Taking your car to the garage for a service or repair is never fun. It's inconvenient, time consuming and quite often, costly.
It can also be a source of confusion as many non-petrolheads feel out of their comfort zone talking about a machine they may drive, but not know the mechanics of.
Without the same knowledge level as the garage, or full knowledge of your legal rights, it's easy to feel on the back foot and that you are ripe to be ripped off.
But a basic understanding of the law and knowing the key dos and don'ts will help you get ahead.
Here's what you need to know before taking your car in for its next repair or service...
Express terms: Tell the garage what you want and stipulate a timeline
Before you get any work done tell the garage what you want. These instructions are called 'express terms'.
Whenever possible put these express terms in writing. It makes it much easier if there's a later dispute or query over work.
You can more generally say an overarching wish such as; 'the car's not starting properly and it's cutting out when it does run; please can you fix this for me'.
But being as specific as possible and relating the instructions to a particular fault (or faults) that need fixing is best.
For example, this could be 'fit new spark plugs'
Better yet if you can specify the brand required for different parts, but it's not a necessity. You can also stipulate if you're happy with good condition second hand parts or not.
The more general you are with the repairs – giving authorisation to carry out whatever's necessary - the harder it will be to dispute later.
If you need your car back for a particular date or time then make that clear, but give the garage a decent amount of time to get the work done.
Implied terms: What should be a given
'Implied terms' are the background assumptions that repairs should be carried out with care, skill and within a reasonable period of time.
Parts should be good quality and well-fitted and match the description given.
These are your base legal rights we'll come to later.
Ask for a written quote
Don't commit without getting a written quote – that's the hard rule.
The quote should cover roughly how much it will cost to fix your car and the timeline.
If the garage doesn't volunteer this then make sure you request it before agreeing for work to commence.
You can also set a written spend limit with the garage, which they cannot exceed without contacting you first and getting your authorisation.
Sometimes the garage can only give an initial estimate to look over the car and access what needs to be done.
Don't expect this to be done for free but make sure they ring or email you once they've diagnosed the issue and get your permission to continue work as per the updated estimated.
Get multiple quotes
Like when you're getting building work or plumbing work done, multiple quotes is the smart way to go when your car needs repairing.
Hourly labour rates vary, as do business overheads and the price of parts, so different garages will quote different amounts.
Ask the garage what hourly rate they charge – don't be British about it!
Go to a few different garages to gauge a fair price and then decide based on price. Or, if there's not much in it, the deciding factor might be reputation or specialist skillsets offered.
How binding is a quote?
A quote is usually only an estimation of the price and therefore isn't binding. You could end up paying a bit more or if you're lucky a bit less, but it should be roughly what was stated.
Sometimes you can it priced exactly and contracted firmly, but this is pretty rare and usually for very particular work.
No quote? What's a reasonable price?
If you don't get a quote, then a garage is legally within its rights to charge you a 'reasonable' price for any and all work that's completed to a good standard.
The law of the land: your base rights to be aware of
As a customer taking your car in to be serviced or repaired, you are protected in law by your consumer rights.
Overarchingly these include:
Authorisation:
Delays
How long is a piece of string?
Car repair delays are pretty commonplace because there are so many variables.
From previously unseen faults to parts shortages there are quite a few reasons why motors can take their sweet time to be fixed.
However, if you've set a time period and the garage is way off then you have options:
Disputing work and whether you get your car back
If you aren't satisfied with the repairs carried out, then start by talking to the garage about this.
Legal proceedings are costly, time consuming and difficult so always a last resort.
You can also get another garage to examine it.
If the garage isn't playing ball, then you can see if they belong to a trade association and if so, ask the association for help.
The garage has the right to keep your car until they've been paid for all the work done.
Unless you are going through legal proceedings, then you will need to pay the bill but write on the garage's copy 'paid under protest'. This lets you get your car back but continue to challenge the garage.
In this case you can give written notice to the garage that you intend to take your car to other garages to get quotes for fixing the faults, and will be charging the additional cost back to the garage at fault.
If you've taken your car back and paid only to have spotted new problems or faults, the garage is liable, but you'll have to prove that it's a related issue caused by the garage.
Sadly it could just be a coincidence.
Arbitration and going to court – the last resort
Hopefully it doesn't come to this but, if all else fails, then you can either go through the trade association and use arbitration or take the garage to court.
Most trade associations offer a low-cost arbitration service which brings in an outside investigator to rule in favour of either the garage or car owner.
There are a few snags with this method: the garage must agree to it, the decision's binding so you can't dispute it later and you don't get the fee back if you lose.
If you decide to go to court, then you don't need a solicitor for claims under £3,000 and can go through Small Claims Court.
If the repair bill is more than £3,000 then you will need a solicitor to advise you.
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