Dissappointed
I booked my car in for a service and MOT, plus for 3 repairs: handbrake not working, stop/start not working and air con dumping liquid into the footwell.
All I wanted was for the above work to be done and for me to collect the car when finished and pay the bill. Unfortunately things did not pan out this easily.
Kevin said his preferred way of communicating was via WhatsApp, so I confirmed the work needed by this method so it was clear.
I received a WhatsApp saying he was sourcing a second hand caliper and electrical connector and this was on 24 hour delivery. I was happy with second hand parts to keep the cost down.
The next thing that happened was I received a bill via WhatsApp, asking if I wanted his bank details to pay it? I was surprised to be asked for the money before I had even seen the car, and told him I would pay when I pick it up the next day.
However, on examining the bill, it stated a temporary fix had been done to the wiring, and there was absolutely nothing mentioned about the repairs to the stop/start or the air conditioning? I WhatsApp messaged Kevin asking if we could discuss these items when I pick the car up.
When I picked the car up I asked about the Aircon problem. All he said was "I can't look at it as there is another car on the ramp"; I didn't think this answered the question, as he knew it was an item to be looked at, and if he couldn't then he should have let me know this or let me know when he could? Nothing was communicated.
I also asked him if the stop/start had been fixed? He didn't seem to know, and proceeded to the car with his computer to check it. To do this, he had to start the car. I commented the car was running roughly, to which he said: "it's misfiring, it wasn't doing this earlier, and I do know what I'm doing you know." He seemed very defensive, but after paying a lot of money for a service and new plugs then I do feel it's quite reasonable for me to point out the problem. Anyway, after a minute the car stopped misfiring.
It appears that the stop/start problem was a symptom of the handbrake issue, so was no longer an issue.
I asked about the temporary electrical fix, and Kevin told me it could last up to 6 months. I was given absolutely no reason why the proper electrical connector wasn't used as I was told would be the case. Maybe the temporary fix was done to get it through it's MOT, but there was no rush as the MOT still had a month to run as Kevin knew, so I would rather my money had been spent on a permanent fix.
I asked if he could source the electrical connector to make the permanent fix, plus a bonnet release handle that he said was broken. I also followed this up with a WhatsApp message saying the same, but these requests were simply ignored. If he didn't want to source these parts (although isn't sourcing parts a normal part of his job?) then he only had to communicate this to me and I could have done it myself, but he just simply ignored me instead!
Therefore in summary I would say:
Good points
I'm sure Kevin is a competent mechanic, his rates are ok and his willingness to use second hand parts keep the costs down.
Bad Points
The Aircon problem was not even looked at and no reason was given for this despite me asking, and
I have been left with a temporary electrical fix rather than a proper fix using the electrical connector, and my requests to make this a proper fix seem to have been ignored. Even if Kevin does not want the work to make this a proper fix, then it would have been polite for him to tell me this.
Overall, I have been left disappointed that all the work has not been done, and with the lack of communication.