How can I tell if a garage is ripping me off?

Question

My car broke down 150 miles from home. I could not afford the tow home, so had the AA appointed garage deal with the breakdown, 2 1/2 weeks later I still have no car with no date for getting it back. So far the bill is at £1000. Timing belt tensioner went. What can I do?

Answer 1

It would really depend on how much damage has been done to the engine. However £1k seems steep as you could of had a second hand engine fitted cheaper than that unless your car is something unusual.

If valves etc have been damaged which is likely if the tensioner went, then I'd certainly of expected abill of minimum £750 if they had to rebuild engine.

Answer 2

The AA should be able to help here as they are resposible for your car being at the garage they recommend. However no garage should undertake repairs without your permission. You say that the timing belt tensioner went , if that made the timing belt slip then you could easily have major damage within the engine, including bent valves. I would advise you contact the garage and ask them to itemise the damage and the cost of repair, tell them that you also wish to view any parts that are replaced. If you still have a problem then go to www.goodgaragescheme.com and find a registered garage in that area, they may be able to pick up the vehicle and complete the repair for an agreed price. Your next option is to check if the garage are registered with any of the trade professional bodies as most of these have a set complaints procedure, if all else fails then local trading standards or the OFT should be able to help.

Answer 3

I haven't yet found a garage that is NOT a ripoff.... which is why I do all the repairs on my cars. It's not rocket science. Maybe not simple, but if a human invented it, there's no reason why I can't understand how it works.
The safest thing is to have a mechanic you know and trust, but if you're that far from home, you'll get shafted either way.
The problem is that if the timing belt slipped or it broke while the engine was running, then all kinds of damage could happen to the engine. (think about it, the timing belt is there to keep things synchronized, like keeping the valves from getting in the way of the pistons when they come down, etc...)
What kind of car is it? How many miles on it? With most cars you have to replace the timing belt every 90K miles, if you went more, then you're asking for trouble.
Sorry you're having to put up with this.

Answer 4

Mine went about 2 weeks ago i was 90 miles from home.Fortunatley i had a passanger who was a member of the rac and they towed us and the car back to my home.I then phoned around for quotes to get it repaired and from some places where quoted upto or above £1000 after making a few phone calls i found someone who could do it for £500 tops if all my valves had gone as well.
Depends on how many valves it has as well as mine is only a 8v
but when my car was ready i was at work so had to get someone to pick it up,they have a 16v and asked it would have been if that had gone and that would have been £1000.So if yours is a 16v it might not be to bad a price.But i can't understand why you haven't got it back yet i had mine back in just under a week.
It should only cost a big amount like that if all your valves have been bent like mine where as well.
Just remember if it's only an 8v you have been ripped off.

Answer 5

Timing belt tensioner can be a serious breakdown. If internal damage has been caused they could be rebuilding the engine which can take 3 weeks.

Do you have a local friendly garage you normally take your car to? You could give them a ring, I'm sure they'd give you 3 minutes to explain what's happening to your car. Unfortunately, and sorry this doesn't help you right now, it's usually cheaper to pay for the tow home back to your regular garage than to risk sending it to an AA-appointed (and usually expensive) garage. Can you go and pay the garage a visit in person?

Answer 6

If the timing belt tensioner broke then this could damage the engine badly. £1000 is possible as a total engine rebuild is very expensive.(If the belt isn't doing it's job then the engine goes out of sync and pistons hit the valves)
However you should of been consulted at all times with regards to the repair and the potential bill.Therefore start complaining to the AA as soon as possible.

Answer 7

Ask the garage (nicely) for an exact date when the car WILL be ready and an itemised bill of ALL parts and LABOUR. If the car is NOT ready at the specified date, ask them are they going to supply you with a courtesy car (free of charge) until your car IS ready...or contact AA and ask them to intervene as you said they were an AA approved garage?
If still no satisfaction, get in touch with trading standards and DON'T GIVE UP!

Good luck.

Answer 8

Hi, I just wanted to point out that just because your tensioner broke does not mean there was damage done to your engine and it is junk. It depends on the engine.
I would have it towed somewhere else. Obviously they are not giving you enough information about your vehicle and what is going on, otherwise you wouldn't be questioning this.
If you want to keep dealing with them find out what is going on, why so long, what you are paying for, etc. You really didn't give enough information about what they have done already and what they have told you.

Answer 9

Usually if the timing belt and tension go out, you have to buy a new car or pay rediculous amounts of $ to have your engine rebuilt. Stop paything them $ and have them junk the car. Then, go buy a new car. you need to have your timing belt, water pump and tensioner changed every 60,000 miles.

Answer 10

What kind of car and what year is it?

if it's a older car maybe they can't find the parts for it right now.
call around and see what some more shops tell u

good luck
hope this helps