Am I in the wrong here?

[PageyUK]

Hi,

Recently took my car to a garage a couple of hours drive from me. The job was to have some work done, and in doing the work they found the Cam Covers had a slight leak so recommended I got them done. As they were working on the car already I agreed. £2.5K worth of engine work later, I collect the car and drive it home. All was well for a few weeks until I reutnd from working away to find a fair amount of oil on the drive when moving the car. Looking in the engine bay showed a fair bit of oil had been leaking down all over it, from the Cam cover on one side.

Bugger! Called the garage and they agreed to take a look, which obviously meant me driving it there (carefully and regular stops to check the oil) to drop the car off, train home, time off work, etc. They've checked for leaks and found it is indeed leaking from the cam covers they replaced, which indicates either a faulty part or possibly workmanship...

Anyway, thinking about this and the costs I am having to swallow:

- Time off work
- Fuel to Garage and back again (115 miles each way)
- Train Ticket
- Taxi from Train Station to Garage

For me, this is not insignifcant amounts of money, and I'm paying this because something the garage used or did was wrong/poor.

Should I be expected to cover all of those costs? I feel quite annoyed about these additional costs but during the call they weren't open to paying them so I glossed over the subject instead focussing on getting my car fixed.

I chose this garage becuse they specialise in working on the car I have and have a very good track record for their work.

Thoughts?

Edited by PageyUK on Tuesday 9th July 15:08

Edited by PageyUK on Tuesday 9th July 15:09

[essayer]

£2.5k? Did they replace them with ones made of gold?

I’d expect the fault fixed FOC and any cleanup, oil replacement done as part of that.

Consequential costs are down to you - part of the fun of owning a car.

[PageyUK]

essayer said:

£2.5k? Did they replace them with ones made of gold?

I’d expect the fault fixed FOC and any cleanup, oil replacement done as part of that.

Consequential costs are down to you - part of the fun of owning a car.

Haha, the £2.5K wasn't just for the Cam covers, I had some other work done, but the total bill was £2.5k.

Is it consequential costs though? I'm having to pay a fair amount of money (circa £250) bec\use the garage got a faulty part or they didn;t seal them properly... Why should that cost me? Again, trying to reason with myself and see if I am being unreasonable or nopt and gauge others thoughts...

[2 sMoKiN bArReLs]

Any special reason you went so far away? That's the cause of most of your time/train costs (and not the fault of the garage that you live somewhere inconvenient )

But, no harm in asking?

[PageyUK]

2 sMoKiN bArReLs said:

Any special reason you went so far away? That's the cause of most of your time/train costs (and not the fault of the garage that you live somewhere inconvenient )

But, no harm in asking?

Yep, fair question. I wanted the work to be done by someone that knew what they were doing and were reputable/done the job before. That's the only reason I took it to them and not to a local garage where I live.

[CharlesdeGaulle]

PageyUK said:

Haha, the £2.5K wasn't just for the Cam covers, I had some other work done, but the total bill was £2.5k.

Is it consequential costs though? I'm having to pay a fair amount of money (circa £250) bec\use the garage got a faulty part or they didn;t seal them properly... Why should that cost me? Again, trying to reason with myself and see if I am being unreasonable or nopt and gauge others thoughts...

I know it's annoying but I'd suck it up. It's not very much money to be out of pocket in the grand scheme of things so I'd attribute it to the 'joys' of owning a car that you think is special enough to take it to a distant specialist.

[Radec]

Can't they knock some money off the total bill, have you asked?

I would, as if the job was done correctly in the first place then you wouldn't have had to go back and subsequently incurred those additional expenses.

If they are a decent place and value customer service they should consider it at least.

[2 sMoKiN bArReLs]

Radec said:

Can't they knock some money off the total bill, have you asked?

He'll have doubtless paid it long since. But yes, a bit of a discount is probably in order

[Patrick1964]

Everyone can make mistakes but it's how they are resoloved that matters. I'd certainly expect an apology and an offer of discount on your next invoice.
If neither were forthcoming I would be aggrieved, and would not use them again.

That said the consequential costs are on you I'm afraid - the fact that the garage is a fair way away is your problem, not theirs. I've been in a similar situation myself.

[Spare tyre]

We’d take our new Hyundai for its annual whatever in Southampton at the main dealer, every single trip needed return trips because they didn’t have xyz in, something was scratched, leaking, lost etc

In the end I just had to put it right myself as each trip generated subsequent trips - rubbish main dealers

OP I’d expect them to out it right FOC as a minimum

[resolve10]

Patrick1964 said:

Everyone can make mistakes but it's how they are resoloved that matters. I'd certainly expect an apology and an offer of discount on your next invoice.
If neither were forthcoming I would be aggrieved, and would not use them again.

That said the consequential costs are on you I'm afraid - the fact that the garage is a fair way away is your problem, not theirs. I've been in a similar situation myself.

This is exactly what my stance would be too.

Also, unless they're absolutely stacked out with work, they should want to do this anyway to maintain the relationship & reputation.

[RazerSauber]

That's unreasonable I'm afraid. You approached them for the work and chose to drive that distance. It's unfortunate that it's gone wrong and I'm sure the garage will rectify their work but it's not their fault you live so far away and have to get trains and such. Choose somewhere closer next time.

[simon_harris]

Patrick1964 said:

Everyone can make mistakes but it's how they are resoloved that matters. I'd certainly expect an apology and an offer of discount on your next invoice.
If neither were forthcoming I would be aggrieved, and would not use them again.

That said the consequential costs are on you I'm afraid - the fact that the garage is a fair way away is your problem, not theirs. I've been in a similar situation myself.

this is where I land on it tbh.

[skyebear]

I don't think you were unreasonable to ask for your additional expenses to be reimbursed. A smart business would ask how much and then pay your expenses or offer to meet you halfway.

If they've knocked that back at the very least I'd expect them to have valeted your car and cleaned the engine bay.

[Pica-Pica]

It’s funny how car costs are met with a shrug on the shoulders, but poor service elsewhere is usually met with a full refund. That, anyway, is my experience when dealing with reputable firms.

[Ari]

RazerSauber said:

That's unreasonable I'm afraid. You approached them for the work and chose to drive that distance. It's unfortunate that it's gone wrong and I'm sure the garage will rectify their work but it's not their fault you live so far away and have to get trains and such. Choose somewhere closer next time.

Absolutely this. It's not their fault or responsibility that you've incurred such costs simply moving your car to and from their premises.

[maz8062]

I tend to keep my eye on the goal in situations like this. What you absolutely want is that they fix the car this time around and it remains fixed. That should be your number one priority and I’d suggest that you remain polite and cooperative until it has been done to your satisfaction. As for compensation for your hassle and time, you’re going to struggle. They’re having to do the work twice which is already costing them so I wouldn’t go down that route - yet. You can in the future, but I’d just avoid this company in the future and leave feedback, but only when your car is fixed.

[FMOB]

In truth the transport costs, time off, etc are on you as you decided who would do the work.

Yes it is annoying but that is the risk you take when travelling a distance rather than getting the work done locally.

I had similar with a bodyshop, picked them based on reputation but due to problems with the work there were I think 7 round trips with days off instead of 3, each round trip was over 200 miles.

[Hammer67]

Pica-Pica said:

It’s funny how car costs are met with a shrug on the shoulders, but poor service elsewhere is usually met with a full refund. That, anyway, is my experience when dealing with reputable firms.

Really?

Best I ring up the company that fitted my new bathroom that had a few snags requiring several visits to rectify and request a full refund of the £4K.

Wonder what they`ll say.

[Pica-Pica]

Hammer67 said:

Pica-Pica said:

It’s funny how car costs are met with a shrug on the shoulders, but poor service elsewhere is usually met with a full refund. That, anyway, is my experience when dealing with reputable firms.

Really?

Best I ring up the company that fitted my new bathroom that had a few snags requiring several visits to rectify and request a full refund of the £4K.

Wonder what they`ll say.

Deal with stters, get st.