Garage damaged my car - what next?
Discussion
Hi guys,
Wondering if anyone could offer any words of advice for a bit of trouble I've ended up in..? (Apologies for length)
I recently started work at a new company further away from home than my previous job and needed my car servicing, so I booked my car through one of those "book online and we'll pick it up in the morning and drop it off when it's done" places and it seemed pretty slick.
The car was picked up on Friday 2nd June at 9am - I was told it would be back with me after the service for around 3:30pm. At 4pm I was starting to wonder what was going on, so at 4:20 I rang the garage and was told "I'm with a customer I'll ring you back in 2 minutes" and put the phone down. A minute later the company I booked through rang back (not the garage) and said unfortunately my car had rolled back into a post and the rear bumper had been damaged, and my car wouldn't be ready - they'd also not done the service yet either. When I mentioned I was stuck on the outskirts of Leeds with no way of getting home (other than 2 buses and a train) they said they'd try and get me a courtesy car. One was dropped off about an hour later - a knackered diesel ford focus with 176000 miles on the clock, a huge crack in the windscreen, check engine light on and 0 miles to empty. Nice.
Over the next several days I spent time chasing the car up, and trying to obtain pictures of the damage, which the company promised to get. They didn't, so one lunchtime I drove to the garage and asked to see the car, but it was "at their bodyshop getting repaired" - the guy that spoke to me said "I've taken a hit on this as I've had to buy a new rear grill from Mercedes but I want to do it right" and that he'd make sure it was all put back as new and he'd throw in a valet. He also said he'd dig out the CCTV of the accident.
At one point I was told by the garage that the new grill would arrive on Thursday, only to be told on Thursday by the booking company that it took two days to arrive so wouldn't be here until Friday...
On Friday I received a call saying the part had arrived and it was all repaired and they were ready to do the service, so they just wanted to run through advised extras for my car (at trade price!) - trying to sell me oil, coolant, brake fluid and wipers at extortionate prices - I asked if they were joking and that I wouldn't trust the garage to actually carry it out! "So that just leaves the cost of the service to pay" he said - again I told him he must be having a laugh and that I'd speak to a manager. Eventually one called me and cancelled the cost.
So that evening the car was delivered - the driver said it "was as good as new", so I came out to show him where the courtesy car was and said I'd have a quick look just to see how it was. My first glance at it and my heart sank "WTF have they done to it?!" and even the delivery driver said "yeah that's a bit sh*t" - it was an absolute mess - panels not fit right, scratches, scuffs, damage to the bumper, splayed out gaps, orange peel spray, cracks, and even a silver wood screw holding the bumper in place - I was completely in shock - the driver said he'd let the garage know and they'd ring me back straight away - of course they didn't.
I took pictures and rang the booking company. They said they couldn't just take my word for it and would require proof - I said no problem and sent the images.
Does this look like a decent repair (it was perfect before they got their hands on it) :
In the centre console are a load of bodywork clips which I presume they couldn't be bothered to refit - the bumper isn't properly secured or the plastic liner either.
I think we can all agree that it shouldn't have come back looking like that - and that it's a pretty poor repair job.
My problem is - what do I do next?! The garage obviously have a complete disregard so it's not even worth my time complaining to them. The booking company will want to avoid paying for a repair and will try and get the original garage to do it - something I am obviously quite strongly against.
I am going to contact Citizen's Advice today but from what I could find the protection covers more along the lines of if a car is left in a dangerous state (which I guess it could be). Depending on the outcome of that - I was going to contact my insurer and see if they have legal advisors who could arrange an inspection or second opinion?
The week before my car had a new thermostat and waterpump at a local garage so they would hopefully be willing to write an independent report on the state of the car before the other garage crashed it.
Would an accident management company be able to help?
I'm really at a loss of where to go on this.
Wondering if anyone could offer any words of advice for a bit of trouble I've ended up in..? (Apologies for length)
I recently started work at a new company further away from home than my previous job and needed my car servicing, so I booked my car through one of those "book online and we'll pick it up in the morning and drop it off when it's done" places and it seemed pretty slick.
The car was picked up on Friday 2nd June at 9am - I was told it would be back with me after the service for around 3:30pm. At 4pm I was starting to wonder what was going on, so at 4:20 I rang the garage and was told "I'm with a customer I'll ring you back in 2 minutes" and put the phone down. A minute later the company I booked through rang back (not the garage) and said unfortunately my car had rolled back into a post and the rear bumper had been damaged, and my car wouldn't be ready - they'd also not done the service yet either. When I mentioned I was stuck on the outskirts of Leeds with no way of getting home (other than 2 buses and a train) they said they'd try and get me a courtesy car. One was dropped off about an hour later - a knackered diesel ford focus with 176000 miles on the clock, a huge crack in the windscreen, check engine light on and 0 miles to empty. Nice.
Over the next several days I spent time chasing the car up, and trying to obtain pictures of the damage, which the company promised to get. They didn't, so one lunchtime I drove to the garage and asked to see the car, but it was "at their bodyshop getting repaired" - the guy that spoke to me said "I've taken a hit on this as I've had to buy a new rear grill from Mercedes but I want to do it right" and that he'd make sure it was all put back as new and he'd throw in a valet. He also said he'd dig out the CCTV of the accident.
At one point I was told by the garage that the new grill would arrive on Thursday, only to be told on Thursday by the booking company that it took two days to arrive so wouldn't be here until Friday...
On Friday I received a call saying the part had arrived and it was all repaired and they were ready to do the service, so they just wanted to run through advised extras for my car (at trade price!) - trying to sell me oil, coolant, brake fluid and wipers at extortionate prices - I asked if they were joking and that I wouldn't trust the garage to actually carry it out! "So that just leaves the cost of the service to pay" he said - again I told him he must be having a laugh and that I'd speak to a manager. Eventually one called me and cancelled the cost.
So that evening the car was delivered - the driver said it "was as good as new", so I came out to show him where the courtesy car was and said I'd have a quick look just to see how it was. My first glance at it and my heart sank "WTF have they done to it?!" and even the delivery driver said "yeah that's a bit sh*t" - it was an absolute mess - panels not fit right, scratches, scuffs, damage to the bumper, splayed out gaps, orange peel spray, cracks, and even a silver wood screw holding the bumper in place - I was completely in shock - the driver said he'd let the garage know and they'd ring me back straight away - of course they didn't.
I took pictures and rang the booking company. They said they couldn't just take my word for it and would require proof - I said no problem and sent the images.
Does this look like a decent repair (it was perfect before they got their hands on it) :
In the centre console are a load of bodywork clips which I presume they couldn't be bothered to refit - the bumper isn't properly secured or the plastic liner either.
I think we can all agree that it shouldn't have come back looking like that - and that it's a pretty poor repair job.
My problem is - what do I do next?! The garage obviously have a complete disregard so it's not even worth my time complaining to them. The booking company will want to avoid paying for a repair and will try and get the original garage to do it - something I am obviously quite strongly against.
I am going to contact Citizen's Advice today but from what I could find the protection covers more along the lines of if a car is left in a dangerous state (which I guess it could be). Depending on the outcome of that - I was going to contact my insurer and see if they have legal advisors who could arrange an inspection or second opinion?
The week before my car had a new thermostat and waterpump at a local garage so they would hopefully be willing to write an independent report on the state of the car before the other garage crashed it.
Would an accident management company be able to help?
I'm really at a loss of where to go on this.
What an absolutely shoddy repair, presumably the body-shop have been asked to do it for 50p and a packet of biscuits, it's obviously had no care spent on it at all.
I'd take it back and make it absolutely clear that either they fix it correctly, or you'll have it fixed and send them the bill.
I'd take it back and make it absolutely clear that either they fix it correctly, or you'll have it fixed and send them the bill.
Krikkit said:
What an absolutely shoddy repair, presumably the body-shop have been asked to do it for 50p and a packet of biscuits, it's obviously had no care spent on it at all.
I'd take it back and make it absolutely clear that either they fix it correctly, or you'll have it fixed and send them the bill.
The problem is though - they took a week and returned the car in that state, claiming it was "good as new" - should I be expected (and do I really want) to take the car back to them?!I'd take it back and make it absolutely clear that either they fix it correctly, or you'll have it fixed and send them the bill.
shandyboy said:
Would an accident management company be able to help?
I'm really at a loss of where to go on this.
Normally I would say avoid these, but in this case setting a good accident management company on them may be a good move. If, as you would expect. the garage has insurance in place, it will make things easier.I'm really at a loss of where to go on this.
Alternatively speak to your own insurance company.
p.s. In future, always take your car to your own Bodyshop, don't let others say they will fix.
hyphen said:
shandyboy said:
Would an accident management company be able to help?
I'm really at a loss of where to go on this.
Normally I would say avoid these, but in this case setting a good accident management company on them may be a good move. If, as you would expect. the garage has insurance in place, it will make things easier.I'm really at a loss of where to go on this.
Alternatively speak to your own insurance company.
p.s. In future, always take your car to your own Bodyshop, don't let others say they will fix.
He's booked through a third party company and it sounds as if they picked up the car and took it to the dealer. It doesn't sound as if the dealer was at fault for the accident.
I would hope that any main dealer wouldn't try to pass that workmanship off. Their hands are probably tied as they will be getting instruction and payment off the third party company who is their customer.
The adding of this third party booking agent is going to make this situation complicated.
I've just come off the phone from the CAB (who were really good) and they've given me info on what should happen from a consumer rights approach:
1. I need a copy of the complaints procedure from the booking company.
2. I need to know if they are prepared to use an ADR (alternative dispute resolution) in this case.
3. To give them a deadline of when I expect a decision to be made.
So I've phoned them and they say they are currently waiting for a response from the garage on why the car was released in the state it was. I don't think they'll get a reply but we'll see.
The booking company also said they'll email me a copy of the complaints procedure and that they are prepared to use an ADR. They also said I should hear back by the end of today on their decision. I said I really didn't want the car going back there and they said it was completely understandable.
So it sounds positive so far, I'll keep you guys informed. Thanks for the advice so far...
I might bob over to MB this lunch time and see if they can give a rough quote on fixing it.
1. I need a copy of the complaints procedure from the booking company.
2. I need to know if they are prepared to use an ADR (alternative dispute resolution) in this case.
3. To give them a deadline of when I expect a decision to be made.
So I've phoned them and they say they are currently waiting for a response from the garage on why the car was released in the state it was. I don't think they'll get a reply but we'll see.
The booking company also said they'll email me a copy of the complaints procedure and that they are prepared to use an ADR. They also said I should hear back by the end of today on their decision. I said I really didn't want the car going back there and they said it was completely understandable.
So it sounds positive so far, I'll keep you guys informed. Thanks for the advice so far...
I might bob over to MB this lunch time and see if they can give a rough quote on fixing it.
Joe5y said:
It's the wood screw that gets me!
What body shop would do that? Shocking.
As above. I would grab 2x quotes from independent body shops to have the work rectified and present that to the garage that carried out the work.
That's exactly my thought too. A wood screw to fix a bumper or trim in place is poor let alone that lack of colour match, rough edges etc. Just a poor show all round. What body shop would do that? Shocking.
As above. I would grab 2x quotes from independent body shops to have the work rectified and present that to the garage that carried out the work.
If you have a preferred bodyshop (as I do) I'd take it and get a written quote. I'd then present it to the company face to face so you can point out the extremely poor workmanship on the 'repair' and see what they say. If they argue a bit then drop in how you're happy to take it to Trading Standards (or equivalent) etc.
Best of luck OP, I can sympathise with you on this as I'd be similarly angry!
I'm kind of glad that you all agree it's a shocking job, but kind of sad that it happened to my car..! 
Like I said I have absolutely zero faith in the garage to make good so will be pushing to have it repaired somewhere decent (main MB dealer maybe?) - although to be fair some random guy in a Halfords car-park would probably do a better job than the original garage!
Like I said I have absolutely zero faith in the garage to make good so will be pushing to have it repaired somewhere decent (main MB dealer maybe?) - although to be fair some random guy in a Halfords car-park would probably do a better job than the original garage!
k! Out of interest what is the car and year?
I can't give any advice unfortunately OP but I can't get my head around how anyone could think that that is in any way a satisfactory repair and how any idiot ever thought that anyone one would accept a repair to their car like that. I would be f'king livid and I drive an 11 year old Mondeo!
lufbramatt said:
One of my mates used to have one of these, although it was the coupe one with a glass hatch on the back. I seem to remember that you have to take some of the rear bodywork to bits in order to change the spark plugs? I wonder if they broke something trying to take it to bits....
You actually think they did the service?! 
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