LEGAL ADVICE NEEDED Seriously annoyed!!
02-26-09, 06:56 PM
#1
The Sleeve
Thread Starter
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: merseyside
Posts: 268
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
LEGAL ADVICE NEEDED Seriously annoyed!!
I feel compelled to let you guys know. I have been done a real bum deal by a rotary tuning company.
I paid them 2500 pounds for an engine with new housings which they also mapped taking it to 3000. The car has not boosted properly since this time. I phoned them up a good few months ago now after driving say 100 miles on this set up to say i was not happy.
They picked the car up. 2 weeks later phone call from them to say the car was ready and could they take a payment over the phone for the work?? they wanted another 250 pounds!!
I said "for what" it was meant to be warranty work. They had messed with the mapping, put oil and fuel in it and took it for a tweak. I went down there only to find the boost problem had not even been fixed they hadnt even taken the uim off . I still ended up paying them 50 quid and drove the car home. I used it with the boost issue for a while (an issue never had before on the previous engine) And since have spent 2300 quid in parts making it single turbo. While fitting the parts i noticed more problems with the engine. Namely
1) An electrical connector on the coil pack has been glued in. You wouldnt use this on your own car
2) The engine wire harness is incredibly brittle and not one any one would use on thier own car many wires have snapped.
3) The lim has threads missing from it and the uim is just bolted to it which looks awful meaning no chrome caps. Again you wouldnt want this on your own engine.
4) They didnt bolt the engine to the gearbox fully at least one nut missing (THE HARD ONE TO GET TO)
5) Taking the twins off one thread out of the 4. the bottom left one came off so easily it was obviously only finger tight then nipped. Which worried me as a thread might have been stripped and where these actually new housings.
6) in the seq turbo intake a metal tube had been sawed in half and it was full of swarf. In the actual intake system!!. This just isnt acceptable
7) The main pulley oil seal is leaking oil. (Which they might be fixing under warranty) i wont know yet until tomorrow.
Thats it. i flagged all these items up with them they picked the car up which has cost me another 25 quid!!
2 weeks later again i got a phone call to say. That they would basically not do any of the work because i cant prove anything as ive fitted the single tub and fuel system. All this effort to get rid of the boost problem that they wouldnt/didnt fix under the warranty in the first place.
A reasonable approach would surely be for them to say. "ok yes we admit there are poor bits on your engine and we will replace them with better scrap bits lying around the workshop."
"Yes we will sort your boost problem out on you new engine under warranty" It turned out they didnt even take the uim off. id did when removing the rats nest and there where a few tubes cracked which may have caused the issue" also the throttle body nuts were quite loose too this may have cause a problem.
Im very concerned my new housing has a stripped thread as the twins came off so easy i thought best let them look at it under warranty. They want to charge me half an hours labor to look at that. and if it is strpped they said they cant prove it was them.
Had this car engine 6 months now and it hasnt run properly from day 1. They have had thier money and now just dont seem to care.
What can i do they wont do warranty work on the initial work they done and they wont do any work on it now ive spent 2200 quid going single to fix thier problem.
what advice legal or otherwise can any of you give me?
These guys just dont seem to care now they have had my money. Money is going thier way all the time and my car isnt getting any better. The warranty is worthless it seems. im at the end of my tether with it.
I paid them 2500 pounds for an engine with new housings which they also mapped taking it to 3000. The car has not boosted properly since this time. I phoned them up a good few months ago now after driving say 100 miles on this set up to say i was not happy.
They picked the car up. 2 weeks later phone call from them to say the car was ready and could they take a payment over the phone for the work?? they wanted another 250 pounds!!
I said "for what" it was meant to be warranty work. They had messed with the mapping, put oil and fuel in it and took it for a tweak. I went down there only to find the boost problem had not even been fixed they hadnt even taken the uim off . I still ended up paying them 50 quid and drove the car home. I used it with the boost issue for a while (an issue never had before on the previous engine) And since have spent 2300 quid in parts making it single turbo. While fitting the parts i noticed more problems with the engine. Namely
1) An electrical connector on the coil pack has been glued in. You wouldnt use this on your own car
2) The engine wire harness is incredibly brittle and not one any one would use on thier own car many wires have snapped.
3) The lim has threads missing from it and the uim is just bolted to it which looks awful meaning no chrome caps. Again you wouldnt want this on your own engine.
4) They didnt bolt the engine to the gearbox fully at least one nut missing (THE HARD ONE TO GET TO)
5) Taking the twins off one thread out of the 4. the bottom left one came off so easily it was obviously only finger tight then nipped. Which worried me as a thread might have been stripped and where these actually new housings.
6) in the seq turbo intake a metal tube had been sawed in half and it was full of swarf. In the actual intake system!!. This just isnt acceptable
7) The main pulley oil seal is leaking oil. (Which they might be fixing under warranty) i wont know yet until tomorrow.
Thats it. i flagged all these items up with them they picked the car up which has cost me another 25 quid!!
2 weeks later again i got a phone call to say. That they would basically not do any of the work because i cant prove anything as ive fitted the single tub and fuel system. All this effort to get rid of the boost problem that they wouldnt/didnt fix under the warranty in the first place.
A reasonable approach would surely be for them to say. "ok yes we admit there are poor bits on your engine and we will replace them with better scrap bits lying around the workshop."
"Yes we will sort your boost problem out on you new engine under warranty" It turned out they didnt even take the uim off. id did when removing the rats nest and there where a few tubes cracked which may have caused the issue" also the throttle body nuts were quite loose too this may have cause a problem.
Im very concerned my new housing has a stripped thread as the twins came off so easy i thought best let them look at it under warranty. They want to charge me half an hours labor to look at that. and if it is strpped they said they cant prove it was them.
Had this car engine 6 months now and it hasnt run properly from day 1. They have had thier money and now just dont seem to care.
What can i do they wont do warranty work on the initial work they done and they wont do any work on it now ive spent 2200 quid going single to fix thier problem.
what advice legal or otherwise can any of you give me?
These guys just dont seem to care now they have had my money. Money is going thier way all the time and my car isnt getting any better. The warranty is worthless it seems. im at the end of my tether with it.
02-26-09, 09:21 PM
#3
Here in the US, we have such a thing as small claims court and the Better Business Bureau. Might want to look into that. Either way, its gonna be a time consuming effort but it might ultimately work out. Good luck and sorry to hear about your ordeal.
02-26-09, 09:32 PM
#4
The king of the highway!
iTrader: (2)
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Home of the 305 Boyz(miami)
Posts: 2,988
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
just out of curiosity did you do your research to see if they were a reputable business? meaning did your research before even messing with them?
02-26-09, 09:45 PM
#5
get a solisiter dude......my sister is in london maybe she can help you out...dont have her mobile number with me but i can try to get it..not sure if she willl give it out to anyone..but she must have a bussiness number too i am sure..lol never had to call her there
02-26-09, 10:54 PM
#6
The goal should be to force the shop to settle with you out of court. A full lawsuit with a trial etc should be a last resort. If you go to court you will waste so much time and money on the legal proceedings you will wonder if it was worth it or not.
The first thing you should do is talk to the owner or whoever is in charge. Explain your concerns calmly, and tell them exactly what you want done to fix the matter. Do you want some money back? Do you want them to just fix what you listed here? Be specific. If you just rant and present no reasonable solution, they will just think you are being a difficult customer and they may get their back up even more.
If the owner won't budge, tell him that he will be hearing from your lawyer/solicitor. Go to your solicitor and tell him you probably have a tort case on your hands. He may just be able to write a letter threatening a lawsuit, and then if that doesn't work you can file a suit in the UK civil court equivalent.
The first thing you should do is talk to the owner or whoever is in charge. Explain your concerns calmly, and tell them exactly what you want done to fix the matter. Do you want some money back? Do you want them to just fix what you listed here? Be specific. If you just rant and present no reasonable solution, they will just think you are being a difficult customer and they may get their back up even more.
If the owner won't budge, tell him that he will be hearing from your lawyer/solicitor. Go to your solicitor and tell him you probably have a tort case on your hands. He may just be able to write a letter threatening a lawsuit, and then if that doesn't work you can file a suit in the UK civil court equivalent.
02-26-09, 11:43 PM
#7
ErnieTKiLLA
Join Date: Feb 2002
Location: new york
Posts: 972
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Ok let me steer you in the right direction here. Here in the US each party pays their own legal fees.. Fortunate for you the UK follows the English rule which means the losing party pays for all legal fees including the winners. Nice isnt it ?
From the info im hearing you would not have any tort claims. But you do have a contract claim.. to really determine if they breached the contract here an oral one that is or written if you have something that shows price, terms etc doesnt have to be all in one paper, we would need to know more info, lots more to really make any determinations. What agreements did you two have regarding the work/service they were performing for you. Were they only rebuilding the motor and tuning and thats it ? or was it a turn key package including fix all of your other preexisting problems like an old faulty wiring harness etc.
Also if they did not offer any warranty then there is no warranty, so any work they did after would not be considered part of the original deal or work.
And the amount of time you took to bring it back could be seen as a waiver of any problems you had with it later.. A 100 miles doesnt mean anything if you dont explain under what circumstances they were in.. People drive 100 miles in one day like myself or only use the car on weekends and 100 miles takes a week or two. did you say months ? geez.. But that doesnt change the fact that an new contract wasnt created when they agreed to fix your problem once you called and said you had problems with the car.
This info in no way is intended to invoke an attorney client relationship and I know nothing about the governing laws in the UK regarding contracts. I would suggest looking into that or speaking with an attorney. Speaking to the shop first and trying to work something out amicably would be my first resort. Good luck.
From the info im hearing you would not have any tort claims. But you do have a contract claim.. to really determine if they breached the contract here an oral one that is or written if you have something that shows price, terms etc doesnt have to be all in one paper, we would need to know more info, lots more to really make any determinations. What agreements did you two have regarding the work/service they were performing for you. Were they only rebuilding the motor and tuning and thats it ? or was it a turn key package including fix all of your other preexisting problems like an old faulty wiring harness etc.
Also if they did not offer any warranty then there is no warranty, so any work they did after would not be considered part of the original deal or work.
And the amount of time you took to bring it back could be seen as a waiver of any problems you had with it later.. A 100 miles doesnt mean anything if you dont explain under what circumstances they were in.. People drive 100 miles in one day like myself or only use the car on weekends and 100 miles takes a week or two. did you say months ? geez.. But that doesnt change the fact that an new contract wasnt created when they agreed to fix your problem once you called and said you had problems with the car.
This info in no way is intended to invoke an attorney client relationship and I know nothing about the governing laws in the UK regarding contracts. I would suggest looking into that or speaking with an attorney. Speaking to the shop first and trying to work something out amicably would be my first resort. Good luck.
Trending Topics
03-01-09, 10:08 PM
#10
The wankel way!!
Join Date: May 2008
Location: New Zealand
Posts: 462
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
i have never let anyone do anything other then tune cars I have had an never will for this exact reason. I worked in a garage and I can tell you the owners of these places are the worst. They will do ANYTHING to get away from fixing problems they create. Thats why I quit. Mechanics are in it for the business, not to be decent people.
In these situations, its easy to see that they have done poor work, but proving it legaly can be a whole lot harder.
I wish you all the luck in the world, and really hope it does work out for the best.....unfortunitly, more often then not, it turns out harder then its worth.
In these situations, its easy to see that they have done poor work, but proving it legaly can be a whole lot harder.
I wish you all the luck in the world, and really hope it does work out for the best.....unfortunitly, more often then not, it turns out harder then its worth.
03-02-09, 10:39 AM
#11
I have to agree on this. I've seen so many people in my family alone get screwed over by so-called 'mechanics' that it drove me to grab the wrench myself, just to know each task is done right the first time. And really, on such a unique car as a RX-7, owner competency is a pre-requisite. Gotta know what you're getting into before you jump in!
Okay, back to the problem at hand. Unfortunately, to get them to squirm under pressure without a subpoena, you will need a lawyer. It's a lousy situation, I know from experience because my mom took her car, a 1995 Mitsubishi Mirage (now my car) to a 'shop' to get the AT rebuilt and the did the usual assclown job on it (cross threading the bolts on it, and a general patchjob on the transmission), cracked the windshield, broke the tach and broke off one of the turn signals. And after 2 years of me pitching a daily fit about it, she finally took them to court and messed up the paperwork so the court couldn't subpoena them, and the judge threw the case out as a result.
The best thing I could suggest to you is to grab the FSM and do some homework on going single turbo. You mentioned that it's not boosting correctly. Is it boost creep? Boost leaks? Perhaps one of the resident turbo geniuses like Aaron Cake would like to chime in on a solution.
Okay, back to the problem at hand. Unfortunately, to get them to squirm under pressure without a subpoena, you will need a lawyer. It's a lousy situation, I know from experience because my mom took her car, a 1995 Mitsubishi Mirage (now my car) to a 'shop' to get the AT rebuilt and the did the usual assclown job on it (cross threading the bolts on it, and a general patchjob on the transmission), cracked the windshield, broke the tach and broke off one of the turn signals. And after 2 years of me pitching a daily fit about it, she finally took them to court and messed up the paperwork so the court couldn't subpoena them, and the judge threw the case out as a result.
The best thing I could suggest to you is to grab the FSM and do some homework on going single turbo. You mentioned that it's not boosting correctly. Is it boost creep? Boost leaks? Perhaps one of the resident turbo geniuses like Aaron Cake would like to chime in on a solution.
03-02-09, 10:52 AM
#12
GRINCHY
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: oz
Posts: 182
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Sounds like you need to go stand alone engine management and single turbo. You put in a new harness and make it much more reliable.
As for the shop, you should get at least half back if you reason with them yourself. That may
be better than doing the legal thing and will go along way to paying for a single kit. I'm not sure about your emissions laws and this may be unfeasible[going single]
NEVER pay until you test drive.
As for the shop, you should get at least half back if you reason with them yourself. That may
be better than doing the legal thing and will go along way to paying for a single kit. I'm not sure about your emissions laws and this may be unfeasible[going single]
NEVER pay until you test drive.
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post