Garage Tried it On!!! Caught Them Out

Andrew · 2005-10-01T01:38:26+00:00

Put my Stilo 1.9 JTD in for a 36K service at a Fiat dealership close to where I work. When I collected the car they handed over my receipt and a list of operations carried out on which they ticked the relevant boxes for a 36K service.Later that night I noticed that the brake fluid change box wasn't ticked despite this being a requirement in the service schedule. Next morning I checked a few other simple things such as screen wash (not topped up but charged £2.50 for it) and door hinges (had not been lubricated). When I got to work I rang the service manager and explained that I was unhappy with the service and extremely concerned that a number of items had been missed. He promised to deal with it that day and called me back 20 minutes later after speaking to the mechanic who did (or didn't do) the work; the service manager explained that the mechanic had forgotten the screen wash but had changed the brake fluid.To ensure I was completely happy he offered to check the car over personally if I took it in. That wasn't practical so he then offered to bring the mechanic with him to see me at work. I went out to the car 5 minutes before they arrived armed with a torch and had a quick look at the rear calipers; no sign of a spanner removing road grime from the bleed nipple and no signs of fluid on the caliper suggested it was unlikely the brake fluid had been changed.When they arrived the mechanic apologised for forgetting the screen wash but said he had changed the fluid. I then challenged as to why the fluid reservoir was only half full for which he provided a valid explanation. I then asked why there were no signs that the N/S rear caliper bleed nipple had been undone to which he explained that it was seized and he had undone the flexible hose in order to bleed the brakes. H then told me that all the other calipers had been bled through the bleed nipple. So I showed him the O/S rear caliper at which point he went 'oh' and his manager just looked at the...

Oct 01, 2005 26 Replies

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RichardK 20 years ago

Sure. So am I. I contract hire because I don't have several grand to blow on a car and I think buying one several years old on finance is even dafter than just paying for the depreciation on a new one with a warranty. I've dealt with a LOT of s*it in my life, and I assure you, a crappy new car (I've had a couple) has never been sufficient for me to claim that the stress was causing me health problems. I honesly have never heard something so daft in my life.

Eating badly, not taking care of yourself correctly, abuse, personality disorders, abusive behaviour from other people, intense pressure from work and home... I guess these can be valid causes of stress.

A crap car?

No.

Richard

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Tim S Kemp 20 years ago

Hmmmm... from

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" André Citroën's originally Dutch language family name was Citroen-meaning "lemon", as one of his grandfathers was a lemon seller ("limoenman") on Amsterdam's street markets. An old-fashioned nickname for Citroën cars is Citron (lemon, in French)."

Of course, they have a chinese JV making the Citroen Fukang.

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Colin Wilson 20 years ago

We all deal with problems differently - I just deal with them badly :-}

It got to the point where I dreaded driving it because I didn`t know if i`d actually get to my destination.

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Andy Pandy 20 years ago

Ah but you may have dealt with some of Richard's well. Such futile comparison are childish nonsense. Congratulations on not risnig to the bait. :-)

Andy

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Adrian 20 years ago

Tim S Kemp ( snipped-for-privacy@timkemp.karoo.co.uk) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :

I have a Chinese brochure (in English) for the Fukang 988 - a ZX-wivva- boot.

It's full of references to "the Fukang car"...

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Dave Griffs 20 years ago

they

How do you get that info?

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Adrian 20 years ago

Dave Griffs (dr.clayton(no spam)@talk21.com) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :

If you know the make :-

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-> Vehicle Enquiry.

If you don't know the make, go to the RAC's website first, log in (don't need to be a member to set up an account) and check what car the plate belongs to there.

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