..

No I am not going to go back there to give him the work to fix, as its obvious he doesent know what he is doing, this new fella whos taken over thinks he knows everything about mini's becuase his worked on other old cars, and can't be told otherwise. I would just be wasting my time argueing with him, in how we believe a mini should be running. Plus from previous experiences I have found that when i do get the person to redo their job, they dont look after the possesion as much as they should. Had experiences where the paint has been chiped, from careless one too many times etc. So I'm not about to make the mistake again. I'm just going to have to wear it for now. BUT I WILL NEVA BE GOING BACK THERE AGAIN, and I'll be telling the fella that. I wont be naming the bussiness, cos i kno its not allowed, but there are a few on this forum who knows who exactly I am talking about.

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Bluey-1973 Clubby - 1330, high lift, big cam, 7 port madness in progress..

Gumby-1978 Minivan, British Racing Green - 1310, high lift, mild cam, enlarged porting and chamber shape with big valve head, supercharged build in ever slow progress!

How much was the job in the end?

Lochie, Firstly have you paid the bill? I wouldn't be paying it until either he fixed the problems or adjusted the bill to your satisfaction , What i 'd be doing is writing down everything that you believe he has done wrong in the job and take it back to him and let him know that your not satisfied and something needs to be sorted out to rectify the problem.
Don't let him intimidate you, take somebody with you that knows what they are talking about if you don't feel comfortable in doing it on your own, but if you have already paid the bill i don't think you will have much luck by the sound of it.
Colin

i havent paid the bill yet, paying it today. But i have to mate unfortunely, becuase I have alot of my parts in his workshop, other jobs that he was suppossed to do... So I kinda dont want to loose them.

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Bluey-1973 Clubby - 1330, high lift, big cam, 7 port madness in progress..

Gumby-1978 Minivan, British Racing Green - 1310, high lift, mild cam, enlarged porting and chamber shape with big valve head, supercharged build in ever slow progress!

How much was the bill - you still haven't (unless I've missed it) told us so we can judge for ourselves.

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Yep there certainly are some EXPERTS around I had my engine, gearbox, head, and everything else in the engine bay rebuilt a few years ago by someone who had only done minis all his long life , about $7000 later it COMPLETELY failed in under 2 years to the point where the only salvagable part was the crank everything else had to be replaced block , gearbox and some other small bits, and lots of other bits had to be repaired before we could reuse them , rods , cam, head. Thank heavans for the good freinds who helped me rebuild the engine I have now it is very good , aparently not a lot of H.P on the dyno but on the road seems to keep up very well with those that have more H.P , big grin factor.

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That's why it's good to be.............ME

Just say you had a chat to your solicitor and he recomended going to
consumer protection. Say that the job has made your car un-roadworthy
and that you would have to sue him if you got defected.

How'd you go Lockie did you end up paying him?, if not buy yourself some time and stall the payment, maybe in that time you might be able to get yourself a better result with the bill. Maybe there is somebody on here that could take a look at the car and bill and help you sort out the problem.
Cheers Colin.

Pay the bill then send the mechanic an invoice covering the costs of fixing his mistakes, with documents that cover everything he had done wrong. If he doesn't compensate you take it up with the Motor Trades Association (If the old feller used to run the place beforehand he would probably be a member), or the ministry of fair trading, and if all else fails a debt collector.

You never know, it may work.

Good Luck.

This story certainly sh*ts me because its so so so hard to find a good mechanic for the Minis...

I am certainly glad I found Greig Malure. He had my Rover to fix because of issues, fixed the car, more issues, next time he kept the car to use for a bit to make sure it was Ok, and because he was busy and it took some time to get right, he took a LARGE chunk of money off the bill..... now that in my books is testament to his customer service. He has also tinkered with things on my Moke as well for nothing... drop off in the morning, he looks at it, calls to say its right to go in the afternoon and not to worry about payment.

I have been going there for over 6 years (or so) now and I know there is name and shame on the forum, but i like to name and fame every chance i get...

thanks heaps to those you PM'ed me about this, i appreiate it.

just a quick update for those who read this...

Went to go pick up my parts the other day from him after not recieving a phone call from him as promised... went in there, with a cool head, just wanting my parts nothing else, and b4 i steeped into the workshop i got abused.. Little to say someone had told him about this thread, and had said I had meantioned his name, and bussiness... Last time i checked i didn't for that very reason, correct me if I'm wrong and did post his name guys?? Anyway, he wasan't in the mood for listerning, and had my stuff chucked outside and as expected didn't care for them, as things were broken. Didn't get everything back, still missing the keys to both my van, and moke, the jack and the wheel brace which all were in my car at the time, which he had to take out..

I explained to him, why I have a right to be not impressed, told him what went wrong, all the drama's I had, etc but I could see I was wasting my breath... He was just starting to get pissed at me.. His words at the end of me explaining where, "MATE YOU'VE LOST ME, DON'T COME HERE AGAIN" Then told me to fiddle sticks off or else.... I couldn't help but laugh in his face and say as I walked out, "Mate you've already lost me, don't worry I wont be back to such crappy work" I thought that was really funny he thought I would be back....

Oh and the bill I had been saving till last for people to view.

All adds up to $671 for the one poorly engine removal and placement.. go figure....

I had $271 in credit with him from past purchases before the work began and b4 the other willy wally came along and this was going to go towards the cost.. I was asked to pay $400 which made the bill to $671. I wouldn't have minded if the work was to standard, and got me on my way without all these drama's.

Anyway then was putting my stuff in the car, and the guy in the workshop accross began to abuse me and shout some foul lanaguge at me, whilst starting to come over to the car as he had obviosly been told the story... then he and this other guy started throwing crap at me, and I could see things were starting to get ugly, so hurryed up and just got out of there....

Certainly wasan't impressed about being abused, but what can you do but just shake your head in thought....

Anyway, that's the shortened version of it.

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Bluey-1973 Clubby - 1330, high lift, big cam, 7 port madness in progress..

Gumby-1978 Minivan, British Racing Green - 1310, high lift, mild cam, enlarged porting and chamber shape with big valve head, supercharged build in ever slow progress!

sorry to hear that mate. it deffinatly not something anyone wants let alone you after all you have been through. id go and talk to some advisors about what legal action to pursue if any is viable. hope it wasnt much in the broken department and that you get your missing things from him. i hope he gets what is coming to him because people like this deserve all they get.

Not going to bother with that, more effort than its worth, Just going to cut my losses and move on. Got what I can back, and time to move on, and give someone else the bussiness

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Bluey-1973 Clubby - 1330, high lift, big cam, 7 port madness in progress..

Gumby-1978 Minivan, British Racing Green - 1310, high lift, mild cam, enlarged porting and chamber shape with big valve head, supercharged build in ever slow progress!

G'day Lockie,

Anyway then was putting my stuff in the car, and the guy in the workshop accross began to abuse me and shout some foul lanaguge at me, whilst starting to come over to the car as he had obviosly been told the story... then he and this other guy started throwing poo poo at me, and I could see things were starting to get ugly, so hurryed up and just got out of there.... "

This other bloke , was he from the same business that you had the trouble with or from
another workshop-business ?, if it was the latter what did it have to do with him ?
In my opinion the owner of the original problem should of tried to rectify the situation for his own benefit as far as a business goes. Anyway ,sounds like youvé had enough of it
and put it down to a bad experience !

the fella was from the other workshop business from accross the garage. He just wanted to put his 5 cents in and take it out on me, i guess. He has always been one for bad mouthing people, Ive noticed when I've been in there b4.

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Bluey-1973 Clubby - 1330, high lift, big cam, 7 port madness in progress..

Gumby-1978 Minivan, British Racing Green - 1310, high lift, mild cam, enlarged porting and chamber shape with big valve head, supercharged build in ever slow progress!