I have a 2017 Panda "Pop" 1.2litre, bought it from its 2nd owner at a very good price about 4 weeks ago, with 24k on the clock. It has a fault with the rear right passenger door, won't unlock from central locking, won't stay unlocked if you let yourself out from the inside. The inside handle goes back to the lock position. The last owner knew, forgot to tell me during road test so offered £50 off when the sale was completed a few days later.
Before selling it, the owner took it for MOT (late March) and at the same garage, had it serviced (early April). Just before he arrived to collected it, the garage noticed and advised him of the fault. I took the car back to have it assessed properly, fixed if immediately possible and if not, quoted for. The garage had a fancy sales forecourt attached, one of seven local dealerships owned by the group. A big enterprise, I would say. I wanted to have an idea of what the place was like, it was the last owner's preferred garage.
They quoted an assessment cost £45. I accepted, thinking that it was dearer than most. Alas, it needs a new latch and they quoted what you'd expect for a higher-end place, £240 all in. I declined.
I mentioned to them that it should have been an MOT fail. They advised that the MOT and the service were 2 weeks apart and the fault had developed since the MOT -- I gave them the benefit of the doubt. But then they said, for that fault, it wouldn't have been a fail anyway. They told me this on the phone. They doubled-down on it when I asked them again in person. I may have it on an email from them somewhere. Anyway, it doesn't take a half-minute to read the MOT information on the Govt.'s website, here it is:
Driver and passenger doors must open from the outside using the relevant control [Mic drop].
I've got the door panel off myself before going to the garage, but decided against my own continued inspection, that I'd have a professional to check and resolve -- they know the vehicle better than I do, they spotted the fault. But the panel is off, I'm halfway to fixing it. So, two questions:
Is it easy to get to the latch and disengage from the central locking, to replace it? (I'll start a new thread in a more relevant section soon.)
And whaddaya think of the garage? I'm not going to stink up their online reviews (though sorely tempted) nor am I inclined to get back in touch with them, ever.
Before selling it, the owner took it for MOT (late March) and at the same garage, had it serviced (early April). Just before he arrived to collected it, the garage noticed and advised him of the fault. I took the car back to have it assessed properly, fixed if immediately possible and if not, quoted for. The garage had a fancy sales forecourt attached, one of seven local dealerships owned by the group. A big enterprise, I would say. I wanted to have an idea of what the place was like, it was the last owner's preferred garage.
They quoted an assessment cost £45. I accepted, thinking that it was dearer than most. Alas, it needs a new latch and they quoted what you'd expect for a higher-end place, £240 all in. I declined.
I mentioned to them that it should have been an MOT fail. They advised that the MOT and the service were 2 weeks apart and the fault had developed since the MOT -- I gave them the benefit of the doubt. But then they said, for that fault, it wouldn't have been a fail anyway. They told me this on the phone. They doubled-down on it when I asked them again in person. I may have it on an email from them somewhere. Anyway, it doesn't take a half-minute to read the MOT information on the Govt.'s website, here it is:
Driver and passenger doors must open from the outside using the relevant control [Mic drop].
I've got the door panel off myself before going to the garage, but decided against my own continued inspection, that I'd have a professional to check and resolve -- they know the vehicle better than I do, they spotted the fault. But the panel is off, I'm halfway to fixing it. So, two questions:
Is it easy to get to the latch and disengage from the central locking, to replace it? (I'll start a new thread in a more relevant section soon.)
And whaddaya think of the garage? I'm not going to stink up their online reviews (though sorely tempted) nor am I inclined to get back in touch with them, ever.
. Inspite of being one many years ago I do notice some testers have a pet hate or shall we say "specialist subject"
