Not all garages will fuck you over. I have a small repair workshop with many regular and satisfied customers I even get called in from other garages to cover if needs be for holidays, sickdays etc. I personally wouldn't give a car back unless it was rite. As for the stealers I mean dealers they are overpriced and will tell you what you want to hear and basically lick your arse crack dry so you think there the bees knees. I might be wrong but I wouldnt be surprised if half the stuff they said didnt need done especially not the engine out. I know from previous experience that the mountings on skodas and vws are bad for coming loose as I've had one or two from other places that I've repaired. The bolts come loose and vibrate then snap the bolts in the block but because they were loose when the snapped they come out, without removing the engine.
So basically don't tar everyone with the same brush
QUOTE=It's Czech Mate;5779054]I was driving home the other day in my 06 Octy VRS when it started making a screechng noise , so I stopped and popped the bonnet and had a look, all I could see looked normal altho the noise seemed to be coming from the alternator or the pulley.
I drove carefully home and popped it into the skoda dealer the next day, when I dropped it off I was offered a car for the day, I didnt need it so they offered me a lift to work instead which was most welcome.
I got a call a few hours later telling me that there was bad news, i'd had the cambelt and waterpump done at the recommended interval a few months before christmas ( Car has FSH and 40k miles ) and the dealer told me there was a trapped pipe and the top engine mount was not sitting right, did I know why?!!!! I immediately told them i'd had the cambelt done and they said it must have been put back on poorly.
I rang the garage who did it ( ive used them for 15 years and he is usually a great guy ), I told him what had happened and where the car was, his response was " Just get the work done and i'll settle the bill", so he knew he'd fucked up and kept quiet!!
I was told the car was dangerous to drive and i was lucky the bottom lug hand snapped off the block!!! ( meaning i'd have needed a new short block )
Anyway, Skoda had to lift the engine out to extract the bolt snapped off in the block, the pipes were freed, the thread re-cut in the other bolthole and the cracked engine mount replaced.
This was over the next 48 hours and I was given a car FOC to use in the meantime.
The day I picked my car up, it was cleaned inside and out and Skoda were happy to invoice my previous garage ( who settled the bill over the phone there and then )
The bill was £728, which for a total engine extraction, new engine mount and all the other buggering about wasnt too bad I think.
What I learned was a few things;
1) I should have used the dealer for the cambelt to begin with
2) I was so dissappointed (as mechanics) with the previous garage having left me with a dangerous car and not holding their hands up to an error when fitting the mount back on. HOWEVER, I was impressed ( as men ) that they just paid up and took it like a man when I spoke to them about their error
3) Skoda has FANTASTIC customer service. I went to them with a 5 year old car that had been bodged elsewhere and they treated me as well as I could possibly be treated, I cant say enough how different an experience it is to other brands of dealers I've used. I cant imagine the Ford dealer offering me a lift to work or a free car for the day!
SKODA, recommended very highly