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AIBU?

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Original poster

AIBU to expect this mechanic to fix my car?

30 replies

GerardButlersBird · 10/04/2018 20:42

My car is off the road and I really need it back on the road. I have a son with complex needs who lives at residential school and I need to be able to get to him quickly as necessary.

Two weeks ago it wouldn't start from outside the house. No previous problems. I couldn't get any local mechanics to look at it before Easter so I went online to Click Mechanic and arranged for a mechanic to come the Wednesday after Easter. This was £59 for a diagnostic.

He came.. he said it was the spark plug casings so it needed a new coil pack. So for £129 more he came back the next day and did this. After he'd gone, it wouldn't start again; it has gone into "eco mode" (its a Citroen thing apparently) due to battery dropping below 12v because of our unsuccessful attempts to start it. So I contacted Click Mechanic and next day back him came and sorted this. No further charge.

Come the weekend (2 days later after it had run ok in that time) it dramatically broke down on a busy duel carriageway causing chaos and stopping me getting to my son as planned. Recovery vehicle man's computer thingy said it was "crank shaft sensor" and towed me back home.

I contacted the mechanic again and he came back, tinkered with it and said he "thinks it needs an alternator and maybe a battery too" . He shrugged a bit about the crank shaft sensor thing,

Since then he has apparently been trying to source me an alternator at a good price. My texts to him have been answered by "still looking for a better price". I know I will need to pay for the part but I don't know what else he plans to charge me. He said "don't bother going back through Click Mechanic, I want to see this through and find out the problem".

Is it reasonable to expect him to just fix it? I've paid out £190 I didn't really have and it's still sitting outside, un-driveable.

If I could I'd get it to a Citroen garage .. or any garage... but I barely have any disposable income so I'm very restricted. I've borrowed the £160 so far; I can't keep throwing money at it.

It's not a banger, it's a 2005 Citroen C4 in a good state of repair and with a full service history. It's ideal for getting my son's wheelchair into. I just want it to work again.

OP posts:
FloorLamp · 10/04/2018 21:01

If you call your local garage they would maybe come and collect it for you. Mine did anyway, no charge as they were doing the work.

Maybe worth ringing round a few and asking.

I would tell that other guy that you can't wait any longer and you are taking it elsewhere. What is a better price? Has he actually gave you one to begin with?

Original poster
GerardButlersBird · 10/04/2018 22:49

Yes I'm thinking this too... but is it unreasonable of me to have expected the mechanic that I paid to diagnose and fix it... to have done so??

I'm not used to all this because when DS lived at home, I had Motobility cars for him which were always new and well maintained. I know nothing about cars and have very little money to spare 😳

OP posts:
19lottie82 · 10/04/2018 22:54

It's not a banger, it's a 2005 Citroen C4

Unfortunately it’s still a 13 year old car, and older French cars don’t have the best reputations when it comes to developing faults, electrical ones especially.

It might not be economical to fix.

But back to your OP...... I’d be asking him for some sort of refund, yes.

19lottie82 · 10/04/2018 22:55

From the Click Mechanic website......

AIBU to expect this mechanic to fix my car?
adaline · 10/04/2018 23:03

It might be in decent condition but it's still 13 years old.

It may be cheaper at this point to scrap it/trade it in for a newer model.

Original poster
GerardButlersBird · 10/04/2018 23:06

Thanks @19lottie82 . I had seen that on the website but because he'd asked me to "go through him" I was disinclined to piss him off by going down the Click Mechanic resolution route at this stage, in case he plans to come and fix it for no further charge.

I know it's 13 years old but I haven't any real choice but to persevere

OP posts:
WowLookAtYou · 10/04/2018 23:09

I would say that a 13 year old Citroen is an old banger, I'm afraid. We had a similarly-aged Renault and it was forever breaking down. We replaced endless coil packs - it's also a Renault thing, apparently. We've also had quite old Hondas/Toyotas over the years and they simply never break down. The worst thing we've ever had to do for them is tyres and the occasional battery.

19lottie82 · 10/04/2018 23:10

Make sure you do keep going through CM. If he rips you off after that you won’t have any come back. Do everything by the book.

I know it's 13 years old but I haven't any
real choice but to persevere

I understand what you’re saying, but sometimes cars just reach the point where they’re financially not viable to fix. Don’t go throwing good money after bad. A decent mechanic will be able to give you an honest opinion.

BloodyBosch · 10/04/2018 23:11

It could be two separate faults, ime older cars tend to start costing money eventually and you can get one problem after another. It's not his fault if it developed a further fault. You did say it ran between times, so you obviously thought it was fixed as did he.

Original poster
GerardButlersBird · 10/04/2018 23:32

Yeah I get that @BloodyBosch and I don't want to be a grabby bitch about it. I don't want to just write it off though.. can't afford to really.. only bought it in Nov and took out a little loan to pay for it which I'm still paying.

Used cars are such dreadful money pits Sad

OP posts:
Colonelpopcorn · 10/04/2018 23:39

Used cars aren’t necessarily money pits.
I had a 2003 Peugeot for 10 years that had 130,000 on the clock. Barely cost me a penny.
Sometimes it’s just luck. I’m also dubious about trusting random trades from the internet.
Hope you get it sorted ASAP op.

BloodyBosch · 10/04/2018 23:42

Totally agree. Been through it many times. Is there any chance you could apply for a mobility car given your son's needs?

sosoverytired · 10/04/2018 23:52

It may not be the same fault. Mechanics can only fix what they can find at the time. And if that was my partner you would be paying per hour he is on the car. They are separate faults because it's an old car.

Although I sympathise with your predicament you are being a cheeky f** so you need to pay him for his labour.

Original poster
GerardButlersBird · 11/04/2018 00:02

I'm not being a cheeky fucker... I've paid him everything he's asked for so far and my car is still sitting outside not working. But I WILL bear your advice in mind

OP posts:
Original poster
GerardButlersBird · 11/04/2018 00:15

Thanks "@Colonelpopcorn and @BloodyBosch. I used to have a Motobility car for DS when he lived at home but rightly gave that up when he got his residential placement.

Probably why I'm so crap and clueless though.. I got used to new cars which got easily sorted "free of charge" if they developed any issues. Those were the days....

OP posts:
LotsToThinkOf · 11/04/2018 00:18

You're being awful, he fixed your car and it's developed another fault - that's not the mechanic's fault!

It's not as straightforward as "it needs x" as everything is connected, so whatever the code reader said it's not part specific, it's area specific. The car is so old he'll be having difficulty sourcing a part that is decent and not brand new (which would not be worth it). Stop being demanding and impatient, or source a part yourself and ask him to fit it.

It sounds like you've bought someone else's problem and you're making it the mechanic's problem. Your assumption that changing one specific part will fix it is probably putting the mechanic off but ring him and ask his opinion on whether it's worth fixing. It's a 13 year old banger, you either pay Citroen prices and have them look at it or you persevere. Honestly, if you've only had it a few months I'd be going back to where you bought it.

BritInUS1 · 11/04/2018 00:25

YABU you paid him, he fixed the fault that the car had at that time. You cannot make him responsible for new faults that the car has developed. It's unfortunate but you need to pay for his time.

FancyThatFenceEdge · 11/04/2018 04:11

No offence, but your car is shit OP. Fact.

Dump it and get something reliable like a Toyota/Honda/Lexus/Mitsubishi etc....

Original poster
GerardButlersBird · 11/04/2018 06:59

Thanks for the advice but rest assured, I'm not being awful.. I've been nothing but nice and polite and friendly to the mechanic.. I've not even been demanding... I just posted on here to ask what I can reasonably expect and I've been told that, thank you. As stated I'm pretty inexperienced with used cars as have previously driven DS's new Motobility cars.

I wish I could give up and "get a more reliable one" but that's not an option open to me I'm afraid when I'm still paying for this one and given as I life without a car is a struggle, I needed to know how much I could expect given that I've paid out money that hasn't fixed it. I now get that it's just tough luck so thank you

OP posts:
reddington · 11/04/2018 07:17

Electrical problems are par for the course on a 13 year old French car I’m afraid, they’re notorious for a reason! Do you know when it last had a new battery? It’s worth getting the battery tested with a proper battery tester that will give a print out. Even batteries that have sufficient juice to start the car but are heavily degraded can cause all sorts of strange electrical issues and fault codes. I’ve seen it personally several times as well as hearing about it. A new battery is installed and the faults are cleared and don’t return. If the battery is more than about 5 years old it’s a possibility.

Sammy901 · 11/04/2018 07:30

It’s not tough luck though.

The mechanic fixed the fault, it ran for 2 days before it’s got a different fault. They don’t sound connected as it was running ok for 2 days.

Unfortunately it is a banger, it’s an old car, you may get loads of faults or you may never get another one again. It’s just life. My car is a 55 plate and iv been lucky that iv hardly spent any money on it and iv had it nearly 7 years. My partner had a car around the same age and he just got problem upon problem with it in the end. So he scrapped it. No point chucking away money on something that’s not worth fixing

adaline · 11/04/2018 07:46

Did it come with a warranty? I would be taking it back to where you got it if you've only had it a few months.

My car is old too - 2004 but it was cheap and so far it's reliable. However I'm under no illusions that it'll stay that way forever!

There comes a point where spending money on an old car is a waste of time. I know when mine starts requiring big chunks of work I'll be selling it and getting something else. I love (and need) my car but I can't afford to spend endless amounts of money on it, only for it to keep having issues every few months.

19lottie82 · 11/04/2018 07:53

I would be taking it back to where you got
it if you've only had it a few months.

A 13 year old car she bought 6 months ago? No chance!

adaline · 11/04/2018 07:54

A 13 year old car she bought 6 months ago? No chance!

Depends on the garage and the warranty she got with the car - I realise it might be unlikely but there's no harm in trying. She may at least be able to sell it back to them and get some money back if nothing else.

myusernamewastakenbyme · 11/04/2018 08:03

I agree with others get a Toyota... mine went on forever and never cost me a penny.

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