First thanks everyone for info on idle issues. Sorted.

Anyone especially UK readers had serious problems with large garages?

This is my sorry tale, first some little ****er slashed 2 tyres drivers side the nice RAC man took me to a garage that had tyres in stock, price okish too, few days later car went mental pulled right violently at speed (60mph) went back to garage who eventually found faulty brake disc/caliper on side where new tyres were fitted (suspicious?). Fixed at a highish price. 1 week later the MOT failed on a brake imbalance which they fixed as part of the service. Should there have been a problem after they had the car in for repairs, surely this is not normal. Not giving name of garage for legal reasons but stinky complaint letter sent to HQ. Any similar experiences out there?

Several years ago ...

I had a front caliper seize on a Citroen,

luckily only a few hundred yards from a branch of a large chain.

Repair done & I'm back on the road.

A few days later car was in for a booked service at local independent.

Left the car with them before they opened & walked to work.

Got a call from them asking if any work had recently been done on the brakes,

yes, "(insert name of chain) changed a caliper that seized & put a new disc & pads in too".

Reply, "Oh, I'll pop down there & see if they've still got the rest of the fittings, as they haven't assembled this correctly! Then I'll be calling trading standards over the state of their workmanship"

Needless to say, I never went back to that place, although with the staff turnover they seem to have, you'd never see the same fitter twice.

I don't know. I'd need more details on what work was claimed to have been done, what the damage to the brakes was etc before I'd comment.

I had a problem with A1 clutches. An honest mistake, it was obvious that it was not intentional, when the clutch was Re-furbed and it was put back together I drove away happy and then noticed a nasty rattle and bang when I pulled away and changed gear. I pulled over and opened the bonnet to inspect only to find that the gearbox mount hadn’t been fitted properly, the bolt was thought the wrong hole, so the gearbox side of the engine was sitting too low and this split the engine mount on the top right. I took the car back and they said happily that they will replace the mounts and they will call me back, that they did but when I got there they ordered the wrong mounts and they sent me away again and told me they will call me back. They never called me back and this was a month ago. My car went in for its 3000 mile check last week and I complained about the engine mount again and they said they will call me when they have the mount, but they still haven’t called me. What should I do?

I had a problem with A1 clutches. An honest mistake, it was obvious that it was not intentional, when the clutch was Re-furbed and it was put back together I drove away happy and then noticed a nasty rattle and bang when I pulled away and changed gear. I pulled over and opened the bonnet to inspect only to find that the gearbox mount hadn’t been fitted properly, the bolt was thought the wrong hole, so the gearbox side of the engine was sitting too low and this split the engine mount on the top right. I took the car back and they said happily that they will replace the mounts and they will call me back, that they did but when I got there they ordered the wrong mounts and they sent me away again and told me they will call me back. They never called me back and this was a month ago. My car went in for its 3000 mile check last week and I complained about the engine mount again and they said they will call me when they have the mount, but they still haven’t called me. What should I do?

Advise them that if the work is not done withina certain time, you will stand outside there premises ( to do this you have to stand in a public place ) and advise any potential customers that they seem to have a problem repairing vehicles, and it might be a good idea to go elsewhere. As ling as you are not slanderous and are stood on a public place , they cant do a thing about it

I like that sig Rigsby!!!

I had a problem with A1 clutches. An honest mistake, it was obvious that it was not intentional, when the clutch was Re-furbed and it was put back together I drove away happy and then noticed a nasty rattle and bang when I pulled away and changed gear. I pulled over and opened the bonnet to inspect only to find that the gearbox mount hadn’t been fitted properly, the bolt was thought the wrong hole, so the gearbox side of the engine was sitting too low and this split the engine mount on the top right. I took the car back and they said happily that they will replace the mounts and they will call me back, that they did but when I got there they ordered the wrong mounts and they sent me away again and told me they will call me back. They never called me back and this was a month ago. My car went in for its 3000 mile check last week and I complained about the engine mount again and they said they will call me when they have the mount, but they still haven’t called me. What should I do?

If you have enough evidence of the work that was poorly done you could contact trading standards or take them to court for the cost of having the work done correctly and the loss of use of your car.

Another option would be to agree with them for you to obtain a genuine part from a main dealer and get it fitted by the dealer and for them to pay the price for this.

I like that sig Rigsby!!!

It replies upon the browser string, which you can easily fake, and the fact that it actually directs you to another website that logs your IP and outputs it in the message.

To be fair I'm quite surprised brisky allows such redirects in the sigs as any half competent programmer could probably run some rather nasty scripts from a remote site just by somebody loading a forum page to read a post.

Further info for Ken, after the tyres were changed and my scare on the motorway I returned to said garage and explained the issue, the eventual reason was given as a siezed caliper and a warped disc on drivers side which caused the violent shudder and jerking to the right. There were no apparent issues before this but I thought well I'm not a mechanic. One of my other concerns was I mentioned the stalling I had voucher for MOT and service and thought why not and even though stalling issue was added to their job sheet they said they could not find anything wrong with it. My question is would an imbalance in the brakes have been apparent to the garage when fitting new caliper etc a week before they failed the MOT for brakes.

Ok Eddie, I'm left with a suspicion that the garage unsiezed the caliper, but only changed the RH disc and pads (if they changed the pads), which would leave you with an apparently fixed car, but a brake imbalance.

The only evidence I have is the fact (or maybe a lie?) that they ordered a replacement engine mount and took my car in for an hour and half before sending me away and the fact that the top right mount is split. Is that enough? Would it be worth court? Or would this cost me more money than it's worth in the end?

I like that sig Rigsby!!!

It is just a mirror effect, and the details on it are only visible to the viewer. Each viewer will see their own details only. Every web page you visit has and needs these details to be able to send their info to you. Ive just added a tag to it to worry the unknowing

It is just a mirror effect, and the details on it are only visible to the viewer. Each viewer will see their own details only. Every web page you visit has and needs these details to be able to send their info to you. Ive just added a tag to it to worry the unknowing

I like how it sometimes says you should unplug your webcam but mine isn't plugged in anyway

Quick update, idle issue still sorted running smooth. Big complaint letter sent to HQ with copies of all bills re brakes. Oh yes they charged for new caliper not just unsiezed the broke one and on the MOT fail docs all the issues were on the side they "fixed". Don't think I'll be able to prove it was their work which initially caused the fault after they replaced the tyres but I think they should be liable for the work they have done.

Eddie

You live in Gatesheed don't you? I live in Byker if you want to call by. I am happy to have a quick look at your calipers for free!

I like how it sometimes says you should unplug your webcam but mine isn't plugged in anyway

I dont even have a webcam!

Webcam wise, any form of picture based device (scanner, digital photocamera) may also show up