garages driving your car
 

Hey all,
don't know about anyone else but I'm bored today......anyways, having a spoiler fitted today, so I've written down the miles as I've a sneaky feeling they may take it for a drive, where do you stand on this?? apart from being mad of course!

sorry if it's a dumb question, but like I said I'm bored and my mind is wondering

Mike

P.S have a nice weekend all

I'm :mad:

I couldn't care how hard they drive it - I would be a rest for my car ........ :D

LOL, I'm paranoid about this as well.

If you're only having some paintwork done there's obviously no need to take it for a test drive.

I made a complaint after a garage had been out ragging my car probably on a Maccy D's lunchtime run (reset my Defi's peak settings to 0.0 and when I got the car back the boost had peaked at 1.4 bar and the oil temp just under 70 so not even warmed up properly). Grrrrrrr.

Chris

When fitting certain things the garage have to test that they are fitted correctly,
A spoiler for instance, you wouldnt want it tearing of after you reach 60mph so a test drive would be needed.

However they should also treat your car with the same respect that you do. 1.4 bar before being warmed up is not on

Steve

Write the mileage down on a sticker and stick it in front of the speedo ... that should stop them doing it.
To stop them having fun if they ignore that, disconnect the pipe to the boost solenoid valve and connect it direct to the waste gate actuator ... will only run to approx 1/2 bar then :D

Gary

Stipulate that they are not allowed to test drive it without you being there. Note the mileage and tell them you have done so.

A garage bent a wheel on my EVO, never got them to admit it though.


Build up a good relationship with the person who services the car, they will then tend to look after it better.

My last car went to the body shop and when i got it back i'm sure the tyres were more worn than when it went in.:mad:

it's daft things like that that make them test drive it just to spite you

My car, before the beloved Scooby, was a chipped Golf Gti, took it in for a wheel bearing, telling them I thought it was the off side rear. When I picked the car up, I was told the near side rear had been re-placed as I was wrong. The Gti's have on board computers and I checked what had happened in the last 2 hours. 16 miles, 54 minutes of driving, 18 mpg! So they had either got stuck in traffic (going where!) or had been thrashing the **** out of the little thing. (Used to do 25-40 mpg) When I challenged them, they said they had been out several times to check which wheel bearing, and that it was just as well, because I had told them the wrong one. However it had now cured the problem. Each run for a few miles and for a few minutes, including a test run with the new bearing. Seemed possible if unlikely, so I couldn't argue. Didn't drive the car for a few days as had the Scooby by then, put it up for sale, got a buyer interested, went for a test drive, got to 60 mph and...... yup wheel bearing noise!!!! This time went to a VW specialist and guess what, it was the off side rear wheel bearing that needed to be done!!!!!!!!! Suffice to say, I don't go to the original garage anymore.

Silly thing is, they had the business from my Golf, girlfriends BMW conv. her daughters Pug 205 and our 2 company vans. Just when you thought you could trust a garage they **** up. They messed up a service too, but that's an even longer story! All in all, because of one mechanic, the garage lost business totalling a minimum of £1,200 just on basic servicing and MOT's, let alone any other work they'd have added on when they felt like it!

Sorry, needed to get that off my chest and thought this was a good thread to do it on. Finished now..........

If you take your car to a garage that is used to dealing with quick cars then it's "just another impreza" to them and they're less likely to thrash it.My cars currently having a rebuild at a firm that builds WRC/GRP N cars so I'm not too worried;-).

You could always hang around with them whilst they do the work! Mine doesn't leave my sight. However, in all honesty- As Skidus suggusts- I'd only take it to Impreza specialists who have driven them all before and repect the car too much to thrash it...particularly from cold!

Best.

I use Scoobyclinic they are Subaru specialist and so have the things in and out all day from sports to 22b's etc. Even if they didn't i trust the guys up there completely and have no worries whatsoever about what happens to the car whilst it's there.
Really does pay off to find a garage you can trust these days, iv'e had problems with my last car getting damaged whilst it was in at a main dealer, they dropped something on the wing leaving a huge ding in it, they never admitted it and i ended up with a repair bill