Thieving Spanish Mechanics!

[lovegroove]

I've just got back from holiday down near Malaga in Spain. My 2005 RAV 4 D4D had been slow to start for the last couple of weeks and I was waiting to get home to take it to a garage for them to have a look at the fuel filter as I suspected that I got a bad tank of fuel just around the time that it started playing up.

Story goes like this:

Sunday night, go to start car and it's a no-go. Wave down a passing tow truck to ask for a jump start as by this time I've killed the Battery from numerous attempts at starting. Still no-go and so tow driver agrees to take me to a garage in the morning for €40.

Monday Morning: Car gets towed to garage for 9 and they agree to look at it straight away as I need the car in the afternoon. I explain the problem and the symptoms and suggest that if they could just have a look at the fuel filter then I'm sure we can get it going again quite quickly. They try and start the car, look a bit bemused and then proceed to do nothing for the next hour apart from move cars around the garage. They then put the Battery on charge and tell me they can't do any diagnosis until after lunch.

Monday Lunch: I realise that I have breakdown cover with my insurance and that they might be able to get my car to a proper garage that actually might be able to fix my car. Call insurance and tell them that I have no confidence in this garage and could they move my car to a Toyota specialist. After lunch (4PM) I go back to garage to see what they've done and find that my engine is in bits and that he suspects it's my fuel pump, but needs a special computer to test it and can't get the computer until Tuesday.

Monday Evening: I realise that the garage are a total bunch of twunts and telling me lies and so get the insurance company to agree to move my car in the morning.

Tuesday Morning: Get a call from the insurance saying that the garage won't release my car until I pay for the diagnostic. Walk 3km to garage, have an argument with them in my best Spanglish and finally agree to pay €30 to get them to release my car.

Tuesday Evening: Car now at Toyota garage, but apparently they can't fix it until Friday!!! Holiday ends on Thursday, so much calling of insurance company to try and sort out extra days of accommodation and transfers to the airport for family.

Wednesday Morning: Call garage to find out that they can after-all look at my car this side of the next millennium and that it should be fixed today. I tell them again that I suspect it's the fuel filter because of the symptoms I've experienced.

Wednesday Afternoon: Get a call to say the car is fixed! Hooray!!!! Ask If it was the fuel filter and get told that it was indeed a blocked fuel filter. Great, not too expensive then.......

Oh no, not in Spain. Apparently they had to change some injector valves and an accessory belt as part of the diagnosis before they found the fuel filter fault, so now the total cost is €450. They can take the injector valves back out, but I would have to pay again for the man-hours to remove and refit the old ones. By this time, I've already wasted most of my holiday and just want my car back so that I can get out of Spain ASAP.

In then end, it has ended up costing me 3 days, 2 garages and over €500 to get a fuel filter changed.

No wonder the economy in Spain is buggered!

[DjRav]

I think you'll find you can go anywhere in the world and find

1) garages who aren't entirely sure what they're doing and

2) people who will throw "parts" into your car fir a laugh just because you're paying!

The only only thing you could have done different is get the garage to call you to break down and agree costs as the diagnostics unfold. This does however slow things down and requires an understanding and patient garage.

I'm sure you'll find garages just as bad as that one nearer to home and I'm also sure there are plenty of good garages in Spain!

Dave

[flyboyprowler]

Sorry to hear you had a bad experience in Spain. We are in East Almeria, and even the local Toyota garage are helpful. The garage that looks after my car, 2005 petrol auto, does a great job for normal money. As Dave says, sadly it can happen anywhere, I just hope you had nice weather to soften your blow.

[anchorman]

Sounds like they did your SCVs.

[igormus]

hmm

how to comment it ???

it looks like such "tech gurus" can be found globally.

their way is simple -- to catch money for minor job and not to be penetrated in huge problem. the more such minor job the more profit. the moral is you had to be with laptop/enet to have an advices from forum. between us -- it is sad story when you are along with such issue and moreover in other country. now it is time to perform deep car testing/investigating. The projectile never falls into the same Shell hole -- the idea is not to fall into the same issue/s twice/triple . regards / Igor

[Manxrav]

Absolutley got it one there Love, Spain- Bu**ered, and they don,t seem too concerned about it!!!! Got to have sympathy for you.

Regards Clare

[Tech01]

Sorry to spoil the jokes, but I'm afraid it's just like the UK - there are good repairers and bad repairers. I wish I'd been telepathic enough to know you had the problem in Malaga, because I could have pointed you in the direction of more than one honest and experienced workshop. (And avoided some others, including, I'm afraid to say . . .)

Chris

Sayalonga, Malaga

[lovegroove]

Just got back home after driving back via Seville to pick up all my stuff. My Rav 4 did something like 1400 miles over the course of 28 hours and didn't skip a beat, so I guess my new filter is working well! It's now going to a proper garage where I know the mechanics are capable and is going to get a good service, including cam belt and water pump change, before our summer European road trip around eastern Europe.

I'm actually an aircraft technician by trade and am mechanically minded, I just hate cars and can't be bothered to do the work myself, but my recent experience is making me think twice and I might just have to start getting my hands dirty.