righto, felicity recently developed a horrendous coolant leak (at a loss of about 2 litres a day). And i decided that i was not able to do this work as i did not have suffficient resources to support the engine while changing the pump. At the same time i thought may as well get timing chain done as she was sounding like a tractor.

I got a quote from a main dealer for £434 for all the work inc VAT + Parts, but a local very respected tradesman quoted £200 for all of it is i supplied the bits. No problem i thought.

Went to the dealer, orderd the water pump + gasket and timing chain kit. While discussing the chain i SPECIFICALLY asked them if i would need anything else, such as cover gaskets or oil seals. The lady asked one of their guys who said "its all push fit mating surfaces so no" I duly recieved the parts and went to the local garage. He asked me if i had everything, and i repeated what the dealer had said.

5 hours later i get a call from the guy doing the work stating that the sump had to come off to remove the oil pickup pipe and the timing cover is not a push fit and that needed a gasket. This was annoying as it was a saturday and the dealership parts was closed. on monday i rang them and ordered the gaskets (which took 2 days) and explained my annoyance at them not telling me i would need these extra bits when i specifically asked them so. No word of apology was given. Recieved the gaskets + oil seal yesterday and got them to the local garage so he could complete the work. When we picked up the car today we found out the he could only use the cam sprocket and chain from the kit as the supplied brand new crank sprocket was too small to fit on the crankshaft end. Luckily he said the old one was in good condition otherwise it would have been delayed even further. ^ days later and £220 shorter i have my car back.

Now then, do i have any recompence from the dealers regarding:

1) Was not told extra parts would be needed after confirmation from one of their engineers when i specifically asked

2) supplied new part incorrect fitting (i was extremely specific when i ordered the timing chain, you cant be more detailed than a 1.3 mpi 136 engine manufactured in march 98 can you?)

3) that a 1 day job took up 6 days in a small business garage with just one workshop bay and a very annoyed man

and if i do, what action can i possibly take?

I think you're due a refund on (2), since the part was "not fit for purpose".

Your garage might be able to take action on (3), but you can't.

What was the part number of the chain kit?

Im just wondering why it didnt fit....unless they got you Fabia MPI stuff.

Yes I think there's about 3 different timing chains. SPI, MPI, Fabia. I can only see a Fabia chain fitting on MPI sprockets as I think they're both doubled up chains.

My experience of the parts desk people is the same. Asked to buy some rubber bungs used in the rocker and cam cover, they didn't have a clue what I wanted, asking if I was after valve stem oil seals. Eventually they thought it would be easier to print out a diagram, and then they printed out one for a felicia - which was different, and then they printed out the favorit one.

I now try to go to the dealers armed with part numbers as then it's a case of "can I buy these please" hand over list of part numbers, no fuss or trouble usually.

Thats what I do now. Never again will I trust what the parts guy looks up on the system. I either take the part number from the part I'm replacing (if it's stamped on) or look at a local copy of etka.

To be fair to the parts department, you should know what you need to do a job on your car. They are not technicians and they will only obtain what they are specifically asked for, all that they need to know is how to look up the correct part numbers and order them. Believe it or not some people can get quite shirty when they think that they are being sold 'extra' parts and the last thing the dealer wants is them sitting on the shelf.

However some parts people will get a little more involved and when it becomes clear that customer doesn't really know what they want and will offer advice. It looks like 6 of one and half a dozen of the other to me, you and your mechanic not knowing exactly what to order, the Skoda staff not knowing what exactly was involved in the job and getting the wrong chain kit, at least they got the correct water pump and a gasket.

Was the March 1998 date a manufacture or registration date? A month and year of manufacture will relate to all the parts for all the cars produced that month, a VIN will be unique to your car. You could have requested them to VOR order for the next day, or Premium order for the next day after that days deadline has passed (at an additional cost of £5 per line).

If in doubt post here what repairs you have planned and get advice on the parts requirement and any potential stumbling blocks.

as i stated in my fist post, i was extremely specific, giving them registration plate, engine number and exact model. it is THEIR job to use that information to order the correct parts (aka timing chain). What i am saying is i cannot be liable for being given the wrong product if i have given as much information as possible. And this dealership is no little guy, they are the main people down here in this part of the world. Period. and the fact is their mechanic should have known what was needed when he was asked, as i have discussed with the SAME guy getting it done before and he has done plenty of them.

Their mechanic probably does know what he is doing. But he aint doing the job is he you hve taken it somewhere cheaper. My attitude would be if they are so wonderfull and can do it so cheap let them figure out what it needs.

Their mechanic probably does know what he is doing. But he aint doing the job is he you hve taken it somewhere cheaper. My attitude would be if they are so wonderfull and can do it so cheap let them figure out what it needs.

actually, the parts were being ordered when i booked it into the dealer for the work, only the day after i got the cheaper quote, so as far as he was concerned at the time i was taking it to them.

Felicia doesnt go into the ETKA with Chassis number anyway.

Really there isnt any excuse if you have given them all the info.

I know that Felicias are not the easiest things to look at on there but a Timing Chain should be soooo easy!