Advice on my Crsa & The Dealership

HENDA11

MEMBER
2006 VAUXHALL CORSA
60,000 MILES

Hi. Two days ago on the way to work, my girlfriends Corsa STI was working fine with no problems. Then when we came out to work and went to leave, the Fuel Emission light began to come on, and the engine started choking, and the car started shaking. Luckily we made it back into the world industrial estate from the roundabout and pulled over. So I said just give it a few minutes, start the engine and try and rev it a little to warm it up, but after 20 seconds it started choking again. So we pushed the car back into works car park and left it there for the night, and the next day Evans Halshaw sent The AA out of there behalf to check the car, and pick it up. The AA man found the problems, said it was something to do with the battery and the fuel emission system, and these faults even showed up when he did the diagnostic test on the computer. So it was then taken to Evans Halshaw who said the same thing was wrong. So my girlfriend left the car, and they told her exactly what the AA man told her and that it should cost £170 to fix. Anyway, as time went on, she rang back at 5pm later that day, and they told her that a clip or some kind of a bracket had broken, and that they may need to strip the car. And then the next bit that really had me fuming was, that the price somehow went from £170, all the way up to £1000. Surely that clip and bracket was broken when the car was in there care, because the AA man gave the car a thorough check before he towed it to Evans Halshaw. She hasnt even had the car for 6 months, and she pauid £3500, £400 of which was for a warranty, that she has now been told, covers absoloutly nothing. Advice please. Are the dealership messing my girlfriend about.

3 Replies

MERLIN2021

MECHANIC
17,250 POSTS

Anything is possible but what clip is now broken that requires a complete year down of the engine? Sound a fishy.

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Thursday, December 8th, 2011 AT 4:30 PM

HENDA11

MEMBER
2 POSTS

As in my previous post(which I can't find), My girlfriends car had problems, and the fuel emission light came on and the car began shaking and choking etc.

So Evans Halshaw sent out the AA on behalf of them to bring the car into them, and the AA bloke tested it, said it was the Catalic Converter(not sure if thats the right name) & Battery, and said it would cost around � 170.

It got to Evans Halshaw, and they said the same. So the girlfriend rang the next day asking if she can pick the car up, and then said no because they had found another problem, and that it could cost up to � 1000 to fix.

Anyway, after nearly a full week of ringing up and not get nowhere and the mechanic not giving us a price, My girlfriends dad decided to go with her this morning to get it sorted, and they got to see the manager.

So this is what he said : -

That a spark plug, has hit the bonnet and went into the engine and done something to the engine, which he said is now going to cost � 650. Now I hardly know anything about cars, and even I know that its barely impossible for a ceramic spark plug to pop out, hit the bonnet and land in the engine.

Steel Engine vs Ceramic, what do you think would win. When we turned the car on on the night it broke there was no noise, the car was checked today, there is no dints or markings on the bonnet where the spark plug might of shot up.

So this leads me to think that while they fitted the catalic converter and battery that they have serviced some stuff, checked the spark plugs and maybe not screwed it back in, and theyve went to start the car up and they've broke something themselves, because there is no way that the spark plug could of shot up and do � 650 worth of damage.

Also, they have basically mislead her with the warranty and sold her a basic service warrant that only includes the warranty of oil, oil filters and catalic converters.

Thoughts & advice please.