On 08/10/2019 13:29, Jethro_uk wrote:
On Tue, 08 Oct 2019 13:01:55 +0100, The Natural Philosopher wrote:

On 08/10/2019 12:22, Jethro_uk wrote:
On Tue, 08 Oct 2019 12:11:58 +0100, The Natural Philosopher wrote:

On 08/10/2019 11:53, Jethro_uk wrote:
On Tue, 08 Oct 2019 11:17:14 +0100, The Natural Philosopher wrote:

On 08/10/2019 10:14, Jethro_uk wrote:
On Tue, 08 Oct 2019 09:35:37 +0100, The Natural Philosopher wrote:

Should I insist that they fix it?

This is one aspect of UK consumer law that is total and utter
******** (IMHO). The clowns have ****ed up once. Why on earth are
you *required*
to have any faith in them thereafter ?

To be fair, I suspect they hadnt done a freelander before and
unless you KNOW that the front coupling is fragile and you have to
tie up the prop shaft before removing the centre bearings and VC
then its an easy mistake to make. The mechanic I spoke to was
competent, he admitted he never disconnected the front prop shaft
which the service manual issues dire warnings about if you dont. He
just made a mistake, thats all. Of course he insists 'it was like
that before I started' It wasn't. Immediately I drove it away I
noticed the difference and drove straight back into the garage.

At the risk of sounding snippy, would a competent mechanic have left
you in the position you now find yourself ?

IS this an aspect of consumer law though? That is what I need to
know. The easier way forward for me would, if it did not prejudice
my position, be, to get an after market prop-shaft for £100 and get
another garage to fit it and sue these guys for the cost.

Maybe a legal NG is a better place ?

crossposted to uk.legal

All I know is from years of reading Q&As, is that when you turn up in
a court, the very first thing the mags/judge will do is to ask if you
have exhausted *all other avenues* for redress. And if you haven't
they can strike cases out, and leave you to foot the bill. It's the
classic #1 mistake a lot of morons make. Rushing to issue a summons
before anything else, which no court likes.

OK good advice.


So you need to show you have done everything you can before you turn
up in court. And that *usually* requires you allow the other party a
chance to make good the problem.

Which I have so far

Which is all very well in a fairytale where no one is crooked and
setting out to rip punters off. However in the real world, it fails
to address the situation where Bodgit, Son and Runne, are a midnight
flit away from their last customer at all times ....

Oh no. This is a well established and generally decent firm that's
been around a long time.

They made a mistake, it's not shoddy work per se. I just want them to
admit it and fix the problem.

There is a further problem, in that *if* they offer to fix it, they are
de factor admitting liability. Which may not be a good thing further
down the line. Which is arguably an artefact of our adversarial concept
of civil law. Or not. I don't know.


I am perfectly happy to sign an agreement to not pursue the matter
firther if they do fix it.

Not sure such disclaimers can be enforced in court, but IANAL. (You can't
sign away statutory rights AIUI)


There's also the added factor of any consequential loss. Once liability
is admitted, it could lead to a lot more expense than the mere fixing
of the problem.

What is the actual mechanical remedy ? I'm guessing it's a new very
expensive bit + a shed load of labour = in excess of £500 ?

Actually no. Its about £100 + 30 mins labour or £36 and about an hours
labour

Oh, FFS ! - Even 25 years ago, when I worked in trade I'd have done that
without mention, to keep a good customer.

Or if taken to a main dealer what you said. £100 labour and a £300 part

Are both those estimates for the correct job ?

Yes.

I diunno if you are familar with the front propshaft of a freelander but
it has a sliding and slighly flexible coupoleing to the transfer box
(stock UJs aft) The coupling consits of a three way, rather than 4 way
'spider' with roller beraing tips in cups, that fits over the prop
shaft via sliding splines and is retained to the transfer box by a housing.

4 bolts and that bit all comes apart and the bearing can be replaced. Or
take the front shaft off completely and dismantle on the bench. an hours
work max.

IF YOU CAN SOUERCE NEW BEARINGS. Only one ebay seller has them
LR sells a propshaft for £295 complete and after market clones are £100.

These are obviously 'fit and forget' solutions.

..


--
€œThere are two ways to be fooled. One is to believe what isnt true; the
other is to refuse to believe what is true.€�

€”Soren Kierkegaard