Honda Accord Tourer - Am I being ripped off?

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Fri 23 Nov 2018 16:05
Honda Accord Tourer - Am I being ripped off? - Jacqui Dilley
I was staying with my Dad and took my car for an MOT near where he lives. It was abandoned due to the car overheating. I had a long journey to get home, but they said it would be fine as air would be blowing through as I drove. Half an hour into my journey the car overheated again and the Green flag mechanic said it was a problem with the thermostat and took it out, but the problem remained, so my car was taken home for me. My local mobile mechanic (£30) that looked at it said it just needed more coolant. It then seemed okay for a while. When it happened again, I called the same guy out (£30) who did a check with his computer thingy and said it was misfiring and he said it was probably the spark plugs and getting them changed should do the trick. He did a pressure test on the head gasket and said that was fine. So, following his advice I took it to a garage who diagnosed a problem with 2 coils so replaced them and the spark plugs and then did a full service and MOT (total £500ish) They checked the head gasket and said it was fine. A couple of weeks later I broke down again, the RAC said it was probably another coil and tested the head gasket and said it was ok. Took me to a garage who replaced the remaining 2 coils and a faulty clip on a hose that had been put on wrong and that was causing a leak. (£280). Then I had a call to say it was the head gasket which would cost another £1200! I told them it had been tested before but he just shrugged his shoulders and said they couldn’t tell until they had replaced the coils and got it running. The car is only worth about £2k so I will probably scrap it, but before I do, I just want to check that this all sounds reasonable, and they are not ripping me off for the £280 they say I still owe them. What do you think?
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Fri 23 Nov 2018 16:36
Honda Accord Tourer - Am I being ripped off? - SLO76
Without looking at the car it’s hard to say but it sounds like the origional overheating issue hasnt been diagnosed properly. Is the water and oil mixing? You’ll see a milky build up in the oil filler cap and possibly in the tank. It’s highly unusual on Honda petrol motors. The coil packs won’t cause it to overheat and are unrelated and you should’ve noticed it running rough on three cylinders.

It does sound like you’ve been taken for a ride here and you badly need a good and trustworthy mechanic to properly assess the car and if it’s viable or not.
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Fri 23 Nov 2018 17:23
Honda Accord Tourer - Am I being ripped off? - Jacqui Dilley
Thank you for your reply. Unfortunately it is at the garage 200 miles away so it’s not easy to check but do you think it can be the hg if that had been tested before? Also was it right for the last garage to replace coil packs without testing the hg?
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Fri 23 Nov 2018 20:17
Honda Accord Tourer - Am I being ripped off? - SLO76
It’s all a bit strange this one. Did you go to them explaining that it was overheating? Why did they replace the coil packs? Were there any other symptoms such as rough running, only running on three cylinders? I’m no mechanic but the coil packs have no relevance if it was just overheating but if the HG was blown it could run rough leading them to the wrong conclusion I suppose but you’d expect a half competent mechanic to notice.

It sounds daft that they would spend your money on servicing it and replacing coils if it has suffered a possible HGF. It’s also highly unusual on this engine - I’m assuming it’s petrol. But much depends on communication between you and the garage.

I certainly wouldn’t spend another penny on it without someone else taking a look. Out of curiosity what age and model of Accord are we talking about and what mileage has it done?
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Fri 23 Nov 2018 17:38
Honda Accord Tourer - Am I being ripped off? - John F

Sadly, the more incompetent the diagnostician, the more you pay for trial and error tinkering. I don't suppose any of the above call-outs, diagnostic tests and work done was overpriced, even if it was unnecessary. But it was pointless doing an MoT and 'full service' including stuff like brake fluid change as well as oil and filter before the car was repaired and running properly, because if the correct diagnosis was CHG failure you might decide to scrap it.

Lots of questions....how old? Mileage? How often did you check coolant and oil level? Were they OK before the long journey? Have you been having to top up coolant frequently? Was the misfire obvious, or did the tester just say it was misfiring when it wasn't? As for 'it'll be OK as air blowing through it'.......???! Did he think it was an old VW Beetle?

Edited by John F on 23/11/2018 at 17:39

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