildings insurance - in case they set the garage on fire or anything that could damage my house. It is all laid out in the deeds of my house and next door. I bought the house when it was built in 2001 and the neighbours who initially lived there paid me their ground rent etc when they moved out in 2003 and said the new owners would be in touch to sort out the arrangements regarding the ground rent. I then rented out my house for a while and didn't hear anything - but was hundreds of miles away from my house so couldn't see who was now living next door. It turned out it was bought and then rented out. Two years later the owner contacted me and paid me the amount for the last two years - but stated I had to put her name on my insurance documents - not really possible at the time as my house was being rented out and I had Landlords Insurance etc and once I moved back into my house - trying to get an insurance company to do that when the owner of next door didn't live in the property - was a no go. Plus my solicitor had never advised me to have their name on the insurance too. Some years have passed since they paid me (6 to be exact) and they have continued to rent out the property (however the previous tenant and current tenant are the daughters of the owner so probably not actually paying rent). I wrote to the owner using her business address back in January about the outstanding balance of the ground rent - I did not backdate or charge for insurance as her name hadn't been on the documents. I got no reply. I put a copy through the letterbox next door and sent a copy to her solicitor who had contacted me 6 years ago to arrange payment of the initial 2 years. I still have not had a response. I know she is still the owner of the property and perhaps is hoping I will give up. Am I within my rights to withdraw access to the garage due to lack of payment? I would of course release it back to the owner should they pay, or when they sell the property offer the same arrangement to the new owner. Surely as the owner of the property she uses to rent out - having the garage is a huge selling point for a tenant - so for the sake of £175 for the last 6 years of ground rent (please note I am also not charging interest) - surely that is better than no garage at all for the use of her tenants? Any advice is much appreciated. Many thanks.