Garages - are they all just a bit crap?
Discussion
I don't think I've ever found a garage to work on my cars that I'm 100% happy with. Recent woes in no particular order, and not naming/shaming:
Garage 1
Been around for years, recommended ages ago by a friend who knows the owner. Nice lads, seem honest enough but:
Another local independent outfit, highly recommended by the world and his dog on facebook (admittedly not necessarily car people) and been around years; always booked solid. Got them to replace a binding rear caliper on the Golf. When I got it back the brake pedal was pretty much hitting the floor, obviously hadn't been bled properly. Took it back and they did rebleed which improved it slightly (not before trying to sell me a full fluid change for another £50, which I declined). Just gone to look at the fluid myself and notice they've put a huge crack in the plastic engine cover/air filter housing when trying to get to the reservoir
Garage 3
Local(ish) performance marque specialist, did an otherwise great job on my pride & joy but I'm pretty sure they didn't put the seats back in properly (wrong bolts in driver/passenger side and slide stops in the wrong side). Also the roof was not clipped down properly after being refitted. Didn't say anything as can't 100% prove it was them.
Am I being too fussy? Is it too much to expect professional mechanics to treat a car with the same care I would my own? I try to do more and more jobs myself but sometimes just want to pay someone with a ramp and proper tools an hour's labour to save me faffing about all weekend trying to DIY. I know some of these seem like minor gripes, but makes you wonder what else they're not doing properly.
/rant ... cool story, bro, etc.
Garage 1
Been around for years, recommended ages ago by a friend who knows the owner. Nice lads, seem honest enough but:
- After doing some welding on the sills on my Golf, undersealed over it which then spattered up the paintwork and wheeltrims (which were new), pretty much impossible to clean off. Not really worth complaining.
- They then replaced a knackered damper on the missus' Honda, I noticed a week or so later they had left all the plastic trim in the engine bay loose so we had to make a trip back and get them to refit all the clips and a big piece of the intake resonator which was still sitting in the guy's toolbox. (Missus gave them a b
king, she's much better at it than me). Won't be going back I don't think.
Another local independent outfit, highly recommended by the world and his dog on facebook (admittedly not necessarily car people) and been around years; always booked solid. Got them to replace a binding rear caliper on the Golf. When I got it back the brake pedal was pretty much hitting the floor, obviously hadn't been bled properly. Took it back and they did rebleed which improved it slightly (not before trying to sell me a full fluid change for another £50, which I declined). Just gone to look at the fluid myself and notice they've put a huge crack in the plastic engine cover/air filter housing when trying to get to the reservoir
Garage 3
Local(ish) performance marque specialist, did an otherwise great job on my pride & joy but I'm pretty sure they didn't put the seats back in properly (wrong bolts in driver/passenger side and slide stops in the wrong side). Also the roof was not clipped down properly after being refitted. Didn't say anything as can't 100% prove it was them.
Am I being too fussy? Is it too much to expect professional mechanics to treat a car with the same care I would my own? I try to do more and more jobs myself but sometimes just want to pay someone with a ramp and proper tools an hour's labour to save me faffing about all weekend trying to DIY. I know some of these seem like minor gripes, but makes you wonder what else they're not doing properly.
/rant ... cool story, bro, etc.
Totally agree, I normally find something wrong when I get it back. eg
Oil overfilled by 1 inch
Coolant lid not quite tight enough
a large dent on my front wing
driveshaft mounting not fitted correctly
odd bolts used in reassembly
wheel nuts on far too tight
Binding handbrake still not pulling on correctly
Handbrake adjustment done on the lever, not balanced on the shoe adjuster
Tracking - steering wheel not straight.
Being told my wheels need balancing after I collect it from major service... why didnt they do it then?
Leaking cam cover after cambelt change
these are from 5 garages from memory.
I end up just correcting them myself, as I cant be bothered to go back and lose the car for another day.
These are on my older cars, on the new less than 3 year old cars, the service is faultless, probably because they do do anything apart from an oil change.
Oil overfilled by 1 inch
Coolant lid not quite tight enough
a large dent on my front wing
driveshaft mounting not fitted correctly
odd bolts used in reassembly
wheel nuts on far too tight
Binding handbrake still not pulling on correctly
Handbrake adjustment done on the lever, not balanced on the shoe adjuster
Tracking - steering wheel not straight.
Being told my wheels need balancing after I collect it from major service... why didnt they do it then?
Leaking cam cover after cambelt change
these are from 5 garages from memory.
I end up just correcting them myself, as I cant be bothered to go back and lose the car for another day.
These are on my older cars, on the new less than 3 year old cars, the service is faultless, probably because they do do anything apart from an oil change.
Agree. It’s the same with motorbikes. I dread having to let anyone else work on my bike.
Couple of recent examples - getting a front tyre fitted they tried to tell me my frame was bent. It was their front lift that was so twisted the axle wouldn’t go back in.
Another one didn’t refit the rear brake calliper correctly meaning it spun on the disc and trapped the brake hose on the rear spindle locking the back wheel.
Couple of recent examples - getting a front tyre fitted they tried to tell me my frame was bent. It was their front lift that was so twisted the axle wouldn’t go back in.
Another one didn’t refit the rear brake calliper correctly meaning it spun on the disc and trapped the brake hose on the rear spindle locking the back wheel.
Same SWMBO Golf in for clutch 2 weeks later drive shaft spat bolts out.
Called breakdown who said this happens a lot on them and the next to go would be engine mounts as they are all stretch bolts
Got them to change them, thing is I wouldn't have minded if they added them to the bill,
when discussing it with the garage they said this happens a lot!!!
Mum and Dad changed garage for a replacement hose picked the car up they had damaged a different hose but denied it!!
Called breakdown who said this happens a lot on them and the next to go would be engine mounts as they are all stretch bolts
Got them to change them, thing is I wouldn't have minded if they added them to the bill,
when discussing it with the garage they said this happens a lot!!!
Mum and Dad changed garage for a replacement hose picked the car up they had damaged a different hose but denied it!!
Yep, not saying that I'm perfect by a stretch but I'm doing more and more stuff myself for this reason.
I've has some really disappointing experiences with "specialists", I often build up to a trip to a specialist as it's likely to be a big job or upgrade etc. Always silly mistakes made or just a general lack of pride perceived.
I've has some really disappointing experiences with "specialists", I often build up to a trip to a specialist as it's likely to be a big job or upgrade etc. Always silly mistakes made or just a general lack of pride perceived.
Seemingly always comes back with some damage or something has gone missing.
Dash scratched, newly refurbished wheel scratched x 2, battery cover missing, engine cover left in workshop, wheel nut cap lost, underdash hacked at, brakes spongy, leak not fixed after being worked on and not checked, scratches to paintwork, various clips missing, wrong place or broken, interior with oily fingerprints, carpets (mats removed?!) filthy, old dirty tyre thrown in the boot, brand new alloy scratched, rusty marks on paint from a grinder being used nearby, wrong coolant used, wrong master cylinder fitted, sills crushed by incorrect use of lift, buckled wheel still buckled after fix, tyres not balanced when tyres fitted, diamond cut alloy wheel scratched and my signature forged, wheel nut cover remover lost... the list goes on.
I do as much as I can myself, otherwise the list would be longer...
Dash scratched, newly refurbished wheel scratched x 2, battery cover missing, engine cover left in workshop, wheel nut cap lost, underdash hacked at, brakes spongy, leak not fixed after being worked on and not checked, scratches to paintwork, various clips missing, wrong place or broken, interior with oily fingerprints, carpets (mats removed?!) filthy, old dirty tyre thrown in the boot, brand new alloy scratched, rusty marks on paint from a grinder being used nearby, wrong coolant used, wrong master cylinder fitted, sills crushed by incorrect use of lift, buckled wheel still buckled after fix, tyres not balanced when tyres fitted, diamond cut alloy wheel scratched and my signature forged, wheel nut cover remover lost... the list goes on.
I do as much as I can myself, otherwise the list would be longer...
To be fair, there is a local indie specialist near me in Nottingham who I really cannot fault. They've done various work on my car and I'm always delighted with the work they carry out. Never let me down yet and trust them 100%.
I have used some dodgy places though.
Took mother's car in for a service and MOT to a local garage chain. Advisory on pads and discs on a 3 year old car that had done less than 14K... Said they would sort them for £170. Seemed abit off so left it. Ordered the parts to do it myself, wheel off, discs and pads looked like had loads of life left. Took to another garage to get a second opinion, miraculously the discs and pads were absolutely fine! She must have bought a Fiesta with the optional brakes that add metal to the discs and pads.
I have used some dodgy places though.
Took mother's car in for a service and MOT to a local garage chain. Advisory on pads and discs on a 3 year old car that had done less than 14K... Said they would sort them for £170. Seemed abit off so left it. Ordered the parts to do it myself, wheel off, discs and pads looked like had loads of life left. Took to another garage to get a second opinion, miraculously the discs and pads were absolutely fine! She must have bought a Fiesta with the optional brakes that add metal to the discs and pads.
I’ve been comprehensively burnt by a few places over the years, the local one managed to damage a rocker cover on my 6 series so it wouldn’t seal while replacing leaking rocker seals, you have to lower the engine for access on the V8 so it’s not a cheap job.
3 visits later I gave up and took it to a specialist that showed me the issue.
I only use the specialist now (Premier motors in Aberdeen) the only problem with them is that they’re good so extremely busy.
The place I bought the recent car from had put the wheel bolts in so tight that I couldn’t shift them using a 2 foot breaker bar. I’m not a small person and got to the point where I was going to break something. Took it back and they took a day and a half to remove the bolts after shearing the locking key, and of course damaged the newly painted wheels in the process.
It was one of many issues in an absolute cluster, and means that my next car will be bought from further away if it’s another BMW.
It’s worth driving for 4 or 5 hours to avoid the local places.
3 visits later I gave up and took it to a specialist that showed me the issue.
I only use the specialist now (Premier motors in Aberdeen) the only problem with them is that they’re good so extremely busy.
The place I bought the recent car from had put the wheel bolts in so tight that I couldn’t shift them using a 2 foot breaker bar. I’m not a small person and got to the point where I was going to break something. Took it back and they took a day and a half to remove the bolts after shearing the locking key, and of course damaged the newly painted wheels in the process.
It was one of many issues in an absolute cluster, and means that my next car will be bought from further away if it’s another BMW.
It’s worth driving for 4 or 5 hours to avoid the local places.
Dont even go there.
1. VW garage,a Gti in for 1st service. Wife drove car and asked what he funny noise was from the front. All the front wheel bolts were about to fall off.
2. Ford dealer fixing a problem on my new 4x4 Saphire Cosworth. One of the turbo mounting bolts had morhed into a 4" long B&Q coachbolt as they had stripped the thread on the manifold.
3. Ford dealer (eventually) diagnosed a failed piston on my new XR3i. Just swapped the 1 piston, unfortunately it was of the wrong size ( they used to come in grade 1,2,3,4 etc), made a horrendous din, took a right battle to get that fixed. And that was after being unable to catch the rock ape mechanics road testing the car down the lanes!
4. Brand new Honda Civic type R. Ended up with steering alignment issues, went bacjk to factory, came back with 4 scratched wheels and same issue unresolved. Honda swapped car for another new one. That one leaked on day 1, replaced windscreen, still leaked. Rejected that car, Honda sent another new car that was covered in swirl marks and grey primer overspray. 4th one was ok, but clutch started rattling after 2 days. They swapped clutch, but still rattled. I gave up moaning and kept the car, having had £2k in compo and ended up with a car that had a year younger reg plate.
5. New Scooby STI 8. Clutch was dragging, they swapped clutch, all ok. Well apart from the clunk as I accelerated followed by a reciprocal clunk when I braked hard. Went in 3 times and the garage were apologetic that they could not sort it. Fortunately it got nicked after 2 months.
6. Replacement for the above, brand new Elise 111S. Picked it up in the afternoon, went to brands from the N/W. Wifey was less than impressed on arrival at her soaking heels and trousers,having been dunked in the 1.5 inches of water swilling round the footwell. Lotus fix (eventually) was a substantial bead of Sikkoflex on the lengthways join between ally interior sill and interior floor tray, all visible from the cockpit..
7. New Golf 7.5 R. Clutch slave cylinder leaking. VW swapped it ( took a week FFS). A few days later noticed the inside of the N/S/F wheel was covered in grease.They had nicked the outer CV joint when refitting. Took it to a different VW garage for repair, needed a new driveshaft. Got into the car, as I drove out of the parking space, as I applied lock, horrendous racket from N/S/F top mount. They had damaged it refitting the driveshaft ( by forcing the strut out of the stub axle). Needed a new top mount.
I am sure there are more, but generally, FFS!
1. VW garage,a Gti in for 1st service. Wife drove car and asked what he funny noise was from the front. All the front wheel bolts were about to fall off.
2. Ford dealer fixing a problem on my new 4x4 Saphire Cosworth. One of the turbo mounting bolts had morhed into a 4" long B&Q coachbolt as they had stripped the thread on the manifold.
3. Ford dealer (eventually) diagnosed a failed piston on my new XR3i. Just swapped the 1 piston, unfortunately it was of the wrong size ( they used to come in grade 1,2,3,4 etc), made a horrendous din, took a right battle to get that fixed. And that was after being unable to catch the rock ape mechanics road testing the car down the lanes!
4. Brand new Honda Civic type R. Ended up with steering alignment issues, went bacjk to factory, came back with 4 scratched wheels and same issue unresolved. Honda swapped car for another new one. That one leaked on day 1, replaced windscreen, still leaked. Rejected that car, Honda sent another new car that was covered in swirl marks and grey primer overspray. 4th one was ok, but clutch started rattling after 2 days. They swapped clutch, but still rattled. I gave up moaning and kept the car, having had £2k in compo and ended up with a car that had a year younger reg plate.
5. New Scooby STI 8. Clutch was dragging, they swapped clutch, all ok. Well apart from the clunk as I accelerated followed by a reciprocal clunk when I braked hard. Went in 3 times and the garage were apologetic that they could not sort it. Fortunately it got nicked after 2 months.
6. Replacement for the above, brand new Elise 111S. Picked it up in the afternoon, went to brands from the N/W. Wifey was less than impressed on arrival at her soaking heels and trousers,having been dunked in the 1.5 inches of water swilling round the footwell. Lotus fix (eventually) was a substantial bead of Sikkoflex on the lengthways join between ally interior sill and interior floor tray, all visible from the cockpit..
7. New Golf 7.5 R. Clutch slave cylinder leaking. VW swapped it ( took a week FFS). A few days later noticed the inside of the N/S/F wheel was covered in grease.They had nicked the outer CV joint when refitting. Took it to a different VW garage for repair, needed a new driveshaft. Got into the car, as I drove out of the parking space, as I applied lock, horrendous racket from N/S/F top mount. They had damaged it refitting the driveshaft ( by forcing the strut out of the stub axle). Needed a new top mount.
I am sure there are more, but generally, FFS!
It does seem pretty common for people to use a garage once or twice then move on to somewhere else after a bad experience.
I’ve found a local BMW specialist who did exactly what he said he would, when he would, for a price that worked out to be extremely good value all things considered.
I might have been able to get the job done cheaper somewhere else, on the other hand trying would probably have ended up with disappointment.
Garages seem to struggle treading the fine line of charging enough to give them the time to do the job right, and charging little enough to get people to come in the door in the first place.
Other places are just staffed with cowboys....
I’ve found a local BMW specialist who did exactly what he said he would, when he would, for a price that worked out to be extremely good value all things considered.
I might have been able to get the job done cheaper somewhere else, on the other hand trying would probably have ended up with disappointment.
Garages seem to struggle treading the fine line of charging enough to give them the time to do the job right, and charging little enough to get people to come in the door in the first place.
Other places are just staffed with cowboys....
I'm not sure why you'd expect anything else from an Indie. Reputations are made by customers who don't know anything about cars and take everything at face value - these people also don't really care a great deal about their car. The owner is usually the driver of the reputation and I see it time and again, if the owner can smile and talk to the customer everyone say's what a great place it is despite the quality
Then you get the quality of the mechanics, some are reasonable, most are dire, real bodgers, rushing jobs without the experience to do them properly. The other thing is that as a customer it takes more balls to have it out with the owner than some lackey service advisor at a dealership so these IMT's can get away with poor workmanship more often.
My local IMT is 500 yds from my house, I needed the bottom arm and track rod replacing as I couldn't shift them myself due to the rust. They quoted me £135 to do a 40 min job ( especially as I had loosened some of the bolts), I supplied genuine parts and when I came to pick the car up, they wanted £201. Luckily I was able to disabuse them of that notion. During the day the called me to say that they might not be able to get the work done, which was interesting as I saw them working on it when I went for a nosey at lunchtime. They were clearly planning the uplift so that when I came back in the morning they can give me all manner of BS about how difficult it was to remove the parts.
You really need to be on top of your game with the IMT's they aren't all that good.
Then you get the quality of the mechanics, some are reasonable, most are dire, real bodgers, rushing jobs without the experience to do them properly. The other thing is that as a customer it takes more balls to have it out with the owner than some lackey service advisor at a dealership so these IMT's can get away with poor workmanship more often.
My local IMT is 500 yds from my house, I needed the bottom arm and track rod replacing as I couldn't shift them myself due to the rust. They quoted me £135 to do a 40 min job ( especially as I had loosened some of the bolts), I supplied genuine parts and when I came to pick the car up, they wanted £201. Luckily I was able to disabuse them of that notion. During the day the called me to say that they might not be able to get the work done, which was interesting as I saw them working on it when I went for a nosey at lunchtime. They were clearly planning the uplift so that when I came back in the morning they can give me all manner of BS about how difficult it was to remove the parts.
You really need to be on top of your game with the IMT's they aren't all that good.
Yes and no. I use Bentleys Autos in brookwood, surrey.
I drive older cars - so things don't always go quite to plan with rusty fixings, or sometimes the part they've had supplied has failed PDQ.
I'm also a nightmare because I do most of my own jobs - so it's really only the stty jobs I hate, or I'm in a rush, that I ask them to do.
But they *always* go the extra mile, they always try to keep the job at or under the quote, and then really do care about having happy customers.
So some places do still try, and do still care.
I drive older cars - so things don't always go quite to plan with rusty fixings, or sometimes the part they've had supplied has failed PDQ.
I'm also a nightmare because I do most of my own jobs - so it's really only the s
tty jobs I hate, or I'm in a rush, that I ask them to do.But they *always* go the extra mile, they always try to keep the job at or under the quote, and then really do care about having happy customers.
So some places do still try, and do still care.
Dynion Araf Uchaf said:
Stuff
I am blessed with garage riches
My old RR Sport was well looked after by an indie just about (vigorous) walking distance away
They always offered a loaner or else would collect and deliver
They are nice blokes so I used to split the difference with them and usually drive there with the dog and walkies back then they dropped the car back when done with keys through letter box and Id pay over the phone
Nearest garage look after the missus car and again are faultless
Its now 15y old so a woman leaving it for MOT and corrective work is arguably open to abuse but they never, ever took the piss
Slight use of past tense here as we're currently both in new cars and so at the ransom of the supplying dealers but as soon as warranty expires we'll be back like a shot
Cheers
Took my 147 GTA to a small indie in Hampshire that came quite well recommended on the Alfa owners forum.
Turned up and he had no ramps (at all - he jacked all the cars up by hand), smelled a bit of booze and had no facilities for taking card payment in 2016.
Gave the 147 a clean bill of health. 2 months later I put it into Autolusso Bournemouth where it underwent £1200 of remedial work to replace rotting coolant pipes, knackered bushes and a completely fked rear shock.
I take a lot of recommendations with a pinch of salt now.
Turned up and he had no ramps (at all - he jacked all the cars up by hand), smelled a bit of booze and had no facilities for taking card payment in 2016.
Gave the 147 a clean bill of health. 2 months later I put it into Autolusso Bournemouth where it underwent £1200 of remedial work to replace rotting coolant pipes, knackered bushes and a completely f
ked rear shock.I take a lot of recommendations with a pinch of salt now.
My Indy who looks after my 18 year old car is spot on. Honest reliable, looks for solutiions takes time to talk to you and doesn't cost the earth. If he can't fix it, he'll know a bloke who can.
My franchised JLR dealer has been pretty good with our new cars. It surprises me because I've a few friends who have had less than great experience at the same branch.
My franchised JLR dealer has been pretty good with our new cars. It surprises me because I've a few friends who have had less than great experience at the same branch.
Edited by Wildcat45 on Thursday 21st November 08:04
Wildcat45 said:
My Indy who looks after my 18 year old car is spit on. Honest reliable, looks for solutiions takes time to talk to you and doesn't cost the earth. If he can't fix it, he'll know a bloke who can.
My franchised JLR dealer has been pretty good with our new cars. It surprises me because I've a few friends who have had less than great experience at the same branch.
Ha ha ha haMy franchised JLR dealer has been pretty good with our new cars. It surprises me because I've a few friends who have had less than great experience at the same branch.
After its first service I took my RR Sport for a trip to see the in laws down the M5
Imagine how much fun was had when the bolts securing the under tray fell off (if they were ever refitted) leading to a sparky display of 'shock and awe' not seen since the Gulf war soon after I left the dealership and joined the motorway network
Cheers
Wildcat45 said:
My franchised JLR dealer has been pretty good with our new cars. It surprises me because I've a few friends who have had less than great experience at the same branch.
- expectation*
Be lucky is my motto.
Over the years I've had to question a few dealers.
Ford - engine using lots of oil " bring it in when it runs out "
Skoda - peeling paint on alloys " its the heat from the brakes "
Porsche - called to say a couple of spark plug access cover fasteners need replacing " cost £5 each for a 5mm nut and £55 to fit "
Kia - questioned corrosion on valve TPMS valve nuts 3000 mile car they supplied " these are aftermarket parts not covered by warranty then said it was damage from checking the tyre pressures "
The sad thing is most of the punters who walk through their doors have no idea about cars and are preyed on because of it but when a clued up owner challanges their crap its a different story which ends up with a row in the dealers.
Ford - engine using lots of oil " bring it in when it runs out "
Skoda - peeling paint on alloys " its the heat from the brakes "
Porsche - called to say a couple of spark plug access cover fasteners need replacing " cost £5 each for a 5mm nut and £55 to fit "
Kia - questioned corrosion on valve TPMS valve nuts 3000 mile car they supplied " these are aftermarket parts not covered by warranty then said it was damage from checking the tyre pressures "
The sad thing is most of the punters who walk through their doors have no idea about cars and are preyed on because of it but when a clued up owner challanges their crap its a different story which ends up with a row in the dealers.
Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff