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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

to be annoyed at this garage?

20 replies

HeyToodles · 09/02/2013 21:17

Basically my car has been cutting out so I took it to a garage who charged me £90 to fix the problem.

Received the car back yesterday and all was fine, until this evening when my car cut out again with no warning, on a main road I was alone with my baby but luckily a lovely man pushed me down a side street.

So I have had to leave my car down this street and get a taxi home with dd, surely if I have paid the garage to fix my car it should be fixed??

OP posts:

BusyTiredAndLoveIt · 09/02/2013 21:19

I'd be insisting they collect it and fix it with. No further charge to yourself.

Sirzy · 09/02/2013 21:20

Phone the garage and tell them to fix it. Or ask them for a refund and take it elsewhere.

Original poster

HeyToodles · 09/02/2013 21:33

Thanks I shall be phoning the garage as soon as they open, just hoping my car will be ok as the street was a bit dark and deserted but was the only place I could be pushed into.

OP posts:

CloudsAndTrees · 09/02/2013 21:39

You are being too vague.

I know nothing about engines, but I'd have thought there could be more than one reason why this could happen, and that just because on etching had been fixed, there might be something else that is causing the problem.

For the future, get an AA or other breakdown membership. That way you will have one opinion on why your car has broken before you even take it to a garage, it could be fixed without having to pay extra, and they would take you and your car home.

CloudsAndTrees · 09/02/2013 21:39

On etching?? One thing

Loughrigg · 09/02/2013 21:46

We had this problem. IIRC garage first replaced the battery, then replaced the alternator, then replaced the alternator again, then I forget what they did to actually fix it in the end.

Was actually a very good garage, just a very tricky problem to solve.

BoneyBackJefferson · 09/02/2013 21:49

Clouds
"just because on etching had been fixed, there might be something else that is causing the problem."

I think that the point is that the garage said that the problem was fixed. If they haven't fixed it they should have said so.

Original poster

HeyToodles · 09/02/2013 22:00

Im not very good with engines myself, problem is hard to describe, the car just cuts out while still moving so the brake wont work. Quite scary I had to put the hazards on and use the handbrake. Then car wont start up again.

Thanks for the suggestion of AA that is something I should get round to joining.

OP posts:

BoneyBackJefferson · 09/02/2013 22:16

Could be
fuel pump.
Fuel pump (earth connection).
fuel filter.
dodgy immobliser.
ignition coil fault.
Cam sensor fault.
fuel injector relay.
Distributor cap and rotor arm (old car).
Gummed up idler control valve.

Original poster

HeyToodles · 09/02/2013 22:21

Thankyou Boney for taking the time to write that. Garage said where the fuel goes (fuel filter?) was really gungey and clogged up so they had cleared up. Also said there was a problem with the exhaust which they had fixed, I dont know if that was connected to the cutting out or not.

OP posts:

Sokmonsta · 10/02/2013 06:31

What car have you got? My car kept doing this, I was without it for 3 weeks in the end as my mechanic couldn't fix it. It had to go to a main dealer. In the end it turned out tone a fuse.

Definitely get AA cover. Mine originally broke down an hour and a half away from home, with 4 kids in the car.

Loughrigg · 10/02/2013 07:51

That is exactly the problem we had, with all the electrics cutting out as I was driving and therefore brakes failing etc

Doyouthinktheysaurus · 10/02/2013 07:56

My car did this and I had pretty much cht esame outcome. It continued to cut put after paying a local garage £65 to fix it. It ended up with the dealer and it cost us about £600 to fix It was the electrics!

Bloody nightmare, but they did fix it.....horrid car though, complete heap of crap. I will never buy another Vauxhall again...

JeezyOrangePips · 10/02/2013 07:56

Some things are really tricky to diagnose. As sokmondta says, it's best to take it to a dealers garage where they havd a) up to date diagnostic software and b) access to telephone technical support from the car manufacturer.

But even taking it there is no guarantee it will get sorted first time. There are many reasons why a vehicle might cut out - and if they have dealt with the easiest problem and tested the vehicle and it didn't cut out on them then it's not unreasonable to think it might be sorted.

nefertarii · 10/02/2013 07:59

Its annoying but they will have thought they actually fixed it.

Fixing cars is not a simple as people think. If they had taken apart the entire car to check all possible reasons it would have been more than £90. The filter is a common reason for this happening. It was dirty and it seemed to have fixed the problem. You said yourself it was fine. Just ring then up and be nice and polite. Not annoyed.

JeezyOrangePips · 10/02/2013 08:00

One more thing - you may have done this anyway, but you can slow down using the gears should your brakes not work, gives a bit of time to steer somewhere safely too.

JeezyOrangePips · 10/02/2013 08:01

Hmm although the steering may have gone too..

Original poster

HeyToodles · 10/02/2013 08:22

Thanks for all the replies, car is a vw polo, old one though! Certainly wouldnt be worth paying hundreds of pounds to have it fixed.

I never thought about using the gears to slow it down, as my brakes were not working I just panicked and wanted to stop the car straight away. Luckily there was not somebody directly behind me!

I realise now the garage probably thought they had fixed it, could be more than one reason etc. Its just annoying for me as im coming towards the end of maternity leave and dont have much spare money to spend on repairs, new cars etc.

Maybe I should get a bike

OP posts:

Original poster

HeyToodles · 10/02/2013 08:25

Loughrigg your problem sounds exactly the same as mine, all the electrics, lights on dashboard etc cut out as well as the brakes failing. Will try replacing battery and alternator.

OP posts:

Sokmonsta · 10/02/2013 16:33

Mine's a C4 Picasso. It's also recently been in as my handbrake failed - wouldn't disengage, auto handbrake. Then the ESP, ABS lights came on as well as handbrake and gearbox failure warnings. 'All' that was, was a break in the the brake wiring. But thankfully I was at home at the time and only been without my car a couple of weeks. Typically a few days before we were due to go away.

As I said, go for aa cover. Mine even covers a good amount of repair up to 5 times a year if the aa are called out for it - cost me £248 this time, which the aa are paying me back minus £35.

Check out the various cashback sites as my policy was £152. But I got £80 of that back.

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