ranger Posted April 7, 2003 Report Share Posted April 7, 2003 I am in dispute with a garage at the moment regards the front suspension springs on a second hand car my daughter bought, one of the front suspension springs was needing replaced and they told us they would put a new one on they also told us that they would renew the other one as it was best to renew both, the problem is they renewed them with second hand springs and not new ones as they said they would (in fact it took them a week to sort this problem and they said it was because the wrong springs had been sent)obviously my daughter complained about this and they said they would renew the side where the original spring was needing replaced,but not the other, but my argument is, that springs should be replaced in pairs, any car mechanics out there with any advice Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Damo Posted April 7, 2003 Report Share Posted April 7, 2003 PAAAAUUUUULLLL!! :lol: Pauls ya man Ranger......oo-er :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L3@©H¥ ²°°³ Posted April 7, 2003 Report Share Posted April 7, 2003 :o Buy a new car? :o Skoda's are nice :D only fooling with ya i not got a clue :rolleyes: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ranger Posted April 7, 2003 Author Report Share Posted April 7, 2003 I have a new car, unfortunately I am not in the financial bracket where I can afford to by my daughter a new car as well :( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Posted April 8, 2003 Report Share Posted April 8, 2003 :o passing second hand parts off as new :huh: Whenever I have come across a snapped road spring I have never replaced them in pairs as theres no real need to. Unless there was a difference in hight caused by a weak spring which I have never come across.If the garage said they would use new springs for the job then that is what they must do.Any thoughts on this Mark2? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark2 Posted April 8, 2003 Report Share Posted April 8, 2003 Unless requested we don't renew both springs in the case of a broken one, if however there is a noticeable difference in ride height (side to side) the second spring gets changed. Not often had to do this tho.I'm assuming the seller/dealer of the car is footing the bill for replacing the springs. The garage doing the work is only an agent for the seller/dealer unless it is the same company.If however you are being charged for the work and have been told it is a new spring, a new spring must be fitted.perhaps Smiffy99 can add any further thoughts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark2 Posted April 8, 2003 Report Share Posted April 8, 2003 Just to add to the above, at our workshop we don't sell cars but MOT vehicles for a few car sales companies.IMHOThe one man band/bomb site car dealers are the ones we have to watch closely.Have seen new / replacement tyres fitted to a vehicle for retest, issued a pass certificate, only to see the vehicle a day later with the old tyres back on :angry: :angry:Maybe a trip to a MOT station would put your mind at rest regarding the roadworthiness aspect of the vehicle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ranger Posted April 8, 2003 Author Report Share Posted April 8, 2003 Cheers for the replies guys, It is actually a main Volkswagen dealer ( Glasgow) The following is the sequence of events. My daughter bought the car week past on Saturday, A 2000 registered Volkswagen Polo, Verve agreed to polish out some small scratches etc. and that the car would have a full years MOT (they do their own MOT's), they stated it would be ready Monday evening.On the Monday we received a phone call from the salesman saying that a spring had to be replaced and that a new one had to be fitted but that the car would be ready Tuesday.On the Tuesday I went over to collect the car but was told that they thought it was best to renew the other spring as well, but they had to wait on the parts coming in, we agreed that we would wait until Thursday.On the Thursday we received another phone call saying not to come over and collect the car as the wrong springs had been sent in, it would now have to be Friday we collected the car, needless to say when I went over on the Friday the car was not ready, I was told it was a three and a half hour job to change the springs and they had not long come in, that it would now be Saturday to collect the car.On the Saturday I was at the football so my daughter and her boyfriend went over to pick the car up, none of the scratches were polished out and the car was filthy on the outside as well as the inside (on the inside, machanics dirty hand prints on the dash, radio, gear stick etc.) but the main thing was the springs, my daughter boyfriend looked closer at the car and noticed that it wasn't new springs on the front and pointed this out to the salesman who insisted they were, after a bit of arguing about the general state of the car and the springs, the car the salesman said they could take the car and could come back Monday when the service manager was in.On the Monday they went over again, where the salesman still insisted they were new springs, they then spoke to the service manager, who admitted they had put on second hand springs from another Polo, after a bit of arguing they say they will put on a new one where the original one was broken but not the other one as there is no need to, obviously we are arguing that if the two original springs needed changed then they should have been fitted with new parts and not second hand.The best laugh is, on their web page part of their opening statement reads:"Welcome to ****** Glasgow, founded on the basis of honesty, Integrity, and professionalism"unfortunately I don't think we've seen this part of them yetNO NAMES PLEASE FOLKS AS WE DO NOT WANT TO BE HIT FOR A LIABLE SUIT Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madboy33 Posted April 8, 2003 Report Share Posted April 8, 2003 As an insurance assessorThe Law states that if a part is defective and has to be replaced then the garage is only liable for the DAMAGED item.However, you could ask them to replace the other spring at your expense and i am sure that they would pay for the labour. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ranger Posted April 8, 2003 Author Report Share Posted April 8, 2003 Madboy 33, the dealer was the one that told us that the two springs had to be changed and they have changed them, but with two second hand springs and not new one as they stated they were doing, I don't know too much about the ins and outs of a car, but what of the history of the donor car has it been abused or been involved in a crash, could the springs of that car have been weakened in a crash that is not immediately noticeable, these are the questions I have to ask. I honestly can't belive that a Main Volkswagen dealer operates in this way, putting second hand parts on such a important, comfort and safety concious part of a car, one of the reasons we went to a main dealer was to try and avoid this sort of thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madboy33 Posted April 8, 2003 Report Share Posted April 8, 2003 I do NOT condone there action eitherPutting a second hand spring on "could be lethal" as you have said you do not know the history of the "donor vehicle"madboy33 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Posted April 8, 2003 Report Share Posted April 8, 2003 Ranger - do yourself a favor and throw the deal back in there faces, refuse to take delivery of the car and pay no money, simply walk away. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark2 Posted April 8, 2003 Report Share Posted April 8, 2003 In this case I think I agree with Paul, it's definitely out of line for a main dealer to operate like this.What would happen in the case of a warranty claim in the future, would you get the runaround ?How many parts are already second hand ? :( :( If you don't get satisfaction, leave, walk away if possible. They want your business. <_> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monkey Posted April 8, 2003 Report Share Posted April 8, 2003 i will ask my brother when he gets in he is a mechanic ;) but i dont know any thing :rolleyes: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Cookie Posted April 8, 2003 Report Share Posted April 8, 2003 Just a couple of thoughts on this.One broken front spring, car about three years old. Personally I would accept just the new spring.If the car has a high mileage then all the suspension should have worn evenly, so two new ones on the front could put the car out of balance. e.g. riding high on the front which in turn could alter the aerodynamics. So maybe two used ones could be prefferable.So if you are still not happy either1. Refuse the car and go elsewhere.or 2. If you have accepted the car then complain like mad to Volkeswagen Head Office, if necessary translate into German, via Google - languages, and send to their main office in Germany.Hang on, someone here lives in Germany and no doubt speaks German and maybe could translate for you. I can't for the life of me remember who it is. Where are you? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boris Posted April 8, 2003 Report Share Posted April 8, 2003 It's Tony Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Cookie Posted April 9, 2003 Report Share Posted April 9, 2003 It's TonyDOH! 'Cause it is, had a long boring shift today. :( Where's Tony?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boris Posted April 9, 2003 Report Share Posted April 9, 2003 Where's Tony??IN GERMANY cookie :D :D :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ranger Posted April 16, 2003 Author Report Share Posted April 16, 2003 Sorry for not letting you know how this was progressing earlier, lots of work and selling my flat and looking for a new house certainly takes it's toll.My daughter want's to keep the car but she went to the dealer and told them she wanted the springs changed, they agreed to change the one that had originally broken to a new one, but refused to change the other, saying that this wasn't a second hand one but the original one that was on the car (I wish they would make up their mind) she agreed reluctantly to this. Out of curiosity I emailed their Wishaw branch asking for their recomendation and price for the problem this car had, and guess what, the recommended that both springs should be renewed. I have written a letter to the director of the firm stating how dissapointed I have been with their service and conduct through this whole thing, will probably also send a copy to Volkswagen, if I get a reply, i'll let you know Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted April 16, 2003 Report Share Posted April 16, 2003 HiI have only just read this thread.If you need anything translated send me it, and i will see what i can do.Whatever you do DO NOT use the free on-line translators they are cr@p.They only translate word for word, and it can not translate the context of the sentence.Here is an example from some text of my websiteWenn Sie gerne ein Sponsor für den Freiburg Nomads Cricketverein werden möchten, dann füllen Sie bitte das folgende Formular aus. Vielen Dank!This is it after the translationIf you become gladly a sponsor för the Freiburg Nomads Cricketverein möchten, then you füllen please the following form out. Thank you! This is the original English textIf you are interested in becoming a sponsor of the Freiburg Nomads Cricket ClubPlease fill out the Form Below.Thank You!Not too good is it?? the above was done using the Bablefish TranslatorAll the bestTony Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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