Getting garage to fix intermittant fault

Honest John Back Room » Motoring discussion
What is life like with your car? Let us know and win £500 in John Lewis vouchers | No thanks
View Threaded
Sun 16 Jul 2006 17:18
Getting garage to fix intermittant fault - J1mbo
Hi, got my 8 month old car booked in for some bits, two of them are intermittant. Like, its all fine for maybe a week or two then the faults might appear once or twice, then could be ok for a week or so, etc...

I have given the garge as much info as I can, but I don't want them to phone me up at the end of the day to say they could'nt fine anything wrong. When they test for the fault i doubt it will "play up" but its happening enough for me to book a day off work and travel 30miles to take the car in.

So, what can I expect the garage to do? Should they start to replace likely components or could they refuse to do anything until they've seen the faults happen? They car electrical faults and we all know ho "glitchy" car electrics can be!

Cheers.
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Sun 16 Jul 2006 18:19
Getting garage to fix intermittant fault - Dave N
What would you like them to do?

If the fault doesn't occur when it's with them, and it hasn't set a code, then unless they're clairvoyant they can't fix it.
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Sun 16 Jul 2006 18:26
Getting garage to fix intermittant fault - wotspur
What car is it??
Have you looked at both "car-by-car breakdown" and via "Forum search" to see what others have mentioned about their similar car, and if they've experienced similar faults, after all your dealer may not have come acrosss this problem before and H/O generally try and deny any fault with their motors.
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Sun 16 Jul 2006 19:48
Getting garage to fix intermittant fault - buzbee
What are the faults? Could a movie camera be used to film the behavior? Will the faults shown up when they read the fault codes?
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Sun 16 Jul 2006 20:37
Getting garage to fix intermittant fault - Stuartli
My best mate owns an independent audio/visual/appliances outlet and they get quite a few examples of intermittent faults.

The equipment concerned is subjected to a "soak" test in the work shop for as long as it takes in an effort to recreate the problem.

I don't know if this would be applicable in the case of cars for such intermittent faults but, as already pointed out earlier, unless the garage staff manage to replicate the problem(s) it would be very difficult to find a cure.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Sun 16 Jul 2006 20:42
Getting garage to fix intermittant fault - Altea Ego
They can fix it first time, you wouldnt like the cost tho as they would just throw a long list of parts (expensive parts) at it.
------------------------------
TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Sun 16 Jul 2006 20:47
Getting garage to fix intermittant fault - bell boy
when i used to do general car repairs i used to "soak test" cars where customers had particularly bad manners sometimes it took days to find the fault,you had to strip them down a bit in case customers asked for them back too early.
OP be firm but polite and i am sure that your faults will be well looked for as nobody likes cars to keep coming back with an annoying bug that cant be found...........
Reply | Report as offensive | Link

10 warranty myths exposed

Here’s how to sort the fact from the fiction when it comes to car warranties.

Cheap Car Warranties

From which small car to buy at which price point to the best UK-built cars, our Top 10s have the lot. Click now for your shortlist.

Unsure of what to buy? Our Top 10s are here to help you....