Hub bolts left loose after wheel alignment! What to do?
Discussion
I drove my MR2 Turbo from Leeds to Hull on Saturday for a full geometry setup, as I wanted to use a place with a Hunter Hawkeye machine, and they were the only ones in the Yorkshire area that could fit me in that day.
I had a long drive to the coast scheduled for Sunday, so I wanted everything set up properly beforehand. The car has been an ongoing project, and only got its MOT last Monday, so the geometry hadn't yet been done.
I ended up being there over two hours with the car, which I didn't really mind as I wanted the job done properly, but it has never taken this long at other places I've used. They seemed to rush to get finished right at the end of the job....
Anyway, to cut to the chase, I paid them £123 to do the job and drove away. I got to a road where there were a few moderate speed corners and immediately thought the car didn't feel quite right. I should have gone back, but it was getting late in the day and I was worried that I was just being paranoid, so continued on my way, thinking perhaps it's just down to the settings I'd had implemented, and that it may take a bit of getting used to.
By the time I got home, I knew it wasn't right. The steering wheel seemed to be trying to jump out of my hands at times and I had to get under the car and find out exactly what was going on. I decided to check the hub bolts that go through the bracket on the strut at the driver's side front, and found to my horror that the bolts were moveable by hand!!
Having driven all that way on the motorway with my girlfriend int he car, I'm quite upset that they have displayed such negligence. Had the hub come away, anything could have happened to us.
I'm not interested in chasing compo or anything stupid like that, but I do feel that I should get my money back as I was not provided the service I paid for, and was left with a dangerous vehicle. Unfortunately, I can't prove anything, so am not sure how to approach them? I need to ring them today and make my feelings known, but any advice would be much appreciated.
I had a long drive to the coast scheduled for Sunday, so I wanted everything set up properly beforehand. The car has been an ongoing project, and only got its MOT last Monday, so the geometry hadn't yet been done.
I ended up being there over two hours with the car, which I didn't really mind as I wanted the job done properly, but it has never taken this long at other places I've used. They seemed to rush to get finished right at the end of the job....
Anyway, to cut to the chase, I paid them £123 to do the job and drove away. I got to a road where there were a few moderate speed corners and immediately thought the car didn't feel quite right. I should have gone back, but it was getting late in the day and I was worried that I was just being paranoid, so continued on my way, thinking perhaps it's just down to the settings I'd had implemented, and that it may take a bit of getting used to.
By the time I got home, I knew it wasn't right. The steering wheel seemed to be trying to jump out of my hands at times and I had to get under the car and find out exactly what was going on. I decided to check the hub bolts that go through the bracket on the strut at the driver's side front, and found to my horror that the bolts were moveable by hand!!
Having driven all that way on the motorway with my girlfriend int he car, I'm quite upset that they have displayed such negligence. Had the hub come away, anything could have happened to us.
I'm not interested in chasing compo or anything stupid like that, but I do feel that I should get my money back as I was not provided the service I paid for, and was left with a dangerous vehicle. Unfortunately, I can't prove anything, so am not sure how to approach them? I need to ring them today and make my feelings known, but any advice would be much appreciated.
BlueTwo2 said:
Right, spoken to them in a polite manner and they basically don't want to know. The manager doesn't feel the bolts could have been loose when I left them because the mechanic has told him he tightened them up!
It's going to be your word against theirs really, if the manager doesn't want to know, then you will have a loss 
This is the hard lesson I learnt and why I do my own work, and where that is not possibly due to time constraints or I just can't be arsed, I will always check the work before leaving the premises.
Generally, most mechanics are just low level fitters who couldn't give a f
k IMO. The few rare good ones that care are extremely few and far between, or retired.BlueTwo2 said:
Right, spoken to them in a polite manner and they basically don't want to know. The manager doesn't feel the bolts could have been loose when I left them because the mechanic has told him he tightened them up!
You have a computer print out of the settings for the alignment?Take the car back - if the settings aren't the same then you have some evidence that the bolts hadn't been done up - unless they expect you to have loosened them..... Either way you have a car which is longer set up and as a result you haven't got what you paid for
Incidently - did you suply new bolts for the hub/strut joint? Most manufactures recomend these are use once items
Edited to fix spelling errors (ones that I could spot)
Edited by B'stard Child on Monday 28th March 11:50
Carrot said:
It's going to be your word against theirs really, if the manager doesn't want to know, then you will have a loss
This is the hard lesson I learnt and why I do my own work, and where that is not possibly due to time constraints or I just can't be arsed, I will always check the work before leaving the premises.
Generally, most mechanics are just low level fitters who couldn't give a fk IMO. The few rare good ones that care are extremely few and far between, or retired.
This is what I was afraid of really. I do a lot of my own work, and have NEVER had a hub to strut bolt come loose. Just wish I had gone straight back. Hindsight is great, isn't it. This is the hard lesson I learnt and why I do my own work, and where that is not possibly due to time constraints or I just can't be arsed, I will always check the work before leaving the premises.
Generally, most mechanics are just low level fitters who couldn't give a f
k IMO. The few rare good ones that care are extremely few and far between, or retired.
I am going to write to them and state that I am extending an offer to recompense me, after which I will be persuing them through the small claims court, reporting them to trading standards and informing the local press so that nobody else is put in danger.
I don't want to word it wrongly though, as they may say I am trying to extort them?
B'stard Child said:
You have a computer print out of the settings for the alignment?
Take the car back - if the settings aren't the same then you have some evidence that the bolts hadn't been done up - unless they expect you to have loosened them..... Either way you have a car which is longer set up and as a result you haven't got what you paid for
Incidently - did you suply new bolts for the hub/strut joint? Most manufactures recomend these are use once items
Edited to fix spelling errors (ones that I could spot)
I supplied camber adjustment bolts. The standard bolts were already ont he car and have never posed a problem. I did get a printout though, yes. But they may say I altered the settings by tightening them up myself?Take the car back - if the settings aren't the same then you have some evidence that the bolts hadn't been done up - unless they expect you to have loosened them..... Either way you have a car which is longer set up and as a result you haven't got what you paid for
Incidently - did you suply new bolts for the hub/strut joint? Most manufactures recomend these are use once items
Edited to fix spelling errors (ones that I could spot)
Edited by B'stard Child on Monday 28th March 11:50
Edited by BlueTwo2 on Monday 28th March 11:56
You haven't lost anything from their mistake, why do you think you should be entitled to compensation? If something had happened, sure, but nothing did.
It is poor form on their part, but you can't prove it - how are they supposed to know you're not just a chancer trying to get a free alignment? Simply don't use them again, and mention the incident to people you know if you really want to 'punish' them.
It is poor form on their part, but you can't prove it - how are they supposed to know you're not just a chancer trying to get a free alignment? Simply don't use them again, and mention the incident to people you know if you really want to 'punish' them.
doogz said:
So you supplied cam bolts, they aknowledge they fitted them, but deny they never torqued them (which tbf is an easy mistake to make when you've fitted them, then are adjusting them) and want nothing to do with it?
I'd get on the ham bone to trading standards. In my experience, quoting the relevant stuff trading standards will supply you with seems to change their mind very quickly indeed.
I went from an £800 bill, no chance they were shifting on it at all, and the car wasn't ready, to £300 for the parts it needed, and your car will be ready at the end of the day Sir, after a quick call to trading standards, and quoting some stuff down the phone at the garage.
Cheers, I will do that today.I'd get on the ham bone to trading standards. In my experience, quoting the relevant stuff trading standards will supply you with seems to change their mind very quickly indeed.
I went from an £800 bill, no chance they were shifting on it at all, and the car wasn't ready, to £300 for the parts it needed, and your car will be ready at the end of the day Sir, after a quick call to trading standards, and quoting some stuff down the phone at the garage.
Meoricin said:
You haven't lost anything from their mistake, why do you think you should be entitled to compensation? If something had happened, sure, but nothing did.
It is poor form on their part, but you can't prove it - how are they supposed to know you're not just a chancer trying to get a free alignment? Simply don't use them again, and mention the incident to people you know if you really want to 'punish' them.
I clearly stated that I don't wish to pursue compensation. I only want the money back that I paid out for a job which hasn't been done. I don't see a problem with that?It is poor form on their part, but you can't prove it - how are they supposed to know you're not just a chancer trying to get a free alignment? Simply don't use them again, and mention the incident to people you know if you really want to 'punish' them.
BlueTwo2 said:
Hindsight is great, isn't it.
Cost me a few hundred quid to put right the damages on mine.
Do they have a head office, or is the "manager" the top man for the whole lot of them?
May be worth writing to their head office if the former is the case? Certainly helped when a Nationwide chain of Autocentres royally f
ked my runabout car on a headgasket job.BlueTwo2 said:
Right, spoken to them in a polite manner and they basically don't want to know. The manager doesn't feel the bolts could have been loose when I left them because the mechanic has told him he tightened them up!
If you aren't prepared to push the point then only you will lose out.doogz said:
Well, he has. He paid for wheel alignment, and as a result of them not torqueing the bolts up, it was a waste of time, the camber settings will be all over the shop.
Ah, I'm not that up on the technical side of these things yet, so I was assuming that the work they carried out would still be complete, less the final tightening of the bolts.BlueTwo2 said:
Right, spoken to them in a polite manner and they basically don't want to know. The manager doesn't feel the bolts could have been loose when I left them because the mechanic has told him he tightened them up!
If they were local you'd just go back and get them to do it again.They are not local so you can't just go back to get it done again.
Will the settings still be ok after this or does it need done again, it may not.
But if you do need it done again you need to get the money back for their first ham-fisted attempt stand your ground (plus you have already wasted half a day with them and petrol etc).
If you talk to the garage owner and explain and see what he says - he should be very apologetic and offer to do it again free (which is not good enough). Then quote trading standards, newspapers etc no doubt he has heard it all before a hundred times but its worth keep on trying.
BlueTwo2 said:
....... I got to a road where there were a few moderate speed corners and immediately thought the car didn't feel quite right. I should have gone back, but it was getting late in the day and I was worried that I was just being paranoid, so continued on my way, thinking perhaps it's just down to the settings I'd had implemented, and that it may take a bit of getting used to.
By the time I got home, I knew it wasn't right. The steering wheel seemed to be trying to jump out of my hands at times and I had to get under the car and find out exactly what was going on. I decided to check the hub bolts that go through the bracket on the strut at the driver's side front, and found to my horror that the bolts were moveable by hand!!
Having driven all that way on the motorway with my girlfriend int he car, I'm quite upset that they have displayed such negligence. Had the hub come away, anything could have happened to us.
mate, I cant quite believe you'd continue to drive a car on the public roads that you clearly suspected was defective. By the time I got home, I knew it wasn't right. The steering wheel seemed to be trying to jump out of my hands at times and I had to get under the car and find out exactly what was going on. I decided to check the hub bolts that go through the bracket on the strut at the driver's side front, and found to my horror that the bolts were moveable by hand!!
Having driven all that way on the motorway with my girlfriend int he car, I'm quite upset that they have displayed such negligence. Had the hub come away, anything could have happened to us.
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