Well known car accessories shop stuffed my ST into a sign
Discussion
Well I went down today to get a free battery check.
After confirming that the battery was OK, he asked whether he wanted me to check the ignition. So I said yes. He got into the car, couldn't work out how to start it. I said, press the clutch then press the Start button. The guy then starts it and proceeds to remove his foot from the clutch, and my beloved ST lurches forward and careers into the sign behind the canopy.
Not happy!
He also managed to trash the battery test equipment and my battery cover that was on the floor in front of the car when this happened.
Now he hasn't recorded this as an official incident but has offered to repair the scratches using some paint repair kit he's been trained up in.
I didn't want to see him get into trouble, so I took him up on his offer. However, i'm wondering if I should ask him to report this as an incident with the well known chain store where he works. That way the full damage would be covered by their insurance (although it just looks like paint scratches to me). Any thoughts?
I don't want to look like an a** and get him into trouble but I don't want to be in a position with no come back in case his repair is inadequate.
After confirming that the battery was OK, he asked whether he wanted me to check the ignition. So I said yes. He got into the car, couldn't work out how to start it. I said, press the clutch then press the Start button. The guy then starts it and proceeds to remove his foot from the clutch, and my beloved ST lurches forward and careers into the sign behind the canopy.
Not happy!
He also managed to trash the battery test equipment and my battery cover that was on the floor in front of the car when this happened.
Now he hasn't recorded this as an official incident but has offered to repair the scratches using some paint repair kit he's been trained up in.
I didn't want to see him get into trouble, so I took him up on his offer. However, i'm wondering if I should ask him to report this as an incident with the well known chain store where he works. That way the full damage would be covered by their insurance (although it just looks like paint scratches to me). Any thoughts?
I don't want to look like an a** and get him into trouble but I don't want to be in a position with no come back in case his repair is inadequate.
That's not acceptable IMO. Have you got any proof this happened? I'd be going through the shop's insurance and getting this repaired properly, why should you have to compromise with a smart repair because of his brain malfunction?
You need to think of yourself in this situation. If it's a sackable offense for him then he should be more careful with a customer car.
You need to think of yourself in this situation. If it's a sackable offense for him then he should be more careful with a customer car.
Al U said:
That's not acceptable IMO. Have you got any proof this happened? I'd be going through the shop's insurance and getting this repaired properly, why should you have to compromise with a smart repair because of his brain malfunction?
You need to think of yourself in this situation. If it's a sackable offense for him then he should be more careful with a customer car.
I think you're right.You need to think of yourself in this situation. If it's a sackable offense for him then he should be more careful with a customer car.
I have some proof in the photos I took, the fact that he gave me his number on some paper in his writing, their inventory will be -1 for battery test equipment and his colleague saw the aftermath when he came out to fit a bulb to an Audi.
DJP said:
barryrs said:
I take it you left it in gear?
Ultimately the retailer will most likely be liable but i can't help thinking that you should have warned him if you had to explain how to start it.
That^^.Ultimately the retailer will most likely be liable but i can't help thinking that you should have warned him if you had to explain how to start it.
Get it reported properly.
But don't leave cars in gear unless you're on a hill.
I always leave it in gear. Habit I guess.
I didn't explain as such. He asked whether it was clutch or brake to start and I instantly replied 'Clutch' and the next thing he'd started it, so from my perspective everything looked ok. I would have thought he wasn't going to drive it nor leave it running, just start it to check the machine's reading.
I didn't explain as such. He asked whether it was clutch or brake to start and I instantly replied 'Clutch' and the next thing he'd started it, so from my perspective everything looked ok. I would have thought he wasn't going to drive it nor leave it running, just start it to check the machine's reading.
I'd get it sorted properly, it doesn't matter if you left it in gear, we have muppets at work that always leave the pool car in gear and even as an auto driver I'm used to dipping my foot into the clutch and making sure it's in neutral or gear when I start it, it's hardly rocket science.
Just do him the courtesy of letting him know your plans rather than letting his boss spring it on him.
Just do him the courtesy of letting him know your plans rather than letting his boss spring it on him.
TimewarpUK said:
Well I went down today to get a free battery check.
After confirming that the battery was OK, he asked whether he wanted me to check the ignition.
I'm guessing that he stuck a voltmeter across the terminals? So not a battery test at all then.After confirming that the battery was OK, he asked whether he wanted me to check the ignition.
What on earth was he trying to actually "test" with an ignition test?
If you ever think about getting your tyres or exhaust checked at somewhere that sounds like kick fit........don't, they are equally competent!
Jim
I always leave a car in gear - a legacy from a Saab as a first car, and always start with my foot on the clutch anyway to reduce strain on the starter motor
I'd have also assumed it should be a universal approach for any professional working with cars to check it's in neutral before releasing the clutch, and if they don't understand how a particular gearbox works then do everything slowly and think! Sorry, but this guy was just careless IMO - get your car fixed properly
I'd have also assumed it should be a universal approach for any professional working with cars to check it's in neutral before releasing the clutch, and if they don't understand how a particular gearbox works then do everything slowly and think! Sorry, but this guy was just careless IMO - get your car fixed properly
Leptons said:
Was the handbrake not on? FWIW I always leave cars in gear whether it's on a hill or not!
Yes it was. The torque was enough to overcome it, especially if the clutch was sprang up. Not sure what the ignition test exactly comprised of. I guess his machine would just take readings as it started.
I'm sorry, I fail to see how this is anything other than the tester's fault. Pretty much every newer car needs a brake or clutch pedal depress to start - which should be reason enough to check if the car is in gear or not, over and above driving 101 which instructs the gear lever wiggle to see if it's in neutral.
If someone who failed to understand the concept of a clutch and the propelling motion of engaged gears stuffed my car and then offered to fix it himself, I'd tell him to jog on. If he can't even start a car properly, what makes you think he can perform skilled paintwork repairs?
If someone who failed to understand the concept of a clutch and the propelling motion of engaged gears stuffed my car and then offered to fix it himself, I'd tell him to jog on. If he can't even start a car properly, what makes you think he can perform skilled paintwork repairs?
NDNDNDND said:
This is why I think clutch switches are stupid.
Clutch switch... Try to start it, won't start, press clutch, starts, release clutch, lurches.No clutch switch... Try to start it, lurches.
The easy way around it is not to leave the damn thing in gear in the first place - the handbrake works, doesn't it? - and always to check if it's been left in gear before you try to start it.
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