Hi guys..
Wonder what your take on this would be and what the next step should be?
Some background.
In February, the radiator in my car went. I took it to a local radiator specialist to ask if it could be repaired, or whether I'd need a new one. The guy took one look at the radiator and said it was leaking from the plastic end tanks and could not be repaired, and would require replacement.
The local BMW specialist could not fit me in for several days, but the radiator specialist offered to do the work for me there and then, replacing the radiator. I was happy to accept.
I collected the car, drove away, job done.
But no. A week later, I checked the coolant level on the car. Empty. Coolant all over the engine undertray. Took the tray off, radiator leaking from the bottom corners. Took it straight back. He took the car for the day - I paid for insurance on another car - and I picked it up that afternoon. He said it was all fixed, the new radiator had developed a tiny hole and he had now replaced it for me. He apologised for the problems.
I drove away again. Over the next few weeks, I found myself topping up with coolant every couple of days. Surely not right. I took the plastic engine undertray off (Which was again flooded with coolant), and low and behold, coolant was dripping off the ends of the radiator. I went back again. He was apologetic, and offered again to have a look. I picked the car up again, just as they were finishing the work. A member of his staff had broken the plastic fan cowling with removing the radiator and replacing it so many times. But the guy seemed so friendly, I didn't say much of it.
He claimed it was totally fixed - same problem again, apparently. Brilliant. He said 'well there was pressure in the engine that was blowing up the radiators'. This seemed strange, as the M54B30 engine operates a pressurised cooling system anyway, with a vent system which vents excess pressure over 2 bar.
You can guess what happened next. Leaking, again.
Sick of the problems, I took the car to my local BMW specialist. They called up with a diagnosis.
The car required a new radiator, as it was leaking from the end tanks. I explained the situation and said I'd previously had 3 radiators fitted to cure this problem. What the guy said next shocked me.
I was told the radiator in my car was not new. It was at least 2 years old - infact, it had a build date of 2005 stamped on it. It was also a genuine BMW part. The guy suggested that, perhaps, it was the radiator in the car from before, or a used one from somewhere. He also said it looked like it had been recored at some point. I authorised replacement of the radiator. Whilst they were doing that, I also had them replace the thermostat as well as they said it was prudent to do it and they were having a few problems bleeding the system.
They did this work about 3-4k miles ago. Since then, the car has been absolutely perfect. No issues, no strange holes appearing, no leaking from the end tank. Just a simple, straightforward, radiator replacement.
They gave me the radiator they took out the car. It doesnt look new, it looks a bit old. It also appears to have been bashed lots at the end, perhaps in an attempt to reseal the radiator with the plastic end tanks, I dont know. It's clearly new a nearly new radiator from the likes of GSF or any of the other pattern part suppliers.
So I went back to the original place to request a refund. He refused, saying that my car had 'blown up his radiators'. I then pointed out that the car was now perfectly functioning with no issues at all. I showed him the invoice from the other garage detailing that they had removed what appeared to be a used radiator. He spotted the Thermostat replacement and then said 'Thats the problem, it was the Thermostat all along, blowing the radiators'. He refused to pay. He refused to address my point that despite 3 attempts at repairing the car, he had failed.
So, yesterday I sent a recorded delivery letter, outlining the situation, requesting a refund of the radiator, labour, 2 days insurance on the alternative car, and the cost of replacing the fan cowling. Basically, the costs I had incurred as a result of his faliure to do the work and not a penny more.
He refused to fund anything but the cost of the radiator part and the cost of a new fan cowling. He refused to refund any labour costs. He would only make any refund if we gave him the old radiator back. He stuck to his story that my thermostat blew up his radiators. I'd have been happy to hand over the old radiator had he refunded my money, and paid for the fan cowling replacement in full, but as he would only refund the parts costs, we parted company.
To this day he denies the fact he put a used radiator in the car. I suspect, but of course never actually said this to him as I didnt want to degenerate into an arguement, that the radiator I have is the cars original radiator, which he has at every occasion attempted to repair. I can, however, NOT prove this.
What do I do now? I suspect my next stop is small claims. Do I have a case? Surely there is no way a thermostat can blow radiators within a mile? (Second leak was visible less than a mile after I arrived home from picking the car up). Is he trying it on?
What is the Small Claims Court like in cases like this, where he is citing technical issues as a reason for no refund?
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