Being ripped off by garage over cambelt change?

[jay4265]

hi all,
Just thought i'd tell you all about my little story.
my partner is 5 months pregnant and we thought we could do with a little rest and some sun before the baby was due . My cambelt on my cupra was due to be replaced so i thought i would be clever and book it in while we were away so it would be ready when we got back . While i was away i called the garage to see if they had replaced the cambelt but unfortunatly the tensioner that screws in to the head had threaded on the previous cambelt change so they done a bodge job and put lots of thread lock on to secure it .
Now my garage has told me it will be a week and a half before i get it back . they have a loner car which is out at the moment but they have lent me what they call their dumper car to get me to work ,Oh my god it's a orion diesel , it's awful but it's getting me to work just. I have forgotten what a great car the cupra is and will never take it for granted again .
A good wash and polish for her this weekend
Jay

 

[Nath.]

Thread lock sounds a bit dodgy, a good garage would tap the thread out to the next size up or fit a helical.

I don't know If I would trust a bolt that was just glued in

 

[jay4265]

not long had the car last camblt was the dodgy one . just glad it never broke off before

 

[mhill]

I dont think i would be trusting a bit of thread lock, where in Essex are you?

 

[Poverty]

Thread lock sounds a bit dodgy, a good garage would tap the thread out to the next size up or fit a helical.

I don't know If I would trust a bolt that was just glued in

threading it out to the next size up is definetly what I would have done!

 

[Aimez]

How many miles you done to have it changed twice?

 

[jay4265]

thats the thing i have no record of it being done . so as it's done nearly 60,000 it was wise to get it done and thank god i did

 

[jay4265]

thats what they are doing now but apparently they have to send the head off to be done.
plus the price has nearly doubled , i thought £235 was cheap but never mind

 

[DPJ]

The cambelt tensioner does not screw into the head on the LC - some mis-information here.

 

[jay4265]

please tell me more mate price has gone through the roof as you can guess i no nothing about cars

 

[Nath.]

Tapping out to the next size or insering a helical will take 15 mins and cost about 15 quid for the helical.

Sounds to me like maybe they are the ones that have done the damage and then billing you for sorting it.

An old trick by dodgy garages

 

[jay4265]

thanx for replying i wouldnt mind so much but they are keeping the car for so long . looks like ive been a mug

 

[Nath.]

You are only a mug If you let them rob your wallet for damage that they have done.

If need be get all the details together and ask one of the more savvy forum members to phone them for you and talk shop to them


No disrespect but sometimes people take their car to a garage and the garage people can see through them like a window and they spot the ££££££££. and rub their hands together.


Exactly what is the situation at the moment ?

Keep us posted.

 

[jay4265]

well the car is still at the garage (2 weeks ) no money paid yet they wanted £235 then last thursday i called to see if it was done thats when they told me about the tensioner i told them to go ahead and send the head off , since then they have been fobbing me off . they said they tried to drill it to make it cheaper for me which they said didnt work but now their saying it will cost between 400 and 500 and wont be ready till this tuesday

 

[Nath.]

I would go down there and demand to see your car. the tensioner does not bolt onto the head so why would they need to strip the engine and remove it ?

the tensioner is bolted to the side of the engine block, no head removal should be needed to to a small thread repair job.

Why would a competent garage/mechanic fail to tap a thread out to the next size up? It's a very basic task that any engineer,mechanic or handy man could do........(CAD design engineers not included LOL)......... there isn't a great deal of room to do the job I admit but to tap a thread to the next size up only requires basic hand tools and not a drill.

Sounds to me like you need someone who knows what they are looking at to go there with you or phone them up mate.

If they really have sent your head off you have got a bit of a problem. Assuming the head off story isn't true,I would be thinking about going down there with a tow rope and removing my car, then make them take you to small claims court for the payment for the so called work so far.

In a way I hope that your car is sat there all done, thread re-tapped and they are just making it LOOK like a long and expensive job.

Easy way to see if they are full of BS is to go there and get them to show you your headless engine. Then get them to show you exactly where the tensioner fits.

 

[jay4265]

thanx for your help . it is making me so angry and he seemed so genuine . you cant trust no one these days . i will go to the garage tomorrow and see what he has to say for himself much appreciate the advice

jay

 

[jay4265]

Urgent help needed

Just a quick summary of what has happened to my lc .
car went into the garage for cambelt and water pump 2 weeks ago .
after almost a week of it being in there i called to see if the car was ready only to be told there was a problem . apparently when they checked the tensioner they found where the tensoner screws bolted into it had threaded and they had to take the head off and send it away to be redrilled . Even though this was going to be an extra 150 i told them to go ahead and do the work , that was just over a week ago since then they have they tried to drill it in situe but couldnt and said that the head has to come off after all. the quote they gave me at the start was £235 now they are saying £400 to £500 which i find ashtonishing when i think about it . I have been talking to another member on here and he is with me and we both think he ripping me off.
The car is still at their garage and i am supposed to be picking it up on tuesday, what i was thinking is that the head is not due back until tomorrow but as i have been told that the tensioner is not bolted to the head i was hoping to catch them out by asking them to see my car tomorrow to see if the head was off , if this is the case what should i do and where do i stand legally.

Jay

 

[mhill]

Depending on where you are in Essex i have a trailer if you need it moved.

 

[777cupra]

I would imagine the best course of action is to speak with Citizens advice / trading standards... I dont know personally if the tensioner is bolted to the head or not but I would imagine it is attached some how.... you can also have a look when u get the car back.

However as it stands I see you've only got one option at the mo...pay the money get the car back and then see if you can claim back if you later find out they were chatting rubish.

hope its ok

 

[jay4265]

hi all,
Just spoken to seat this morning and they say it does bolt into the head.my partner called the garage to see if they had sent the head off and they have should be back with me on wed at latest . One more question if you don't mind how long should a garage take to replace the head and all the gubbings that comes after that .
Thanx in advance Jay