Should I have avoided this garage (see also Gen TVR stuff )
Discussion
Since buying my 1988 TVR nearly three years ago I have had the car regularly serviced and professionally maintained and have not experienced any difficulties until now. On the 9 May 2008 I took my S1 to a well known TVR garage in the North of England for a service and MOT. Prior to this the car had been used most weekends and had been running well. However, three days before delivering the car to the garage it experienced a sudden loss of power and could only achieve a maximum of 50mph with much coaxing. Despite this I delivered the car to the garage as arranged.
Several days later I was informed by the garage that the gasket on the throttle body housing had blown and this was the cause of the loss of power. The car had also failed its’ MOT as there was play in track rod ends, the front springs needed replacing, there were problems with the wiring to the o/s headlight and rear cluster and a small welding job was needed.
Some time later I spoke to the garage to check on progress and they informed me that it wasn’t the T/R ends after all but that it was the steering rack itself that needed refurbishing. (I must admit that I had been a little surprised that the T/R ends needed replacing as these had been replaced on the 31 May 2006.) The garage also informed me that the they would have to send the s/rack away for refurbishing. By this time it getting towards the end of May.
In June I was told that they had received the s/rack back, that the other work had been done and the car was to be re-tested. So I was looking forward to getting the car back.
Towards the end of June and two days before I had arranged to pick the car up I spoke to the garage again to be told that the car had now developed a new fault and was misfiring. Clearly I was not happy with this as the garage had now had the car for several weeks and I was being told it wasn’t ready to be picked up. I was also unhappy as, although there had been a sudden loss of power, the car certainly did not have a misfiring problem before it went in for it’s service.
Since then I have spoken to the garage a number of times and I have been told, on each occasion, of the various jobs they had done on the car to try to rectify the misfire but that it was still misfiring. Among others, these jobs have included a new coil, new fuel filter, new plugs, new HT leads and replacing faulty wiring. By then the bill was racking up and the garage had kept the car for two months. I was therefore very unhappy and demanded that the car be sorted as I was coming to pick it up on the 12 July 2008.
On the 12 July I arrived at the garage to find a mechanic under the bonnet and was told that the car was still misfiring and that now it was either a sticking plenum chamber diaphragm or a faulty ignition box causing the problem. The car was then started up and it was clear that it would not even drive off the premises let alone get me home as the misfire was so bad. The mechanic advised me that, having checked everything else including the fuel supply, he had found that the plugs were coked up as the fuel mixture was too rich and that it was probably the plenum chamber causing the problem. He was therefore proposing to take out the plenum chamber and would send it away for checking and repair. I was told that he would start the job on Monday, that it would take 10 working days and I would then have the car back.
So nine working days later on the 24 July I telephoned the garage again and have now been told that it wasn’t the plenum chamber after all but that there is a problem with the fuel injectors, that they had sent away for new injectors and, if the parts were delivered the next day, would be fitted then and I may get the car back on the Saturday 26 July.
So on the 25 July I telephone again to make sure the car was ready. However, wouldn’t you know it, I was now informed that the mechanic had now found a white emulsion-like substance in the bottom of the fuel tank and that this was contaminating the fuel. In addition the pressures were “all over the place” in the injectors and that they were working on the car but, surprise surprise, the car would not be ready after all!
So what am I to do? I don’t regard myself as a mug but somehow I think that the p**s is being taken. It seems to me that if a garage regards itself as a TVR garage then they should know what they are doing and would have rectified the problem long before now. It seems to me that I should expect a better service than this. I accept old cars need TLC, that they are prone to problems and things do go wrong but it is now 11 weeks later and the car is still not ready. On the 9 August they will have had the car for three months. It sounds as if the garage is trying to steadily work its’ way through every component under the bonnet - and at some cost to me. Does anyone have any advice?
Several days later I was informed by the garage that the gasket on the throttle body housing had blown and this was the cause of the loss of power. The car had also failed its’ MOT as there was play in track rod ends, the front springs needed replacing, there were problems with the wiring to the o/s headlight and rear cluster and a small welding job was needed.
Some time later I spoke to the garage to check on progress and they informed me that it wasn’t the T/R ends after all but that it was the steering rack itself that needed refurbishing. (I must admit that I had been a little surprised that the T/R ends needed replacing as these had been replaced on the 31 May 2006.) The garage also informed me that the they would have to send the s/rack away for refurbishing. By this time it getting towards the end of May.
In June I was told that they had received the s/rack back, that the other work had been done and the car was to be re-tested. So I was looking forward to getting the car back.
Towards the end of June and two days before I had arranged to pick the car up I spoke to the garage again to be told that the car had now developed a new fault and was misfiring. Clearly I was not happy with this as the garage had now had the car for several weeks and I was being told it wasn’t ready to be picked up. I was also unhappy as, although there had been a sudden loss of power, the car certainly did not have a misfiring problem before it went in for it’s service.
Since then I have spoken to the garage a number of times and I have been told, on each occasion, of the various jobs they had done on the car to try to rectify the misfire but that it was still misfiring. Among others, these jobs have included a new coil, new fuel filter, new plugs, new HT leads and replacing faulty wiring. By then the bill was racking up and the garage had kept the car for two months. I was therefore very unhappy and demanded that the car be sorted as I was coming to pick it up on the 12 July 2008.
On the 12 July I arrived at the garage to find a mechanic under the bonnet and was told that the car was still misfiring and that now it was either a sticking plenum chamber diaphragm or a faulty ignition box causing the problem. The car was then started up and it was clear that it would not even drive off the premises let alone get me home as the misfire was so bad. The mechanic advised me that, having checked everything else including the fuel supply, he had found that the plugs were coked up as the fuel mixture was too rich and that it was probably the plenum chamber causing the problem. He was therefore proposing to take out the plenum chamber and would send it away for checking and repair. I was told that he would start the job on Monday, that it would take 10 working days and I would then have the car back.
So nine working days later on the 24 July I telephoned the garage again and have now been told that it wasn’t the plenum chamber after all but that there is a problem with the fuel injectors, that they had sent away for new injectors and, if the parts were delivered the next day, would be fitted then and I may get the car back on the Saturday 26 July.
So on the 25 July I telephone again to make sure the car was ready. However, wouldn’t you know it, I was now informed that the mechanic had now found a white emulsion-like substance in the bottom of the fuel tank and that this was contaminating the fuel. In addition the pressures were “all over the place” in the injectors and that they were working on the car but, surprise surprise, the car would not be ready after all!
So what am I to do? I don’t regard myself as a mug but somehow I think that the p**s is being taken. It seems to me that if a garage regards itself as a TVR garage then they should know what they are doing and would have rectified the problem long before now. It seems to me that I should expect a better service than this. I accept old cars need TLC, that they are prone to problems and things do go wrong but it is now 11 weeks later and the car is still not ready. On the 9 August they will have had the car for three months. It sounds as if the garage is trying to steadily work its’ way through every component under the bonnet - and at some cost to me. Does anyone have any advice?
Nightmare story Steve... fair to say we all dread something like this happening. I'm no expert and I hope you get sorted soon... fingers crossed that after all of this.. it's not just a dodgy tank of fuel!!
I'd suggest go along and have a chat with the garage owner... face to face, calm, professionally and definately no aggression.... discuss what they have done so far... even if you've already done this by phone, establish how much this has cost, agree how much of this they expect you to pay, and agree what they plan as the next course of action, how much this might cost, and what happens if this still doesn't fix the problem.
Most of these people are reasonable, their reputation is at stake and the last thing they'll want is to deliver poor customer service... they will absolutely know that news spreads fast on forums such as this... and whilst I personally feel it isn't fair to name and shame, because of bias against the other party as they can't defend themselves... it's your absolute perogative to share your feelings and experiences... if you get excellent service they would expect you to give positive feedback, so poor service they should expect negative feedback.
I'd suggest go along and have a chat with the garage owner... face to face, calm, professionally and definately no aggression.... discuss what they have done so far... even if you've already done this by phone, establish how much this has cost, agree how much of this they expect you to pay, and agree what they plan as the next course of action, how much this might cost, and what happens if this still doesn't fix the problem.
Most of these people are reasonable, their reputation is at stake and the last thing they'll want is to deliver poor customer service... they will absolutely know that news spreads fast on forums such as this... and whilst I personally feel it isn't fair to name and shame, because of bias against the other party as they can't defend themselves... it's your absolute perogative to share your feelings and experiences... if you get excellent service they would expect you to give positive feedback, so poor service they should expect negative feedback.
Edited by Red V8 on Monday 28th July 12:58
Red V8 said:
... and whilst it isn't fair to name and shame, because they can't defend themselves...
OP said:
a well known TVR garage in the North of England
TVRBob said:
Hmm. Doesn't take much guessing, although I suppose it could be up to 3 places if you stretched the description a bit. It's a bit weird that we don't have name and shame, but we can do this, as I'm sure the other 2 possibles would rather not be associated with it. Its good to air your grievences, but remmeber we only hear one side of the story - I think we are sailing pretty close to that 'name and shame' territory myself.edited to remove bob's quote since he deleted his post
Edited by MickC on Tuesday 29th July 09:26
Agree with Red V8. Have a chat with the owner. Its pretty obvious who the garage is, and like our local friendly Lotus dealer, they do appear to care about their community, and would hate to have received such a write-up.
Whilst there's many smaller companies we could debate whether or not to use, both this TVR dealer, and our local Lotus dealer, are the two who are the safest bet to have a good experience with.
(IMO)
Whilst there's many smaller companies we could debate whether or not to use, both this TVR dealer, and our local Lotus dealer, are the two who are the safest bet to have a good experience with.
(IMO)
SeanyD said:
Agree with Red V8. Have a chat with the owner. Its pretty obvious who the garage is, and like our local friendly Lotus dealer, they do appear to care about their community, and would hate to have received such a write-up.
Whilst there's many smaller companies we could debate whether or not to use, both this TVR dealer, and our local Lotus dealer, are the two who are the safest bet to have a good experience with.
(IMO)
The name and shame is strange. By association we have three garages potentialy in the frame. I spoke to Hexham at the weekend to see if it was in their workshop to see if they wanted to post something by way of the other side to the story - seems it's not, but how many people have thought, as it's on the North East Forum, and there is only one TVR dealer in the North East? Guilt by association.Whilst there's many smaller companies we could debate whether or not to use, both this TVR dealer, and our local Lotus dealer, are the two who are the safest bet to have a good experience with.
(IMO)
This type of thread - double posted as well, is not helpful to anyone and I'm sure the garage will feel less charitable when it comes to discussion time if they have read either thread.
TVR_owner said:
By association we have three garages potentialy in the frame. I spoke to Hexham at the weekend to see if it was in their workshop to see if they wanted to post something by way of the other side to the story - seems it's not, but how many people have thought, as it's on the North East Forum, and there is only one TVR dealer in the North East? Guilt by association.
Unfortunately your comment about Hexham has made this more 'name and shame' than it was, fewer choices. I have deleted my post. I was trying to give advice to the OP who didn't appear to know what his options were. tvrbob said:
TVR_owner said:
By association we have three garages potentialy in the frame. I spoke to Hexham at the weekend to see if it was in their workshop to see if they wanted to post something by way of the other side to the story - seems it's not, but how many people have thought, as it's on the North East Forum, and there is only one TVR dealer in the North East? Guilt by association.
Unfortunately your comment about Hexham has made this more 'name and shame' than it was, fewer choices. I have deleted my post. I was trying to give advice to the OP who didn't appear to know what his options were. ''I said Bob, no winners - no matter how hard we try....
[/quote]''
Reading the post, the description and where it is posted (NE) I assumed it was HHC - if it is not them, as it appears, then this post if unfair to them....
Where are the other TVR 'dealers' in the NE or 'north'...?
Given the allegations, its only fair that the innocent parties are cleared and the guilty named but agree this is only one side of the story and we should hear both.
So called experts should not go through the process of replacing parts at the clients expense (parts & labour) purley to eliminate them to try and solve a problem, they should identify the problem first then replace...? Otherwise, whats the point, may as well do it yourself and save on the labour and parts markup...
[/quote]''
Reading the post, the description and where it is posted (NE) I assumed it was HHC - if it is not them, as it appears, then this post if unfair to them....
Where are the other TVR 'dealers' in the NE or 'north'...?
Given the allegations, its only fair that the innocent parties are cleared and the guilty named but agree this is only one side of the story and we should hear both.
So called experts should not go through the process of replacing parts at the clients expense (parts & labour) purley to eliminate them to try and solve a problem, they should identify the problem first then replace...? Otherwise, whats the point, may as well do it yourself and save on the labour and parts markup...
peteA said:
Where are the other TVR 'dealers' in the NE or 'north'...?
Been thinking about this myself. I would hazard a guess that this should have been posted in another region. Unless there's a garage sprung up that I've never heard of. To the best of my knowledge there are only two garages who service TVRs in the area on a regular basis and both have been mentioned as not being involved.Thanks for the postings and I have noted the speculation as to where this garage is. As I said in my posting it is in the North of England but do not want to be more specific than this. I posted my contribution in the North East and General TVR Stuff sections as I happen to live in the North East and thought that this would assist in identifying where I might get help or help in suggesting alternative garages. In hindsight, I should have just posted in the General Stuff section only so as to not drawn down speculation on certain garages. I would love to make it clear that certain garages are not in the frame but that would inevitably identify the offending garage. So please just be aware that, although I live in the North East area, I also have connections in the Yorkshire area down as far as Derbyshire and, in addition, work all over the North of England up to the borders with Scotland. It could be anywhere then...........!
I am aware of PH's policy of not naming and shaming but believe me, with what is happening at the moment I am sorely tempted to do so!
I will keep you posted.
I am aware of PH's policy of not naming and shaming but believe me, with what is happening at the moment I am sorely tempted to do so!
I will keep you posted.
Sensible post that Yuaman, I think its done the job in clarifying who it isn't, whilst not clarifying who it is.
I for one, and I know of others, jumped to the wrong conclusion earler in the post.
Sorry to hear its on-going, hopefully you can sort it, and one day share more detail on here.
I'm not currently a Tiv owner, but mix with many of them, so any aggro affecting a NEPH bud is of interest.
Good luck.
I for one, and I know of others, jumped to the wrong conclusion earler in the post.
Sorry to hear its on-going, hopefully you can sort it, and one day share more detail on here.
I'm not currently a Tiv owner, but mix with many of them, so any aggro affecting a NEPH bud is of interest.
Good luck.
tvrbob said:
It all depends where you live. People from Hull consider themselves as north-easterners. I am aware of 5 TVR garages in the 'greater' northeast area; I include Old TVR Dealers, known TVR indies and places that have set up using ex-TVR dealer staff.
It has been said that our friends from "the south" consider Watford to be the North of England!!!Gassing Station | North East | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff