Hi everyone, just looking for a bit of advice really. I took my coupe in to Motormech yesterday morning to have the cambelt/tensioners/waterpump replaced, and to have a new thermostat and a new front drivers side spring (got a call from motormech after i left to walk around the bullring to advise it needed replacing). The work was all done by 12.30pm which i thought was quick and impressive and i could collect the car. In total the bill came to £630, ouch! However, getting back into my car, i noticed a big wad of chewing gum stuck to my drivers floor mat that i still havent managed to get off fully, i didnt mention it to paul as im not that assertive to be honest with you so just drove it home. I noticed that while the temps were higher than before the 'stat was replaced, once fully warm it was nowhere near the 80c that my na used to reach, it goes to around the 65/70c mark, does this indicate that the temp sensors also need replacing or has the thermostat not been fitted correctly? Finally upon cleaning my car, i noticed that a plastic holder has been broken off by the coolant tank, i assume its the one that holds the overflow tube and also my front drivers side wheelarch has been broken/snapped and hastily repaired with what appears to be some gold screws? I have uploaded some pics of it. After hearing rave reviews about motormech on the forum, im quite disappointed and peed off that after having spent £630 my car has come back cosmetically damaged and he didnt even have the decency to let me know this had occured. Should i go to a bodyshop and ask the for a quote and then for him to pay me the costs or give him a call and ask him if he will replace it for me and pay the costs? I was impressed with the speed and the fact that he carried out a health check at same time but unhappy with the damage caused I think in future i might just stick to my local garage or solo italia for servicing from now on....

here are the pics:

http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp252/tommy_coop22/SPM_A0711.jpg
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp252/tommy_coop22/SPM_A0710.jpg
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp252/tommy_coop22/SPM_A0709.jpg
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp252/tommy_coop22/SPM_A0708.jpg

Give Paul a call tomorrow Tom, I'm sure he'll sort anything that you're not happy with and advice on the temperatures.

Agree, and quite harsh to post before MM has had a chance to respond to you IMHO

As for the thermostat, the 20VT gauges are notorious for under reading, a new temp sensor will make no difference. My gauges read the same as yours but my water temps are around 83 according to the ECU temp sensor.

I agree with the above - give Paul a call first thing on Monday - I think you'll be pleasantly surprised at his willingness to put right anything that you're not satisfied with

Just for your information, the inner wheelarches are held in with steel self-tapping bolts - they are almost always corroded, so Paul replaces them with new ones, rather than trying to re-fit the old bolts. However, from your pictures, it looks like the wheelarch liner is partly split and that Paul has secured it.

Also, you can't fit a thermostat wrongly - there's only one way it can be fitted. If your temps are still very low, its possible that the temp sender is faulty. Most cars have at least a ten degree difference between the gauge sender (on the cylinder head) and the ECU sender (on the thermostat body)

in 4 years of using motormech i've never seen any of them chewing gum! maybe you picked that up on your shoe before you left, tom?

also in 4 years of taking coupes there i've never known or seen any botched jobs, and i've spent a LOT of time watching them work (possibly a bit less than nigel ).

certainly, no-one would claim they're 100% perfect but they come damn close. having met you tom i know you're not a troublemaker or anything, so dont be put off ringing them and discussing this with paul - i know if he agrees with you he'll put it right to your satisfaction...

Personally, I would have held back on this 'open forum' and discussed the issue direct the guys at MotorMech. However frustrating it maybe it could be construed as libel, which no one wants.

I used used them last week for some work on my brake system and found them very approachable and full of advice.

Can't comment on the technical elements, but from experience of previous FIATs, plastic components become very brittle and split. (and I've had seven previous!)

cheers

Its a good point - I can't ever remember seeing Paul, John, Mark or Svet ever chewing gum

Agree you need to give them a call.

Motormech is the only place I trust with my coupe, plus they are very cheap for a tight wad like me!

lets not shoot the lad down for having a opinion hey? I have meet Tommy on a number of occasions and he isn't the type of lad to complain when its unjust. To be honest, he must be fuming as Tommy wouldn't say boo to a ghost.

we all know and like MM, but if some one has a honest opinion of some one and it appears to be just, give him the good grace of coming forward and saying something.

I have had my car in at a number of garages, and as you all know, I wave the CC flag. I think it conmen decency if there has been a issue, a problem during the repair or any kind of damage, that your told about it before you had over your readys, 600 quid is a lot of money.

Were not talking about a back street garage at mates rates we all expect a high level of service for our cars.

I remember when joe was working on the sci for me doing the HG, he called up in a massive panic because he noticed a tiny dent on a wing he had taken off. As it happens it was there already, but that's a example of the service I, and others expect.

As above, give mm the chance to correct the mistake and i'm confident it will be resolved to every ones satisfaction.

but lets not take tommy to bits for giving a honest descriptive opinion

I do not see anyone taking "Tommy to Bits". We are all suggesting he takes it up with MM and then see what they say first. If he is unhappy then by all means make a post.

Just advice really, do not see any malice

it was your first post i was picking a little fault with, every one else subsequent posts have been well balanced and fair to both sides

no, its not harsh at all to come on here and post before the issue was resolved. it came across to be as you were chastising him for giving a honest opinion about a experience he had had. i'm disregarding the thermostat here, and the gum. but it would have been nice just to be taken to one side and told, right, well we had a little bit of a problem with such and such, and this is what we did. instead of saying nothing.
no one on here can say they would feel any different.

mistakes are made every day by every one. its how people deal with them that's important in my opinion

hope you get it sorted tommy, i know that coupe is the love of your life

It is harsh! If I have a grip with someone I sort it with them first, there may be reasons. It is just common decency to give another person a chance to respond and put things right first

As you say mistakes are made every day, but let that person have the chance to rectify their mistake surely

I should have known i'd get this kind of response off this forum as you all think Motormech is the 'holy grail', I agree that they're a nice bunch down there and he was very quick at getting all the work done. I made a post as i was just wondering what you guys would do in my position, what i wasnt expecting was to get this sort of reply. I'll be honest with you, im not the most confident person in the world so was just seeking advice as you guys really love your coupes too and im sure you'd be peed off and disappointed after paying £630. The chewing gum was not there before but possibly could of come off my shoe, agreed, the temps may be under-reading again agreed, but the fact remains he has caused damage to my wheelarch and snapped something under my bonnet, the damage isnt too bad just catches your eye slightly but its the principle, he didnt have the decency to let me know, if he'd told me id either have asked him to fix it for me, but he just hoped i wouldnt notice which makes me question his honesty. I will give him a call tomorrow and try to get the issues resolved but im a bit shocked at the response on here, sometimes i think people need to get their blinkers off and realise that as good as motormech or certain garages may be, they're still a business and are after your cash.

Nigel/Wheatcroft - The wheelarch liner was NOT split before, i clean the car weekly and would have noticed this, i noticed it straight away when i got the car back and cleaned it after having all that work done on it

Tommy

For what it is worth I have never used Motormech.

"I should have know I'd get this response" why?, Regardless of the garage/person in question, surely the best way is to approach them first. There are no "Holy grails", the reputation of the specialists is for all to see, agree they need our business, but the bad ones soon gain an uneviable reputation.

What is important is some balance. Check with MM re the damage. If you are not satisfied with their response then post again, it is in our interest.

And for what it is worth i would be peeved too, £630 is a lot, and about what I need to send on mine in the next month or so


It is just best to keep disputes (of all types) private until you feel they have not been resolved.

I understand fully what you're saying bockers but the fact remains that they have caused slight damage to my car that wasn't there before and didn't have the decency to let me know about it. If he'd said 'listen mate, after doing work to your car, we've accidentally damaged the wheel-arch liner/plastic holder under the bonnet, sorry about this, do you want us to fix it or take a look at it and see if it bothers you' then that would have been the right thing to do but he didn't so this kind of thing DOES need to be mentioned on the forum so that others can check their car over before leaving motormech. I will give him a call and see if i can get it sorted with him

A bit off topic but wd40 will get the chewing gum off.

Or an icecube....

oh the irony!

Tom,

Sorry to hear of your issues.
The damage to the wheel arch liner was there when we recieved the car, it was caused by damage to the fixed towing eye which had pushed the undertray backwards and split the arch liner. It had also pulled the arch liner off it's fixings which we were unable to re-use.
I repositioned the towing eye, refitted the undertray as it should be and replaced the liner fixings so that it was as secure as possible without replacing it.
This the sort of thing we would do as a matter of coarse at no cost and did not feel it needed mentioning.
Please give me a call and I will help with your other issues.

Cheers
Paul

Hi,

Thanks for the tip regarding the wd40/ice lol, finally got rid of the damn stuff. Paul, thanks for getting back to me, but the damage was definitely not there before, I clean the car on a weekly basis and im absolutely certain it was not there before as i always make a point to clean under the wheelarches whilst cleaning the alloys, im the sort of person that would have noticed this straight away and would have asked you to fix it for me while the car was having all the jobs done to it. I might just leave the car as it is and not let it bother me as its an old car at the end of the day but im trying to make it a 'minter', sorting out the doors, refurbing the fuel cap and this wasnt what i expected after paying that sort of money. Anyway, I will try and source a new wheel arch liner through yourself or country cruising/ebay, otherwise im happy with the mechanical work thats been carried out.

Thanks,

Tom

Top marks on the weekly clean, I wish I had your dedication!.
However I can see logic and reason to both sides on this issue.
Maybe (or maybe not, I concur) the altered liner has only manifested its visibilty once the towing eye repair, and re-alignment of panels was done?. Your observations could very well be genuine, but the initial cause may have been something a long time ago?. I dont know.
The cleaning and realigning of items in many trades, even electronics, does on occasion expose older probs and you sometimes wish that you never touched it to start with!.
All the best to both parties.

Hi,

I'm certain as a person can be that the damage wasnt there before, its obv been caused by removing the panel to get at the cambelt and some kind of holder has been broken off under the bonnet as well, anyway, i dont want to turn this into some kind of slanging match as im not like that. I'll just have to leave it as it is really, im unhappy but ill just try to source a new one if it bothers me enough. This is my last contribrution to this thread as ive had enough of it tbh.

Tom