Who is liable?

Hi all.

Here is a question for everyone with mechanically and legal experience.

What I would like to know,is if you take your car to get some repairs done and it does not get looked at and it was in perfect running order and you get it back and there is something else broken with it which was NOT on the repair list,if it happened at their premises,what I want to know is WHO is liable,the repairer or the owner :?:

Many thanks.
Dave.

At a guess (and it is a guess)...

1. If it was in perfect running order etc why was it in for repairs in the first place?
2. You say it was in perfect running order when it went in. Prove it.
3. Garage say it was knacked before they got it. Again Prove it (easier for them cos it's knacked).
4. What is the fault? Is it something that is subject to wear and tear in normal operation or something that is only likely to break if subjected to incompetence?

Was a condition report made on the vehicle when it was booked in? Mileage recorded? Photo's taken (after someone accused them of denting a vehicle my father in law now does a quick trip round the car with a digital camera when they come into his garage, takes less than 2 mins to do).

Assuming your a regular customer most reputable garages will at least talk about it and try to come to some agreement as they want the repeat custom if it's the first time that you have come through the door maybe not. At the end of the day it's going to end up as a 'you said' 'they said' argument

I would in the first instance talk to them, explain the facts and see what the reaction is. Next stage wold be trading standards and google to see if theres previous on it. Finally, if no resolution go to the small claims court. You do however have to give them a chance to put things right.

The vehicle, if booked in for work should be covered on their insurance.

In fairness, with the limited info you have provided Dave as to what has been broken, it is impossible to give any valid advice.

Last edited by dave1966 on Sun Feb 09, 2014 12:18 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Sorry guys,I should have mentioned abit more detail but I am fuming with this so called guy right after his visit to my house yesterday with 2 police officers after writing and posting a polite letter to him.

It went into the garage for to have replacement fuel pipes from the tank to the hose coming from the fuel filter and a replacement fuel tank cover and a middle exhaust mounting and it was sat there for 6 weeks without anything being done and every week for 6 weeks the garage kept saying they have not had chance to look at at it and this was going on every week so on the 6 week,I went to the garage to remove my motor and take it back home and I went to start it up and all I got was a clicking noise on every turn of the key and we had to jump start it twice but once it was running it was running pefrectly ,so when I got it home and drove it in to the driveway,I left it running for an hour and a half then I turned it off and it was clicking again on every turn of the key,so I stuck my spare battery in it from my old 2.4i and it started up my 2.2DTI straight away. Before it went to the garage and before mot & tax expired,I never had any issues with the starting and even after it was parked up for over 2 months without being started up.

It is bad,as it is one of my cousins fiancee's garage.

Really what I would like to know,is the garage liable for to reimburse me for the purchase of a brand new battery or is that just down to me? As the guy from the garage says he is not responsible,just want to find out more before I go see a lawyer.

if its been sitting for 6 weeks maybe the battery needs a good charge dave especially if it started ok with your 2.4 battery !
when mine was off the road for a few months i charged the battery every 2 weeks and started and ran it for half an hour every week and never had a problem. they need to be kept topped up and can be damaged if left in a low charge state for long.

fogman,thankyou for your info.

The battery that was in at that time had only been fully charged before it went along to the garage but I do not think it should have went completely dead within 6 weeks. What I also forgot to mention,was once it was at home I took the battery out to charge it and there was a pool of water in the plastic battery tray and I know for a fact that this has never happened before.

Me thinks a trip to a lawyer on Monday.

You are on a hiding to nowhere Dave...batterys often die this time of year, and just be thankful it didnt die when you were in the middle of nowhere in 2f of snow...
My best advice would be to be nice sooner than try to find someone to blame, whoever left the car standing would have found the battery dead, so its not really their fault...and why did you leave it 6 weeks at a garage???? Service should be done in a day, two tops...was it because it was a family mates rates job where there would fit it in and do it cheap? If so I am surpised you didnt get a punch on the nose when you started down the road of blaming them and demanding a new battery...
I would perhaps eat humble pie and see if they if they will get you a new battery at cost..

Cheers gregster. Even though it is my cousins fiancee's garage,there is NO family or mates rates with him no matter who they are. Reason for it being there for 6 weeks,was because he was always saying he never got time to look at it but he would say I will get a look at it next week but never happened same excuse every week,he even told my 70+ yr old dad the same but still nothing no work done. The 5th week though was different,he was pretty nasty when I went to take it away from his garage then,swearing at me and telling me he would not drop other jobs coming in and this was jobs after mine,just to do a couple of fuel pipes. He is off my Christmas card list this year. lol.

Im with Gregster on that one, You dont have a hope in hell. Mine went in the summer,after 3 weeks in america,I came back & it was Fkt. It had
been solid & reliable before that. Im actually surprised the garage guy responded, when you blamed him..... Charge it up, if it doesnt hold a charge
get a new one & move on, probably not what you want to hear, but thats batteries for you :hang:

had a similar experience with the wife's motor at mot time, we got it back and would only go into 2nd and 4th gear, they thought i was living with this and how the mechanic thought this was an mot pass is beyond me. it turns out the gear cable had snapped . so 200 quid later we then had all 5 gears, it pretty Nuts but these things do happen

Thankyou all very much for all of your advice and info.

Something as simple as that I would expect to book it in one day and pick it up the end of the next working day at the latest.
The guy doesn't value his customers.

Drift,he does not value his customers at all especially family.

I took my fronty to another garage just not far from his garage and they had it in on the Tuesday and it was all done and ready the next day but however,they forgot to connect up the electrical plug for the fuel filter/strainer housing,that is another garage I am waiting to hear from but not heard anything as yet,I have phoned them and I wrote to them,. lol.

I am sure someone has put a curse on me for life. lol.

My cousins fiancee has an Escort convertible waiting for work to be done on it and it has been sitting at his garage for 2yrs and the work is all paid for upfront and I was talking to the owner of it the other day,as I used to work with the owner,and he has told me that he wanted his money back and he would take it elsewhere but he got swore at too and the escort is unmovable just now as the brakes are seized. The owner is now taking him to court,maybe that is why he was nasty with me. lol.

gregster,the cars that I have had in the past,I always took them to him and he did not let me down on the other cars even my old 2.4i fronty when it was not running properly and he did the head gasket and fuel injectors,he even worked through the night once to have my Ford Sierra 4x4 Ghia estate ready for the next day for my holidays,the work was always been really great but I do not know what has happened to him since then,maybe my cousin is on his back and I never thought he would let me down. I only found it out about the escort the other day after I took my fronty away from his garage. There is no way I will be taking my fronty to him ever again,bud.