Dealer says independent garage fitted brakes incorrectly - Need new pads discs and harness

Lshuffle1 on 15/09/2016 - 22:55

Hi all,

I bought my car privately about 4 months ago. It's now due for its service and in warranty, so I take it to the dealer.

The dealer has told me that whoever did the brake work on the car previously has fitted the front brake pads incorrectly. According to the dealer, on one wheel the pads were not put on in the right direction (the curve was facing the other way - I'm not sure how this is possible, but that's what I'm told). On the other wheel the inside/outside pads were swapped around. This is causing abnormal contact/wear and the pads and discs are damaged they say.

Not only this, but the wiring to the brake pad sensor has been ripped out and the wiring harness needs replacement. This is important because the harness also is attached to the wheel speed sensor which is used by the cruise control and ABS. Down the track the damaged wiring could affect the wheel speed sensor.

The brake work was performed by an independent garage (a euro garage, as my car is euro), which the previous owner had done just before I bought the car, he gave me the invoice for it, which states the front pads were changed. The previous owner was selling as he was going overseas.

The repairs needed are replace the front brake pads, discs, and the wiring harness. The cost to do all this work is around $1400 on top of what the scheduled service would have been.

I've had the work done by the dealer, as even if the other garage agreed to rectify it I wouldn't trust their work anymore.

Any thoughts? Question is - is there anything I can do, or any recourse with the independent garage, or do I just have to suck it up?

Cheers

Automotive

Comments

  • [Deactivated] on 15/09/2016 - 23:34

    Call the bikies.

    But really you have no recourse here

  • nocure on 15/09/2016 - 23:50
    +4

    I would be getting a second opinion.

    • supnigs super skids on 15/09/2016 - 23:56

      This. Also are you female?

      • shuffle1 on 16/09/2016 - 00:14

        Male.

        • supnigs super skids on 16/09/2016 - 01:03

          Ok. Is it a sports model? There's a thing with directional tyres and brake pads but they aren't that common. That's the only thing I can make of it is somehow putting the brake shim backwards.

          Again this is quite an accusation to make from the dealer. Would of called the initial brake place and let them know what your dealer said. This would quickly escalate and you would have piece of mind lol

        • shuffle1 on 16/09/2016 - 09:58

          It's a Golf GTI.

          In retrospect I probably should have called the initial brake place first…

        • supnigs super skids on 16/09/2016 - 11:41

          @shuffle1: I think i know what it is now. Lol. It's the brake sensor placed on the outside instead of inside yanking the harness.

  • captobvious on 15/09/2016 - 23:55

    The curve was facing the wrong way? The pad would not fit if it was upside down. I can understand wrong way round so metal on metal. Either way this a very amature job. take it back to the euro garage, bet you their apprentice did the work.

    Wheel speed sensor is plug and play (maybe a couple 10mm bolts and clips). Find an after market one.

    Does your car have a pad sensor connection? Most cars dont but the pads come with them and most garages just cut them off. Its to let you know if your pads are low.

    • shuffle1 on 16/09/2016 - 00:22

      It sounds like a shocking job, but I am baffled as to how it can fit the wrong way round (the way it was described to me).

      It sounds like the wheel speed sensor is OK for now but it needs a new harness (the harness connects to both the pad sensor and the wheel speed sensor). I can live without the pad sensor which is more of a convenience - but the dealer says the harness connection to the wheel speed sensor could be affected later which is why the dealer is saying the harness needs to be replaced. The harness is < $200 but the labour is over $400.

      I'll also add that the dealer has performed the replacement of the pads and discs (I think I was too quick to say yes), but not the harness as they don't have the part in stock.

  • altomic on 16/09/2016 - 06:54
    +1

    "Dealer says"…..

  • Baysew on 16/09/2016 - 09:10

    Could be helpful if make and model of car was given.

  • Vieira4 on 16/09/2016 - 09:15
    +1

    How did the brakes feel over the past 4 months? Normal? If so I call BS.

    • shuffle1 on 16/09/2016 - 09:56

      They were normal for a while, but then I noticed that when I braked, the friction I felt was not consistent throughout the whole rotation of the wheel. So I did feel something wasn't quite right, but the brakes were still effective.

      • SnoozeAndLose on 16/09/2016 - 09:58

        it may just because of the brake dish uneven, why dont you go to anther one and ask for quote

  • apple2016 on 16/09/2016 - 09:36

    I would not trust the dealer if the breaks were operating normally.

  • shuffle1 on 16/09/2016 - 10:33

    I spoke to the dealer again and they will be sending me a write-up on how exactly it was installed, with photos and they are holding the old parts for me.

    • supnigs super skids on 16/09/2016 - 11:32
      +1

      Can you please show photos too on here. Really curious on this one.

    • apple2016 on 18/09/2016 - 22:10
      +1

      If you have proof the previous garage made a mistake then you could demand refund under ACL.

      • shuffle1 on 19/09/2016 - 00:13

        waiting for the dealer to give me a write-up and photos. But would ACL cover me even though I wasn't the original customer who took the car to the other workshop which did the original work?

        • chriise on 24/09/2016 - 18:09

          Did you get the photos?

  • oscargamer on 16/09/2016 - 14:47

    get a price for the work from a normal mechanic, not a brake specialist or a dealer

  • alexkaratedo on 16/09/2016 - 19:52

    I found myself in a similar situation, although with an older car, so less money involved. Two years ago I bought my car (2nd hand), on which the muffler was replaced during the roadworthy check (RWC). A few weeks after purchase, hearing a noise at about 60 km/h, I went to my mechanic and he found that the newly installed muffler was rubbing on the frame. I asked him to put this in writing and, together with some pictures I took, I contacted the first mechanic who did the RWC. After some tentatives of ignoring/denying the problem, I pestered badly and he finally accepted to fix the problem for free. Sometimes you have to be a pain in the a** to get some justice, but hey, in this case it sounds like they screwed up badly with your car. Good that the dealer is giving you proof of the problem, you might be able to ask for a refund from the other mechanic. If I was you, I would give them a hard time.

  • adr8 on 19/09/2016 - 01:34

    There are brake pads that have an inner and outer pad it usually states it on the back of the pad.

  • Mumbles on 19/09/2016 - 10:28
    -3

    I'd get a 2nd and 3rd opinion. Even if the itemised list of repairs are legitimate you'll likely save money on the repairs needed. Dealerships have HUGE markups for the items you described. Especially for factory brakes.

    Since you are driving a Golf GTI you can choose to fit aftermarket/upgraded brake discs for not much more than factory.

    Golf GTI is a costly to maintain, fast depreciating, slow performance car by todays standards. Particularly since the OP is not very car literate perhaps consider selling the car to a dealership instead of heading down the road of costly Volkswagen maintenance.

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