Broken springs

[bungeejumper]

Grrrr again. The wife's Golf is finally back from the garage, with a nice new EGR valve that only took two and a half weeks for VW to supply. (Because of the parts shortage caused by the rate at which the diesel fix is killing EGRs off. But that's another story....) And, as soon as I drove it away from the garage, I noticed a nasty rattle from the back end that wasn't there before I took the car in.

Turns out that it was a complete coincidence. Both rear springs have broken. Pothole damage, says the garage, they've replaced 30 sets on various cars in the last two months, and often the damage only shows up during the MOT. (Not our fault, the council says, local authority budget cuts and all that....)

Still, the good news is that springs are only £90 a pair and take about an hour to fit. Could have been worse.

BJ

[richlist]

The council say it's not their fault do they ?.....well they would do, wouldn't they ?

If the result is people like yourself accepting that response and paying for their own repairs.

What ever happened to using the small claims court......I'm sure you can get your local garage to provide you with a written report.

[bungeejumper]

What ever happened to using the small claims court......I'm sure you can get your local garage to provide you with a written report.

Exactly so. And all I'd have to do would be to prove that the two springs broke on the council's own roads. And not on those of the next county, or the one beyond that.

Although springs break suddenly, it's pretty normal to find that they've been pre-weakened and partially cracked over a period of time. As I understand it, to stand any proper chance of getting a claim paid, I'd need to prove that the car came to a crashing halt on a particular pothole which had previously been reported as needing to be fixed.

Not quite the open and shut process that one might suppose, then?

BJ

[redsturgeon]

What ever happened to using the small claims court......I'm sure you can get your local garage to provide you with a written report.

Exactly so. And all I'd have to do would be to prove that the two springs broke on the council's own roads. And not on those of the next county, or the one beyond that.

Although springs break suddenly, it's pretty normal to find that they've been pre-weakened and partially cracked over a period of time. As I understand it, to stand any proper chance of getting a claim paid, I'd need to prove that the car came to a crashing halt on a particular pothole which had previously been reported as needing to be fixed.

Not quite the open and shut process that one might suppose, then?

BJ

And indeed who is to say it was not speed bumps rather than potholes that did the damage. I think that it is only really feasible to sue over a specific incident involving a specific pothole.

John

[chas49]

I can't see any reasonable prospect of claiming from any council for a broken spring discovered at MOT and not clearly attributable to a particular pothole.

It's a pity because I have just paid out £300 for the same thing on my Volvo V50 estate - unknown to me until discovered at MOT. And my daughter's Micra had the same problem last year.

It's clearly a widespread issue

[iain123]

In 30 years of driving I'd never had a broken spring until we started driving VW/Audis. In the last 5 years we have had 4 replacements on 2 different cars. If the garage mechanic is to be believed they have been sourcing brittle ones too cheaply.

(On the plus side when was the last time you replaced an exhaust? They last forever these days!)

[bungeejumper]

I suspect it's the neglected state of the roads, not the marque of car you're driving. But you might be right.

(On the plus side when was the last time you replaced an exhaust? They last forever these days!)

Wow, that sets me back a bit. 1990, I think, when the wife's Metro threw a back box. Although we did have to get a catalytic converter welded up on the Polo after one of its stainless steel support brackets failed. So let me see, £400 for a new cat or £20 for welding? Hmmm, decisions, decisions.

BJ