Problem with mechanic

J

JMR

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I left my car with a mechanic to sort a relatively minor problem (at least I thought it was a minor problem).
He had an initial look and diagnosed the problem and provided a detailed estimate.
He replaced the part he said was needed but then told me that there was a secondary problem.
He insists that the part did need replacing, that he did not mis-diagnose the problem.
The 'secondary' problem seems to be beyond his capabilities as he has now had the car for a total of 9 days!!
He has now brought it to an electronics specialist as he has admitted defeat.
Any time I question him on the final price he says he can't say until he figures out what is wrong!
I am afraid he will try and hit me with a big bill even though he is a friend of the family in a roundabout way.

Should I demand the car back as it is and try to get it sorted elsewhere.
He is a genuine bloke and I don't think he will rip me off.

If I demand the car back am I only obliged to pay the original estimate price, even though he has put a good bit more work into it albeit not productive work?
Obviously the electronics specialist is not looking at the car out of the goodness of his heart.....
 
03 Audi A4
Key fob will not lock or unlock the drivers door but will lock and unlock all other doors. Key in door works fine.
He originally said lock needed replacing and he stands by that diagnosis even though the problem still exists in exactly the same fashion with the new lock.
To me this means that there was in fact nothing wrong with the lock at all but I have to take his word as an expert....
He then tried to trace problem to no avail and has now passed the car to an electronics specialist who is 90% sure that the controller unit is faulty but needs to run some tests to confirm this.

If a new controller sorts the problem I will have no problem paying for same but I don't think I should have to pay for a new lock??
Could the lock have needed replacing??
 
register here and ask...
[broken link removed]

ask there before you spend any more....on anything.

All car owners should do this to avoid being taken for a ride with 'investigation' that you could do yourself and maybe save some money...
 
more than likely its just an actuator problem no need for an elctronics expert,fairly common problem
 
JMR said:
03 Audi A4
Key fob will not lock or unlock the drivers door but will lock and unlock all other doors. Key in door works fine.
He originally said lock needed replacing and he stands by that diagnosis even though the problem still exists in exactly the same fashion with the new lock.
To me this means that there was in fact nothing wrong with the lock at all but I have to take his word as an expert....
He then tried to trace problem to no avail and has now passed the car to an electronics specialist who is 90% sure that the controller unit is faulty but needs to run some tests to confirm this.

If a new controller sorts the problem I will have no problem paying for same but I don't think I should have to pay for a new lock??
Could the lock have needed replacing??
Click to expand...

I had the same problem with a Skoda Octavia (same VW group car parts) and was told that it and the Octavia/Golf/Passat/A3/A4 etc all had a common problem with the central locking control unit. They replaced it and has worked fine since, they put in a new lock first and the problem remained so it appears the control unit was to blame, all done under warranty for me.
 
Actuator is part of the lock on them.

It could be a control unit or it could be a break in the wire at the "A" pillar. You could check that your window's, mirror and all lights are working on that door to see if it is poss a problem with wiring.

But at the end of the day you only pay for what fixed the problem. He prob didn't diagnoise the problem, he asked like all the post's above somebody said this or that and usually it's a lock etc, in the end stuck one in it.

Can't be much of a mechanic if he can't tell the difference between the lock, control unit or wiring.

Pay for the fix of the problem. Maybe next time bring it to a main dealer.
 
Mr2 said:
Actuator is part of the lock on them.
Click to expand...

Am I right in thinking then, that there could not have been a problem with the lock since the symptoms were the exact same with the new lock?

Mechanic is telling me that even though replacing the lock didn't sort the problem, it still needed to be replaced......

Does he just not want to admit he diagnosed the problem incorrectly?

Thanks
 
JMR said:
Mechanic is telling me that even though replacing the lock didn't sort the problem, it still needed to be replaced......
Click to expand...

Love it when I hear them say that. Reason being, he is out of pocket now cos HE replaced the lock unnecessarily and is looking to cover his costs.
 
If he can show you what was wrong with the old lock, then I would treat it as genuine. I can certainly see how it could have been a problem with lock+actuator unit, and can see that it might be cheaper to replace than to try to definitively diagnose with the old one in place.

However, if he is unable to demonstrate to you why something was amiss with the old one, then that's a different story. You need to make a judgement on whether it was a reasonable place to start in the diagnosis.
 
nt00deep said:
If he can show you what was wrong with the old lock, then I would treat it as genuine. I can certainly see how it could have been a problem with lock+actuator unit, and can see that it might be cheaper to replace than to try to definitively diagnose with the old one in place.
Click to expand...

The fact is he replaced the lock and it made no difference at all to the way the car door behaved.
Therefore there could not have been a problem with the lock.

Replacing the control unit on the other hand looks like it will solve the problem, therefore a new control unit with the old lock looks like being the solution. i.e. I should not have to pay for the supply and fitting of the lock
 
If you went to the Doc and got a prescription for x. You bought x but it did not work. You went back and he prescribed y, would you insist he refund you for x.

Question is not whether x worked, but was it reasonable to suggest x.
 
nt00deep said:
If you went to the Doc and got a prescription for x. You bought x but it did not work. You went back and he prescribed y, would you insist he refund you for x.

Question is not whether x worked, but was it reasonable to suggest x.
Click to expand...

The mechanic can suggest x all he likes and even go and buy x and fit x to my car but if x does not solve the problem he was asked to fix then I shouldn't have to pay for x
 
JMR said:
The mechanic can suggest x all he likes and even go and buy x and fit x to my car but if x does not solve the problem he was asked to fix then I shouldn't have to pay for x
Click to expand...


Exactly !

The doctor metaphor doesn't apply to a mechanic.
It's easy enough to test a broken part. You replace it with one you know works, if that doesn't solve the problem then you reinstall the original and try the next link in the chain.

You can't do that with internal organs...
 
It's easy enough to test a broken part. You replace it with one you know works, if that doesn't solve the problem then you reinstall the original and try the next link in the chain.
Click to expand...

Just out of curiosity what does the mchanic do with the new part he has ordered?
 
Pique318 said:
Exactly !

The doctor metaphor doesn't apply to a mechanic.
It's easy enough to test a broken part. You replace it with one you know works, if that doesn't solve the problem then you reinstall the original and try the next link in the chain.

You can't do that with internal organs...
Click to expand...

I wouldn't bet that it hasn't been tried!
 
This may sound like a silly suggestion but do you have a spare key fob to try it out and see if it works?
 
Thrifty1 said:
Just out of curiosity what does the mchanic do with the new part he has ordered?
Click to expand...

Good question and to be honest I don't know if he is stuck with it or not. He probably can't return it to main dealer once it's been fitted to a car.

The mechanic has since admitted that there was nothing wrong with the lock at all but said that any mechanic, even an Audi dealer mechanic would have replaced it as a first stab at fixing the problem.
Apparently when tested there was a signal going to lock to actuate it but with no movement from the lock it was natural to assume the lock was faulty.

The problem has been identified as the window winder motor control unit...
Should a good mechanic have been able to identify this from the outset?

I suppose some garages would replace both parts and just hit me with a bill for both + labour and I'd be none the wiser!
Can anybody in the know tell me if this is what would happen at a main dealer?

......... still don't think I should pay for the lock by the way
 
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