Hi i have a Bravo HLX 1.8 16 valve and i took it to the garage the other day to have a gearbox and sump fitted cos my gearbox had snapped on the mounting where it bolted to the sump. The bloke quoted me roughly £220 if i supplied the gearbox and sump sounded an ok price so i booked it in. Went to pick it up the bill was £354 the breakdown of this price is Labour @£35 an hour x 8 hours, sealer for my sump £3.50 and £18 for 2litres of semi synthetic Gear oil. So got to the car and he said oh was your Abs light on when it came in i said no he said well it is now i said well what you gonna do to rectify it he said nothing beacause we havent touched the Abs sensors or anything so what im asking is is there anything i can do about this Abs light and can i complain about the price 8 hours to change a gearbox and sump just doesnt sound right thanks in advance for any help.

if you have a written quote for the job... then they should stick by that.

Any changes to the quoted price should be confirmed befor work commenced.... or a phone call to say, it might cost a few £ more.


If you have a written quote then i'd go see ur local citezens advice.


I'd also go get it checked to see if the work they have done is correct and if it's safe. if they have snapped summit off, then it could be dangerous to drive.... therefor the garage is liable i belive for sending a car out in a dangerous condition!



There is a list of garages on BOO whom offer disscount. They might be far away from you... but they are trusted and will stick by the quote they give.



By the sounds of it, they have prob done shoddy work befor and know they can prob get away with it.... plus do you really want them to fix ur ABS if they have ballsed it up????


go have a word with citezens advise so you know just where u stand legally!!!!



Good luck, TK

A quote is fixed. An estimate is just that, so if he said roughly £220 then that is an estimate, not a quote.
Sadly, without a fixed quote, you have effectively agreed to pay what he says it cost. You can certainly ask for justification of why it was so different from what he estimated but it sounds like you are probably going to have to pay up

price

Don't think you will get anywhere with the price, you can complain that 8hrs is too long for what the job entails.

If your car didn't have ABS light on before they touched it then they must have upset something, what else was it, f*cking magic?

They may have knocked something and not meant to do it, but that aint your problem.

thats well dodgy ground,good garages will as tommy says ring u up and explain might be a bit more.
Its best to find a trusted garage if u can who u know will do the job right and for a fixed (if possible) price. As for the ABS sensor i dunno what they were doin near there but must be their fault!

in all honesty the labour is about right tbh mate. i can do a bravo 1.2 box change in around 6-7 hours with a clutch change, but ive had a fair amount of practice on my car.

the only thing you can do is agrue the toss over the fact they didnt advise of extra costs or the abs and not accepting liability for it.

if they have changed the box then they will have touched it as you have to undo the hub from the suspension to get the driveshafts out, and where the hell is the abs sensor located??? on the hub.

to me it would appear the bloke is taking you for a bit of a ride in all honesty re the abs, id either persue it with him and be very cautious, or what i would do is cut my loss' and find somewhere else to rectify the abs prob

hth

Andy_sx

the problem is trying to prove it was them who caused the fasult... it could be coincidence*... which... if the job they did ment they didn't go near that part... then thats all they need to say!


You will get no joy accusing them of breaking ur ABS... it could be a plug come out.. or a trapped wire etc.


Go to another garage and get the ABS checked & if they say... it was caused by the re-fitment of the work carried out by the other job.. then YES you have a claim!!!


It all depends on how you and the garage left on terms.. if your really nice and say oh bugger, darn fiats, yet another thinkgs gone wrong.... owww the price has gone up a bit, what was the problem?? ..... then see if they will meet 1/2 way between the expected price & the new bill price.


Another good way is to thank them and tell them just how good the job is... and tell them ur part of a fiat club and would they mind you, asking to see if they can be added to the reccomended garages on the web site..... while asking them to give you a disscount on the bill.


Ask them is there any disscount for cash etc....


BE WARNED THO... YOU MUST GET A RECEIPT!!!


If you think the work done isn't right, you can refuse the work... but they are well within their rights to charge you labour and refund you the parts cost.


No one likes an arsy customer... but be firm if the work carried out isn't what you were quoted for!!!


If it all gets messy... and they refuse to put it right and tell you you wont get ur car back untill you pay the full amount, even tho you aren't happy with the work they've done... call the police and tell them ur car is being held against ur will and is basically being stolen!


If they are slightly dodgy, they don't want the police comming round cos they might find more than just your car being kept there!!!


Only do this if it all gets very messy tho and they become violent, because your car might be there at ur own risk, so a smashed window and an open pot of paint might find it's way inside!!!!






Tommy K - Have you got the Bottle!!