Am I entitled to 'being sorted out' for this....?

Noobsaibot21

Hi All,

I had my NCT three weeks ago and it failed on the brakes (requiring a retest at €28). Fair enough, I knew the brakes were knackered so I went to my local garage. Got the repairs done which consisted of new brake pads and a few other tweaks (€250) - everything on the NCT Failed sheet basically. So, took it for a second test and it failed again. Apparently, the garage didn't actually replace one certain part and so, the car would require another test at €28. The other parts which had failed passed no problem this time (the rear axle).

I went back to the garage and got that failed part fixed (at cost price). So, I then had my third NCT last Saturday and it failed again, this time on a part that was replaced after the first time. The NCT guy said that either the brakes on the car we're not set up correctly after the second repair or that the brake pads replaced after the first repair were starting to fail.

Still with me?

I would expect brand new brakes to last more than three weeks and, because my next test will be over the 21 days limit, I will now have to do a full test again at €50.

Would I be entitled to the garage having to pay for my NCT test again? Ultimately, it is their fault that the car has failed on two occasions now. I am already assuming that they will look at the work they've done and corrected it free of charge (after all I have already paid for the parts and the labour) - Would this be a decent assumption?

I would assume that they will do it all for free (and consider themselves lucky i'm not seeking the petrol for going to and from the NCT centre itself which is a good 20 minutes each way and out of my way). However, if they start dragging their heals, where do I stand in terms of the law?

Cheers
Noobsaibot21

tommy21

Noobsaibot21 wrote: »

Hi All,

I had my NCT three weeks ago and it failed on the brakes (requiring a retest at €28). Fair enough, I knew the brakes were knackered so I went to my local garage. Got the repairs done which consisted of new brake pads and a few other tweaks (€250) - everything on the NCT Failed sheet basically. So, took it for a second test and it failed again. Apparently, the garage didn't actually replace one certain part and so, the car would require another test at €28. The other parts which had failed passed no problem this time (the rear axle).

I went back to the garage and got that failed part fixed (at cost price). So, I then had my third NCT last Saturday and it failed again, this time on a part that was replaced after the first time. The NCT guy said that either the brakes on the car we're not set up correctly after the second repair or that the brake pads replaced after the first repair were starting to fail.

Still with me?

I would expect brand new brakes to last more than three weeks and, because my next test will be over the 21 days limit, I will now have to do a full test again at €50.

Would I be entitled to the garage having to pay for my NCT test again? Ultimately, it is their fault that the car has failed on two occasions now. I am already assuming that they will look at the work they've done and corrected it free of charge (after all I have already paid for the parts and the labour) - Would this be a decent assumption?

I would assume that they will do it all for free (and consider themselves lucky i'm not seeking the petrol for going to and from the NCT centre itself which is a good 20 minutes each way and out of my way). However, if they start dragging their heals, where do I stand in terms of the law?

Cheers
Noobsaibot21

Assume nothing until you talk to them - they should fix it but don't assume they will.

I would spell it out for them all in a polite letter, stating nicely that some people in you situation would seek legal advice/small claims court etc. but that you would be happy if they covered your NCT costs given the inconvenience etc. If your happy to use them in the future, you could even say this could be in the form of money off future services or perhaps even ask for a free service or two down the line as a token of good will.

That said personally I would not be crazy to rush back to them in future, they sound fairly incompetent!

slave1

I had a similar experience, booked my car into the garage the morning of my test to get the lights aligned/done (whatever it is) and drive straight to NCT test and failed on lights. Went straight back to the garage and they said they cannot guarantee that it would pass as I could have 'hit a kerb or something' on the way to the test, the test centre is dual carriageway and 5 minute drive. They realigned the lights but I had to pay for the test again. Had purchased my car there and probably a few more would have been bought in the future, have not been back to the garage since, don't even get petrol there.
Live and learn.

Morlar

I had a similair fail recently, spent €600 + on the service and pre-nct then it failed on the rear axle braking percentages (you are allowed some difference in the percentage). Went back and had to pay parts and labour to get it through the next time. I'd have thought labour on the 2nd attempt would be free but nope. If you are on your third fail from the same garage there is something wrong with that picture.

Grumpypants

Maybe some one that knows more can confirm or deny this but i was told before that new brake pads need to be broken in a bit. It might be the case that the pads are too new !!. I just remember a mechanic that changed mine telling me this before the test.

foggy_lad

many years ago i had a car serviced in a local garage where i bought petrol all the time as well as other shopping, after one service the rear brakes were not replaced properly causing a huge amount of damage, afterwards the pins to hold the brakes in place were found to have not been reattached. the garage denied all responsibility so i stopped going there and got petrol elsewhere so they lost at least £50 a week.

a few weeks later i saw the owner around the town and he asked why i had not been in for petrol and was everything ok, as it was usually him that would serve me on saturdays whan i filled the tank, after a quick explanation of what happened i was invited to return and have things put right but declined as i did not want to risk their mechanics getting it wrong again, so he insisted on paying to have the work done in another garage. this kind of thing would not happen today though!

i think the garage should cover all reasonable expenses incurred from your car failing on the parts they had replaced!

BROWNE51

Comprehensively document all that you have stated(times/dates/conversations with named individuals etc,detail the events as they happened) and send a firm but polite(read it and rewrite it until it has the right tone!...don't be rude,even if you want to be!!) letter and email to the managing director of the garage.
If they are simi registered or belong to any "auto" type body and you don't get a satisfactory response to your letter,cc it to the relevant body,as high up as you can,stating that you attempted,unsuccessfully,to get some clarity on the occurrences and only availed of the relevant garages services because of the association with simi or whoever and could they offer any advice on the matter.
It will only take a half hour of your time to put together an email and you have nothing to lose.