****Garage completely Crap***** Winter tyre**maybe my fault?

[turbomachine]

In Novemeber I had a set of continental winter tyres fitted to my car. At the time I didn't have a spare set of steel rims to have them fitted and had to have the summer tyres removed, the garage did an excellent job and I got a great price for the tyres.

Anyway, I was thinking about changing the tyres back to summer, maybe premature, but Iam going to be rally busy,and I got away from work early today and thought it would be a good chance to get the tyres reffited and keep the conti's for next winter!

I noticed that one of the summer tyres was getting a bit bald, so I fitted the spare wheel on and put 1 winter tyre with rim in my boot as a spare, leaving me with just 3 winter tyres to get changed.

So I went down to a local tyre place, the cheap kind. I thought balance and fitting a set of tyres cant be that hard, I have even done it at a friends garage back home.

So the guy said it would be £6.20 a tyre, which is what i heard and did think was very cheap, I came back later to pick up the car. Then he asked if I was paying by cash or card. I said card and he sai,"that will be £60 instead of £40 due to the card charge, it was 5:58pm and they close at 6pm. I then thought, maybe the price was actually £16.20 per wheel.

So I reluctantly paid, as I had no option to go and find cash. I SHOULD HAVE QUESTIONED THIS!!!!!

I got in the car and drove off mildly annoyed at myself, for not clarifying the price before asking them to start, As I drove off, i could instantly tell that the car was not right. The steering wheel was wobbling in a repeated movement.


I wondered if they had actually balanced any of the tyres at all, or torqued the nuts. by the time i got home, i was raging. I had to get new track rod ends only a few months ago and had the wheel alignment checked and it was spot on. Didn't wander or drift. The old track rod ends were knackered.

I parked and looked at the invoice and noticed I had been charged for Tracking QTY x1 at £28 and Balance x4 at £6 each plus vat, came to £52ish.

So they have done work to my car which i didn't ask for and I am not happy at all, what are my rights????

[Angelus]

Have they adjusted your tracking? What was causing the wobble? Have you checked the nuts? Have the wheels been balanced (is there weights on them)? I'm not a lawyer and don't know your rights, but I would be back round there in the morning. Tell the manager what you've just said, don't ask for anything but let them tell you what they are going to do to fix it. Don't leave until you get what you think is fair.

[S2red]

First thing is contact card issuer and tell them you are in dispute with garage and ask them to withhold payment then go down and argue about work or lack of

[mrmr96]

S2red said:

First thing is contact card issuer and tell them you are in dispute with garage and ask them to withhold payment then go down and argue about work or lack of

He's not in dispute if he's not even been back to complain! Surely the most sensible option would be to go down there and express his grievances in a calm and rational manner to the manager. IFF he receives a unsatisfactory result, then pursue other options. I think contacting the card issuer before the garage is ludicrous.

[robinh20mrv]

You have been jammed, dispute the card and go to someone who knows what they are doing,

Write to the first garage explaining why you have done this, And tell them you will not be bringing your car back as they have done a *rap job,And You have no confidence in the work they do and you are not prepared to put your life in there hands.

[Craigie]

Go back to garage and go to Trading Standards.

But no one will entertain you until you have at least spoken to the garage in the first instance.

[breakdown]

craige correct.as a garage owner we never do anything extra to a vehicle without contacting the customer first.the customers instructions are adhered to, wiyh our input.you must first confront the garage as to what you wished to be done,you should have signed a job sheet with your instructions on it. a bit laborious but that way you have evidence of what YOU wanted done.keep calm and be precise. Sorry but the big boys can play on customers ignorance of the vehicle, and throw in a bit of sharp practice.good luck.

[klimakool]

you need to go back to the garage and ask why this was carried out and ask to see the authorisation signature or telephone times signed on job card/sheet used by the mechanic. if its a typical tyre centre they'll be at it. surprised you didnt get a report for oily shocks at the same time. they may say that due to tyre wear your tracking needed adjusting, but just post a pic of them and there will be plenty of guys will let you know if thats the case

[Deva Link]

turbomachine said:

So the guy said it would be £6.20 a tyre, which is what i heard and did think was very cheap, I came back later to pick up the car. Then he asked if I was paying by cash or card. I said card and he sai,"that will be £60 instead of £40 due to the card charge, it was 5:58pm and they close at 6pm. I then thought, maybe the price was actually £16.20 per wheel.

Are you a girl? My daughters do this - whatever price they're asked for, they just shrug and pay it. I think all women are the same.

[Angelus]

TURBOMACHINE, where are you? I need closure! What happened next?