Jump to content

Car Problems


Greedy Jambo

Recommended Posts

My car has been in the garage over a month, they can't find what's wrong with it!

Already paid a fair wad of cash thinking they had fixed it.

They've offered me a car to use in the meantime, it has tax but no insurance. 

I've had a look at my fully comp insurance and apparently a car needs to have it's own insurance before another driver can drive it. 

Not sure what my next step should be. 

 

Edited by Greedy Jambo
Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 minutes ago, Herbert said:

Tell the garage the car is uninsured  they might have forgot to renew it.

 

They know it's not insured, he asked me to check my insurance first, before picking it up tomorrow. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

14 minutes ago, Greedy Jambo said:

 

They know it's not insured, he asked me to check my insurance first, before picking it up tomorrow. 


Phone your insurance and let them know your car will be in the garage for a while and want to insure the loan car. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 minutes ago, Jambomb said:

Some insurance companies allow

you to insurance a second car temporarily, I think up to 28 days

 

For free like?

Not really wanting to put my hand in my pocket when i've already paid the garage money to not fix my car, ha. 

I need wheels though, one way or another. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Jambof3tornado
11 minutes ago, Greedy Jambo said:

 

For free like?

Not really wanting to put my hand in my pocket when i've already paid the garage money to not fix my car, ha. 

I need wheels though, one way or another. 

Yes but make sure the garage insurance covers YOUR car while your policy is switched to the car they are giving you. Might be a fee but I'd be after the garage covering your costs!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 minutes ago, Jambof3tornado said:

Yes but make sure the garage insurance covers YOUR car while your policy is switched to the car they are giving you. Might be a fee but I'd be after the garage covering your costs!

 

Aye, sounds like a lot of bother. 

I might just have to ask for a refund and take it to ford. 

It's a pain in the arse. 

Feckin thing has only done 50k miles. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 hours ago, Greedy Jambo said:

 

For free like?

Not really wanting to put my hand in my pocket when i've already paid the garage money to not fix my car, ha. 

I need wheels though, one way or another. 

 

6 hours ago, Jambof3tornado said:

Yes but make sure the garage insurance covers YOUR car while your policy is switched to the car they are giving you. Might be a fee but I'd be after the garage covering your costs!

 

Not sure how things work in Scotland, but here just about every policy will let you change the car covered to a different car for no extra cost - unless the replacement car is in a higher insurance bracket, in which case you pay the difference at a daily rate.  But also, all policies here cover driving by a motor dealer or car service/repair shop; they are liable under their insurance for any damage to your car while in their hands.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm sorry but I am a wee bit confused.  You do say that your car has been in a garage for a month and they don't know what the problem is. I also understand they have offered you what here we would refer to as a courtesy car, this is a loaner the garage give you to use while your car is in their care, the courtesy car is properly licensed and insured for your tenure of use. What is the point of your car being in the garage if they cannot tell what is wrong and what they are going to do to correct it.

I am not a mechanic, but have owned and used cars at work for many years. Cars are like people and mechanics like doctors, they ask the symptoms of your vehicular problem, then they analyse the parts which operate the faiing system, if it is beyond their knowledge they just like a doctor would a patient refer the car or patient to a specialist.

It might be more satisfactory for you to bite the bullet, take your car to a garage that specifically looks after cars of your cars manufacturer, I just have to say a month is a long time for a diagnosis and nonrepair.

As my old mother oft said to me when I made a bad buy, "aye they saw you comin'" seriously though get the vehicle out of there, and I would to be honest think about contacting the Better Business Bureau or whatever organisation there provides consumer protection.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The garage must have given your car to the apprentices. 

 

I'm really surprised you have a Car though, a space ship would be more appropriate for your careering around that parallel universe you reside in.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

14 hours ago, Greedy Jambo said:

 

Aye, sounds like a lot of bother. 

I might just have to ask for a refund and take it to ford. 

It's a pain in the arse. 

Feckin thing has only done 50k miles. 

That's what I'd be doing. It's pretty obvious they don't have a clue.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

SuperstarSteve
8 hours ago, Sharpie said:

I'm sorry but I am a wee bit confused.  You do say that your car has been in a garage for a month and they don't know what the problem is. I also understand they have offered you what here we would refer to as a courtesy car, this is a loaner the garage give you to use while your car is in their care, the courtesy car is properly licensed and insured for your tenure of use. What is the point of your car being in the garage if they cannot tell what is wrong and what they are going to do to correct it.

I am not a mechanic, but have owned and used cars at work for many years. Cars are like people and mechanics like doctors, they ask the symptoms of your vehicular problem, then they analyse the parts which operate the faiing system, if it is beyond their knowledge they just like a doctor would a patient refer the car or patient to a specialist.

It might be more satisfactory for you to bite the bullet, take your car to a garage that specifically looks after cars of your cars manufacturer, I just have to say a month is a long time for a diagnosis and nonrepair.

As my old mother oft said to me when I made a bad buy, "aye they saw you comin'" seriously though get the vehicle out of there, and I would to be honest think about contacting the Better Business Bureau or whatever organisation there provides consumer protection.

Agree with everything you said except it’s quite common for the odd diagnosis job (depending on the fault) to take a month or so, sometimes longer, especially if it’s a small independent garage. 
Finding a balance that’s cost effective for daily jobs like MOT’s, servicing and diagnosis etc can be a nightmare at times. 
 

I’m basing that opinion on the fault not being a simple fix rather than the mechanic/technician/specialist being shit which could be the case lol. He should certainly have answers within a month with updates when possible or required. 
There is only so many routes/test plans to follow and if they aren’t eliminating the routes and narrowing it down they can’t possibly progress and will be stuck playing parts darts! 

An initial Diagnosis fee will be required but nothing else should be paid if the car isn’t repaired in my opinion. All costs for the courtesy car should be covered by the garage.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I spent the first two and a half years of my work life as an apprentice motor mechanic.That  was from 1950 to 1952. I realised that I was actually cheap labor, as there were two other apprentices, and that on attaining the age of eighteen I would be subject without apprenticeship protection to National Service. Different days in car repair service.

I now use Hondas, if I have a problem and even just regular service they hook the vehicle up to a computer and diagnosis that way, as I have previously said, if there is some delay they give me a car to use for that time. I have been away from Scotland for some time, but if I had my car repaired supposedly and it wasn't I would be demanding my money back if not completed properly. Some things and methods you just don't lose. I have every sympathy for the original poster, but an of used adage here is "if the going gets tough, the tough gets going."

Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 hours ago, SuperstarSteve said:

What was the symptoms of the fault? 

 

Engine light came on about 10 minutes into driving it. loss of power, kind of kangaroo feeling, power then no power, power then no power, could only really do about 20mph without feeling like i would damage it, took it straight to the garage about 5 mins away. 

Their computer told them one of the fuel injectors needed replaced, they replaced it and told me it was fixed. 

I started the car up and it was exactly the same. 

They've since had the rest of the injectors tested and they've come back ok, tried a load of other things and still can't find the issue. 

The warning light is now off that there's no faults appearing. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

15 hours ago, Sharpie said:

I'm sorry but I am a wee bit confused.  You do say that your car has been in a garage for a month and they don't know what the problem is. I also understand they have offered you what here we would refer to as a courtesy car, this is a loaner the garage give you to use while your car is in their care, the courtesy car is properly licensed and insured for your tenure of use. What is the point of your car being in the garage if they cannot tell what is wrong and what they are going to do to correct it.

I am not a mechanic, but have owned and used cars at work for many years. Cars are like people and mechanics like doctors, they ask the symptoms of your vehicular problem, then they analyse the parts which operate the faiing system, if it is beyond their knowledge they just like a doctor would a patient refer the car or patient to a specialist.

It might be more satisfactory for you to bite the bullet, take your car to a garage that specifically looks after cars of your cars manufacturer, I just have to say a month is a long time for a diagnosis and nonrepair.

As my old mother oft said to me when I made a bad buy, "aye they saw you comin'" seriously though get the vehicle out of there, and I would to be honest think about contacting the Better Business Bureau or whatever organisation there provides consumer protection.

This. Contact the local Trading Standards(although you might not speak directly to them, you will receive advice(from Advice Direct or whatever they're called now). The info will be passed to TS

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've been using them for years, they're my local garage and i get on well with them. 

Every time i've phoned they've told me that they have something else they're going to try. 

The car is barely drivable and would be a bit of hassle getting it to the ford garage. 

I take your point though. Wouldn't have been such a big deal if they had just given me a courtesy car to begin with, but 1. they don't do courtesy cars and 2. I suppose they thought they'd have it fixed. 

Gonna need to phone them tomorrow again to get them to tax this vehicle they've loaned me. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

As a complete amateur and just talking, but I would be looking at the last fill of fuel you used and see if the fuel itself is tainted and causing blocking. The fact that it seems to have cleared may be an indication that the tainted fuel has now been used. The danger of course could be that any impediments have settled in the tank and could reintroduce themselves when the vehicle used regularly. So my free other than the expenses for my computer ink, time which runs at a mere $100, an hour, and meal expenses whilst considering this problem, why don't you just buy me a return first class  air ticket from Vancouver and three weeks in a top hotel as a major part of the to be billed account.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 hours ago, Greedy Jambo said:

 

Engine light came on about 10 minutes into driving it. loss of power, kind of kangaroo feeling, power then no power, power then no power, could only really do about 20mph without feeling like i would damage it, took it straight to the garage about 5 mins away. 

Their computer told them one of the fuel injectors needed replaced, they replaced it and told me it was fixed. 

I started the car up and it was exactly the same. 

They've since had the rest of the injectors tested and they've come back ok, tried a load of other things and still can't find the issue. 

The warning light is now off that there's no faults appearing. 

I had a similar problem with a Corsa. Turned out it was a dodgy coil pack.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Stewie Griffin
5 hours ago, Lemongrab said:

I had a similar problem with a Corsa. Turned out it was a dodgy coil pack.


Same here I had a similar problem with a vw polo and it was the coil pack. If it is that it doesn’t say much for the garage, I don’t know a lot about cars but even I was able to figure that out and change it. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

14 hours ago, Greedy Jambo said:

They've loaned me one of their showroom cars, told me it was taxed. 

I got home, check it and it's not taxed :phface:

:jj_facepalm:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 hours ago, Stewie Griffin said:


Same here I had a similar problem with a vw polo and it was the coil pack. If it is that it doesn’t say much for the garage, I don’t know a lot about cars but even I was able to figure that out and change it. 

 

Nah, it's a deisel, it doesnt have a coil pack. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Suction control valve in the fuel pump seems a possibility. It can put the vehicle into limp mode.

Edited by moshy
Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 minutes ago, moshy said:

Suction control valve in the fuel pump seems a possibility. It can put the vehicle into limp mode.

 

Aye, i think he's tested that, he was going on about it not being 100% but not enough to effect it too much. 

He's told me he's sending the fuel injectors away for testing AGAIN though, which you have to question. 

Isn't one time enough?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

12 hours ago, Greedy Jambo said:

 

Nah, it's a deisel, it doesnt have a coil pack. 

My dad had a similar issue with his Ford estate diesel. 

Turned out to be a fault in the wiring loom that connected the rails to ecu which made his car go into limp mode. 

 

Not going to lie they or Ford are NEVER going to find the individual wire in the loom that is going find a solution to you problem. 

 

In the end we had to change the entire wiring in the car that connects all the connected systems to the car. (not including sensors) then go to Ford to re map it to the ECU and re map the keys to the car 

 

Even to this day he still is looking for this fault. 

 

The car was sold shortly after. 

 

Cheap enough to get a second hand loom on ebay (we did) 

As a time served mechanic for hours worked equated to final solution hours cost more than the car was worth. 

 

Luckily it was his and he could do all of the labour himself but still cost, just over £600 to go to Ford to remap the ecu and get the keys resensored to the car. 

 

Only way he found out about the issue was detailing the exact issue on a Ford forum and getting a senior engineer to say it may be a wire that has a hairline fracture in the casing. It could happen as it seems to your car at any time in the cars life. But an absolute nightmare to remedy if your have no knowledge where to look. 

 

After having a car in a mechanics for a month and them still not able to diagnose it. 

Bite the bullet and take it back to Ford and explain this post. 

 

His name on Ford Forum is. Dave04MG. 

 

Good luck lemme know how you get on. 

No point in the mechanics having your car longer than a week and not being able to fix it. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Had what sounds like a similar problem with my Mini. Eastern Motors couldn't find the fault at first but eventually discovered the multi-pin connection to the ECU had 2 or 3 duff pins! Thankfully this was within the warrant period.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

18 hours ago, Restonbabe said:

My dad had a similar issue with his Ford estate diesel. 

Turned out to be a fault in the wiring loom that connected the rails to ecu which made his car go into limp mode. 

 

Not going to lie they or Ford are NEVER going to find the individual wire in the loom that is going find a solution to you problem. 

 

In the end we had to change the entire wiring in the car that connects all the connected systems to the car. (not including sensors) then go to Ford to re map it to the ECU and re map the keys to the car 

 

Even to this day he still is looking for this fault. 

 

The car was sold shortly after. 

 

Cheap enough to get a second hand loom on ebay (we did) 

As a time served mechanic for hours worked equated to final solution hours cost more than the car was worth. 

 

Luckily it was his and he could do all of the labour himself but still cost, just over £600 to go to Ford to remap the ecu and get the keys resensored to the car. 

 

Only way he found out about the issue was detailing the exact issue on a Ford forum and getting a senior engineer to say it may be a wire that has a hairline fracture in the casing. It could happen as it seems to your car at any time in the cars life. But an absolute nightmare to remedy if your have no knowledge where to look. 

 

After having a car in a mechanics for a month and them still not able to diagnose it. 

Bite the bullet and take it back to Ford and explain this post. 

 

His name on Ford Forum is. Dave04MG. 

 

Good luck lemme know how you get on. 

No point in the mechanics having your car longer than a week and not being able to fix it. 

 

Cheers for that, I'll mention it to them. 

I'm happy to just leave it with them now that they've given me another car to use. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.



×
×
  • Create New...