Seller Does a Dodgy Job

[BecLouLouBrowne]

This is an inquiry and a bit of a rant. I bought my 2007 CDTi Holden Astra from a private seller in Wollongong two years ago.
He assured me that it had not been in an accident but I later discovered it was a repairable right off (the one check I missed before purchase).
The problems are now coming to light. Finally decided to get the air-conditioning fixed - turns out that two pipes are cracked, the condenser is twisted - the radiator has developed a leek as it has been floating around in the engine without a single radiator mount attached and so has rubbed up against something - my wiper washer mount is broken and stuck in place with blue tak and the list goes on. It disgusts me that people can sell these repairable right offs and lie to your face because you are a girl. Apparently it was grandads car (total BS)! I love the car but I am now wondering what else is going to go wrong and what it is going to cost me.

I have been quoted $355 for the radiator, $295 for the condenser, waiting for a price on the radiator mounts and AC hoses (only available from Holden apparently) and labor costs. Does this sound reasonable? Any suggestions on where to get parts please?

Thanks for listening. It just upsets me that people take advantage of others. :sadpanda:

[faneca]

Try autovaux.co.uk see what sorta pricing they can give you. They are usually far cheaper than anyone in aus and that's posted to your door

[sooty]

Try autovaux.co.uk see what sorta pricing they can give you. They are usually far cheaper than anyone in aus and that's posted to your door

This,

really unlucky that they sold you a bit of a lemon, but with a bit of love, and shopping from the UK, it'll be all good in no time.

[Ice]

Maybe get the part numbers from holden beforehand......f**kers. No point telling you what you did wrong......think of the positives and what you learned out of it ;)

[JohnBu]

Live and learn.

The seller didn't lie to you because you're a girl, he would have lied to anyone with $$$.

Anyway, fix the car up properly and the car should be running ok. Unfortunately, it's probably going to be difficult to sell as it's a repairable write off, so you may as well fix it and keep it for the long haul and try to make the most of the car.

Autovaux will ship you the parts from the UK in about a week. Good luck.

[Wraith]

Have to agree with the above, what's happened is definitely a case of live and learn sorry to say but that one check you missed before purchase is the most important one anyone can do before the purchase of any used car ! even before it gets road worthy inspected...

It also secures you against outstanding finances which may be owing and vehicle theft history if any, I hear these stories alot and simply can't understand why people won't or don't take their own advisory precautions from their local Road Authority before used car purchases, it literally takes only about 15-30min or less and is totally free of charge unless you wanted a verification certificate which dosn't cost much either...

As for getting it fixed as well as ongoing required running costs, prices listed above sound reasonable but you can get cheaper if you search around, all related parts are available from numerous sources and not just Holden or GMH dealers, as suggetsed above try Autovaux for all the smaller parts I say smaller parts as they will be shipped from O/S and shipping charges are high on large and heavy items, try wreckers for all other parts as some will have both S/H and new, the new will be aftermarket and/or OEM choice depends of course on costs...

[PS88]

Why don't u take him to court?

[guy 27]

BecLouLouBrowne
you are not alone. Unfortunately its buyer beware when it comes to these situations.
I purchased a car late last year knowing it was a repairable write off that had been repaired.
I've had to redo most of the work to where that damage was. Unfortunately when it came to going over everything else. Every bit that the previous owner had touched was not done correctly. These are items I would not of picked up while inspecting the car as I would of had to remove paneling, trim and engine components to see it.
I've so far had to spend close to 10k on the vehicle including purchase price and not to mention at least 120 hour of labour so far to get it into a condition I like.
Had I of known 1/10th of the issues I would never have purchased it but at the end of the day shit happens.

Its a shame people lie to make a sale and if I come across someone trying to do it again they are going to cope a mouthful from me. Thats about as much as can be done.

[PS88]

Can't you get one of the NRMA guys to come out and inspect the car prior to putting the deposit down (Private sales)?
Like for example if i was looking to buy EVO firstly i would take it to MRT performance and do a full inspection test.

[BecLouLouBrowne]

I hope to live and learn but still it all pisses me off. I did a few checks before hand and thought I had covered everything but obviously missed the one telling me it was a repairable write off. I still think the sellers should have an obligation to pass this information on. I think I have now just been ripped off by my mechanic with a bill of $2239. Apparently it took 15 hrs of labor ($1650) to put the airconditioning condenser and radiator in. I find it very hard to believe that one guy worked on my car for a total of 2 days to make these repairs. The whole thing makes me physically sick.

[J]

BecLouLouBrowne
Sorry to hear about your experience.

Depending on where you live, I can thoroughly recommend my mechanic who is based in West Ryde. In my years of dealing with him, I have found no grounds to question his workmanship or his charges (unlike another mechanic I did try, of whom I suspect had at least somewhat contributed to my snapped gear linkage pin...but that's for another time!). Everyone I have referred to him can also second this. He is also happy to receive parts posted directly to him from Autovaux on my behalf. The only issue is because he is so sought after and busy, he may not be able to find time to tend to the minor stuff e.g. a rattling pollen filter.

PM me if you are interested.

[BecLouLouBrowne]

Thank you kindly. Unfortunately I live down near Canberra and so West Ryde would be just a little too far to travel.

[Jen]

BecLouLouBrowne
Sorry to hear about your experience.

Depending on where you live, I can thoroughly recommend my mechanic who is based in West Ryde. In my years of dealing with him, I have found no grounds to question his workmanship or his charges (unlike another mechanic I did try, of whom I suspect had at least somewhat contributed to my snapped gear linkage pin...but that's for another time!). Everyone I have referred to him can also second this. He is also happy to receive parts posted directly to him from Autovaux on my behalf. The only issue is because he is so sought after and busy, he may not be able to find time to tend to the minor stuff e.g. a rattling pollen filter.

PM me if you are interested.

Off topic but I'm actually from West Ryde, grew up there and all my family are still there . Just curious which mechanic you are referring to

[JohnBu]

Off topic but I'm actually from West Ryde, grew up there and all my family are still there . Just curious which mechanic you are referring to

Not a BroTek one Jen!

[J]

Off topic but I'm actually from West Ryde, grew up there and all my family are still there . Just curious which mechanic you are referring to

Jen his name is Tony Wong, and he works from his garage not far from West Parade.

I guess that must've sounded a bit dodgy, so allow me to explain...

My understanding is that he used to work as an award-winning head mechanic in the local Toyota dealership. But having had enough of the dodgy practices (that I presume he was unable to change due to management), he decided to do proper work from his garage in the after hours. Over time, he ended up snaring a majority of people who've bought from that Toyota dealership, as well as their family and friends etc. due to his good work ethic (i.e. do it right the first time, not over-service, etc.) and reasonable charges. It got so big that he actually partnered with someone else at Granville for a while (this was when I began to have my car serviced with him). But when even that guy turned out to be dodgy, he went back to working at his garage to ensure minimum overheads. I believe he now works 6 days a week.

To give you an example...
Someone asked for a quote to fix a smashed driver's side window. They got a quote from Tony as well as some others. At the end, that person went for someone else other than Tony to save $20. Tony later explained to me that he couldn't match their price, because the other mechanic most likely only replaced the glass without picking out all the smashed pieces lodged inside at the bottom of the door, which would block the storm water drainage channels and will eventually rust out the door from the inside. But Tony is not fazed anyway: he has enough other customers who appreciate him and his work for him to keep him and his family well looked after!

Another example...
Our Corsa C's emissions light came on, and the engine was very difficult to start when hot, and seemed to be misfiring below 1,200rpm. A mechanic I switched to in Pennant Hills (thinking that he knows more about complex European electronics than Tony) claimed it was caused by a worn hairline-thick connection between the ECU and the EGR valve, meaning a total ECU replacement cost of around $1,500. Had it tested by Tony: indicating only an error on the EGR valve. I thought for less than $100 landed from Autovaux, rather than carbon cleaning a 10-year-old part, just bite the bullet. And voila: the Corsa C has been running fine again so far. That was about a year ago! Needless to say, I took both the Corsa and the Astra back to Tony after that!

Looking back, I cannot think of any fault arising in any of my, my family's, and my friends' cars that was caused by his workmanship, or that he could not fix at a reasonable cost. Any problems (few and far between, depending on the model of car) are due to normal wear and tear.

If anyone wants to give him a go, PM me and I will give you his contact details.

Sorry for the essay. Now back on topic...!!