Found out how dealer screwed me, and screwed my Check Engine Light...
27 September 2012, 09:27 PM
#32
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the ecu thinG sounds like an auto electriciain with a bit of savy trying to con the customer- in this case FSC- unless the electrician was an employee of FSC.
28 September 2012, 09:51 AM
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28 September 2012, 09:53 AM
#35
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I've got to wonder why they went to all this trouble - when all it was was a Lambda Sensor ........ what they did was ingenious - a cunning, liar thought that up.
Certainly, if they do this, they are capable of all kinds of tricks to squeeze money out of the unwary .......... and this is what the problem is, you see? You knew they were lying cheats, yet still did business with them.
That said, this is a fantastic little story for WatchDog or some such TV Program .... they are bang to rights - Trading Standards today!
Certainly, if they do this, they are capable of all kinds of tricks to squeeze money out of the unwary .......... and this is what the problem is, you see? You knew they were lying cheats, yet still did business with them.
That said, this is a fantastic little story for WatchDog or some such TV Program .... they are bang to rights - Trading Standards today!
Thing is, I DIDN'T know they were lying cheats until after I bought the car and read about others having problems. Saying that, the car is a good car, now that I've sorted the CEL problem. It's been well checked out...
28 September 2012, 09:57 AM
#36
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Sorry to p1ss on your chips but here is what will happen.
1) You will approach them and show them what they have done
2) They will deny it
3) You will have to go to a solicitor and/or get the necessary papers together to sue them for whatever value you have lost by their little fix.
4) They will (maybe via a solicitor) refute your claim.
5) Ultimately it can not be conclusively proved that they are responsible for what you found as you could have done it yourself (not saying you have but from a legal standpoint) and no court will find otherwise.
6) You will have wasted time and more money to get to a stalemate.
Case dismissed!
It's ****, but that is the way the UK is these days!
1) You will approach them and show them what they have done
2) They will deny it
3) You will have to go to a solicitor and/or get the necessary papers together to sue them for whatever value you have lost by their little fix.
4) They will (maybe via a solicitor) refute your claim.
5) Ultimately it can not be conclusively proved that they are responsible for what you found as you could have done it yourself (not saying you have but from a legal standpoint) and no court will find otherwise.
6) You will have wasted time and more money to get to a stalemate.
Case dismissed!
It's ****, but that is the way the UK is these days!
I'm really getting these pics and story out so that it's on the forums so others hopefully don't get caught out this way. I was lucky I caught it...
28 September 2012, 10:00 AM
#37
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then I guess either
1) see if trading standards will take it on or
2) use the small claims process to have a bit of fun and see "British justice" in action. This process can be initiated online and is fairly straightforward. The hearing will be informal and (I think) decided on a balance of probability standard. I have always found the judges to be friendly and fair (to the little man).
Personally I always prefer to avoid using a legal professional if I am picking up the bill.
ps. Have you contacted the previous owner regarding the condition of the car when they sold it to the vendor?
1) see if trading standards will take it on or
2) use the small claims process to have a bit of fun and see "British justice" in action. This process can be initiated online and is fairly straightforward. The hearing will be informal and (I think) decided on a balance of probability standard. I have always found the judges to be friendly and fair (to the little man).
Personally I always prefer to avoid using a legal professional if I am picking up the bill.
ps. Have you contacted the previous owner regarding the condition of the car when they sold it to the vendor?
28 September 2012, 10:02 AM
#38
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Lambda sensors cost money, two bits of wire, a bulb and a bit of blu tac costs pennys... These guys have done it before and I reckon they could do it in 20 mins...
28 September 2012, 10:12 AM
#39
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I'm an ex Police Photographer / Scene of Crime Officer and I'm more than happy to speak to the evidence trail on this one...
Saying that, I've fixed the bodge, my mechanic will fit a new lambda sensor and I'll move on. However, I've told the dodgy garage they will be paying the cost of supply and fit the sensor or I will move forward with my trading standards etc.
If they don't pay, well, I'm not going to stress it. I'm happy I found the bodge before I potentially missed a serious fault and I'll pass the story around the forums as well as my newspaper contacts. (I'm now a newspaper photographer.)
I know some garages are as dodgy as anything, and that will never change but good to get the word out about certain bodges/garages.
28 September 2012, 10:18 AM
#41
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If this garage is renowned for bad press, ever thought it never went to the auto elec and they have done that themselves?? Aint that hard to figure out really when you look at it, just a possibility seeing as their know for all sorts by all accounts 
Glad you sorted it tho pal
bet it felt quite an achievement 
Glad you sorted it tho pal
bet it felt quite an achievement of course if that doesn't work I just get blunt and tell them straight what I'm going to do. It won't do me any harm to pass my report to Trading Standards, they probably have a large file on this crowd anyway.
29 September 2012, 05:24 PM
#42
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LATEST UPDATE: Ok, the garage phoned me and said they had a lambda sensor for me, and I picked it up today. They told me they had sent another car to the auto electrician/mechanic that they use, (they are sales only, small garage) with a known faulty lambda sensor and it came back worse than mine, same way of mimicking the charge light but this time they had cut wires as they bodged it. I'm actually glad they only used Blu-Tac on mine. They assure me they have "dealt" with the auto electrician/mechanic and he will no longer be getting work from them. (Hopefully because he has two broken knee-caps!)
I have to accept what they say, I believe them on this. Whether my mention of Trading Standards or the fact I am a Press Photographer with contacts throughout the media made any difference I don't know. Also the fact that I knew what I was talking about and made it plain what had happened and what was needed to resolve the matter probably helped. I'm a good judge of character and sitting face to face with the salesman today I'm happy with where we are at. There's no damage done to the car, I'm delighted with the car overall, and happy to accept a lambda sensor, fit it and move on. Case closed as far as I'm concerned. Hopefully others have read this and it has made them more wary of things, and hopefully the dealer has learnt to deal with proper auto electricians/mechanics, and hopefully it saves others from being screwed. Who knows if anything will change, but one thing is still the same, KNOWLEDGE IS POWER!
I have to accept what they say, I believe them on this. Whether my mention of Trading Standards or the fact I am a Press Photographer with contacts throughout the media made any difference I don't know. Also the fact that I knew what I was talking about and made it plain what had happened and what was needed to resolve the matter probably helped. I'm a good judge of character and sitting face to face with the salesman today I'm happy with where we are at. There's no damage done to the car, I'm delighted with the car overall, and happy to accept a lambda sensor, fit it and move on. Case closed as far as I'm concerned. Hopefully others have read this and it has made them more wary of things, and hopefully the dealer has learnt to deal with proper auto electricians/mechanics, and hopefully it saves others from being screwed. Who knows if anything will change, but one thing is still the same, KNOWLEDGE IS POWER!
30 September 2012, 11:46 AM
#44
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I had originally asked that they pay my garage to supply and fit, then they offered the sensor. I couldn't be bothered to argue so just took the sensor. It's not a big deal to fit a sensor and I just wanted the whole thing over and done with. I'm happy... 
30 September 2012, 12:06 PM
#45
What I don't understand. If it does have a simple oxygen sensor fault...the time and labour involved in fixing it would be far LESS than the labour effort involved in removing the instrument assembly, stripping it and modifying it to bypass the CEL light.
30 September 2012, 12:10 PM
#46
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These guys have done the bodge before, it's easy to remove dash, jam a bulb in with blu-tac and jam the wires under the charge light bulb holder. Now I've stripped it I know I could do it in under 30 minutes.
The thing is, the cost of a bulb, two bits of wire and a bit of blu-tac? Pennies... that's what these things are all about, money..
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