If you want absolute guarantees, when you take in a car, that replacing part X WILL fix it, then I'd suggest you are living in cloud cookoo land, especially with a 10 year old car.

It looks to me that the failed thermostat and water pump probably led to the CHG failure. The garage looked at the car, found those parts had failed, and, trying to keep YOUR costs down, replaced those parts. They can't reasonably be expected to have 20:20 foresight.

If they'd carried out a sniff test, and found that the CHG was fine, they'd be presenting you with a bill for un-needed diagnostic work. Would you be complaining about it if that was the case too ?

I just hope now that the problem is solved and I don't have to keep ferrying the wife around to various Next shops now - she can go on her own.

Now that i have every sympathy with.

I'm very lucky in that dept, SWMBO hates shopping as much as me, but as we've touched on the subject can someone answer me a question please.

Some chaps i know have to undertake long journeys circa 100 plus miles, often on Saturdays, to the depths of hell, otherwise known as retail parks, their wives then drag them around identical shops selling identical Chinese and Indian made junk to the ones in their home or nearest town...whats that all about? why do they need to do this?

DTAL : glad to see that the garage has done right by on this. Excellent of them.

HJ does have a 'Garage reviews' section, and obviously the more who provide their experiences, the better.

As to being dragged around the shops ... well, that's another thread entirely ! I've got the dreaded visit around Chester on Saturday.

Feels like the walk to the gallows ....