claiming for unnecessary repairs

[RogerHarris]

I had a spongy clutch pedal, asked the garage to sort... went to collect the van from the garage who had changed the entire clutch and slave cylinder, (which was only a year old) making no difference at all. had to pay 450 quid to get it out, then took it back and they found the problem was the master cylinder which they fixed in 30 minutes with a part lying around their garage.

 

They have said If i get an engineers report that the slave cylinder is not leaking they will refund, but I just want to know my rights in case they get problematic. I have video recorded everything, including them admitting they got it wrong. Apparently it is very simple to determine if a slave or master cylinder is leaking. Takes about 30 seconds but I will spare the tech details.

[dx100uk]

year old car

 

they nor you should pay anything.

 

go back to the seller and get it done under soga!

 

http://sogahub.tradingstandards.gov.uk/

[BankFodder]

Your rights in relation to the garage are excellent. You have the evidence and so they should refund you in full minus an amount to reflect an improvement in the condition of your vehicle. However, as the van is only a year old, the improvement is very marginal and I would suggest that you forgo £50 as a gesture. No more than that.

If you need to sue them then you can sue them in the County Court for failure to use reasonable care and skill under SGSA 1982.

 

As DX says, it is really down to the supplier for a 12 month car - but the supplier would not be liable for negligence by the garage.

[RogerHarris]

Thanks !

 

its the parts they replaced that were just over a year old... the van itself is 9 years old...but same principle anyway. they are sending me on a paper chase for an independent auto engineers report on the part. But i think this is standard procedure. If they ask for clawback on improvement it can cancel out the cost for the engineers report.

 

I have a video of the mechanic losing his cool when told in front of his colleagues how he could have diagnosed whether its a master or slave cylinder by checking to see if the biting point becomes lower on successive re-engagement of the clutch in first gear.

 

 

Barks "well if you knew what was wrong with it why didnt you tell us !"

 

Says it all really. They are the auto-engineers, with the facilities, backup and experience .. its not the customers job to be sure about differential diagnostics.

[heliosuk]

I have a video of the mechanic losing his cool when told in front of his colleagues how he could have diagnosed whether its a master or slave cylinder by checking to see if the biting point becomes lower on successive re-engagement of the clutch in first gear.

 

Says it all really. They are the auto-engineers, with the facilities, backup and experience .. its not the customers job to be sure about differential diagnostics.

 

Differential diagnostics has no part to play in this and would be the wrong method of diagnosis in any case. The method you describe in no way would be conclusive as to either the slave of master cylinder being at fault so rules out your theory. In fact it's very wide of the mark.

[RogerHarris]

Differential diagnostics has no part to play in this and would be the wrong method of diagnosis in any case. The method you describe in no way would be conclusive as to either the slave of master cylinder being at fault so rules out your theory. In fact it's very wide of the mark.

 

It must be the correct diagnostic method, simple logic

 

The method was tried before the clutch and slave cylinder were replaced, and the revs dropped.

 

After the clutch and slave cylinder were changed there was no difference to the clutch problem, and the revs still dropped.

 

the master cylinder was changed, problem fixed.. no dropping of revs

 

the diagnostic method was provided by an experienced mechanic, but if you can tell me why this is wrong and why you think so I will be interested. It seems to make sense, the pressure operates at start up, but then you put into first (while stationary) more pressure goes into the system. since the pressure is controlled at the master, a master problem will produce the most dramatic pressure drop, even with just slight leakage. if the slave cylinder was leaking would we not be at the stage of losing noticable fluid, have fluid dripping onto the clutch, flywheel etc ?

[RogerHarris]

Differential diagnostics has no part to play in this and would be the wrong method of diagnosis in any case. The method you describe in no way would be conclusive as to either the slave of master cylinder being at fault so rules out your theory. In fact it's very wide of the mark.

 

I used differential methods in car mechanics, at least when there are scenarios where there are no tests that work without stripping the system. its basic logic and probability which can be applied to any system with multiple interactions.