Vehicle Inspections

robertjrt

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Its me again! Sorry.

DEKA with whom I booked an Inspection on my car which has been standing for over three years, informed me today that MB have refused to allow them to Inspect my vehicle at their premises.

DEKA are welcome to drive the car from MB's Wandsworth garage, but, it will not allow the car to be returned there.

Have any of the forum members had a problem having a car inspected before?

MB MOT'd my car, last week I understand.

If this request is "out of Order", please advise.

I had a long "chat" with MB's solicitor today, he complained that I have cost MB a lot of money!:confused:
 

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And it is me again :D

There are a few points here.

I had workshops, now if I had an dispute with a customer, I could refuse him entry into my workshop.

If I had thing that belonged to him, and he came to pick them up, I have two choices, (A) I make him take the article away after seeing it working and getting him to sign for it saying that it was working at the time he picked it up, or (B) I could refuse to show him that it was working, and make him take it as it was.

With (A) I would not let the man bring another engineer to examine what I had done, But from my point and being fair I would write down the at the time of picking it up it has been repaired correctly.

With (B) I would be leaving myself wide open to a summons or court case as I refused to show that the article was working at the time it left my workshop.

Also with(B) if the customer could not see in what condition the goods were in, then I am also leaving myself wide open to further address as I could have stored the customers articles in unfavorable conditions causing the life of the article to be shortened and not in the same condition as it was when it came to my workshop. I have a duty to respect and look after goods coming in for service.

It would also be normal to let the customer see the condition of the said article either with (A) or (B) if I did not do that then I would lose out with further proceedings.
letting the customer see the goods is the only way for both parties, and both parties sign to this effect.

If I was an honourable trader I would also give in writing that the goods have been repaired in accordance with the manufactures service and repair methods. If I did not do this then I would be back to square one, and liable for further action.

The amount of money involved here is 100 times more than the value of what I do, but that does not alter anything. I do not see how you can just take it away with nothing in writing from them, even just them saying that its all working as it should be, they do this with all cars that come in for service when they stamp the service book.

What happens if you take the car out into the road and you find that the car is now very rusty, the leather has been attacked by mildew, the wood cappings coming apart, the tyres have perished through not being used, though the MOT would have picked this up
 
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robertjrt

robertjrt

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What happens if you take the car out into the road and you find that the car is now very rusty, the leather has been attacked by mildew, the wood cappings coming apart, the tyres have perished through not being used, though the MOT would have picked this up[/QUOTE]

Ahh, yes.

I remember the big drama in 2006 about the £600 front end damage on my car, everybody swore blind that it was on the car when it came in!
Well, it was cosmetically fine four hours before it arrived at the workshop, but, could I prove it, no.

As I had booked an Inspection of the car, the repair was done under "goodwill", which as you know carries no warranty.(rust)

MB allowed one in 2006, refusing in 2009:confused:

Thats the problem, without "proof", if I found the tyres, for instance, unusable through, say, a flat spot, MB may well tell me that I had changed them, or somebody known to me had changed them, ditto, practically everything else.
 

television

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OK there is one thing that you can do, you ask MB for the mileage settings on both dials, you need to buy that days news paper, take it out and photograph the paper on the car and any damage or what ever as near as possible to their showroom and take a picture of the mileometer readings, plus if you have a reputable test engineer with you that should be enough from the condition aspect.

Have they told you that car car is in the same condition as it was when it went in, is the car in such a condition that it could be sold and said to be in good condition
 

Xtractorfan

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If there is a dispute with a particular garage they will always play hardball and make things as difficult as possible for the customer.. and if it has been going on for 3 years then it really is gonna be hard for any side to back down..
The garage are refusing an inspection at their premises
They are willing to allow an Inspection, providing the vehicle is taken away and not returned..
So in effect they are kicking the ball into your court..
You have a right to inspect your vehicle and any repairs carried out to it before you collect the vehicle
You also have the right to take someone along with you to inspect the vehicle if so wish..
You should check with trading standards exactly what your rights are regarding this..
Is there a post somewhere detailing your dispute with the garage..
 
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robertjrt

robertjrt

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Thank you for your replies.:)

After three and a half years I have learned to ask others for their comments.
Back in 2006 when this dispute escalated I paid for an Inspection from DEKA, it was quite reveling! I wanted another Inspection by DEKA so that I could compare one with the other.

A reasonable request I thought given I was awarded Judgment in Court.

I am expected to drive away a car that has been sat for three and a half years without any warranty, MB will say that the work was "goodwill" and/or "out of time". I am begging to know the beast!

A previous post has indicated that I can expect problems as there, as far as I know, no special care taken to look after my car. I do not know where it has been these last years, for all I know it has been in open storage!

Is an impasse I know, but, how do I square the circle?:confused:
 
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robertjrt

robertjrt

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And it is me again :D

The amount of money involved here is 100 times more than the value of what I do, but that does not alter anything. I do not see how you can just take it away with nothing in writing from them, even just them saying that its all working as it should be, they do this with all cars that come in for service when they stamp the service book.

What happens if you take the car out into the road and you find that the car is now very rusty, the leather has been attacked by mildew, the wood cappings coming apart, the tyres have perished through not being used, though the MOT would have picked this up

Thank you so,very, very much, its the tyres!! Please see my new thread.

All I need now is to find out if my alloys have been replace/stolen. I am quite confident that a member will be able to give me the correct name, I know they are not the standard alloys, I think they may be AGM ones?
 

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With a picture I can name the wheels
 

television

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OK to upload pictures from your computer, on a new post go down to the manage attachments, click on your picture that you want to up load, yours pictures will be displayed, click on the picture that you want to upload, then click open, go back to the upload menu and click upload.

This is only good for picture of up to a certain size, if the picture is too big in terms of file size, you must either make it smaller or use a photo host site like photobucket.

With this you click on the picture that you want to up load and you will see the URL for this picture, click on that and open the window above where you are posting, the one with a square, its yellow and has a picture of 2 mountains in it, take away anything in that box and paste your own URL into the window.
 

White230CE

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Its me again! Sorry.

DEKA with whom I booked an Inspection on my car which has been standing for over three years, informed me today that MB have refused to allow them to Inspect my vehicle at their premises.

DEKA are welcome to drive the car from MB's Wandsworth garage, but, it will not allow the car to be returned there.

Have any of the forum members had a problem having a car inspected before?

MB MOT'd my car, last week I understand.

If this request is "out of Order", please advise.

I had a long "chat" with MB's solicitor today, he complained that I have cost MB a lot of money!:confused:

Hi Robert,

I don't know any details of your dispute, or exactly what stage the dispute has got to in terms of why they still have your car after a judgment, but for as long as they have your car in their possession, they are under a duty to take reasonable care of it while storing it. They are 'bailees', which is the technical term. It is possible in the right circumstances, to get a court order allowing inspection of property which is in dispute. It then becomes a question of what if any reasonable conditions should be imposed on the inspection, and it doesn't seem to me that their conditions are reasonable. It is also possible to have the DEKA expert appointed as a single joint expert, which may allay any fears Merc has.

Have you had any legal advice about this so far?
 
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robertjrt

robertjrt

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Hi Robert,

I don't know any details of your dispute, or exactly what stage the dispute has got to in terms of why they still have your car after a judgment, but for as long as they have your car in their possession, they are under a duty to take reasonable care of it while storing it. They are 'bailees', which is the technical term. It is possible in the right circumstances, to get a court order allowing inspection of property which is in dispute. It then becomes a question of what if any reasonable conditions should be imposed on the inspection, and it doesn't seem to me that their conditions are reasonable. It is also possible to have the DEKA expert appointed as a single joint expert, which may allay any fears Merc has.

Have you had any legal advice about this so far?

The Court Ordered a single Joint Expert, Mercedes-Benz rejected the two Inspections I had done.

I shall have to go back to Court, as you suggest, for a Order forcing MB to allow a full Inspection to take place, more money, more stress and more time!

It was very interesting about the "bailees'" as that is what I was when the car was still the subject of a Finance Agreement.

The Finance Company were the first Defendants, but, it was agreed that the car was "fit for the purpose" etc when I paid the finance off.

That left Mercedes-Benz. I have been to Mediation, about £6,000, which MB refused too pay, god, what a nightmare.

I am off for a lie down and a strong cup of hot sweet tea!
 

White230CE

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My sympathies Robert. I know the legal process isn't easy for parties to it, and these 3-party disputes always throw up complications. I wish you eventual success...
 

hawk20

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On the other main website Robert has said they have agreed to an inspection and the car has been MOT'd. But they say he should remove his car from their site for the inspection and not return.

Why go on with all the stress? It is MOT'd and legally driveable. Why not get it inspected off-site?
 

White230CE

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Because it opens the door for Merc to deny that any fault found existed while the car was on their premises. Of course, it depends on what the fault is, but Merc are obviously keeping that option open.
 

teddycatkin

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Hi Robert --Try this angle ? if you knowingly drive a vehicle with a fault--Who is to blame ? --I suggest you would be found guilty.--If you go to collect a vehicle that has been off the road for as long as yours has -are you qualified to inspect it and confirm it is legal to use ? We assume no --You need to have some sort of full inspection and road test (incudes driving it) before it would be safe to do so .
So given the fact you have been in dispute with the garage concerned it would only be deemed reasonable you take an independant qualified engineer to test report and confirm it is roadworthy and safe to use? ( Arrange to meet him and go with him )
The second option is to ask them that when you come to collect the vehicle you want a copy thier engineers test and full report and guarantee of its roadworthyness and any any further defects found.----They will certainly have one as it will all be accountable to head office.
As for not returning it if a 100 yards down the road a fault developes or you are not happy with it --they are surely obliged to have it back yet again and repair it by law!!
 
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robertjrt

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Please remember Mercedes-Benz "swore blind" for three years that I, or somebody known to me had had caused the damage. The same with the bodywork damage.

If I took the car away and, for instance, the electrics "fried", all they need to say, "what Mr Carlyle did to his car is not our responsibility", remember their previous correspondence; " .., then that only leaves you ( or maybe a neighbour/other parties known to you) as the cause of the jump start damage sustained to your vehicle noted upon its delivery to MB Chelsea as above".

I did ask MB to allow me to PX my car against another at the value of my car at November 2005, MB declined. I was also informed that my Damages included £500 depreciation!

Don't you just love Mercedes-Benz:rolleyes:
 

White230CE

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Hi Robert --Try this angle ? if you knowingly drive a vehicle with a fault--Who is to blame ? --I suggest you would be found guilty.--If you go to collect a vehicle that has been off the road for as long as yours has -are you qualified to inspect it and confirm it is legal to use ? We assume no --You need to have some sort of full inspection and road test (incudes driving it) before it would be safe to do so .
So given the fact you have been in dispute with the garage concerned it would only be deemed reasonable you take an independant qualified engineer to test report and confirm it is roadworthy and safe to use? ( Arrange to meet him and go with him )
The second option is to ask them that when you come to collect the vehicle you want a copy thier engineers test and full report and guarantee of its roadworthyness and any any further defects found.----They will certainly have one as it will all be accountable to head office.
As for not returning it if a 100 yards down the road a fault developes or you are not happy with it --they are surely obliged to have it back yet again and repair it by law!!

I think these are all points that will help persuade the judge to make the appropriate court order for inspection, but will not move Merc one bit. You are probably going to have to take it back before the judge, because Merc is, it seems, a belligerent party which is doing everything it can to be unhelpful, and has the financial resources to do so.
 
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robertjrt

robertjrt

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I think these are all points that will help persuade the judge to make the appropriate court order for inspection, but will not move Merc one bit. You are probably going to have to take it back before the judge, because Merc is, it seems, a belligerent party which is doing everything it can to be unhelpful, and has the financial resources to do so.

I am afraid you you may well be right, well, I have spent three and a half years and "lost" about £10,000 so far. I will not "give up" now, otherwise this whole drama has been for nothing!

What really Erek's me is that "I did nothing wrong":(
 


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