How long is reasonable for garage to have your car?

[shino]

My VW Passat (58 plate) broke down on Nov 29th last year. It was taken to a local garage as its no longer under warranty. It's still in there. I did get it back for a day after 6weeks after id told them I would ring trading standards. Miraculously I had it back the next day after they phoned to say it was mended. I paid the bill, £865 & I drove the car home. Car still didn't feel right and by the time I got it home it was making a really loud knocking noise (engine). I phoned the garage to tell him it was no better and still had the same problem as when I first dropped it off with them. He told me to return the car & he'd have another look. I took it back the following morning, but just a mile down the road the whole engine expired & cut out on me. The AA were called and they towed me back to the garage. The cars been with them since and I've heard nothing else from them. I've rang a couple of times to find out what's happening with the car and to find out when I'm getting it back. I just get told they don't really know, they're looking in to it.
My question is... 'How long is reasonable for a garage to have your car when it breaks down' & how do I get the car back now, mended, as its now un- driveable.

[IanMorewood]

Replacement engine, a fortnight assuming it wasn't booked in and replacement parts are easy enough to source.

[TooMany2cvs]

What did they do the first time, and what - if anything - have you told them or they told you this time?

[lel]

The longest my car has been in a garage is 3 days to get the injectors refurbed, 6 weeks is shocking especially if they have not fixed it.


Did they say what the fault was and do you have proof of any new parts being fitted? They sound awfully dodgy

[ging84]

How long is a piece of string

if you took a car with an obvious fault on a common part to a main dealer or specialist on the day it was booked in, then half a day to wait for the part, 1 day max plus the labour time for the job according to the book, +/- a couple of hours, so basically 2 days, 3 at the most, unless it's a massive job with more than a days labour.

On the other hand if you delivered it to a generic garage unannounced, and they told you they're pretty busy, it could be a couple of weeks before they even look at it, and the vehicle is a fairly specialist vehicle and the fault, is something vague and hard to diagnose then 3 months could still be reasonable

[shino]

Garage have phoned me this morning after id got trading standards involved. They're going to put another engine in it at their expense. S'posed to be a VW specialist but not that 'special' to me. They're going to do the work this week, hopefully I'll get it back soon. Thanks for your replies guys.