Should garage pay my petrol costs?

[sophes]

Dear All,

 

My local Nissan Dealership in Chorley recently acquired a Fiat Dealership in Blackpool - 30 miles away. I bought my Fiat car through them (it was brought to Chorley for me to view/puchase) in July 2008.

 

In August 2008 I discovered the spare key they had given me with the car doesn't actually work on my car. They are completely different when compared so it's quite obvious (if you check!) that it doesn't fit my car.

 

I rang them and told them that the car being incorrect had caused major problems one day when I had left the spare with my parents so they could borrow my car to visit some relatives, and I went out for the day (wth the original key).

 

The service desk weren't too bright and couldn't understand me, so I drove to the garage (2 minutes from my house) and showed them the key. They took it off me and said they'd get back to me, because they couldn't cut me a key in the Chorley branch. Chorley is Nissan, Blackpool has all the Fiat gear.

 

They called me a week later and told me they'd need to take the car up to Blackpool to code the new key to the car as they couldn't find the TRUE Spare which should have been given to me when I bought the car.

 

I took it in this morning to Chorley so they can take it up to Blackpool, and they have given me a courtesy car. I asked them if my petrol level will be the same when they return it to me and they said they don't normally do that.

 

I told them the problem has been caused by them so I shouldn't have to incur a petrol cost.

 

The service desk lady said she'd speak to her manager.

 

I am due to pick the car up at 5pm today. I have a feeling they won't have put any petrol in it. I noted the mileage, the miles left on the electronic petrol gauge, and the MPG,

 

Does anyone have any tips what I can say to them at the garage when I pick it up if it's not had petrol put in? Or should I just come home and write a letter of complaint?

 

Thanks in advance.

[lsba02853]

Personally i'd just tell them that as it's their fault you expect the car to have the same amount of fuel. If they refuse then a letter of complaint to the manager, if that doesn't work, Head office.

[Hammy1962]

8)

Edited October 21, 2008 by Hammy1962

[patdavies]

In the Utopian world where everything is run by Trading Standards compliance officers (Now there's an oxymoron!!) I suppose some people would like to think they can recover petrol costs.

 

In the real world, i might offer you a discount voucher for your next service. If i had to re-emburse everyone their petrol costs, me and a lot of other traders just wouldn't be here. Which might sound like a good thing but then where would buy your cars from and where you you get them fixed?

 

Hammy

 

 

So what level of theft/fraud/con would you condone before admitting that it was wrong?

 

The vehicle was supplied by the Chorley dealer - franchised or not. That dealer is responsible for all the costs of rectifying the problem. That includes the costs of getting it to and from the Fiat dealership.

 

Equally though, the OP needs to return the courtesy car with the same level of fuel as supplied - it cuts both ways.

[Hammy1962]

8)

Edited October 21, 2008 by Hammy1962

[gwc1000]

That dealer is responsible for all the costs of rectifying the problem.

I agree,pat. I think that the crucial point is that the OP was offered a key at the point of purchase that was described as a "spare". Anything that is handed over at the point of sale would have been considered as included in the purchase price of the car. The key clearly isn't a spare, therefore is not as described and the onus is on the dealer to rectify the problem, at their cost. The dealer has shot himself in the foot. He should have just handed over the car with one key and saved himself aggro and expense.

[LancerQRL]

why not leave the courtesy car with less fuel in!!!

[sophes]

Update!

 

I picked my car up and asked if it had petrol replaced. The woman said 'We don't do that'.

I explained the situation, that it wasn't my fault the car had to go to Blackpool, it was their fault which caused the problems and asked if they had spoken to a manager.

The woman said no, but she had spoken to the Sales Man who sold me the car in the first place and he had said no. I asked her to speak to her manager, she said he was very busy. I asked for the address of where to complain, she said "Here". I asked her to write the address down, she gave me a business card. I will follow it up with a letter.

 

Am I right in my pursuit? It's not my fault that the Fiat gear is in Blackpool. They had done a 60 mile round trip and the petrol tank was seriously depleted.

 

Help!

[Zamzara]

I've re-read my post and that of the original OP and i don't see any of us referring to theft/fraud/con........................

 

We have very difficult trading conditions at present and this culture of "blame" and "retribution" bandied around by the educated but not wise, is detrimental to honest business practise.

 

Hammy

 

I interpreted your post as admitting that there are legal problems with the standard of service you provide, but you get away with it because trading standards do not have the resources to prosecute you. If this is not want you meant perhaps you should clarify.

[Hammy1962]

8)

Edited October 21, 2008 by Hammy1962

[HSBCrusher]

In the Utopian world

which is what we don't have, that's why sites like cag exist.

 

the garage made a cock-up, so according to

 

honest business practise.

the garage should have put fuel in the car.

 

why should the customer pay for someone else's cock up? This is the sort of crappy customer service that gives the trade a bad name.

[Hammy1962]

8)

Edited October 21, 2008 by Hammy1962

[HSBCrusher]

she would be expected to bring the car back with the same amount of petrol in it... they should do the same.

 

lets look at this... really how much would it cost the garage to pop a few quids worth of petrol in the car? 60 miles... what's that... one or two gallons at the most?

 

If they had done so, this user would now be telling her pals that although the garage made a mistake (which we all do from time to time) they put it all right, they even filled the tank up.

 

Instead she is here complying about shoddy service... and I for one agree with her.

[LancerQRL]

if a garage were to put a couple of gallons of fuel in every vehicle they had to drive for fault finding etc the costs would be prohibitive, the OP was given a courtesy car even though the vehicle was not undrivable-for the garage to correct the problem. i say that the garage went out of its way to help. They could have just said "you should have checked the keys when you bought the car."

[HSBCrusher]

they had to drive for fault finding etc the costs would be prohibitive,

indeed.

 

but this is not fault finding.

the garage cocked up with they keys... fair and square there is no argument about that.

 

They could have just said "you should have checked the keys when you bought the car."

 

or in Currys they could say "you should have checked the telly first". The car was sold with the keys... and lets be honest it costs a small fortune these days to get a car key cut and programmed.

[Hammy1962]

8)

Edited October 21, 2008 by Hammy1962

[Zamzara]

Zamzara

 

For the record, there are no issues, legal or otherwise, with the standard of service offered by any company I am connected with and frankly, I take great offence at this suggestion and I respectfully ask that you retract it.

 

How creative your mind must be to reach this interpretation from just 4 lines of text......................

 

Clearly you are one of the educated. However wisdom, in whatever form, has yet to appear.

 

Trading Standards, or whatever they call themselves this week, do not have a resource problem in my area, they have an intellect problem............a lack of it.

 

Plus the fact they need something to investigate and as far as I can tell that has never happened with any business I have connections with.

 

Thank you for the clarification. It was you who made the distinction between your business practice, and one that is acceptable to trading standards officers, so I fail to see where my line of reasoning was wrong.

 

My personal circumstances are irrelevant.

[42man]

The way I see it is make an official complaint to the MD of the garage (give them the chance to resolve the complaint)....and see what the response is, if it isn't you your satisfaction, then report them to TS, and if they can't resolve it to your satisfaction then I suppose you could always take them to court....

[freakyleaky]

Thread now closed. Due to editing of numerous posts the thread now makes no sense.