Blown Accelerator problem, Part III - Turning into Tale Of Woe or Par For The Course?

redtom

So, I've brought the 96 Polo with the accelerator with its own mind to the injection specialist as recommended by my mechanic, and it seems that still nobody knows whats wrong with it...

My original mechanic charged me just for the part he put in (throttle thingy), and didn't include labour (if I heard correctly) so, €120

I brought it over to Fairview yesterday morning and got a call in the afternoon to say "your car is ready and running perfectly", so I said I'd be over in morning to pick it up. Grand job, says they.

About to head over this morning when I check my phone and there's a message saying "Er, we noticed a little jerk when we started her up to leave her out the front for you, so call us in half an hour and we'll see where we're at".
Sigh, trudge into work, instead of being out and about on that glorious morning, that deflated feeling rising slowly...

Call them half an hour later "We just needed to hook it up to the computer again, 99.9% sure its fixed now" - "Grand job, I'll be over around lunch to pick it up" - "Fair enough, see you then"

Enjoy a bit of that sunshine on my way over at lunch, land at garage - "We just need to hook up the battery and you can take her with you, 5 mins - you go on upstairs and sort out the bill"

Hop up the stairs to be presented with a bill for €430 for a new Accelerator Sensor and 3 hrs Labour for fitting and checking it - first bill of its kind for me, don't know if I need to say/should be saying anything so just pay it, thinking "Sure I'll be on my way now in my fixed car... "

Get downstairs, sitting around for 15 mins, then - "Er, we need to check your ECU, gonna take another hr or so"

Expressed surprise at this, asked if its going to cost any more, "Nope, don't worry about that", so head out, thoroughly deflated and still carless...




I don't want to come across as a moany old git, but all I know (as an inexperienced car owner) is I'm now out €550 and my car still isn't fixed (after being told twice that it was), plus my previous mechanic mentioned ECU's as costing somewhere around €700 new, so you can imagine I'm feeling a little bit nervous now...

Is this normal, or am I completely daft and is there something I should be saying to them tomorrow when I'm speaking to them again?

p.s.

Do garages always end a job with "It's running like a clock" or "It's runnin smooth as a baby's bottom" and suchlike - is that proper garage-speak or something?

Supercell

Sounds like your spending more than its worth.

colm_mcm

96 polo isn't worth more than a grand anyway.

redtom

well I bought it from a friend of mine who got it from a friend of his family - it's only got 36,000 miles on her (hell, it even still smelled new inside when I got it) which was the main reason I took her on... guess you live and learn, eh?

crosstownk

Your getting fúcked about. It's a 1996 Polo - not that complicated. Time to get someone who knows what the story is. PM me if you want it sorted. I know a garage that WILL fix it.

Mr.Diagnostic

Find someone who knows how to test the various parts of the management system.
Do not agree to pay for bolt on diagnostics. There should be no reason to fit parts that are not required. Parts that do not fix it are not required. As I said before, if they can test while the symptom is present then they should be able to diagnose it.

crosstownk

Mr.Diagnostic wrote:

Find someone who knows how to test the various parts of the management system.
Do not agree to pay for bolt on diagnostics. There should be no reason to fit parts that are not required. Parts that do not fix it are not required. As I said before, if they can test while the symptom is present then they should be able to diagnose it.

Yep, imo it's down to poor diagnostic techniques. Like I said, a 1996 Polo is not that complicated.

redtom

Mr.Diagnostic wrote:

Find someone who knows how to test the various parts of the management system.
Do not agree to pay for bolt on diagnostics. There should be no reason to fit parts that are not required. Parts that do not fix it are not required. As I said before, if they can test while the symptom is present then they should be able to diagnose it.

So I guess there's nothing to be done now about the 430 they charged me already - can I turn around and say I they shouldn't have been installed in the first place? Hate this kind of carry on, no good at confrontations...

Henry Ford III

I'd have major reservations paying for a repair that doesn't work.