Do I Have To Pay For Parts A Mechanic Broke?

[ben goddard]

My car is in the garage having a new DPF fitted, and i rang them up as i was supposed to have it back today.

He said he's waiting for a part to come. when they took it off they broke the sensor. (i assume he means pressure sensor).

These aren't cheap, but do i have to pay for it?

It wasn't broken to begin with, and he said "it broke coming off".

i was told it would be £60 to fit the new DPF, can he add extra labour on even though he broke the part?

[GrahamJC]

The work undertaken has to be carried out with 'reasonable care and skill' so unless it was necessary to break the sensor to get it off, the answer in a big NO to an additional labour charge.

[iantt]

If it was siezed in and snapped off then not unreasonable to expect you to pay, if he hit it with a hammer and broke off , yes they should.

ask to see the part and ask how it broke.

[richard150]

is a big fat no he broke it not you

[Goodkat]

I think it depends on whether the part was previously damaged, but accidental damage by the mechanic should be paid for by the mechanic.

Sent from my Gen 1 WAP phone

[iantt]

What if the threads stripped on the hego sensor or temp sensor as they were removed with due care using correct tools , wd40 etc. Thn who is responsible?

[alexp999]

I wouldn't expect to pay for it.

If they can't get something off without busting it or something else, they should call you first to get the okay, or be prepared to cover the cost.

We had something similar on my mum's old car. It came back from a service and we found that coolant had gone everywhere under the engine. Turned out one of the pipes had been damaged, we took it to another garage who had said it was clear the pipe had been leant on during the service - we had it replaced by the second garage and then issued the invoice to the ones who did the service and they (albeit reluctantly) paid up.

Just stand your ground. :)

[RB2004]

It depends on the circumstances.

As mentioned if it is seized or in a damaged condition to begin with it is customers responsibility.

Like on Smart Fortwo cars for example... Front fog lights rear part get very brittle.

If you unscrew the fog light and do nothing more than pull it forward to unplug connector... Back can still break off, is this mechanics fault... No as reasonable care was taken and it was impossible to remove without damaging it.

Glowplugs, if they need removing to do a compression test on an engine and break off... Is this mechanics fault? No, as they can break off anyway and frequently do no matter how careful you are.

somebody had bodged up a leak on a plastic housing with a home made paper gasket and sealant because seal was no good, hose had to be removed and cooling system flushed... And after it started leaking, this is also not the mechanics fault as it had been badly repaired previous and disturbing it was unavoidable.

All examples of how things can get damaged in the course of a job and mechanic isn't responsible.

If however, here's the flip side.. If mechanic is too lazy or neglects to remove a component... And opts to try and force the part which requires changing out, and other components which should of been removed get damaged in the process then yes this is mechanics fault.

If a mechanic removes a part properly and doesn't store it safely or responsibly and that part gets damaged them yes it's mechanics fault.

If mechanic forgets to disconnect or unplug a component before removing and damage results then yes this is mechanics fault.

What it boils down to is, accidental damage or negligence or lack of care... Mechanic liable.

Unavoidable damage, damage while removing an item as part of a job that doesn't fall under accidental, negligence or lack of care then mechanic not responsible.

You can't hold a mechanic responsible for something not their fault or unavoidable.. Like removing glow plugs... If you take a car for replacement and one breaks off then you should have been warned about it prior as a possibility but what repair costs which entail after like head removal or drilling out is customers responsibility... In case of your DMF another example could be, if he drops subframe and captive nut on chassis starts spinning and he has to cut holes in floor to access rear side of nut then not their fault.

In case of pressure sensor, I'd be inclined to say it's negligence more than anything else doing something he shouldn't of been or didn't disconnect it properly.

These things happen when garages / mechanics try to take short cuts... Most popular one is manufacturer says sub frame should be dropped..

But instead they remove wheel arch liner and drop 1 side of subframe only to get enough access to clutch... And in the process bending the subframe.

Another popular favourite is, timing belts on the renaults, some of them have a tightening procedure for crank pulley bolt, x amount of torque then x amount of degrees.

Most garages prefer to airgun it up... Result is either over tightened and bolt fails or not tight enough and customer drives down road and engine starts rattling where timing has slipped.

Another favourite is substituting expensive timing tools for paint marks..

All examples where it it goes wrong mechanic or garage is liable.

Sent from my iPhone using Ford OC

[iantt]

At last someone talking sense, thought I was the only taking a balanced view on this topic, well said!!

[GrahamJC]

I thought that most people came to the same conclusion!