NSW Car Gearbox Repaired by ABS Auto Broke Again Within 2 Weeks

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Shazz

Member
17 April 2015
1
0
1
Hi There,
We had the gearbox repaired by ABS Auto Franchise store in liverpool which we paid more than $3000 and it broke again within next 2 weeks. Mechanic refusing to take any responsibility and blaming the different size tyeares on the car which were always for last 2 years and he should have noticed that when he got the car in repair for the first time and not blaming us for this.

Mechanic was unable to source the part required for more than 2 weeks after he took the car. Initially he provided with quote promised to have the car repaired in 3 business days and when days changed into weeks, I FWD him one of the emails which was sitting in my inbox from one of my random enquiry online, which was made to check the price of the part to have a guess on the estimate cost. Mechanic bought the part from that shop and returned the car after 4 weeks of hell we went through.

Now, Mechanic is blaming us and stating he only bought the part from that shop after I fwd him the mail and he won't take the responsibility as this wasn't something he was planning to replace the broken part with. He also stated that the part company is refusing to take any responsibility and I should talk to them when I only dealt and paid him for the job.

After going back and forth with their head office the best we offered is free replacement as long as we buy our own part!!!

Now why the hell should I fork another $1500 when mechanic failed to rectify the problem. Also who is going to be responsible for any future problem if any, as mechanic is already putting his hands up and I am starting to question the quality of work taken.

It has been 2 months since the car was initially broken and almost 3 weeks since it broke again. We are a young family and struggling to keep up with work and looking after our toddler son.
Where do we stand under Australian consumer law?!!!

I will appreciate any advise and support.
 

Ivy

Well-Known Member
10 February 2015
498
87
789
Hi there,

You are right that there are certain consumer guarantees when it comes to goods and services. In particular, the consumer has the right to a product that works for a reasonable length of time after purchase. To my understanding the consumer also has the right to go back to either the place of purchase or the manufacturer. In this situation, if the mechanic is not cooperating, you may want to consider contacting the place where the part was sourced from, particularly if they are in Australia (it is easier to enforce Australian consumer law against suppliers within the country than it is if they are overseas).

I am not sure how your tyeares affect the situation. If one part of your car is causing another part to degrade more quickly, that could complicate the situation.

Another suggestion would be to contact the NSW Office of Fair Trading and speak to them about your situation and/or lodge a complaint. Contact us - NSW Fair Trading