Robberham Scoobies fun
02 February 2016, 08:53 PM
#1
Scooby Regular
Thread Starter
Robberham Scoobies fun
It has been a little over 2 years since my Legacy GTB got destroyed by these people, and i've had nothing from the garage, no offer of refund, not even so much as a sorry... been so long ago I am just summarising what happened ther'e was a lot more to this and it is all kept in my diary for my plans going forward.
In 2013 I purchased a Subaru Legacy GTB and after a few weeks I suspected the Headgasket was failing. As Tony was an old friend I had no reason to doubt either his abilities or his trustworthiness so I took the car to Rotherham Scoobies. Being a newly started business I decided to give him the work and try to support a local business. A few weeks later I received the news that the car was "ready" for collection. Once I had paid my bill and taken charge of my car, they offered to drop the car off to me which I accepted, that weekend I decided to take the family out for a afternoon, heading to Hull for a visit to "The Deep", fully aware that when he and his supposed mechanic dropped the car off the lad who works for him could clearly be heard by the missus saying that the car is missing and leaking oil.... although when I questioned this, apparently it was just oil run off... and would burn off as the engine got warm... WHAT A MUG I AM
The car made it as far as the M18 before plumes of smoke began coming from under the bonnet. Immediately I pulled over thinking it was on fire, switched the ignition off and allowed it to cool down while I phoned the AA and the car was then recovered back to my home address. I called Tony at Rotherham Scoobies who assured me it would be put right. As I was due to be at work the next day I was asked to leave the keys with my partner and he would collect the car and sort it out. Later the next day one of his "employees" came out who did nothing more than chuck even more black silicone over a Leaky cam cover. This did not work and the cam was still leaking so the car was recovered back to their premises for investigation and hopefully a diagnosis and cure. The "investigation" completed, I was given the "diagnosis" that the cam belt had jumped and that the car had been "cured".
Told the car was ready for collection again, I collected it from Rotherham Scoobies and immediately on collection, noticed the engine was knocking. This was explained by the "specialist" that the crank was on its way out, on the way home the car also cut out due to the battery terminals not been secured correctly. At this point my partner was fed up of his nonsense, and demanded that the car went to an established specialist for a thorough investigation and a competent diagnosis. This led to a full strip down of the engine and I was then given the report that contained their findings. And what they found beggars belief! This is the report that I was faced with:
"Engine removed and it has had new head gaskets. However, the engine is filthy; covered in oil, dirt and silicone sealer. Nothing has been cleaned before fitting the head-gaskets and there is debris and filth trapped between the heads and block. The cam-belt tensioner is the wrong type and is so worn out an extra second-hand worn out small idler has been added to take up the play in the belt. The bolts in the heads have been sheared off so rocker cover was literally glued on with silicone sealer see pic below....
All four cam seals were glued in with black silicone and were brittle due to
age. In an attempt to make them seal silicone was used again and smeared
round each cam seal with the use of a finger. All of the cam belt idlers were badly
worn and the bearings were noisy with excessive play in each. The bolt that retained the large tensioner idler in place had been left completely loose and the nut was missing off the back of the bolt. The only thing actually keeping the idler in place was the cam belt cover which it had tried to burrow through. To say this ranks as one of the worst engine builds we have ever seen is an *UNDERSTATEMENT*!!"
Rotherham Scoobies left me with a decision of scrap the car and buy new or rebuild. There are plenty more bullet points, such as the oil feed hole in the pump being less than half its size due to excess sealer. This story is the same for the inlet manifold, water cross feed pipe and of course the rocker covers with huge clumps of sealer inside both heads.
Amazingly, the ONLY thing thats survived is the crank! The ticking/knocking noise turned out to be a nipped up piston skirt. So, from the very start Rotherham Scoobies have been wrong by a country mile at almost every turn. An incorrect diagnosis led to a very clean car rendered useless and me facing a £3500 + vat repair bill. It was actually cheaper to buy a new car and I did from the true Subaru specialist in this saga.
I was gutted to see the leggy go but also relieved as this went on for about 6 months.
Following this the owner of Robberham decided to tell people that he just chucked the car back together as I could not afford to pay
Now all this bad workmanship was carried out before the bill was issued and I did reluctantly pay... and about 5 weeks later I had a tidy Impreza in my garage that I paid over 4k for, so this carries absolutely no substance at all. He also claimed he was going to pursue me for slander but considering I have receipts and photographic evidence, I am highly confident he would be trying to fund a case he would ultimately lose.
MY GREATEST FEAR IS THAT ONE DAY SOMEBODY WILL BE KILLED BY HIS VERY POOR WORKMANSHIP.
Over the past 2 years I have heard of at least more and more stories and I have invited them all to add on to this thread and make it known the risk you take using 'the specialist'
Here is the old girl
Supposed New Cambelt Tensioner
In 2013 I purchased a Subaru Legacy GTB and after a few weeks I suspected the Headgasket was failing. As Tony was an old friend I had no reason to doubt either his abilities or his trustworthiness so I took the car to Rotherham Scoobies. Being a newly started business I decided to give him the work and try to support a local business. A few weeks later I received the news that the car was "ready" for collection. Once I had paid my bill and taken charge of my car, they offered to drop the car off to me which I accepted, that weekend I decided to take the family out for a afternoon, heading to Hull for a visit to "The Deep", fully aware that when he and his supposed mechanic dropped the car off the lad who works for him could clearly be heard by the missus saying that the car is missing and leaking oil.... although when I questioned this, apparently it was just oil run off... and would burn off as the engine got warm... WHAT A MUG I AM
The car made it as far as the M18 before plumes of smoke began coming from under the bonnet. Immediately I pulled over thinking it was on fire, switched the ignition off and allowed it to cool down while I phoned the AA and the car was then recovered back to my home address. I called Tony at Rotherham Scoobies who assured me it would be put right. As I was due to be at work the next day I was asked to leave the keys with my partner and he would collect the car and sort it out. Later the next day one of his "employees" came out who did nothing more than chuck even more black silicone over a Leaky cam cover. This did not work and the cam was still leaking so the car was recovered back to their premises for investigation and hopefully a diagnosis and cure. The "investigation" completed, I was given the "diagnosis" that the cam belt had jumped and that the car had been "cured".
Told the car was ready for collection again, I collected it from Rotherham Scoobies and immediately on collection, noticed the engine was knocking. This was explained by the "specialist" that the crank was on its way out, on the way home the car also cut out due to the battery terminals not been secured correctly. At this point my partner was fed up of his nonsense, and demanded that the car went to an established specialist for a thorough investigation and a competent diagnosis. This led to a full strip down of the engine and I was then given the report that contained their findings. And what they found beggars belief! This is the report that I was faced with:
"Engine removed and it has had new head gaskets. However, the engine is filthy; covered in oil, dirt and silicone sealer. Nothing has been cleaned before fitting the head-gaskets and there is debris and filth trapped between the heads and block. The cam-belt tensioner is the wrong type and is so worn out an extra second-hand worn out small idler has been added to take up the play in the belt. The bolts in the heads have been sheared off so rocker cover was literally glued on with silicone sealer see pic below....
All four cam seals were glued in with black silicone and were brittle due to
age. In an attempt to make them seal silicone was used again and smeared
round each cam seal with the use of a finger. All of the cam belt idlers were badly
worn and the bearings were noisy with excessive play in each. The bolt that retained the large tensioner idler in place had been left completely loose and the nut was missing off the back of the bolt. The only thing actually keeping the idler in place was the cam belt cover which it had tried to burrow through. To say this ranks as one of the worst engine builds we have ever seen is an *UNDERSTATEMENT*!!"
Rotherham Scoobies left me with a decision of scrap the car and buy new or rebuild. There are plenty more bullet points, such as the oil feed hole in the pump being less than half its size due to excess sealer. This story is the same for the inlet manifold, water cross feed pipe and of course the rocker covers with huge clumps of sealer inside both heads.
Amazingly, the ONLY thing thats survived is the crank! The ticking/knocking noise turned out to be a nipped up piston skirt. So, from the very start Rotherham Scoobies have been wrong by a country mile at almost every turn. An incorrect diagnosis led to a very clean car rendered useless and me facing a £3500 + vat repair bill. It was actually cheaper to buy a new car and I did from the true Subaru specialist in this saga.
I was gutted to see the leggy go but also relieved as this went on for about 6 months.
Following this the owner of Robberham decided to tell people that he just chucked the car back together as I could not afford to pay
Now all this bad workmanship was carried out before the bill was issued and I did reluctantly pay... and about 5 weeks later I had a tidy Impreza in my garage that I paid over 4k for, so this carries absolutely no substance at all. He also claimed he was going to pursue me for slander but considering I have receipts and photographic evidence, I am highly confident he would be trying to fund a case he would ultimately lose.MY GREATEST FEAR IS THAT ONE DAY SOMEBODY WILL BE KILLED BY HIS VERY POOR WORKMANSHIP.
Over the past 2 years I have heard of at least more and more stories and I have invited them all to add on to this thread and make it known the risk you take using 'the specialist'
Here is the old girl
Supposed New Cambelt Tensioner
02 February 2016, 09:49 PM
#3
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Location: Derby
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Where do I start with the car? Below are the beginnings of the complete chain of events. It is not complete but there are conversations , messages and written proof etc to back up all of this. Please feel free to troll me for my lack of mechanical knowledge and believing someone I thought was genuine, but remember these are my experiences an my opinions and do not reflect those of Scoobynet or its admins or anyone connected with the site. Any threats of legal action should be aimed at me. And I'll laugh 😂.
In 2012, after we both commented on a facebook post by a mutual friend I spotted Tony "Rotherham Scoobies" Hough. Being new to Yorkshire I figured that someone local to me interested in Subaru's might be a good social point for me to start making friends up here. I added him to my friends list and we talked occasionally but never really got together. At the beginning of 2014 Tina and Tony started talking and became friends and one day a week she would go to his garage and help out, free of charge for something to do and a break from Gracie (our then 8momth old). It was also her hope she'd learn a thing or two.
July 16th, 2014: My turbo blew. Limped the car to Rotherham Scoobies and was told the turbo was dead. Tony told me he had no like-for-like turbo's but he had a ScoobyClinic SC38 turbo on his car which he would soon be selling. As his car was the same as mine he said there would be no problem fitting it to my car. He claimed it had covered less than 3000 miles and would let me have it for £700 cash. Told him I would need to think about it.
July 31st, 2014: Arrived at Rotherham Scoobies, Kiveton at 08:50 for new turbo, oil, coolant, 3-port boost solenoid and spark plugs. I provided the coolant. I was quoted £880. I paid £900 cash. Left at 5pm. I was told the people who fitted the previous turbo had screwed the threads up and made it a hard job to remove. The 3-port boost solenoid was never fitted despite costing me £20. The engine bay was jet-washed, as oil had apparently soaked into the heat wrap and Tony was concerned it would catch fire. Tony also took it upon himself to swap out a brake pipe that he thought looked "untidy". This lead to brake failure on 3 separate occasions until he was told to put the original pipe back on. After concerns were raised that the turbo would be too much for the engine as it had not been mapped, Tony assured me the "actuator bar" had been removed so that the turbo would not cause any boost pressure on the engine until it was mapped.
Aug 1st, 2014: Put my foot down, expecting nothing to happen. Boost came on. A later discussion revealed that nothing had been done to prevent an unmapped, more powerful turbo from melting my engine. It was fortunate that as soon as I felt the pull of the turbo I lifted off.
Aug 4th, 2014: Took the car to Rotherham Scoobies for differential and gearbox oil. It was agreed with Tony that I could pay the cost of this later in the week as the map was due tomorrow and that would cost me £300
Aug 5th, 2014: Took the car to GR Performance to be mapped by Duncan Graham of RaceDynamix. Duncan and Senior immediately noticed that the exhaust up-pipe was blowing and asked if I wanted the map to go ahead. On Tony spoke for me, replying yes. Duncan looked at me for confirmation and Tony assured me he had a pipe and would deal with it within days. I was told after by Duncan that he had mapped the car "safe" by mapping it to run lean. This would compensate for the increased boost pressure once the leaking pipe was fixed.
Aug 7th, 2014: Visited Tony after work. Paid £95 cash for gearbox and differential service.
Aug 21st, 2014: Took the car to Rotherham Scoobies at 9am to fit new turbo up-pipe and suspension leg. Tony left to take a car for an MOT. It took Lee Hough (Tony's brother) 45mins to change the suspension leg. Whilst he did that I unbolted the intercooler and removed it and unbolted most of the turbo ready for Lee. 4hrs later he was still trying to get the up-pipe off when The brakes went on Tina's car again. Left my car with them and borrowed their Astra to rescue Tina and the kids. I returned an hour later and was told that in my absence they had, "finally managed to get the up-pipe off, try the new one, discover it was no better, take it back off, re-fit the original one, seal the leak and test run it". However, on my way home it was clear by the smell of exhaust fumes inside the car that the leak had not been fixed. I was quoted £95 for both jobs. However, I paid £50 cash and agreed to pay the rest on the following payday. After discovering the job wasn't done properly I refused to pay the rest.
Oct 5th, 2014: After driving to Burton upon Trent the day before, the car suffered a massive mechanical failure and would not restart. It was recovered from Derby to Barnsley and picked up a few days later and taken to ScoobyClinic.
Oct 15th, 2014: Report received from Scoobyclinic as follows:
Subaru Impreza WRX Registration No. **** *** Date 14/10/14
Car came in with knocking noise from engine. On strip down of the engine the first thing we noticed was the engine itself was very tight to turn over, on removal of the oil we found a lot of metallic debris. This metallic debris has caused substantial damage to the internal engine components. The camshafts were very tight to turn over, on removal we found the bearings to be badly damaged due to the metal debris, the bearings are integral to the cylinder head and to replace would mean replacing the entire cylinder head, the bearings themselves may clean up to re-use. The cylinder walls have excessive scoring due to the metal debris that's been trapped between the piston and cylinder wall, this has also scored the piston skirt as well, this damage to the cylinder wall may hone out, the pistons although scored should be able to be re-used. The crankshaft was in a bit of a state with extensive damage to the main bearings damaging the bearing surface on the crankshaft. The big end bearing on number three cylinder was completely destroyed causing massive damage to the crank pin and connecting rod, number two and number four bearing had spun in the connecting rod causing damage to the crank and connecting rod, all the connecting rods will have to be replaced along with the crankshaft. It would appear that the metallic debris has damaged the bearings on the turbocharger, although the turbochargers oil feed pipe was kinked, so which came first chicken or egg? The shaft is quite tight to turn which is a sign of bearing failure, the turbocharger was also poorly fitted with excessive use of exhaust assembly compound which should not be used on exhaust components prior to entry of a turbocharger, there was also missing mounting brackets and bolts. The turbo up-pipe fitted to this engine in my opinion is way too big a diameter which would cause poor spool on this size engine; I would recommend a smaller diameter up-pipe to transform low down drive ability. On removal of the engine we found the clutch to have worn through to the rivets which has worn a groove in to the flywheel.
The timing belt tensioner is leaking oil and the timing belt idler pulleys have noisy bearings. Below is a list of parts, this list is assuming the cylinder damage will hone and the cylinder heads can be re-used. Parts required Hone cylinders Skim engine block Crankshaft 4x Connecting rods Main bearings Big end bearings Piston ring set Skim cylinder heads Re-seat all intake and exhaust valves Hone camshaft bearings Complete gasket and seal kit Tube 3 bond gasket sealer Modine oil cooler Oil pump Water pump Complete timing belt and tensioner kit Oil filter Engine oil Coolant Spark plugs Complete clutch kit Flywheel Turbocharger Chemical clean of all parts Environmental charge I can cost this up but I feel a good used engine may be a better alternative, or swap the car completely, sorry but that’s the report.
Further...
Following the report from the clinic, once a new engine had been fitted I asked for my injectors to be kept as they were 650cc so the manifold was swapped to the new powerplant. Immediately after it was started on the dyno a problem was discovered with the injectors and upon investigation I had 450cc injectors in that had been badly altered and were leaking petrol. It was determined that petrol had leaked into the oil causing it to burn off leading to the damage.
When they came to map the ECU it had been locked off with the OpenSource map put on it and couldn't be touched. The ECUTEK licence previously on it had also been erased. This was confirmed by a conversation with ECUTEK themselves. When I spoke to Duncan about this he was put out as to why the clinic were mapping my car and not him and offered me a map tweak for £150. This was graciously declined.
So in all, the cost went to a new engine, turbo, injectors, ECU and licence. To date Tony has denied any wrongdoing and has not offered any apology. In fact all he offered was to have a look if I took the car back to him. Obviously I didn't.
In 2012, after we both commented on a facebook post by a mutual friend I spotted Tony "Rotherham Scoobies" Hough. Being new to Yorkshire I figured that someone local to me interested in Subaru's might be a good social point for me to start making friends up here. I added him to my friends list and we talked occasionally but never really got together. At the beginning of 2014 Tina and Tony started talking and became friends and one day a week she would go to his garage and help out, free of charge for something to do and a break from Gracie (our then 8momth old). It was also her hope she'd learn a thing or two.
July 16th, 2014: My turbo blew. Limped the car to Rotherham Scoobies and was told the turbo was dead. Tony told me he had no like-for-like turbo's but he had a ScoobyClinic SC38 turbo on his car which he would soon be selling. As his car was the same as mine he said there would be no problem fitting it to my car. He claimed it had covered less than 3000 miles and would let me have it for £700 cash. Told him I would need to think about it.
July 31st, 2014: Arrived at Rotherham Scoobies, Kiveton at 08:50 for new turbo, oil, coolant, 3-port boost solenoid and spark plugs. I provided the coolant. I was quoted £880. I paid £900 cash. Left at 5pm. I was told the people who fitted the previous turbo had screwed the threads up and made it a hard job to remove. The 3-port boost solenoid was never fitted despite costing me £20. The engine bay was jet-washed, as oil had apparently soaked into the heat wrap and Tony was concerned it would catch fire. Tony also took it upon himself to swap out a brake pipe that he thought looked "untidy". This lead to brake failure on 3 separate occasions until he was told to put the original pipe back on. After concerns were raised that the turbo would be too much for the engine as it had not been mapped, Tony assured me the "actuator bar" had been removed so that the turbo would not cause any boost pressure on the engine until it was mapped.
Aug 1st, 2014: Put my foot down, expecting nothing to happen. Boost came on. A later discussion revealed that nothing had been done to prevent an unmapped, more powerful turbo from melting my engine. It was fortunate that as soon as I felt the pull of the turbo I lifted off.
Aug 4th, 2014: Took the car to Rotherham Scoobies for differential and gearbox oil. It was agreed with Tony that I could pay the cost of this later in the week as the map was due tomorrow and that would cost me £300
Aug 5th, 2014: Took the car to GR Performance to be mapped by Duncan Graham of RaceDynamix. Duncan and Senior immediately noticed that the exhaust up-pipe was blowing and asked if I wanted the map to go ahead. On Tony spoke for me, replying yes. Duncan looked at me for confirmation and Tony assured me he had a pipe and would deal with it within days. I was told after by Duncan that he had mapped the car "safe" by mapping it to run lean. This would compensate for the increased boost pressure once the leaking pipe was fixed.
Aug 7th, 2014: Visited Tony after work. Paid £95 cash for gearbox and differential service.
Aug 21st, 2014: Took the car to Rotherham Scoobies at 9am to fit new turbo up-pipe and suspension leg. Tony left to take a car for an MOT. It took Lee Hough (Tony's brother) 45mins to change the suspension leg. Whilst he did that I unbolted the intercooler and removed it and unbolted most of the turbo ready for Lee. 4hrs later he was still trying to get the up-pipe off when The brakes went on Tina's car again. Left my car with them and borrowed their Astra to rescue Tina and the kids. I returned an hour later and was told that in my absence they had, "finally managed to get the up-pipe off, try the new one, discover it was no better, take it back off, re-fit the original one, seal the leak and test run it". However, on my way home it was clear by the smell of exhaust fumes inside the car that the leak had not been fixed. I was quoted £95 for both jobs. However, I paid £50 cash and agreed to pay the rest on the following payday. After discovering the job wasn't done properly I refused to pay the rest.
Oct 5th, 2014: After driving to Burton upon Trent the day before, the car suffered a massive mechanical failure and would not restart. It was recovered from Derby to Barnsley and picked up a few days later and taken to ScoobyClinic.
Oct 15th, 2014: Report received from Scoobyclinic as follows:
Subaru Impreza WRX Registration No. **** *** Date 14/10/14
Car came in with knocking noise from engine. On strip down of the engine the first thing we noticed was the engine itself was very tight to turn over, on removal of the oil we found a lot of metallic debris. This metallic debris has caused substantial damage to the internal engine components. The camshafts were very tight to turn over, on removal we found the bearings to be badly damaged due to the metal debris, the bearings are integral to the cylinder head and to replace would mean replacing the entire cylinder head, the bearings themselves may clean up to re-use. The cylinder walls have excessive scoring due to the metal debris that's been trapped between the piston and cylinder wall, this has also scored the piston skirt as well, this damage to the cylinder wall may hone out, the pistons although scored should be able to be re-used. The crankshaft was in a bit of a state with extensive damage to the main bearings damaging the bearing surface on the crankshaft. The big end bearing on number three cylinder was completely destroyed causing massive damage to the crank pin and connecting rod, number two and number four bearing had spun in the connecting rod causing damage to the crank and connecting rod, all the connecting rods will have to be replaced along with the crankshaft. It would appear that the metallic debris has damaged the bearings on the turbocharger, although the turbochargers oil feed pipe was kinked, so which came first chicken or egg? The shaft is quite tight to turn which is a sign of bearing failure, the turbocharger was also poorly fitted with excessive use of exhaust assembly compound which should not be used on exhaust components prior to entry of a turbocharger, there was also missing mounting brackets and bolts. The turbo up-pipe fitted to this engine in my opinion is way too big a diameter which would cause poor spool on this size engine; I would recommend a smaller diameter up-pipe to transform low down drive ability. On removal of the engine we found the clutch to have worn through to the rivets which has worn a groove in to the flywheel.
The timing belt tensioner is leaking oil and the timing belt idler pulleys have noisy bearings. Below is a list of parts, this list is assuming the cylinder damage will hone and the cylinder heads can be re-used. Parts required Hone cylinders Skim engine block Crankshaft 4x Connecting rods Main bearings Big end bearings Piston ring set Skim cylinder heads Re-seat all intake and exhaust valves Hone camshaft bearings Complete gasket and seal kit Tube 3 bond gasket sealer Modine oil cooler Oil pump Water pump Complete timing belt and tensioner kit Oil filter Engine oil Coolant Spark plugs Complete clutch kit Flywheel Turbocharger Chemical clean of all parts Environmental charge I can cost this up but I feel a good used engine may be a better alternative, or swap the car completely, sorry but that’s the report.
Further...
Following the report from the clinic, once a new engine had been fitted I asked for my injectors to be kept as they were 650cc so the manifold was swapped to the new powerplant. Immediately after it was started on the dyno a problem was discovered with the injectors and upon investigation I had 450cc injectors in that had been badly altered and were leaking petrol. It was determined that petrol had leaked into the oil causing it to burn off leading to the damage.
When they came to map the ECU it had been locked off with the OpenSource map put on it and couldn't be touched. The ECUTEK licence previously on it had also been erased. This was confirmed by a conversation with ECUTEK themselves. When I spoke to Duncan about this he was put out as to why the clinic were mapping my car and not him and offered me a map tweak for £150. This was graciously declined.
So in all, the cost went to a new engine, turbo, injectors, ECU and licence. To date Tony has denied any wrongdoing and has not offered any apology. In fact all he offered was to have a look if I took the car back to him. Obviously I didn't.
02 February 2016, 10:12 PM
#4
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Part 2 - My partners cars from Rotherham Scoobies.
June 29, 2014: Tina took ownership of a red Subaru classic. Everything seemed above board at first and it had a fresh MOT certificate so we had no reason to doubt the car was anything but above board. Tony was "sympathetic" to our financial situation and offered to let us pay him for the car as and when we had spare money.
July 17th, 2014: Brakes on Tina's car failed while collecting kids from school, with the front brake lines dumping brake fluid everywhere. Gracie (1), Arley (3) and Summer (9) in the car. Tony's excuse was along the lines of, "well. The car was stood for a while so the brake lines must have corroded".
July 20th, 2014: Tina's dad took me to collect her car and I drove it back from Chapeltown to Wombwell with zero brakes. Graham followed behind very early on a Sunday when the roads were clear and with a combination of low speeds and engine braking it was a safe uneventful journey.
Aug 10th, 2014: Alternator went on Tina's car. I spent 3hrs trying different things to get it to start but eventually realised the battery wasn't charging. I called Tony and had to explain to him that it was most likely the alternator. He came out on a Sunday evening (give him credit) and fitted a used alternator.
Aug 11th, 2014: Took Tina's car over to Rotherham Scoobies for check and clutch to be tightened, timing to be looked at as car was almost stalling on idle, replacement battery. Arrived 9.20am after the school run. Waited an hour, then clutch was done.
August 14th 2014 Brakes went on Tina's car again. Left my car with them and borrowed their Astra to rescue Tina and the kids.
Aug 22nd, 2014: Tina collected a new used car from Tony to replace the red one as we were not prepared to continue putting the children or us at risk. This car had just been MOT'd.
28th Nov. 2014: After searching for parts for Tina's blue car, we discovered that it was listed with DVLA as having been scrapped.
Both cars were inspected by a family friend (not in a professional capacity) by a family friend who was an MOT examiner who deemed that neither car should be on the road. Nor should either have passed an MOT. A check of the red cars MOT history showed that it had advisories at every MOT from mid 2000 but had zero on its last one. A call to DVLA confirmed the blue car was listed as scrapped and should not have had an MOT issued without a V5 inspection.
Again, no acknowledgements or apologies were ever offered or given.
June 29, 2014: Tina took ownership of a red Subaru classic. Everything seemed above board at first and it had a fresh MOT certificate so we had no reason to doubt the car was anything but above board. Tony was "sympathetic" to our financial situation and offered to let us pay him for the car as and when we had spare money.
July 17th, 2014: Brakes on Tina's car failed while collecting kids from school, with the front brake lines dumping brake fluid everywhere. Gracie (1), Arley (3) and Summer (9) in the car. Tony's excuse was along the lines of, "well. The car was stood for a while so the brake lines must have corroded".
July 20th, 2014: Tina's dad took me to collect her car and I drove it back from Chapeltown to Wombwell with zero brakes. Graham followed behind very early on a Sunday when the roads were clear and with a combination of low speeds and engine braking it was a safe uneventful journey.
Aug 10th, 2014: Alternator went on Tina's car. I spent 3hrs trying different things to get it to start but eventually realised the battery wasn't charging. I called Tony and had to explain to him that it was most likely the alternator. He came out on a Sunday evening (give him credit) and fitted a used alternator.
Aug 11th, 2014: Took Tina's car over to Rotherham Scoobies for check and clutch to be tightened, timing to be looked at as car was almost stalling on idle, replacement battery. Arrived 9.20am after the school run. Waited an hour, then clutch was done.
August 14th 2014 Brakes went on Tina's car again. Left my car with them and borrowed their Astra to rescue Tina and the kids.
Aug 22nd, 2014: Tina collected a new used car from Tony to replace the red one as we were not prepared to continue putting the children or us at risk. This car had just been MOT'd.
28th Nov. 2014: After searching for parts for Tina's blue car, we discovered that it was listed with DVLA as having been scrapped.
Both cars were inspected by a family friend (not in a professional capacity) by a family friend who was an MOT examiner who deemed that neither car should be on the road. Nor should either have passed an MOT. A check of the red cars MOT history showed that it had advisories at every MOT from mid 2000 but had zero on its last one. A call to DVLA confirmed the blue car was listed as scrapped and should not have had an MOT issued without a V5 inspection.
Again, no acknowledgements or apologies were ever offered or given.
Last edited by STi.G; 02 February 2016 at 10:43 PM.
03 February 2016, 07:42 AM
#7
Scooby Regular
That is disgusting but will defo make others aware this is the exact reason why I won't let any1 change oil on my car never mind the engine I really do feel sorry for the people who go through this stomache sickening feeling wen being treated like a mug and the garages carry on doing what they do regardless
VERY GOOD WRITE UP AND PICS
Thx for sharing
VERY GOOD WRITE UP AND PICS
Thx for sharing
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03 February 2016, 07:56 PM
#8
Scooby Regular
Join Date: Aug 2011
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03 February 2016, 08:13 PM
#9
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Very expensive mistakes.... I've heard of a few more recently and locally, hopefully they get wind of this thread and contribute... Problem with robberham is they can try and intimidate making people feel nervous about speaking out
03 February 2016, 08:17 PM
#10
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Well we know of a certain someone who lost 3 cars to Robbingham but was clueless and easily convinced it was the cars fault and was too scared to say anything don't we? 😉
03 February 2016, 09:54 PM
#11
I have heard about the person that has had 3 knackered cars off him too, but it wasn't his fault and cost the customer a lot of money 
People like him (self called 'specialist') are pulling in all the work and 'followers' they can with this issue with the clinic and pot holes. Really hope people don't listen to his stories and it costs them dearly
People like him (self called 'specialist') are pulling in all the work and 'followers' they can with this issue with the clinic and pot holes. Really hope people don't listen to his stories and it costs them dearly
Last edited by BoozyDave; 14 May 2018 at 10:37 PM.
03 February 2016, 10:01 PM
#12
The thing is, the Facebook eejits driving the 1500quid classics with the sticker kits and rusty arches love the kind of service Facebook garages offer.
An oil change using Halford's finest oil for a score, clutch changes for £100 cash if you supply the parts, MOT's with the decat fitted where the probe is stuck up the exhaust of another car to get through the emissions....No income tax, no VAT, no money back no guarantee.
An oil change using Halford's finest oil for a score, clutch changes for £100 cash if you supply the parts, MOT's with the decat fitted where the probe is stuck up the exhaust of another car to get through the emissions....No income tax, no VAT, no money back no guarantee.
03 February 2016, 10:12 PM
#13
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I have heard about the person that has had 3 knackered cars off him too, but it wasn't his fault and cost the customer a lot of money
I wish some others weren't intimidated by him and would speak out.
People like him (self called 'specialist') are pulling in all the work and 'followers' they can with this issue with the clinic and pot holes. Really hope people don't listen to his stories and it costs the dearly
One thing I haven't mentioned, he needs a new engine in his own car. But, this 'specialist' that wants people to pay him to rebuild their engines, is actually paying a company to build HIM an engine for HIS car!
I wish some others weren't intimidated by him and would speak out.
People like him (self called 'specialist') are pulling in all the work and 'followers' they can with this issue with the clinic and pot holes. Really hope people don't listen to his stories and it costs the dearly
One thing I haven't mentioned, he needs a new engine in his own car. But, this 'specialist' that wants people to pay him to rebuild their engines, is actually paying a company to build HIM an engine for HIS car!
Would be the same former employee who bought 3 Fubar'd engines off him and then admitted Tony buys his engines off the scrap Man as "condition unknown" and sells them as "a good runner", "runs and starts perfectly", "one elderly careful lady owner that wouldn't go above 20 and only did 5000 in the last 15 years"?
03 February 2016, 10:39 PM
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03 February 2016, 11:49 PM
#16
The thing is, the Facebook eejits driving the 1500quid classics with the sticker kits and rusty arches love the kind of service Facebook garages offer.
An oil change using Halford's finest oil for a score, clutch changes for £100 cash if you supply the parts, MOT's with the decat fitted where the probe is stuck up the exhaust of another car to get through the emissions....No income tax, no VAT, no money back no guarantee.
An oil change using Halford's finest oil for a score, clutch changes for £100 cash if you supply the parts, MOT's with the decat fitted where the probe is stuck up the exhaust of another car to get through the emissions....No income tax, no VAT, no money back no guarantee.
Enter stage left.
https://www.facebook.com/rotherham.s...61749807249775
Plying his trade here.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/subaruswapukirl/
04 February 2016, 07:07 AM
#17
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Enter stage left.
https://www.facebook.com/rotherham.s...61749807249775
Plying his trade here.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/subaruswapukirl/
https://www.facebook.com/rotherham.s...61749807249775
Plying his trade here.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/subaruswapukirl/
04 February 2016, 07:42 AM
#18
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The thing is, the Facebook eejits driving the 1500quid classics with the sticker kits and rusty arches love the kind of service Facebook garages offer.
An oil change using Halford's finest oil for a score, clutch changes for £100 cash if you supply the parts, MOT's with the decat fitted where the probe is stuck up the exhaust of another car to get through the emissions....No income tax, no VAT, no money back no guarantee.
An oil change using Halford's finest oil for a score, clutch changes for £100 cash if you supply the parts, MOT's with the decat fitted where the probe is stuck up the exhaust of another car to get through the emissions....No income tax, no VAT, no money back no guarantee.
04 February 2016, 07:49 AM
#19
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I wonder how many of us would be shafted if all the mot testers checked emissions as they are supposed to and not do us any matey favours??
My mate passes mine but won't pass it if there was anything else wrong with it we should appreciate we still have people that bend the rules alittle IMO
My mate passes mine but won't pass it if there was anything else wrong with it we should appreciate we still have people that bend the rules alittle IMO
04 February 2016, 02:24 PM
#21
I wonder how many of us would be shafted if all the mot testers checked emissions as they are supposed to and not do us any matey favours??
My mate passes mine but won't pass it if there was anything else wrong with it we should appreciate we still have people that bend the rules alittle IMO
My mate passes mine but won't pass it if there was anything else wrong with it we should appreciate we still have people that bend the rules alittle IMO
04 February 2016, 03:22 PM
#22
This **** blocked me ages ago loooool, wonder why? All I was stating was the truth, I don't make stories up.
He had a lady friend that thinks she's hard as **** and will take anyone on looool.
He had a lot of followers on hull scoobs, probably the under 1k classic breed.
He had a lady friend that thinks she's hard as **** and will take anyone on looool.
He had a lot of followers on hull scoobs, probably the under 1k classic breed.
04 February 2016, 03:49 PM
#23
This **** blocked me ages ago loooool, wonder why? All I was stating was the truth, I don't make stories up.
He had a lady friend that thinks she's hard as **** and will take anyone on looool.
He had a lot of followers on hull scoobs, probably the under 1k classic breed.
He had a lady friend that thinks she's hard as **** and will take anyone on looool.
He had a lot of followers on hull scoobs, probably the under 1k classic breed.
04 February 2016, 07:58 PM
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I wonder how many of us would be shafted if all the mot testers checked emissions as they are supposed to and not do us any matey favours??
My mate passes mine but won't pass it if there was anything else wrong with it we should appreciate we still have people that bend the rules alittle IMO
My mate passes mine but won't pass it if there was anything else wrong with it we should appreciate we still have people that bend the rules alittle IMO
There's bending the rules and there's playing with people's lives. My partner had 2 cars off tony. The first one - brakes failed. She'd had it less than a month and when she got it it had a week old mot. Brake lines had been run directly to the calipers so as the wheels turned it wore through. When we got it in the air there were holes big enough to put your fist through in the rear arches. So we made him swap it for another car. The blue wagon had a fresh mot too. Took less than a day to realise the bearings were shot. Tried to look for parts online... Registered as scrapped. DVLA confirmed this. It shouldn't have been on the road let alone given an mot pass
05 February 2016, 07:08 AM
#25
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y
There's bending the rules and there's playing with people's lives. My partner had 2 cars off tony. The first one - brakes failed. She'd had it less than a month and when she got it it had a week old mot. Brake lines had been run directly to the calipers so as the wheels turned it wore through. When we got it in the air there were holes big enough to put your fist through in the rear arches. So we made him swap it for another car. The blue wagon had a fresh mot too. Took less than a day to realise the bearings were shot. Tried to look for parts online... Registered as scrapped. DVLA confirmed this. It shouldn't have been on the road let alone given an mot pass
There's bending the rules and there's playing with people's lives. My partner had 2 cars off tony. The first one - brakes failed. She'd had it less than a month and when she got it it had a week old mot. Brake lines had been run directly to the calipers so as the wheels turned it wore through. When we got it in the air there were holes big enough to put your fist through in the rear arches. So we made him swap it for another car. The blue wagon had a fresh mot too. Took less than a day to realise the bearings were shot. Tried to look for parts online... Registered as scrapped. DVLA confirmed this. It shouldn't have been on the road let alone given an mot pass
05 February 2016, 07:56 AM
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we got rid fast as possible and bought a safe, legal car. Made sure the buyers were fully aware of its state and they broke it. Both Houghy and the MOT centre are being reported to VoSA as we have all the proof.
05 February 2016, 08:14 AM
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Reading thing's like this makes me so glad that i am a competent professional in vehicle maintenance and repair and therefore nobody touches my pride but me. This guy/his business sounds like a bunch of back yard chancers preying on others trust, personally i find that our scoobs are one of the most easiest cars to maintain, if you know what your doing and do it with the correct methods you can't go wrong. My advice based on reading all the info would be steer clear of him and his mastic men, pay the premium and go to someone with a good solid proven reputation.
05 February 2016, 12:58 PM
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06 February 2016, 04:26 PM
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Probably bought them off the scrapyard next door.... Wouldn't surprise me in the slightest. The guy has no morals or scruples and one day he will kill someone.