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Original poster

Garage priority

10 replies

MilestoneMum · 31/05/2014 22:29

Do cars which arrive on a breakdown vehicle get priority to be looked at in a garage? We managed to get our car to our usual garage ourselves, but they said they were busy and wouldnt be able to look at it all week, and they didn't.
The problem is a battery which keeps draining, putting a new battery in did not help.

OP posts:

trumpfamily · 31/05/2014 23:29

You don't get priority I'm afraid as it is first come, first served. If someone has booked themselves in for a MOT/Service they will then be treated as part of that day's workload. A breakdown will then be slotted into the day's workload but that can take a few days to happen. It sounds like you have a problem with the alternator, I had the same problem with my Astra a few months ago. The RAC man had to change the battery to get me to my garage and once the new alternator was fitted my battery worked perfectly well. Good luck.

Original poster

MilestoneMum · 01/06/2014 08:37

Thanks, that's helpful. Breakdown guy said alternator was ok, so no idea what is draining the battery overnight...

OP posts:

Raskova · 01/06/2014 08:50

Ha, it's not like hospitals where ambulances get priority!

Get quotes from other garages. My alternator went once. I paid £260 and after talking to other people discovered if been massively over charged.

Raskova · 01/06/2014 08:51

Oh I thought you said breakdown guy said it was alternator. How's your steering? Could it be the fan belt?

beatingwings · 01/06/2014 09:04

Why should you get priority? If I had booked my car in for a repair or MOT I would be pretty pissed of if someone jumped the queue whether they arrived in a breakdown truck or not.
Prior bookings should take priority over random breakdows.

Damnautocorrect · 01/06/2014 09:17

No they get fitted in as and when. Imagine how you'd feel if yours is booked in and got bumped.
They do tend to leave a number of hours free for walk ins / break downs. But can't leave a lot as it's potentially lost money

beatingwings · 01/06/2014 09:42

I can't see garages leaving a few hours free. That would impinge on profits. My garage has no free hours. Emergency jobs see mechanics working overtime of through lunch breaks. At least that's what happens in my garage.

Damnautocorrect · 01/06/2014 09:52

Trade jobs or internal sometimes get bumped but if there's n

Damnautocorrect · 01/06/2014 09:54

Oops none than they can't be bumped. Or if they were all bumped last week.
Parts getting delivered incorrectly also lead to a quick half hour to diagnose. Generally garages are short on space so don't want a car hanging about in the way

WMittens · 01/06/2014 13:42

The problem is a battery which keeps draining, putting a new battery in did not help.

Batteries don't drain themselves (although admittedly it could have been an old battery that was no longer able to hold a charge). Electrical problems are a pain to diagnose because of the thousands of components that could be causing the problem. Putting an ammeter between the negative cable and the battery terminal, then pulling the fuses one by one will tell you which circuit is causing the drain (the ammeter reading will drop to a more normal level).

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