suing garage/owner for faulty work
Discussion
Hi all
I'd appreciate any advice on this please. I had an engine rebuilt at Garage A - which was needed due to a cracked piston. I elected to go for forged internals and uprated bearings, gaskets, head studs and other bits and pieces. Garage owner (who was a recommended 'specialist' on this type of car) took 9 months to get the car back to me - excuse and delay after excuse and delay. finally i did get it back (£6k later) and ran it in gently for 1200 miles and changed the oil etc. sadly after a further 800 miles, the head gasket went.
He'd sold his garage about 5 month before completing the work for me, though he continues to work in the area. he and his wife were partners in the original business.
now the people who bought his garage are still fixing cars.
i arranged to have the car taken to another Garage - i really didn't want to give it back to Garage A's owner, given the history and that he'd now sold up. he was in contact after I told him what happened, to say he'd been working on these cars 20+ years and had never heard of a gasket going after having the work done that I had. he 'suspected' a cracked or warped head.
Garage B (who now has the car) found the head studs were all sitting at different heights (they have pictures to prove) and 3 of them felt loose. now thankfully, the heads are not warped or cracked, it turns out it's worse than studs just not being tightened enough, as when they removed them, the threads from 2 of them pulled right out of the block. they suspect they were cross threaded initially. so now it needs a new block, new studs, new gaskets and a load of labour.
i contacted the original chap, to let him know what they said and to ask him what he was going to do about it. he told me that he had said he'd personally built the short engine, and 'he didn't lie', but that didn't include the cylinder head or studs. i pointed out that the poor work was still done by one of his team and that before he started telling me it was something Garage B had done wrong (he'd slated them when he heard I'd taken it to them), could he explain why my head gasket had gone so soon after a full rebuild?
he's now ignoring all communication.
it's been suggested i sue him to get my £6k back, as the engine rebuild wasn't fit for purpose. personally, i'd be 'happy' if he'd pay the costs of getting it fixed now - so i'd like to know how best to go about it and what my chances of success are. was thinking of using small claims, as i can get a report from Garage B, with photos etc, which should prove the original work was poor and the cause of the failure. do i sue him personally? does the place who bought his garage have any responsibility (as the car was left there and he finished work on it after the business was sold)?
many thanks for suggestions.
I'd appreciate any advice on this please. I had an engine rebuilt at Garage A - which was needed due to a cracked piston. I elected to go for forged internals and uprated bearings, gaskets, head studs and other bits and pieces. Garage owner (who was a recommended 'specialist' on this type of car) took 9 months to get the car back to me - excuse and delay after excuse and delay. finally i did get it back (£6k later) and ran it in gently for 1200 miles and changed the oil etc. sadly after a further 800 miles, the head gasket went.
He'd sold his garage about 5 month before completing the work for me, though he continues to work in the area. he and his wife were partners in the original business.
now the people who bought his garage are still fixing cars.
i arranged to have the car taken to another Garage - i really didn't want to give it back to Garage A's owner, given the history and that he'd now sold up. he was in contact after I told him what happened, to say he'd been working on these cars 20+ years and had never heard of a gasket going after having the work done that I had. he 'suspected' a cracked or warped head.
Garage B (who now has the car) found the head studs were all sitting at different heights (they have pictures to prove) and 3 of them felt loose. now thankfully, the heads are not warped or cracked, it turns out it's worse than studs just not being tightened enough, as when they removed them, the threads from 2 of them pulled right out of the block. they suspect they were cross threaded initially. so now it needs a new block, new studs, new gaskets and a load of labour.
i contacted the original chap, to let him know what they said and to ask him what he was going to do about it. he told me that he had said he'd personally built the short engine, and 'he didn't lie', but that didn't include the cylinder head or studs. i pointed out that the poor work was still done by one of his team and that before he started telling me it was something Garage B had done wrong (he'd slated them when he heard I'd taken it to them), could he explain why my head gasket had gone so soon after a full rebuild?
he's now ignoring all communication.
it's been suggested i sue him to get my £6k back, as the engine rebuild wasn't fit for purpose. personally, i'd be 'happy' if he'd pay the costs of getting it fixed now - so i'd like to know how best to go about it and what my chances of success are. was thinking of using small claims, as i can get a report from Garage B, with photos etc, which should prove the original work was poor and the cause of the failure. do i sue him personally? does the place who bought his garage have any responsibility (as the car was left there and he finished work on it after the business was sold)?
many thanks for suggestions.
brman said:
It is not clear, you say the garage changed hands while they had your car. Did garage A (under new ownership) finish the job and return the car or did the original owner finish it himself (at some other premises??)?
btw. does it really need a new block? Can the existing block not be helicoiled?
btw. does it really need a new block? Can the existing block not be helicoiled?
thanks - Previous owner of Garage A finished the work by popping in on a weekend etc. sounded like he did everything himself when i was talking to him, but as he said now, he just did the short engine. the car was still at Garage A until I picked it up, so if someone else did the studs etc, it was someone there.
Garage B says helicoiling not advised on engine blocks by the company they use. ? not strong enough long term?
ok - thank you
it looks like a Ltd company, so i may well be out of luck. the business name is XXX Ltd. it has business reg and VAT reg number, registered address etc. i've also looked on companies house now and the company is still listed as active (at the old address) and as a private limited company. the google ad though has 'permanently closed down', so maybe the companies website just hasn't been updated yet? he also ran under a different name from 89-02.
the chap and his wife were directors.
i first took the car into him about July 15. the work was finished at the end of April 16. the head gasket went almost exactly 2 months later.
the bank transfer was to the company account.
it looks like a Ltd company, so i may well be out of luck. the business name is XXX Ltd. it has business reg and VAT reg number, registered address etc. i've also looked on companies house now and the company is still listed as active (at the old address) and as a private limited company. the google ad though has 'permanently closed down', so maybe the companies website just hasn't been updated yet? he also ran under a different name from 89-02.
the chap and his wife were directors.
i first took the car into him about July 15. the work was finished at the end of April 16. the head gasket went almost exactly 2 months later.
the bank transfer was to the company account.
Red Devil said:
OP, if my guess is correct (fits most of the clues you have provided)*, he had a previous company which was dissolved in 2003.
The financials of the extant one began a steady decline beginning in 2011. The
started to hit the fan in 2014.
In the following 12 months the balance sheet showed cash more than halved and net worth declined by a third.
* In particular, the Director/Company Secretary of both of the above shares the same surname.
He is listed as the sole director of another company (at a different address) which was incorporated on 1st April 2015.
The only documents filed so far for that one are the NEWINC and AR01. Too new for any trading history.
SIC/NAIC Codes
68 - Real estate activities
682 - Renting and operating of own or leased real estate
68209 - Other letting and operating of own or leased real estate
I think you're correct - sad to see he has previous form The financials of the extant one began a steady decline beginning in 2011. The
started to hit the fan in 2014.In the following 12 months the balance sheet showed cash more than halved and net worth declined by a third.
* In particular, the Director/Company Secretary of both of the above shares the same surname.
He is listed as the sole director of another company (at a different address) which was incorporated on 1st April 2015.
The only documents filed so far for that one are the NEWINC and AR01. Too new for any trading history.
SIC/NAIC Codes
68 - Real estate activities
682 - Renting and operating of own or leased real estate
68209 - Other letting and operating of own or leased real estate
Seems like he knew exactly what he was doing.
a quick update and thank you all for the advice
bottom line seems to be stay away from Pete ****, who used to own Pro**** in Stockport - he's ignoring my texts and emails.
he has, interestingly, contacted the garage where my car is now and offered to come in on a Sunday and rebuild the bottom end. i've told the garage I don't want him doing this. a)it's nowhere near enough of a contribution and b) if things do go tits up again and he's done some of the work, he'll blame the garage and they'll blame him
so the garage is in the process of doing the work - they'll have the block milled for 14mm studs etc and go from there. quote of £2.8k (incl VAT) all in.
i'm going to have to do it, as the car isn't worth much as a non-runner.
then try and see if i can pursue Pete down legal channels - and taking advice on this first, given he's sold Pro****.
bottom line seems to be stay away from Pete ****, who used to own Pro**** in Stockport - he's ignoring my texts and emails.
he has, interestingly, contacted the garage where my car is now and offered to come in on a Sunday and rebuild the bottom end. i've told the garage I don't want him doing this. a)it's nowhere near enough of a contribution and b) if things do go tits up again and he's done some of the work, he'll blame the garage and they'll blame him
so the garage is in the process of doing the work - they'll have the block milled for 14mm studs etc and go from there. quote of £2.8k (incl VAT) all in.
i'm going to have to do it, as the car isn't worth much as a non-runner.
then try and see if i can pursue Pete down legal channels - and taking advice on this first, given he's sold Pro****.
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