Audi A3 - Feel I have been ripped off - what can I do?

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Tue 7 Jul 2015 10:53
Audi A3 - Feel I have been ripped off - what can I do? - AudiCat

5 days ago, while shutting the boot something got caught and the 2 little number plate lights fell out.

Took my car in for an MOT and pointed this out and asked if they could put them back before testing as I knew it would fail.

They did the test anyway and failed it becasue of the lights - they asked me to bring it back the following week becasue the lights wouldn't work and they needed more time.

Before bringing it back I had a quick google to see if there was anythoing I could do (to save money and time) and I found a few posts of people saying that when the lights are replaced the replacemenets will not work unless the error code is reset and a few stories of garages not knowing this and taking hours to fix it. So I was admittedly a bit cautious to start with.

When taking the car back to the garage I relayed this information to them just in case it was relevent.

Fast forward a week and I picked the car up and was charged £130, which I was not happy about.

The invoice states:

Investigate number plate lights, remove tailgate trim, test wiring from liught to hinge, all OK. Refitted lamps but still didn't work. Need to investigate wiring back to control unit.

Removed underneath dashboard on the offside and found control unit source wire to rear lights, fed with 12v and lights worked. check out plug tightened the terminal now all works.

I know little about cars - I was a little aprehensive about this after reading about the lights needing to be reset - and I think it seems a bit coincidental that these were not working and also happened to fall out.

I wonder if anyone with more knowledge could share their thoughts as to whether this is fair? Not sure what I can do anyway - but before I leave the garage a negative review I'd like to know.

Edited by AudiCat on 07/07/2015 at 10:57

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Tue 7 Jul 2015 12:06
Audi A3 - Feel I have been ripped off - what can I do? - RobJP

So do you know if the lights were actually working before they initially fell out ?

Because if they weren't, then the garage has fixed a electrical fault AND an installation fault for you, and thast price seems pretty reasonable.

If reading up online makes you an expert, then why did you need to take it into a garage to get it fixed ?

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Tue 7 Jul 2015 12:58
Audi A3 - Feel I have been ripped off - what can I do? - AudiCat

If I felt I was an expert I wouldn't have sought opinion from Honest John susers now would I?

Clever lad.

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Tue 7 Jul 2015 13:12
Audi A3 - Feel I have been ripped off - what can I do? - RobJP

If I felt I was an expert I wouldn't have sought opinion from Honest John susers now would I?

Clever lad.

So browsing around on the internet and seeing other people's problems with their cars does make you expert enough to question what a garage is doing, but not expert enough that you have to seek advice form another part of the internet ?

Yup, that makes perfect sense.

Oh, and you didn't even bother answering the question that I asked you on the first line of my reply.

Clever lad ?

Edited by RobJP on 07/07/2015 at 13:13

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Tue 7 Jul 2015 13:46
Audi A3 - Feel I have been ripped off - what can I do? - Avant

Let's stick to answering the OP's question.

Any decent garage, having put the lights back into position, would check to see that they worked, without the customer having to take the car back again. This is clearly not a 'decent garage'.

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Tue 7 Jul 2015 14:10
Audi A3 - Feel I have been ripped off - what can I do? - RobJP

Avant, the OP states that they did put the lights back in, found they didn't work, and then investigated further and fixed the fault - just as a 'decent garage' would do !

As the OP says :

The invoice states:

Investigate number plate lights, remove tailgate trim, test wiring from liught to hinge, all OK. Refitted lamps but still didn't work. Need to investigate wiring back to control unit.

Removed underneath dashboard on the offside and found control unit source wire to rear lights, fed with 12v and lights worked. check out plug tightened the terminal now all works

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Tue 7 Jul 2015 14:42
Audi A3 - Feel I have been ripped off - what can I do? - Bolt

I suspect it was not repaired before mot in case it failed on other things, that way all repairs needed would be done all at once, thats how most garages work

I think price was fair

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Tue 7 Jul 2015 17:21
Audi A3 - Feel I have been ripped off - what can I do? - skidpan

If you leave any car at a garage and let them fix it without asking for a quote/estimate before allowing them to proceed you are leaving yourself wide open to being ripped off.

But in your case what was the option, no fix no MOT.

Our local MOT station has a yard full of MOT failures awaiting collection by their owners. All the usual sob stories which he ignores. After a certain period he informs them that if they are not collected by a certain date the cars will be sold, storage charges deducted at £££'s a week and any residue returned to the owner. Surprisingly very few actually collect. The world is full of idiots and he sees them year after year.

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Wed 8 Jul 2015 14:52
Audi A3 - Feel I have been ripped off - what can I do? - Gibbo_Wirral

To me I'd be questioning the amount of time taken and their hourly rate. The job in question could have been tackled in an hour or less, but I guess it all depends on how long it takes to take off the panels in question.

But, again, if the person isn't knowledgable about how to remove the panels and takes twice the usual time, should you have to pay for his lack of knowledge? I'd say no, but its what you have to expect if you go to a fix-anything garage rather than someone who specialises in just one marque and knows it inside out.

I had a similar problem a few years ago with my reverse light not working, just before my MOT. Took it to an autoelectrician who did the same kind of thing, but ran a fresh wire from the ECU to the rear light cluster and that was £45.

Edited by Gibbo_Wirral on 08/07/2015 at 14:53

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