What would you pay
I recently asked my local garage to carry out the usual annual MOT and also a full service on my 1997 Vauxhall Astra Merit 1.7TD van with 117596 on the clock.
On completion, when I drove the van I noticed that after a few miles that the power steering seemed to momentarily fail as though the front wheels were in a rut. After approx 8 miles I noticed that this was getting worse so I decided to look under the bonnet and was amazed by what I saw. There were signs of oil spillage around the air filter and the left hand side of the rocker cover and it was evident that it had spilt down onto the alternator and power steering belts, which in my mind was causing the power steering belt to slip. I decided that I should get the van back to the garage right away, but on returning I heard a load bang and clattering coming from the engine and it came to an abrupt stop. On further inspection I found that the two v belts seem to have vanished.
I then phoned the garage that did the service and demand that they came to my rescue, which they did and towed me back to their garage. They assured me that they would fix the problem and that the van would be ready next morning. The next morning they phoned to inform me that the problem was that the cam belt had snapped and nudged off the alternator and power steering belts, which I found odd as the cam belt is completely enclosed and that the power steering belt was slipping before the cam belt snapped? They informed me that the cam belt was way past its renewal date but when I told them that I had an invoice from them stating that they had changed and renewed the cam belt and v belts the last time they serviced the van 6 years ago with 10587 miles on the clock , roughly 12000 miles ago they went quiet. When I visited the garage to check the progress I was informed that they would also need to replace 8 cam rockers, I also noticed that the broken cam belt was saturated in oil. However, the van is now back and in full working order.
I have now received an invoice for, Two drive belts, one cam belt kit and 8 cam rockers totalling £293.15p inc V A T.
How much of this invoice do you think I should pay.
spraggo
I recently asked my local garage to carry out the usual annual MOT and also a full service on my 1997 Vauxhall Astra Merit 1.7TD van with 117596 on the clock.
On completion, when I drove the van I noticed that after a few miles that the power steering seemed to momentarily fail as though the front wheels were in a rut. After approx 8 miles I noticed that this was getting worse so I decided to look under the bonnet and was amazed by what I saw. There were signs of oil spillage around the air filter and the left hand side of the rocker cover and it was evident that it had spilt down onto the alternator and power steering belts, which in my mind was causing the power steering belt to slip. I decided that I should get the van back to the garage right away, but on returning I heard a load bang and clattering coming from the engine and it came to an abrupt stop. On further inspection I found that the two v belts seem to have vanished.
I then phoned the garage that did the service and demand that they came to my rescue, which they did and towed me back to their garage. They assured me that they would fix the problem and that the van would be ready next morning. The next morning they phoned to inform me that the problem was that the cam belt had snapped and nudged off the alternator and power steering belts, which I found odd as the cam belt is completely enclosed and that the power steering belt was slipping before the cam belt snapped? They informed me that the cam belt was way past its renewal date but when I told them that I had an invoice from them stating that they had changed and renewed the cam belt and v belts the last time they serviced the van 6 years ago with 10587 miles on the clock , roughly 12000 miles ago they went quiet. When I visited the garage to check the progress I was informed that they would also need to replace 8 cam rockers, I also noticed that the broken cam belt was saturated in oil. However, the van is now back and in full working order.
I have now received an invoice for, Two drive belts, one cam belt kit and 8 cam rockers totalling £293.15p inc V A T.
How much of this invoice do you think I should pay.
spraggo