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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

to expect the garage to pay for the curry?

73 replies

ab00 · 14/12/2013 19:38

We took our car (1 car family) to be serviced & mot'd on Thursday to the dealership where we originally bought it from as we have every year. Dh collected the car when it was ready yesterday lunch time. Today dh noticed a clunking sound when he went to fetch something. When we looked unset the car there is a long piece of very oily metal hanging down under the engine that is hitting the road & subsequently the engine when it goes over a bump. Dh wouldn't have noticed this on the 2 minute drive home yesterday as the road is flat.

As we are not mechanic's, haven't got a bloody clue what this is & don't want to risk causing an accident or damaging the car we aren't using it until the garage can fix it on Monday.

However we have not done this week's food shopping & the contents of the fridge looks like a bad set of ingredients from ready steady cook. As this is clearly poor service on the part of the garage, for which they charged £265 (not including the bloody parts) would I be unreasonable to expect them to pay for our takeaway tonight & the delivery charge for food shopping as compensation?

OP posts:

BaconFrazzles · 15/12/2013 18:06

I wouldn't mention the curry but I would expect a refund of some kind because of the inconvenience it has caused you over the weekend.

propertyNIGHTmareBEFOREXMAS · 15/12/2013 18:08

Yabu. They will just tell you that you are very disorganised to allow your food to run out completely when you have children to look after.

LividofLondon · 16/12/2013 22:42

I get where you're coming from OP. They cocked up, meaning (apart from the knock on effect of not having a car as expected) you had to make an extra trip to the garage, so IMO they should make it up to you in some way. What I think they should do is fix the loose piece of metal (free of charge obviously), and give you a partial refund off the previous bill to make up for the time you've had to spend taking it back to them. But that probably makes me massively "entitled" but then I'm self employed and time is money, so other people's cock ups that take up my time can also cost me money in lost earnings

Daddypigsgusset · 16/12/2013 22:49

Did they pay for your lamb madras op?

Earningsthread · 16/12/2013 22:51

Utterly bizarre thread.

Assuming this thread is serious, then YABU. Please do come back and report what the garage said. I like a good laugh.

NoComet · 16/12/2013 22:55

YANBU
Our main dealers is outrageously expensive. It's £50-100 + less every time I get mine serviced, since it's out of warranty and I can go elsewhere.

They should at least do a decent job.

Wibblypiglikesbananas · 16/12/2013 23:01

I'm going to go against the grain here and say YANBU - in principle. I don't think it will get you very far asking, but I do see that their shoddy workmanship has massively inconvenienced you and that as a knock on effect, you've been left out of pocket. Bloody annoying - but not the end of the world when seen with the benefit of hindsight.

Bogeyface · 16/12/2013 23:02

YABU

Never use main dealers, they are rob dogging bastards who have a vested interest in your car failing its MOT, never mind the MOT rules.

When you posted your OP you could have arranged a Tesco/Sainsburys etc delivery for tomorrow

How do you think people without cars manage? They get the bus!

Bogeyface · 16/12/2013 23:04

However, I should add that I would expect the cost of the repair to be waived given that it had been passed only a few hours before on its MOT. If it wasnt caused by them, then it was missed (how?!) by them, so you should not have to pay for the repair. If they refuse then say that thats fine you will get it fixed at Kwik Fit and take them to small claims for the cost.

Bogeyface · 16/12/2013 23:05

Oh and btw, sounds like the exhaust system.

NoComet · 16/12/2013 23:05

As for get a bus, or take your bike?

Yes I could cycle to a tiny village shop, or a petrol station if I really wanted to brave the main road (my cycling isn't really up to 40 ton trucks)

Bus, bus, I think there is a bus in Thursdays.

DD2(12) DF was a bit [shocked] when she said the only public bus she'd ever been on was in Majorca.

DF goes to the same school, but lives in a village on the main road to our nearest large town, not down assorted single track roads.

PrincessPeashooter · 16/12/2013 23:18

I do actually understand your point, it is bloody annoying! Hope you got it all sorted.

However, it might not be the garages fault. If the long strip of metal sits partially under your exhaust it'll be the heat shield. Either the bolts on the shield can shear off or the metal around the bolt deteriorates and it comes away. It is not part of the MOT or service schedule and would only be noted if it was actually hanging down at the time. Garage should take it off for you for free and I wouldn't bother paying to replace it. Garage won't replace it or fix it for free as it is like getting a front tyre replaced and having a rear tyre blow when you drive out, unfortunate but not their responsibility.

Bogeyface · 16/12/2013 23:20

Ok, fair point about public transport. Our area is considered to be well served and it is still shite!

I was just pointing out that there are always other options to take away. When the OP posted there would have been deliveries available for tomorrow from the big 4, she could have spent her time ordering her weekly shop than moaning on here!

FirstOnRecallDay · 16/12/2013 23:30

OP, do you want your washer bottle pissed in?

FirstOnRecallDay · 16/12/2013 23:34

An MOT is a test on the condition of the car at that moment in time, if you drove out and swapped all four wheels to illegal tyres the garage wouldn't be responsible. It's at the time of test, you can't blame them for something that failed AFTER you have left. I am a mechanic, and entitled people like you really do grate on me. Have you even read the report?

FirstOnRecallDay · 16/12/2013 23:38

Three posts in a row but who cares. If you went to the hospital for a check up then broke your leg on the way out of the door (hitting a bump on the pavement maybe), would your doctor be liable because he should've used his crystal ball to predict your leg would fail? Would you then ask for the money for the cab home because you'd been horribly inconvenienced ??

Bogeyface · 16/12/2013 23:42

First a mechanic passed my friends car for several years. I bought it off her and had it MOT'd at KwikFit, it was so unsafe I wasnt allowed to drive it home! The mechanic that passed it was a friend of my friends father. THe car was worth £150 but the welding to attach the bottom to the body would have cost £800. It shouldnt have passed 5 years previously, never mind a year before I bought it!

Yes the OPs car passed at the time it was inspected, but that doesnt mean that the issue wasnt caused by the MOT. In fact given the timing and probability, I would go with the OP. Assuming the report didnt highlight other issues (such as an exhaust attached by chewing gum and hope) then there is a causal link here.

Self satisfied "I do this job so no one who does my job can be wrong" people really grate on me.

TheNightIsDark · 16/12/2013 23:44

Nothing constructive just

FirstOnRecallDay · 16/12/2013 23:48

No, what happened to you Bogey is you had your pants pulled down by kwik fit. Your friend's dad's brother's postman was likely to let her drive around in a car that was dangerous for 7 years? It'd have been long gone by then. You get what you pay for. Expecting people to pay for your own responsibilities is ridiculous.

Bogeyface · 17/12/2013 00:07

I didnt cos I scrapped it. Kwikfit didnt quote me as they didnt do welding, it was a guesstimation on what it would cost me elsewhere.

Bogeyface · 17/12/2013 00:08

And frankly I would trust anyone over a man who (I later found out) had the contract for my friends dads 4 company cars.

chrome100 · 17/12/2013 05:56

Ha ha! You are being insanely unreasonable. I don't even have a car and manage to buy food. Walk to the shop or get the bus!

MrsLouisTheroux · 17/12/2013 07:09

I wouldn't be ordering curry for my ill DH and DC if IWY OP :(

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